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Dominic Cummings ramped up his attacks on Boris Johnson on the eve of the former aide’s evidence session, accusing the prime minister of having no “serious plan” to protect society’s most vulnerable people from Covid.
Johnson – along with ministers, government scientific advisers and civil servants – is braced for a lambasting from the man who was his most senior adviser until November, when Cummings is questioned by MPs on Wednesday.
Black Lives Matter activist was shot in the head at party in Peckham, south-east London
Police are hunting four men who burst into a party before shots rang out, leaving the Black Lives Matter activist Sasha Johnson critically injured with a gunshot wound to the head.
The Metropolitan police believe Johnson, who came to prominence last year as protests for racial justice sprang up across Britain, was not specifically targeted, nor was the shooting linked to her activism. Police think the mother of three was probably an unintended victim.
Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccine deployment minister, is responding to a Commons urgent question.
He says average Covid deaths are now down to nine per day.
The conclusions of the report (pdf) into Islamophobia in the Conservative party as set out in the document itself (pages 59 to 61) are much stronger, and more interesting, than the conclusions as set out in the press notice from the inquiry. (See 10.50am.) Here are the key points.
Judging by the extent of complaints and findings of misconduct by the Party itself that relate to anti-Muslim words and conduct, anti-Muslim sentiment remains a problem within the party. This is damaging to the party, and alienates a significant section of society.
The Conservative and Unionist party of the United Kingdom has faced sustained allegations of discriminatory behaviours and practices against minority groups, with Islamophobia being the most prominent and damaging allegation in recent years. The perception that the party has a ‘Muslim problem’ is widespread, with numerous instances of party members and elected officials alleged to have behaved in a discriminatory manner.
We discovered some examples of discrimination and anti-Muslim sentiment, most of which were at local association level. We did not, however, find evidence of a party which systematically discriminated against any particular group as defined by the Equality Act 2010, or one in which the structure of the party itself disadvantaged any group, on a direct or indirect discriminatory basis.
While the party leadership claims a ‘zero tolerance approach’ to all forms of discrimination, our findings show that discriminatory behaviours occur, especially in relation to people of Islamic faith. The data collection of such incidents is weak and difficult to analyse, hampering early identification of problems and effective remedial action. The party needs to be explicit and specific about what ‘zero tolerance’ means in the context discrimination, both in policy and practice.
There are shortcomings in the codes of conduct, too, which are not adequate given the twenty-first century social media landscape and 24-hour rolling news cycle. As we have suggested, these should be strengthened and merged into a single code of conduct.
The Investigation recommends that all major political parties consider, in discussion with the EHRC, the creation of a cross-party, non-partisan, and independent mechanism for handling complaints of discrimination against their parties or party members on the basis of Protected Characteristics. This could be similar to the current Parliamentary Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme for Sexual Misconduct.
The investigation has chosen not to recommend or endorse any particular form of equality or diversity training. Our brief perusal of published literature confirms that few, if any, of the suggested training models have been proven to show any sustained change in behaviours or attitudes, while there is some evidence of potentially adverse consequences such as promoting divisions, fostering a ‘shame and blame’ culture and the training being perceived as patronising and infantilising. In healthcare, where cultural diversity training has been extensively used to reduce health inequalities, evidence for its effectiveness is lacking.
Inquiry deems comments from PM were insensitive but finds no evidence of ‘institutional racism’
A long-awaited review into Islamophobia within the Conservative party has been condemned as a whitewash by Muslim Tories despite criticising the language used by Boris Johnson and the mayoral campaign run by Zac Goldsmith for being insensitive to Muslim communities.
The prime minister’s comments, in which he compared women wearing the burqa to letterboxes, were singled out in the review headed by Prof Swaran Singh.
Human rights judgment follows legal challenge begun in 2013 after Edward Snowden’s whistleblowing revelations
GCHQ’s methods for bulk interception of online communications violated the right to privacy and the regime for collection of data was “not in accordance with the law”, the grand chamber of the European court of human rights has ruled.
It also found the bulk interception regime contained insufficient protections for confidential journalistic material but said the decision to operate a bulk interception regime did not of itself violate the European convention on human rights.
EU commission president says it is Brexit, not protocol, that is disrupting trade across the Irish sea
Ursula von der Leyen has blamed Brexit for the disruption to trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland but has reiterated her offer to find “practical solutions” to issues destabilising politics in the region.
After a summit of the 27 heads of state and government in Brussels, the European Commission president defended the arrangements in the withdrawal agreement designed to avoid a border on the island of Ireland.
EU’s 27 heads of state call for the immediate release of opposition blogger Roman Protasevich
EU leaders triggered new economic sanctions against Belarus and punitive measures against its national airline as a dissident taken from a “hijacked” Ryanair flight was paraded on the country’s television news apparently confessing to crimes against the state.
The former motorsport chief devoted the last 13 years of his life to campaigning for reforms in press regulation
Even those who crossed swords with Max Mosley in the course of the privacy crusade he waged over many years before his death on Monday aged 81 readily accept the multimillionaire’s position in future textbooks on the subject is assured.
The spark was the News of the World’s report on his involvement in an alleged sadomasochistic orgy in 2008. Mosley sued the newspaper for breach of privacy and won, although a personal tragedy came into play when his eldest son Alexander died at the age of 39 from a cocaine overdose. Mosley believed his son might have been spared a descent into deep depression and death were it not for the furore around the newspaper’s coverage.
Up to 8,700 patients died after catching Covid-19 while in hospital being treated for another medical problem, according to official NHS data obtained by the Guardian.
The figures, which were provided by the hospitals themselves, were described as “horrifying” by relatives of those who died.
The British government has told all UK planes to cease flying over Belarus and summoned the country’s ambassador amid outrage over the arrest of an opposition blogger and his girlfriend when their Ryanair flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Minsk. The operating permit for Belavia, the country’s state-owned airline, has also been suspended in the UK.
Dominic Raab told the Commons that Belarus’s ambassador had been summoned to provide an explanation and told MPs he was urgently seeing what further sanctions could be placed on Belarusian individuals and entities, but he stressed he wanted to act in coordination with allies, including the EU
Scans show some brains have a stronger link between the part that processes sound and that which controls the mouth and throat
Scientists have shed light on why everyday sounds such as chewing, drinking and breathing can be so maddening to some people that it drives them to despair.
While the familiar munching and slurping of the dinner table are innocuous enough to most, those with misophonia – literally a hatred of sound – can find them profoundly irritating, to the point that they become disgusted, anxious, angry and even violent.
Peter Hain says government must demand proper proof of life of Emirati royal after third image appears on Instagram within days
The UK government has been urged to intervene to find out whether the Emirati royal Princess Latifa has been genuinely freed from house arrest by her father, after a third Instagram photo appeared in as many days purporting to show her in a Dubai shopping mall.
The latest photo showed Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, a daughter of the ruler of Dubai, looking at the camera blankly next to a clairvoyant at a coffee table.
Britons have been urged not to travel to Spain after the country opened its doors to tourists from the UK.
Spain has lifted its restrictions on holidaymakers from the UK but the business minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan has urged people not to go there unless there is an urgent reason.
Couple have been engaged since late 2019 but had put their marriage plans on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic
Boris Johnson is reportedly to marry his fiancee, Carrie Symonds, in July 2022 after sending save-the-date cards to family and friends, according to the Sun.
They have been engaged since late 2019 but, like many couples, had put their marriage plans on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic with numbers able to attend ceremonies curtailed.
Major survey will explore evolution of black British identity
A major national survey, launched by Cambridge University, I-Cubed Ltd and the Voice Newspaper, will explore the evolution of black British identity, from the generations who lived through the 1970s and 1980s to the students leading the Black Lives Matter movement today.
At the launch of the Black British Voices Project, the Guardian asked three people, from different generations, what it means to them to be black British.
Shooting in Southwark, London came after numerous death threats, says her Taking the Initiative party
The Black Lives Matter activist Sasha Johnson is in a critical condition after sustaining a gunshot wound to her head in an incident in south London, her affiliated group, Taking the Initiative party, has announced on social media.
In a statement on the group’s Facebook page, the party said that the incident happened in the early hours of Sunday and followed “numerous death threats”.
Small group of men tried to enter protest area in Kensington waving Palestinian flags
Police officers stepped in after a small group of people chanting “free Palestine” approached a gathering of pro-Israel protesters in London.
The large crowd, which gathered in Kensington High Street on Sunday afternoon, waved Israeli flags and banners and chanted loudly, while speeches were made. Footage circulating on social media appeared to show the English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, among the attenders.
The weather couldn’t dampen spirits as the Yorkshire resort’s hoteliers and guests celebrated the return of domestic travel
The sky was overcast, a chill wind blew in from the sea, and everyone was wearing coats. But for four-year-old Caitlin and two-year-old Jim, there was little to complain about – they were on a beach and they were building sandcastles.
For their parents, Lindsay and Jim Roger, a week’s holiday in the North Yorkshire seaside town of Scarborough was a blessed relief. Lindsay is a nurse who has been working on Covid wards, while Jim works in construction. As key workers with young children, lockdown has been difficult but they were “really pleased” to be able to travel again. “It’s just nice to get out and nice to see the sea,” Jim said. “It makes such a change from the house and the garden.”
Hibbing, the birthplace of the musician, is paying tribute with a year of special events
Bob Dylan’sdebut 1962 single began: “I got mixed-up confusion; man, it’s a-killin’ me”. It hasn’t yet – he turns 80 on Monday, and the pre-eminent custodian of American roots music, with its storytelling and protest traditions, is set to be celebrated by a public avalanche of events, programmes and tributes.
The occasion will be marked in his birthplace of Hibbing, Minnesota – where, inspired by the sounds of country and blues music drifting up from the south on AM radio, he wrote in his high-school yearbook that his ambition was to join Little Richard. St Louis county, in which Hibbing sits, has issued a proclamationdeclaring a “Year of Dylan Celebration”.
Undercover agent who identified 1999 attacker says police are failing to keep pace with online spread of extreme ideology
An undercover informant who identified the man behind Britain’s deadliest far-right attack has warned that a similar atrocity is inevitable due to the spread of extreme ideology online.
The mole, codenamed “Arthur”, told his handler, who then informed the police, that David Copeland was behind a series of attacks that killed three and injured more than 100 over a bombing campaign lasting less than two weeks in 1999.