Category Archives: Politics

UK government drops plans for NFT made by Royal Mint

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Labour criticises Rishi Sunak ‘vanity project’ announced weeks before collapse in value of cryptocurrencies

The UK government has dropped its plans to produce a non-fungible token for sale through the Royal Mint, just under a year after it first announced the project.

In response to a question from the Conservative MP Harriett Baldwin, the Treasury’s economic secretary, Andrew Griffith, confirmed the abandonment, saying: “In consultation with HM Treasury, the Royal Mint is not proceeding with the launch of a non-fungible token at this time but will keep this proposal under review.”

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Silicon Valley Bank collapse was fastest since Barings, says BoE governor

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Credit Suisse crisis was ‘drawn out’ compared with SVB demise, Andrew Bailey tells MPs

The governor of the Bank of England has admitted he was surprised by how quickly Silicon Valley Bank failed, saying it was the fastest demise of a lender since Barings Bank collapsed in the mid-1990s.

Andrew Bailey told MPs on the Treasury select committee it had been decades since a lender had gone from “health to death” within a matter of days, saying that Barings Bank – which was brought down by the rogue trader Nick Leeson – was the only worthwhile comparison to what happened to the US tech lender.

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Afghan refugees face homelessness under UK plans, say rights groups

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Ministers announce refugees in hotels will be offered move to a home on condition they accept first offer

People who fled the Taliban in Afghanistan are at risk of homelessness in the UK, humanitarian groups have warned, after ministers announced plans to move the refugees out of hotels and into homes on the condition they accept the first offer made to them.

Afghans living in “temporary bridging accommodation” in the UK under the UK’s two resettlement schemes would be given additional support to find settled accommodation after 18 months in hotels, the Home Office said.

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Tory former policing minister warns Braverman that laughing gas ban could boost trade for drug dealers – UK politics live

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Kit Malthouse tells home secretary of risks of moving substance from legitimate market into the illegitimate market

As Alex Wickham from Politico points out, the questions Rishi Sunak is getting this morning suggest this audience is not happy with the government’s record on crime.

Q: The Conservatives have “dropped the ball a little bit, to be honest”. The questioner says laughing gas is the least of their problems. People are using much harder drugs. He has skimmed through the action plan document. Some of it is good. But punishments need to be firmer. People probably won’t turn up for community sentences. And the government needs to tackle drugs at source.

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Rishi Sunak to ignore independent advice and ban laughing gas in UK

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Police will also have greater drug testing powers as part of crackdown on antisocial behaviour

The sale of nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, to the public will be banned and the police will be given enhanced drug-testing powers as part of Rishi Sunak’s attempt to crack down on antisocial behaviour “with urgency”.

The levelling up secretary, Michael Gove, said the proposals would stop parks being turned into drug-taking arenas, and would help ministers stamp out antisocial behaviour.

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Will Jeremy Hunt foot the bill for NHS staffing? The signs aren’t promising | Denis Campbell

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Unions, regulators and NHS England all say staff shortages are affecting health of medics and patients

“There’s a gap today that no locum filled, so I am carrying both bleeps and doing the work of two people.” That recent tweet, by a children’s doctor, is one of many examples posted on social media by medics illustrating how NHS staff shortages affect them, patients, the smooth running of important services – and, sometimes, the safety of those who are receiving care.

It is a concern shared by every organisation that represents frontline staff, by regulators such as the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and by NHS England, the body that oversees the service. Just as one example, in January the CQC reported that an inspection it had undertaken of Colchester hospital in Essex found patients were missing out on meals because there were too few staff on duty to feed them. Some patients were wearing dirty dressings, and others did not have their call bells answered promptly, for the same reason.

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NHS staff shortages in England could exceed 570,000 by 2036, leaked document warns

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Exclusive: workplace plan sent to ministers says deficit will rise rapidly from current 154,000 if current trends continue

The NHS in England needs a massive injection of homegrown doctors, nurses, GPs and dentists to avert a recruitment crisis that could leave it short of 571,000 staff, according to an internal document seen by the Guardian.

A long-awaited workforce plan produced by NHS England says the health service is already operating with 154,000 fewer full-time staff than it needs, and that number could balloon to 571,000 staff by 2036 on current trends.

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‘He’s a great guy’: Kwasi Kwarteng told fake firm he could introduce them to Boris Johnson

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Former chancellor boasted of his political career in hope of securing £10,000-a-day second job

Kwasi Kwarteng told representatives of a fake South Korean firm that he could introduce them to Boris Johnson – the “best campaigner you will ever see” – in the hope of securing a £10,000-a-day second job.

Kwarteng also indicated that Conservative whips would allow him to skip his parliamentary duties in order to further the interests of the fake firm, after apparently being duped by the campaign group Led By Donkeys.

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‘It’s a con’: Labour amendment to put Sunak’s migrant bill under fresh scrutiny

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Prime minister told to expect ‘biggest rebellion of this parliament’ as migration bill returns to Commons

Labour will seek to put Rishi Sunak’s inability to secure an EU migrant returns deal under fresh scrutiny with a vote on the government’s migration bill.

The bill will return to the Commons on Monday for its committee stage, where MPs will examine it line by line over two days. The prime minister has been told to expect the biggest rebellion of this parliament, with at least 60 Conservative MPs likely to vote against the bill amid concerns that it is not tough enough.

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Rwanda scheme would ‘completely erode’ UK’s standing on world stage

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New Human Rights Watch head Tirana Hassan says UK’s plan to deport asylum seekers is ‘cheap politics’

The UK’s plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda would “completely erode” Britain’s standing on the world stage, the new head of Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said.

Tirana Hassan, who takes over as HRW’s executive director on Monday, also said other conservative governments in Europe were considering following Britain’s lead and looking at African states as an offshore dumping ground for asylum seekers, potentially dealing further blows to established refugee protections.

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Rishi Sunak outlines ‘immediate justice’ scheme to combat antisocial behaviour

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Offenders to clean up damage within 48 hours, wearing jumpsuits or hi-viz jackets, in government bid to claim crime as priority

Offenders guilty of crimes such as vandalism will be ordered to start repairing the damage they caused within two days of receiving their punishment, under a government pledge to tackle antisocial behaviour.

Victims of crimes will also be given a say over the type of punishment that offenders should face, as will communities, under an “immediate justice” scheme to be unveiled by Rishi Sunak on Monday.

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Top Tory MPs ask for £10,000 a day to work for fake Korean company

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Video footage shows Matt Hancock and Kwasi Kwarteng discussing pay rates after being duped by campaigners

The former chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, and former health secretary, Matt Hancock, agreed to work for £10,000 a day to further the interests of a fake South Korean firm after apparently being duped by the campaign group Led by Donkeys.

Kwarteng attended a preliminary meeting at his parliamentary office and agreed in principle to be paid the daily rate after saying he did not require a “king’s ransom”. When Hancock was asked his daily rate, he responded: “It’s 10,000 sterling.”

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Liz Truss criticised for ‘stunning lack of humility’ over reported peerage plans

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Ex-PM has reportedly nominated at least four new members of Lords despite only lasting 49 days in No 10

Liz Truss has been accused of showing a “stunning lack of humility” following reports that she plans in effect to create a peer for every 10 days she spent in office.

The former prime minister is reported to have nominated at least four new members of the House of Lords, despite being forced from office after only 49 days, following a disastrous mini-budget.

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Union leader urges TUC to unite in defying planned anti-strike law

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Fire Brigades Union chief says joint action needed to oppose ‘pernicious’ minimum service levels bill

A leading trade union has called for a concerted campaign of defiance and civil disobedience against the government’s planned anti-strike laws.

Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), urged a coordinated campaign among trade unions of “mass non-cooperation and non-compliance” against the minimum service levels bill.

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Rishi Sunak stresses ‘close partnership’ with Israel amid protests at Benjamin Netanyahu visit – live

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UK prime minister meets Israeli PM at Downing Street as Oxfam and Amnesty condemn visit amid protests in Whitehall

Downing Street described Israel as a “vital international partner” after Rishi Sunak’s meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu this morning. At the morning lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson said:

Israel is a vital international partner for the United Kingdom and the prime minister was visiting London, and this was an important opportunity to talk about issues that matter to both countries, whether that’s the threat of Iran, Russia, new trade and investment … as well as peace and stability in the Middle East.

The prime minister expressed his solidarity with Israel in the face of terrorist attacks in recent months. The UK would always stand with Israel and its ability to defend itself. At the same time, the PM outlined international concern at growing tensions in the West Bank and the risk of undermining efforts towards the two state solution. He encouraged all efforts to de-escalate, particularly ahead of the upcoming religious holidays.

The prime minister stressed the importance of upholding the democratic values that underpin our relationship, including in the proposed judicial reforms in Israel.

The prime minister welcomed Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Downing Street today for talks on strengthening the close partnership between the United Kingdom and Israel.

The two leaders welcomed the signing of the UK-Israel 2030 Roadmap this week, which will drive our bilateral relationship forward and commit £20m in funding for joint science and technology projects over the next decade.

We would not accept any Scottish government simply vetoing parts of the Bute House agreement.

Those policies are in the Bute House agreement, that’s what we’re intended to deliver.

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Partygate: Johnson should reject any finding that he broke rules, say allies

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Former PM should refuse to accept outcome if privileges committee rules he knowingly misled MPs, say supporters

Boris Johnson should refuse to accept the outcome of the privileges committee investigation if it concludes that he intentionally misled the Commons over the Partygate scandal, his allies have said.

Some of the former prime minister’s supporters believe he should reject the cross-party group’s findings if they decide, based on written evidence and a fractious three-and-a-half-hour evidence session on Wednesday, that he broke strict parliamentary rules.

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Keir Starmer promises to halve violence against women as part of crime ‘mission’

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Labour’s plan would include dedicated rape courts and domestic violence experts taking 999 calls, says party leader

Keir Starmer has vowed to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, with measures including dedicated “rape courts” and domestic violence experts taking 999 calls.

Setting out one of Labour’s core missions on crime, Starmer said it was the “unfinished business in my life’s work to deliver justice” and said Tory attacks on him for being a human rights lawyer “only shows how far they’ve fallen, and how little they understand working people”.

Restore public confidence in the police and criminal justice system to its highest level.

Halve knife crime incidents, including with an enhanced police presence outside schools.

Drastically improve statistics for the proportion of crimes solved by the police.

Drive down violence against women and improve conviction rates.

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Keir Starmer follows Rishi Sunak in releasing tax returns

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Labour leader earned little outside his parliamentary income apart from windfall after sister sold home he helped her buy

Keir Starmer has released his tax returns for the last two years, showing that he earned little outside his parliamentary income except for a windfall when his sister sold the family home that he helped her buy.

The Labour leader released a summary of his past two years of tax payments on Thursday, a day after the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, released three years of his.

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Boris Johnson insists Partygate leaving dos were ‘essential for work purposes’ during grilling by MPs – as it happened

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Former PM suggests ‘unsocially distanced farewell gatherings’ were allowed at work and that he didn’t think following guidance meant following it perfectly

Turning back to the Northern Ireland protocol deal vote for a moment, Steve Baker, the Northern Ireland minister, has said that Boris Johnson risks being remembered as a “pound shop Nigel Farage” for his stance on the Windsor framework.

Baker said that reviving the Northern Ireland protocol bill, Johnson’s declared alternative to Rishi Sunak’s deal (see 9.40am), would “wreck our relations with the European Union and damage our standing internationally”. Sky’s Sam Coates has posted the full quote on Twitter.

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Sunak evades damaging Commons rebellion as NI Brexit plan passes

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Boris Johnson and Liz Truss among 22 Tory rebels voting against deal agreed with European Commission

Rishi Sunak has escaped an overly damaging Commons rebellion over his revised plan for post-Brexit Northern Ireland trade, winning a vote on the measure with 22 of his own MPs voting against the deal.

Among the Conservative rebels were Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, another former party leader, Iain Duncan Smith, and the former cabinet ministers Jacob Rees-Mogg, Priti Patel and Simon Clarke.

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