College football, Mexican cola and muffins – UK prime minister has plenty to talk about in private hour at Aukus
It is common for British and American leaders to try to show the “special relationship” between their two countries extends to them personally.
When Rishi Sunak landed in San Diego for a flash visit to see Joe Biden, the world’s media were spared any such attempts verging on the grandiose.
Continue reading...Former prime minister’s session with inquiry will be televised
Humza Yousaf, the Scottish health secretary who is seen by many as the frontrunner in the SNP leadership contest, claimed this morning that his support has “dramatically increased” among SNP voters.
Speaking on a visit in Dundee, he acknowledged that he and his opponents’ approval ratings were a long way behind Nicola Sturgeon’s. “What we’re trying to do is build upon that legacy,” he said.
In three weeks I’ve also quadrupled my support among the Scottish public.
If I’ve been able to do that in three weeks, I believe that bodes well for the next three months and even the next three years.
Continue reading...DfT document appears to undermine ministers’ claims, saying jobs are likely to go and construction firms could be at risk
An internal Department for Transport briefing on the HS2 project has admitted delays to the high-speed railway will increase costs, appearing to undermine ministers’ claims.
The document seen by the Guardian says the decision to delay the project is also likely to cost jobs, put construction firms at risk of going into administration and that the department could face compensation claims.
Continue reading...Programme spent £2.7bn between 2016 and 2021 but is fragmented and lacks a clear rationale, report says
Britain’s aid programme to India is fragmented, lacks a clear rationale and does little to counter the negative trends in human rights and democracy in the country, the government’s aid watchdog has found.
The findings are likely to be used by those who claim the UK government risks using its aid programme to deepen its relationship with India, including seeking free trade deals, rather than attempting to reduce poverty, which is the statutory purpose of UK aid.
Continue reading...Crowd demonstrate in Westminster as MPs debate government’s controversial immigration reforms
Hundreds of people have gathered in Parliament Square to protest against the government’s controversial new asylum and migration law as MPs debated the measures in the Commons.
The crowd, which first congregated around the Winston Churchill statue, chanted “What do we want? Safe passage. When do we want it? Now”, and “Who built the NHS? Migrants built the NHS.” Many held placards, which read “migrants and refugees welcome here: blame austerity, not migrants”.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Home secretary’s ‘racist’ immigration plans condemned by former Tory campaigner
Suella Braverman should consider her position for putting forward “cruel and heartless” immigration policies that discriminate against war refugees of colour, a former Home Office adviser has said.
Nimco Ali, a one-time Conservative campaigner who in December left her job as an adviser on violence against women, said the home secretary was “the wrong person not just for the Conservative party but for the country”.
Continue reading...Downing Street declines to say whether PM has confidence in BBC director-general after furore over Match of the Day presenter
The former journalist and Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell praised Lineker for his “professionalism, accountability and integrity” and Tim Davie for “admitting they got it wrong” after the BBC apology.
Before the BBC statement, the former BBC director of news James Harding told Radio 4’s Today programme that the corporation had got itself into a bit of a muddle over impartiality.
Continue reading...Humza Yousef, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan vying to succeed Nicola Sturgeon who quit last month
Tens of thousands of Scottish National party members will cast their votes from Monday to select their party leader and Scotland’s next first minister, after a snap election forced by Nicola Sturgeon’s shock resignation.
Polling began at noon on Monday with Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s health secretary, vying to become the country’s first minority ethnic first minister, against Kate Forbes, the finance secretary, and Ash Regan, a former community safety minister and the outlier candidate.
Continue reading...PM says British Museum collection is funded by taxpayers and protected by law
Rishi Sunak has vowed to protect the Parthenon marbles from being returned to Greece, saying they remain a “huge asset” to the UK.
The prime minister stuck by commitments made by his predecessors Liz Truss and Boris Johnson to safeguard the treasures at the British Museum in London.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt explore options to help tech and life sciences sectors
The UK government is scrambling to secure an emergency deal to protect Britain’s tech and life sciences sectors from major losses after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), as financial markets braced for further volatility after the biggest bank failure since 2008.
The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, signalled on Sunday that they were exploring a range of options, including an emergency fund that could provide a cash lifeline to support startups, as bidders put their hat in the ring for a potential takeover of the UK subsidiary.
Continue reading...Executives race to resolve Match of the Day presenter standoff as senior Tories stop short of backing Richard Sharp on impartiality
BBC executives are scrambling to repair relations with Gary Lineker and stave off a staff mutiny at the corporation, with hopes that the presenter could be back in post by next weekend.
The row left the BBC’s chair, Richard Sharp, fighting for his future on Sunday night as Jeremy Hunt stopped short of backing him to guard the corporation’s impartiality in the wake of the row.
Continue reading...The chancellor has room for giveaways in this week’s budget, but business and consumer groups fear he will hold them back for the election
Jeremy Hunt is under pressure to be generous when he delivers his first budget speech since he became chancellor last October.
The public finances have improved dramatically from the chaotic days that followed Liz Truss’s mini-budget in September, which rocked international money markets and sent interest rates on government debt soaring. The cost of financing Britain’s debt has fallen in recent months and the cost of gas on wholesale markets has tumbled.
Continue reading...Senior Tories condemn ‘sickening’ plans which would allow unaccompanied minors to be held, in U-turn on past legislation
Rishi Sunak’s plan to reduce small boat crossings will effectively reverse a ban on child detention implemented under David Cameron and open the door to an expansion of the practice, the Observer understands.
With a potential Tory rebellion already brewing over the proposals, it has emerged that the Illegal Migration bill will allow the detention of families with children and even allows the deportation of unaccompanied children if it is deemed to be safe in their country of origin.
Continue reading...Speaking ahead of voting opening on Monday, Stephen Flynn praises Yousaf’s childcare, independence and energy plans
The SNP’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, has given his backing to Humza Yousaf to be Scotland’s next first minister, saying the Scottish health secretary can take the party to “new heights”.
There are three candidates battling to be the next SNP leader and Scottish first minister.
Continue reading...Some of party’s MPs even believe they could narrowly win next election – but the odds remain stacked against them
When Rishi Sunak took over, most Conservative MPs were in despair. Some even suggested the party did not deserve to be in power. “We need a reset,” one said at the time. “A period out of office to get our act together.”
But almost five months on, Sunak has given them hope that they can avoid a total wipeout at the next election. Despite 13 years in office and all the problems the UK is facing, they now believe they could hang on, albeit with a significantly smaller majority.
Continue reading...We look at who might be the winners in the industry’s biggest industrial dispute in decades
After 23 days of national strikes, two years of talking and hundreds of thousands of cancelled trains, rail workers are contemplating a pay rise that barely catches the coat tails of inflation. The rail industry’s biggest industrial dispute in decades may be approaching its final chapter – but with little chance of a happy ending for anyone involved.
The pain for passengers is not yet over – four more 24-hour strikes across 14 operators by train and station staff in the biggest rail union, the RMT, start next Thursday, 16 March.
Continue reading...Shadow education secretary to announce policy aimed at giving parents more information than Ofsted’s current system
School ratings such as outstanding and inadequate would be scrapped in England under a Labour government and replaced with a “report card” aimed at helping parents, the shadow education secretary is to announce.
Bridget Phillipson will tell a headteachers’ conference in Birmingham on Saturday that Ofsted’s current system of ratings “is high stakes for staff but low information for parents” because it fails to convey important details about a school’s strengths and weaknesses.
Continue reading...Some advisers and civil servants speaking to the Guardian say an ‘anti-lockdown filter’ has been placed on events
The mass leaking of thousands of Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages have laid bare in the starkest terms the extent of the divisions inside the cabinet and among advisers and civil servants handling the deadliest pandemic in modern times.
But some who worked in Number 10 and across Whitehall, as well as bereaved families, have been angered by what they see as a rewriting of history by some cabinet ministers and by the framing of some of Hancock’s texts.
Continue reading...PM said Father’s Day card would be his ‘limit’ in response to Johnson nominating his father for knighthood
Rishi Sunak has said his father would be lucky to get a card on Father’s Day, let alone a knighthood, after accusations that Boris Johnson’s honours list had discredited the system.
Sunak has come under pressure to reject Johnson’s list, in which he nominated his father, Stanley Johnson, for a knighthood, given previous allegations about his behaviour.
Continue reading...Former culture secretary called into question neutrality of civil servant after her appointment as Keir Starmer’s chief of staff
The BBC has apologised for the failure to properly scrutinise claims made by Nadine Dorries on a radio show, capping a day of controversies for the corporation.
The broadcaster said in a statement on Friday that “there should have been more challenge” when the former culture secretary and Boris Johnson loyalist made allegations about Sue Gray on Radio 4’s World at One.
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