Release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah key to UK-Egypt relations, former diplomat says

Ex-ambassador warns hunger striker’s situation at crucial stage after Rishi Sunak meeting with Egyptian president

The release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah, the detained British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist who is on hunger strike, has become the defining issue for British-Egyptian relations, the former British ambassador to Egypt John Casson has warned.

His comments came as Abd el-Fattah’s aunt, the novelist Ahdaf Soueif, said there was a danger the British “are allowing themselves to be fobbed off with the excuses they have been given since last December when we started asking for consular visits”.

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Zayn Malik urges Rishi Sunak to give free school meals to all children in poverty

Bradford-born singer who relied on free school lunches urges PM to extend provision to all families on universal credit

Zayn Malik has called on Rishi Sunak to “give all children living in poverty” free school meals during the cost of living crisis.

The former One Direction singer, 29, who relied on free school lunches as a child growing up in Bradford, recently became an ambassador for the Food Foundation and is backing its Feed the Future campaign.

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Rishi Sunak ‘optimistic’ on Channel crossings after talks with Macron

UK prime minister vows to ‘get a grip’ on small boat crossings but deflects questions on concrete action

Rishi Sunak has renewed a promise to stop people being smuggled across the Channel, despite coming away from his first face-to-face talks with Emmanuel Macron without any firm commitments.

The prime minister vowed to “get a grip of this situation” and promised details about the progress of cross-Channel talks “in the coming weeks”, with No 10 hoping to make a major announcement before Christmas.

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China criticises British minister’s visit to Taiwan for trade talks

Beijing ‘resolutely opposes’ official exchanges between Taipei and UK government, says foreign ministry

UK politics live – latest news updates

China has criticised the British government for sending the trade minister Greg Hands to Taiwan and said the UK must cease “sending the wrong signals” to pro-independence forces on the self-ruled island that Beijing regards as its territory.

Hands began a two-day visit to Taipei on Monday, during which he is scheduled to meet the democracy’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, and co-host the 25th annual UK-Taiwan trade talks.

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Gavin Williamson has Sunak’s ‘full confidence’, says No10, as Starmer calls for him to be sacked – UK politics live

Prime minister’s judgment called into question after making Williamson minister again

Keir Starmer has said Gavin Williamson should be sacked, because he is “not fit” be a government minister.

But, speaking to journalists this morning, the Labour leader focused his criticism on Rishi Sunak for giving Williamson a job as a minister without portfolio in the Cabinet Office, with the right to attend cabinet.

It is so disappointing that yet again we’re having a discussion about the prime minister’s judgment, this time in relation to Gavin Williamson. He’s clearly got people around the cabinet table who are not fit to be there. That is because he was so weak and wanted to avoid an election within his own party and I think the only way out of this, because these debates are going to go on, because of the weak position the prime minister is in, I think we should say to the public, they should have a choice - do you want to carry on with this chaos or do you want the stability of a Labour government? That’s why I think there is such a powerful case for a general election.

I think that the prime minister has got people who are clearly not fit for the job around the cabinet table. Gavin Williamson has got history when it comes to breaches of security and leaking, etc. He is clearly not suitable, but the central focus really here is on the prime minister, to ask the question why has he put these people around the cabinet.

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Foreign Office vetting deterring top scientists from UK, Royal Society warns

Frustration growing at delays that leave some unable to take up prestigious posts for up to seven months

The best international scientists are being deterred from heading to the UK due to a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) vetting scheme that is leaving researchers in limbo for months, the Royal Society has warned.

The government’s Academic Technology Approval Scheme (Atas) is designed to prevent the export of technology with potential military applications and was significantly expanded last year amid a national security crackdown. But lengthy delays are leaving some unable to take up prestigious posts for up to seven months and frustration is growing that the issue is harming the UK’s reputation abroad.

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Rishi Sunak under pressure over Gavin Williamson texts

PM said to have been informed of the complaint against Williamson before giving him a cabinet role

Rishi Sunak is facing further questions over his political judgment after it emerged he was made aware of a complaint by the former chief whip against his political ally Gavin Williamson before appointing him.

The Guardian understands some cabinet ministers and ex-ministers were aware of hostile messages to Wendy Morton. The texts were revealed over the weekend to include angry remonstrations about not being invited to the Queen’s funeral and warnings that “there is a price for everything”.

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Immigration detainees removed from Harmondsworth centre after disturbances

Heathrow centre finally emptied on Sunday despite minister expecting everyone to be evacuated by Saturday evening

Dozens of immigration detainees were finally removed on Sunday from a Heathrow immigration centre where a disturbance broke out on Saturday after a power cut, despite a government minister saying he expected everyone to be evacuated by Saturday evening.

Robert Jenrick issued a statement undertaking to empty the centre of detainees by the end of Saturday.

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Jeremy Hunt to outline £60bn of tax rises and spending cuts

Guardian understands early drafts of UK government’s autumn statement include at least £35bn reduction in spending

Jeremy Hunt will set out tax rises and spending cuts totalling £60bn at the autumn statement under current plans, including at least £35bn in cuts, the Guardian understands.

Ministers must submit the key points of the autumn statement to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) by Monday morning.

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Plans in place to deal with strike action by UK’s nurses, government says

Oliver Dowden says Department of Health has ‘well-oiled contingencies’ to manage impact of action

The government has said it has contingency plans for dealing with a strike by nurses amid the growing threat of industrial action in the NHS.

The Observer revealed on Sunday that the biggest nursing strike in NHS history could take place before Christmas after “large swathes of the country” voted for nationwide industrial action. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is due to announce the results of its ballot in the next few days.

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Sunak claims role as ‘clean energy champion’ on eve of Cop27

Scepticism from summit attendees as PM adopts Labour leader’s stated aim of making UK a green ‘superpower’

Rishi Sunak attempted an extraordinary volte-face on green policy on the eve of the Cop27 climate summit on Saturday, saying he would attend in order to “galvanise” world leaders to save the planet.

The prime minister – who had been criticised for saying he was too busy with domestic commitments to attend – also adopted precisely the same language on renewable energy that Labour leader Keir Starmer has been using for months, declaring that he now wanted to turn the UK into a “clean energy superpower”.

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Gavin Williamson faces inquiry over ‘abusive’ messages to Wendy Morton

Angry at not being invited to the Queen’s funeral, minister sent string of abusive texts

Gavin Williamson is facing an investigation over a series of abusive and threatening messages sent to the then Tory chief whip complaining he had been excluded from the Queen’s funeral.

The cabinet minister, who was a backbencher at the time, accused Wendy Morton of using the death of the monarch to “punish” senior MPs who were out of favour with Liz Truss’s government.

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UK must ‘step up to plate’ over Northern Ireland protocol, says Sinn Féin

Party vice-president Michelle O’Neill says government must find a way to make post-Brexit arrangements work

The Sinn Féin leader in Northern Ireland, Michelle O’Neill, has said the UK government needs to “step up to the plate” and find a way to make the Northern Ireland protocol work.

On Friday, the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, said there will not be a Stormont election in December.

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Reputation of UK politicians is at ‘low point’, says standards commissioner

Daniel Greenberg pledges to be advocate for ‘vast majority’ of MPs committed to high public standards

The reputation of British politicians is at a “low point”, the UK’s new independent parliamentary commissioner for standards has said, as he pledged to be an advocate for the “vast majority” of MPs who were committed to high standards in public life.

Daniel Greenberg, who takes over from Kathryn Stone when her five-year term comes to an end in January, admitted that a slew of scandals in recent years as well as the turbulence of the past 12 months had tarnished parliament’s reputation.

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Thousands expected to attend London rally to demand general election

Protest by People’s Assembly campaign group will also call for action on the cost of living crisis

Thousands of people are expected to hold a demonstration in London on Saturday, demanding an immediate general election, as well as action to combat the worsening cost of living crisis.

Trade unions and community organisations will take part in the protest, which will include a march around parliament, said its organisers, the People’s Assembly campaign group.

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Labour plans expansion of state nursery sector in England to ease pressure on parents

Proposals are part of party’s wider ambition to build system of high-quality, affordable childcare and to make issue an election pledge

Councils in England will be encouraged to open more high-quality maintained nurseries as part of ambitious Labour plans to transform childcare and ease pressure on struggling parents.

There are fewer than 400 surviving state nursery schools across the country, which are regarded as the jewel in the crown of early years education, but have struggled to survive in the face of budget pressures.

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Infosys still operating from Russia eight months after saying it was pulling out

Exclusive: Indian firm from which Rishi Sunak’s wife collects £11.5m in annual dividends retains staffed Moscow office

The Indian IT services company Infosys from which the prime minister’s wife collects £11.5m in annual dividends is still operating from Moscow eight months after the company said it was pulling out.

The company retains a staffed office and is paying subcontractors in the Russian capital to carry out IT services for a global client although a spokesperson said they were looking to end that arrangement.

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Boris Johnson accepts another £10,000 in accommodation from Tory donor

Bamford family has contributed almost £50,000 to former PM’s lifestyle since July, register of MPs’ interests shows

Boris Johnson has accepted another £10,000 of accommodation from the Bamford family, taking their contributions to his lifestyle to almost £50,000 since he resigned as Conservative leader.

The former prime minister registered the additional gift from Lady Carole Bamford, for “concessionary use of accommodation for me and my family in October”.

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Burnham: poor leadership left Manchester emergency crews unready for attack

Greater Manchester mayor says report into 2017 atrocity raises serious questions for whole of UK

The “poor leadership” of emergency services meant Manchester was not ready for the terrorist attack that killed 22 people in 2017, the region’s mayor, Andy Burnham, has said.

A damning inquiry report on the Manchester arena bombing identified significant failings by police, fire and ambulance services. At least one of those killed would probably have survived were it not for a response that was described as badly prepared, delayed and chaotic, it was found.

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No 10 distances itself from minister’s remark about asylum seekers’ ‘cheek’

Chris Philp’s comments spark row as government faces pressure to fix ‘chaos’ at Manston refugee centre

No 10 has distanced itself from a Home Office minister’s remarks that it is “a bit of cheek” for asylum seekers to complain about the conditions at immigration processing centres.

The government has come under criticism for allowing 4,000 people to be held at the Manston centre, a short-term holding facility in Kent, which is designed to hold no more than 1,600 asylum seekers for only a few days.

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