Source says presence of large crowds would not prevent arrests under terrorism laws
Police are planning to arrest anyone demonstrating in support of Palestine Action this weekend.
The group has been banned under terrorism laws and this weekend a large event protesting against its proscription has been organised by the group Defend Our Juries.
Continue reading...Ex-chancellor criticises hesitant approach to crypto and warns country in danger of missing next surge in market
The UK has been left behind in the cryptocurrency boom and is in danger of missing a second wave of demand, according to the former chancellor George Osborne.
Osborne, who has an advisory role at the crypto exchange firm Coinbase, said the country already missed out on the first generation of crypto because the formerly sceptical US had embraced digital currencies under Donald Trump.
Continue reading...Home Office’s announcement follows growing number of protests outside asylum seeker hotels
Ministers will spend an extra £100m on measures to deter Channel crossings, including on the planned “one in, one out” returns agreement with France, the Home Office has said.
In a third immigration policy pledge within 24 hours, the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the money would pay for up to 300 more National Crime Agency officers, as well as new technology and equipment to step up intelligence-gathering on people-smuggling gangs.
Continue reading...Government to announce taxpayer-funded initiative after three children were brought to UK under private scheme
The UK government will evacuate seriously ill and injured children from Gaza to the UK for NHS treatment under a scheme to be announced within weeks.
Ministers will enable children in severe need to receive taxpayer-funded care. Three children were brought to the UK this year through a private scheme by the charity Project Pure Hope.
Continue reading...Change to border security bill will also make it a crime to advertise fake passports, visas and work opportunities
Ministers are to outlaw social media adverts promoting journeys on small boats across the Channel to asylum seekers.
The government will create a UK-wide criminal offence that could lead to perpetrators being sentenced for up to five years in prison and a hefty fine.
Continue reading...Minister points to ‘sexist’ practice of country relying on women to provide services so government did not have to
Labour MP Jess Phillips has said the UK has got “fat” from the free labour of women for decades.
The minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls said the country has relied on women providing charity, adding it was a “fundamentally sexist” practice that meant the government was less willing to provide the service itself.
Continue reading...Chancellor admits voter frustration as government faces renewed calls from Labour politicians for a wealth tax
Labour does not “deserve” to win the next election if it does not change the country, Rachel Reeves has said, as she acknowledged some voters were disappointed with the party’s record since entering government.
The chancellor said she understood the unhappiness felt by some voters towards a government that has U-turned on winter fuel allowance and welfare policies in recent months.
Continue reading...Chancellor admits voter frustration as government faces renewed calls from Labour politicians for a wealth tax
Labour does not “deserve” to win the next election if it does not change the country, Rachel Reeves has said, as she acknowledged some voters were disappointed with the party’s record since entering government.
The chancellor said she understood the unhappiness felt by some voters towards a government that has U-turned on winter fuel allowance and welfare policies in recent months.
Continue reading...Chancellor admits voter frustration as government faces renewed calls from Labour politicians for a wealth tax
Labour does not “deserve” to win the next election if it does not change the country, Rachel Reeves has said, as she acknowledged some voters were disappointed with the party’s record since entering government.
The chancellor said she understood the unhappiness felt by some voters towards a government that has U-turned on winter fuel allowance and welfare policies in recent months.
Continue reading...Defending industry over consumers sends ‘really bad message’, says Treasury committee member Bobby Dean
Rachel Reeves’ efforts to intervene in the supreme court case on the car finance scandal were “unprecedented and disgraceful” and send a “really bad message” to consumers that the government is willing to defend wrongdoing by banks, Treasury committee member and Lib Dem MP Bobby Dean has said.
While the supreme court largely sided with finance companies on Friday – helping lenders avoid a £44bn compensation bill – Dean said the chancellor had gone too far to show she was on the side of business.
Continue reading...Defending industry over consumers sends ‘really bad message’, says Treasury committee member Bobby Dean
Rachel Reeves’ efforts to intervene in the supreme court case on the car finance scandal were “unprecedented and disgraceful” and send a “really bad message” to consumers that the government is willing to defend wrongdoing by banks, Treasury committee member and Lib Dem MP Bobby Dean has said.
While the supreme court largely sided with finance companies on Friday – helping lenders avoid a £44bn compensation bill – Dean said the chancellor had gone too far to show she was on the side of business.
Continue reading...Rights bodies say new law and proscription of direct action group create risk of censorship of Gaza-related content
The Online Safety Act together with the proscription of Palestine Action could result in platforms censoring Palestinian-related content, human rights organisations have warned.
Open Rights Group, Index on Censorship and others have written to Ofcom calling on it to provide clear guidance to platforms on distinguishing lawful expression from content deemed to be in support of terrorism.
Continue reading...DHSC rejected as ‘unusable’ PPE supplied by company linked to Lord Chadlington, which later went bust
They were the lucrative deals that epitomised the “VIP lane” set up by Boris Johnson’s government during the Covid pandemic, which gave priority for personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts to people with political connections.
Peter Gummer, a former PR boss who has been Tory peer Lord Chadlington since 1996, had smooth access at his fingertips. The erstwhile adviser to John Major has “close personal friendships with many senior Conservative party politicians”, he has said, and as president of the Witney constituency association in the Cotswolds is “close friends” with its most notable MP: David Cameron.
Continue reading...Change to border security bill will also make it a crime to advertise fake passports, visas and work opportunities
Ministers are to outlaw social media adverts promoting journeys on small boats across the Channel to asylum seekers.
The government will create a UK-wide criminal offence that could lead to perpetrators being sentenced for up to five years in prison and a hefty fine.
Continue reading...Change to border security bill will also make it a crime to advertise fake passports, visas and work opportunities
Ministers are to outlaw social media adverts promoting journeys on small boats across the Channel to asylum seekers.
The government will create a UK-wide criminal offence that could lead to perpetrators being sentenced for up to five years in prison and a hefty fine.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Data reveals ‘invisible crisis’ with millions yet to have first specialist appointment or diagnostic test
Almost half of the 6 million people needing treatment from the NHS in England have had no further care at all since joining a hospital waiting list, new data reveals.
Previously unseen NHS England figures show that 2.99 million of the 6.23 million patients (48%) awaiting care have not had either their first appointment with a specialist or a diagnostic test since being referred by a GP.
Continue reading...Conservative party leader, who grew up in Nigeria and US, says she has not renewed her Nigerian passport in decades
Kemi Badenoch has said she no longer considers herself Nigerian and does not possess a Nigerian passport.
The Conservative party leader, who was born in London, but grew up in Nigeria and the US and did not return to the UK until she was 16, said she had not renewed her Nigerian passport in two decades.
Continue reading...Minister says programme will help ensure Whitehall has ‘broadest range of talent and truly reflects the country’
A new civil service internship scheme will be open only to working-class students as part of a drive to make Whitehall better reflect the country, the government has said.
The programme will give students from lower-income backgrounds the chance to apply for paid government placements. The definition of working class will be based on what jobs were held by their parents when the applicant was 14 and replaces an existing programme open to all.
Continue reading...Elon Musk’s social media platform says lawmakers made a ‘conscientious decision’ to increase censorship
Elon Musk’s X platform has said the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA) is at risk of “seriously infringing” free speech as a row deepens over measures for protecting children from harmful content.
The social media company said the act’s “laudable” intentions were being overshadowed by its aggressive implementation by the communications watchdog, Ofcom.
Continue reading...Stephenson to take over at equality watchdog even though committees raised concerns about breadth of experience
Mary-Ann Stephenson has been confirmed as the new chair of the equalities watchdog, after the government overruled the objections of parliament’s equalities committee over her suitability for the job.
Stephenson, the chair of the Women’s Budget Group, will take on the role at the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in December. It includes responsibility for implementing guidance about transgender rights after the supreme court judgment on the definition of a woman.
Continue reading...