GCHQ called in to help counter-terrorism police examine email and phone records
The suspect behind the leak of confidential memos from Britain’s Washington ambassador has been identified, the Sunday Times newspaper has reported.
British officials have launched an inquiry to find the person responsible for the leak of emails published by the Mail on Sunday. Counter-terrorism police have launched a criminal investigation.
Continue reading...Ex-party staff to act over ‘defamation’ as angry Jeremy Corbyn criticises BBC documentary
The Labour high command is to be sued by former employees who broke cover last week to criticise the party’s handling of cases of alleged antisemitism in a dramatic escalation of the row engulfing Jeremy Corbyn’s party.
Two of the whistleblowers who featured in last week’s explosive BBC Panorama programme entitled Is Labour Anti-Semitic? – Sam Matthews and Louise Withers Green – contacted the Observer last night to say they had instructed the prominent media lawyer Mark Lewis to act on their behalf because they believed the party had defamed them in its response to their claims. Others who spoke to Panorama are also understood to be considering contacting Lewis to represent them in libel actions.
Continue reading...Force had said that publishing leaked diplomatic cables may breach Official Secrets Act
The Metropolitan police has rowed back from its warning that journalists could face prosecution if they publish any further leaked diplomatic cables such as those that ran in the Mail on Sunday last weekend, precipitating the resignation of the British ambassador to the US, Kim Darroch.
In a statement released on Saturday afternoon, the Met assistant commissioner Neil Basu said the force “respects the rights of the media and has no intention of seeking to prevent editors from publishing stories in the public interest in a liberal democracy. The media hold an important role in scrutinising the actions of the state.”
Continue reading...Labour leader says Panorama adopted ‘predetermined’ critical position
Jeremy Corbyn has said there were “many, many, inaccuracies” in the BBC Panorama documentary about antisemitism in the party, saying that the programme adopted a “predetermined position” before it was aired.
The Labour leader made the comments during a visit to the Durham Miners’ Gala. He said: “I watched the programme and I felt there were many, many inaccuracies in the programme. The programme adopted a predetermined position on its own website before it was broadcast. We’ve made very clear what our processes are.
Continue reading...Leaked draft says less than seven hours’ sleep can damage mental and physical health
The government could give people guidance on how much sleep they need each night, according to reports.
A leaked draft of a public health green paper, due to be published by the health secretary, Matt Hancock, says the government will review the evidence on sleep and health. It suggests the minimum amount will vary depending on how old someone is, and the paper will give advice on “sleep hygiene”, according to the Times, which obtained the document.
Continue reading...Life is a series of ever more frequent losses; part of me will even miss the Maybot and her red lines
I had always naively imagined that parenting would get easier the older the children got. And in many mundane ways it has. I no longer have to worry so much about keeping them alive, about making sure they have done their homework or whether they are happy at university. They are now their own people, making their own decisions and sometimes even telling us what they are. Parenting has moved from practical problems to existential ones. Our daughter, who was over from Minneapolis for the first time in six months to direct a play at the Latchmere theatre in London, has gone back home. Her home. I find that hard to imagine because part of me still thinks of our home as her home. But it isn’t. She has moved on, even if I haven’t. My wife and I are no longer such key figures in her life. Not that she doesn’t love us, but we are no longer as important as we once were. Which is as it should be. If she was still living with us at 27, we’d all be driving one another mad. And for the most part, I have got used to the 4,000-mile distance between us, but having had her back for three weeks I feel bereft once more – despite the towels no longer being left on the floor. This is my new reality of getting older. A series of ever more frequent losses, each one diminishing me a little more. Until the rest is silence.
Continue reading...Tory frontrunner says former US envoy confirmed TV debate was a factor in his resignation
Boris Johnson has robustly defended his role in the resignation of Kim Darroch, claiming his remarks in a televised debate had been “misrepresented” to the former ambassador to Washington.
Darroch quit his post on Wednesday, after Donald Trump publicly expressed his fury about a series of highly critical reports that had been leaked to the Mail on Sunday.
Continue reading...“This is a dangerous game,” an Iranian foreign ministry official warned on Friday. He was urging the UK to release the Iranian tanker which the British navy helped authorities in Gibraltar to seize last week. But the context, as he made clear, is the intensifying struggle between Washington and Tehran, in which the main players appear overconfident they know the rules and understand the stakes, while minor players fret about outcomes they have limited power to change.
Mohamed ElBaradei, who headed the UN nuclear watchdog in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, has offered one of the sharpest warnings of the potential consequences: “All that I hear basically [brings] to mind the days before the Iraq war,” he told the BBC. The Iranian regime’s record at home and in the region is a grim one. But this crisis was created by the US president’s determination to destroy an international nuclear deal – which Iran was abiding by – and throttle the economy. It cornered Tehran and empowered its hardliners, who seized on the proof that America could never be trusted.
Continue reading...MoD says destroyer will be deployed within days to protect British commercial oil tankers
The UK is stepping up its military presence in the Gulf by sending a second warship to the region to protect British commercial oil tankers, the Ministry of Defence has said.
The HMS Duncan, a Type 45 destroyer, will be deployed within days after it completed a course of Nato exercises in the Baltic Sea with the aim to be in the Gulf region by next week.
Continue reading...Fears commercial vessels at risk from gunboats following HMS Montrose’s intervention
British ships operating in the Gulf have been put on the highest state of alert amid fears that UK-flagged commercial vessels are vulnerable to attack by Iranian gunboats.
The change in guidance from the British government, changing the alert to level 3, was made on Tuesday, a day before a Royal Navy warship trained its guns on Iranian gunboats that tried to disrupt the passage of an Isle of Man-flagged vessel. Level 3 is described as equivalent to the domestic security classification of critical in which there is an imminent risk of an incident.
Continue reading...Cabinet members seek jobs under new PM with Liz Truss eyeing role of chancellor
Boris Johnson has begun receiving very public job applications from would-be cabinet ministers, with Liz Truss pitching to be a tax-slashing chancellor and Amber Rudd ditching her opposition to a no-deal Brexit in a bid to stay on as work and pensions secretary.
With Johnson on the brink of No 10, senior Tories have begun laying out their credentials for positions in his potential cabinet – some with more hope than others.
Continue reading...Just one Conservative comes to defence of No 10 frontrunner accused of lack of leadership
Boris Johnson has been heavily criticised by fellow Tory MPs over his role in Sir Kim Darroch’s decision to resign as the UK ambassador to the US, with one backbencher saying the frontrunner in the Conservative leadership contest should come to the Commons to apologise.
An urgent question in the Commons about Darroch’s departure, which followed the leak of diplomatic cables critical of Donald Trump’s White House, resulted in repeated condemnation of Johnson, and only one Conservative MP came to his defence.
Continue reading...Theresa May said to be considering controversial step of appointing new envoy
Boris Johnson is under pressure over his role in Sir Kim Darroch’s resignation as British ambassador to Washington, with critics accusing the likely next prime minister of throwing the envoy “under the bus”.
In a shock move which prompted the senior civil servant at the Foreign Office to call an all-staff meeting to reassure “shaken” diplomats, Darroch announced on Wednesday he could no longer continue in his role following a leak of official cables in which he criticised Donald Trump.
Continue reading...Former officials tell BBC Panorama that top aides interfered in investigations
Eight whistleblowers have said how they felt fatally undermined by senior Labour bosses in their attempts to tackle antisemitism, alleging consistent interference in complaints and claiming that one key aide mocked their efforts.
Four of the whistleblowers, including former Labour general secretary Iain McNicol, who left his post last year, have broken non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to come forward.
Continue reading...Nominee to lead European commission also says ‘precious’ backstop must be defended
Ursula von der Leyen, the nominee to lead the European commission, has signalled she will not reopen Brexit talks with the next British prime minister and stressed the “precious” Irish backstop must be defended.
She said she still hoped the UK would remain in the European Union, while indicating she had no intention to renegotiate the withdrawal deal agreed by Theresa May and EU leaders.
Continue reading...Government’s official climate advisers say the lack of proper plans to cope with heatwaves and flash floods is ‘shocking’
The government’s own advisers have declared themselves shocked that the UK has no proper plans for protecting people from heatwaves, flash flooding and other impacts of the climate crisis.
The Committee on Climate Change said the UK’s climate crisis preparations were being run like Dad’s Army and left the population at real risk, adding that funding for programmes to tackle problems resulting from global heating had been cut.
The CCC’s annual progress reports, published on Wednesday, also found that just one of the 25 emissions-cutting policies it said were vital in 2018 had been delivered in full. Lord Deben, who chairs the committee, said ministers could be sued in court if the failure to act continued.
Hunt accuses rival Johnson of putting ambition before country in head-to-head Tory leadership debate
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt escalated the blue-on-blue warfare in Tuesday night’s televised debate, trading blows on which potential prime minister could see through a no-deal Brexit, as Hunt repeatedly emphasised his rival’s refusal to answer questions.
The bitter back-and-forth, which will raise questions over whether Hunt could serve in a Johnson government after the aspersions he cast on his rival, saw the foreign secretary accuse Johnson of putting personal ambition above the welfare of the country.
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of the day’s political news, including the row over the UK ambassador’s leaked memos and latest on Tory leadership contest
Jeremy Hunt, the underdog in the Tory leadership contest, has told President Trump on Twitter his comments about Theresa May “disrespectful and wrong”.
1/2 @realDonaldTrump friends speak frankly so I will: these comments are disrespectful and wrong to our Prime Minister and my country. Your diplomats give their private opinions to @SecPompeo and so do ours! You said the UK/US alliance was the greatest in history and I agree... https://t.co/hNeBWmyyVN
2/2...but allies need to treat each other with respect as @theresa_may has always done with you. Ambassadors are appointed by the UK government and if I become PM our Ambassador stays.
MPs have voted to introduce same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland, unless the power-sharing executive is revived by 21 October, by 383 votes to 73 - a majority of 310.
Continue reading...Government has said it will honour resounding result despite ministerial doubts
MPs have voted resoundingly to extend same-sex marriage to Northern Ireland, a plan the government has said it will honour despite ministerial doubts.
The Commons voted 383 to 73 to pass the amendment to a largely technical bill on the stalled Northern Ireland assembly, tabled by the Labour MP Conor McGinn, a longstanding campaigner for equal marriage in Northern Ireland.
Continue reading...US commerce secretary pulls out of trade talks as president calls envoy ‘very stupid’
Transatlantic tensions over the British ambassador’s leaked criticisms of Donald Trump have grown into a diplomatic crisis after the US president attacked Sir Kim Darroch as “a pompous fool” and his commerce secretary postponed planned trade talks with Liam Fox.
A day after Trump said he would no longer deal with Darroch following the release of UK diplomatic memos calling him “incompetent”, “inept” and “insecure”, he used his Twitter feed to attack the diplomat, who he described as “wacky” and “very stupid”.
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