MP was sacked as a minister and suspended from Labour party after messages were revealed
Parliament’s standards watchdog has launched an investigation into Andrew Gwynne, who was sacked as a minister over offensive comments made on a WhatsApp group.
The MP was also suspended from the Labour party after messages were revealed in which he said he hoped a pensioner who did not support him would die before the next set of elections.
Continue reading...Solicitors Regulation Authority says it has further information about claims business secretary misrepresented his career
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has said it will reinvestigate the business secretary Jonathan Reynolds over accusations he misrepresented his legal career.
A spokesperson for the SRA said: “We looked at that issue at the time we became aware of it and contacted Mr Reynolds about the profiles.
Continue reading...Jess Phillips says ‘Raneem’s law’ scheme will support ‘force-wide cultural change’ as initial phase is rolled out
Domestic abuse specialists embedded in control rooms receiving 999 emergency calls will help “create force-wide cultural change”, said Jess Phillips as the first phase of “Raneem’s law” was rolled out across England.
The new law is named in memory of Raneem Oudeh, who was killed alongside her mother, Khaola Saleem, in Solihull by Oudeh’s ex-husband, whom she had reported to the police at least seven times, as well as making four 999 calls on the night she was murdered.
Continue reading...London mayor to tell meeting that mobility scheme would benefit young people and economy
Sadiq Khan will tell EU diplomats “Brexit was a mistake” and renew his backing for a youth mobility scheme as he argues strengthened ties with the bloc would help offset Donald Trump’s threatened tariff regime.
At a meeting on Tuesday, the mayor of London will tell delegates that Britain’s withdrawal from the trading bloc “continues to have a negative impact”, and he will promise to make the case for “being bold” in efforts to seek closer alignment.
Continue reading...Successive governments’ ‘penal populism’ has driven England and Wales justice system to brink of collapse, report finds
Successive governments’ overreliance on prison sentences and desire to seem “tough on crime” have driven the justice system in England and Wales to the brink of collapse, an official review has found.
A form of “penal populism” where longer incarceration is seen as the only effective means of punishment has contributed to the crisis in the prison system, according to the interim findings of a review led by former justice secretary David Gauke.
Continue reading...Head of Unison Christina McAnea is one of 148 signatories of letter warning rules will ‘breed division and mistrust’
Keir Starmer’s most generous union backer has joined faith leaders to warn Yvette Cooper that new rules refusing citizenship to refugees who arrive in small boats will “breed division and distrust” and could fuel attacks on migrant hotels.
Christina McAnea, the general secretary of Unison, and nine Church of England bishops are among 148 signatories of a letter saying the home secretary’s plan to bar naturalisation for anyone who has made a dangerous journey will label tens of thousands of people “second-class citizens”.
Continue reading...A further 69 people were rescued in what French authorities called a very busy night for crossings
One person has died trying to cross the Channel in a small boat that sank off the coast of Calais, while 69 were rescued during what French authorities said was a very busy night for crossings.
The small boat began to take in water before French navy ship Abeille Normandie rescued the 70 people on board. Only half of those on board had life jackets. The French navy’s Dauphin helicopter was also involved in the rescue operation.
Continue reading...US president’s announcement prompts government to publish green paper weeks ahead of schedule
The government has rushed forward plans for a £2.5bn investment in the UK steel industry after Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on all imports of steel and aluminium into the US.
The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, will publish a green paper entitled Plan for Steel on Sunday – several weeks before schedule – in a sign of how Trump’s tariffs are sending shock waves through a UK government desperate to kickstart economic growth.
Continue reading...The PM and president discussed Starmer’s forthcoming visit to the US, No 10 said
Friday is the day that political parties tend to get excited about local byelection results, or neglect to mention the election happened at all if it didn’t go their way.
Across the evening and into today the Britain Elects social media account has recorded a hold for the Liberal Democrats in Manor (Stevenage), a hold for Labour in Burnt Oak (Barnet), a gain for Reform UK from Labour in Trevethin and Penygarn (Torfaen) and a gain for the Green Party of England and Wales in Warwick All Saints and Woodloes (Warwick).
Thames Water, which is on the verge of financial collapse, had wanted to raise bills by 59% over the next five years. It said on Friday morning its board had concluded that Ofwat’s final determination, of a 35% increase, would not allow the investment and improvement needed to improve its services.
Liberal Democrat MP Charlie Maynard argued that Thames Water should not be allowed to raise bills further because a 35% increase over five years was “more than enough,” adding “So much of the money is being spent on sky-high interest rates and advisory fees. Everyone’s focus now should be putting the company into special administration so its balance sheet can be reset and our bills spent on actually fixing the sewage network.”
Continue reading...The US president announced what he called ‘reciprocal tariffs’ on all other countries on Thursday
The UK government will “wait and see” whether tariffs announced by Donald Trump “actually come to pass”, a senior minister said.
The US president announced what he called “reciprocal tariffs” on all other countries on Thursday evening, claiming it was “fair to all”.
Continue reading...Statements that there can be no negotiations without Kyiv ring hollow when the US president has just sidelined it
In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s incendiary call with Vladimir Putin, UK ministers and officials have had to do some extraordinary contortions.
There is no greater priority in the UK’s foreign policy than keeping the volatile occupant of the White House on side. And that has meant over the past 24 hours that some pronouncements by the British government have seemed at odds with reality.
Continue reading...Opposition leader says PM was wrong when he said that the decision was taken under the last government
After PMQs there will be an urgent question in the Commons, tabled by the Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine, on “the potential security implications of the involvement of Chinese companies including Mingyang in energy infrastructure projects”. After that Dan Jarvis, the security minister, will make a statement to mark the publication of the report into Prevent’s dealings with Ali Harbi Ali, the man who killed the Conservative MP David Amess.
Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan police commissioner, has blamed Home Office foot-dragging for a failure to change the rules to allow forces to sack officers who fail vetting procedures, Matthew Weaver reports.
Continue reading...Deputy PM Angela Rayner announces plans as she presents £350m funding increase for affordable housing
Rogue landlords in England will face curbs on how much housing benefit they can receive if their properties are substandard, Angela Rayner has said as she announced an extra £350m for affordable housing.
The deputy prime minister presented the funding increase, adding to £500m already announced at the budget, as part of the government’s drive to build 1.5m homes.
Continue reading...Danny Kruger says those who backed the bill did so under false premise after change to safeguards announced
There will be two urgent questions after 12.30pm: on the Clonoe inquest, which found that the SAS acted unlawfully when they killed four IRA terrorists in an ambush in 1992; and then another on the US steel tariffs.
A Northern Ireland Office minister will respond to the first, and a business minister will respond to the second.
Continue reading...Burnley’s Oliver Ryan suspended as details emerge about Trigger Me Timbers group
Downing Street has announced a mini-reshuffle following the sacking of Andrew Gwynne as a health minister over the weekend.
Ashley Dalton is replacing Gwynne as a health minister. Dalton was a backbencher.
Forcing those whose asylum applications have been rejected or who have overstayed their visas on to planes has never been the most effective way to return people and never will be. Being punitive just scares people into hiding. They lose contact with the authorities, living a life on the margins.
Voluntary returns are far more effective, and the government should know this because it was the last Labour administration that commissioned independent agencies to run a voluntary programme that saw numbers increase. Building trust with refugee and migrant communities and treating people with dignity and humanity was far more successful than an enforcement approach.
Continue reading...Ryan is second MP to face sanctions after emergence of details of Trigger Me Timbers group
The Labour MP Oliver Ryan has been suspended by the party over his membership and comments on a WhatsApp group that featured offensive messages, including alleged racism and sexism.
The party took action against the Burnley MP after the emergence of details about the Trigger Me Timbers group, mainly involving a group of councillors and party activists in Greater Manchester.
Continue reading...Ministers mothball promised reforms to simplify the process amid fears over rise of Reform UK
Labour has quietly shelved plans to make it easier for people to legally change their gender amid concerns about the rising popularity of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
Ministers have mothballed their promised reforms to simplify the process whereby anyone seeking to change gender in the UK must get approval from a panel of doctors and lawyers.
Continue reading...Industry insiders say it will be ‘tricky’ to find suitable candidate who would agree to location and civil service pay
Britain’s state-owned energy company faces a “challenging” task to find a chief executive for its Aberdeen HQ when it begins recruiting this month, senior industry sources have said.
Great British Energy is poised to begin the hunt, but sources claim there are still no obvious frontrunners for the top job almost six months after the £8.3bn publicly owned clean energy company was formed.
Continue reading...Demonstrators at the proposed site included Hongkongers who fear it could be used to illegally detain dissenters
Large crowds gathered outside the proposed site of a new Chinese “mega-embassy” in London on Saturday, as politicians and protesters expressed concerns it could be used to “control” dissidents.
More than 1,000 people congregated outside the Royal Mint Court, the former headquarters of the UK’s coin maker, near the Tower of London. The site could soon be turned into a Chinese embassy.
Continue reading...The rise of Nigel Farage’s party is a concern for many MPs in seats where Reform came a close second at the general election
Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, is now neck and neck with Labour largely because its stance on immigration is proving attractive to floating voters, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.
The rise of the populist rightwing party is causing increasing concern in the Labour high command and among the many Labour MPs who hold seats where Reform came a close second at last summer’s general election.
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