PM has asked for further information before decided whether ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus will be asked to investigate Braverman. This blog is now closed
Starmer says Labour would zone in on the biggest killers.
He says it would get heart attacks and strokes down by a quarter within a decade.
Continue reading...Former DUP leader calls Sinn Féin electoral gains a ‘wake up and smell the coffee moment’ for unionism
The Democratic Unionist party (DUP) is facing renewed calls to restore power sharing in Northern Ireland after a Sinn Féin electoral “tsunami” reshaped local government.
Chris Heaton-Harris, the secretary of state for Northern Ireland, on Sunday joined a chorus urging the DUP to end a boycott that has paralysed the executive and assembly at Stormont. “Alongside the new councils, it remains my hope to see the assembly and executive return to work,” he said.
Continue reading...The party had 134 elected councillors by 5pm on Saturday, with gains achieved across the region
Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O’Neill has hailed a “momentous” result as the party remains on course to become the largest in councils in Northern Ireland.
As the count stretched into Saturday evening, the republican party had 134 elected councillors by 5pm, with gains achieved across the region.
Continue reading...This live blog has now closed, you can read more on this story here
PMQs is starting in five minutes.
The Cabinet Office has just published the revised list of ministers’ interests. This is the document that is supposed get updated every six months, but which has not been updated for around a year – partly because it’s the job of the No 10 independent adviser on ministes’ interests (aka, the ethics adviser), and for months the post was empty because two of Boris Johnson’s resigned, and then he gave up trying to find a replacement.
The prime minister’s wife is a venture capital investor. She owns a venture capital investment company, Catamaran Ventures UK Limited, and a number of direct shareholdings.
As the prime minister set out in his letter to the chair of the liaison committee on 4 April 2023, this includes the minority shareholding that his wife has in relation to the company, Koru Kids. The guide to the categories of interest (section 7, pages 4-6) sets out the independent adviser’s approach to the inclusion of interests declared in relation to spouses, partners and close family members within the list. The prime minister’s letter of 4 April is available at https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/38992/documents/191876/default/
Continue reading...Noel Hanna died during descent of world’s 10th highest mountain, say expedition organisers
A Northern Irish climber has died and an Indian climber is missing after falling into a crevasse in separate incidents on Mount Annapurna, the world’s 10th highest mountain.
Another Indian climber fell ill on the way down from the 8,091-metre (26,540ft) summit but survived after spending the night in harsh conditions on the mountain.
Continue reading...It is thought complaint refers to prime minister’s wife, Akshata Murty, being a shareholder in a childcare agency
Q: Are you going to have to offer more money to teachers?
Sunak says what is on offer is “a good and fair settlement”.
Continue reading...Climate Change Committee says little hope of getting on track if Stormont power sharing not restored soon
The prolonged lack of devolved government in Northern Ireland threatens to seriously hamper the country’s ability to hit the ambitious emissions reduction targets enshrined by law in its climate act, the chief executive of the UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC) has said.
There has been no power-sharing government in place to advance work on meeting these commitments since Northern Ireland’s Climate Change Act, which includes a 2050 net zero target, was passed last spring.
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Nurses in England are preparing to go on strike until Christmas after members of the country’s biggest nursing union voted against the government’s pay deal, the Guardian has learned.
The Royal College of Nursing will announce that members have rejected the government’s offer and will at the same time announce a new ballot for more aggressive strikes likely to last for the next six months.
The vote has closed and the figures are being verified. There is no result until that point. We will make an announcement later today and tell our members first.
Members of the GMB union at the company’s Coventry fulfilment centre will walk out on Sunday for three days.
Further strikes are planned from April 21 to 23.
Continue reading...Latest updates: US president is not ‘anti-British’ as DUP has claimed, says White House
Joe Biden is “not anti-British,” one of his most senior aides has said in response to accusations by the former Democratic Unionist party leader Arlene Foster that the US president “hates the UK”. (See 10.37am.)
Just hours after he arrived in Belfast, the purpose of Biden’s short visit to Northern Ireland was being questioned by unionists who have been boycotting power-sharing arrangements in Northern Ireland for more than a year meaning the territory has no devolved government.
I think the track record of of the president shows that he is not anti-British. The president has been very actively engaged throughout his career dating back to when he was a senator in the peace process in Northern Ireland and that involved engagement with leaders of all of Northern Ireland parties from both of the two main communities.
I think his message to the DUP and to all the political leaders is going to be … the continued strong support for seeing the peace process move forward here and the strong desire by this president to increase US investment in Northern Ireland to take advantage of the vast economic potential that that seems here, and to reiterate broad support for the returning of the devolved government in Northern Ireland.
He hates the United Kingdom, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.
I just think the fact he’s coming here won’t put any pressure on the DUP at all, quite the reverse actually, because he’s seen by so many people as just simply pro-republican and pro-nationalist.
Continue reading...Death of Freddie Scappaticci, who always denied he was mole, puts question mark over inquiry into his alleged crimes
The man said to be the British army’s most important agent inside the Provisional IRA has died, putting a question mark over the inquiry into his alleged crimes and the role played by security forces.
Freddie Scappaticci, a west Belfast former bricklayer who was alleged to have been a top mole known as Stakeknife, died and was buried last week, it emerged on Tuesday. He was in his 70s.
Continue reading...President expected to emphasise US’s commitment to ensuring peace in Northern Ireland as he begins visit to island of Ireland
Joe Biden will hold a meeting with Rishi Sunak in Belfast on Wednesday before a keynote speech in which he is expected to emphasise the US’s commitment to ensuring lasting peace and prosperity for Northern Ireland.
US officials said the president would be “underscoring the readiness of the United States to support Northern Ireland’s vast economic potential to the benefit of all communities” with the prospect of major investments if power-sharing is restored in Stormont.
Continue reading...Land Rover was monitoring a dissident republican parade commemorating the 1916 Rising
The British and Irish governments have condemned petrol bomb attacks on police in Derry on the eve of Joe Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland.
A small crowd threw petrol bombs and other missiles at a police Land Rover during a parade by dissident republicans in the Creggan area of the city on Monday. The vehicle briefly caught fire and was withdrawn.
Continue reading...The list of hopefuls also includes sites in Birkenhead, Northern Ireland and the Cayman Islands
The historic city centre of York and ancient settlements in the Shetlands are among seven sites backed by the UK government to win Unesco world heritage status, it has been announced.
York, which boasts the Minster and enjoys a rich history bequeathed by its Anglo-Saxon, Viking and Norman inhabitants, and three ancient settlements known as the “zenith of iron age Shetland” join five other sites announced on the “tentative list” to bid for the status.
Continue reading...PM says ‘work to be done’ to restore government at Stormont ahead of Biden meeting on Tuesday
The Good Friday agreement was “based on compromise”, which should be the defining message for the next chapter in Northern Ireland, Rishi Sunak has said on the peace deal’s 25th anniversary.
The prime minister said there was “work to be done” by a new generation of politicians to restore government at Stormont “as soon as possible”, as he and Ireland’s taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, prepare to intensify work to broker a way out of the deadlock.
Continue reading...Warning comes ahead of US president Joe Biden’s much-anticipated visit to Belfast on Tuesday
Police in Northern Ireland are warning of potential dissident republican attacks over the Easter weekend, as the Democratic Unionist party leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, said the lack of a government in Stormont was not to blame for the increasing threat of violence.
Tensions have increased as the bank holiday weekend marks the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement. The date falls on Easter Monday though many will mark it on Friday, given its association with the day.
Continue reading...Charles and president likely to instead stage back-to-back visits to mark 25 years of Good Friday agreement
Hopes that Joe Biden’s landmark trip to Belfast next month will be rounded off by a meeting with King Charles are fading after the US president brought forward by a week his trip to celebrate 25 years of peace.
It now appears likely the king and the president will stage back-to-back visits in an echo of historic visits to Dublin by Barack Obama and the queen in 2011.
Continue reading...MI5 increases level from ‘substantial’, meaning an attack is highly likely
MI5 has increased the terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland from substantial to severe, meaning an attack is highly likely, the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, has said.
Heaton-Harris cited a “small number” of individuals who remain determined to use “politically motivated violence”.
Continue reading...UK prime minister meets Israeli PM at Downing Street as Oxfam and Amnesty condemn visit amid protests in Whitehall
Downing Street described Israel as a “vital international partner” after Rishi Sunak’s meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu this morning. At the morning lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson said:
Israel is a vital international partner for the United Kingdom and the prime minister was visiting London, and this was an important opportunity to talk about issues that matter to both countries, whether that’s the threat of Iran, Russia, new trade and investment … as well as peace and stability in the Middle East.
The prime minister expressed his solidarity with Israel in the face of terrorist attacks in recent months. The UK would always stand with Israel and its ability to defend itself. At the same time, the PM outlined international concern at growing tensions in the West Bank and the risk of undermining efforts towards the two state solution. He encouraged all efforts to de-escalate, particularly ahead of the upcoming religious holidays.
The prime minister stressed the importance of upholding the democratic values that underpin our relationship, including in the proposed judicial reforms in Israel.
The prime minister welcomed Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Downing Street today for talks on strengthening the close partnership between the United Kingdom and Israel.
The two leaders welcomed the signing of the UK-Israel 2030 Roadmap this week, which will drive our bilateral relationship forward and commit £20m in funding for joint science and technology projects over the next decade.
We would not accept any Scottish government simply vetoing parts of the Bute House agreement.
Those policies are in the Bute House agreement, that’s what we’re intended to deliver.
Continue reading...Former PM suggests ‘unsocially distanced farewell gatherings’ were allowed at work and that he didn’t think following guidance meant following it perfectly
Turning back to the Northern Ireland protocol deal vote for a moment, Steve Baker, the Northern Ireland minister, has said that Boris Johnson risks being remembered as a “pound shop Nigel Farage” for his stance on the Windsor framework.
Baker said that reviving the Northern Ireland protocol bill, Johnson’s declared alternative to Rishi Sunak’s deal (see 9.40am), would “wreck our relations with the European Union and damage our standing internationally”. Sky’s Sam Coates has posted the full quote on Twitter.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson and Liz Truss among 22 Tory rebels voting against deal agreed with European Commission
Rishi Sunak has escaped an overly damaging Commons rebellion over his revised plan for post-Brexit Northern Ireland trade, winning a vote on the measure with 22 of his own MPs voting against the deal.
Among the Conservative rebels were Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, another former party leader, Iain Duncan Smith, and the former cabinet ministers Jacob Rees-Mogg, Priti Patel and Simon Clarke.
Continue reading...