Decision expected soon after reports in Cairo about status of imprisoned dual-national human rights activist
Keir Starmer has spoken to Abdel Fatah al-Sisi amid reports the Egyptian president has directed his officials to study an internal request to grant a pardon to release the British-Egyptian human rights activist and writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah.
Abd el-Fattah’s British-based family are not commenting on developments save to say they are praying for his release.
Continue reading...Despite being repeatedly asked, No 10 declines to say the PM was ‘misled’ by Mandelson
Stephen Doughty, a Foreign Office minister, is responding to the UQ about Peter Mandelson.
He starts by making the point that it is the anniversary of the “despicable” 9/11 terrorism attacks.
Keir Starmer must sack Peter Mandelson without further delay - and come clean about what he knew when, and whether he sanctioned blocking the publication of damaging material.
UK government documents shouldn’t be hidden from the public just because they are damaging to the Labour party - and by backing Peter Mandelson to the hilt, the prime minister’s own reputation is now on the line.
PM and foreign secretary were nowhere in sight as hapless Stephen Doughty faced the Commons over Peter Mandelson
If only there had been some kind of clue. The tiniest of hints that Peter Mandelson might not have been a suitable candidate to act as the UK ambassador in Washington.
Like being forced to resign from the cabinet over a failure to disclose a loan from Geoffrey Robinson. Like being forced to resign from the cabinet a second time over allegations of trying to procure a passport for the Hinduja brothers. Like his financial arrangements with the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Like his friendship with the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Continue reading...Isaac Herzog says ‘when allies meet they can argue’ after some Labour MPs condemn Downing Street meeting
The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, had a “tough” set of exchanges over humanitarian aid in Gaza at a Downing Street meeting, amid street protests demanding Herzog’s arrest as a war criminal.
Herzog, speaking to the Chatham House thinktank immediately after the meeting, said he had offered the British government a fact-finding mission to look at the levels of aid entering Gaza. He denied there was any famine and blamed the high civilian death toll on Hamas placing missiles in living rooms.
Continue reading...PM was grilled by Kemi Badenoch on suitability of Mandelson for job as US ambassador
Helena Horton is a Guardian environment reporter.
Emma Reynolds, the new environment secretary, had a difficult job this morning: meeting a group of farmers after Labour caused fury in the rural community by introducing a new inheritance tax.
The Treasury reserve, designed to be used for “genuinely unforeseen, unaffordable and unavoidable pressures” has recently been used to fund higher public sector pay and compensation payouts.
In a letter to ministers, the chancellor said Treasury would only consider providing reserve funds to departments that have already maximised their savings …
Continue reading...Two leaders have competing visions for Israel’s security and Palestinian self-rule with little chance of finding common ground
A meeting in London between Keir Starmer and the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, could not come at a more difficult time for either leader, and far from easing British-Israeli relations, the encounter risks setting them back yet further.
Once the meeting on Wednesday was in the diary, there was a faint hope within Downing Street that the two men would at least listen to each other about their competing visions for Israel’s future, including a two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict, a vision Herzog once shared.
Continue reading...‘Immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages and a huge surge in aid into Gaza’ only route to peace, says PM
Keir Starmer has condemned Israel’s strike on Qatar before a meeting with the Israeli president in London on Wednesday.
The UK prime minister said the military strike, which targeted Hamas leaders stationed in Doha, was a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and risked “further escalation across the region”.
Continue reading...Thornberry joins Bridget Phillipson and Bell Ribeiro-Addy in having said she will stand
Kemi Badenoch has just delivered a speech offering to help Labour with legislationg for welfare cuts. I will post key points soon.
She is now taking questions.
Continue reading...The MP said police should be focusing on people who are members of the group, not those who ‘recklessly express support’ for it
Paul Nowak, the TUC general secretary, used his speech to conference this morning to say that the TUC expected the government to deliver its workers’ rights bill “in full”. He said employment rights were “overwhelmingly popular with voters across the political spectrum”.
And he condemned Reform UK for its stance on employment rights. After saying that Nigel Farage claimed to represent working class people, he went on:
Here’s the truth – there is a world of difference between what Nigel says and what Nigel does.
Every single Reform MP, including Mr Farage, voted against outlawing fire and rehire, against banning zero hours contracts and against day one rights for millions of workers.
Ask yourself this fundamental question. Do you believe in your gut that that Nigel Farage really cares about the people of Clacton when he’s off collecting his speaker’s fees in the United States?
Do you believe that Richard Tice really worries about the people of Skegness while he’s living it up at home in Dubai, or are they just rightwing conmen lining their own pockets?
I just have to say this. No amount of TikToks, or ozempic, or expensive haircuts, will ever hide the eager inner ugliness of Robert Jenrick.
The man who ordered murals painted over in a reception centre for children seeking asylum is indeed a xenophobe, an opportunistic xenophobe hoping to create a political climate that ends up with far right folks laying siege to hotels and black and Asian people being threatened and harassed on our streets.
If we look at the powerful geopolitical push factors, they’re things like regime change. We think Afghanistan, war, civil conflict. And when we look at people crossing in small boats, where do they come from? Well, the top nationalities: Afghan, Eritrea, Iranian, Syrian, Sudanese – just those five nationalities account for almost two thirds of all small boat arrivals, and these individuals are from some of the most chaotic parts of the world.
But there are also some pull factors, and the question is, why not claim asylum in France, why come to the UK? A number of reasons recur there when we speak with asylum seekers. It’s the presence of family members, the English language.
In those circumstances, typically, flagged upon the system, the UK government would be able to issue a speedy refuse refusal and try and effect removal.
As it is, people arrive, we don’t have that record, so we don’t know who they are.
Continue reading...Prime minister faces criticism from Emily Thornberry, who highlights risk of ‘handing country to Farage’
Keir Starmer has been warned by senior Labour figures to stop making mistakes, before a battle over the party’s deputy leadership and amid fears the government could row back on workers’ rights.
As candidates began to jostle to replace Angela Rayner, the prime minister faced public criticism from Emily Thornberry, a potential contender, who said further mistakes from Starmer could lead to having to “hand our country to [Nigel] Farage”.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Andy Burnham-backed Mainstream group will inevitably influence looming deputy leadership contest
Keir Starmer is facing fresh pressure from Labour insiders, days after a sweeping government reshuffle, as party figures from the left and centre mobilise through a network, backed by Andy Burnham, designed to change Labour’s direction.
The network, called Mainstream, will inevitably influence Labour’s looming deputy leadership contest, with Burnham already throwing his weight behind former cabinet minister Louise Haigh as well as Lucy Powell, the former Commons leader.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Activist spoke while onboard aid flotilla aiming to deliver food, baby formula and medical supplies to territory
Keir Starmer must obey his “legal duty to act to prevent a genocide”, Greta Thunberg has told the Guardian while travelling onboard an aid flotilla heading for Gaza.
The Swedish activist said there was a “huge absence of those whose legal responsibility it is to step up” under international law, and called out the UK prime minister before a potential meeting this week with Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog.
Continue reading...Some believe fight is looming over sweeping reforms after employment rights minister Justin Madders sacked and union allies sidelined
Keir Starmer has sought to tighten his grip on his government with a wave of junior ministerial changes that has sidelined allies of the unions, raising questions over the future of Labour’s workers’ rights package.
The reshuffle has been used by Downing Street to signal a tougher stance on immigration in an apparent bid to take on Reform UK, with Shabana Mahmood – a self-described social conservative rising star – now in charge of the Home Office, supported by Sarah Jones who returns to her former policing brief.
Continue reading...Some believe fight is looming over sweeping reforms after employment rights minister Justin Madders sacked and union allies sidelined
Keir Starmer has sought to tighten his grip on his government with a wave of junior ministerial changes that has sidelined allies of the unions, raising questions over the future of Labour’s workers’ rights package.
The reshuffle has been used by Downing Street to signal a tougher stance on immigration in an apparent bid to take on Reform UK, with Shabana Mahmood – a self-described social conservative rising star – now in charge of the Home Office, supported by Sarah Jones who returns to her former policing brief.
Continue reading...Deputy leader election campaign will distract from Starmer’s reset and winner may well come from left of party
At 9.30am on Monday morning, as MPs made their way back to Westminster, Keir Starmer gathered the entire staff of No 10 in the Pillared Room of Downing Street to tell them they were about to enter the next, delivery, stage of government.
“We go into phase two in good spirits, confident and with conviction,” he told them, as some of those gathered shuffled awkwardly. His remarks, after all, followed a difficult summer during which Labour vacated the pitch to Reform UK and ahead of what is likely to be an even more turbulent autumn.
Continue reading...French president says allies would either deploy ‘reassurance force’ troops to Ukraine, or be present in the area on land, sea or in the air
Twenty-six nations have pledged to provide postwar security guarantees to Ukraine, including an international force on land and sea and in the air, Emmanuel Macron said after a summit at which European leaders sought to pin down Donald Trump on the level of support he is willing to give Kyiv.
“The day the conflict stops, the security guarantees will be deployed,” the French president told a press conference at the Élysée Palace in Paris, standing alongside Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Isaac Herzog to visit London for expected talks with ministers, with UK on brink of recognising Palestinian statehood
The president of Israel will travel to London next week for a controversially timed trip amid outcry from Labour MPs who have urged Keir Starmer not to meet with the visiting delegation.
The arrival of Isaac Herzog is fraught with complication for ministers, with the UK government on the brink of recognising the state of Palestine at the UN general assembly.
Continue reading...Jamie Raskin says Farage is ‘a Trump sycophant’ before UK politician addresses the House judiciary committee in Washington
Kemi Badenoch is probably hastily redrafting her PMQs script in the light of Angela Rayner’s statement about underpaying her stamp duty. She has got less than half an hour to craft the right questions. And she will probably want to ask about the economy, and hate speech laws, too.
Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
Continue reading...Prime minister has a track record of firing errant ministers – but will her power within the party protect his beleaguered deputy?
Keir Starmer has a hard-won reputation for ruthlessness when it comes to dispensing with ministers who cause the government embarrassment. But the future of his deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, is the toughest call of its kind.
Every time Starmer has been confronted with this kind of decision since the very early days of his leadership, his instinct has been to cut loose.
Continue reading...Home secretary earlier suggested warehouses could be used instead of hotels, while PM will urge ministers to go ‘further and faster’ on immigration in Tuesday meeting
Lamb says the Greens are “the antidote to Reform”.
That gets a big round of applause.
We’re a home for all those people across the country holding their heads in their hands as the Labour government lets them down again and again and again, whether it is switching from the aid budget or from people with disabilities and not bringing in taxes … we need.
And that is why, in reaction, a new Green wave is sweeping the country as people turn to us.
It’s already become a bit of a cliche, but we are really moving into a multi-party system, with the Greens poised to help create the next government.
And, like all the best cliches, it has the distinct advantage of also being for true.
Continue reading...