Category Archives: Remembrance Day

Pay for NHS chiefs to be linked to performance with ‘no more rewards for failure’, Wes Streeting says – as it happened

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Here are some of the main points from Jonathan Reynolds’s evidence to the Post Office inquiry so far this morning.

Reynolds said he accepted as business secretary he was responsible for ensuring the compensation scheme operated properly. He said in the past there had been “insufficient accountability”.

He said that since the general election there has been a “significant increase” in the pace at which compensation is being paid. The journalist Nick Wallis (who wrote a superb book, The Great Post Office Scandal) is live tweeting from the inquiry, and he quotes Reynolds as saying:

Since the general election there has been a significant increase in the pace at which compensation has been paid. The overall quantum of compensation is up in the last four months by roughly a third and the number of claims to which there has been an initial... offer being made in response to that claim has roughly doubled in the last four months [to] what it has been in the four months preceding the general election.

Home Office officials do not believe Labour’s plan to “smash the gangs” will work as a way of bringing down illegal migration to the UK, i can reveal.

They say that civil servants in the department have been “underwhelmed” by the approach that was being outlined again this week by Sir Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.

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King Charles to lay wreath and lead nation in Remembrance Sunday silence

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Prince and Princess of Wales will join the king and senior politicians to remember those who have died in conflict

King Charles will lay wreaths at the Cenotaph and lead the nation in a two-minute silence at 11am to remember the dead who gave their lives in two world wars as well as those who have died in other conflicts involving British and Commonwealth forces.

The Prince and Princess of Wales will join the king and senior politicians for the national service of remembrance at the Cenotaph to honour all those killed.

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Queen Camilla to miss remembrance events due to chest infection

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Doctors advise queen not to attend Remembrance Day activities to ensure full recovery from seasonal illness

Queen Camilla will not attend Remembrance Day events this weekend as she recovers from a chest infection, Buckingham Palace has said.

Camilla was due to attend the Royal British Legion festival of remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday evening, and to honour the war dead at the Remembrance Sunday ceremony on Whitehall.

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Lancashire memorial to first world war hero given Grade II-listed status

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Stone memorial at church in Withnell tells story of Pte James Miller who was killed at Battle of Somme in 1916

A granite stone cross in the boundary wall of an otherwise ordinary English churchyard has been given listed status because of the “extraordinary” story it reveals of first world war heroism.

Most war memorials are dedicated to numbers of people, but the memorial at St Paul’s church in Withnell, Lancashire, is dedicated to just one.

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UK police dismiss ‘misleading’ media reports of attacks on poppy sellers

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Royal British Legion says public supported appeal as usual with no evidence volunteers were targeted

On the concourse of Waterloo station in London on Friday morning, poppy seller David Poynter, 45, was relishing the bumper demand. He had set up the stall at 6.30am and commuters were queueing to donate and support the fundraising campaign.

Poynter, a train driver, has volunteered each November for nearly 30 years and takes holiday to support the cause. He is so dedicated to the role that he regularly works a shift lasting 12 hours.

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Suella Braverman’s fate remains unclear as No 10 says internal inquiry ongoing – as it happpened

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According to Sky’s Beth Rigby, some ministers think No 10 would be wrong to wait until the middle of next week before deciding Suella Braverman’s fate.

Senior minister: “We can’t continue like this” “No 10 may want to wait & see what happens at w/end & & poss wait for Supreme Court on Weds [Rwanda decision] But relationship with police is v damaged. Credibility generally is low. Delay makes the govt look weak unfortunately”

The home secretary’s aides submitted a draft of the article to No 10 on Wednesday. Officials came back that evening with a series of amendments, toning down some of the most incendiary claims.

Braverman accepted some of the amendments, including removing a warning to the police not to take a “soft touch” approach at the Armistice Day protest, along with claims that there was “ample evidence” that senior police officers were biased. She also removed a direct reference to Sunak at No 10’s request. But she rejected further changes, including suggestions that she remove the comparison to rallies in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

One minister familiar with No 10’s thinking said that Sunak’s team would wait until after the Supreme Court publishes its judgment. They said: “The bigger problem is the fact that we’ve got the Rwanda ruling next Wednesday. Surely people will want that to be finished before moving forward. You’d want to know the outcome of that before deciding what kind of home secretary you want going forward.”

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Rishi Sunak says pro-Palestine march on Saturday is ‘proof of UK’s commitment to freedom’ – as it happened

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Prime minister says he finds prospect of march ‘disrespectful’ but says freedom includes ‘right to peacefully protest’

Keith is only now asking about Covid. All the questions so far have been about process.

Sedwill says, when concerns about Covid arose, he did not agree to a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee taking place immediately. He wanted to ensure that the meeting was prepared for. And he was concerned that having a Cobra meeting might alarm people.

I felt that a Cobra which might have been convened primarily for communications purposes wasn’t wise. Two days later I was advised there was a genuine cross-government basis for it and I agreed.

May we be plain please as to what you mean by communications purposes. Were you concerned that the Cobra was being called by the DHSC [the Department of Health and Social Care] for presentation purposes, that is to say to make a splash about the role of DHSC, perhaps its secretary of state [Matt Hancock], and that’s why you initially hesitated.

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Wednesday briefing: Should a pro-Palestine march on Armistice Day be banned?

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In today’s newsletter: The Metropolitan police has resisted calls to ban a march in support of a ceasefire in Gaza – but that may not be the end of the story

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Good morning. Claims that a pro-Palestine march planned in London for Armistice Day this weekend poses a threat to the Cenotaph just won’t go away. Yesterday, the justice secretary, Alex Chalk, said that even those with no malicious intent risked supporting extremists at “an extremely important time in our calendar”, and called for the march to be postponed. “The police must stop any odious behaviour at the Cenotaph,” the Conservative MP James Sunderland said. “But far better for the government to ensure that no protest goes near it in the first place.”

Sunderland’s demand may be perplexing to the protesters: the march on Saturday is intended to run from Hyde Park to the US embassy, nowhere near the war memorial in Whitehall.

Israel-Hamas war | Israeli forces are “in the heart of Gaza City”, Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant said, as Palestinian families waving white flags streamed away from the capital on Tuesday. Meanwhile, after Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would take indefinite “security responsibility” for the territory, the White House said that it would oppose any reoccupation of Gaza. For the latest, head to the live blog.

Fossil fuels | The world’s fossil fuel producers are planning expansions that would blow the planet’s carbon budget twice over, a UN report has found. Petrostates’ plans would lead to 460% more coal production, 83% more gas, and 29% more oil in 2030 than would be possible under the internationally agreed 1.5C target, the report said.

Vaping | UK ministers are considering a new tax on vapes in a significant expansion of moves to create a “smoke-free generation” that also includes the gradual introduction of a total ban on smoking for children. The move to tax vapes was one of the few surprise measures in a king’s speech that appeared largely designed to create dividing lines with Labour. Read a summary of measures in the bill.

Covid inquiry | The government body set up to coordinate Covid policy had no warning about Rishi Sunak’s “eat out to help out” scheme and felt “blindsided” by the Treasury over it, the inquiry into the pandemic has been told.

Childcare | Poorer families are being “locked out” of expanded free nursery hours, experts have warned, as Guardian analysis reveals that the number of not-for-profit nurseries in England’s most-deprived areas has fallen sharply. Close to a third of not-for-profit nurseries closed their doors or were taken over by private companies, including private equity firms, in the poorest parts of the country from 2018-2022.

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Dowden reiterates ‘grave concerns’ about pro-Palestine marches on Armistice Day

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UK government fears further unrest in spite of reassurances from organisers about march avoiding Cenotaph

The UK deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, has reiterated the government’s “grave concerns” about pro-Palestinian marches on Armistice Day despite assurances from organisers about avoiding the Cenotaph and the timing of their rally.

Following the injury on Saturday to four policeman and the arrest of 29 people at a rally in London against Israeli attacks on Gaza, Dowden said fruther demonstrations planned for next Saturday, 11 November, could lead to more unrest. He also said the rallies could be misconstrued as a sign of intimidation, especially towards the Jewish community.

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Royal British Legion gives poppy plastic-free makeover

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Remembrance poppy created from renewable sources introduced as 2023 appeal launched

More than a century after its introduction, the Royal British Legion poppy has had a plastic-free makeover in its first major redesign in a generation.

With the launch of the 2023 poppy appeal on Thursday details of the symbol of remembrance are unveiled, revealing a paper poppy created from renewable sources including half from offcuts from the production of takeaway coffee cups.

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Warmest Armistice Day ever for England, Scotland and Northern Ireland

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Three UK countries ‘way above where we should be for this time of year’ says Met Office forecaster

Britain’s armed forces have gone on parade on the warmest Armistice Day on record, according to the Met Office, with the country on track for what could be an unprecedented 11th month of above average temperatures.

Unseasonably high temperatures led to “exceptionally mild” conditions across the UK, the forecaster said, with the record-breaking 19.5C recorded in Myerscough in Lancashire more than a degree warmer than the previous record of 17.8C at Kensington Palace in London.

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Ministers back free train travel for military to remembrance services after outcry

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Exclusive: former veterans minister Johnny Mercer and others had condemned plans to scrap free travel

The government has vowed to guarantee free rail travel for military personnel to attend remembrance services this year after facing criticism over moves to scrap the offer.

Proposed plans to stop the free train travel after the government decided the cost would be “too great” had sparked an outcry and calls for a U-turn from the former veterans minister Johnny Mercer and others.

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Unifying message behind this year’s Remembrance Day

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The weekend’s events will focus on the shared history of Britain’s communities whose ancestors stood together in conflict

As Britain unites to honour its war dead, a campaign to ensure Remembrance Sunday can be celebrated by everyone “irrespective of nationality, creed or colour” has been backed by MPs, and faith community and former military leaders. Called “remember together” and coordinated by the Royal British Legion and thinktank British Future, it encourages people from different backgrounds to commemorate their shared history 75 years after major battles such as D-Day.

The initiative comes as Labour and the Conservatives use Sunday to launch competing pledges to help veterans. Jeremy Corbyn announced that Labour’s manifesto, to be released later this month, will include “a new social contract” for former armed forces personnel, including reserved homes for rough sleepers alongside free education and training.

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