Category Archives: Robert Jenrick

Labour defends welcoming rightwing Tory MP Natalie Elphicke into party – UK politics live

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Natalie Elphicke said she was defecting to Labour due to ‘broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic government’

PMQs starts in just over 20 minutes, and today there will be particular interest in the mood on the Conservative benches. Rishi Sunak has actively embraced the theory that the local election results show Labour is not on course to win an overall majority, but this is based on a projection that has been widely dismissed as unrealistic.

Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.

It’s an issue of humanity and I think you’ve got to show equivalence. I condemn unequivocally the actions of Hamas on Oct 7; those 134 hostages must be released. At the same time I condemn unequivocally the actions of the IDF and Netanyahu; 34,000 people have perished including 14,000 children.

It’s utterly wrong and an insult to those victims to equate the brutality of Hamas to the legitimate military measures that Israel is taking in defence of its people and nation.

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Tory rebellion against Sunak smoking ban rekindles leadership talk

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Prospective contenders Badenoch, Braverman, Jenrick and Mordaunt abstained or voted against the ban

In his speech to the Tory faithful at the Conservative party conference in Manchester in October, Rishi Sunak declared that he wanted to ban smoking for future generations.

His announcement – confirming a plan first reported by the Guardian – was met with applause from grassroots members then. But Tuesday night’s vote demonstrates the challenges for a Tory prime minister championing what his own side deems an archetypal “nanny state” policy.

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Rwanda bill vote: Tory rebels have not shown amendments are legally robust, No 10 says – live

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Sunak’s press secretary says Downing Street not shown legal basis for rebel amendments, despite this being offered and asked for

Rishi Sunak starts with the usual spiel about his engagements, and how he has got meetings with colleagues.

Rishi Sunak is taking PMQs in 10 minutes.

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Boris Johnson backs Tory rebels over Rwanda bill

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Warning that bill is not compatible with international rules comes amid mounting revolt by Tory MP

Boris Johnson has backed calls by Conservative rebels to harden the Rwanda deportation bill in a direct intervention on the side of those defying his successor, Rishi Sunak.

The former prime minister used the social media platform X to retweet an article by a rightwing Tory rebel, Simon Clarke, who was describing the bill as a “flawed measure” and warning he would not support it if it was amended.

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Robert Jenrick says he will not vote for Sunak’s Rwanda bill

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Former immigration minister says legislation will not work, as talk grows of Tory plot to oust PM

The former UK immigration minister Robert Jenrick has said he will not vote for Rishi Sunak’s bill aimed at deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda this week, in a blow to the prime minister.

Jenrick, who resigned over the bill, said it would not work and needed to go further in setting aside human rights law if it was to have a chance of getting the Rwanda scheme to work.

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‘Cloak and dagger tactics’: Tories paid Rwanda an extra £100m for asylum deal

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Ministers criticised after civil servant tells MPs payment was made in April after £140m had already been sent

UK ministers have been accused of using “cloak and dagger” tactics after a leading civil servant revealed in a letter that they had paid Rwanda a further £100m to send asylum seekers there.

Sir Matthew Rycroft, the Home Office’s top civil servant, told MPs the payment was made in April after £140m had already been sent. He added that a further payment of £50m was expected next year.

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Rishi Sunak defends Rwanda asylum policy as Tory split deepens – UK politics live

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PM’s press conference follows criticism from Braverman and the resignation of Robert Jenrick

Rishi Sunak says he is holding this press conference to explain why the government is publishing its Rwanda bill.

He says he is the child of immigrants. He understands why people want to come to the UK.

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People arriving in UK via irregular means ‘to be deported to Rwanda before election’

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Immigration minister accuses people crossing Channel in small boats of ‘breaking into the country’

People arriving in the UK via irregular means will be deported to Rwanda before the next general election, according to Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, as the home secretary, James Cleverly, arrived in the country to sign a treaty paving the way for the policy.

Jenrick, who has taken an increasingly rightwing stance and hinted at his frustration with Downing Street’s perceived inaction on migration, also ramped up the rhetoric, accusing people crossing the Channel in small boats of “breaking into the country”.

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Robert Jenrick says immigration crackdown may not go far enough and further measures may be needed – UK politics live

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Immigration minister says there could be ‘merits’ to an annual cap on net migration

Last night Suella Braverman, the former home secretary and the most prominent voice on the Tory right for tighter immigration controls, gave a qualified welcome to the immigration crackdown. It was “a step in the right direction”, she said in a thread on X. But she said it was too late to have an impact on numbers before the general election, and she said further measures were needed.

Among other things, she called for an annual cap on immigration numbers.

As well as these proposals, we should go further: shortening the graduate route - not just reviewing it again; & we need an annual cap, set by Parliament, across all visa routes, so we don’t get into this terrible situation again & government can be properly held to account.

There are merits to ideas like that. But what matters now is action. The public wants to see us actually deliver reducing levels of net migration, as I’ve been very clear, that people are sick of talk on this topic.

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Andy Burnham claims government note shows Covid tier 3 restrictions imposed on Manchester as ‘punishment beating’ – as it happened

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Covid tier system introduced in October 2020 and imposed different restrictions on English regions in effort to contain spread of virus. This live blog is closed

At the Covid inquiry Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said that he was not getting information from the government in February about Covid. He said he was “disappointed” by that.

In late February and early March he was getting information from other cities around the world instead, he said. He said this happened even though his foreign affairs team consisted of just three people.

The government generally does give us information about a variety of things happening. I’m disappointed the government weren’t giving us information in February about what they knew then.

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Visitors to UK who incite antisemitism will be removed, says minister

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Robert Jenrick says process of revoking visas of foreign nationals who spread ‘hate and division’ has already begun

The UK immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, has suggested that visitors to the country will be removed if they incite antisemitism, even if their conduct falls “below the criminal standard”.

Jenrick said he could not get into “specific cases” of visa-holders whose conduct is being reviewed, saying there was a “legal process that must be followed properly”, but noted some people had been seen “glorifying” terror activities and “praising Hamas”.

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Gaps in UK law allowing ‘jihad’ ‘known to government’

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Britain’s ex-head of counter-terrorism says government failed to act on a recommendation to change legislation

Gaps in UK law that would allow words such as “jihad” to be shouted at rallies were known to the government but not acted upon, Britain’s former head of counter-terrorism has revealed.

The comments from Neil Basu come as some ministers condemned police for their handling of weekend demonstrations in London, with the home secretary, Suella Braverman, due to meet the Metropolitan police commissioner on Monday.

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Housing asylum seekers on barge ‘untenable’ after legionella discovery, says charity – as it happened

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Asylum seekers removed from Bibby Stockholm after legionella bacteria found in water system onboard

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have announced their candidate in the forthcoming Rutherglen and Hamilton West byelection.

Gloria Adebo, who works as a data analyst, will run for the party in the vote triggered by the successful recall petition for Margaret Ferrier.

The Rutherglen and Hamilton West byelection is a real chance for local people to deliver a judgment on the difficulties and disasters we have been landed in by incompetent, populist governments in London and Edinburgh.

It needn’t be like this. And it is the Liberal Democrats who, increasingly, are a growing and dynamic part of an alternative way forward - offering hope in place of despair, founded on a belief in individuals, in the rule of law, in equality of opportunity and the importance of human rights here and across the world.

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UK would be outlier with Russia if it left ECHR, Law Society says

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Robert Jenrick had said government would do ‘whatever is necessary’ to stop small boat crossings

The UK would be an international outlier along with Russia and Belarus if it left the European convention on human rights, a leading law body has warned, after a senior minister signalled that the move could be an option to stop small boat crossings.

Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, said the government would do “whatever is necessary”, even if that meant pulling out of the ECHR, the 70-year-old pan-European treaty that protects human rights and political freedoms in the continent.

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Man arrested after car crashes into Downing Street gates – UK politics live

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Armed officers at the scene but no reports of injuries, Metropolitan Police says

Rishi Sunak is being interviewed on ITV’s This Morning.

He says immigration levels are too high, but he rejects claims it is out of control. This is from the Daily Mirror’s Lizzy Buchan.

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MPs vote to support the Illegal Migration Bill by 289 to 230 – as it happened

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Theresa May had warned bill will cause more people to be consigned to modern slavery while Geoffrey Cox also raised concerns. This blog is now closed

Q: [From Matthew Barber, the police and crime commissioner for Thames Valley] What can the Home Office do to cut bureaucracy for the police?

Braverman says, if someone is having a mental health crisis, there should be a healthcare response, not a police response. She says police officers are having to spend too much time in hospital with people.

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Plans for new sites in UK for asylum seekers ‘risk humanitarian catastrophe’

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About 170 organisations warn ministers not to put people in military bases, barges and ferries around the country

Ministers have been warned of a “humanitarian catastrophe” if asylum seekers arriving in the UK are accommodated in camps on military bases and on barges.

Approximately 171 organisations – including the Refugee Council, Choose Love, faith groups, city of sanctuary representatives and law centres – have written to Rishi Sunak urging him to “listen to common sense” and scrap plans for asylum camps at former RAF bases at Scampton in Lincolnshire, Wethersfield in Essex and Catterick in North Yorkshire and the site of a former prison in Bexhill in East Sussex, along with proposals to use ferries and barges.

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Robert Jenrick banned from driving for six months for speeding

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Immigration minister fined more than £1,600 for breaking limit on M1 after appearing on Any Questions? last year

The government minister Robert Jenrick has been banned from driving for six months and fined more than £1,600 after being caught driving almost 30mph over the speed limit last year.

The Conservative MP for Newark was recorded driving 68mph in a temporary 40mph zone on the M1 in Northamptonshire on 5 August 2022. Jenrick pleaded guilty to the offence in February and said in a letter to the court that he “sincerely apologised” for the incident.

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Military sites to house asylum seekers to meet ‘essential living needs and nothing more’, says minister – as it happened

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This live blog has now closed, you can read more on this story here

Eagle how the pay settlement for health workers will be funded.

Hunt says, as with all pay settlements, departments fund them from the money they get in the spending review. But in exceptional circumstances they can speak to the Treasury about extra help.

But we make a commitment that there will not be a degredation of frontline services for the public.

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Asylum-seeking families with children could face removal from UK to Rwanda

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Immigration minister Robert Jenrick says ‘not necessarily a bar’ to families being sent to African country

Families with children seeking asylum in the UK are being considered for forced removal to Rwanda, according to a Home Office minister.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick told an evidence session at parliament’s women and equalities committee on Wednesday that, while there were no plans to remove unaccompanied child asylum seekers to the east African country, families with children are being considered for removal.

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