The prime minister has been told he will not be “given a free run” to award amnesties to those involved in serious Troubles-related crimes.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said Boris Johnson and Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis’ plans represented “a gross distortion” of structures previously agreed at Stormont – and risked “abandoning the needs of victims and survivors”.
The Foyle MP issued the warning following a virtual meeting between NI party leaders, Mr Lewis and Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney. He also said it was “pathetic” both Mr Johnson and Mr Lewis had “pushed ahead with this announcement” before any kind of consultation process had begun between political parties and victims.
Elsewhere, fresh details of the financial plan the PM used to cover the costs of redecorating his Downing Street flat have been revealed in a report. It shows some £28,647 of taxpayers’ money was spent on painting and sanding floorboard alone, with Sir Alistair Graham describing it as “a scandal that shows the prime minister in a very poor light”.
Government ‘has form’ for making wrong decisions on Covid, says GP
A GP, and former MP, is questioning why the government wants to “reopen” the nation when it has not yet got coronavirus under control.
Speaking to Sky News, Dr Phillip Lee said: “Everything this government has done in the last 18 months has made this worse – it has increased transmission and the risk of mutation.”
He added Boris Johnson’s administration “has form” for making decisions “too late”, often leading to “an increase of cases”.
Ministers told climate change should be part of national curriculum
Climate change and “sustainable citizenship” should be part of the national curriculum taught in schools in England, a Labour former schools minister has said.
Moving his Education (Environment and Sustainable Citizenship) Bill, Lord Knight of Weymouth added good schools already deal with such topics.
“I just think this is a no-brainer,” he told peers today. “For the DfE [Department for Education] it’s an easy win and I hope you’ll agree.”
Lord Knight said a majority of teachers agree that climate change education should be “compulsory in schools” and believe “individual action on climate and sustainability” should also be taught. He added young people also support the inclusion of the topics on the curriculum.
“There’s a problem with our curriculum that needs fixing if we’re to fix the planet,” he said.
Liverpool to lose World Heritage status due to government failings
Unesco is preparing to strip Liverpool of its World Heritage title after the UN body found the government failed to protect the site’s “authenticity and integrity”.
The heritage body will decide whether the city’s waterfront will be stripped of the prestigious status next week during a meeting in China.
But a pre-summit report seen by The i newspaper has apparently recommended it be dropped from the list, reports Clea Skopeliti.
Johnson told NI parties will not give him ‘free run on legacy’
The prime minister has been warned he cannot be “given a free run” to award amnesties to those involved in serious Troubles-related crimes.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said Boris Johnson and Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis’s plans represented “a gross distortion of the structures agreed by most parties during the Stormont House Agreement”.
“[It also] abandons the needs of victims and survivors,” Mr Eastwood added. “The SDLP will not give this government a free run on legacy.”
The Foyle MP made the comments following a virtual meeting of the Northern Ireland party leaders with Mr Lewis and Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney.
“It is pathetic that Boris Johnson and Brandon Lewis pushed ahead with this announcement before the consultation and engagement process with political parties and victims had begun in any serious way,” Mr Eastwood said earlier.
“This process cannot have a predetermined outcome that fails to deliver truth, justice, accountability and acknowledgement that victims and survivors need.”
Ex-speaker Betty Boothroyd blasts PM for debasing PMQs
In case you missed my post this morning, our policy correspondent Jon Stone has more detail on Betty Boothroyd’s damnation of Tories undermining prime minister’s questions.
NI leaders give mixed reactions to legacy meeting with UK and Irish governments
Brandon Lewis’ meeting over legacy proposals with Northern Ireland leaders and the Irish government seems to have gone down well – for some.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said Mr Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, had insisted that political parties in Northern Ireland must have an input into plans to deal with legacy.
“I think in fairness to the Secretary of State, he is willing to listen to what the political parties have to say … The parties are clear, they want a legacy process to include the opportunity for families, for individuals, to pursue justice,” he said afterwards. “The Secretary of State is indicating a willingness not just to listen to political parties, but to listen to victims.”
On the other hand, Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie said the meeting “did not provide any solutions for innocent victims”.
“The UK government must widen their proposals to incorporate a criminal justice element or they will risk inflicting more pain on innocent victims whose families have already sacrificed so much,” he continued.
“Any proposals which snuff out any hope of justice need to be abandoned. The Irish government needs to do more than what they are doing now. It’s not good enough that the Irish government comes to the table with warm smiles, but little else. Where is their command paper and what are they going to do?”
Mr Beattie added that until leaders and the governments involved widen their focus, “we will always be failing our victims and survivors”.
No 10 does not deny PM backing new tax to fund social care plan
Boris Johnson’s spokesman today refused to deny reports the PM is backing a new tax to pay for social care reforms – or that a cap on payments could form part of his plans.
“I’m not going to start commenting on speculation. No decisions have been made and we will set out the details later this year,” the spokesman said.
You can read more about the tax, from Zoe Tidman, here:
Green groups urge government to reject new oil field plans
Environmental groups have accused the government of “hypocrisy” after it emerged ministers are set to approve the development of a new North Sea oil field just months before Britain hosts the Cop26 climate summit.
The Cambo heavy crude oil field off the coast of the Shetland Islands contains over 800 million barrels of oil. Under proposals submitted to the government, developers expect to extract 150-170 million of these barrels — equivalent to operating 16 coal-fired power stations for a year.
Fourteen environmental organisations including Friends of the Earth and Client Earth are calling on the government to reject the proposals. And more than 44,000 people have signed an open letter to stop the Cambo oil project due to its “devastating” environmental impact, reports Emma Snaith.
GB News suspends presenter for taking knee on air – report
Andrew Neil’s “free speech” right-wing news channel has pulled one of its leading presenters after a row about his decision to take the knee live on air, according to reports.
Guto Harri was “cancelled” by viewers after he knelt on GB News’ studio floor to show solidarity with England footballers who received racist abuse following their loss to Italy in the Euro final on Sunday.
GB News tweeted on Thursday that Harri’s decision “was an unacceptable breach of our standards” and has now taken the decision to suspend him, reports first published by the Guardian suggest.
Friends of Harri told the paper: “GB News is becoming an absurd parody of what it proclaimed to be – not defending free speech and combatting cancel culture but replicating it on the far right. Nasty.”
Neither Harri nor GB News have commented on his suspension so far.
Taoiseach echoes plea for UK to show ‘generosity’ in Brexit fallout
Giving his account of their meeting, premier Micheál Martin praised the “generosity” of Ursula von der Leyen and her colleagues.
“Maros Sefcovic [vice-president of the EU Comission], in his discussions with the UK side, has demonstrated and said very clearly that the Commission wants to be flexible. So where there’s a will, there’s a way,” he told reporters alongside Ms Von der Leyen.
“In our view, the mechanisms are there to resolve any outstanding issues, and we believe the mechanism should be used to the full by the UK Government and the indeed the EU.”
He finished by echoing his EU counterpart’s words: “We believe the generosity shown by the EU should be reciprocated.”
