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A Labour minister has been grilled over Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to accept tens of thousands of pounds in gifts and hospitality, amid a row over his late declaration of a donation by a Labour peer to pay for dresses for his wife Victoria.
Sir Keir was facing questions over the £5,000 donation from ex-Asos chair Lord Waheed Alli which he initially failed to put on his register of interests. The PM has insisted his team had reached out for advice on what declaration should be made and that rules are being followed.
While the commissioner has decided not to investigate, Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle was repeatedly pressed by reporters on Tuesday about Sir Keir’s acceptance of gifts – totalling more than £65,000 in the nine months to May ahead of cutting the winter fuel allowance for millions of pensioners.
Dame Angela told Times Radio she had no opinion on Sir Keir accepting gifts and accused the host of “ranting”. However she conceded to Sky News that she was not sure whether it was “possible to have an explanation” for accepting Coldplay tickets.
Government urged to make ‘this year the last NHS winter crisis’
Turning to the NHS, Sir Ed Davey told the Lib Dem annual conference: “We know the terrible state of the public finances thanks to the Conservatives’ shocking mismanagement. There can be no doubt about the scale of the challenge ahead.
“Yet that makes it even more important to make the investment we’ve proposed in frontline NHS services – not less. Because if you invest wisely, if you make sure people can get the care they need, when and where they need it, if you bring down waiting lists and get people back to work, if you help people to stay healthy for longer, not only will you dramatically improve people’s lives, but you will actually save taxpayers’ money in the future and give the economy the boost it needs.
“The problem is, the Treasury simply isn’t wired to think this way. Instead, we have the short-term negative thinking that leads governments to postpone hospital repairs and cancel new buildings – short-term thinking to save a bit of money now, even though you know it will only cost a lot more in the future.”
The Lib Dem leader added: “What if, instead of stumbling from crisis to crisis, instead of throwing more and more money at just plugging the gaps, what if we invested now to make the NHS winterproof?
“The government could and should make this year the last winter crisis in our NHS.”
Ed Davey reveals rejected election stunt ideas
Wing walking on a biplane was among the stunt ideas “rejected” during the Lib Dem election campaign, Sir Ed Davey has suggested.
He told conference delegates that he is “not supposed to tell you what stunt ideas were rejected – not least because they’re still trying to persuade me to do them for the next election”.
He added: “But I’ll let you into a little secret. It was only health and safety rules that stopped me putting my hand up a cow’s behind or wing walking on a biplane.”
Ed Davey sings to Abba as he arrives for conference speech
Sir Ed Davey sang along to Abba’s “Take A Chance” as he arrived on stage for his Brighton conference keynote speech.
The leader of the Liberal Democrats said: “It’s been joyful, hasn’t it? Getting together to celebrate, and to start planning the future – having fun, but with a serious focus.
“It reminds me of our election campaign. Do you know they wanted me to wear a wetsuit today? But I said it was abseiling or nothing, so here we are, having a party after winning our largest number of MPs for over 100 years.”
Video report: Ed Davey to take aim at Tories in closing Lib Dem conference speech
Government ‘working to tackle small boats on all fronts’
Responding to the news that 10,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats since Labour came to power, a No 10 spokesperson told reporters: “Immediate work has been taking place.
“That includes starting to process asylum cases again where people have been sat in hotels without their cases being looked at.
“The prime minister spoke yesterday about 3,000 people being returned over the course of the summer and made the comparison with the £700m spent on four voluntary returns around the Rwanda scheme.
“In addition to that we have also announced a 50 per cent uplift in NCA officers in Europol and funding for 100 additional NCA officers, and you’ve also heard the home secretary announce new surveillance technology and investment in the Border Security Command.”
They added: “This is an issue that we are tackling on all fronts.”
No 10 denies being a ‘nest of vipers’
Downing Street has denied there was a “nest of vipers” behind the scenes in Sir Keir Starmer’s administration following reports of tensions involving senior officials.
Following reports that cabinet secretary Simon Case – the country’s top civil servant – is under pressure to quit early because of anger over leaks and hostile briefings about the Downing Street operation, a No 10 spokesperson said he “remains focused on delivering” for the PM and is working closely with both Sir Keir and the cabinet.
Mr Case, who has suffered from poor health, is widely expected to leave his role in the coming months. The Guardian reported that he has been privately accused of failing to clamp down on leaks about donations from Lord Alli and of reported rows between chief of staff Sue Gray and other officials.
Put to her that Downing Street sounded like a “nest of vipers”, the spokesperson said: “I don’t recognise that. More generally, I wouldn’t usually get into those kinds of reports around staffing.
“The cabinet secretary remains focused on delivering for the prime minister and the work of government and working closely with the prime minister and cabinet.”
David Lammy says climate change is more urgent threat than terrorism or Putin
David Lammy has warned that climate change is a more urgent threat than terrorism or Vladimir Putin in a major speech in which he pledged to put the emergency at the centre of British foreign policy.
Tackling the crisis, which is “accelerating towards us”, will also boost growth in the UK, the foreign secretary said.
“The threat may not feel as urgent as a terrorist or an imperialist autocrat. But it is more fundamental. It is systemic. Pervasive. And accelerating towards us,” he warned. Mr Lammy blasted Russia’s “fascism” and “imperialism” last week on a visit to war-torn Ukraine.
He made the vow after the death toll in central Europe rose to at least 15 in the wake of a series of devastating floods.
Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:
‘Okay, you’ve had your rant’: Minister has ‘no opinion’ on Starmer accepting gifts
Home Office minister Angela Eagle said she had no opinion on Sir Keir Starmer accepting gifts of “luxury glasses” from a Labour donor.
Pressed repeatedly on Times Radio, Ms Eagle eventually told the presenter: “Okay, you’ve had your rant”, after he suggested the PM “has a luxury glasses habit” and is taking money from pensioners while accepting gifts from donors despite his vast prime minister’s salary.
Watch live: David Lammy announces Labour pledge for clean power by 2030
You can watch live at the link below as David Lammy announces Labour’s pledge to have the UK be the first major economy to deliver clean power by 2030
The foreign secretary will position action on the climate and nature crisis as central to his department’s remit as he pledges the Foreign Office’s commitment to the global clean energy transition, reports Holly Patrick.
Speaking at Kew Gardens in Richmond, Mr Lammy will say Labour is “firing the starting gun” on its pledge to create a global clean power alliance that will facilitate sharing knowledge and technology to help more countries reach net-zero emissions.
Of the government’s 2030 pledge, Mr Lammy will say: “We will leverage that ambition to build an alliance committed to accelerating the clean energy transition. And today we are firing the starting gun on forming this new coalition.
“While some countries are moving ahead in this transition, others are being left behind. We need to accelerate the rollout of renewable energy across the globe in the way that this Government is doing at home.”
