Markus Andrews

A senior U.N. official for Libya on Saturday condemned the storming of the parliament’s headquarters by angry demonstrators as part of protests in several cities against the political class and deteriorating economic conditions.Hundreds of protesters marched in the streets of the capital Tripoli and other Libyan cities on Friday, with many attacking and setting fire to government buildings, including the House of Representatives in the eastern city of Tobruk.“The people’s right to peacefully protest should be respected and protected but riots and acts of vandalism such as the storming of the House of Representatives headquarters late yesterday in Tobruk are totally unacceptable,” said Stephanie Williams, the U.N. special adviser on Libya, on Twitter. Friday’s protests came a day after the leaders of the parliament and another legislative chamber based in Tripoli failed to reach an agreement on elections during U.N.-mediated talks in Geneva. The dispute now centers on the eligibility requirements for candidates, according to the U.N.Libya failed to hold elections in December following challenges including legal disputes, controversial presidential hopefuls and the presence of rogue militias and foreign fighters in the country.The failure to hold the vote was a major below to international efforts to bring peace to the Mediterranean nation. It has opened a new chapter in its long-running political impasse, with two rival governments now claiming power after tentative steps toward unity in the past year.The protesters, frustrated from years of chaos and division, have called for the removal of the current political class and elections to be held. They also rallied against dire economic conditions in the oil-rich nation, where prices have risen for fuel and bread and power outages are a regular occurrence.There were fears that militias across the country could quash the protests as they did in 2020 demonstrations when they opened fire on people protesting dire economic conditions.Sabadell Jose, the European Union envoy in Libya, called on protesters to “avoid any type of violence.” He said Friday’s demonstrations demonstrated that people want “change through elections and their voices should be heard.”Libya has been wrecked by conflict since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The country was then for years split between rival administrations in the east and west, each supported by different militias and foreign governments. More

Boris Johnson suspended Chris Pincher after he heard a “disturbing” account of the allegations against him from a Tory MP who witnessed the incident, it has been reported. The prime minister initially resisted the call to suspend Mr Pincher but bowed to pressureafter a complaint about the MP was made to a parliamentary watchdog for sexual misconduct.A Downing Street source said Mr Johnson changed his mind after speaking to a Tory MP who witnessed the incident and was in contact with the alleged victim.“The account given was sufficiently disturbing to make the PM feel more troubled by all this,” the source told the PA news agency.Mr Pincher resigned on Thursday night after the groping claims came to light. He said he had drunk too much and “embarrassed himself” at the Conservative Party’s private members’ club the night before.A separate claim surfaced on Friday from a young Conservative activist who claimed to have been subjected to an unwanted sexual advance from Mr Pincher last year.The activist told The Times the MP put his hand on his knee and told him he would “go far in the party” at an event during the Conservative Party conference in Manchester. More

The mystery MP who walked in on Boris Johnson and then-girlfriend Carrie Symonds in an allegedly ‘compromising situation’ when he was foreign secretary is Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns, The Independent can reveal.Downing Street said that Burns “flagged up” the couple’s relationship to Foreign Office officials after finding them “having a glass of wine together” alone in Mr Johnson’s Commons office as foreign secretary in 2018.Mr Burns, one of Mr Johnson’s most loyal supporters, had a “sixth sense” that their relationship was “one to watch”, said a senior No 10 source.Mr Burns raised the matter with Mr Johnson’s close aide Ben Gascoigne, who worked for him at the Foreign Office and is now No 10 deputy chief of staff.It has previously been reported that in turn, Mr Gascoigne alerted Mr Johnson’s Foreign Office private office.On discovering Mr Johnson’s relationship with Carrie (then Carrie Symonds) as a result of Mr Burns walking in on them, Mr Gascoigne and other members of Mr Johnson’s Foreign Office team threatened to resign if Mr Johnson went ahead with a plan to appoint her as his £100,000-a-year Foreign Office chief of staff.The Independent has also been told by other sources that Mr Johnson’s team discussed the possible risk to him of blackmail – or kompromat – as foreign secretary if any of Britain’s enemies learned he was having an affair.In the event, they decided not to confront him over his relationship with Ms Symonds but successfully blocked his attempt to make her his chief of staff without informing him that it was linked to their belief, based on what Mr Burns had seen, that they were in a relationship.The claim that Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds were found in a ‘compromising situation’ was first made in a little-noticed section of a biography of Carrie Johnson by Tory Lord Ashcroft earlier this year.When the story resurfaced in The Times earlier this month it led to a political row when the paper dropped the story from later editions after No 10 intervened.Amid wild speculation in the last few days over the nature of the alleged “compromising situation” and the identity of those said to have known about it, Downing Street has given its own version of events for the first time in a bid to close down the controversy. More

Tory whip suspended from Chris Pincher after formal investigation launchedConservative MP Chris Pincher has been suspended from the parliamentary party and will be subject to a sexual misconduct investigation over allegations he drunkenly groped two men, it has been announced.Boris Johnson has agreed that the whip should be suspended from Mr Pincher while he is investigated by the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme, a Tory spokeswoman said. A Downing Street source suggested the prime minister agreed after speaking to a Tory MP who was with one of the men allegedly groped by Mr Pincher.Earlier, No 10 admitted it knew of “unsubstantiated” claims against the MP when Mr Johnson promoted him – but said it had no reason to block the appointment.Mr Pincher resigned yesterday, saying he “drank far too much” at a private members’ club and “embarrassed himself”. Labour, as well as other Tory MPs, had demanded he be suspended. The only two women Tory MPs to chair Commons select committees, Caroline Nokes and Karen Bradley, called for a policy of “zero tolerance” for any such alleged conduct.Show latest update

1656713412That’s all for The Independent’s live coverage of politics for today. Our politics desk will be bringing you more over the weekend but for now you can catch up with the latest here.Liam James1 July 2022 23:101656711656Mystery MP who walked in on Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds in ‘compromising situation’ revealedThe mystery MP who walked in on Boris Johnson and then-girlfriend Carrie Symonds in an allegedly ‘compromising situation’ when he was foreign secretary is Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns, The Independent can reveal (Simon Walters reports).Downing Street said that Burns “flagged up” the couple’s relationship to Foreign Office officials after finding them “having a glass of wine together” alone in Mr Johnson’s Commons office as foreign secretary in 2018.Mr Burns, one of Mr Johnson’s most loyal supporters, had a “sixth sense” that their relationship was “one to watch”, said a senior No 10 source.Mr Burns raised the matter with Mr Johnson’s close aide Ben Gascoigne, who worked for him at the Foreign Office and is now No 10 deputy chief of staff.Liam James1 July 2022 22:401656709856The Conservative MPs forced to quit, lose the whip or jailedA string of scandals has engulfed the Tory party under Boris Johnson’s leadership. Round-up from PA News:Liam James1 July 2022 22:101656707443Chris Pincher: PM ally who campaigned to ‘save Boris’“Pincher by name, pincher by nature,” one Tory MP said of the former deputy chief whip forced to resign amid allegations he groped two men at a private members’ club.The prime minister is now facing claims that Downing Street was warned about Chris Pincher even before he was given his latest government job in February’s reshuffle.Especially as last night was not the first time the MP has been forced to resign from the whips’ office.That was in 2017, when he faced accusations, which he denied, from a former Olympic swimmer and Conservative candidate.But in times of crisis all prime ministers need allies.Kate Devlin profiles the twice resigned whip who is being investigated for sexual misconduct:Liam James1 July 2022 21:301656704443Watch: Tory whip suspended from Chris Pincher after formal investigation launchedThe team at Independent TV have composed a disgestible version of the developments in the Chris Pincher scandal. Get up to speed if you missed the past few hours: Tory whip suspended from Chris Pincher after formal investigation launchedLiam James1 July 2022 20:401656702643Comment: After hearing news of ‘groping’ Tory MP Chris Pincher, I have only two words“Not again,” said Tom Peck when he heard the allegations against Chris Pincher.The Independent’s political sketch writer remembers the last time the (now twice) former deputy chief whip resigned his post over sexual misconduct allegations:Liam James1 July 2022 20:101656700247Tories suffer three council by-election defeatsThe Conservatives have suffered a hat-trick of council by-election defeats, continuing a recent run of poor results that has led them to shed seats to various opponents.The party lost two contests on Thursday to the Liberal Democrats and a third to Labour.The Tories have now made a net loss of 11 council seats since the local elections at the start of May.With the latest defeats, the Lib Dems won a seat in the Bridlington North ward of East Riding council, which had become vacant following the death of the previous Tory councillor.The second Lib Dem gain came in the Bernwood ward of Buckinghamshire council, where they took a seat in a by-election triggered by the resignation of its Conservative incumbent.The Tories dropped to third place, behind the Lib Dems and the Greens.Labour gained a seat from the Conservatives in the Midway ward of South Derbyshire council, following the resignation of a former Tory councillor.In a bumper set of council by-elections on Thursday, the Conservatives also held seats in Croydon and Wyre, while Labour gained a seat from an independent in Middlesbrough and held seats in Liverpool and Newark & Sherwood.The Conservatives have clocked up 12 losses and one gain since the start of May, giving them a net loss of 11 council seats overall, according to analysis by the PA news agency.Of the 12 losses, five have been to the Lib Dems, three to Labour, two to the Greens and two to independents.The one Conservative gain was a seat on Wyre Forest council that was previously held by the Health Concern party, who did not stand in the by-election.Jane Dalton1 July 2022 19:301656699043Putin jokes and defence spending rows: Inside Boris Johnson’s turbulent trip overseasBoris Johnson looked and sounded exhausted at the end of his nine-day trip overseas. Nine days of strange, somewhat stilted conversations with world leaders. Nine days of rows about biofuels and military budgets. Nine days of questions about Tory MPs trying to oust him.Asked if he was looking forward to getting home, the prime minister allowed himself a sigh and a smile. “I can’t tell you how much … there’s no place like home.”But unlike Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, there is no respite for the PM back at the farm. As he kicks off his ruby slippers at Downing Street, he knows his troubles have not magically disappeared.Adam Forrest followed the prime minister on his lengthy foreign trip. He reports here:Liam James1 July 2022 19:101656697847Migrant Channel crossings reached high last monthMore than 3,000 migrants crossed the Channel to the UK in June – the highest monthly total this year.Some 3,136 made the crossing on 76 boats in the 30-day period, with journeys taking place on 19 of those days, according to PA analysis of government figures.Of the 12,690 people who made the journey in the first half of this year, the second-highest month for crossings was 3,074 in March.After navigating busy shipping lanes from France in small boats such as dinghies, 2,871 made the crossing in May; 2, 143 in April; 1,322 in January and 144 in February, according to Home Office figures for the first quarter of the year and data from the Ministry of Defence.The highest month on record since 2018 was for 6,971 crossings in November 2021.The total for 2022 so far is more than five times the number recorded between January and June 2020 (2,493) and more than double the six-month tally for the first half of last year (5,917).The figures indicate 51,824 people have made the crossing since 2018.Home Office figures show 28,526 crossed in 2021, compared with 8,466 in 2020, 1,843 in 2019 and 299 in 2018.Jane Dalton1 July 2022 18:501656696643Angela Rayner says Boris Johnson ‘dragged kicking and screaming’ into action against Chris PincherLabour deputy leader Angela Rayner said the prime minister was forced into suspending Chris Pincher as a Conservative MP over groping allegations.She said: “Boris Johnson has been dragged kicking and screaming into taking any action at all. He just can’t be trusted to do the right thing. This whole scandal is yet more evidence of his appalling judgement.“It’s time for Conservative MPs to show this chaotic prime minister the door before he can do any more damage.”Mr Johnson was said to have been waiting for a formal investigation to begin before suspending Mr Pincher but later relented. A Downing Street source suggested the prime minister changed his mind after speaking to a Tory MP who was with one of two men allegedly groped by Mr Pincher.Mr Johnson was speculated to have been reluctant to take action against Mr Pincher inpart due to the ex-deputy chief whip’s part in efforts to save the prime minister at the height of the Partygate scandal.Liam James1 July 2022 18:30 More

Families could be offered “multi-generational” 50-year mortgages allowing parents to pass on outstanding debt to their children, under plans being considered by Downing Street.Boris Johnson revealed that he wants lenders to offer extra-long mortgages as a way of getting more people onto the property ladder.The prime minister told reporters that he was keen to find “all sorts of creative ways to help people into ownership”.No 10 is understood to be looking at ways to create a market for intergenerational mortgages, letting buyers borrow over terms of 50 years – or even longer – if offspring are signed up to inherit property and pay the rest of the loan.The proposal would allow more people to buy a house in their forties and fifties, knowing they would not have to finish paying it off during their lifetimes.It could also let more buyers keep moving into bigger homes, if they are able take out larger loans over longer time-frames.Asked if he was considering intergenerational mortgages that could passed from parents to children, Mr Johnson replied: “Yes, certainly.”The PM also said he was keen to see more 95 per cent mortgages, having vowed to turn “generation rent” into “generation buy” as part of a review of the mortgage market launched last month.“We need young people to have the confidence, to have the deposits, the mortgage packages to be able to get into ownership,” said Mr Johnson.However, housing experts warned that the idea of intergenerational mortgages was risky and would probably be taken up only by wealthy people who can offer strong guarantees.“On the face of it this seems like a great idea, but the problem remains that the loan would need to be affordable for all the original applicants and also the children who inherit it,” said Graham Taylor of mortgage broker Hudson Rose.“Otherwise, the children could risk inheriting a liability they are unable to manage which, when secured against your home, has catastrophic consequences,” he added.Japan created a market for mortgages with terms of up 100 years in the 1990s in an effort to boost the ailing property market. But Mr Taylor said they were viewed as merely “an inheritance planning tool for the wealthy”.Jamie Lennox, director at Dimora Mortgages, dismissed the cross-generational plan as “another smoke and mirror idea which is unlikely to help the masses”.He said intergenerational mortgages would only “benefit people with more affluent families that have high incomes or large assets in the first instance”.Urging the government to get more houses built, Mr Lennox added: “Until more houses can be built quicker to curb the supply and demand issue we have, the percentage of young people getting onto the housing ladder will keep reducing.” More

Boris Johnson was embroiled in yet another sleaze scandal on Friday after it emerged he had appointed Tory MP Chris Pincher to a key government role despite being aware of doubts over Mr Pincher’s conduct.The Tamworth MP was stripped of the Conservative whip after a formal complaint about his alleged drunken groping of two men in a private members’ club earlier this week.But Tory MPs were furious that the prime minister waited almost 24 hours before suspending Mr Pincher from the party, with one backbencher describing attempts to draw a line under the matter as “farcical”.The whip was finally withdrawn on Friday afternoon after it was announced that the case was being investigated by parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme, launched in the wake of the “Pestminster” scandal.Mr Pincher resigned as the government’s deputy chief whip – a role that includes responsibilities for MPs’ welfare – late on Thursday, admitting that he had “drunk far too much [and] embarrassed myself” at the exclusive Carlton Club on London’s Piccadilly.It was his second resignation over sexual misconduct allegations, after he stepped down as a whip in 2017 having been accused of making an unwanted pass at former Olympic rower Alex Story. On that occasion, a Conservative inquiry cleared him of breaching the party’s code of conduct.But MPs said that stories continued to swirl around Westminster about excessive use of alcohol and inappropriate behaviour.Downing Street today insisted that Mr Johnson had not been aware of “any specific allegations” relating to the 52-year-old MP in February, when he promoted him to the position of deputy chief whip.But a No 10 spokesperson had to correct themselves after initially saying that the PM had not known about “any allegations”, in a clear indication that general concerns about Mr Pincher had been raised.Vetting was carried out by the Cabinet Office propriety and ethics team – as occurs for all new appointments – but the spokesperson said: “In the absence of any formal complaint, it was not appropriate to stop the appointment on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations.”A close ally of the prime minister, Mr Pincher was promoted from housing minister shortly after playing a prominent role in the “Operation Save Big Dog” drive to see off threats to Mr Johnson’s leadership.One Tory MP told The Independent: “It’s a total mess. It seems that these issues were flagged at the time of the appointment. If the PM wants to claim that he didn’t know, I’m not sure that that is very credible.”And a former minister said that the appointment had raised eyebrows on the Conservative benches because it was known that Mr Pincher had “previous”.“A lot of us were surprised when he was appointed to the role,” said the ex-minister. “It was always a pretty chancy appointment, because everyone knew he has a fondness for alcohol.”The failure to withdraw the whip immediately, as happened in earlier sexual misconduct scandals like that involving Rob Roberts, “does seem to me to suggest Chris was being treated differently”, he added.Neil Parish, who quit as a Tory MP after admitting watching pornography in the Commons chamber, said that he was “very upset” that double standards were being applied.Disgraced MP Neil Parish ‘cannot believe’ Chris Pincher hasn’t had whip removedSpeaking ahead of Mr Pincher’s suspension, he said: “He may be deputy chief whip, he may have even been the man who removed the whip from me, so come on, let’s be fair.”Two senior Tory women issued a call for a formal code of conduct to be drawn up for Conservative MPs to ensure that all are treated “in a fair, independent manner so as to avoid any suspicion of bias”.Caroline Nokes and Karen Bradley, who respectively chair the women and equalities committee and the procedure committee, said the party risked “serious reputational damage” because of an “inconsistent and unclear” approach to complaints of sexual misconduct.The pair said that, without exception, MPs facing allegations should be suspended and told to stay away from parliament until inquiries are concluded.The Prospect union, which represents a large number of parliamentary staff, called for all MPs accused of sexual offences to be denied access to the estate.“We seem unable to go a week without yet another revelation of appalling sexual misconduct by MPs, yet parliament – as an employer – fails to take assertive action to protect its employees, MPs’ staff, and indeed other MPs,” said general secretary Mike Clancy.Mr Johnson’s former aide Dominic Cummings said that concerns were routinely raised over MPs’ suitability for government office when it came to reshuffles.“I’ve said many times for many years, the political parties select for sexual deviants, incompetent narcissists, sociopaths,” he tweeted. “It’s a feature not a bug.“When you sit in reshuffle meetings, it’s normal to go down a list like: Pervert; Under investigation by National Crime Agency (he doesn’t know); Drunk; Sex pest; Sex pest; Dodgy donors; Yes she’s ok but she’s useless; Moron; Moron; He’s OK; Sex pest; She’s actually good [laughter]; Dodgepot etc.”The government’s former top lawyer Jonathan Jones agreed: “From my occasional, marginal involvement in reshuffles, this sounds about right. And then half of them get appointed anyway.”Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said that Mr Johnson had to be “dragged kicking and screaming into taking any action at all”. “He just can’t be trusted to do the right thing,” she said. “This whole scandal is yet more evidence of his appalling judgement. It’s time for Conservative MPs to show this chaotic prime minister the door before he can do any more damage.”Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said Mr Pincher should quit as an MP if the allegations against him are proven.“It should never have taken Boris Johnson this long to act and withdraw the whip,” she said. “Once again it seems Johnson has had to be forced into doing the right thing.“There can be no more cover-ups or excuses. If this investigation confirms these serious allegations, Chris Pincher will surely have to resign.”Meanwhile Downing Street announced that Rochester and Strood MP Kelly Tolhurst had been appointed to fill Mr Pincher’s former post as deputy chief whip. More

Environmental campaigners have cautiously welcomed a move by the UK’s export finance agency to stop making new investments in fossil fuels overseas.UK Export Finance has in the past been criticised for providing funds for British businesses exploiting oil and gas abroad – effectively subsidising fossil fuels and driving climate change.But the government agency says from this year it is not providing any new support to new fossil fuel projects for the first time.The organisation extends loans to British businesses wanting to work abroad to give them a competitive advantage and help them export.UKEF has provided £7.4 billion of government support for UK exports in the last year, supporting 72,000 UK jobs and adding a gross value of £4.3 billion to the economy.The investments cost the taxpayer nothing overall as they produce a net profit for the Treasury, in 2021-22 of £324 million.The agency has also unveiled new carbon reduction targets for its other investments so that it it takes the carbon produced by them into account, and has confirmed it was not planning to make fossil fuel investments going forward. Environmentalists said the change was positive but that there was more to do.Friends of the Earth’s International climate campaigner, Rachel Kennerley, said: “While it’s good news that UKEF hasn’t invested in fossil fuel developments overseas this year, they are still financing a huge gas development in Mozambique that’s fuelling violence and climate breakdown.“Friends of the Earth is currently challenging this ill-conceived investment in the UK courts.“Instead, UK taxpayers’ money should be investing in Africa’s huge renewable energy potential so people without electricity have access to clean, safe energy.”UKEF has set new targets to reduce absolute emissions (tCO2e) of its existing oil and gas sector investments by 75 per cent by 2030.It also plans to reduce so-called “economic emissions intensity” of investments in the power sector by 58 per cent by 2030 work to net-zero basis by 2050.On the domestic front the government has been criticised for effectively subsidising oil and gas production at home with new tax reliefs unveiled in Rishi Sunak’s budget.Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Secretary of State for International Trade, commented: “The UK is awash with untapped export potential. “We have opened the door to the world with historic trade deals and now we are helping businesses walk through it. That’s why our national export credit agency, UK Export Finance, is boosting firms’ ability to export to the world with record-breaking support year after year.” More

“Pincher by name, pincher by nature,” one Tory MP said of the former deputy chief whip forced to resign amid allegations he groped two men at a private members’ club. The prime minister is now facing claims that Downing Street was warned about Chris Pincher even before he was given his latest government job in February’s reshuffle.Especially as last night was not the first time the MP has been forced to resign from the whips office. That was in 2017, when he faced accusations, which he denied, from a former Olympic swimmer and Conservative candidate.But in times of crisis all prime ministers need allies. In January Mr Pincher was part of a “save Boris” operation mounted in the wake of anger over Partygate scandal, which had broken the previous month. In meetings with MPs he reportedly warned them that ousting the prime minister risked their own jobs, because a replacement would have to call a snap general election to get a mandate from voters.After his 2017 resignation, he was later cleared of breaching his party’s code of conduct over the allegations.He later served in different roles in government, including as housing minister. Outside parliament, Mr Pincher, who said in his resignation letter that he had drunk too much alcohol writes a column about wine for The Critic magazine.A Brexiteer, he was first elected for his Tamworth seat in 2010, he took the seat from Labour and has steadily increased his share of the vote ever since. He currently has a majority of 19,634, what should be a Tory safe seat. But No 10 will be keenly aware that it lose a by-election in a seat with a much larger majority just a week ago, in a result that led, once again, to a renewed push for Mr Johnson to leave Downing Street. More