Markus Andrews

Boris Johnson’s government has been accused of quietly slashing by 10 per cent the number of Afghan refugees to be admitted to the UK under a scheme set up to protect those fleeing the country following the pullout of international troops last month.The Liberal Democrats said that the “already derisory” offer to take in 5,000 people this year under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme had been reduced to 4,500 by the inclusion of 500 “special cases” who had already been evacuated before UK withdrawal.A Home Office policy statement last Monday confirmed that “some” of the evacuees already airlifted to safety would be included in the ACRS, but it was only in response to a parliamentary question from Lib Dem spokesperson Layla Moran that a Foreign Office minister confirmed that these would total 500 people – or one-tenth of the first-year total.The “special cases” included individuals who were considered to be at particular risk from the new Taliban regime in Afghanistan – including women’s rights activists, prosecutors, journalists and students due to come to the UK with Chevening scholarships – but who did not qualify under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (Arap) for locally employed staff of the UK government and military, including interpreters.The RAF evacuated around 9,000 Afghans from Kabul airport in the dramatic airlift ahead of the 31 August deadline for withdrawal of international troops, and there was no cap on the numbers eligible for help.The ACRS is limited to 20,000 over a number of years and is intended to provide a route to safety for individuals put at risk by the Taliban takeover, with priority given to those who have stood up for values such as democracy, women’s rights, freedom of speech and the rule of law during the 20 years of democratic rule, as well as women, girls and members of minority ethnic and religious groups and the LGBT+ community.“The government’s commitments on Afghan refugees seem to get lower and lower by the day,” said Ms Moran.“The original dismal target of 5,000 this year has now effectively been cut by 10 per cent. It is absolutely staggering.“Yet again, when Britain needs to step up and play its part to help the millions of vulnerable Afghans, Boris Johnson shirks his responsibilities and shuts our country’s doors.” She said that while students with upcoming places to study in the UK under the Chevening scholarship programme had been helped, others who had previously take part in the scheme remained in Afghanistan.“Those Chevening scholars still in Afghanistan have been betrayed,” said Ms Moran. “They are at risk because of their connection to us – now they are uncertain as to whether they will even be able to enter the UK if they get out of the country.“It is a stain upon our nation’s reputation. The UK government must do all they can to evacuate the remaining Chevening scholars. As these people are special cases, it is not right that they count towards the Government’s already derisory 5,000 target for refugees this year.”A Home Office spokesperson said: “The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it and through the new Afghan Citizen’s Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) thousands of people most in need will be welcomed to the UK.“As set out in our policy statement, some of those who arrived in the UK under the evacuation programme, which included individuals who were considered to be at particular risk – including women’s rights activists, prosecutors and journalists – will be resettled under the ACRS.”In an emergency debate at their virtual annual conference on Monday, Liberal Democrats are expected to back proposals to ensure local councils get enough funding to resettle refugees, and expand the Armed Forces Covenant to include Afghan soldiers and interpreters who have worked with British forces in Afghanistan. More

Former education secretary Gavin Williamson is reportedly being tipped for a knighthood following his departure from the Cabinet.The MP for South Staffordshire is expected to feature in the Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s next honours list, sources told the Telegraph.Williamson declined to comment when approached by the publication, saying it was “not something I have heard about”.Despite numerous calls for his resignation, Mr Johnson held onto the frontbencher until his Cabinet reshuffle this week which saw Williamson sacked from the role after two years.The MP – who has served and also been sacked as defence secretary – said he was proud of the transformational reforms he had brought about as education secretary.He said: “It has been a privilege to serve as Education Secretary since 2019. Despite the challenges of the global pandemic, I’m particularly proud of the transformational reforms I’ve led in Post 16 education: in further education colleges, our Skills agenda, apprenticeships and more.”This programme will create better life opportunities for pupils and students for many years to come. I look forward to continuing to support the Prime Minister and the Government.”Mr Williamson is infamous for a number of gaffes outside of his department, most recently garnering criticism after confusing England footballer Marcus Rashford with rugby player Maro Itoje.Serving as defence secretary at the time of the 2018 Salisbury poisonings, his remarks were widely mocked across the globe.On being asked how the Kremlin would react to the UK expelling its diplomats, he said Russia should “shut up” and “go away”.His role in the Ministry of Defence lasted as long as within the Department for Education, having been fired by then-prime minister Theresa May over the leaking of confidential National Security Council information related to Huawei’s involvement in the UK’s 5G network. More

People who are not vaccinated will have to self-isolate for 10 days, even if returning from a low-risk county, under new Covid travel rules.Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced new changes on international travel as the government prepares to scrap protocols introduced during the pandemic.Amongst them, is the requirement for the unvaccinated to self-isolate for 10 days, no matter where they have flown from, as well as taking PCR tests before departure, on day two and day eight after their arrival.At the same time, fully-vaccinated travellers will not be required to take a pre-departure test, and only have to take a lateral flow test on day two after their return to the UK.Mr Shapps tweeted: “From Mon 4 Oct, if you’re fully vax you won’t need a pre-departure test before arrival into England from a non-red country and from later in Oct, will be able to replace the day 2 PCR test with a cheaper lateral flow.”Currently, those who have received both doses of the Covid vaccine must take a PCR test, but are not required to self-isolate if arriving from a green-list country.Following mounting pressure from the travel and tourism industry the traffic light system will be scrapped and replaced with a new simplified system of a single red list, which will include a smaller number of destinations.The prime minister’s official spokesman, asked whether the changes are likely to be permanent, said: “I think it would be wrong to rule out anything in the future but it is important to note that we continue to make steady progress to ease restrictions, and that is very much the intention of the approach we will be taking.” More

A health minister at the centre of a series of controversies over the government’s handling of coronavirus has been given the sack in Boris Johnson’s reshuffle.Lord Bethell said he was “sad to be standing down” from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), where he was a surprise appointment as minister for innovation at the outset of the Covid-19 crisis in March 2020.He became a lightning rod for cronyism allegations in relation to multi-million pound contracts for PPE, tests and equipment, after telling the House of Lords that in the hunt for supplies ministers used “a very large network of contacts” and “informal arrangements”.He is currently facing a High Court challenge from the Good Law Project campaign over a series of deals worth £87.5million to devise, make and supply home antibody tests, signed in April 2020 between the DHSC – a consortium led by York-based firm Abingdon Health.The case has exposed his frequent use of his personal mobile phone and emails to conduct official business, with lawyers pressing for the release of more than 30,000 messages which they believe are potentially linked to discussions around contracts.After the Good Law Project sought access to the phone’s contacts, they were initially told it was “lost” and later that it had been broken, only for government lawyers this week to reveal that it had been given to a member of Lord Bethell’s family when he upgraded. Government lawyers are resisting the release of the cache of messages, insisting that the vast majority are not relevant to the case.Lord Bethell also came under fire after recruiting as a DHSC adviser lobbyist George Pascoe-Watson, who is a director of Portland Communications, whose clients include Boston Consulting Group which has won several large government contracts.And he faced investigation over his sponsorship of a Westminster pass for adviser Gina Coladangelo, whose affair with Matt Hancock forced his resignation as health secretary earlier this year.The Harrow-educated 5th Baron Bethell entered parliament in 2018 in an election of hereditary peers, and chaired Mr Hancock’s leadership campaign the following year. His appointment to the Department of Health led to him being described as the minister for NHS Test and Trace.He also hit the headlines over unfortunate uses of language, once warning peers that he hoped students would slow the spread of coronavirus by practising social distancing “in pubs, clubs and bedrooms”. On another occasion, he was heard to mutter “Oh, for f***’s sake” as he struggled with the video link technology to take part virtually in a Lords debate.Confirming his departure from government, he tweeted: “Sad to be standing down but I want to thank Boris Johnson for the opportunity to serve my country during this awful pandemic. It’s been a privilege to work with wonderful colleagues in DHSC (and healthcare generally) during these times. Tx to Tilly for infectious energy.” More

People on the poverty line will be forced to choose between heating and eating this winter because of a triple whammy in the cost of living, the government is being warned.Experts say that rising energy bills combined with the end of both furlough and the universal credit top-up risk creating a living standards crisis this autumn.Annual gas and electricity bills are expected to soar by up to £280 after wholesale energy prices shot up. The hike led suppliers to withdraw their lowest fixed-rate offers on Thursday.In addition, the government price cap on annual energy costs for households is due to rise next month, leaving the average dual-fuel deal at £1,277 a year. But comparison site The Energy Shop expects this to go up to £1,557.At the same time, the furlough scheme, which was established as a way to prevent employers having to lay off workers, winds down at the end of this month.And the £20-a-week universal credit uplift, brought in to help those receiving the benefit cope with the pandemic lockdown, is ending in early October.National insurance is also going up by 1.25 percentage points in April.Figures show that 1.6 million people were on furlough at the end of July, and chancellor Rishi Sunak has been warned that ending the universal credit uplift will result in the biggest ever overnight benefit cut, affecting millions of families.Ministers argue, however, that they have spent £400bn protecting jobs and livelihoods and supporting businesses and public services during the pandemic. The cost of gas is rising sharply due to higher demand brought about by the economic recovery after the pandemic. And a blaze in Kent, which this week knocked out a major cable bringing in electricity from France, is expected to affect supplies until March next year.Wes Streeting, the shadow child poverty secretary, said: “My gas and electricity bill is going up by an estimated £161.67 next year. I’ll manage – but what about working families who, under the Tories, will be clobbered by a £20-a-week cut to universal credit and a 10 per cent rise in national insurance?”Iain Porter, of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “Families on low incomes are increasingly anxious about how they are supposed to make ends meet. The prime minister says he wants to unite and level up the country, but he cannot achieve this by cutting the incomes of around 5.5 million families in and out of work. “It’s not too late for him to heed all of the warnings and abandon this cut, or he will risk creating a living standards crisis this autumn.”Morgan Wild, head of policy for Citizens Advice, said: “Millions of people who are still struggling with the impact of the pandemic now face a barrage of fresh challenges. The cut to universal credit, end of furlough, and hike in energy prices will squeeze family finances to the limit.“Keeping the £20-a-week increase to universal credit is the single best way of supporting families through what will be an incredibly hard winter.”Garry Lemon, director of policy at the Trussell Trust, said: “We know many people in need of emergency food are also living in fuel crisis, and are already caught in impossible situations where their only option is to either feed their children or heat their home.”Former Labour leader Ed Miliband said the energy hikes showed the need to use more eco-friendly and secure energy sources.“We need the government to reassure households and businesses that they are working with all relevant bodies to ensure secure, affordable energy supplies.“They also need to recognise what this shows about the problems of government policy,” he said. “The best answer to these issues is to scale up and diversify our domestic energy sector, to shore up our security of supply and protect industry, including drawing on all possible zero-carbon sources of power.“This growing crisis also reinforces the urgent need to manage demand by upgrading and insulating houses across this country.“Instead, the Conservatives sold off the Green Investment Bank, blocked onshore wind power, cut subsidies for solar, and scrapped their flagship Green Homes grant.”A government spokesperson said: “The furlough scheme and the uplift to universal credit were always temporary. They were designed to help people through the financial disruption of the toughest stages of the pandemic, and as we look forward and get back to normal, it’s right that our economic support reflects this.“Universal credit continues to provide vital support for those both in and out of work, and we’re now focusing on our plan for jobs, getting people back into work, progressing and earning more.“The Warm Home discount scheme supports over 2 million low-income and vulnerable customers each year with their energy costs.”The government has previously said that children in households where every adult is working are five times less likely to be in poverty than those in households where nobody works, and that its jobs plan will help people to learn new skills and increase their hours or find new work. More

Labour MP David Lammy has claimed that his visit to local Pentonville prison was cancelled “vindictively” by new justice secretary Dominic Raab.Writing on Twitter, the shadow lord chancellor and shadow secretary of state for justice said the cancellation, which had apparently happened “without justification”, was “outrageous”.Mr Lammy went on to underline how it is his “constitutional duty to visit prisons”, before calling Mr Raab a “despot”.He wrote: “Outrageous that in his first day as Lord Chancellor @DominicRaab has vindictively cancelled my visit to local Pentonville prison tomorrow without justification.“It’s my constitutional duty to visit prisons. Only despots stop political opponents from scrutinising public services.”Mr Raab was on Wednesday appointed as the deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom, lord chancellor and secretary of state for justice, during the cabinet reshuffle, leaving behind his post as foreign secretary which he had held since 2019.In other news, concerns have been raised by both Labour and senior legal figures over Mr Raab’s suitability for the role after David Lammy’s office uncovered footage of Mr Raab saying that he did not support the Human Rights Act, reported The Guardian.The clip from 2009 shows the then backbench MP saying: “I don’t support the Human Rights Act and I don’t believe in economic and social rights.” In response, Mr Lammy said: “We will do all we can to defend the fundamental rights the public depends on from attacks by the Conservatives.” More

Boris Johnson is facing calls to more than double his 100 million dose pledge of coronavirus vaccines for developing countries, after new analysis showed the UK will have 216m shots left over even after giving jabs to teenagers and boosters to the over-50s.Labour said that the prime minister “doesn’t have the time to wait” to share the life-saving jabs, as international data shows just 1.9 per cent of people in low-income countries – fewer than one in 50 – has so far received a single Covid vaccine.By contrast, in the UK more than 89 per cent of over-16s have received one vaccination, 81 per cent have received two and around 30 million people aged 50 or over are due to receive a third over the winter.Shadow international development secretary Preet Kaur Gill called on Mr Johnson to ramp up Britain’s giving “as a matter of urgency”, pointing to estimates that the rich world could donate 1.2bn surplus doses by the end of 2021, avoiding as many as 2.8m deaths in developing countries.Experts warn that leaving poorer countries unvaccinated risks creating a “Petri dish” for the mutation of new strains of Covid-19 which could evade current vaccines, stripping away Britons’ protections against a new wave of the disease.At the G7 summit in Cornwall in June, Mr Johnson announced the UK will donate 100m surplus doses over the following 12 months, with the bulk of them going through the Covax international inoculation system.But so far, just 10.3m UK jabs have been sent overseas.And the total 1 billion doses promised by the G7 countries – also including the US, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan and the EU – fell woefully short of the 11bn which the World Health Organisation believes are needed to bring the pandemic under control.The UK has ordered more than 540m doses of seven of the most promising vaccines – enough to inoculate the entire population almost nine times over – but only four have so far been approved for use, and a deal for 100m shots of the French Valneva product has been scrapped.Labour’s shadow international development secretary Preet Kaur Gill said that Labour’s analysis showed there will still be vast numbers of doses left over after 12-15 year-olds have received a single Pfizer jab and over-50s receive their boosters.She said that the short shelf-life of vaccines meant that more than 800,000 AstraZeneca doses have already gone to waste in the UK.“Given this crisis is a global pandemic, the government simply doesn’t have the time to wait to share these life-saving doses,” said Ms Gill.“While the NHS continues to do a fantastic job of protecting people in the UK, the government needs to work with the international community and ensure low-income countries receive surplus doses.“It is vital that the entire global community gets vaccinated to save lives and prevent the virus from further mutate and become more dangerous and more transmissible. Ambition is what’s needed to solve this global crisis.”There was no immediate response from the government to a request for comment from The Independent. More

Minister for Equalities Kemi Badenoch called trans women “men” and questioned their campaign for equal rights in a leaked audio recording. Ms Badenoch, who has just been given a key ministerial position in the Housing ministry, reportedly made the comments in her parliamentary office in 2018, a year after she was elected as an MP. In the conversation, which was reported by Vice World News, Ms Badenoch seemed to suggest that transgender people had campaigned for increased rights because they wanted to pick a cause. Ms Badenoch argued that politics has moved on from debates about the rights of ethnic minorities, adding: “It’s not even about sexuality now. It’s now like the whole transgender movement, where, OK well we’ve got gay marriage, and civil partnerships, so what are transsexuals looking for?”The phrase transsexual, like transvestite, is often considered outdated and offensive by many trans people. She then went on to explain the debate around gender-neutral bathrooms, saying: “Even when, you know, so, people hear about, you know like the whole bathroom thing, its actually more of an American thing but they have a similar problem, that, right, so now it’s not just about being free to marry who you want, you now want to have men using women’s bathrooms.”A government spokesperson defended the comments by saying that Ms Badenoch, who has been minister for equalities since February 2020, was talking about balancing competing demands from different groups.They said: “The minister for equalities is working hard to deliver for LGBT people, whether that is modernising the process of applying for a Gender Recognition Certificate, driving forward LGBT rights in the workplace, or banning conversion therapy.“This 2018 comment has been taken out of context, with the minister making a clear point about striking the balance for equality and fairness when there are multiple and often competing demands between different groups. It should not be used to misrepresent her views.”Angela Rayner, shadow chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, called the comments “disgusting”. She said: “With hate crimes and transphobia on the rise we need an equalities minister who will stand up for trans people.”She added: “Everyone should be able to be themselves and be celebrated, supported and loved for who they are. The equalities minister should not be in the job if she does not believe that. Solidarity with my trans brothers and sisters today and always. The Labour Party is absolutely committed to advancing trans rights and updating the GRA to introduce self-declaration for trans people and upholding the Equality Act. Your fight is our fight.”Ms Badenoch is currently tasked with putting together the UK’s first ever global LGBTQ conference, which aims to celebrate “kindness, tolerance and openness”. John Nicolson, the SNP’s shadow culture secretary and deputy chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global LGBT+ Rights, told Vice News that Badenoch has “no credibility” as equalities minister. LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall responded to the revelations, saying: “We’re shocked to hear of the comments attributed to the minister, which are both hurtful and harmful to LGBTQ+ communities.” More