Markus Andrews

Gavin Williamson has accused some UK universities of pursuing a “divisive agenda” through actions such as “cancelling national heroes” and “debating statues”.The education secretary said such moves only “widen divisions” in a speech on Thursday. “Although our universities are in the main fantastic communities, we would all admit, like anywhere in society, they are not perfect,” he said.“Whether it is antisemitic incidents, the use of non-disclosure agreements to silence victims of sexual assault, or increasingly casualised workforce or inadequate teaching provision for disabled students, there are genuine injustices that we should strive to get right.”But he added: “Too often, some universities seem more interested in pursuing a divisive agenda.”Mr Williamson said this involved “cancelling national heroes, debating about statues, anonymous reporting schemes for so-called micoaggressions and politicising their curricula”.“Vice-chancellors who allow these initiatives to take place in their name must understand they do nothing but undermine public confidence, widen divisions and damage the sector,” he said.The education secretary has been a vocal supporter of free speech on campus, amid campaigns and conversations over decolonising curriculums, removing controverisal statues and de-platforming speakers over views.Earlier this year, he backed a Oxford College’s decision not to remove a statue of white supremacist Cecil Rhodes, which students have been campaigning for years to have taken down.Mr Williamson also condemned students in another Oxford college who had taken down a picture of the Queen, which they said was an emblem of “recent colonial history”.The National Union for Students told The Independent the education secretary’s involvement in the matter “posed questions” over the government’s commitment to free speech.The education secretary has previously said he was “deeply worried” about the “chilling effect on campuses of unacceptable silencing and censoring”.The government has put forward a bill that would create new requirements for universities and student unions over freedom of speech, with a regulator able to issue fines for any breaches.But unions have accused the government of “exaggerating” the threat to push through these laws and said there was “no evidence” of a freedom of speech crisis at universities. More

Home secretary Priti Patel plans to sanction new measures to send migrants crossing the Channel back to France. Border Force members have been training for several months in how certain boats could be turned back to French waters, according to several reports.The news comes amid crunch talks between London and Paris about the worsening migrant crisis, during which Ms Patel is said to have told Gerald Darmanin, the French interior minister, that the current “status quo was not working” for either Britain or France.She also used the G7 meeting of interior ministers on Wednesday to tell Mr Darmanin in no uncertain terms that Britain “expects to see results” from French efforts to prevent migrant crossings. The method being considered, known as “pushback”, was defined by Oxfam in a 2017 briefing paper as “the practice by authorities of preventing people from seeking protection on their territory by forcibly returning them to another country”.It adds: “By pushing back those seeking safety and dignity over a border, states abdicate responsibility for examining their individual cases.”Ms Patel first sought to make the measure legal under the Nationality and Borders Bill, laid in Parliament in July, which campaigners claimed was both illegal and “morally wrong”.The Bill, which also paves the way for the Home Office to effectively punish countries that refuse to take back their own citizens, is in its third of five Commons stages before it ascends to the House of Lords. Pushbacks have been used in the past by countries such as Australia, Malta and Greece, where it is thought Ms Patel got the idea from. In 2017, the United Nation’s then-global expert on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions condemned Australia for using the “intentionally” risky measure.Agnes Callamard’s report, “Unlawful Death of Refugees and Migrants”, said the move not only broke international maritime law but “intentionally put lives at risk”. She is now the secretary general of Amnesty International.Three years later, Malta was blasted by the UN following “concerning” reports that officials there had asked commercial ships to “push boats with migrants in distress” back into the Mediterranean’s high seas. “Such measures are clearly putting lives at risk,” Rupert Colville, the spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement. Ms Patel’s plans are thought to be far enough along that the Home Office has ordered British officials to rewrite maritime laws so as to make it legal for Border Force officials to turn some boats around. They would then alert the French coastguard to the presence of migrants in their territorial waters, forcing them to deal with the rescue mission.Currently, the UN Conventions of the Law at Sea says that “every state” is required to “render assistance to any person found at sea in danger of being lost”. They must then “proceed with all possible speed to the rescue of persons in distress”. But the law is not clear about what should happen “once a rescue has been effected”.It is thought the pushback operations orchestrated by Ms Patel will be restricted to bigger migrant boats and only used in limited circumstances, with reports suggesting it would ultimately be up to individual on-scene captains to decide whether a boat is at risk of capsizing if forced back.The Home Office declined to comment on specifics, with a spokesperson saying in a statement: “We do not routinely comment on maritime operational activity.”Meanwhile, Boris Johnson is said to have signed off on the new measures following a meeting with Tory MPs, at which he asked for their support and they gave it to him. “He thinks it’s not acceptable and more needs to be done,” a government source told The Times. “Too many people are putting their lives at risk.”Using similar rhetoric, care minister Helen Whately said this morning that the government wants to “deter” migrants from making such a “dangerous journey” in the first place.It is understood a range of options for finding ways to stop small boats making the journey across the Channel are being evaluated and tested.Ms Patel and Mr Darmanin held discussions on crossings at Lancaster House, in London, in the wake of UK authorities having to rescue or intercept 456 people as part of 17 incidents on Tuesday, and 301 people as part of nine incidents on Wednesday, according to the Home Office. In a tweet after the meeting, the home secretary said she had “constructive talks on tackling illegal migration across the Channel” with France’s interior minister. “I made clear that delivering results and stopping crossings were an absolute priority for the British people,” she wrote. However, a post from Mr Darmanin appeared to shed doubt on this. “France will not accept any practice contrary to the law of the sea, nor any financial blackmail. Great Britain’s commitment must be kept. I made it clear to my counterpart, Priti Patel,” he wrote. “The friendship between our two countries deserves better than postures which harm co-operation between our services.”Earlier this year, the UK and France announced an agreement to more than double the number of police patrolling French beaches. As part of the deal, the government pledged to give France £54m to support its efforts to stop small boat crossings.Charities urged the Home Office to take a “more humane and responsible approach” towards asylum seekers and said humanitarian visas were needed to help “prevent the chaos of the Channel crossings”.In the same 2017 Oxfam briefing paper mentioned earlier, the charity said pushbacks violate international and EU law “because they undermine people’s right to seek asylum, deny people of the right to due process before a decision to expel them is taken, and may eventually risk sending refugees and others in need of international protection back into danger”. More

French media has highlighted rising tensions between France and the UK as it reported on Priti Patel’s new plan to push migrant boats back across the Channel. Both countries have become embroiled in a war of words over efforts to tackle migrants crossing the Channel by boat.France has “strongly rejected” the latest tactic reportedly sanctioned by Ms Patel, which would redirect migrant boats in the Channel back to France, according to Le Monde.The leading national newspaper called migrant crossings a “subject that sours relations between Paris and London” and said the French interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, had “upped the ante” with a tweet on the matter on Thursday. “France won’t accept any practice against maritime law, nor any financial blackmail,” Mr Darmanin wrote, adding that the friendship between France and UK “deserves better than stances that hurt co-operation between our departments”.Ms Patel told her French counterpart this week the British public “expect to see results” from French efforts to prevent ongoing migrant crossings. She is also to have told MPs she is prepared to withhold millions of pounds of cash promised to France to help step up patrols unless an improvement in the number of migrants intercepted by French authorities is seenLe Figaro, another major, right-leaning French newspaper, said the UK has accused France of not sufficiently preventing migrant crossings for years. “London wants to put the breaks on illegal immigration. Gerald Darmanin warns of a ‘practice against maritime law,’ the newspaper said in a report on the UK’s plans to push boats back across the Channel. “Tensions between France and the UK rise while Channel crossings increase,” France Info, a radio network, reported. In a round-up on European news, the outlet said the UK was “infuriated” by the number of migrants coming from France. Sud-Ouest, a regional newspaper, said things were “heating up” between London and Paris, following the French response to Ms Patel’s plans to push back boats. Meanwhile Le Parisien reported that the UK wanted to make French authorities “responsible” for migrants in the Channel, wherever they are found. According to reports, Ms Patel has ordered officials to rewrite maritime laws to allow Border Force to turn boats around, forcing them to be dealt with by French authorities.Several newspapers reported that members of Border Force are being given special training to handle migrant boats, but would only deploy the “pushback” tactics when deemed practical and safe to do so.Reports suggested such operations were likely to be restricted to sturdier, bigger migrant boats and only used in “very limited circumstances”.A Home Office spokesperson said: “We do not routinely comment on maritime operational activity.” More

France has warned the UK government against “blackmail” over migrant crossings and insisted attempts to turn back boats in the English Channel would be illegal under international maritime law.Home secretary Priti Patel’s plan for “pushbacks” in the Channel has sparked an outcry from opposition parties and campaigners who said the tactics would put lives at risk.Border Force officials have been training for several months in how some boats could be turned back to French waters, according to several reports.French interior minister Gerald Darmanin said on Thursday he told Ms Patel during a meeting in London that the UK must stick to its legal commitments when dealing with migrant crossings.“France will not accept any practice that goes against maritime law, and will not accept any financial blackmail,” Mr Darmanin tweeted. “The UK must hold up its commitment.”It follows a meeting between Ms Patel and Mr Darmanin on Wednesday, during which the home secretary told her counterpart that the British public “expect to see results” from £54m given to France to support efforts to prevent crossings.Plans for “pushback” operations are said to be restricted to bigger migrant boats and for use in limited circumstances, with use of the tactic ultimately up to the captain of any British vessel involved.The home secretary ordered officials to rewrite the UK’s interpretation of maritime laws to allow Border Force to prepare to turn boats around in the Channel, according to reports.But France remains adamant such tactics would break maritime law. In a letter seen by The Independent, Mr Darmanin told Ms Patel Paris could not agree to any changes “out of strict respect for the international maritime law governing search and rescue at sea”.On Thursday the French minister tweeted: “I said it clearly in my discussions with Priti Patel. The friendship between our two countries deserves better than stances that damage the co-operation of our departments.”Pierre-Henri Dumont, the MP for Calais, said the idea of pushing back boats would break the law and was “unworthy” of the UK. “Brexit means leaving the EU, not leaving the international community,” he tweeted.“I call on the British government to come to its senses and fundamentally change its domestic law and its labour market – which encourage illegal immigration – before it tries to trample on international law.”Downing Street said the government was looking at a “range of safe and legal options” to deal with migrant Channel crossings.Pushed on whether there has been a change of policy, Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said: “It’s right that our Border Force has the right range of tactics to address this problem.”However, the spokesman denied any attempts to rewrite maritime laws – despite lawyers warning the policy will be illegal – insisting: “Operational activities comply with international and domestic law.”Mr Johnson’s official spokesman also rejected claims of “financial blackmail” from French interior minister, noting that the UK government has “provided our French counterparts significant sums of money previously”.Meanwhile, Labour said the idea of pushing boats back put lives at risk, while aid charities and other organisations branded the plan “cowardly”, “cruel” and “illegal”.Amnesty International UK’s refugee director Steve Valdez-Symonds said: “The government’s pushback plan is senseless, dangerous and almost certainly unlawful.”Conservative MP Tim Loughton, a member of the home affairs select committee, said was unworkable. “In practice it’s just not going to happen,” the Tory MP told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.The Tory backbencher added: “Any boats coming up alongside at speed would capsize most of these boats anyway, and then we’re looking at people getting into trouble in the water and inevitably drowning … and then of course we will get blamed.”Lucy Moreton, professional office at the Immigration Services Union (ISU) representing border staff, said she would be “very surprised” if the pushback tactic ends up being used.“You also need the consent of the French to do it. Because as you turn the vessel back towards France, when it crosses the median line it has to be intercepted and rescued by the French, and it appears the French will simply not engage in this,” she told the BBC.Earlier this year, the UK and France announced an agreement to more than double the number of police patrolling French beaches. It was the second pledge of its kind in a year.Illegal migration is anticipated to be the subject of focus for the final day of the G7 meeting on Thursday. More

The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has threatened to collapse power-sharing arrangements at Stormont “within weeks” if changes to Brexit’s Northern Ireland Protocol are not delivered.Sir Jeffrey Donaldson also announced his party’s immediate withdrawal from cross-border political institutions established for the island of Ireland under the Good Friday Agreement.Sir Jeffrey also said DUP ministers would “seek to block additional checks at the ports” when ongoing grace periods end – regardless of legal demands from the UK government and the EU.The moves are part of an intensification of the DUP’s campaign of opposition to Brexit arrangements that have created trading barriers between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Sir Jeffrey issued the warning on the future of the Stormont executive in a keynote address in Belfast on the same day as EU Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic began a two-day visit to Northern Ireland.Ahead of any move to pull ministers out of the current coalition in Northern Ireland – a step that would bring down the power-sharing institutions – Sir Jeffrey said his party was first seeking to challenge the legality of checks on GB to NI trade introduced under the protocol.“If our ministers cannot in the end prevent these checks taking place and if the protocol issues remain then I have to be clear, the position in office of DUP ministers would become untenable,” he said.“If the choice is ultimately between remaining in office or implementing the protocol in its present form then the only option, the only option for any unionist minister would be to cease to hold such office.”Sir Jeffrey added: “Within weeks it will become clear if there is a basis for the Assembly and Executive to continue in this current mandate.”Sir Jeffrey declared the unionist party will no longer take part in “strand two” of north-south co-operation under the Good Friday Agreement – withdrawing from north-south political bodies set up to ensure cross-border co-operation.The DUP leader also said ministers would also seek to use their votes at the Stormont Executive to block the implementation of any additional checks at Northern Ireland ports when ongoing grace periods end.He said the DUP would also oppose the passage of regulations at Stormont required to reflect any changes to EU law applying in Northern Ireland.Sir Jeffrey said his party had to “consider whether there is a need for an Assembly election to refresh our mandate if action is not taken to address and resolve the issues related to the protocol and its impact”.Mr Sefcovic is expected to hold a series of meetings with politicians and business leaders in Northern Ireland on Thursday during his visit. Ahead of his trip, he said the EU rejected demands to “renegotiate” the protocol.“Let’s focus on the concrete problem. Let’s not try to renegotiate the protocol. This is definitely not our aim and I believe that we can find the good solution to the outstanding issues,” he told a news conference.Meanwhile, the UK government is reportedly considering whether new post-Brexit paperwork for imports from the EU, due to be phased in from October, could be delayed to avoid further supply disruption. More

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer should take inspiration from US president Joe Biden, the leader of the TUC has said.The union’s general secretary Frances O’Grady praised Mr Biden for pushing “dignity at work” as a slogan during his successful 2020 presidential campaign.The TUC chief said the fight for better pay and conditions should be “absolutely central” to Labour’s efforts to win the next general election and oust Boris Johnson.Labour’s recent pledges to strengthen employment rights – through the right to flexible working and by ending the practice of fire-and-rehire – were “really encouraging,” Ms O’Grady told the BBC.But the union boss urged Sir Keir to make his priorities clear when he speaks to the TUC on Tuesday. “He’s got another opportunity to set out in primary colours what his agenda for working people in this country is.”She added: “I hope he will take some inspiration from what we’ve seen from President Biden … with that whole issue of dignity at work becoming absolutely central to the public policy agenda and that recognition that there has to be a major reset on workers’ rights.”Labour pledged to give gig economy workers the right to sick pay with a new employment rights charter announced in July. The party promised to create a new definition of “worker” in law to make sure everyone enjoys the same protections.But Sir Keir is facing the threat of a strike within his own party after staff overwhelmingly voted for industrial action in response to compulsory redundancies. A reorganisation revealed last month will slash 90 jobs in response to the party’s cash crisis.Ms O’Grady also called on Boris Johnson to define what “levelling up” is supposed to mean, criticising the agenda for being too vague. “The pressure is on the government to define levelling up. People in the country want a sharp definition” said the TUC leader.Urging the government to address inequality, she added: “There’s a sharp picture of a Covid class chasm between those who kept on going into work throughout the pandemic, keeping us fed, safe and looked after, and the better-off in society.”Ms O’Grady – who leads the country’s largest federation of unions – said she was “absolutely delighted” that Sharon Graham and Christina McAnea had recently been elected to lead the Unite and Unison unions.It follows last year’s report about the former leadership at the GMB union, which found that bullying, misogyny and sexual harassment were “endemic”.“When the GMB story came out I felt really let down and angry. Too often it was discussed around the politics of the union,” she said.“Those women [who made complaints] should have been front and centre of everybody’s considerations, because no woman should have to put up with that kind of behaviour.” More

Staff in the social care sector who refuse to get the Covid vaccine should not be able work in frontline roles in care homes, a government health minister has said.Care minister Helen Whately suggested care home staff who would not get double jabbed could be moved to back-office roles.She told Sky News: “The big question has to be well, if you don’t want to get vaccinated, how can you continue, how can it be right to continue, to look after people who are really vulnerable from Covid?”The government is considering whether to make Covid jabs mandatory for frontline NHS and care workers – but some unions and care bodies have warned it could lead to staff shortages.Asked on BBC Breakfast whether care staff who refuse the jab could be sacked, Ms Whately claimed they could be redeployed. “The care home will have to work with staff members to see if there are any alternative roles they can do that don’t involve actually working in the care home,” she said.The minister later suggested those all staff working in health and social care – including NHS staff – who refuse to get double jabbed could be moved to back-office roles.“You can look at whether there are alternative ways somebody could be deployed, for instance, in a role that doesn’t involve frontline work … whether it’s, for instance, working on 111, something like that,” she told Times Radio.The care minister added: “So we could look at alternative roles for individuals, these are exactly the sorts of things that we can investigate.”Ms Whately’s comments comes as the government announced a consultation on plans to make Covid and flu vaccinations mandatory for all frontline health and care staff, including NHS workers.The six-week consultation process will take views on whether vaccine requirements should apply for health and wider social care workers – those in contact with patients and people receiving care.It would mean only those who are fully vaccinated, unless medically exempt, could be deployed to deliver health and care services.The government previously said all staff in registered care homes in England must be vaccinated against Covid from 11 November, unless medically exempt.The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the consultation would look at the potential impact that making jabs compulsory could have on staffing and safety, such as reducing staff sickness absence.NHS staff, healthcare providers, stakeholders, patients and their families are being urged to take part, with a final decision expected this winter.According to the DHSC, around 92 per cent of NHS trust staff have received one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, with 88 per cent of staff having received both doses.Health secretary Sajid Javid urged all health and social care staff to be vaccinated, regardless of the outcome of the consultation.“We will consider the responses to the consultation carefully but, whatever happens, I urge the small minority of NHS staff who have not yet been jabbed to consider getting vaccinated – for their own health as well as those around them.”The social care industry has previously expressed concern over the effect mandatory vaccination may have on the sector’s already-stretched staffing levels.The Institute of Health and Social Care Management (IHSCM) most recent survey found that nine in 10 managers said their workplace was experiencing staff shortages or having difficulty recruiting. More

Boris Johnson’s care minister has said she “doesn’t know” if under-pressure education secretary Gavin Williamson is racist or incompetent.Mr Williamson has apologised for a “genuine mistake” after mixing up England footballer Marcus Rashford with England rugby star Maro Itoje in an interview.The error has sparked criticism from MPs who have accused the education secretary of being “clueless” and “ignorant”.Asked on LBC if Mr Williamson was either racist or incompetent, care minister Helen Whately said: “Honestly, I don’t know.”When host Nick Ferrari asked again: “So it could be racism?” the minister replied: “I can’t believe for a moment that he is.”The LBC host concluded: “So he’s incompetent then.” But the minister pushed back, saying: “It’s not necessarily one or the other. You’re trying to put me in a trap to say it’s one thing or the other.”The controversy began after Mr Williamson told the Evening Standard he had met Mr Rashford, who forced the government into a U-turn on free school meals provision, during a Zoom session.But he had actually met England rugby star Mr Itoje who has campaigned for ministers to close the digital divide.The education said: “Towards the end of a wide-ranging interview in which I talked about both the laptops and school meals campaigns, I conflated the issues and made a genuine mistake.”Labour’s shadow justice secretary David Lammy said: “It is depressing that in 2021 one black man – who has reached the pinnacle of his sport and has given so much back to society – is confused so easily with another by the education secretary.”The Labour MP added: “Gavin Williamson must be the most ignorant, clueless and incapable education secretary in the UK’s history.”Mr Rashford and Mr Itoje have made light of the minister’s mix-up with jokes. The Manchester star tweeted: “Accent could have been a giveaway,” followed by a laughing emoji.In a more pointed statement, a spokeswoman for Mr Rashford said: “Maro and Marcus are two incredibly successful young black men, but there is little more they have in common.”In June last year, then health secretary Matt Hancock accidentally called Rashford “Daniel” during a Sky News interview.Mr Williamson’s mistake came amid reports that Boris Johnson is considering replacing him at the next reshuffle.“If rumours of an imminent reshuffle are true, this must surely be the final nail in the coffin for Gavin Williamson holding ministerial office ever again,” said Lib Dem MP Daisy Cooper.The PM’s press secretary said on Wednesday that there are no plans for a reshuffle, but that Mr Johnson will be working from Downing Street on Thursday. More