Markus Andrews

The government is investigating whether or not a veteran from the war in Afghanistan took their own life because they were distraught by the Taliban takeover, a defence minister said on Monday.During a round of broadcast interviews, armed forces minister James Heappey told Sky News at least one veteran – dismayed by the fall of Kabul – had taken their life in recent days.But the minister later admitted it had been “inaccurate” to say a former soldier had died by suicide because of the US-led withdrawal, and said the government was still looking into the possibility.“We’ve had a number of reports that the thing I was referring to [on Sky News] was inaccurate,” Mr Heappey told BBC Breakfast. “We’re looking very, very carefully at whether or not it is true that someone has taken their own life in the last few days.”Mr Heappey – who served in Afghanistan during his own time in the British Army – also told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he was “embarrassed” to have made the error.He earlier told Sky News host Kay Burley that at least one veteran from the conflict had taken their own life “because of their feeling over the consequences of withdrawal”.But the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Mr Heappey had misspoken, and clarified that it had no confirmed suicide cases among Afghanistan veterans due to the recent withdrawal.The Independent understands the ministry is investigating whether there was a recent suicide case involving someone who served in Afghanistan, but officials believe the department received a false report.The junior defence minister said he is “very worried” about the mental health of veterans since the fall of Kabul, as he called on the public to support military charities.“I’m very worried about the mental health my friends and former colleagues at his time,” Mr Heappey said. “That’s why the government, the nation, needs to put our arm round our veterans and tell them how proud we are of what they did.”No 10 said Boris Johnson will announce on Monday an additional £5m to help military charities offering support on mental health issues to veterans with the aim of ensuring “no veteran’s request for help will go unanswered”.Mr Johnson will also reiterate his pledge to use “every economic, political and diplomatic lever” to help the Afghans left behind by Britain as he defends his handling of the crisis to highly-critical MPs.The prime minister will make a statement to the House of Commons on Monday afternoon when parliament returns from its summer recess to confront a potential humanitarian disaster in the making.Mr Johnson will also use the Commons speech to thank the 150,000 British service men and women for their work in Afghanistan over the past two decades.Mr Heappey, who reached the rank of major before entering politics, said he had heard that the Taliban was now in control of the whole of Afghanistan, but that the situation in Panjshir did not change “the big picture”.The Taliban said on Monday they have taken control of Panjshir province north of Kabul, the last holdout of anti-Taliban forces in the country and the only province the Taliban had not seized during their blitz across Afghanistan last month. More

Liberal Democrats have tabled a motion in parliament to dock foreign secretary Dominic Raab of his ministerial salary and use the money to pay for resettlement of Afghan refugees.The move comes as Boris Johnson prepares to defend his government’s handling of the Afghan crisis in a statement to the Commons, in which he will hail the efforts of UK troops and announce £5m to help military charities offering support for veterans with mental health issues.The prime minister will come under intensive pressure from opposition parties, who accuse the government of failing to complete the evacuation of UK nationals and Afghan staff during the 18 months since then US president Donald Trump struck a deal with the Taliban to withdraw US troops.He will come under fire over Mr Raab’s decision to stay on holiday in Crete while Afghan capital Kabul fell to the militant Islamist group, some 20 years after they were removed from power.And he will face questions about why intelligence failed to predict the rapid collapse of the Kabul government and how the UK will secure the removal from Afghanistan of an estimated 1,100 people eligible for resettlement in Britain who were left behind when international troops departed a week ago.In their early-day motion, the Lib Dems said that Mr Raab’s £71,673 ministerial salary could pay for the resettlement of 10 Afghan refugees, following reports of a £557m shortfall in funding.The party’s chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said: “Dominic Raab is one of the worst foreign secretaries in British history. He has presided over the worst foreign policy disaster since the Suez and decided to spend more time on the beach instead of picking up the phone to help vulnerable Afghans.“His continued dithering and delays have put lives at risk. Therefore it’s only right that his pay be docked for failing to do his job properly.“By repurposing his ministerial salary, we can fund 10 Afghan refugees to resettle and build a new life here in the UK. This is a much better use of taxpayers’ money.”The early-day motion has no chance of being put to a vote in the Commons or being enforced, but is a means for MPs to register their disapproval of the foreign secretary’s behaviour.In his statement, Mr Johnson will provide an update on the resettlement programme which will allow 20,000 Afghan refugees to come to Britain – including 5,000 this year. He will commend the “courage and ingenuity” of all involved in the Kabul airlift and vow to use “every economic, political and diplomatic lever to protect our country from harm and help the Afghan people”.In the week marking the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States, he will thank the 150,000 British servicemen and women for their service over the past two decades and will promise that “no veteran’s request for help will go unanswered”.The prime minister is expected to say: “Thanks to their efforts, no terrorist attack against this country or any of our Western allies has been launched from Afghanistan for twenty years.“They fulfilled the first duty of the British armed forces – to keep our people safe – and they and their families should take pride in everything they did.“Just as they kept us safe, so we shall do right by our veterans.”The SNP urged Mr Johnson to use his statement to outline a “credible plan” to protect thousands of Afghan refugees and vulnerable people left behind by the UK government.SNP Westminster deputy leader Kirsten Oswald said: “Boris Johnson shares responsibility for the biggest foreign policy disaster in modern times, and the UK government now has a moral duty to ensure safe routes for refugee resettlement, substantially increase the number of refugees the UK government is willing to take, and outline adequate refugee funding arrangements for the devolved governments and local authorities.” More

Prospective parents are to be given the right to keep frozen eggs, sperm and embryos in storage for as long as 55 years while they decide when is best to start a family.Health secretary Sajid Javid announced that the government plans to scrap the current rule which requires destruction of unused material after 10 years.He said the change would remove the pressure of the “ticking clock” on would-be mothers and fathers who have opted to freeze eggs and sperm but may not be ready to make use of them.Under the new system, prospective parents will be given the option on keeping or disposing at 10-year intervals.Mr Javid said the reform proposals, which follow a consultation earlier this year, reflect new “vitrification” freezing methods which allow human eggs to be stored indefinitely without deterioration, as well as the increasing success of using frozen embryos in routine IVF treatment.Additional conditions will be drawn up separately in relation to the use of third-party donors and the posthumous use of material from individuals who have since died.The health secretary said the new arrangements will not only offer greater reproductive choice and less pressured decision-making for parents, but also ensure greater equality as the same rules will apply to everyone and storage limits will not be dictated by medical need.“The current storage arrangements can be severely restrictive for those making the important decision about when to start a family, and this new legislation will help turn off the ticking clock in the back of people’s minds,” said Mr Javid.“There are any number of reasons why someone may choose to preserve their fertility, and it is one of the most personal decisions any of us can make. Technological breakthroughs – including in egg freezing –have changed the equation in recent years and it’s only right that this progress puts more power into the hands of potential parents.“By making these changes, we are going to take a huge step forwards, not just for giving people greater freedom over their fertility, but for equality too.”The chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, Julia Chain, welcomed the plans, which she said would “bring the law in line with advances in science, changes in modern society and individuals’ reproductive choices”.“Any decision to store or preserve eggs, sperm or embryos is a serious one and anyone considering this must be given full information on the procedures involved, including the best time to freeze and likelihood of successfully using them to have a baby in future,” said Ms Chain.”It is important that the new rules are clear and that fertility clinics are given adequate time to update their procedures to ensure they can both implement the changes effectively and give patients sufficient information so that they are fully informed about their options.”A baby boy was born in Australia in 2015 using sperm frozen 23 years earlier by his father at the age of 15 before he underwent chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s lymphoma which left him infertile.Raj Mathur, the chair of the British Fertility Society which has lobbied for modernisation of the law, said the change “ensures that UK regulation is compliant with the scientific evidence about the safety of storage, and protects the ability of all our patients to make reproductive choices for themselves as individuals and couples”.The government’s minister for innovation Lord Bethell said: “People across the UK are starting families later in life and it is increasingly commonplace for people to choose to freeze their eggs, sperm and embryos to preserve fertility. There are myriad reasons for this, such as not being ready or able to start a family or having a medical condition that can lead to premature infertility.“Prospective parents should not have to wrestle with time limits on their fertility choices, and this important change to storage timescales will give people more control over their future and eliminate the pressure that comes with knowing a decision has to be made within 10 years.” More

A quarter of parents in England believe their children will need a year or more to catch up on lost learning during the coronavirus pandemic, according to new research published today.Despite improvements to provision online teaching between the first schools shutdown in spring 2020 and the later closures early this year, some 40 per cent of children did not meet the government’s minimum guidelines for learning time during the 2021 lockdown, found the Institute for Fiscal Studies.And the resources provided to children self-isolating while their classmates were at school during the autumn of 2020 were even worse than those on offer during lockdown, with only 40 per cent having access to online lessons.Despite concerns over lost education, the IFS found that the government’s offer of catch-up tutoring is not reaching the pupils who need it most.Among the poorest fifth of families, who were most likely to lack the computer equipment to access online learning, nearly one in three of those offered tutoring chose not to take it up. This compared with only one in seven from the most affluent households.The research showed a stark contrast between the teaching offered to pupils stuck at home during the national lockdowns of spring 2020 and spring 2021.During the first lockdown, children in the poorest fifth of families did nearly eight fewer hours of learning per week than their peers in the richest fifth, found the IFS.But that disparity vanished during the closures early this year, when study time was similar across all groups.During the second period of school closures, the richest pupils were 5 percentage points more likely to be offered interactive resources such as online classes than the poorest (89% vs 84%). During the first lockdown, that gap had been 20 percentage points (67% vs 47%). Poorer pupils also benefited from expanded access to in-person schooling during the second period of school closures.Outside of national school closures, however, provision for students sent home to self-isolate was poor, said the economic thinktank.Pupils in England missed an average of one in 10 school days during the Autumn 2020 term.And just 40 per cent of them had access to interactive learning resources such as online classes during the period, compared to 55 per cent in the first lockdown.While 43 per cent of secondary school pupils in the richest fifth of families had access to online classes while self-isolating, this was available to just 35 per cent of their peers in the most disadvantaged homes.IFS research economist Adam Salisbury, an author of the report, said: “Thanks to the efforts of teachers, schools, families and policy-makers, the second round of remote learning went far better than the first time around.“But even with this welcome improvement, many children still struggled with home learning; around four in 10 pupils did not meet the government’s minimum guidelines for learning time during the second round of school closures.“With this huge hit to children’s learning we have seen so far, it is perhaps unsurprising that a quarter of parents think their child will need a year or more to recover learning lost during the pandemic.”Co-author Angus Phimister added: “The first lockdown was particularly tough on the schooling of children from disadvantaged backgrounds, who spent around eight fewer hours a week learning than their better-off peers.“Welcome improvements during the second round of school closures meant that learning experiences looked much more similar. But catch-up policies need to be carefully designed to be taken up by poorer pupils if they are to have any chance of putting a dent in the educational inequalities that have grown so much wider during the pandemic.”Children and young people across England are being offered up to 100 million hours of free tuition as part of a £1.4 billion government package to catch up on education lost due to the pandemic.But the government’s catch-up education tsar Sir Kevan Collins quit in June after ministers rejected his recommendation of a far more ambitious £15bn programme. Sir Kevan said the government’s funding “falls far short of what is needed”.Labour’s shadow education secretary Kate Green said: “The Conservatives have treated children as an afterthought throughout the pandemic and their chaotic, last-minute response in schools failed children at every turn.“Ministers left thousands of children without the ability to learn, with months of school being missed before even the first laptops were sent out.“The priority must now be preventing further disruption in school and helping children bounce back.” More

Widespread staff shortages caused by post-Brexit immigration policies, training shortfalls and the Covid pandemic could continue for another two years, putting a brake on the UK’s recovery from lockdown, a leading business organisation has warned.Alongside the widely publicised shortage of HGV drivers, the CBI reported companies in other sectors cutting back on activities due to a lack of staff, including hotels reducing bookable rooms, restaurants choosing between opening for lunch and dinner, and suppliers doubling lead-in times for big purchases.The CBI called on ministers to put trades including drivers, welders, butchers and bricklayers on the shortage occupation list, to make it easier for companies to recruit from abroad.And it said that in the longer term, skills policies must be tailored to supply the workers needed to fill vacancies.CBI labour-market intelligence released today points to labour shortages as “a growing constraint on businesses’ plans to invest in the year ahead”.And the organisation warned that recruitment gaps would not be resolved by the withdrawal of the furlough scheme on 1 October, which is expected to result in a wave of redundancies, forcing thousands of workers onto the jobs market.In a message to Boris Johnson and his government, CBI director general Tony Danker warned: “Standing firm and waiting for shortages to solve themselves is not the way to run an economy. We need to simultaneously address short-term economic needs and long-term economic reform.”Mr Danker added: “Labour shortages are biting  right across the economy. While the CBI and other economists still predict growth returning to pre-pandemic levels later this year, furlough ending is not the panacea some people think will magically fill labour supply gaps.“These shortages are already affecting business operations, and will have a negative impact on the UK’s economic recovery.”He said that other European countries were also experiencing staffing shortages, but said that pressure on sectors including hospitality, logistics and food processing had been heightened in the UK by the numbers of overseas workers leaving the country during the pandemic.“New immigration rules make replacing those who left more complex,” said the CBI chief.“Building a more innovative economy – coupled with better training and education – can sustainably improve business performance, wages and living standards. But transformation on this scale requires planning and takes time.“The government’s ambition that the UK economy should become more high-skilled and productive is right. But implying that this can be achieved overnight is simply wrong. And a refusal to deploy temporary and targeted interventions to enable economic recovery is self-defeating.“The CBI has heard from companies actively cutting capacity because they can’t meet demand, like the hoteliers limiting the number of bookable rooms because they don’t have enough housekeeping staff and can’t get linen laundered. Meanwhile some restaurant owners have had to choose between lunchtime and evening services when trying to make the most of summer.“It’s also visible to consumers when lead-in times for purchases like kitchens or furniture double.“Let’s be clear: employers back existing government schemes to get people back into work, and businesses are already spending significant amounts on training. But that takes time to yield results, and some members suggest it could take two years rather than a couple of months for labour shortages to be fully eliminated.“Using existing levers under the UK’s control – like placing drivers, welders, butchers and bricklayers on the shortage occupation list – could make a real difference. The government promised an immigration system that would focus on the skills we need rather than unrestrained access to overseas labour. Yet here we have obvious and short-term skilled need, but a system that can’t seem to respond.” The general secretary of the GMB union, Gary Smith, said: “We are paying the price for years of cost-cutting and austerity on workers’ pay and conditions.“Instead of easing the labour market crisis, a furlough cliff-edge risks choking a recovery before it even begins.“The lessons of the last decade must be learned – you can’t cut your way out of a crisis.“It’s time to end Britain’s race to the bottom on pay and conditions.” More

Britain’s youngest MP is set to return to parliament on Monday, following a three-month leave of absence where she was able to recover from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).Labour’s Nadia Whittome has said that she is “feeling well” and is “excited” about her return to the Commons as the House is set to return from its summer recess.The 25-year-old MP from Nottingham announced that she would be taking a leave of absence in May, as she had been struggling to manage her PTSD whilst serving in her role and effectively engaging with constituents, often working seven days a week.“I’m making a good recovery, I feel well, I’m excited to be back representing the people of Nottingham East in Parliament,” she said in a video shared across her social media accounts.“I want to thank everyone for your understanding over the last three months.”In the video, she drew attention to work that her office continued to do throughout her leave to serve constituents, including helping families in overcrowded housing, preventing two deportations, and assisting people with relatives in Afghanistan.In an interview, Ms Whittome told NottinghamshireLive that she received an “overwhelmingly positive” response to her leave of absence, with many colleagues, MPs and constituents expressing their support for her decision.She told the outlet that one of her priorities upon returning to the House would be ensuring that anyone suffering a mental health crisis has the right to take time off work to recover.“I had the support of the Labour Party, Keir Starmer and his office, I had the support of my fellow Nottingham MPs and my office staff who have been absolutely phenomenal,” she said.“Taking time off work that you need to recover should be a right for everyone, not a privilege, and the reality is far too many people cannot take the time of that they need because they are in precarious jobs.“So that’s why I feel I am coming back with a renewed determination to make sure that everyone has that right.”Ms Whittome has said that that she is “honoured to be back” representing her community, and that she looks forward to tackling issues including cuts to Universal Credit, the housing crisis, and the climate catastrophe “with renewed determination”.Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the young MP back, sharing her video on Twitter and adding: “We’re all delighted to have you back, Nadia”. More

Plummeting numbers of mental health beds in the NHS have led to a steep rise in spending on private hospitals in England as patients are increasingly sent miles from home to be treated, according to Labour research.The party’s mental health spokesperson Rosena Allin-Khan says the money spent by the NHS on placing patients in private mental health beds soared by more than a third from £80m in the financial year 2017-18 to £108m in 2019-20.And the number of placements where patients were sent more than 300km – 186 miles – away from their home has almost doubled from 38 in 2017 to 75, she says.The government had set a national ambition to eliminate inappropriate out-of-area placements in mental health services for adults in acute inpatient care by April.But Labour says that the problem is being exacerbated by a 25 per cent decline in NHS mental health beds since 2010, equating to almost 6,000 fewer places over a period when numbers of people in contact with mental health services has risen by 20 per cent.Dr Allin-Khan says: “This shameful practice highlights the decade of decline that our public services, including our NHS, have faced under subsequent Tory governments, and the increasing cost to the taxpayer caused by a lack of investment. Patients and their families are suffering and the situation is only getting worse.“Government rhetoric on mental health must urgently be matched with action, unless they want more families to suffer.”Out-of-area placements cause patients to be sent away from their families, regular care workers and support networks, she says, and cuts in NHS beds mean people requiring urgent treatment for eating disorders, schizophrenia and personality disorders are likely to face even longer waits.The head of policy at mental health charity Mind, Vicki Nash, says the government has missed its target to end the practice.“These stats provide further evidence of how far behind our mental health services are in providing the right care in the right place at the right time,” Ms Nash told The Independent. “Although coronavirus has placed increased pressure on people’s mental health and the availability of NHS bed spaces, mental health services were already underfunded and under-resourced long before the pandemic began.“It’s unacceptable that people who are at their most unwell, vulnerable and in desperate need of care find themselves travelling across the country to get help. This can be devastating for people’s recovery, not to mention the high costs associated with allocating private beds.“The upcoming spending review is an opportunity for the government to prioritise them by investing in community care, so that people can get the help they need, when they need it, close to home.”A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “It is completely unacceptable for patients to be sent far away from their loved ones for treatment and we have committed to end inappropriate out-of-area placements.“We have published our Mental Health Recovery Action Plan, backed by £500m, to ensure we have the right support in place this year for those who need it. This plan is in addition to our commitments to expand and transform mental health services with an additional £2.3bn a year by 2023-24.” More

Labour is open to the idea of taxing wealth to help pay for social care, shadow cabinet minister Lisa Nandy has said.Her comments came as the TUC called for an increase in capital gains tax to raise £17bn a year to fill the massive gap in funding for elderly care and introduce a £10-an-hour minimum wage for care staff.Boris Johnson is facing a revolt from his own MPs over his plan, expected to be unveiled in the coming week, to raise £10bn for the care system by putting an extra 1 per cent on National Insurance contributions (NICs) paid by workers earning as little as £9,500.Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi did not deny that ministers were considering raising tax in order to fund social care.Asked if people should be paying more tax to get better social care, Mr Zahawi told BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show only the government is “committed to reforming” the adult social care system. He declined to confirm expectations that the proposals will be unveiled this week, saying only that they will come “by the end of the year.”Ms Nandy told Sky News’s Trevor Phillips on Sunday that a NIC hike – which would breach a Tory manifesto promise – was “a really difficult ask” for low-paid workers like supermarket staff and delivery drivers, saying: “We need to think much more creatively about this and make sure that we don’t load an unsustainable burden onto people who can’t bear it.”The shadow foreign secretary said the “broad principle (that) those with the broader shoulders should take some of the burden” espoused by the TUC was “absolutely right”.And she made clear that this could involve a tax on assets, such as property, shares or savings.“Most people in this country- every family, including my own – is touched by the social care crisis. It is breaking families up and down this country,” said Ms Nandy. “And collectively, we’ve got to find a way to deal with it.“If that means that those who make their money out of something other than income – out of assets – pay a bit more, if it means that people pay a bit more on their income, if it means that we find some kind of compromise that is sustainable so that people who can pay a bit more do in various different ways, I think that’s the right approach to take.”A report published by the TUC today argues that raising Capital Gains Tax – paid at 20-28 per cent on profits from shares, business assets and second homes –  is a fairer way to fund social care than hiking workers’ and businesses’ NICs.TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said it was “plain wrong” that under current tax arrangements a low-paid social care worker can pay a larger share of their income to fund the social care system than a private equity magnate who profits from asset-stripping care homes to sell on.Ms O’Grady said: “Our dedicated care workers have risked their lives to care for our loved ones during the pandemic. Now it is time we cared for them.“Every care worker in Britain should be paid a wage they can live on. And that means at least £10 per hour.“Any plan to fix social care funding must also fix pay for workers in the sector.“And working people shouldn’t bear the burden of funding social care alone. The prime minister should be asking those who make a fortune from their property and assets to pay a fairer share of tax.“It is plain wrong that the government’s social care plans will see a low-paid social care worker paying extra to fund the social care system while the private equity magnate who profits from asset-stripping care homes to sell on sees no change.“It’s time to raise taxes on wealth to fund social care properly, and guarantee decent pay for all social care workers.” More