Markus Andrews

Former Labour MP Jared O’Mara has been charged with seven counts of fraud by false representation, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said. Mr O’Mara was charged in connection with allegations that he made fraudulent invoices to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority in 2019. The former MP was elected as a Labour candidate for Sheffield Hallam in 2017 before sitting as an independent until he stepped down two years later. He is due to appear in front of Sheffield Magistrates Court in September. The CPS said that Mr O’Mara had been charged alongside his former aide, Gareth Arnold, who faces six counts of fraud by false representation. Mr O’Mara and a third man, John Woodliff, have also been charged with a Proceeds of Crime Act offence, they added. All three men will appear before the magistrates court on 24 September. Rosemary Ainslie, head of special crime at the CPS, said: “The CPS made the decision that the three men should be charged after reviewing a file of evidence from South Yorkshire Police.”She added: “The CPS reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against these defendants are active and that they have a right to a fair trial. “It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority regulates MPs’ expenses as well as their pay and pensions. Mr O’Mara won his Sheffield Hallam seat for Labour from the former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg in 2017. However, after being suspended from the party over the emergence of offensive comments he had made online, he sat as an independent.He was later reinstated to the party – although he disputes that this happened – but resigned and continued to serve as an independent until stepping down from his post at the December 2019 general election.He was succeeded by Labour MP Olivia Blake. More

The food supply crisis which has seen Nando’s outlets across Britain closed up could see more restaurants shut in the weeks ahead, industry bosses have warned.Sector chiefs told The Independent Brexit was to blame for the nation’s supply chain woes – as the industry struggles to cope with production workers returning home to the EU and a drastic lack of lorry drivers able to come to the UK.Nick Allen, chief executive at the British Meat Processors Association, said the sector was struggling to get many product lines out to supermarkets and restaurants – with the UK’s meat production workforce down by up to 20 per cent.“The supply problems are coming from the underlying labour problems happening since Brexit … It’s certainly Brexit-related, but it’s also the immigration decisions our politicians are making since Brexit,” Mr Allen told The Independent.He added: “Nando’s is the tip of the iceberg. I think we’re going to see more and more [closures]. Some people are still trying to open up their restaurants – but they’re struggling to get staff and struggling for deliveries.”Richard Griffiths, chief executive of the British Poultry Council, blamed Brexit for worker shortages in poultry production and the knock-on impact on supply. “The labour crisis is a Brexit issue,” Mr Griffiths said on Thursday.The British Poultry Council and British Meat Processors Association have called for their production workers to be allowed onto the government’s shortage occupation list so more workers can come from overseas.Mr Allen urged ministers to consider a temporary visa for food industry workers from overseas for the year ahead. “As an emergency measure, we’d like to see some sort of low-skilled visa put in place temporarily, because we just can’t get enough staff now,” said the meat industry boss.He added: “The whole food industry is struggling for staff – fundamentally it would be great if the government talked to us about solutions.”UK Hospitality’s chief executive Kate Nicholls said the nation’s restaurants were facing “enormous challenges to their supply chains” at the moment as they struggle to get going again after Covid lockdowns.She told The Independent: “Around two-thirds of hospitality businesses are saying some goods simply don’t arrive. This has the knock-on impact of reducing the menu they can offer customers and hitting sales.”Nic Wood, owner of Signature Group of restaurants, which operates 21 venues in Edinburgh and Glasgow, said his firm “can’t get enough staff to open up our venues to their full capacity or hours”.The restauranteur said “lack of staff and supply chain complications” were jeopardising the push to get back to pre-Covid levels of trade. “We need a visa scheme to plug the employment void that has appeared since Brexit.”One of Britain’s largest poultry producers dismissed claims the supply crisis was down to the recent Covid “pingdemic” which forced some staff into self-isolation. An Avara Foods spokesperson said: “Our concern is recruitment and filling vacancies when the UK workforce has been severely depleted as a result of Brexit.”Professor Tim Lang from the Centre for Food Policy at City University of London, also pointed to the ongoing consequences of Brexit. “We’re now seeing Brexit beginning to work,” he told BBC Radio 4’s World at One.“We’re seeing here the realities of people voting to leave the EU on which we depended for all sorts of migrant labour in the food sector,” he said. “Whether it’s sandwiches, chicken, retail or the hospitality sector – we’re seeing stresses and strains everywhere.”One of the country’s largest vegetable producers – which supplies to leading supermarket chains – told The Independent it was having to throw some food away due to the lack of hauliers.Jack Pearce, development manager at Alfred G Pearce in Norfolk, said: “There’s such a shortage that we’re dealing with delays of several days, which mean fresh food goes out of date and comes back to us to be dumped.”The family firm – which grows and processes vegetables – is struggling with its own labour shortages, having seen its workforce reduced 20 per cent to 30 per cent down since Brexit after many EU staff returned home.“There’s a certain arrogance from government about recruiting British workers – but they just aren’t there right now,” said Mr Pearce. “We need some short-term realism to open up visas to the EU again.”It emerged earlier this month that the British army has been put on standby to help deliver supplies to supermarkets to help the nation cope with a shortage of around 100,000 truck drivers.The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has blamed Brexit and all the driving tests cancelled during the pandemic for the crisis. Around 15,000 drivers from the EU returned home following Brexit, according to the RHA.The group has called for the government to put HGV drivers on the shortage occupation list – which makes it possible to obtain a work visa. “We need to be on that list, but we’re not on it,” said a spokesperson for the RHA.As shoppers continue to see many supermarket shelves left empty, Britain’s pubs have also been hit by beer shortages in recent days. The Rising Sun in Rochester, Kent, is one of several to have warned customers about shortages on certain beers because of delivery woes.A spokesman for the Greene King pub chain said it was “having an impact on the whole industry”. Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “The HGV driver shortage is being felt by our sector like so many others.”She called on the government to address the issue “as a matter of urgency to address the driver shortage in the immediate term – adding HGV drivers to the shortage occupation list would do much to help stabilise the current situation”.The Food and Drink Federation (FDA) warned that Brexit could cause more supply problems in October when new border controls will be introduced for Great Britain that will apply to imports from the EU.“The government will need to provide further clarity on a number of areas before then in order to ensure EU suppliers and GB importers have the best chance of being ready to meet the new requirements,” said a FDA spokesman.A government spokesperson said it was working closely with the food sector “to ensure businesses have the labour they need,” adding: “We are looking at ways to help the sector recruit more domestic labour and invest in automation in order to reduce the reliance on migrant workers.” More

Boris Johnson is being urged to appoint a minister to find out the truth about the Taliban directly from Afghan women, instead of simply “talking to other male leaders”.Harriet Harman, the former Labour leader, raised fears that the voices of women bravely “standing up for their rights” will be missed in the crucial days and weeks to come.The warning follows a controversial prediction, by the head of Britain’s armed forces, that the Taliban could be more “reasonable” than during their brutal rule in the 1990s.Others have warned that a clever media campaign to project an image of modernisation masks a fundamentalist Islamist ideology that remains unchanged.Ms Harman said it was not correct that women in Afghanistan are all “seeking to flee the country” or “just staying behind closed doors”.“There are some women out there who are standing up for their rights and the rights of other women and we want to be supporting women in whatever choices they make,” she said.“But, to do that, we’ve got to be listening to the women themselves – rather than having Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, and the prime minister simply talking to other male leaders, either internationally or in Afghanistan.”Ms Harman called for “a minister who would be responsible for liaising with women in Afghanistan”, speaking to the BBC.It would ensure that, in talks about evacuations and humanitarian aid, “women are there in all the discussions”, she said.“And, as soon as there start to be discussions with the Taliban – which inevitably there will – there must be women as part of that discussion team,” Ms Harman added.General Sir Nick Carter, the armed forces chief, told the BBC, on Wednesday, that the Taliban should be given “the space to show their credentials”.“It may be that this Taliban is a different Taliban to the one that people remember from the 1990s,” he argued – suggesting it might be “more reasonable”.The comments followed Tuesday’s surreal press conference, when the Taliban spokesman took questions from female journalists and claimed the regime is “committed to the rights of women” – but within our framework of sharia”.Both Mr Johnson and Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, have declined, to echo Sir Nick’s optimistic predictionThe prime minister told MPs that the Taliban would be judged on its “actions, rather than by its words” about an amnesty and protecting women’s rights. More

Campaigners and MPs are urging the government to dismantle its “racist” hostile environment policy and scrap proposed laws which could affect Aghans fleeing persecution.The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) has penned an open letter to home secretary Priti Patel, urging her to abandon the “resettlement-only” plans set out in the Nationality and Borders Bill, that would criminalise or deny full refugee status to those who make their own journeys to seek asylum in the UK.Backed by over 90 signatories including Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID), Hope Not Hate and the Institute of Race Relations, the move also calls upon the UK government to grant immediate asylum to Afghans already waiting for status in the UK.Speaking to The Independent, Zoe Gardner, policy researcher at JCWI, said: “Many Afghans and others who have been wrongly refused end up undocumented and living under the hostile environment: a set of rules which deny people housing, healthcare and jobs when they can’t show the right paperwork. These checks entrench racial discrimination throughout our society, pushing Black and brown people without papers into destitution and exploitation.“If government cared about equality and showing a compassionate response to people seeking sanctuary, it would abandon its anti-refugee bill and scrap the hostile environment – both promote discrimination and push vulnerable people into the hands of those willing to exploit them.”Some 40 MPs, including Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott and Claudia Webbe, have also written to Ms Patel, calling for adequate protection for Afghan nationals and amending parts of the bill.“Reports confirm extrajudicial killings have already begun. Those in particular danger include woman and girls, ethnic minorities, LGBTIQ+ people and journalists,” the letter reads.“In light of this crisis we urge the government to drop its current inadmissibility rules and its decision to criminalise refugee journeys that are not undertaken through regulated resettlement routes.”The Afghan Council of Great Britain suggested aspects of the Nationality Bill may be fuelled by racism against minoritised groups, echoing calls for the government to rectify this.“We stand against the inhumane and uninformed provisions of the bill,” a spokesperson told The Independent. “It is neither practical nor workable but surely immoral. It could be the product of politicians dancing to the tunes of far right extremist groups influencing our nation’s policies and laws based on pure racism and hatred towards those who seek refuge in our great nation. “Or perhaps some politicians may suffer from Islamophobia and discriminate against refugees based on their religion or their belonging to a Muslim country like Afghanistan even if they are not Muslims.” More

British students have been forced to consider abandoning their places at Spanish universities due to ongoing delays in securing visas, required as a result of Brexit.The Foreign Office told The Independent it has raised the issue with the Spanish government, with just weeks to go before classes are due to begin.Spain is the most popular destination in the UK for those wanting to study abroad, with thousands of students taking up places there there each year.But this summer marks the first academic year in which students have needed to acquire study visas as a result of Britain’s departure from the European Union, with new immigration rules having come into effect in January after a year-long transition period.“Delays in visa processing this year are causing real anxiety among students who are due to travel to Spain soon,” said Vivienne Stern, Director of Universities UK International.The organisation, which represents 140 universities across the UK, warned that increasing numbers of its members had raised concerns that it is “impossible” for students to get visa appointments, and that as a result they would miss the start of the Spanish semester. Ms Stern sounded the alarm in letters to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urging them to resolve the issue as soon as possible. It is not clear how many students are affected.Ms Stern’s letters suggested that UK universities could collect all the necessary documentation for their students and submit block applications – but pointed out that there is currently no guidance on the Spanish Consulate website as to how this might be done.She also asked whether it would it be possible as a temporary solution to allow students to enter the country under the tourist visa and then continue with the necessary paperwork when in Spain.A spokesperson for Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggested that “some adaptation time is still needed” for “British students and universities” to adapt to the new post-Brexit regulations, adding: “All Spanish Consulates are offering all the facilities in order to speed up the visa procedures.”Students wishing to study in Spain must now compile a dossier of documents, including a medical certificate, proof of income and a criminal-record check.Because visas must be issued within 90 days of departure, most students began the application process in June.Sam Downes, an economics student who had secured a study placement in Granada, told the BBC he has heard nothing since he asked for an appointment in June.As one of several pupils to tell the broadcaster of fears that their study plans could be derailed, Mr Downes said: “I paid September’s rent for my accommodation and my deposit – but it’s looking unlikely that I’ll be going in time.”With his university having told him it cannot offer him online learning if he does not arrive in time, he added: “So in the next week or two I might have to decide whether to cancel the whole year abroad.”After weeks of their correspondence to Spanish authorities being met with silence, some prospective students have reportedly spent hours queueing outside the embassy in London a bid to secure a direct appointment.One student who managed to speak with embassy staff told the BBC he was now hoping to receive email confirmation of a visa appointment soon. His flight and accommodation is reportedly booked for 6 September.A UK government spokesperson said: “We have raised the issue with the Spanish government, and are supporting Universities UK International.” More

Brexit is to blame for the shortages of fast-food chicken that have shut some Nando’s stores, the industry says – accusing ministers of refusing to help.EU workers returning home and a lack of lorry drivers able to come to the UK lie behind the problems that have also hit KFC and other outlets, the British Poultry Council said.“When you don’t have people, you have a problem – and this is something we are seeing across the whole supply chain. The labour crisis is a Brexit issue,” said chief executive Richard Griffiths.He lashed out at Priti Patel for failing to respond to a plea for poultry meat supply chain workers to be included on the shortage occupation list, to allow in more EU staff.A letter was sent to the home secretary earlier this month, but Mr Griffiths revealed: “We have had no reply as yet.”Boris Johnson has already rejected an identical plea to boost the number of HGV drivers, with ministers deciding to relax driving test rules instead.Nando’s has not publicly acknowledged the impact of Brexit, but – strikingly – admitted its chicken shortages are “not affecting outlets in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland”.And one of Britain’s largest poultry producers, Avaro Foods, dismissed claims that the crisis was caused by the ‘pingdemic’ that forced workers to isolate as close contacts of Covid cases.“Our concern is recruitment and filling vacancies when the UK workforce has been severely depleted as a result of Brexit,” a spokesperson said, adding: “This is causing stress on UK supply chains.”The poultry industry – responsible for producing half of all the meat eaten in the UK – is reporting vacancies of more than 16 per cent, Mr Griffiths said.He told BBC’s Radio 4: “The situation we are seeing is a result of the Brexit issues that have arisen. We are seeing the struggles across the supply chain, with the shortage of labour.The crisis was the “direct result of the limiting of immigration policies”, the chief executive said, adding: “We are asking the government to ease those.”He rejected the suggestion that paying higher wages to UK workers could solve the problems, arguing “the willingness and availability are just not there”.Mr Griffiths also dismissed fears of supermarket shortages, but warned: “We need the government to openly acknowledge that the problem exists.”The industry leader spoke out after KFC revealed its problems, warning that some items would not be available and packaging “may look a bit different to normal”.A government spokesperson said: “We have well-established ways of working with the food sector and are working closely with them to ensure businesses have the labour they need.”We are looking at ways to help the sector recruit more domestic labour and invest in automation in order to reduce the reliance on migrant workers coming into the UK.” More

A defiant Dominic Raab says he will not resign after failing to make a crucial call to help fleeing Afghan interpreters while on holiday, despite growing demands for him to quit.The phone call was delegated to a junior minister, as the Taliban neared Kabul last Friday – as the foreign secretary reportedly declined to intervene personally from his Crete hotel.Filmed walking into Downing Street, a smiling Mr Raab was asked if he would reign, but told reporters: “No.”He is already under fierce pressure for failing to return from the Greek island until Monday morning, being seen on the beach the previous day – as the Afghan capital crumbled.Downing Street has so far refused to comment on the controversy and on whether Boris Johnson retains confidence in his foreign secretary.Mr Raab has also been caught up in a Cabinet spat with defence secretary Ben Wallace, who accused the Foreign Office of quickly evacuating its diplomats and leaving young soldiers in charge.Labour said he “should be ashamed” of his actions and questioned why he would not make a phone call if told “it could save somebody’s life”.Lisa Nandy, the shadow foreign secretary, said: “How can Boris Johnson allow the foreign secretary to continue in his role after yet another catastrophic failure of judgment?“If Dominic Raab doesn’t have the decency to resign, the prime minister must show a shred of leadership and sack him.”The Liberal Democrats called for Raab to “resign today”, while the Scottish National Party said his position is “completely untenable and he must resign, or be sacked”.The calls came the Daily Mail reported that, while on holiday in Crete, Mr Raab was urged by his officials to speak with his Afghan counterpart, Hanif Atmar.Pressure was needed to secure help with the evacuation of translators who had worked with the British military, as the Taliban advanced on Kabul.But, according to the report, officials were told that Mr Raab was not available and that a junior minister, Zac Goldsmith, should make the call instead.As Lord Goldsmith was not Atmar’s direct equivalent, there was a delay until Saturday – and possibly Sunday, the day Kabul fell – before the request was made.The Foreign Office acknowledged that Mr Raab did not make the call, saying: “The foreign secretary was engaged on a range of other calls and this one was delegated to another minister.”However, Mr Wallace defended his cabinet colleague, arguing that, by Friday, the Afghan government was “melting away quicker than ice”.“A phone call to an Afghan minister at that moment in time would have not made a difference,” the defence secretary said. More

Former veterans minister Johnny Mercer has claimed being in the Conservative Party is similar to “working in a really s**t company” with those in charge not having “a clue”.In a sign of the unease in the party’s ranks over the approach to Afghanistan, the Tory MP suggested there was no “real direction or leadership or responsibility” over the last week as the situation deteriorated.Mr Mercer, who was “forced” to resign as defence minister over the government’s treatment of veterans in April, also suggested politics was a “lonely place” and had often thought about his position as an MP.“I’m sick of all this [working for veterans and soldiers] for a Conservative Party and a government that treats me with contempt,” he told the Evening Standard.On his role as a Tory MP, Mr Mercer said: “I’m not going to lie to you: it’s something I think about everyday. Being in the Tory Party at the moment is like working for a really s**t company where everyone takes the p**s out of you and everyone running it hasn’t got a clue”.The MP for Plymouth, Moor View, also suggested “not a single member of the Conservative Party phoned me up” after the shootings in the city earlier this month, which he described as “very rare but grotesque violence”.The scathing remarks came as Boris Johnson faced criticism from MPs of all stripes in Parliament — after the government ordered a recall for an emergency session on the situation in Afghanistan as the capital, Kabul, fell to the Taliban.Theresa May, the former prime minister, also hit out at ministers’ “incomprehensible” failure to bring together an alternative alliance to prevent the collapse of the Afghan government.Suggesting the events unfolding in the region were a “major setback” for UK foreign policy, Ms May asked: “We boast about Global Britain, but where is Global Britain on the streets of Kabul?”.During the emergency debate, Mr Mercer, who served in Afghanistan, also accused the prime minister of “consistently failing” to support former soldiers properly and urged the government to “step up”.Warning there could be a “bow wave” of mental health issues among veterans following the withdrawal of forces in Afghanistan, the Conservative MP said: “We are not trained to lose and we are not trained for ministers to, in a way, choose to be defeated by the Taliban.”“Was it all for nothing?” he asked. “Of course it wasn’t for nothing and we have to get away from this narrative.“Whether we like it or not for a period of time Afghans — the average age in Afghanistan is 18 years old — they will have experienced a freedom and privileges that we enjoy here and no one will ever take that away from them.” More