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Gerard Coyne, the candidate who narrowly failed to beat Len McCluskey four years ago, is “quietly confident” of winning the leadership of Unite, Labour’s largest affiliated union. Mr Coyne, who is Sir Keir Starmer’s favoured candidate in the election, told The Independent in an interview that he would maintain Labour funding and that he wouldn’t “purge” his opponents in the way that Mr McCluskey purged him.Mr Coyne said he had “snippets of feedback” about the ballot, which closes on 23 August, in which he is competing against two candidates who are more critical of Sir Keir, Steve Turner, an assistant general secretary, and Sharon Graham, head of the union’s organising department. Mr Coyne, who was defeated by a margin of 4 per cent last time, is expected to benefit from a split among Mr McCluskey’s supporters.“I’m going to leave Keir alone to get on with turning the Labour Party back into a winning machine,” Mr Coyne said. “I want to see a Labour government. I believe our members do better under a Labour government. I’ve been a lifelong member of the Labour Party. So, of course I want to see that, but at the same time, it is for Keir to determine that which will bring the party back to being electable, and for me to get on with turning Unite into a force that will be to reckon with across society.”Mr Coyne said he wanted a change from the McCluskey period, when the union backed Jeremy Corbyn. Mr McCluskey has endorsed Mr Turner, the candidate of the union’s United Left caucus. Mr Turner is widely regarded as the frontrunner, but his vote may be split by Ms Graham, who describes herself as a candidate of the “independent left”, and who has suggested Labour could not be certain of the union’s financial support, saying she favours “payment by results”.Mr Coyne said: “I’m not going to play student politics with the funding of the Labour Party. They’ve got a hard enough job as it is, of pulling back from the worst electoral defeat since 1935. I’m not interested in the antics that some of my other colleagues who are standing in this election have entertained.”However, he refused to say that he shared Sir Keir’s politics: “I’m not focusing my efforts on the leader of the Labour Party. That’s what Len did. My focus cannot be obsessing around it – I mean what I say about the need to grow our organisation. We are in terminal decline. We have been in terminal decline for too many years. And if there was ever a need, if there was ever a time for vibrant trade unions in this country in the private sector, it is now, as we emerge out of the pandemic, so I’m really not going to be spending my time analysing where I differ from Keir on one policy or another.”

We are in terminal decline. We have been in terminal decline for too many years. And if there was ever a need, if there was ever a time for vibrant trade unions in this country in the private sector, it is now, as we emerge out of the pandemicNevertheless, a Coyne victory would be a boost for the Labour leader, giving him a larger majority on the party’s national executive and a better chance of winning votes at the annual conference as well as more secure finances.Mr Coyne said that the ballot return figures so far suggested that turnout in this election is going to be around 12 per cent, the same as last time. “It’s disappointing. But then, when there’s no real engagement about this election from the union directly, it’s not surprising,” he said. “Participation in this election is woeful. It was woeful last time around. Sadly, in the past, this has served the interests of those that are already in power.”He has promised to set up a democracy commission to look at all elements of the union’s internal democracy: “We’ve learned that it’s much easier to connect virtually than previously was the case. There is a huge opportunity for us to harness that technology and to engage in a different way.”But this does not extend to supporting Mr Turner’s idea for the union to launch its own TV channel: “The focus on members’ money will be uppermost in my mind, and Unite TV does not represent value for money. It is not what our members want. It smacks of North Korea: the voice from the glorious leader. That is not something I want to be involved in, quite frankly. I don’t entertain those sorts of projects because that’s not what members are telling me that they’re worried about.”Mr Coyne has accused the McCluskey leadership of wasting money on plans for a hotel and conference centre in Birmingham, the costs of which have escalated over years. The latest estimate of its costs is not known because the union’s annual financial returns are now “almost eight weeks late”, Mr Coyne said. “Maybe Howard Beckett, who’s in charge of finances currently, has spent too much time campaigning and not enough time bean counting.” Mr Beckett, another anti-Starmer candidate, dropped out of the election and endorsed Mr Turner.Mr Coyne, who was the union’s West Midlands regional organiser until the last election, said that he had no intention “in the slightest” of purging Mr McCluskey’s supporters if he won: “I went through a purge after the last general secretary’s election. There were a lot of people that were involved in my campaign that were dismissed and all 14 organisers in the West Midlands were placed under a disciplinary investigation as soon as the ballot closed. So I understand what went on and the fear that people felt after the last election. That is not my desire at all.” More

Labour has urged Boris Johnson to stop fighting with colleagues and “get a grip” following claims the prime minister threatened to sack Rishi Sunak as chancellor.The prime minister was said have been furious after a letter from Mr Sunak calling for an easing of travel restrictions was leaked to the press last week.Mr Johnson “ranted” about his chancellor and suggested he should be demoted to health secretary in a meeting with around a dozen officials at Downing Street, according to the Sunday Times.Allies of Mr Sunak have insisted he remains focused on his job at No 11 amid the row, but Labour described the level of dysfunction at the top of government as “disgraceful”.Bridget Phillipson, Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said: “The prime minister urgently needs to get a grip on the real challenges facing this country.”The Labour MP added: “The Covid pandemic continues, tens of thousands of livelihoods are still at risk, the climate crisis threatens our planet, but he’s busy picking fights with his own government and threatening to sack the chancellor. It’s completely disgraceful.”Lib Dem leader Ed Davey told The Independent: “After the calamity of the past two years, the prime minister should look in the mirror and demote himself before worrying about the rest of them.”Mr Sunak’s letter is said to have been sent to the PM several days before details were printed in the Sunday Times last weekend. Whitehall officials blamed the oversight on No 10 staff, who apparently failed to draw the memo to his attention.In a fit of frustration, Mr Johnson is said to have told his officials at an open meeting: “I’ve been thinking about it. Maybe it’s time we looked at Rishi as the next secretary of state for health. He could potentially do a very good job there.”Although a reshuffle is not expected imminently, it was reported that Mr Johnson has previously considered international trade secretary Liz Truss as a potential chancellor, with Jacob Rees-Mogg as her deputy.“The PM keeps talking about Liz Truss,” one source said. “He’s always got on quite well with her. He thinks she’s controllable.”The latest row over leaked comments, reportedly made in a Downing Street meeting on Monday, will do little to help strained relations between No 10 and No 11.The chancellor is preparing for a tough spending review later this year as he attempts to repair the public finances following the Covid crisis, which could put him on collision course with a prime minister who has promised there can be no return to austerity.The Treasury’s review into the costs in achieving the target of “net zero” carbon emission by 2050 has reportedly been delayed because of concerns that the government’s plans could hit taxpayers and cost the Tory Party votes.Tory MP Craig Mackinlay, chair of a new Net Zero Scrutiny Group of backbenchers, told the Sunday Telegraph, said the government’s ambition to subsidy green technologies could be seen as “aping” Labour policy under Jeremy Corbyn.“To ape the failed policies of an extreme Labour politician does not seem to be the way of electoral success,” he said. “I’m very pleased the Treasury is actually thinking of this with a financial head on rather than just a warm feeling.”Labour urged the government to urgently step up its game on climate crisis, accusing Mr Sunak of “dragging his feet” on a plan to pay for carbon-cutting measures.“We are in the decisive decade in our fight to avert catastrophic climate breakdown and we desperately need serious leadership,” said Luke Pollard MP, shadow environment secretary.“Instead, we have a prime minister who is more interested in vacuous boosterism than the hard yards of policy work … and a chancellor who is dragging his feet on publishing the crucial net-zero review.”“The government must urgently step up its game or risk failure domestically to meet our targets and internationally as hosts of Cop26.”It comes as the government was condemned for refusing to rule out new licences for oil and gas in the North Sea or a new coal mine in Cumbria.Climate minister and Cop26 summit president Alok Sharma refused to criticise plans for further fossil fuel extraction, telling The Observer: “Future [fossil fuel] licences are going to have to adhere to the fact we have committed to go to net zero by 2050 in legislation.”Following reports Mr Johnson threatened to demote Mr Sunak, a Treasury source said: “The chancellor is solely focused on securing the country’s economic recovery and continuing to protect and create jobs.” More

Boris Johnson dodges question on oilfield developmentBoris Johnson has been told to stop “picking fights” and “demote himself” in response to a reported row with Rishi Sunak over a leaked letter, during which the PM allegedly threatened to relegate his chancellor to the position of health secretary.With an Opinium poll placing the prime minister’s approval ratings at an all-time low of -16 percentage points, following his inflammatory quip about Margaret Thatcher’s coal mine closures, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey told The Independent: “After the calamity of the past two years, the prime minister should look in the mirror and demote himself before worrying about the rest of them.”Meanwhile, amid questions of sleaze, lobbying and “cash for access” at the top of the Tory Party, analysis of Electoral Commission data by The Independent reveals that some 25 per cent of donations to the party since Boris Johnson took office have come from just 10 wealthy donors.The Electoral Reform Society suggested the revelations showed “just how concentrated donor power is in UK politics”.Show latest update

1628434260Pro-Starmer candidate ‘quietly confident’ of winning leadership of Labour’s biggest unionGerard Coyne, the candidate who narrowly failed to beat Len McCluskey four years ago, is “quietly confident” of winning the leadership of Unite, Labour’s largest affiliated union, our chief political commentator John Rentoul reports.Mr Coyne, who is Sir Keir Starmer’s favoured candidate in the election, told The Independent in an interview that he would maintain Labour funding and that he wouldn’t “purge” his opponents in the way that Mr McCluskey purged him.Andy Gregory8 August 2021 15:511628433745Priti Patel’s Official Secrets Act overhaul dubbed ‘chilling’ by recent No 10 comms directorPriti Patel’s proposed overhaul of the Official Secrets Act – which critics say could see journalists jailed for 14 years for handling leaked documents – is “chilling” and “profoundly damaging”, a recent Downing Street director of communications has warned.James Slack, who served under Boris Johnson until March and is now deputy editor-in-chief at The Sun, told journalism.co.uk this week: “Every journalist I have spoken with at The Sun and elsewhere is appalled that the government is even considering doing something so draconian, and which could have such a profoundly damaging impact on the public’s right to know.“… The lack of public interest defence would have a chilling effect on the media’s ability to report wrongdoing, hypocrisy, and criminal negligence.”He added: “The prime minister said that he does not “for one minute” want to handicap the ability of a free press to expose the hypocrisy of Matt Hancock and other scandals. In which case he needs to step in and insist that, if whistleblowers and journalists can prove that the disclosure of confidential information was carried out in the public interest, a prosecution would fail.”Andy Gregory8 August 2021 15:421628432213Exclusive: Fake Home Office website targeting asylum seekers probed by Information CommissionerIn case you missed it yesterday, the information watchdog has opened an investigation into a Home Office website accused of misleading asylum-seekers and hiding its government links.The Information Commissioner warned that organisations must be “clear, open and honest with people” about who they are after The Independent revealed who was behind the On The Move website.Our home affairs correspondent Lizzie Dearden has the story:Andy Gregory8 August 2021 15:161628430301Amid the reports of a bust-up with the PM, Rishi Sunak’s allies have insisted he remains focused on his job at No 11.The chancellor is preparing for a tough spending review later this year as he attempts to repair the public finances following the Covid crisis, which could put him on collision course with a prime minister who has promised there can be no return to austerity.Meanwhile, as the challenge of securing commitments on carbon from foreign nations at the Cop26 climate summit looms, the Treasury’s review into the costs in achieving the “net zero” target by 2050 has reportedly been delayed because of concerns that the government’s plans could hit taxpayers and cost the Tory Party votes.Andy Gregory8 August 2021 14:451628429035Boris Johnson told to ‘demote himself’ amid Rishi Sunak rowOpposition parties have urged Boris Johnson to stop “picking fights” and “demote himself” in response to a reported row with Rishi Sunak, in which he allegedly threatened to relegate the chancellor to the position of health secretary.Bridget Phillipson, Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said: “The Covid pandemic continues, tens of thousands of livelihoods are still at risk, the climate crisis threatens our planet, but he’s busy picking fights with his own government and threatening to sack the chancellor. It’s completely disgraceful.”And Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey told The Independent: “After the calamity of the past two years, the prime minister should look in the mirror and demote himself before worrying about the rest of them.”My colleague Adam Forrest has the full story:Andy Gregory8 August 2021 14:231628427305John Rentoul: Keir Starmer is an unconvincing Blairite with an authenticity problemOur chief political commentator John Rentoul writes for Independent Voices: “Keir Starmer is tiptoeing a little more boldly towards the forbidden ground of the Labour tribe, the part marked “Tony Blair woz ere”.But, he adds:“The problem with Starmer embracing Blairism is that he is not a Blairite. He is in the uncomfortable position of Neil Kinnock, a firebrand of the radical wing of the party who found himself crabbed and confined by the demands of leadership.”Andy Gregory8 August 2021 13:551628426105Scottish Tories accuse SNP of ‘abject failure to match rhetoric with reality’Writing on the front page of the Scottish Mail on Sunday close to 100 days after the Holyrood elections, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has accused the SNP of an “abject failure to match rhetoric with reality”.Mr Ross, whose party matched their best ever performance in a Scottish election in May, securing 31 of a possible 129 seats, alleged that the nationalists are “on course to break roughly a dozen promises across health, education, the environment and several other crucial areas”.These looming targets include a pledge to vaccinate all adults by mid-September – the wording of which was recently contested by Ms Sturgeon, the publication of an NHS Recovery Plan to cut treatment times and remobilise the health service, and a Scottish-specific Covid inquiry.Andy Gregory8 August 2021 13:351628424725UK not doing enough to support those escaping Hong Kong, campaigner saysThe UK is not doing enough to support people fleeing Chinese repression in Hong Kong, a campaigner has warned.Julian Chan, the director of the Hongkongers in Britain group, told The Guardian that many people arriving in the UK were being denied equal access to housing, education and jobs, and that – despite Dominic Raab’s clear desire to appear supportive of those fleeing Chinese oppression in the former British colony – ministers were not doing enough to support them.“The UK risks providing Hongkongers with a country to live in, but almost no life to actually live when they get there,” Mr Chan said.Andy Gregory8 August 2021 13:121628423645Homeless people evicted from hotels and denied housing – despite ministers’ claim emergency support is ongoingHomeless people are being evicted from emergency housing and denied support – despite government claims that a scheme to keep people off the streets introduced at the start of the pandemic is ongoing, our social affairs correspondent May Bulman reports.A number of local authorities are facing legal challenges after vulnerable individuals, who cannot access state benefits due to their immigration status, were told to leave emergency housing or turned away when asking for homelessness support in apparent breach of government guidance.Andy Gregory8 August 2021 12:541628422440Labour sets three education ‘tests’ for government to meet by SeptemberLabour has set a series of tests on education for the government to meet by the end of the month.These include a “next step guarantee” for pupils to move forward after their results, a functional appeals system and support for teachers and education leaders.Sir Keir Starmer said: “This abject refusal of Boris Johnson to get a grip has created huge extra stress for students and baked unfairness into the assessment process.“Young people and our dedicated education staff have worked incredibly hard, but they have been let down time and time again by Boris Johnson’s failure to stand up for their futures.“No young person should lose out because of Conservative chaos, which is why we are calling on the prime minister to fix this mess his education secretary has created and deliver on our three tests so all young people can move on to the next stage of their lives.”Andy Gregory8 August 2021 12:34 More

The group formerly known as the Brexit Party has been told that its bank account will be shut down because it is no longer “commercially viable”.Richard Tice, who leads the relaunched Reform UK, said the move by Metro Bank was “outrageous” – and claimed the decision was politically motivated.The Brexit Party was relaunched as anti-lockdown party called Reform UK in November 2020 and has since campaigned against the government’s Covid restrictions.But the party’s leader admitted it would struggle to operate, after receiving a letter from the Metro Bank in July that said the party’s account would be shut down in 60 days.Mr Tice told the Sunday Telegraph that Metro Bank’s decision was “based on politics” and “the difficulty for banks of being involved with politically exposed persons and political parties”.“It is absolutely outrageous,” he said. “We are fifth in the polls. It’s not like we’re extremist zealots. We got 300,000 votes in the May elections.“If we’re a proper functioning democracy then new disrupters need to be able to operate. You can’t operate if you don’t have a bank account that you can pay bills with.”The politician claimed four high street banks had turned down the Brexit Party when in was set up by Mr Tice and Nigel Farage in November 2018 before Metro Bank agreed to become its banker.Mr Farage – who stood for election to the UK’s parliament seven times without success – announced in March that he was stepping down as leader of Reform UK to pursue his media career.“I feel my political career, in the sense of actively leading a political party, fighting election campaigns, I think now’s the moment to say I have done it.”Metro Bank’s 27 July letter to Reform UK stated that “after careful consideration, we are unable to continue to act as your bankers”.In a statement, a spokesman for the bank said: “We regularly review our customer accounts and close those which are no longer commercially viable.“The decision to close the Brexit Party account was made for commercial reasons only as a business as usual decision. Metro Bank is and will remain politically neutral.” More

Just 10 wealthy people account for a quarter of all the donations made by individuals to the Conservative Party since Boris Johnson became prime minister, according to new analysis by The Independent.The 10 super-rich donors – nine of whom are men – have given a combined sum of just over £10m to the Tories since Mr Johnson entered Downing Street, more than 25 per cent of the £38.6m received from all individuals in the past two years.Fears have been raised about the power held by the very wealthiest Tory donors, after it emerged last week that a group known as the “advisory board” had been developed to connect the party’s biggest financial backers with ministers.Campaign groups said The Independent’s analysis – based on the latest data from the Electoral Commission – showed the “concentrated power” of a small number of big donors.Darren Hughes, chief executive of Electoral Reform Society said: “These figures show just how concentrated donor power is in UK politics. Political debate shouldn’t be something bought by a few very wealthy individuals.“The fact that a small group have provided such a large amount of political funding and gained the potential influence that comes with it is of great concern.”Calling for strict new limits on the amount donors can give, Mr Hughes added: “It’s time to fix the rot and restore faith in politics. We need to explore a cap on donations [and] greater public funding to bring us into line with most advanced democracies.”Alex Runswick, senior advocacy manager at the Transparency International UK campaign group, added: “These revelations underline concerns that great wealth can secure a privileged audience in UK politics.“This dependence on a small number of wealthy donors risks shaping policy and decisions in their favour rather than national interest, so the government should legislate to take big money out of politics.”The donation data shows most of the 10 biggest individual Tory backers since Mr Johnson became prime minister in July 2019 made their fortune in either finance or property.One of the 10 most generous donors is Jamie Reuben, co-owner of the Reuben Brothers property empire, who has given almost £700,000 to the Tory party thus far during the Johnson era.His ties with the Tories came under scrutiny earlier this year, when it emerged his company was a co-investor with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) in last year’s failed bid to buy Newcastle United.Leaked messages from September 2020 revealed that the prime minister had asked his adviser Sir Edward Lister to look into the chances of the deal being revived. When Sir Edward said that he was hopeful the deal could be done, Mr Johnson reportedly replied: “Brilliant.”Other wealthy Tory donors on the top 10 list include online trading tycoon Peter Cruddas, who has given the party just over £870,000 in the past two years. Mr Cruddas was handed a peerage last year – sparking accusations of “cronyism” from Labour.In June the anti-corruption campaign the Good Law Project launched legal action over the peerage, claiming that Mr Johnson ignored the advice of the House of Lords Appointments Committee against making the businessman a Lord.The single biggest individual donor since Mr Johnson came to power is Malcom Healey – the retail tycoon whose company owns Wren Kitchens. He has handed the Tory Party £2m in the past two years.Labour MP Anneliese Dodds, the party’s chair, said the Conservatives had “serious questions to answer” about their dependence on big donors.The frontbencher told The Independent: “We need to know why the Tories have become so reliant on huge donations from a select group of super wealthy individuals – and what it is that these elite donors are being given in return.“Boris Johnson has created a cash for access culture in the Conservative Party … He needs to break his silence and explain what he plans to do to ensure there isn’t one rule for senior Conservatives and their cronies, and another rule for everyone else.”Last week the Financial Times reported that an “advisory board” donor club, featuring members who donated at least £250,000, was developed to connect Tory supporters with senior figures, claiming meetings have been held with Mr Johnson and chancellor Rishi Sunak.The Conservative Party has since refused to reveal which donors have paid to be members of the group, or which ministers have attended meetings after Labour called for transparency.Leading donor Mohamed Amersi told the FT the group is “like the very elite Quintessentially clients membership: one needs to cough up £250,000 per annum or be a friend of Ben”.The name was a reference to the Conservatives’ co-chairman Ben Elliot, founder of the luxury concierge service Quintessentially who also reportedly help set up the donor network.Mr Amersi sits just outside the list of top 10 donors in the past two years, having given £189,000 in the Johnson era. Most of the money – £99,500 – was paid for a breakfast date with Mr Johnson after he won an “auction” at a party dinner event.Conservative Party co-chair Amanda Milling claimed that government policy “is in no way influenced by the donations the party receives – they are entirely separate”.She said: “All political parties raise money and accept donations in order to pay their staff and campaign in elections.”Earlier this week, cabinet minister Grant Shapps said large donations to the Tory Party from wealthy people should not be “painted as some sort of immoral act”.The transport secretary also said the British public would not welcome any new limits on the amount donors could give – since he claimed it could mean more money coming from the public purse to fund political parties.In 2011 the Committee on Standards on Public Life recommended that political donations were capped at £10,000 per donor, per party, per year – but the Tory-Lib Dem coalition government passed up the chance to reform the system.Campaign groups said it was time for clear limits on the size on donations, urging MPs from all parties to consider new rules to limit the potential for corruption.“Without limits on the size of political donations, political parties will continue to fail to build broader, more democratic bases of financial support,” said Ms Runswick of Transparency International UK.“Clearly money does buy access, and the perception that this secures undue influence corrodes trust in our political system.”Top 10 individual Tory donors since Boris Johnson entered No 10:1. Malcolm Healey – £2mOwner of Wren Kitchens’ parent company West Retail Group.2. John Gore – £1.4mTheatre production tycoon.3. Peter Hargreaves – £1mCo-founder of financial services giant Hargreaves Lansdown.4. Jonathan Wood – £1mFounder of hedge fund SRM Global.5. Peter Wood – £1mFounder of Direct Line and Esure insurance companies.6. Peter Cruddas – £872,000Founder of trading company CMC Markets.7. Sir Ehud Sheleg – £832,000Tory party treasury who was given knighthood under Theresa May.8. Lubov Chernukhin – £681,000Ex-banker whose husband was minister for Vladimir Putin.9. Jamie Reuben – £639,000Property tycoon whose company was part of failed bid for Newcastle United.10. Howard Shore – £609,000Founder of finance firm Shore Capital and Brexit supporter. More

The government has dismissed criticism of Dominic Raab after claims he had flouted his own quarantine rules after a visit to France last month.The foreign secretary acted “within the rules” when he was travelling “on diplomatic business”, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said.The Sunday Mirror said Mr Raab had dodged the government’s travel rules by not going into quarantine after returning from a trip to Paris.Mr Raab moved the country onto the ‘amber plus’ list on 16 July amid fears of the prevalent Beta variant on the island of Reunion, meaning all Brits – including those who had received both vaccine shots – had to quarantine for 10 days upon their return to the UK. The rules have since been relaxed.The foreign secretary visited the country 10 days later, dodging the 10-day quarantine on his return. He met with Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta and Princess Anne, and also visited the Oxford AstraZeneca plant just days after his arrival.Government ministers are exempt from quarantine on account of conducting essential state business for the UK outside of the country. The exemptions cover both red list and non-red list countries.Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds criticised Mr Raab for failing to quarantine after a trip to France, despite moving the country onto its own amber plus list less than a fortnight earlier.She said: “No wonder the Tories don’t understand the chaos they’ve created when ministers don’t apply the rules to themselves.“Senior Con­ser­vatives are taking the public for fools. It’s always one rule for them and another for everyone else.”In a statement, a FCDO spokesperson said: “The Foreign Secretary travels on diplomatic business within the rules.“It is his job to pursue the UK’s interests abroad, including on security, trade, and international development.” More

The world is “dangerously close” to running out of time to prevent a climate “catastrophe,” Cop26 president Alok Sharma has warned.But the minister refused to condemn plans for a new oilfield, despite saying “we can’t afford to wait” to act on global warming.Mr Sharma, president of the upcoming Cop26 summit being held in Glasgow, spoke to The Observer ahead of a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) being published on Monday.The report he said, will be the “starkest warning yet” about what the future could hold.He said: “This [IPCC report] is going to be a wake-up call for anyone who hasn’t yet understood why this next decade has to be absolutely decisive in terms of climate action. We will also get a pretty clear understanding that human activity is driving climate change at alarming rates.”He said the conference “has to be the moment we get this right”, adding: “We can’t afford to wait two years, five years, 10 years – this is the moment.”He added: ”I don’t think we’re out of time but I think we’re getting dangerously close to when we might be out of time.”“Every fraction of a degree rise [in temperature] makes a difference and that’s why countries have to act now,” he said.Mr Sharma pointed to recent extreme weather events, such as the UK’s record heatwave, floods in western Europe and recent wildfires across central Europe and the Middle East.However, the minister recently came under fire over the number of flights he has taken since the new year and failed to condemn plans for a new oilfield off the coast of Shetland.In response to the criticism, Mr Sharma said: “I have every week a large number of virtual meetings, but I can tell you that having in-person meetings with individual ministers is incredibly vital and actually impactful.“It makes a vital difference, to build those personal relationships which are going to be incredibly important as we look to build consensus.”The Cambo oilfield, that could see a further 150 to 170 million barrels extracted, could be approved before Glasgow, and potentially be in operation as far into the future as 2050.The government has also refused to rule out new licences for oil and gas in the North Sea or a new coal mine in Cumbria.The International Energy Agency said in May there must be no new investment in oil and gas projects and coal power plants from this year to have a hope of limiting warming to 1.5C. Mr Sharma said failing to limit warming to 1.5C would be “catastrophic”.But he refused to criticise the UK government’s plans for further fossil fuel extraction, saying: “Future [fossil fuel] licences are going to have to adhere to the fact we have committed to go to net zero by 2050 in legislation.”He added: “There will be a climate check on any licences.”While Mr Sharma focuses on building international support for action, at home the government faces tough decisions over how to meet its net zero pledge – and who pays.Boris Johnson has promised that householders will not have to pay “unreasonable” costs as old gas boilers are ditched in favour of cleaner heating systems, but a Treasury review meant to be published in the spring has been delayed.In a sign of disquiet among Tory MPs, a new net zero scrutiny group of backbenchers is being formed to examine the plans.The group’s chairman, Craig Mackinlay, warned that spending vast sums on subsidising green schemes would be seen by the public as “aping” some of Jeremy Corbyn’s pledges at the 2019 election.He told the Sunday Telegraph: “The Conservatives’ strongest hand has always been credibility: credibility to deliver good economics and good governance. To ape the failed policies of an extreme Labour politician does not seem to be the way of electoral success.”He added: “I’m very pleased the Treasury are actually thinking of this with a financial head on rather than just a warm feeling.” More

Boris Johnson threatened to demote Rishi Sunak after the chancellor called for travel restrictions to be relaxed in a leaked letter, according to reports.The prime minister is said have been furious after he became aware of the letter when details of it were published in last week’s Sunday Times ahead of the announcement of the latest travel rules on Wednesday.In a fit of frustration, Mr Johnson is reported to have said: “’I’ve been thinking about it. Maybe it’s time we looked at Rishi as the next secretary of state for health. He could potentially do a very good job there.’”A senior government source told the newspaper: “In an open meeting, after ranting about Rishi, he then suggested the chancellor could be demoted in the next reshuffle.”The newspaper reported that Mr Johnson is not expected to carry out his threat and noted the prime minister’s reputation for off-the-cuff remarks made “half in jest”.Mr Sunak’s letter is said to have been sent to the PM several days before details were printed in The Sunday Times. Whitehall officials blamed the oversight on No 10 staff, who apparently failed to draw the memo to his attention.The leak of the comments, reportedly made in a meeting on Monday, will do little to help relations between No 10 and No 11.The chancellor is preparing for a tough spending review later this year as he attempts to repair the public finances following the coronavirus crisis.That could put him on a collision course with a prime minister who has promised there can be no return to austerity.A Treasury source said: “The chancellor is solely focused on securing the country’s economic recovery and continuing to protect and create jobs.”Although a reshuffle is not expected imminently, it was reported that Mr Johnson has previously considered international trade secretary Liz Truss as a potential chancellor, with Jacob Rees-Mogg as her deputy.”The PM keeps talking about Liz Truss,” a source said. “He’s always got on quite well with her. He thinks she’s controllable.”PA More