Markus Andrews

Labour has demanded an independent investigation into England’s “broken system” of privately run youth custody centres after the government was forced to pull all children out of a facility in Warwickshire.Sir Keir Starmer’s party said it was time to examine the “dangerous deterioration” of conditions at youth custody facilities run by contractors after damning failures were found at Rainsbrook secure training centre.Ministers had to step in after the US-based contractor MTC failed to fix serious failings at Rainsbrook, where some children were found to have been locked in their rooms for more than 23 hours a day.Last month justice secretary Robert Buckland announced all young people at the centre would be moved elsewhere, after it emerged children as young as 15 were only allowed out for half an hour a day.Mr Buckland said on Friday that all the children had been safely moved to other facilities, and he was now “considering all options” regarding the future of Rainsbrook.Writing to Ofsted’s chief inspector Amanda Spielman, the justice secretary said: “I am currently considering all options regarding the future of Rainsbrook. When these commercial discussions have concluded, I will of course update you regarding the outcome.”Labour MP Anna McMorrin, shadow minister for victims and youth justice, said it was a “pitiful” response to the crisis in conditions.Ms McMorrin said an independent review was needed into the system to understand why things had gone so badly wrong.“The Tories have overseen a dangerous deterioration of conditions in youth custody which undermines the rehabilitation of children and puts working people and families at risk of increased reoffending and crime,” said the MP.“Conditions at Rainsbrook secure centre, including threats to the lives of children and staff, are not isolated incidents, but a damning reflection of the Conservatives’ appalling mishandling of the youth justice system.”Ms McMorrin added: “Labour is calling for an urgent independent review of private youth custody to understand why the broken system is failing children and the public, and for ministers to urgently get a grip of the crisis they have created.”Ofsted, the Inspectorate of Prisons and the Care Quality Commission had warned the government in December 2020 about “continued poor care” at Rainsbrook and raised concerns that vulnerable children were being subjected to a “bleak regime”.Another joint warning was issued in June, after children at Rainsbrook told inspectors that they did not feel safe and feared someone at the facility was “going to die or to be seriously harmed”.Earlier this week prisons and probation minister Alex Chalk revealed that at least half of the 30 or so children at Rainsbrook had been transferred to young offender institutions (YOIs) – youth jails for which they would previously have been considered too vulnerable.The others were being moved to secure children’s homes and a privately run youth custody centre in Oakhill, near Milton Keynes, according to the junior minister.Ms McMorrin said she would write to the justice secretary outlining Labour’s concerns about conditions at Rainsbrook, the relocation of children and the use of private contracts in the youth custody system.She said events at Rainsbrook followed an “alarming” pattern of failure – following a “worrying” 2021 inspectorate report into Oakhill and the 2020 closure of Medway youth custody centre following serious safeguarding concerns.“It took two urgent calls before ministers acted [at Rainsbrook] and we are witnessing an alarming pattern of failure across all youth facilities,” the Labour MP added. More

The Northern Ireland Assembly is to hold and emergency sitting next week to discuss the UK government’s plans for an amnesty on Troubles prosecutions.Stormont will abruptly return from summer recess on Tuesday after a petition for it to convene was signed by 30 members of the legislative assembly (MLAs).The power sharing legislature will debate a motion calling for victims and survivors to have a “full, material and central role and input into the content and design of structures to address the legacy of the past”.The major parties in Northern Ireland all oppose the UK government’s plan for a statute of limitations on the prosecution of Troubles crimes, which would apply to paramilitaries and British soldiers. The policy would end prosecutions for crimes committed before the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.The move is drive by UK government’s promise to end prosecutions of members of the UK armed forces. Boris Johnson told the House of Commons on Wednesday that the idea should be given a “fair wind”.”The people of Northern Ireland must, if we possibly can allow them to, move forwards now,” the prime minister told MPs.But on Friday Northern Ireland’s political leaders held “robust conversations” with Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis over the proposals.Following the multilateral meeting, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said: “It was a fairly robust conversation. Each of us outlined our views on the way forward in relation to legacy. We recognise that these are very difficult and sensitive matters.”This morning I have been meeting with some of the groups here representing innocent victims from across Northern Ireland. They are very concerned by the Government’s proposals for what they believe amounts to some form of amnesty.”They believe passionately that the opportunity for victims and families to pursue justice should not be closed off and that view was replicated in the comments made by party leaders this morning.”SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said there was “a strong consensus among party leaders that the British Government proposal for an amnesty for those involved in serious conflict-related crimes cannot be allowed to proceed”.”It is pathetic that Boris Johnson and Brandon Lewis pushed ahead with this announcement before the consultation and engagement process with political parties and victims had begun in any serious way,” he said.”This process cannot have a predetermined outcome that fails to deliver truth, justice, accountability and acknowledgment that victims and survivors need.”Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly accused the British Government of trying to bring forward a “fait accompli”, adding: “I doubt if you can tell me one person outside of Brandon Lewis who has actually defended this. Everyone is against it, right across the sector.”Nobody believes what the British Government are saying, they are talking about a process and nobody believes that there is a process, they believe that the British [Government] are trying to bring forward a fait accompli and what we need to do is to fight it.”Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said her party would “not provide cover for anything that amounts to an amnesty”, while Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie said the “made clear at the meeting that we would not be supporting a statute of limitations”.He added that this had “always been our consistent position because it was always going to inevitably lead to an amnesty for terrorists”.The Irish government is also opposed to the proposals.More than 3,500 people died — most of them civilians — during Troubles, which involved involving Irish republican and British loyalist paramilitaries, as well as the UK armed forces. More

Keir Starmer willing to ‘sweat blood’ to win back Labour votersThe prime minister has been told he will not be “given a free run” to award amnesties to those involved in serious Troubles-related crimes.SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said Boris Johnson and Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis’ plans represented “a gross distortion” of structures previously agreed at Stormont – and risked “abandoning the needs of victims and survivors”. The Foyle MP issued the warning following a virtual meeting between NI party leaders, Mr Lewis and Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney. He also said it was “pathetic” both Mr Johnson and Mr Lewis had “pushed ahead with this announcement” before any kind of consultation process had begun between political parties and victims.Elsewhere, fresh details of the financial plan the PM used to cover the costs of redecorating his Downing Street flat have been revealed in a report. It shows some £28,647 of taxpayers’ money was spent on painting and sanding floorboard alone, with Sir Alistair Graham describing it as “a scandal that shows the prime minister in a very poor light”.Show latest update

1626446614Government ‘has form’ for making wrong decisions on Covid, says GPA GP, and former MP, is questioning why the government wants to “reopen” the nation when it has not yet got coronavirus under control.Speaking to Sky News, Dr Phillip Lee said: “Everything this government has done in the last 18 months has made this worse – it has increased transmission and the risk of mutation.” He added Boris Johnson’s administration “has form” for making decisions “too late”, often leading to “an increase of cases”. Sam Hancock16 July 2021 15:431626444948Ministers told climate change should be part of national curriculumClimate change and “sustainable citizenship” should be part of the national curriculum taught in schools in England, a Labour former schools minister has said.Moving his Education (Environment and Sustainable Citizenship) Bill, Lord Knight of Weymouth added good schools already deal with such topics.“I just think this is a no-brainer,” he told peers today. “For the DfE [Department for Education] it’s an easy win and I hope you’ll agree.”Lord Knight said a majority of teachers agree that climate change education should be “compulsory in schools” and believe “individual action on climate and sustainability” should also be taught. He added young people also support the inclusion of the topics on the curriculum.“There’s a problem with our curriculum that needs fixing if we’re to fix the planet,” he said. Sam Hancock16 July 2021 15:151626444047Liverpool to lose World Heritage status due to government failingsUnesco is preparing to strip Liverpool of its World Heritage title after the UN body found the government failed to protect the site’s “authenticity and integrity”.The heritage body will decide whether the city’s waterfront will be stripped of the prestigious status next week during a meeting in China.But a pre-summit report seen by The i newspaper has apparently recommended it be dropped from the list, reports Clea Skopeliti.Sam Hancock16 July 2021 15:001626443045Johnson told NI parties will not give him ‘free run on legacy’The prime minister has been warned he cannot be “given a free run” to award amnesties to those involved in serious Troubles-related crimes.SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said Boris Johnson and Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis’s plans represented “a gross distortion of the structures agreed by most parties during the Stormont House Agreement”.“[It also] abandons the needs of victims and survivors,” Mr Eastwood added. “The SDLP will not give this government a free run on legacy.”The Foyle MP made the comments following a virtual meeting of the Northern Ireland party leaders with Mr Lewis and Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney.“It is pathetic that Boris Johnson and Brandon Lewis pushed ahead with this announcement before the consultation and engagement process with political parties and victims had begun in any serious way,” Mr Eastwood said earlier.“This process cannot have a predetermined outcome that fails to deliver truth, justice, accountability and acknowledgement that victims and survivors need.”Sam Hancock16 July 2021 14:441626441609Ex-speaker Betty Boothroyd blasts PM for debasing PMQsIn case you missed my post this morning, our policy correspondent Jon Stone has more detail on Betty Boothroyd’s damnation of Tories undermining prime minister’s questions.Sam Hancock16 July 2021 14:201626440409NI leaders give mixed reactions to legacy meeting with UK and Irish governmentsBrandon Lewis’ meeting over legacy proposals with Northern Ireland leaders and the Irish government seems to have gone down well – for some.DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said Mr Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, had insisted that political parties in Northern Ireland must have an input into plans to deal with legacy.“I think in fairness to the Secretary of State, he is willing to listen to what the political parties have to say … The parties are clear, they want a legacy process to include the opportunity for families, for individuals, to pursue justice,” he said afterwards. “The Secretary of State is indicating a willingness not just to listen to political parties, but to listen to victims.”On the other hand, Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie said the meeting “did not provide any solutions for innocent victims”.“The UK government must widen their proposals to incorporate a criminal justice element or they will risk inflicting more pain on innocent victims whose families have already sacrificed so much,” he continued.“Any proposals which snuff out any hope of justice need to be abandoned. The Irish government needs to do more than what they are doing now. It’s not good enough that the Irish government comes to the table with warm smiles, but little else. Where is their command paper and what are they going to do?”Mr Beattie added that until leaders and the governments involved widen their focus, “we will always be failing our victims and survivors”.Sam Hancock16 July 2021 14:001626438909No 10 does not deny PM backing new tax to fund social care planBoris Johnson’s spokesman today refused to deny reports the PM is backing a new tax to pay for social care reforms – or that a cap on payments could form part of his plans.“I’m not going to start commenting on speculation. No decisions have been made and we will set out the details later this year,” the spokesman said.You can read more about the tax, from Zoe Tidman, here:Sam Hancock16 July 2021 13:351626437409Green groups urge government to reject new oil field plansEnvironmental groups have accused the government of “hypocrisy” after it emerged ministers are set to approve the development of a new North Sea oil field just months before Britain hosts the Cop26 climate summit.The Cambo heavy crude oil field off the coast of the Shetland Islands contains over 800 million barrels of oil. Under proposals submitted to the government, developers expect to extract 150-170 million of these barrels ​— equivalent to operating 16 coal-fired power stations for a year.Fourteen environmental organisations including Friends of the Earth and Client Earth are calling on the government to reject the proposals. And more than 44,000 people have signed an open letter to stop the Cambo oil project due to its “devastating” environmental impact, reports Emma Snaith.Sam Hancock16 July 2021 13:101626436551GB News suspends presenter for taking knee on air – reportAndrew Neil’s “free speech” right-wing news channel has pulled one of its leading presenters after a row about his decision to take the knee live on air, according to reports.Guto Harri was “cancelled” by viewers after he knelt on GB News’ studio floor to show solidarity with England footballers who received racist abuse following their loss to Italy in the Euro final on Sunday. GB News tweeted on Thursday that Harri’s decision “was an unacceptable breach of our standards” and has now taken the decision to suspend him, reports first published by the Guardian suggest.Friends of Harri told the paper: “GB News is becoming an absurd parody of what it proclaimed to be – not defending free speech and combatting cancel culture but replicating it on the far right. Nasty.”Neither Harri nor GB News have commented on his suspension so far.Sam Hancock16 July 2021 12:551626435668Taoiseach echoes plea for UK to show ‘generosity’ in Brexit falloutGiving his account of their meeting, premier Micheál Martin praised the “generosity” of Ursula von der Leyen and her colleagues.“Maros Sefcovic [vice-president of the EU Comission], in his discussions with the UK side, has demonstrated and said very clearly that the Commission wants to be flexible. So where there’s a will, there’s a way,” he told reporters alongside Ms Von der Leyen. “In our view, the mechanisms are there to resolve any outstanding issues, and we believe the mechanism should be used to the full by the UK Government and the indeed the EU.”He finished by echoing his EU counterpart’s words: “We believe the generosity shown by the EU should be reciprocated.”Sam Hancock16 July 2021 12:41 More

Boris Johnson’s government has been urged to urgently reconsider its plan to end Covid restrictions in England on Monday, as international scientists warned that the move poses a “danger to the world”.More than 1,200 scientists from around the globe have condemned the prime minister’s decision to forge ahead with so-called Freedom Day on 19 July, describing it as “unscientific and unethical”.Some of the experts convened an emergency summit on Friday – warning that the UK government’s policy of ending legal curbs on social distancing and masks amounted to “herd immunity by mass infection”.Official government advisors to New Zealand, Australia, Israel and Italy all sounded alarm at the UK government’s strategy.The group of scientists – who all signed the recent letter to The Lancet warning against the reopening – fear next week’s re-opening in England will allow the Delta variant to spread rapidly around the world.Professor Michael Baker, a member of the New Zealand government’s Covid advisory group said his colleagues were “amazed” and “astounded” that the UK had decided to lift curbs when transmission of the virus was rising so rapidly in the country.Professor Baker claimed the UK had started the pandemic “with an approach of herd immunity … rapidly identified as unacceptable”. He added: “It seems now, strangely, that the UK is going back to that approach.”Professor Stephen Duckett, secretary of the Australian health department, said the UK and other governments should make sure transmissions were under control and the population was protected through vaccination before lifting restrictions.“If you open up when either one of those is not the case, you are doomed to an exponential rise in [Covid] cases,” Prof Duckett said.Professor Jose M Martin-Moreno from the University of Valencia in Spain, said: “UK policy affects not only UK citizens, it affects the world. We cannot understand why this [unlocking] is happening.”The public health professor claimed Spain had already made the mistake of allowing transmission to rise by ending compulsory face coverings. “Our prime minister in Spain decided to remove on 26 June the mandatory use of masks outdoors … It is an experiment in disaster to remove the tools to contain transmission.”The international experts were joined by some of the scientists from the UK’s Independent Sage group, which has urged Downing Street to rethink the end of restrictions.Professor Christina Pagel, a member of the Independent Sage panel, said: “Because of our position of a global travel hub any variant that becomes dominant in the UK will likely spread to the rest of the world.”She added: “We saw it with Alpha variant. I’m absolutely sure that we have contributed to the rise of the Delta variant in north America and Europe. UK [government] policy doesn’t just affect us – it affects everybody.”Speaking at the online summit , she added: “What I’m most worried about is the potential for a new variant emerge this summer. When you have incredibly high levels of Covid, which we have now in England – and it’s not going to go away anytime soon – and a partially vaccinated population, any mutation that can affect vaccinated people better has a big selection advantage and can spread.”William Hasteltine, an eminent US scientist renown for his work on HIV/AIDS and Cancer at Harvard university, said: “We have always looked at to the UK for good sensible policies. Unfortunately that has not been the case for the Covid pandemic “It is leading to disaster as we can see in the numbers, I follow the numbers daily in the UK and I am extremely dismayed to see the very rapid rate of increase infections in a population which his vaccinated like we are.”He added: “I believe that the strategy of herd immunity is actually murderous: I think that’s a word we should use, because that is what it is, it is knowledge that you are doing something that will result in thousands, and in some cases tens of thousands of people dying. It is a disastrous policy, it’s been clear that that’s been the case for some time, and to continue to espouse that policy is unconscionable.” More

Former Commons speaker Betty Boothroyd has blasted Boris Johnson for shirking his responsibilities at his weekly prime minister’s question time.Speaking ahead of the 60th anniversary of the first formal PMQs, Baroness Boothroyd said Mr Johnson’s obfuscation amounted to contempt of parliament.The former MP, who was Speaker from 1992 to 2000, also turned her fire on Conservative backbenchers, who she accused of asking soft “fluff” questions.In an interview with Times Radio the nonagenarian elder stateswoman said PMQs had “deteriorated a great deal in the last few years”, adding: “It’s not the quality that it used to be”.The baroness, who recently underwent open heart surgery, said the president Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle had “had to call the prime minister to account here to say look, it’s contempt of parliament – you’re not answering the question, not even attempting to answer the question”.She added: “The prime minister is there to answer questions about what the government is doing, why it is not doing it.”I don’t say prime ministers have got the answer to every question. Of course they haven’t. But at least they’ve got to have a stab and it and make an attempt and it is not [happening] these days.” More

More key workers are set to escape being told to isolate after being ‘pinged’ by the NHS app, No 10 has hinted.Frontline NHS workers are already in line to be exempt from the rules, with a review underway – but that could now be extended to staff in industries such as food production.“We are continuing to look at self-isolation exemptions,” Boris Johnson’s spokesman said, after meat processors were reportedly told that help is on the way to ease mass absenteeism.Downing Street insisted it was still essential that people follow the isolation advice from the app – which will not be lifted, even for the fully vaccinated, until 16 August.But the spokesman refused to say what workers should do if told to ignore it – or face the sack – saying they should “speak to their employer if they find themselves in that situation”.He also appeared to backtrack on the idea of reducing the sensitivity of the app – revealed last week – saying: “It is working as it is designed to do.”The potential shift on the consequences if pinged comes as up to a fifth of workers in companies are having to self-isolate – threatening the production of goods.The number of people notified by the app in England and Wales has passed 500,000 in a single week, robbing businesses of staff they say.Around 700 workers have been told to isolate at Nissan and other carmakers, including Rolls Royce, are thought to be considering changes to production schedules.The British Meat Processors Association said absenteeism came “on top of the desperate shortage of workers that the industry is already suffering”.“Companies are having to simplify down their range of products to compensate for key skills being removed from their production lines,” a spokesperson said.“If the UK workforce situation deteriorates further, companies will be forced to start shutting down production lines altogether.”Clinical NHS staff are already exempt from isolation after receiving an alert from the app if they have worn appropriate PPE, which could be extended to other NHS workers by the review.Asked about an exemption for the food production industry, the spokesman said: “I’m not going to get into hypotheticals industry by industry but, as I’ve said, we keep looking at the latest scientific evidence and data.”He again refused to say if the government believed predictions that millions will have to isolate in the weeks to come are correct, saying he was “not going to speculate”.And he rejected suggestions to bring forward the 16 August end date for the double-jabbed, saying: “It is as the Health Secretary set out in the House last week.”The spokesman also did not deny that the prime minister backs a new tax to tackle the social care crisis, with a cap on payments.“I’m not going to start commenting on speculation. No decisions have been made and we will set out the details later this year,” he said. More

Boris Johnson’s lavish flat makeover included spending £28,000 of taxpayers’ cash mainly on “painting and sanding of floorboards”, an official report has revealed.The document also exposes an extraordinary money-chain before the prime minister himself finally paid the costs above an annual allowance for works – a sum also thought to be £28,000.The interior designer Lulu Lytle paid her fees back to the Cabinet Office, which then passed the money back to the Conservative Party, before Mr Johnson repaid her directly.A former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life called the affair “a scandal”, saying “the Cabinet Office really got the prime minister out of a hole”.“It is a scandal that shows the prime minister in a very poor light and he is going to have to accept what this has done to his reputation,” Sir Alistair Graham said.“The prime minister never came absolutely clean about who funded the flat. Why couldn’t he just be straight with the public?”The Electoral Commission has launched a formal investigation into the financing of the refurbishment of the Downing Street flat, saying “an offence or offences may have occurred”.Mr Johnson once dismissed it as a “farrago of nonsense” – and his ethics adviser Lord Geidt said he had acted “unwisely”, but concluded he had not breached the ministerial code.However, that widely-criticised report did not set out the saga of how the makeover was financed, now revealed in the Cabinet Office’s annual report.It states: “The Cabinet Office has a £30,000 budget each year for the upkeep of the dwellings within No 11 Downing Street.“During 2020-21, Cabinet Office spent £28,647 with Mitie Facilities Management Ltd at the request of the prime minister, which included painting and sanding of floorboards.”The accounts add: “Additional invoices for the refurbishment work undertaken on the No 11 Downing Street residence were received and paid for by the Cabinet Office and subsequently recharged to the Conservative Party in July 2020.“In March 2021, the supplier refunded the Cabinet Office, and the Cabinet Office refunded the Conservative Party, with all final costs of wider refurbishment met by the prime minister personally.”A No 10 spokesperson said: “Other than works funded through the annual allowance, the costs of the wider refurbishment of the flat have been met by the prime minister personally.”In March, leaked emails revealed how plans were hatched to set up a charitable trust to pay for the upkeep of the flat and Downing Street, but were then abandoned.Mr Johnson was reported to have protested that the costs – to rid the flat of what his new wife Carrie Symonds had apparently dubbed a “John Lewis furniture nightmare” –had run out of control.His former aide, Dominic Cummings, claims he told the prime minister that his plan to have “donors secretly pay for the renovation” were “unethical, foolish [and] possibly illegal”. More

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to “sweat blood” to win back voters to his party in the years ahead, but admitted it would be a “slow, long, hard road”.Sir Keir said there was still a “trust issue” for his party after facing questions from a group of sceptical former Labour voters in Blackpool.“This was always going to be a tough gig,” he told the BBC. “I never thought that this would be turned around in a year or 18 months. This is a slow, long, hard road. But every vote has to be earned.”With Labour floundering behind the Tories in the polls, Sir Keir said he and the party “do have enough time” to turn around their fortunes before the next general election.“What I heard [voters] saying is, ‘I have lost trust in Labour, but I might, I might have trust in the future but it’s down to you to earn it.’ And that I will do, you know – sweating blood over the next days, weeks, months and years into next general election.”When told some of the voters in Blackpool hadn’t heard of him before, the Labour leader said he was “utterly frustrated” the pandemic had prevented him from getting around the country.The Labour leader outlined three policies to the audience – a jobs guarantee for workers under 25, a recovery fund for children’s education after the pandemic, and a “buy British” plan for public spending.Asked about the response from Labour voters, he said: “I’d much rather the sort of robust discussion I had tonight, than the warm bath of simply talking to people who already agree with me.”Sir Keir refused to say whether or not he would allow Jeremy Corbyn, who now sits as an independent after he lost the whip, to sit again as a Labour MP again – saying only that a process was being run by the chief whip.He said: “To turn this into an argument about Jeremy Corbyn is to do exactly what I want the Labour Party to stop doing. We have been looking internally, we need to turn ourselves inside out, and be talking to and engaging with voters.”It follows a warning from Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar that Sir Keir must get the party in a position to win a general election to help him north of the border.Mr Sarwar has been in London this week for talks with Sir Keir, warning senior party figures of Scotland’s central importance in transforming the party’s fortunes.“It is on me to fix the Scottish Labour Party but what also helps is a UK Labour Party that people believe will win a general election. They have work to do to get Labour into a position to do that,” he said.Mr Sarwar added: “Until we get Labour back on the pitch again in Scotland, credible again, there is no route back to a UK Labour government.” More