Markus Andrews

Conservative MP Lee Anderson has criticised a group of “idiots” for anti-social behaviour in his constituency, blaming social housing tenants for causing problems on a local estate.The Tory MP for Ashfield called on the government to make it easier for local authorities to evict “nuisance” tenants.“The residents of the Carsic estate in Ashfield are fed up with the handful of local idiots who are the source of the vast majority of anti-social behaviour, and this is happening all over the country,” he told the Commons on Thursday.“The majority of these nuisances are social housing tenants who show no respect to the vast majority of decent hard-working tenants who are being let down by a system that makes it very difficult to evict nuisance tenants.”Mr Anderson said he wanted police forces, councils and the courts to be greater eviction powers to allow “decent people” a more peaceful life.Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said “all of us as constituency MPs deal with this issue” in his reply –but said existing law allowed local agencies to respond to anti-social behaviour.The cabinet minister went on: “Social landlords are required by the regulator on social housing to work in partnership with other agencies to prevent and tackle antisocial behaviour in the neighbourhoods where they own homes.”However, the government is set to cut the notice period landlords have to give all types of tenants before evicting them – rolling back some of the protections it introduced during the Covid pandemic.Councils and tenants unions have warned of a possible surge in homelessness over the summer, with a ban on bailiff-enforced evictions also set to end this month.It comes as Boris Johnson faces a rebellion among backbench Tory MPs over the controversial Planning Bill in this week’s Queen’s Speech.The prime minister has been warned of a “blue wall collapse” in the leafy south of England if he pushes on with the overhaul in regulations aimed at establishing “growth zones” for new development.Meanwhile, housing campaigners Grenfell United group accused the government of “betrayal” over the failure to bring forward reforms to protect social housing tenants.Grenfell United, a group of survivors and bereaved relatives from the tower block fire of 2017, said they felt “deeply let down” that the social housing white paper was not in the Queen’s Speech.The group stated: “[Ministers]’ priorities are for landlords and developers, evidenced by the inclusion of the Planning Bill. This is a betrayal of the legacy we are so committed to achieve.” More

Lawyers have identified five false claims made by ministers for refusing to strike a deal to rescue visa-free touring of the EU, leaving performers with crippling new costs and red tape.As The Independent revealed, despite Boris Johnson’s vow to “fix” the crisis – triggered by his Brexit deal – no talks have taken place and artists have merely been promised advice on the daunting barriers they face.Now a legal opinion obtained by the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) has torn apart the reasons given for failing to secure a visa waiver agreement (VWA) with Brussels.The organisation also says the EU has no fewer than 28 such deals in place – which means performers in countries including Colombia, the UAE and Tonga can tour more easily than UK artists.“Despite what MPs have been told by ministers, the latest legal advice has shown that it is entirely possible for the government to create an agreement,” said Deborah Annetts, the ISM’s chief executive.“With the music sector now looking beyond coronavirus, it is still virtually impossible for many creative professionals to work in Europe on a short term or freelance basis.”The government claims dismissed by a QC are:* That an agreement would require the Brexit trade deal to be renegotiated – when a “short supplementing agreement” could be added.* That a VWA would be incompatible with “taking back control” of borders – when it would exempt a limited number of professions only.* That it would “not bind EU member states” to waive visas – when it would be legally binding once ratified, requiring approval by the EU Council.* That it would cover only “ad hoc performances” – when that is the legal term used by the EU to refer to artists carrying out a full tour.* That it would “not cover work permits” – which, while correct, obscures that member states would then agree work permit rules, if any.Ms Annetts described the legal opinion as “extremely troubling”, adding: “It simply requires the political will to deliver on the prime minister’s commitment to sort this mess out.”It has been issued as Oliver Dowden the culture secretary, prepares to give evidence on the controversy to the Commons culture committee on Thursday.He angered organisations representing creative artists when he said it was up to them to use their lobbying power to solve the crisis, rather than the government’s responsibility.The Musicians’ Union, One Dance UK, Equity, BECTU, Fashion Roundtable, Society of London Theatre, the Association of British Orchestras are among bodies calling for a visa-waiver scheme.It would allow short-term visits on a reciprocal basis, generally meaning 90 out of any 180 days – the EU proposal the UK rejected as the Brexit talks reached their climax last year.On 24 March, the prime minister told MPs: “We must fix this. We are working flat out, bilaterally, with each individual government.”But the department for digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS) has not disputed that no talks have taken place – or that no approach has been made to Brussels, about visa rules. More

A shadow minister has resigned from Sir Keir Starmer’s frontbench after being accused of trying to intimidate a colleague seeking to assist a parliamentary worker who raised allegations of sexual harassment against a former MP.The party confirmed Kate Hollern had left her post as a shadow minister for local government after claims were made during an ongoing employment tribunal against Mike Hill, who until recently represented Hartlepool at Westminster, but declined to comment further.The parliamentary worker has accused Mr Hill of carrying out a campaign of sexual harassment and bullying against her over a 16-month period. The former MP, who was suspended from the Labour whip in 2019, has denied the allegations.Andrew Bridgen, the Conservative MP for North West Leicestershire, told the central London employment tribunal on Wednesday that the Labour frontbencher made “malicious” remarks designed to “scare” him away from helping the woman.Mr Bridgen told the tribunal that the woman – known only as Ms A – had confided in him that she was allegedly being “sexually harassed and sexually assaulted”.In a written statement, he said he was approached by Ms Hollern in the House of Commons’ terrace, who asked him for a private word away from other MPs.He wrote that Ms Hollern told him: “Everyone is saying in the Labour Party that you are having an affair with (Ms A) and if I were you I would keep away from her, because you have a wife and baby and you would not want to lose them if it got in the papers.”He said he responded that “this is rubbish” and he said he regarded the remarks as “malicious and designed to scare me away from offering Ms A any help or support”.Speaking to The Guardian, Ms Hollern said: “I am absolutely clear that any complaint of sexual harassment should be treated extremely seriously. It was never my intention to undermine the support the complainant was receiving, which I was unaware of at the time. If that is what Mr Bridgen was led to believe, I apologise for my error in judgement in having the conversion.”Mr Hill denies the allegations against him and the tribunal, due to last a week and a half, continues. Labour also declined to comment on the resignation of Ms Hollern when approached by The Independent.It comes after the Labour leader suffered a separate resignation from his top team on Wednesday, as Carolyn Harris, a close parliamentary aide, resigned from her role after Sir Keir carried out a strained reshuffle over the weekend amid disappointing results at the local elections last week.Among hundreds of councillors, the party lost the Hartlepool by-election – triggered after Mr Hill’s resignation from the Commons earlier this year – to Boris Johnson’s Conservatives amid poor results for Labour at the local elections. The party had held the seat since the 1960s.Additional reporting by the Press Association More

France is blocking a post-Brexit financial services deal between the EU and the UK until Boris Johnson’s government grants fishermen fair access to British waters, officials have claimed.The ongoing row over access to the UK’s fishing grounds saw France and Britain send patrol vessels to the Channel Island of Jersey last week to monitor a protest by French trawlers.Backing France, the European Commission has said the conditions imposed on licences for French vessels in Jersey waters breach the terms of the Brexit trade deal.The dispute now threatens a financial services agreement that City of London chiefs are desperate to see struck as soon as possible.“We’ve made a link between the two,” an unnamed EU official familiar with the move by Emmanuel Macron’s government told Reuters.The French government spokesman Gabriel Attal did not deny Paris was holding up the deal for the financial sector as a lever in the fishing dispute, saying all post-Brexit issues were related.Another EU official said frustration with the UK was not limited to France. “It’s not just France and it’s not just fishing,” said the diplomat. “Britain must fully apply the agreements it signed up to, which is not the case right now.”Britain’s huge financial services sector was largely cut off from the EU when the UK formally quit the bloc and the transition period ended at the start of 2021.The Brexit trade deal does not cover financial services and direct access to the single European market for financial firms in the City of London has yet to be decided by the bloc under a process known as “equivalence”.Britain and the EU have agreed in principle on a memorandum of understanding on co-operation between financial regulators, but it has yet to be formally ratified by the bloc’s 27 member countries, including France.“We will resume our equivalence assessments once the regulatory cooperation framework is in place and do so on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the UK’s regulatory intention,” the EU’s financial services chief Mairead McGuinness said on Tuesday.However, some banking leaders in Britain are said to be pessimistic that the EU will grant meaningful access to the single market anytime soon.French minister threatens to cut off Jersey’s electricityMeanwhile, French fishermen continue to claim that the British dependency of Jersey imposed unfair restrictions on the waters they could fish in when it issued licenses in late April.Jersey has since proposed delaying new post-Brexit restrictions on French fishermen until the end of July, French minister for marine affairs Annick Girardin told parliament on Tuesday. “New proposal by Jersey: We’re not there yet,” she later tweeted.Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said earlier this week that UK officials – including the environment secretary and Brexit minister were currently trying to resolve the matter with their French counterparts.“I know George Eustice and Lord Frost have been having conversations with French and EU counterparts to deescalate the situation,” he said. More

Conservationists have walked out of talks with ministers over a proposed shake-up of laws on trophy-hunt imports, claiming the changes will lead to “government-approved” wildlife kills.They say the plan – part of a radical overhaul of animal welfare legislation – opens the door to shooting critically endangered species such as black rhinos, elephants and polar bears.Eduardo Goncalves, of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting (CBTH), warned that the loophole created would be “absolutely disastrous”.“Britain wanted to be a world leader on this. As it stands, it is set to be a world loser,” he said.The government’s animal welfare action plan, unveiled on Wednesday, involves fundamental changes ranging from recognising animal sentience and a ban on live exports and foie gras, to giving police more power to protect sheep from out-of-control dogs.In their 2019 election manifesto, the Conservative Party promised a ban on imports of trophy hunting of endangered animals.But the new document pledges to ensure that UK imports and exports of hunting trophies “are not threatening the conservation status of species abroad” – which campaigners say is considerably weaker, allowing wealthy UK hunters to claim an exemption on conservation grounds.The proposed ban is based largely on EU wildlife trade regulations, which would still allow hunters to bring into the country carcasses or body parts of about 100 species, many of which are officially classed as being at risk of extinction and where hunting has been listed as a threat, according to Mr Goncalves, whose group has been in talks with the government behind the scenes.Zebra, reindeer and the Cape buffalo could still be legally targeted if the hunter paid a substantial fee to “support conservation”.The exemption – branded a “blood money” loophole – was applied in the US to allow trophy hunters to shoot and take home trophies of critically endangered black rhinos.It is feared that imports of body parts from farmed lions could be allowed under the new clause.At the moment, a hunter who wants to bring in parts of a threatened species needs a permit from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to ensure that taking the trophy is not “detrimental” to species conservation. The new proposals add the option for hunters to import trophies of critically endangered species such as the black rhino on the grounds that they could contribute to conservation.Humane Society International/UK said it was urgently seeking clarification on the proposals.The charity’s executive director, Claire Bass, said: “We are extremely concerned the government appear to be rowing back on their commitment to bring in the ‘toughest trophy-hunting rules in the world’ and end the ‘morally indefensible’ practice of trophy hunting.“Adding a caveat to imply that if a trophy is not ‘threatening the conservation status of a species abroad’ it could still be imported, would create a giant loophole and mean the legislation would provide no meaningful improvement on the status quo.“If Defra pursues this line, we could effectively end up with UK government-approved trophy-hunting. If the government plan to just repackage the old system, we cannot support them, or celebrate any progress for wildlife protection. We urgently need clarification on this important point.”The CBTH says that in its talks with the government, it was told there must be exemptions.“What has been presented today is not a ban. At best it represents no change to the current system. At worst, it opens the door to shooting critically endangered species such as black rhinos,” said Mr Goncalves.“Even canned lions would fall through this new regime, and that is something the mainstream hunting industry supports a ban on.“The government’s new position is completely unacceptable. We have no choice but to condemn the government’s terrible proposals.“We therefore cannot continue our dialogue with Defra under these circumstances and will be boycotting any further talks.“We call on the government to urgently and radically revise its position. Until then we have no option but to campaign vigorously against the new policy.”The government points to its manifesto commitment to ban imports of trophies from endangered animals, and says a consultation and talks with experts will influence which species are covered by the policy.Animal welfare minister Lord Goldsmith told The Independent: “There’s no point having a ban on imports of hunting trophies if it still allows the export of body parts from endangered animals under a loophole. Details will be produced shortly, but it will be an effective and comprehensive ban. I understand the concern, but when details are revealed, those concerns will be allayed.”Supporters of trophy hunting argue that safeguarding areas for hunting protects wildlife against the greater threats of land conversion and poaching, which would increase deaths. In addition, income from hunting helped pay for conservation of species, it is claimed. More

Staff at scandal-hit Liverpool City Council were so scared of being seen to speak out about possible corruption that government investigators had to offer to meet on street corners, the official who led an inspection there has revealed.Max Caller told workers they would not have to come into council buildings to meet his team because he felt their fears of reprisals were “credible”.”I made it clear to people that we would meet them on street corners, that we would meet them on Zoom, that they didn’t have to be seen coming into any meeting room where I was,” he told the BBC on Monday.Defending the highly unusual decision not to reveal the identities of those providing evidence during the three-month investigation, he added that staff “felt that if they came forward and were named, there would be retribution”.He said: “I came to the conclusion that to protect the individuals I could publish no names.”Mr Caller spent three months investigating the authority after five men – including the city’s then mayor Joe Anderson – were arrested in December by police investigating allegations of fraud, bribery, corruption, misconduct in public office and witness intimidation.His subsequent report was published in March and described a culture of dubious contracts, “sketchy” scrutiny and intimidation of those who dared raise questions.So mired in scandal was the authority found to be that Whitehall civil servants have since been sent in to run a host of departments, including planning and regeneration.In his first interview since the report, Mr Caller said that he was now optimistic that the council is heading in the right direction and is “committed to being back in the mainstream of local government”.A new Labour mayor, Joanne Anderson – no relation to her predecessor – was elected last week and has promised to clean up the city.In an interview with The Independent, she said: “What’s happened here was disgusting… It disgusts me when so-called socialists act out of greed. But, as a Labour Party member, I can sit there and moan and bitch, or I can try and do something about it.”But Mr Anderson himself maintains he did nothing wrong while leading the council for 10 years and has not ruled out a return to politics. He has published a line-by-line rebuttal of the Caller Report.“I think it’s important to recognise the falsehoods, I want you to use that word, lies: lies and smears,” he told the i newspaper. “It’s absolutely absurd to try to create this impression that Joe Anderson is like the don of Liverpool and everybody comes in. It’s absolutely bizarre; it’s a false claim.” More

Boris Johnson has urged Israel and the Palestinians to “step back from the brink” and for both sides to show restraint, amid rising tensions and violence.”The UK is deeply concerned by the growing violence and civilian casualties and we want to see an urgent de-escalation of tensions,” Mr Johnson said in a short statement posted on social media on Wednesday morning.Renewed clashes began on Friday when more than 200 Palestinians and 17 Israeli police officers were hurt in Jerusalem.Thousands of worshippers had gathered at the city’s al-Aqsa mosque for their weekly Friday prayers and were attacked by police with rubber bullets and stun grenades. The show of force by Israeli authorities was in response to Ramadan protests over police restrictions in the Old City and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinians from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.The violence quickly escalated, with Hamas militants firing rockets into Israeli territory and Israel responding with airstrikes.43 people, including 13 children, have been killed by Israeli airstrikes, while Hamas rockets have killed five.Speaking in the House of Commons Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrats’ foreign affairs spokesperson, read the names of some of the children who had been killed in the strikes, as she asked an urgent question to ministers.”My heart breaks for them – and Mr Speaker my heart bleeds for Palestine, for Jerusalem, the city of my family, for the worshipers attacked by extremists in the al-Aqsa mosque on the holiest night of Ramadan and for all innocent civilians, Israeli and Palestinian. We cannot allow this to escalate any further,” she said.”The Israeli government pursuing evictions in Sheikh Jarrah that would be illegal under international humanitarian law including the fourth Geneva Convention, and the subsequent overly aggressive reaction of the Israeli authorities that injured hundreds has ignited a tinder-box. And Hamas then retaliated and those strikes must be condemned too because violence only begets more violence.”She added: “If this isn’t the time to recognise the state of Palestine, then when is? The United Kingdom has a historic responsibility to the people of Palestine and a fundamental obligation to uphold international law. That two-state solution as promised to the likes of my family is as elusive as ever. It is time for the government to not just say, but do.”James Cleverly, the Foreign Office minister for the Middle East, said in response to Ms Moran’s urgent question: “The UK unequivocally condemns the firing of rockets at Jerusalem and other locations in Israel. We strongly condemn these acts of terrorism from Hamas and other terrorist groups, who must permanently end their incitements and rocket fire against Israel. There is no justification for any targeting of civilians. “Israel has a legitimate right to self-defence, and to defend the citizens from attack. In doing so, it is vital that all actions are proportionate, in line with international humanitarian law, and make every effort to avoid civilian casualties. Violence against peaceful worshipers of any faith is unacceptable. “UK has been clear that the attacks on worshipers must stop. The status quo in Jerusalem is important at all times, but especially so during religious festivals, such as Ramadan. Our priority now must be an immediate deescalation of all sides, and an end to civilian deaths. “As I made clear over the weekend we are concerned about tensions in Jerusalem, linked to threatened evictions of Palestinian families from our homes … that threat is allayed for now, but we urge Israel to cease such actions which in most cases are contrary to international humanitarian law.”Later on Wednesday Downing Street backed Mr Cleverly’s approach. Asked whether Mr Johnson agreed with apparently stronger criticism of Hamas rockets, a spokesperson said: “We are urging Israel and the Palestinians to step back from the brink and for both sides to show restraint. The UK is deeply concerned by the growing violence and civilian casualties and we want to see an urgent de-escalation of tensions.”Asked whether the PM would specifically condemn Israeli actions, the spokesperson said: “We condemn the civilian casualties as simply unacceptable and we want both sides to step back from the brink.”He added: “We are clear there can be no justification for terrorist attacks on civilians. The Prime Minister has made his position clear on that. We do not condone the killing of innocent civilians under any circumstances.”The spokesperson declined to comment on government minister Zac Goldsmith’s retweet of a message from the Israeli Defence Force which stated that “no country on Earth would be expected to tolerate these incessant attacks on innocent civilians by an organisation committed to their total eradication”.On Monday Labour leader Keir Starmer said the violence against worshippers during Ramadan at the al-Aqsa mosque was “shocking”.”Israel must respect international law, and must take steps, immediately, to work with Palestinian leaders to de-escalate tensions,” he said. More

The scale of damage to UK trade with the EU inflicted by Brexit has been laid bare in official figures which showed goods exports to the bloc in the first quarter of 2021 down by 18 per cent compared to the last three months of 2020.Trade with the EU continued to recover from the precipitous collapse in January – when UK exports fell by 42 per cent – with sales to the continent in March up 8.6 per cent (£1bn) and imports up 4.5 per cent (£800m) compared to February.But Thomas Sampson of the London School of Economics said that today’s figures suggest that the “incomplete bounceback” seen in February has now stalled, leaving trade flows below the pre-Brexit norm, with no certainty that they will eventually reach the levels that would have been expected without EU withdrawal.Exports to the rest of the world increased by 0.4 per cent over the first quarter, suggesting that the decline in sales to the EU was not due solely to the coronavirus pandemic, he said.And in a sign of the shift in commercial links away from the UK’s former European partners, imports of goods from the rest of the world in the first quarter of 2021 were higher than EU imports for the first time since the Office for National Statistics began collecting data in 1997.Compared to the first quarter of 2019, exports to the EU fell by more than a quarter (29 per cent) from £45bn two years ago to £32bn in the first three months of this year – though trade in early 2019 was distorted by stockpiling ahead of the then expected date of EU withdrawal on 29 March.First quarter exports to the rest of the world fell over the same period by a much smaller 7 per cent, from £44.5bn in the first quarter of 2019 to £41bn in the first three months of 2021, again suggesting that the decline in exports to the EU is linked to Brexit. Dr Sampson, the LSE’s associate professor in economics and the author of studies of the impact of EU withdrawal on trade, told The Independent: “The March figures are still lower than one would have expected pre-Brexit, as you can see by comparing what happened to trade with the EU and trade with non-EU countries since January. “There was a dramatic collapse in January and an incomplete bounceback in February and things have levelled off a bit in March. If trade were on a path to normal, I would have expected further evidence of a bounceback in March, with EU trade growing faster than non-EU, but we didn’t see that.“What that suggests to me is that the bounceback stalled in March at a level that is lower than the pre-Brexit normal. If this is indicative of what the new longer-run level is likely to look like, then we have seen a decline from Brexit.” Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson said: “The statistics show a welcome increase and continued recovery in the value of trade between the UK and EU in March from February 2021, with exports almost returning to December 2020 levels and indeed now exceeding the average levels across 2020.”But Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Christine Jardine said: “There is no way of sugar-coating the clear damage to the economy that these figures demonstrate.“The combination of Covid and the difficulty businesses face in dealing with the new EU trade deal have created a perfect storm for the economy.“This demonstrates again the need for the extension and reform of business support to avoid a damaging cliff edge in September. It’s not good enough for the chancellor to claim he has built business confidence – we need to see real actions, such as the extension of the furlough scheme and a National Insurance contribution cut for small businesses.” More