Markus Andrews

Scotland would have to wait up to 10 years to re-join the EU if it decides to opt for independence from the UK, according to the Institute for Government (IfG).The think tank said it would require the best part of a decade for the process to be sorted out, and would “inevitably” lead to the emergence of a hard border with England.The SNP has argued that Scotland has been taken out of the EU “against our will”, with first minister Nicola Sturgeon claiming her country’s future lies as an “independent European nation”.However, a new report from the IfG found that an application to join the bloc would almost certainly mean a long wait and Scotland having to adopt the Euro as its currency.“The EU would probably welcome an application from an independent Scotland, but only if Scottish independence were based on agreement with the UK government,” the think tank’s report states.“Under EU law, Scotland could only formally apply to join the EU once it had secured its independence from the UK, and the whole process could take the best part of a decade.”The academics found that joining the EU would probably mean an independent Scotland joining the single market and customs union – and as a result the Anglo-Scottish border would become a new regulatory frontier for the EU.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayEven if a looser model of integration was adopted, such as Scotland joining the European Economic Area (EEA), it would not mean frictionless access to both the EU and the UK markets.“As an EU member state, Scotland would have no choice but to enforce customs processes, as well as regulatory checks on goods such as animal and plant products,” the IfG report states.The authors of the London-based think tank, viewed as neither left nor right-wing, added: “There would be a need for new border infrastructure to enforce these rules.”Noting that Scottish businesses trade roughly three times as much with the rest of the UK as with the EU, the authors said that the SNP needed to be “open” about the “costs as well as benefits” of EU membership.Ms Sturgeon clashed with rival Scottish political leaders during Tuesday’s BBC Holyrood election debate.The SNP chief claimed Scotland was in danger of going in the “wrong direction” if it left decisions to Boris Johnson’s government, adding: “It’s up to the people of Scotland to decide.”However, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “If she obsessed about fighting poverty as much as she does about the constitution, imagine how different Scotland could be as a result.” More

A group of “paranormal activity investigators” have been busted by the cops for breaching Covid rules in Cheshire after they gathered to grab up ghosts at a spooky old derelict building in Cheshire. But it’s a town in Durham with a spooky old relic that’s returned to haunt the news agenda once again. By some weird, eerie co-incidence Barnard Castle is back in the headlines, after Boris Johnson announced 60 million doses of a brand-new vaccine will be bottled there – a move which might frighten a few people in Brussels.Inside the bubbleChief political commentator John Rentoul on what to look out for today: More

The government’s highly anticipated race report commissioned in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests has rejected suggestions that Britain is still an institutionally racist country.The 264-page report concludes that the UK has become a “more open society” where children from many ethnic communities perform as well or substantially better than white pupils in compulsory education.The independent review – which is published on Wednesday – argues that issues around race and racism are “becoming less important” and, in some cases, are not a significant factor behind explaining disparities. However, race advisers have warned that Britain is not “a post-racial society” and that “overt and outright racism persists in the UK”, particularly online.Ahead of the report’s release, a government summary states: “The landmark report challenges the view that Britain has failed to make progress in tackling racial inequality, suggesting the well-meaning ‘idealism’ of many young people who claim the country is still institutionally racist is not borne out by the evidence.”Read more:It comes after numerous reports published last year cited evidence of structural inequalities including the Public Health England (PHE) review of disparities in the risk and outcomes of Covid (2020), the Lawrence Review (2020), and Windrush Lessons Learned Review (2020).The PHE probe found that: “Given the limitations of the PHE review, work was especially called for on the socio-economic, occupational, cultural and structural factors (racism, discrimination, stigma) influencing Covid-19 outcomes in Bame communities within and outside the health sector.”Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayWhile the Lawrence Review, commissioned by the Labour Party and led by Baroness Doreen Lawrence, concluded that “decades of structural discrimination led to the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on minority ethnic communities”.In the Lessons Learned Review Wendy Williams, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, noted that “these failings demonstrate an institutional ignorance and thoughtlessness towards the issue of race and the history of the Windrush generation within the department, which are consistent with some elements of the definition of institutional racism”.Following her Race Disparity Audit in 2017 which revealed the widespread impact of discrimination in the UK, former prime minister Theresa May said the data “will provide the definitive evidence of how far we must still go in order to truly build a country that works for everyone”.Tony Sewell, chairman of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, who has previously made comments denying the existence of institutional racism, said: “The report highlights the significance of education as the single most powerful tool in reducing ethnic disparities. “The effect of education is transformative on individuals but also their families and their communities, sometimes within a generation.“Another revelation from our dive into the data was just how stuck some groups from the white majority are. As a result, we came to the view that recommendations should, wherever possible, be designed to remove obstacles for everyone, rather than specific groups.”The former education charity boss and one-time colleague of Boris Johnson, added: “Creating a successful multi-ethnic society is hard, and racial disparities exist wherever such a society is being forged.”  But, he added, the country should be an example to other “white majority countries”.“The commission believes that if these recommendations are implemented, it will give a further burst of momentum to the story of our country’s progress to a successful multi-ethnic and multicultural community – a beacon to the rest of Europe and the world.”In 2019 Black African pupils performed above their white British counterparts on average in GCSE exams, while Black Caribbean pupils were the only ethnic group who performed lower than white British pupils, new research commissioned by the group found.The commission has suggested that some communities continue to be “haunted” by “historic cases” of racism, creating “deep mistrust” in the system which prevent them from being successful.The report makes 24 recommendations including the commissioning of further research into the drivers in “high performing pupil’s communities” to see what can be replicated to support all children to succeed.Last summer, Boris Johnson announced the cross-government inquiry into “all aspects” of racial inequality in Britain in response to the Black Lives Matter protests that swept across the globe, highlighting endemic racism and widespread injustices”.“We have to acknowledge that when thousands of people march peacefully for Black Lives Matter, you can’t ignore that,” the prime minister said at the time. “I, as a leader, as someone in government, I can’t ignore the strength of feeling.”But in a scathing attack at inaction from successive governments, David Lammy claimed the promise to hold a commission – first announced in a comment piece for The Daily Telegraph – was “written on the back of a fag packet to assuage the Black Lives Matter protesters”. Speaking in June, the shadow justice secretary demanded: “Get on with the action, legislate, move. You’re in government – do something.”Referencing a previous report he led in 2017 into racial disparities in the criminal justice system, the Labour frontbencher said: “I made 35 specific limit recommendations in the Lammy review. Implement them. “There are 110 recommendations in the Angiolini review into deaths into police custody. Implement them. There are 30 recommendations in the Home Office review into the Windrush scandal. Implement them. There are 26 in Baroness McGregor-Smith’s review into workplace discrimination. Implement them.” More

Coronavirus and the prospect of a second independence referendum dominated exchanges in the first TV leaders’ debate of the Holyrood election campaign.SNP leader and first minister Nicola Sturgeon took on her rivals in the BBC Scotland clash which took place just days into the campaign.But with just the five parties who currently have MSPs in Holyrood taking part, there was no place for former first minister Alex Salmond, who recently made a dramatic return to politics as the leader of the new Alba Party.As Scotland looks to move on from the coronavirus pandemic, Ms Sturgeon promised to be an “experienced hand at the wheel” with her SNP party bringing forward “bold policies to drive our recovery”.But she insisted that when the crisis has passed, people should have a “choice on independence”.Read more:The SNP wants that vote to take place in the first half of Scottish parliament’s five-year term.But Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross insisted: “We can’t have a recovery and a referendum.”Meanwhile Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar raised the plight of 69-year old Mary Hudson, 69, from Springboig in Glasgow, who is facing the prospect of travelling to London for cancer surgery.With her ovarian cancer having returned, her family say she is having to be treated in Hammersmith because staff at Glasgow Royal Infirmary told them they were only treating first occurrences of the disease because of Covid-19 backlog.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayMr Sarwar said the family had been “told by the NHS in Scotland that due to the backlog of Covid, they are not treating recurring cancers, and would only be treating first-time cancers”.Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: “After the dreadful year we have endured, I want to spend every second, every moment of the next five years of the parliament focusing on putting recovery first.”He insisted: “This is not the moment for another referendum. We need to put the division behind us and bring the country together.”But Scottish Green Party co-leader Lorna Slater told the audience Scotland could not return to the “broken system” that was in place before the pandemic.She confirmed her party would commit to a referendum taking place in the next Holyrood term in its manifesto.And she added: “Around the room we hear people who are in favour of the union not actually arguing for the union, but instead arguing that the people of Scotland shouldn’t have the right to choose.”Mr Ross highlighted the coronavirus vaccine programme as being one of the strengths of Scotland being in the UK.With more than half of all Scottish adults having had their first dose of the vaccination, he said: “That’s the union working, the United Kingdom getting the vaccines that are delivered by our NHS staff, our British armed forces and volunteers.”That’s the union working for people right now.”The debate ended with all five of the party leaders pledging to work to tackle abusive behaviour during the campaign.Mr Sarwar, who is the first political leader from an ethnic minority background in the UK, said “It doesn’t matter where it comes from or who it is directed towards.”Whether they’re on our side or a different side, we have a duty to condemn those perpetrators and show solidarity with the victims.”That’s a cast-iron commitment from me.”Press Association More

The cold war between Nicola Sturgeon and her predecessor as leader of the Scottish National Party, Alex Salmond, is now a hot one, as they prepare to face each other on the election battlefield.Salmond insists that his new party, Alba, is intended to help the nationalist cause by getting more pro-independence candidates elected to the Scottish parliament than the SNP can on its own. But Sturgeon seems unconvinced that her former mentor is trying to be helpful.“At the end of the day, we’ve got to win independence fair and square. We can’t game, or cheat, our way to that,” she said in a Daily Record interview yesterday. So why did she think he was putting himself forward to be elected back into the Scottish parliament? “I think he is standing because he loves the limelight and can’t bear not to be on the stage.” More

Dominic Raab has announced that the UK will cut aid to Syria by one-third, telling a United Nations donor conference that the government would pledge only £205m to help the country this year, down from the £300m promised in 2020.The UK ultimately gave £400m to Syria last year, meaning that, if no further funds are forthcoming from Whitehall, the decrease will actually be closer to 50 per cent.Mr Raab acknowledged that the Middle Eastern state and its neighbours were under even greater pressure because of the coronavirus pandemic but said Britain had paid out £3.5bn in support of Syrian refugees since 2012 and had had to revise its own priorities in light of Covid-19.The US, EU and Germany are customarily the biggest donors to the country and likewise beset by the impact of the virus on their economies, but none of the three announced cuts to their contributions, with Mr Raab’s Berlin counterpart, Heiko Maas, pledging £480m and the same again in 2022.Under Bashar al-Assad’s leadership, an estimated 90 per cent of the Syrian population are now living in poverty, according to the humanitarian organisation Syria Relief, with 12.4m people suffering from food insecurity and 12.2m lacking regular access to clean water.Read more:Mr Assad faces a presidential election this year that few of the speakers at the UN conference were optimistic would be conducted fairly.“For 10 years, Syrians have endured death, destruction, displacement and deprivation and things are getting worse, not better,” UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said at the video summit, making an appeal for generosity as the body sought to pull together £7.3bn to help the country and its refugees dispersed in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan.Mr Raab’s announcement provoked a negative response from international aid agencies at home and abroad.“Cutting funding by almost a third is a devastating blow to the millions of Syrians who fled their homes and had their lives torn apart by 10 years of conflict,” said Oxfam’s head of policy and advocacy, Sam Nadel.“While the violence may have subsided, millions of people are still struggling to survive within Syria and across the region. Aid is needed now more than ever as the pandemic, rising food prices and failing economies have made their lives even more difficult.” More

Claims by the policing watchdog that officers did nothing wrong in responding to the Sarah Everard vigil show “institutional sexism running through the force”, the organisers of the event have said.A review by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary released on Tuesday found the Metropolitan Police “did not act inappropriately or in a heavy-handed manner” at the vigil and that the force was “justified” in its approach.The findings, which saw the watchdog accused of “bias” becasue of its reliance on ex-police officers, came despite widespread criticism of policing of the event, with distressing images of women being manhandled and pinned to the floor by police going around the world.The vigil was called to commemorate Sarah Everard, a 33-year old south Londoner who went missing earlier this month. A serving police officer has been arrested and charged with her murder. Reclaim the Streets, which had originally organised the gathering, said the watchdog’s report showed clear “disregard for us as women organisers” and did not reflect the reality on the ground.Read more:And Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, who earlier this month called for Met chief Cressida Dick to resign, said she and the Home Secretary Priti Patel had put officers in an “impossible position” and that it was wrong to try and stop the vigil going ahead. “We all saw the appalling scenes at the Clapham Common vigil. Police officers were ordered to manhandle and arrest women, just for exercising their rights to peaceful assembly,” Mr Davey said. Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekday“In the circumstances, we simply do not agree that the Met was right to treat this vigil as if it was just any other large gathering during the pandemic, and therefore to try to stop it going ahead. “This was a peaceful vigil to mark the death of Sarah Everard. Women rightly wanted to show their sorrow for her death, and their anger that too many women are killed by too many men.”He added: “We are enormously grateful to police officers on the frontline, putting themselves in harm’s way to keep us all safe. “It is the Home Secretary and the Met Commissioner who are to blame for putting officers in an impossible position when the decision was taken not to allow the planned vigil to go ahead peacefully and in a Covid-safe way. The right to peaceful assembly and protest is a fundamental human right.”Organisers Reclaim These Streets said the watchdog’s report was “disappointing” and said despite been interviewed for over 10 hours its findings did not reflect what they had seen on the ground.”The Met Police antagonistic actions around the vigil forced us to cancel the event, which then in turn, caused a greater number of people to attend due to their publicity,” the group said in a statement.

We all saw the footage and we all saw the police treating women extremely badly at a vigil for a woman allegedly murdered by a police officer. It was the worst possible way to handle that whole protest,Baroness Jones, Green Party peer”We warned the Met Police on Friday night, that forcing us to cancel would cause additional risk to public safety, as did Lambeth Council. They completely dismissed our warning and concerns.”The report also shows a failure from the Home Secretary and Policing Minister on providing a political steer for the police on this event. They agreed with the NPCC to provide a statement, but failed to so – meaning senior officers, who according to the report fail to demonstrate an understanding of Human Rights law. Where police officers are faced with making finely-balanced decisions in difficult circumstances, it is essential that the law is clear. “It is incumbent on the legislature to provide a set of rules that is (first) readily capable of being accurately interpreted and applied and (second) likely to attract a high degree of public acceptance and consent.”The group added: “Instead of taking responsibility for their actions, The Metropolitan Police is standing behind claims that we were inexperienced organisers, despite some of us being elected officials and others having a decade long track record of working with police and councils on events. We anticipated a fair and balanced inquiry and are instead being told not to believe what we saw and heard reported two weeks ago. This inquiry is not representative of our experience with senior Met officials.”The HMIC had a responsibility to begin rebuilding the trust between women and girls across the capital and the Metropolitan Police. The disregard for us as women organisers in the report is clear there is still institutional sexism running through the force.”Baroness Jenny Jones, a Green Party peer who previously sat on the Metropolitan Police authority, said the watchdog had a “natural bias” towards the police.”We all saw the footage and we all saw the police treating women extremely badly at a vigil for a woman allegedly murdered by a police officer. It was the worst possible way to handle that whole protest,” she told The Independent. “I don’t know where the order came from, if it came from Priti Patel or Cressida Dick but either way it was a terrible mistake. I’m afraid the report doesn’t make me feel confident about the police and it doesn’t make me feel confident about the inspectorate of constabulary.”She added: “Part of the problem is that they use a fair number of ex-police officers for their investigation. Of course you need some police officers because you need to understand how the Met or any police force works, but at the same time you’re going to get a natural bias towards the police from those investigations.”I think that’s inappropriate and somehow they just don’t take a tough line with the Met and so I think they’re not fulfilling their function properly. “But Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said the outcome of the watchdog’s review was “no surprise” and hit out at what he called “armchair critics”.Mr Marsh added that criticism of the police by politicians was “outrageous behaviour from those who should know better”, adding: “We said on the very evening that politicians of all parties should make themselves aware of all the facts before rushing to judgment and making statements.”But these armchair critics on their Saturday night sofas did not. The knee-jerk commentary from politicians of all parties – who as the report states were reacting to a snapshot on social media rather than the facts – has made the already difficult job of our colleagues in London incredibly harder. And more dangerous. And for that these people should be ashamed.”Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, said he “completely” understood why “women, girls and allies wanted to hold a vigil to remember Sarah at Clapham Common” and “show solidarity with all women who have been subjected to violence at the hands of men”.He added that it was “my job to stand up on behalf of Londoners and ensure that there is effective scrutiny of the Metropolitan Police – particularly in the light of such widespread public dismay”.The review by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found officers did their best to peacefully disperse the crowd, remained calm and professional when subjected to abuse and did not act inappropriately or in a heavy-handed manner.HMICFRS found it was unrealistic to hold a Covid-safe event on Clapham Common in light of the numbers of people who would attend and the short time available, and said the force was right to conclude the health risks of holding a vigil were too great.However, it said there was insufficient communication between police commanders about changing events on the ground.”Officers are our fellow citizens, invested by the community to keep the community safe,” said Sir Thomas Winsor, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary who led the review.They rely upon and are entitled to receive public support when they act lawfully, sensitively and proportionately; in this case, in the face of severe provocation and in very difficult circumstances, they did just that.”The report said public confidence in the Met had suffered as a result of the vigil and suggested “a more conciliatory response after the event might have served the Met’s interests better”.Speaking on Tuesday Labour leader Keir Starmer said: “We must never lose sight of why people came to Clapham – and to many places across the country that night – not only to draw attention to the horrendous killing of Sarah Everard and the grief, but also to make the wider point that many, many women and girls feel that they are harassed and abused on almost a daily basis in public and in the street.”So we must never lose sight of that wider point. Very important that we address that across the country as politicians, very important that women, girls have confidence in the police.”He added that he was “very happy to work with the commissioner and anybody else to build that confidence in the police with our women and girls”.Matt Parr, Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary, who led the inspection team, said: “Amidst a heightened public debate on women’s safety, and during an unprecedented pandemic, the Metropolitan Police faced a complex and sensitive policing challenge at Clapham Common.”Condemnation of the Met’s actions within mere hours of the vigil – including from people in positions of responsibility – was unwarranted, showed a lack of respect for public servants facing a complex situation, and undermined public confidence in policing based on very limited evidence.”After reviewing a huge body of evidence – rather than a snapshot on social media – we found that there are some things the Met could have done better, but we saw nothing to suggest police officers acted in anything but a measured and proportionate way in challenging circumstances.” More

A newly-announced candidate for Alex Salmond’s Alba Party has apologised for making derogatory remarks about “Romanian beggars” being as “fat as pigs”.Former boxing champion Alex Arthur – a candidate for the new pro-independence party in the Lothian region – also said sorry for a tweet which appeared to undermine the Covid vaccination plan.In a tweet from 2020, Mr Arthur was found to have posted: “Them Romanian beggars in Edinburgh ain’t hungry!! Just drove past them all ready to switch up begging posts and ALL em fat as big juicy over-fed pigs!”Describing himself as a “working-class boxer who shoots from the hip,” the candidate apologised in a statement on Tuesday morning, but also claimed his remarks had been “misinterpreted” by some.“Any comments about beggars that now look inappropriate are being misinterpreted, but that is my fault for the wording,” he said, adding: “I actually have Romanian friends.”In another of Mr Arthur’s tweets, from February this year, the 42-year-old appeared to play down the need for Covid vaccines among adults his age, saying: “I just don’t believe I need it.”He said: “I’d rather not take an injection for something my perfectly good immune system can fight off quite easily. I was happy my parents and grandparents got it.”Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayIn his apology statement, the Alba Party candidate explained: “We were told that there was no evidence that the vaccine stops transmission, and as a young and healthy man I am not in any of the risk groups.”He added: “Since then it’s become clear the vaccinations are working, and are the way that we will get out of this pandemic and all of the destruction it’s causing.”Mr Arthur, crowned the WBO super featherweight world champion in 2008, won a gold medal for Scotland at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.Mr Salmond has now persuaded two SNP MPs and four councillors from Nicola Sturgeon’s party to jump ship and join the Alba Party, claiming that up to one million pro-independence votes were being “wasted” because of Scotland’s regional list system.George Kerevan, the former SNP MP for West Lothian, also announced on Tuesday morning he would be resigning from Ms Sturgeon’s party and joining the AlbaParty.The former first minister said he expects to field a minimum of four candidates in each regional list area in a bid to create a “super majority” for independence in the Scottish parliament. More