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Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban said Friday he will soon meet with other right-wing politicians from Poland and Italy to discuss setting up a new nationalist political force in Europe.In an interview with state radio, the populist leader said he was in touch with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Italian former interior minister Matteo Salvini whose parties are ideological allies of Orban’s Fidesz “Poland, Italy and Hungary will try to reorganize the European right wing, and we will soon see each other and plan for the future,” Orban said. Orban’s interview came only a day after Fidesz pulled out of the European People’s Party (EPP), its center-right European political family, following years of conflict over Hungary’s respect for democratic norms and the rule of law. The EPP has accused Orban of abandoning Christian Democratic principles in favor of his own self-styled “illiberal democracy,” while Orban says the EPP has become an “annex of the left” on issues like migration and national sovereignty. Fidesz has led Hungary’s government with an almost uninterrupted supermajority since 2010, but will face six united opposition parties in national elections next year in the most significant challenge to its power in a decade. With Fidesz’s 11 lawmakers in the European Parliament currently without a caucus, some observers have speculated that the party could seek a new home with the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) alongside Poland’s euroskeptic Law and Justice party, or the far-right Identity and Democracy (ID), of which Salvini’s Lega is a member.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 weekdayBut Orban’s statement suggests he is planning for a new right-wing grouping on the European level, and allies in Poland and Italy have indicated they may be on board. Ryszard Czarnecki, a Law and Justice member of the European Parliament, said he favors formal cooperation between his party and Fidesz within a single political faction.“I do not know if it will happen, but you should definitely look for what connects, and not what divides,” Czarnecki said in an interview on the Catholic broadcaster TV Trwam.In an video interview posted to his Facebook page earlier this month, Salvini, who shares Orban’s firm opposition to immigration, confirmed that he was in discussions with politicians from Poland and Hungary on creating a new faction within the EU legislature.”We are working to create something new, because a certain type of Europe with an outdated mindset is unable to respond to emergencies and the needs of 2021,” Salvini said. In February, Orban authored a letter to Giorgia Meloni, president of the ECR and leader of Italy’s nationalist Brothers of Italy party, urging increased cooperation with Fidesz “based on the policy of common sense as well as on Christian and conservative values.”“We need reliable battle comrades who have a common vision of the world and give similar answers to the challenges of our times,” Orban wrote. The European Union has taken legal action against both Hungary and Poland in recent years over perceived threats to judicial independence and freedom of expression, treatment of migrants, and other breaches of core EU values. Associated Press writers Vanessa Gera and Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland contributed. More

Boris Johnson has slapped down Jacob Rees-Mogg over his attack on a journalist under cover of parliamentary privilege, with Downing Street saying: “These are not comments that the prime minister would have made.” Mr Rees-Mogg was accused of a “smear” on Arj Singh after he told MPs on Thursday that the HuffPost correspondent was “a knave or a fool” over a story in which he accurately quoted foreign secretary Dominic Raab saying that the UK could miss out on trade deals if it insisted on partners observing high standards of human rights. The incident sparked a warning from the National Union of Journalists that ministers were acting “like playground bullies” in their approach to the free press.It followed an earlier incident in which equalities minister Kemi Badenoch targetted former HuffPost reporter Nadine White – now a correspondent with The Independent – on social media in response to her emailed request for a comment.At a regular Westminster media briefing on Friday, a Downing Street spokesman declined to say whether the prime minister would speak to the leader of the Commons about his comments.But asked if he backed Mr Rees-Mogg’s position, the spokesman added: “These are not comments that the prime minister would have made.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 weekdayRead more:“These comments were made by Jacob Rees-Mogg and I’m confident he can explain their intended meaning.“The prime minister is a staunch believer in the value of the free press and the important role which journalists play in our democracy.”The row erupted over a story published by the HuffPost website on Wednesday, based on a leaked recording of a video call between Mr Raab and officials.In an excerpt from the call, the foreign secretary told staff: “I squarely believe we ought to be trading liberally around the world. If we restrict it to countries with ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights)-level standards of human rights, we’re not going to do many trade deals with the growth markets of the future.”The comment was condemned by Amnesty International, which said that the foreign secretary was throwing human rights defenders in repressive states “to the wolves”.The Foreign Office later released further excerpts from Mr Raab’s comments, in which he said that there was behaviour which a potential trade partner might undertake “that would cross the line and render a country beyond the pale”.A Foreign Office spokesman claimed that the recording had been “deliberately and selectively clipped to distort the foreign secretary’s comments”, but did not dispute that his remarks had been accurately reported.Asked about the row in the Commons, Mr Rees-Mogg claimed that Mr Raab’s comments had been “shockingly distorted” by being clipped out of a longer recording, branding it a “very cheap level of journalism”.Called upon by Labour to either apologise or repeat his comments outside the chamber, where he would not be protected from defamation laws by parliamentary privilege, the Tory minister did not back down. If “the journalist didn’t clip it himself, he ought to have known it was clipped”, said Mr Rees-Mogg. “He is either a knave or a fool.”NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet said: “It beggars belief that government ministers are smearing and impugning journalists in this way, indulging in outrageous behaviour that demeans them and the offices they hold. “This same government, including the prime minister and other ministers, have committed time and resources to tackling the growing problem of abuse and harassment which is compromising the safety of journalists across the UK. “Yet here we have colleagues around the cabinet table acting like playground bullies, undermining the work of journalists, bringing their work into disrepute, and dishing out insults that are clearly designed to further inflame harassment and abuse online. “It’s not acceptable to dismiss reporting you don’t like as fake news. It’s completely unacceptable to resort to insults and personal smears of journalists simply trying to get on with their job. “Our elected politicians should be committed to improving the parlous level of public discourse, not further polluting it. This behaviour has to stop, the government must get a grip and put its commitments  to improving the recognition and value of journalists and journalism into practice.” More

The UK’s debt has reached a new high as government borrowing hit £19.1bn last month as it continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic and the economic fallout of lockdown.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the public sector had borrowed more last month than during any other February since records began in 1993.The debt owed by public bodies has increased by £333bn since the start of April, the first month of full lockdown in the UK.It brings the total debt to £2.131 trillion, the ONS said.Central government bodies are believed to have spent around £72.6bn running their day-to-day activities in February, a rise of £14.2bn compared with February 2020. The figure includes £3.9bn spent on supporting jobs through Covid-19.The chancellor of the exchequer, Rishi Sunak, pledged early on in the pandemic to provide whatever support businesses needed to help them through the government-imposed lockdowns.Read more:Mr Sunak said: “Coronavirus has caused one of the largest economic shocks this country has ever faced, which is why we responded with our £352bn package of support to protect lives and livelihoods.“This was the fiscally responsible thing to do and the best way to support the public finances in the medium-term.“But I have always said that we should look to return the public finances to a more sustainable path once the economy has recovered and at the Budget I set out how we will begin to do just that, providing families and businesses with certainty.”The government has backed more than £70bn through three loan schemes, and also paid 80 per cent of salaries to around 10 million workers who were furloughed.The government has relied heavily on borrowing to be able to fund this spending as tax receipts have also gone down during the period.However, Mr Sunak has signalled that tax rises are likely in the coming years, already announcing a plan to increase corporation tax from 19 per cent to 25 per cent for large companies by 2023. More

Sir Keir said the issue was not one of individuals but of principles.“If you’re going to have integrity in the Westminster Parliament or the Scottish Parliament, breaches of the ministerial code in either parliament ought to lead to a resignation,” he said.Scotland’s first minister is currently awaiting the findings of a report into whether or not she breached the code. Lawyer James Hamilton is looking into whether the SNP leader lied to the Scottish Parliament over her knowledge of allegations against her predecessor Alex Salmond. A separate inquiry by a Holyrood committee has concluded it is “hard to believe” she was unaware of concerns about the former first minister’s behaviour before November 2017, according to reports. 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 weekdayRead more:New claims also suggest members of the inquiry have concluded that Ms Sturgeon misled their Holyrood committee if she did have knowledge of concerns, relating to the then-First Minister’s alleged behaviour towards female Edinburgh Airport staff, before November 2017.The committee also believes she should have informed her Permanent Secretary, Scotland’s most senior civil servant, as soon as possible after an April 2018 meeting with Mr Salmond, according to Sky News.Ms Sturgeon described reports that the committee has concluded she misled them as a “very partisan leak” from the inquiry.On Thursday evening, she told Sky News: “I stand by all of the evidence I gave to the committee, all eight hours’ worth of evidence.”What’s been clear is that opposition members of this committee made their minds up about me before I uttered a single word of evidence, their public comments have made that clear.”So this leak from the committee – very partisan leak – tonight before they’ve finalised the report is not that surprising.”A Scottish Parliament spokeswoman said the committee, which is made up of four SNP members and five from other parties, is still considering its report.It is expected to be published on Tuesday.The Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints was set up after Mr Salmond was awarded a £512,250 payout over the Scottish Government’s investigation into the allegations.A spokesman for the First Minister said: “The First Minister told the truth to the committee in eight hours of evidence, and stands by that evidence.”It is clear from past public statements that opposition members of this committee had prejudged the First Minister at the outset of the inquiry and before hearing a word of her evidence, so this partisan and selective briefing -before the committee has actually published its final report – is hardly surprising.”The question of the First Minister’s adherence to the ministerial code is being considered independently by James Hamilton, and we expect to receive and publish his report soon.”Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has called for Ms Sturgeon to resign and said his party was “really only waiting for confirmation of what we already know.”We have detailed that the First Minister misled the Scottish Parliament. Nicola Sturgeon has not told the public the truth about what she knew and when.”We cannot set a precedent that a First Minister of Scotland can mislead the Scottish Parliament and get away with it.”We have to trust that the First Minister will be truthful. We no longer can.” More

A majority of British voters would back nurses taking strike action against the 1 per cent pay rise offered by the government after a year on the Covid-19 frontline, a new poll has revealed.The Savanta ComRes survey for The Independent found 53 per cent support for industrial action by NHS nurses, against just 28 per cent in opposition.The unusually high level of backing for walkouts by essential frontline health workers was reflective of strong opposition to the government’s pay offer to NHS staff in England.Just 11 per cent said that nurses should receive a 1 per cent hike, compared to an overwhelming 77 per cent who said the settlement should be more generous – including 25 per cent who said the rise should be 10 per cent or more.The Royal College of Nursing is demanding a 12.5 per cent increase for its members, branding health secretary Matt Hancock’s offer “pitiful”.The Royal College of Nursing’s chief executive and general secretary Dame Donna Kinnair said the findings showed ministers were out of touch with public backing for better rewards for nurses.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 weekdayRead more:“In standing by its measly pay offer, the government has grossly misjudged how much the public values our highly-skilled professional nursing staff,” Dame Donna told The Independent.“The prime minister saw up close how NHS nursing staff can make the difference to patient safety when he needed treatment.“He must urgently reconsider his 1 per cent recommendation. It is the only way to secure more nurses for the future.”The RCN this month set up a £35m strike fund to prepare for possible industrial action.The independent panel that advises the government on NHS salaries – covering nearly all hospital staff, but not GPs and dentists – is due to make its own pay recommendations in early May, when ministers will make their final decision.Today’s poll showed similar support for pay increases for NHS doctors, with 13 per cent of those questioned backing the 1 per cent offer, against 71 per cent saying it should be higher.Just 5 per cent said nurses should join other public sector workers in taking a pay freeze to help pay down the debts incurred during the pandemic, with 8 per cent saying the same for NHS doctors.Ministers argue that the contribution made by NHS staff in the fight against coronavirus has been recognised in their exemption from the pay freeze imposed on public sector workers with salaries over £24,000, and say the proposed hike is above the current inflation level of 0.9 per cent.But with economists expecting inflation to rise over the coming year, the increase is likely to equate to a real-terms cut in spending power, once higher prices are taken into account.- Savanta ComRes interviewed 2,092 UK adults between 12 and 14 March. More

It has long been a political convention across democracies that when someone lies to Parliament, they have to resign their position. That’s about as clear as it gets, however. In the case of whether Nicola Sturgeon lied to the Scottish parliament about the Salmond affair, there is also now the question of who decides and what the exact test is for “misleading” Is it the committee of MSPs who will report imminently, and whose proceedings have been leaked. Or is it the independent QC specially charged by Ms Sturgeon herself with answering the question. And if she did lie or mislead the Scottish Parliament and thus the Scottish people did she do so “knowingly” or deliberately. How can one tell? And how important do they – Parliament and people – think any of this is, anyway? There are no protest marches or riots in the streets calling for Sturgeon to go – quite the opposite, with many unable to follow the technical, procedural lawyerly wrangling. Covid and Brexit feel like bigger deals. For what it’s worth, here are the relevant stentorian passages in section 1.3 of the Scottish Ministerial Code: “It is of paramount importance that Ministers give accurate and truthful information to the Parliament, correcting any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity. Ministers who knowingly mislead the Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the First Minister; More

Hearing the news that his colleague, Jason McCartney (Conservative MP for Colne Valley), was due to receive his Oxford/AstraZeneca jab on Thursday, the health secretary suggested the move would mean men “don’t have to bare our hairy chests”.”It’s wonderful to see the joy on his face in anticipation of his jab,” Mr Hancock told the Commons.“I hope he gets the opportunity to change, maybe into a short sleeved shirt, because we have seen some colleagues inadvertently have to undo an awful lot of a buttons in order to be vaccinated.”And while I can imagine some of their more enthusiastic constituents may have enjoyed the sight, I think it’s best if we gents wear a short sleeved shirt so we don’t have to bare our hairy chests.”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 weekdayRead more:Similarly, his fellow Conservative MP Brendan Clarke-Smith shared a photo of himself receiving the vaccine while having unbuttoned his shirt down to the final button and exposing one arm.The scene has been repeated by Greece’s prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and France’s health minister, Olivier Veran. More

The UK will pilot using Covid-19 certificates as a means to safely reopen sports matches, concerts, and other large events, the culture secretary has announced.Oliver Dowden said the certificates, which would show it someone was vaccinated, could be used to let people return to larger events “in significant numbers”.The news comes ahead of several key dates over the next few months when restrictions are planned to be eased.”From June 21, if all goes to plan in the way that I described, we hope to get people back in significant numbers,” Mr Dowden told Sky News.”We’re piloting the different things that will enable that to happen – clearly it will have to be done in a Covid-secure way.”You would expect, and we will be testing these things, things like one-way systems, things like masks, things like hand hygiene and everything else.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 weekdayRead More:”Another thing that we are considering is a Covid certification, and we will be testing whether we can use Covid certification to help facilitate the return of sports.”Mr Dowden said no final decision on the policy had been taken and that Michael Gove’s review of the issue would provide more answers.The issue of domestic Covid passports or certificates sits alongside questions about whether they will be required for international travel.The EU this week confirmed it was planning a rollout of travel green passes before the summer, in time for the holiday season. Juropean Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said the proposed certificates would be “for all EU citizens, their families when they’re leaving the EU or living abroad”.But the question is controversial because it would by definition see older people given more freedom to travel or attend events first – as they have been prioritised for vaccines. Questions have also been raised about the certainty of vaccines preventing the transmission of different variants of Covid-19.Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said this week the government was looking at the idea of vaccine passports for travel and had been “discussing what the best way to proceed is”.”We are having debates, discussions about travel… but I think what we also have to do is be driven by the data, we’ve got to see how coronavirus develops,” he told BBC News. More