Markus Andrews

The foreign secretary has admitted the failure to hold a promised Commons vote on massive overseas aid cuts is likely to end in a court battle. The government is at risk of “judicial review”, Dominic Raab acknowledged – as he faced taunts over whether the government still intends to risk an expected defeat at the hands of Tory rebels.The vote was expected at the start of the year, but may now take place at all – despite the cuts, including a 50 per cent reduction in funds for war-torn Yemen, beginning within weeks.“I think you’re not going to put it to a vote because you know you’d lose it, wouldn’t you?” Mr Raab was asked in a BBC Radio 4 interview.He replied: ‘We will look very carefully at what’s required and comply with the legislation,” – prompting the taunt “I don’t think you are going to have a vote, foreign secretary?”Read more: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 weekdayThe Independent revealed the pledge to give MPs a vote before starting the process of slashing aid from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent of national income – a cut of around £4bn-a-year – was set to be broken.Legislation was promised after Mr Raab admitted the cut would not be reversed “in the foreseeable, immediate future” – when only an emergency, temporary cut would be lawful. With just weeks to go, only the Yemen cut has been revealed – a reduction to £87m, from £197m last year – and only because an international donor conference was staged.Mr Raab was asked if he would halt the cuts because he was in danger of “breaking the law”, but insisted they were necessary because of the economic crisis sparked by Covid-19.He was then asked if he would “have the courage to put to the vote the decision” in order to “give MPs the chance to decide”, but ducked the question.“On the law, there’s nothing that we’ve done or will do that breaches our international obligations, or indeed that legislation. Of course, we would be subject to judicial review if we did that,” he said.“You’re right to say that we wanted to meet the 0.7 per cent, it was in our manifesto, but I think people will understand the huge challenges that we face.” The comments came as Mr Raab defended plans to lift the cap on the UK’s stockpile of nuclear warheads, calling it the “ultimate insurance policy” against threats from hostile states.A review of security, defence, development and foreign policy – to be published on Tuesday – is expected to increase the limit from 180 to 260, ending three decades of gradual disarmament.The move is expected to pave the way for a £10bn rearmament in response to perceived threats from Russia and China.“It is the ultimate guarantee, the ultimate insurance policy, against the worst threat from hostile states.,” the foreign secretary said of the growing nuclear armoury. More

Michael Gove’s promise to deliver a “green Brexit” has been savaged by environmental groups, who warn that vital protections are being watered down.Safeguards for chemicals, nature, air quality and waste are all weaker since the UK left the EU, they say – despite the pledge that stronger rules would be “a special prize” from leaving the EU.The UK’s desire to have the freedom to diverge from EU rules has “left holes in existing standards and compromised cooperation on important issues”, a report concludes.And replacing the EU’s “gold standard” chemical regulation – with a system with fewer staff, less funding and restricted access to data – was putting public health and the environment “at risk”.Read more: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 an article for The Independent, the chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts warned the UK is in danger of regaining its 1970s slur as “the dirty man of Europe”.“No more slippery get-out clauses and polluter-benefitting deregulation,” Craig Bennett said. “We were promised a green Brexit. Let’s see it – it’s well overdue.”“Inside the EU ministers have been, and still are, prevented from acting as they think right and as the people want,” he said, vowing to do better.But the Greener UK coalition of environmental groups said the situation had mainly worsened since Brexit, issuing its final “report card” in a series of assessments.There are some potential positives, it said, including plans to replace the Common Agricultural Policy with payments based on whether “public goods” such as habitats and cleaner water are being protected.Similarly – while the Fisheries Bill does not prevent overfishing in UK waters –improvements in sustainability and monitoring activities at sea “give cause for optimism”.Mr Bennett added: “Let’s not pretend that the EU was the ultimate guardian angel – half of UK wildlife is now in trouble and many species such as red squirrels, cuckoos and porpoises are threatened.”But he warned: “Massive gaps in environmental regulations and enforcement have opened because of leaving Europe. What we need now are strong, legally binding targets.”Beccy Speight, chief executive of the RSPB, says: “We are in a nature and climate emergency. The UK’s wildlife is in free fall and needs urgent action.“What we have seen so far suggests a legacy of weakening many of the policies, regulations and legislation we urgently need.”Of eight areas monitored, the report placed half – nature, chemicals, air quality and waste – on red alert, at the highest level of risk.The outlook for the others – water, climate, sea life and agriculture – was described as uncertain at best. More

The government plans to lift the cap on the number of the number of nuclear warheads in the UK’s stockpile, the foreign secretary has confirmed. Dominic Raab described the move as the “ultimate insurance policy” against threats from hostile states.The government’s defence review is expected to recommend lifting the cap on warheads from 180 to 260.Asked why the government wanted to end three decades of gradual disarmament, Mr Raab told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Because over time as the circumstances change and the threats change, we need to maintain a minimum credible level of deterrent.“Why? Because it is the ultimate guarantee, the ultimate insurance policy against the worst threat from hostile states.”It is not clear who the government thinks it might use the weapons against or who it thinks might consider launching a nuclear attack on the UK.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 weekdayJust nine countries in the world still have nuclear weapons, putting the UK out-of-step with most of its European neighbours. More

Images published by ITV News showed the room in No 9 kitted out with cameras, rows of chairs for journalists and a parade of union flags. The flags stand firm behind a lectern from where the prime minister’s press secretary, Allegra Stratton, will take reporters’ questions and act as the face of the government.Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: “Given how much money Boris Johnson has thrown at his latest vanity project, we were expecting something a bit more impressive.”Read more:A freedom of information (FoI) request, published by Press Association last week, revealed that the briefing room had cost £2,607,767.67, largely excluding VAT.Costs detailed in the FoI response included £1,848,695.12 for the “main works”, £198,023.75 on “long lead items”, and £33,394.63 on broadband equipment.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 weekdayThe launch of the televised briefings had been anticipated as early as the autumn but it was announced in January this would be delayed due to the regular coronavirus press conferences being held at No 10 during lockdown. Earlier this month, the prime minister faced criticism for a separate renovation project – this time on the No 11 flat which he shares with his fiancée, Carrie Symonds, and their young song, Wilf – which reportedly cost tens of thousands of pounds.Additional reporting by PA More

Britain will help shape a new global order and leave behind an “outdated” international system which no longer serves the country’s interests, Boris Johnson’s government has declared ahead of the integrated review of defence, security, and foreign policies. As well as laying out plans focusing on cyberwarfare in defence, and new counterterrorism initiatives, the review will outline how post-Brexit Britain will seek to build strategic and commercial alliances away from Europe, especially in the Indo-Pacific region. The prime minister will launch the east-of-Suez initiative during a visit to India later this month. The keen interest in strengthening ties in the area has already been illustrated by the invitation issued to India, Australia and South Korea to join the G7 summit after the UK assumed presidency of the group this year. The Indo-Pacific is “increasingly the geopolitical centre of the world”, No 10 said, stressing that the review would make clear that “there will be some shifts” in the UK’s international policy. “The UK is applying for partner status at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and at the end of April the prime minister will travel to India on his first major international visit following our departure from the EU”, a spokesperson 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 weekdayThere are also plans to apply for membership of the 11-state Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). “The UK cannot rely solely on an increasingly outdated international system to protect our interests and promote our values. Instead, it will establish a new government foreign policy of increased international activism and a UK that works, alongside our allies and using all the tools at our disposal, to shape a more open international order in which democracies flourish”, said Downing Street.The alliance of democracies being proposed is being viewed in the Indo-Pacific as a move against the hegemonic expansion of China. The British government has also mooted teaming up with the “quadrilateral” group of the US, Australia, Japan and India.Joe Biden took part in the first summit of the group’s leaders, in a virtual forum, last week with Scott Morrison, Narendra Modi, and Yoshihide Suga. The integrated review will point to the military role the UK is ramping up in east Asia. The Royal Navy’s flagship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, is due to take her maiden voyage in the Indo-Pacific with American F-35 warplanes on board.
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Boris Johnson has said the government is committed to doing “everything we can” to make the streets safe for women in the wake of the death of Sarah Everard.The move will include undercover police officers patrolling pubs and bars as part of a pilot scheme, Downing Street said.Following a meeting of the government’s crime and justice taskforce chaired by the prime minister, a series of “immediate steps” to improve security was announced.No 10 said versions of a police operation called “Project Vigilant” would be extended around the country once hospitality venues re-emerged from coronavirus restrictions.“This is an internationally award winning-approach taken by Thames Valley Police where both uniformed and plain clothes officers identify predatory and suspicious offenders in the night time economy,” a statement said.“This can involve officers attending areas around clubs and bars undercover to better ensure women are safe in these locations, and increased patrols as people leave at closing time.”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 weekdayThe measures also include a doubling of the Safer Streets fund – which provides neighbourhood measures such as better lighting and CCTV – to £45m.At the same time No 10 said ministers were committed to working with police forces and with police and crime commissioners to ensure the measures were more focussed on preventing sexual violence.Mr Johnson said that could mean siting measures in parks and routes used by women on their walks home.”The horrific case of Sarah Everard has unleashed a wave of feeling about women not feeling safe at night. We must do everything we can to ensure our streets are safe,” he said.”Ultimately, we must drive out violence against women and girls and make every part of the criminal justice system work to better protect and defend them.”The meeting took place as demonstrators again took to the streets of central London to protest at the policing of a vigil for Ms Everard on Saturday.There were a number of arrests after the police ordered the protesters to disperse, warning they were in breach of coronavirus regulations.Earlier the PM backed Metropolitan Police chief Dame Cressida Dick following calls for her resignation in the wake of the weekend’s events on Clapham Common where crowds gathered to remember the 33-year-old marketing executive.Serving Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, 48, has been charged with her kidnapping and murder.
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The government should make misogyny a hate crime to make sure all police forces record the violence and harassment suffered by women, a Labour MP has said.All police forces in England and Wales would be forced to record crimes that have been motivated by hatred of an individual’s gender under the new measures.Ms Creasy said: “I urge every woman who has walked with keys in her hands at night, been abused or attacked online or offline to come forward and be heard.“This is our moment for change. Rather than telling women not to worry about violence or to stay home at night if they want to be safe, it’s time to send a message that women should be equally able to live free from fear of assault or harm from those who target them simply for who they are.”The disappearance and death of Sarah Everard has shone a light on violence against women and girls in the UK, as women have shared their own personal experiences of sexual harassment and assault they have been subjected to in public places.Speaking to The Independent, Ms Creasy said: “New measures would mean if someone is targeting women, which we know is a longstanding issue, it will be taken into account in the sentencing in court in the same way that it is if someone is being targeted because of the colour of their skin.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“If police were to record when a hate crime toward women is carried out like they do with other hate crimes that are reported, then that builds a picture of abuse, harassment and violence which women face.”The campaign to make misogyny a hate crime has the backing of elected city mayors Sadiq Khan, Andy Burnham, Steve Rotherham and Dan Jarvis, as well as a number of police and crime commissioners. Citizens UK, the Fawcett Society, UN Women UK, and other similar groups are also on board.Discussing the amendment to the bill, Baroness Kennedy said: “Recognising hostility towards women drives criminal offences helps us detect and prevent offences including street harassment, sexual assault, rape and domestic abuse. “We know it works as seven police forces across the country are already taking this approach, with proven results in increasing confidence in the police and tackling violence against women.“This is a simple measure that we could take now to start making sure every woman is safer at home and on our streets.”A survey by UN Women last week revealed 97 per cent of young women in the UK said they had been sexually harassed, while 80 per cent reported experiencing sexual harassment in public spaces.The poll of more than 1,000 women, aged between 18 and 24, found the sexual harassment included being groped, followed and coerced into sexual activity.
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Brexit, like so many divorces, is turning nasty. Well, nastier, given that the bickering broke out almost immediately after the 2016 referendum and the atmosphere has, with rare outbreaks of goodwill, generally grown more acrimonious in the tumultuous years that followed. Brexit may or may not be “done”, in the sense that the UK has moved out of the marital home; but it is far from over. Now the lawyers are getting involved – never a good sign.As widely expected, the EU has served notice on the UK that it will be taking it to court. The EU views the UK decision to unilaterally extend the grace period for the Northern Ireland protocol as an infringement of an international agreement. The British say it is proportionate, in good faith and to make sure things are balanced across the Irish Sea, now the subject of an economic border. It is not a robust defence in legal terms, though it may have political force. More