Markus Andrews

Metropolitan Police commissioner Dame Cressida Dick has defied calls to resign, insisting she is not considering her position as officers’ actions at a vigil for Sarah Everard provoked criticism across the political divide.Dame Cressida’s intervention came after the London mayor Sadiq Khan summoned her to a meeting at City Hall, and later issued a statement saying he was “not satisfied” with her explanation of events at Clapham Common on Saturday evening.The Home Office said Priti Patel believed there were “still questions to be answered” after receiving an official report from the commissioner into “upsetting” scenes during which four arrests were made and at least one young woman was restrained on the ground by officers.The department added that the home secretary had also ordered Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to conduct a “lessons learned” review into policing at the event – a move welcomed by Dame Cressida.Speaking moments after a government source suggested Ms Patel still had “full confidence” in the commissioner, and as demonstrators gathered in Parliament Square, Dame Cressida was asked whether she was considering her position. “No, I’m not,” she replied.The commissioner said what had happened to 33-year-old Sarah Everard, whose body was found in woodland in Kent last week, appalled her, adding: “As you know, I’m the first woman commissioner of the Met – perhaps it appals me even more because of that.”Dame Cressida said events had made her “more determined, not less, to lead my organisation”, and said she was focused on “our streets being safer than they are now and feeling safer than they are now” for women.She added that officers at the vigil were placed in an “invidious” position when crowds grew in south London on Saturday evening, and described their task as “fiendishly difficult policing” due to the government’s draconian coronavirus restrictions.Quizzed on what she thought when she saw the pictures of the policing at the vigil, Dame Cressida said: “I wouldn’t have wanted to see a vigil in memory of Sarah end with those scenes. Crowds gather outside of Scotland Yard to mourn Sarah Everard“That’s why this morning I said – I wasn’t there, but from what I can tell – my officers [were] in a very difficult position, as they have been again and again in the last year, policing within coronavirus restrictions, having to uphold the law, having to be impartial, having to be fair.“But of course, trying to apply common sense and discretion – and if people don’t understand the law, trying to help them to understand and engage and speak before we ever turn to any enforcement. But that is why I said we didn’t want it to end like that: let’s have a review.”The prime minister said on Sunday he had spoken with Dame Cressida, adding: “The death of Sarah Everard must unite us in determination to drive out violence against women and girls and make every part of the criminal justice system work to protect and defend them”.Earlier, the Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey had doubled down on his call for the commissioner to stand down, saying scenes were “utterly disgraceful and shame the Metropolitan Police”. The Labour MP for Streatham, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, said that Dame Cressida’s position was “untenable”.“Lessons must be learned from last night,” she added. “At the very least, we need a Met leader [who] is actually willing to learn them.”The Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he was “very disturbed” at the police action on Clapham Common, and said women should have been given permission to hold the vigil “in peace”.Asked whether the commissioner should resign, however, the Labour leader said: “I don’t think Cressida Dick should resign – we need to see the reports that have now been called for.”Dame Vera Baird, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, told Sky News the decision of police to “push people away” at the vigil “seems to me to be a dreadful piece of misjudgement”, as she described the circling of the bandstand in Clapham Common as “quasi military”.And she said: “Are they really improving the chances of Covid not spreading by putting their knees in the middle of the backs of young women, and putting their hands in handcuffs? It didn’t seem to me to be the right thing to do.”Reclaim These Streets had organised the vigil before being forced to cancel it following consultation with the Metropolitan Police, which said it would be in breach of coronavirus restrictions. The group has asked Dame Cressida for an urgent meeting so that she can “explain the actions taken by the police last night, before she reports to the home secretary”. More

David Lammy has announced Labour will vote against the government’s new policing bill, claiming it imposes “disproportionate controls” on the right to protest as a leading civil liberties group raised alarm.It comes as MPs prepare to debate the government’s police, crime, sentencing and courts bill, which contains contentious new powers for officers and the home secretary to impose conditions on public assembly, including the “use of noise”.Ministers have argued that “recent changes in tactics” used by demonstrators, including gluing themselves to buildings and vehicles or obstructing access to buildings such as Parliament, have “highlighted gaps” in the existing legislation.But as the government faced a backlash over the plans, Mr Lammy, the shadow justice secretary, said Labour would be whipping its MPs to vote against the bill at second reading in the House of Commons.“This is no time to be rushing through poorly thought-out measures to impose disproportionate controls on free expression and the right to protest,” he claimed.“Now is the time to unite the country and put in place long overdue protections for women against unacceptable violence, including action against domestic homicides, rape and street harassment. And we must tackle the misogynistic attitudes that underpin the abuse women face.“Instead, the Conservatives have brought forward a bill that is seeking to divide the country. It is a mess, which could lead to harsher penalties for damaging a statue than for attacking a woman.”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 weekdayIt comes amid anger from politicians of all stripes at the Metropolitan police response to a vigil for Sarah Everard in south London on Saturday evening, though a Home Office minister argued the new legislation was for “very, very different” scenarios and the “most disruptive protests”.Campaigning group Liberty, who accused of Priti Patel of “relentlessly” demonising protesters, insisted: “Protest isn’t a gift from the state — it’s our fundamental right.” More

The government is considering introducing compulsory nature studies lessons for all pupils as part of a David Attenborough-backed plan to protect the natural world.The Independent understands that the Department for Education is actively looking at whether pupils could be made to take lessons focusing on biodiversity and ecology, after the step was recommended by a landmark government review published last month. Introducing such lessons at all levels of education from primary upwards was a key recommendation of the Dasgupta Review, which was launched by the government to come up with ways to change “how we think, act and measure economic success” while protecting nature.The review’s recommendations were wholeheartedly endorsed by Britain’s leading naturalist Sir David, who described them as “a map for navigating a path towards the restoration of our planet’s biodiversity” and “the compass that we urgently need” to “save the natural world at what may be the last minute”.The review, authored by eminent Cambridge economist Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta, said the education system “should introduce Nature studies from the earliest stages of our lives, and revisit them in the years we spend in secondary and tertiary education”.It adds: “Every child in every country is owed the teaching of natural history, to be introduced to the awe and wonder of the natural world, and to appreciate how it contributes to our lives”.”If we care about our common future and the common future of our descendants, we should all in part be naturalists.”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 review says the study should be required at every level, even university, adding: “Even if we had studied Nature in primary school, we may not have encountered the subject subsequently. “In universities in the United States, it was common practice to require first-year students to complete a course on a broad-brush history of civilisation. “There is every reason universities should require new students to attend a course on basic ecology. Field studies that would accompany such a course would be a way to connect students with Nature, in particular those who may have grown up in an urban environment.”The purpose of the lessons would be to help children and teenagers develop a “love of nature” and to have the information to act as “judge and jury for our own actions” on the environment.
Every child in every country is owed the teaching of natural history, to be introduced to the awe and wonder of the natural world, and to appreciate how it contributes to our livesDasgupta ReviewSchools minister Nick Gibb said in response to a parliamentary question on the matter that the government “will examine the Review’s findings and respond formally in due course”.He said ministers were “exploring the option of introducing a new GCSE in Natural History after receiving a proposal from exam board OCR, but have made no commitment at this stage”.Mr Gibb noted that an A-level qualification in Environmental Science had been introduced for the first time in 2017. DfE officials said no firm decision had yet been made on whether ecology or natural history could be made compulsory, as recommended by the review.Green MP Caroline Lucas, who has been pressing ministers for the change, told The Independent, said the lessons were badly needed.”It’s taken a long time and a lot of hard work by so many to get this far, but now it seems we’re getting closer to ecology and natural history having a much firmer place on the curriculum, as renewed appreciation of nature and green spaces grows,” she said. “I’m incredibly excited by how it could really enrich children’s experience of education. This is a subject which will take them out of the classroom and into the natural environment – nothing could be more important when we are driving so many species to the verge of extinction. People protect what they love and what they know. The love of nature is already there. This GCSE would give them the knowledge. “Ecology is a hole in the curriculum and yet, as Professor Dasgupta’s report made clear, it’s never been more important that our dependence on nature is better understood. We teach climate change in our schools because of its global importance. Nature is just as important and needs to be reflected in our education system.” More

Cressida Dick must “explain” police action at a vigil for Sarah Everard a Home Office minister has insisted, as she dodged questions over whether the Metropolitan Police commissioner should stand down.It comes after Priti Patel, the home secretary, demanded a full report from the Met police after criticism from politicians of all stripes of “upsetting” and “deeply disturbing” scenes in Clapham Common on Saturday evening.Safeguarding minister Victoria Atkins insisted the Home Office was taking it “very seriously”, adding: “Which is why she [Ms Patel] has asked the Metropolitan Commissioner for a report on what has happened last night.”Pressed on Sky News whether Ms Dick needed to step down, minister Victoria Atkins said: “I really, really want to support the home secretary in her request to have a report from Cressida. “The police have got a tough job with policing the coronavirus pandemic more generally at the moment.”She added: “Given how difficult last night was after what has been an incredibly upsetting week, I’m very keen that we don’t preempt that report and we give the Met Commissioner a chance to explain what happened last night.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 weekdayQuestioned again, Ms Atkins said: “The home secretary has asked for a report and I think that is appropriate — the police are operationally independent, but it’s right they explain their actions to the home secretary.”In a separate interview Jess Phillips, the shadow minister for domestic violence, said there were “so many missed opportunities” by the police to work with organisers at the south London vigil “so that people could go and have a moment of sorrow and resistance against what is the experience of pretty much all women in the United Kingdom and around the world”.”They missed the opportunity at every turn until what we saw was a 5 ft 2 tall woman being pinned down with two men on her back,” she added.However, she did not call for Ms Dick to resign as the Met commissioner, saying: “I was coming here to talk about what needs to change in this one moment we have, it seems, where the politics and the views and wind is at our back as women who have been fighting for better for generations and I’m here talking about Cressida Dick.”The reality is that I wish that I’d had the heavy hand of the law when I’d been sexually assaulted, I wish for every woman I’ve ever worked with that the heavy hand of the law had been there for them.”She continued: “The reality is if Cressida Dick stays or goes doesn’t make women in this country more safe, and that’s what I want to talk about.”Dame Vera Baird, the victims commissioner for England and Wales, added the decision of police to “push people away” at the vigil “seems to me to be a dreadful piece of misjudgement”, as she described the circling of the bandstand in Clapham Common as “quasi military”.She said :“Are they really improving the chances of Covid not spreading by putting their knees in the middle of the back of young women, and putting their hands in handcuffs? It didn’t seem to me to be the right thing to do.”The London mayor Sadiq Khan said on Saturday evening he was “urgently seeking an explanation” from Cressida Dick, the commissioner, following what he described as “unacceptable” scenes. He added: “The police have a responsibility to enforce Covid laws but from images I’ve seen it’s clear the response was at times neither appropriate nor proportionate.” More

Revealing the results of one of the world’s largest ever surveys of LGBT+ people almost three years ago, the British government laid out some stark – albeit unsurprising – findings: two-thirds of respondents said they had avoided holding their partner’s hand in public for fear of negative reaction. An even greater number said they had avoided being open about their sexuality for similar reasons.Insisting the government had a “proud record in advancing equality”, Theresa May’s administration responded with a widely publicised action plan detailing 75 commitments to “improve the lives” of LGBT+ people across the country. More

Cyber warfare will be a key part of Britain’s armoury against hostile states and terrorist groups, Boris Johnson is due to announce.The prime minister sill set out the contents of an integrated review of the UK’s foreign, defence and intelligence policies next week. In what has been described as the most important blueprint of the country’s security strategy to be laid in recent history, Mr Johnson will say that high technology has transformed the nature of conflict in the same way air power did a century ago. He will announce plans for a “cyber corridor” across the north of England, which will involve placing the headquarters of the new National Cyber Force (NCF) in the north, a region where the Conservatives breached the “red wall” of Labour constituencies in the last general election. Basing the NCF there is intended to generate economic growth in the digital and defence sectors while drawing in the private sector and academia to work with the government on projects. The Ministry of Defence pointed out that military-based enterprises already provided 35,000 jobs in the northwest of England. 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 NCF will carry out offensive missions against targets including hostile states, terrorist groups, organised crime networks and international paedophile rings.The organisation, which brings together a number of security and intelligence agencies, is meant to provide the most advanced technological assistance to operations ranging from on-the-ground special forces raids to countering the use of the internet for child sexual abuse. The need for such a centralised force has become acutely necessary, say intelligence and defence officials, due to a huge rise in threats in the cyber domain. Mr Johnson will say: “Cyber power is revolutionising the way we live our lives and fight our wars, just as air power did 100 years ago.“We need to build up our cyber capability so we can grasp the opportunities it presents while ensuring those who seek to use its powers to attack us and our way of life are thwarted at every turn. “Our new, full-spectrum approach to cyber will transform our ability to protect our people, promote our interests around the world and make the lives of British people better every day.”
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Major events with large crowds at football stadiums and smaller scale functions at live music venues in England are set to be piloted in the spring ahead of the planned widespread relaxation of coronavirus restrictions in June.The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said about a dozen events, including the world snooker championships and the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium, were being lined up as “test events”.Officials said the events would be used to provide scientific data into how both small- and large-scale events could be permitted to reopen safely in the coming months.While precise figures on the number of spectators allowed to participate in the pilots are yet to be determined, they are expected to go ahead in London, Sheffield and Liverpool.Under medical supervision, some of the pilots will include spectators and fans not socially distanced, but attendees will be required to have tested negative for coronavirus before the event and undergo a second test afterwards.“This review will be crucial to how venues – from major sport stadiums to comedy clubs, theatres to live music spaces, wedding venues to conference centres – could operate this summer,” the department added.Under step three of the government’s roadmap – no earlier than 17 May – ministers will seek to ease restrictions on large performances and sporting events in indoor venues with a capacity of up to 1,000 people and 4,000 people in outdoor venues.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 larger outdoor seated venues, up to 10,000 people will be able to attend, but only under step four – after 21 June – will the government seek to relax all remaining restrictions and allow premises such as nightclubs to reopen. It also hopes to ends social distancing measures.Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, said the test events this spring “will be crucial in finding ways to get fans and audiences back in safely without social distancing” and it is expected that researchers will produce a report to ministers by the end of May.“We will be guided by the science and medical experts, but will work flat out to make that happen,” he added. “We want to get the people back to enjoying what they love and ensure some of our most important growth industries get back on their feet.“These important steps towards the safe and special summer we all crave and that I’m fully focused on delivering”.Claire McColgan, the director of culture and tourism in Liverpool, said the city’s experience with piloting mass Covid testing “means we have the knowledge and infrastructure in place to deliver complicated projects safely”.“We really hope we can help provide the evidence needed to ensure the wider sector is able to open across the country in the coming months,” she added. More

Increasing Statutory Sick Pay from the current rate of £95.85 could reduce levels of sickness in the workplace, Mr Hancock is said to believe, but the move is being resisted by the Treasury over cost concerns.Self-employed people earning less than £120 per week are not entitled to the payments and in 2018 the European Committee on Social Rights suggested that Britain’s sick pay system was “manifestly inadequate”.The reports that the health secretary is pushing for an increase in the payments come after repeated calls from scientists and opposition MPs, who have highlighted people are failing to self-isolate during the pandemic due to a lack of financial support.The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has previously warned that low levels of sick pay were the “gaping hole” in the Test and Trace programme, telling the government it needed “to recognise that our levels of welfare have fallen well behind other countries”.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 some low-paid people are eligible for £500 self-isolation payments, the head of the Test and Trace scheme Dido Harding admitted in February, when Covid-19 cases were extremely high, that as many as 20,000 people a day were not fully self-isolating  after being contacted.Among several reasons, Baroness Harding outlined that the financial strains of self-isolation — limiting income and earnings for those in insecure jobs — could be a factor for those not properly isolating from the community.In an appearance on the BBC’s Question Time at the onset of the pandemic, Mr Hancock replied “no” when asked directly whether he could live on the current rate of statutory sick pay.Responding to the reports, shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said:“This isn’t the first time Matt Hancock has raised concerns about the level of Statutory Sick Pay. The health secretary admitted a year ago that he couldn’t live on less than a hundred pounds a week.“He seems to agree with Labour and trade unions that Britain’s inadequate level of Statutory Sick Pay and broken self-isolation system risks both public health and our economy.“But the problem is the person making the decisions won’t listen. Instead of improving Statutory Sick Pay in his Budget, the chancellor actually decided to cut it in real terms next year.”Frances O’Grady, the general secretary of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), posted on social media: “A year since I asked Matt Hancock on BBC Question Time if he could live on £94pw statutory sick pay. He admitted he could not. “Now the Times says he’s pressing for higher sick pay. Unbelievable that a year into the pandemic it’s not sorted yet,” she added. More