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    Liz Truss calls on David Cameron to give Israel more support after Iran attack

    Liz Truss has called on foreign secretary David Cameron to give Israel more support following Iran’s attack.Iran launched a drone and missile attack on Israel last Saturday (14 April).The former prime minister said she is “concerned” the Foreign Office is “not wholly supportive of Israel”.Ms Truss appeared on ITV show Peston on Wednesday (17 April) when she was asked by the presenter: “Do you think that David Cameron, the current foreign secretary, is supportive enough of Israel?”Ms Truss replied: “I would like to see more support for Israel.” More

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    Mark Menzies: Who is the Tory MP suspended over alleged misuse of funds?

    Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Conservatives have suspended MP Mark Menzies over allegations he misused campaign funds.The 52-year-old reportedly spent thousands of pounds given by donors on medical expenses and made a late-night call to a 78-year-old aide asking for help because he had been locked up by “bad people” demanding money for his release.The Fylde MP disputes the allegations reported by The Times, but the Conservative Party has launched an investigation into the claims.MP Mark Menzies has agreed to give up the Conservative whip while the party investigates claims he misused campaign funds (Richard Townshend/UK Parliament) More

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    Liz Truss says she was ‘completely blindsided’ as she is quizzed over disastrous mini-budget

    Former prime minister Lizz Truss said she was “completely blindsided” by the UK’s pension market prior to her disastrous mini-budget.Ms Truss appeared on ITV’s Peston show on Wednesday (17 April), where she admitted she and Kwasi Kwarteng – who was chancellor under Ms Truss’s government – didn’t know the “extent of the vulnerability” of the pensions market prior to their mini-budget in September 2022.The mini-budget included £45bn of unfunded tax cuts and was followed by days of turmoil on the markets, a fall in the value of the pound and rises in the cost of UK government borrowing and mortgage rates.Ms Truss said: “I didn’t know about it and Kwasi didn’t know about it either. So we were completely blindsided.” More

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    Rwanda bill – live: Battle over Rishi Sunak’s asylum plan ramps up as Lords reject MPs’ plea

    Related video: MP who made Rayner complaint unable to explain what offence he thinks she committedSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe House of Lords has snubbed fresh ministerial calls to back down in the tense stand-off over Rishi Sunak’s asylum plan – and insisted on a requirement that Rwanda cannot be treated as safe until promised protections are in place.Peers voted by 245 votes to 208, majority 37. The fresh setback for means the wrangling will continue, after MPs again rejected amendments to the government’s flagship Rwanda Bill, renewing their battle with the Lords.Peers had on Tuesday voted to amend the legislation for a third time, but MPs voted on Wednesday afternoon against four key amendments, including one to exempt asylum-seekers who aided UK troops overseas, such as Afghan special forces, from deportation to Rwanda.Downing Street ruled out making concessions on its Safety of Rwanda Bill.The government had been reportedly considering concessions, including exemptions for Afghans who assisted British forces, but the prime minister’s official spokesman ruled out any such move.Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer accused “billionaires” Rishi Sunak and Tory peer Lord Ashcroft of “smearing a working class woman”, his deputy, Angela Rayner.The pair have criticised Ms Rayner over the sale of her former council house, suggesting she may have failed to pay capital gains tax or given false information.Also at Prime Minister’s Questions, Rishi Sunak refused to rule out cuts to the NHS and state pensions to fund a £46bn national insurance giveaway.Show latest update 1713379100Lords keep deadlock going in snubbing calls to back downThe House of Lords has snubbed ministerial calls to back down – and insisted by 245 votes to 208, majority 37, on a requirement that Rwanda cannot be treated as safe until promised protections are in place.The fresh government setback means yet more wrangling at Westminster over the proposed law that aims to clear the way to send asylum-seekers who cross the Channel in small boats on a one-way flight to Kigali.Jane Dalton17 April 2024 19:381713405593Jeremy Hunt refuses to say ‘anything negative’ about Liz Truss More

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    Jeremy Hunt refuses to say ‘anything negative’ about Liz Truss

    Jeremy Hunt refused to say “anything negative” about Liz Truss as she “appointed him as chancellor.”When asked by Sky News if he thought the former prime minister, who has been critical of government policy, is currently being helpful for the Conservative Party, the cabinet minister would not cast aspersions on his colleague.”I think Liz will be the first to accept that during her time as prime minister, mistakes were made,” Mr Hunt said of Ms Truss’s 49 days in office, in which the pound hit a 37-year low against the dollar.”She appointed me as chancellor, so I don’t want to say anything negative about Liz Truss,” he added. More

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    Rwanda bill: Defiant Lords back Afghan heroes and refuse to pass Sunak’s plan to deport asylum seekers

    Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the worldSign up to our free Morning Headlines emailA defiant House of Lords has refused to cave to ministers and sent Rishi Sunak’s flagship Rwanda plan back to the Commons – with two key demands. Peers voted on Wednesday night in favour of an amendment to the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill that would exempt Afghan heroes who supported UK troops overseas from being deported.They also insisted on a monitoring committee to assess whether Rwanda is safe before the government sends asylum seekers there. MPs have refused to make concessions to their plan to deport asylum seekers to the east African country, with Downing Street insisting the bill is “the right way forward”.But members of the Lords refused to back down, meaning that the bill will return to the Commons again – most likely on Monday. MPs are expected to vote down the changes again, forcing it back to the Lords. Rishi Sunak has promised to send asylum seekers to Rwanda this spring More

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    Tory MP squirms while refusing to say why he reported Angela Rayner to police

    The Tory MP who contacted police about Angela Rayner continued to refuse to say what he thinks she has done wrong.James Daly, the Conservative Party deputy chairman, contacted police about allegations surrounding the deputy Labour leader’s living arrangements.Appearing on Sky News on Wednesday, he refused to say what he thought Rayner had done wrong despite being the one to make the complaint and accused fellow panellist Sir Chris Bryant of “shouting”.It came after he failed to answer a similar question three times during an awkward exchange on the BBC’s Daily Politics programme yesterday. More

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    Tory MP who reported Angela Rayner to police fails yet again to explain what she’s done wrong

    Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Tory MP who reported Angela Rayner to the police over the sale of her former council house got embroiled in a furious row with another member of parliament on live TV after again refusing to say what offences he thought Labour’s deputy leader had committed.James Daly, the Conservative Party deputy chairman, accused Chris Bryant of “shouting” over him and previously making “all sorts of public allegations” in a testy exchange between the pair on Sky News following Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.The row came after it emerged that the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) investigation into Ms Rayner had been extended to consider whether she avoided paying the right amount of tax on the sale of her former property in Stockport before she became an MP – in addition to whether she had correctly registered at the right address.“Shout a bit louder so none of us can hear,” Mr Daly said after being interrupted by Mr Bryant, who had asked him what he thought Ms Rayner had done wrong. “Unlike Chris, who shouts and makes all sorts of public allegations, what I want to do is – an allegation has been made to the police, the police are investigating that allegation – let’s give them the time and opportunity to do that”.James Daly and Chris Bryant More