Markus Andrews

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsPolice in Brussels have stormed a right-wing conference attended by Nigel Farage and Suella Braverman after orders for the event to be shut down. Local authorities ordered the controversial National Conservatism (NatCon) Conference to be closed to “guarantee public safety”.Ms Braverman, the former home secretary, and Mr Farage, the former Ukip leader, were among the political names advertised to speak at the event on Tuesday alongside right-wing Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orban. Officers arrived after the event began at the Claridge venue in central Brussels to tell organisers the event would be shut down. According to a report on social media, police arrived while Mr Farage was addressing the event, giving attendees 15 minutes to leave the venue. However, officers did not appear to force the event to shut down and speeches continued.Police have now said they will not let anyone else into the venue and people can leave and not re-enter. The conference has already had to move location twice after mayors within the Brussels region refused the meeting’s chosen venues. Police officers at the venue after the National Conservatism Conference was ordered to be shut down More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour has referred Sadiq Khan’s Conservative rival in the London mayoral race to the Crown Prosecution Service in a row over an election leaflet.The party has asked the Director of Public Prosecutions to investigate whether a Susan Hall campaign leaflet claiming Sadiq Khan was planning to introduce road charging in London was properly labelled as political advertising.Mr Khan has repeatedly ruled out introducing such a system.Karen Buck MP, chair of Mr Khan’s campaign, said: “We’re now seeing tactics being used by the Tories which rival even those used in their disgraced 2016 mayoral campaign.“The Tories are scaremongering people who are already worried about their bills thanks to the catastrophic cost-of-living crisis they created. These tactics are legally questionable and certainly mark another low in this desperate Tory campaign characterised by dirty tactics and lies.“Sadiq has ruled out ever bringing in pay per mile as long as he’s mayor – no ifs, no buts.”Alongside a picture on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Ms Hall said: “Stop Sadiq Khan’s pay-per-mile plans. Vote for change.”In a separate post Ms Hall said: “He’s (Mr Khan) spent £150m on tech for pay-per-mile already.”Mr Khan has in the past considered, and spoken favourably about, a pay-per-mile system which would replace other charges, such as the Ultra-low Emission Zone (Ulez).However, he has since abandoned that position and ruled out introducing such a system while he is Mayor of London. Meanwhile, Transport for London (TfL) has said that “no such scheme is on the table or being developed”.“As of January 2024, approximately £3m had been spent on elements of the Future RUC (road user charging) project and it is now closed,” TfL added.The row came after Mr Khan pledged to wipe out rough sleeping in the capital by 2030 if he is re-elected as London mayor.In a speech on Monday, the Labour incumbent will promise to end “once and for all” the “indignity, fear and isolation” felt by those enduring a life on the street.The number of people recorded sleeping rough in London has hit a record high, data shows, with homeless charities branding the statistics a “disaster”. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThere are just hours left to register to vote in the upcoming local, mayoral and police commissioner elections taking place on 2 May. Potential voters who have not yet registered, or are not sure if they are eligible, have until 11.59pm on Tuesday night to submit their application.This can be done online on the government’s register to vote website.Nearly 2,700 council seats in England are up for grabs across 107 local authorities, while 37 police and crime commissioners in England and Wales will also be chosen.Polls are also taking place to elect some of the most high-profile mayors in the country, including in London, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.Around 44 million people are estimated to be eligible to vote in the elections on 2 May, but as many as seven million people are either incorrectly registered or missing from the register entirely, according to the Electoral Commission, which oversees all elections in the UK.All voters in England and Wales will be able to cast a ballot in at least one election on May 2 More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA leading pollster has said Rishi Sunak made the “wrong political choice” cutting National Insurance in the spring budget, as 61 per cent of voters say there is zero per cent chance they will vote Conservative at the next election.Director of More in Common Luke Tryl said there was only a 5 per cent chance of a Tory victory at the next election as new research by the thinktank revealed the extent of Tory woes – as voters reject key policies and the party haemmorhages support across demographics. Polling by the thinktank shows that most voters feel that the government’s national insurance cuts won’t help them personally and would have instead favoured income tax cuts or other cost of living policies. Only 44 per cent of voters said national insurance tax cuts would help their personal financial situation, while 40 per cent said they would not at all. Meanwhile, 65 per cent of voters thought cutting income tax would be helpful, and 77 per cent and 73 per cent thought price caps on energy and basic goods respectively would have a positive impact on their personal circumstances.Jeremy Hunt unveiled a 2 per cent reduction in national insurance contributions in the spring budget More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has urged his cabinet to think of “future generations” and back his flagship smoking ban as he seeks to avoid humiliation at the hands of his own party. No 10 said the prime minister believes that “if we want to build a better future for our children” then the government has to tackle a habit that costs 80,000 lives a year. But he is braced for more than 50 Tory MPs to defy his call and vote against the plans, which would prevent those under the age of 15 ever buying cigarettes. The business secretary Kemi Badenoch, the environment secretary Steve Barclay and the Scotland secretary Alister Jack could also abstain when MPs vote on the plans later, according to reports.Among the high-profile opponents are former prime minister Liz Truss, who has vowed to vote against the Bill, arguing in favour of freedom of choice. Last week another former prime minister, Boris Johnson, described the plan as “nuts”.Former health secretary Lord Clarke has warned the move risks being difficult to enforce. “You will get to a stage where if you are 42 years of age, you will be able to buy them but someone aged 41 will not be allowed to,” he told The Telegraph. “Does that mean you will have to produce your birth certificate? It may prove very difficult to enforce. Future generations will have to see whether it works or not.”MPs will have a free vote on the ban, announced by the prime minister with great fanfare at last year’s Conservative party conference. The government has decided not to whip the vote, saying it is a matter of conscience. It is expected to pass as it has been backed by Labour. MPs are to vote on the proposed smokig ban More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailFor a prime minister in office for just 49 days, Liz Truss’s new book is jam-packed with jaw-dropping tales from her time in Downing Street.The ex-Tory leader, who took over from Boris Johnson in the summer of 2022, has offered a look behind the scenes in her memoir Ten Years to Save the West.From thinking “why me, why now?” after learning the Queen had died to suggesting Boris Johnson’s dog left fleas in No10, The Independent looks at the key revelations from the bombshell book.She thought ‘why me, why now?’ after Queen’s deathMs Truss has revealed that she thought “why me, why now?” when she learnt that the Queen had died – just two days after she had been sworn in as prime minister.Liz Truss thought ‘why me, why now?’ after learning the Queen had died More

Watch as a Home Office minister repeatedly dodges questions on whether the government has an airline “ready” to take asylum seekers to Rwanda.Laura Farris appeared on Sky News on Tuesday 16 April to discuss Rishi Sunak’s flagship deportation bill, which is currently bouncing between the House of Commons and the House of Lords in parliament.The prime minister has repeatedly said flights to Kigali will take off by spring, but has refused to name a specific date.Reports have also suggested that Rwanda’s state-owned airline turned down a government proposal to transport asylum seekers because it wanted to avoid being associated with the controversial scheme.Ms Farris repeatedly sidestepped Kay Burley’s question about whether an airline has been secured as she spoke on Tuesday. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch live as the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which would prohibit the sale of tobacco to people born after 1 January 2009 and restrict sale of vapes, is debated in parliament on Tuesday 16 April.MPs will discuss and vote for the first time on government plans to stop young people from ever smoking.Rishi Sunak sees the bill as a key part of his long-term legacy as he bids to “stamp out smoking for good”.However, the prime minister is set to face opposition to the legislation from within his own party.The bill has attracted condemnation from senior Conservatives including former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, who argue it impacts upon people’s freedoms.England’s chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, has rejected those “pro-choice” arguments and suggested resistance to the plan was “surprising”.Mr Sunak has granted his MPs a free vote on the issue later on Tuesday, with several expected to reject the plan – although with Labour supporting it, the measure is likely to comfortably clear its first House of Commons hurdle. More