UK Politics

An emergency budget aimed at tackling the cost-of-living crisis has not been ruled out by a government minister, who suggested the decision was above his “pay grade”.Home Office minister Kit Malthouse also claimed the government cannot “spend our way out” of the crisis, as he downplayed the prospect of rapid help in the Queen’s Speech later today.With the public facing escalating energy costs and soaring inflation, trade unions, business leaders and opposition leaders at Westminster have urged chancellor Rishi Sunak to deliver an emergency budget to alleviate the impact on households.Speaking on Sky News, Mr Malthouse acknowledged government “alarm” at predictions by the Bank of England last week that inflation could exceed 10 per cent this year — a level not since since 1982 — with energy bills set to rise again.While support is not expected in the Queen’s speech, asked whether there would be an “emergency budget” to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, he replied: “I don’t know. You’d have to get the chancellor on and talk to him about that.“I think he said in the media yesterday he is constantly reviewing what he can do to assist. We’re obviously in a time of very volatile fuel prices — they are moving around a lot — we need to see a little more about where that fuel price is going to go, before we design what may come forward.Pressed again: “Well we don’t rule anything in or out — I’m afraid you’re asking questions above my pay grade.”He added on Sky News: As far as the cost-of-living crisis is concerned, it is incredibly challenging for people out there at the moment. Obviously, legislation takes some time to put in place, it has to go through both Houses, it can often be many months, sometimes over a year, before it hits the statute book.“I do know the prime minister and chancellor are in constant conversation about how we can be agile in assisting people through this challenging time.”His comments came as Derek Lickorish — a former chair of the government’s fuel poverty advisory group — suggested around eight to 10 million households will require around £1,000 each to “get them through this very, very difficult period”.He estimated the cost to the government would be between £8 and £10 billion, and warned: “Repayment of this sum is impossible for these consumers — it has to be a grant. These are exceptional circumstances. It’s going to have to go on the government’s credit card.”Mr Lickorish, now a non-executive chairman at Utilita Energy said: ““I know the impact from our company the price increase from 1 April along with the increase in national insurance that some customers have seen.“We’ve got 140 per cent increase in our call rate to our extra care team. That’s gone from 2,000 a week that we would expect at this time of year… to 5,000 a week.”He also suggested some customers on pre-payment meters were self-disconnecting, as he called for a “substantial package to get through what is going to be the most difficult time in the history of the industry”. More

The home secretary has insisted the government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda sends a “clear signal” after Channel crossings hit a new record.Almost 8,000 people have arrived in the UK on small boats from France so far this year, more than triple the figure seen during the same period in 2021.The Home Office announced that it would inform the first group of migrants of its intent to “relocate them to Rwanda” this week, including some who have crossed the Channel, but that flights were not expected to leave for several months.Several MPs, including former prime minister Theresa May, have questioned the legality and effectiveness of the proposals.Speaking during a visit to the Metropolitan Police specialist training centre in Kent on Monday, Priti Patel said the Rwanda agreement would “take time” amid a wave of legal challenges. She added: “When it comes to the issue of small boats, that is exactly why we changed our laws, that is why we have this partnership with Rwanda, because it’s sending out a clear signal that those that come to our country illegally, they will have no right to remain in our country, and we will use every tool and every piece of legislation that we have at our disposal to make sure that we can remove them.”Crossing the English Channel clandestinely to claim asylum was not an offence until the government changed the legal meaning of “illegal entry” in the new Nationality and Borders Act.The law, which received royal assent last month, means that refugees can now be criminalised for journeying into British waters regardless of whether their need for protection is legitimate. Following a series of court cases lost by the government over unlawful conduct relating to asylum and deportation, ministers have launched a series of attacks on lawyers.In a fresh assault, the home secretary said: “We see various hurdles and barriers, mainly from specialist law firms that want to block the removal of individuals that have no right to be in our country. That is part of the techniques that they use.”Ms Patel accused law firms of stopping deportations “day in day out”, including of foreign offenders. “The Nationality and Borders Act will give us greater powers and greater means through the changes in legislation to remove those individuals who have no legal right to be in our country,” she added.It came days after the prime minister claimed that “liberal lawyers” would attempt to scupper the deal – after Downing Street said flights to Rwanda may not start for months. A legal body warned of “real-life consequences” from repeated government targeting of the legal profession.A man is to stand trial later this year accused of plotting to kill an immigration solicitor in an attempted terror attack on a London law firm.The Law Society, which represents solicitors in England and Wales, said they “serve the rule of law and keep the government accountable”.Protesters interrupt Priti Patel speech to protest Rwanda planPresident Stephanie Boyce said: “Anyone at risk of such a life-changing order has a right to challenge its legality with the assistance of a lawyer, who has a duty to advise their client on their rights.“It is misleading and dangerous for the prime minister to name-call lawyers who are doing their job and upholding the law.”The Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, said the government’s own factsheet on the Rwanda deal said that “everyone considered for relocation will have access to legal advice”.Chair Mark Fenhalls QC added: “It is unclear who will be making these decisions, or what criteria they will be applying. But, as the government acknowledges, the lawyers who provide legal advice in such cases will be fulfilling their professional duties. Attacks on men and women for simply doing their jobs are irresponsible and undermine the rule of law.” The UN Refugee Agency has vocally opposed the Rwanda deal, saying it “evades international obligations and is contrary to the letter and spirit of the Refugee Convention”.Legal action by groups Care4Calais, Detention Action and the PCS civil service union – which represents Border Force and Home Office staff – started last week.A pre-action letter challenged the Home Office’s failure to disclose the criteria governing which asylum seekers will be sent to Rwanda, and argue the plans are unlawful and contravene the Refugee Convention.Separately, the charity Freedom From Torture demanded disclosure of underlying policy documents and says it could launch a judicial review claim.It was seeking information on the policy, risk assessments and documents related to cooperation between the governments of the UK and Rwanda. Additional reporting by PA More

The government has been forced to draw up a new bill to bring in “draconian” protest laws backed by Priti Patel, following a humiliating defeat in the House of Lords.The Queen’s Speech is to announce the introduction of criminal offences targeting “locking on” and allowing police to stop and search peaceful protesters. Ministers attempted to enact some of the proposals previously through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act.But the measures were stripped out by the House of Lords and branded “draconian and anti-democratic”, after being inserted at a late stage of parliamentary scrutiny – after the bill had been debated by MPs.Downing Street confirmed that the new Public Order Bill – which is one of 38 unveiled in the Queen’s Speech – was created following “parliament’s failure to support these urgently needed measures”.They were originally tabled as government amendments to the policing bill in November, following a wave of disruptive Insulate Britain protests. Lord Paddick, who was a deputy assistant commissioner in the Metropolitan Police, said at the time: “If the government is determined to bring in these draconian, anti-democratic laws, reminiscent of Cold War eastern bloc police states, they should withdraw them now and introduce them as a separate bill to allow the democratically-elected house time to properly consider them.”Downing Street said the new bill would create new criminal offences for locking on, when protesters attach themselves to objects or each other to prevent removal, and going equipped to lock on – punishable by up to six months’ imprisonment.It is expected to extend stop and search powers so the police can seize articles related to the new offences, and create “Serious Disruption Prevention Orders” for protesters.Human rights groups previously voiced deep concern over the extension of stop and search, originally designed for weapons and drugs, into peaceful protests and the prospect of banning orders for demonstrators who have committed no crime.Liberty called the proposals “some of the most dangerous and authoritarian parts” of the policing bill, which saw other controversial measures including the power to restrict noisy protests approved by parliament last month. The new Public Order Bill will also reintroduce an offence of interfering with key national infrastructure, such as airports, railways and printing presses – carrying a maximum sentence of a year in prison.Extinction Rebellion blocks News Corp Printworks in BroxbourneThe inclusion of printing presses is a reference to the 2020 Extinction Rebellion protest outside a Rupert Murdoch-owned printworks in Hertfordshire.The trial of several activists heard that Ms Patel had personally contacted Hertfordshire Police and Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick during the demonstration, seeking “early intervention and removal of the protesters”.They had been aiming to stop newspapers including The Sun and the Daily Mail being distributed over their reporting of the climate crisis.Commenting on the new proposals, the home secretary said: “The law-abiding, responsible majority have had enough of anti-social, disruptive protests carried out by a self-indulgent minority who seem to revel in causing mayhem and misery for the rest of us.“The Public Order Bill will give the police the powers they need to clamp down on this outrageous behaviour and ensure the British public can go about their lives without disruption.” More

Labour has prepared a dossier of evidence it will hand over to police to prove Sir Keir Starmer worked beyond 1am on the night he was pictured drinking during lockdown, it has been reported. Sir Keir has vowed to resign as Labour leader if he is fined over a possible breach of Covid rules at the gathering in April 2021.The event at which Sir Keir and his team shared curry and beer in the constituency office of Mary Foy MP is being investigated by Durham Police – but Labour insists it cannot be compared with the parties held in Downing Street during lockdowns.The Guardian reported that party officials have compiled evidence they claim will prove the curry and beers were part of a long working day ahead of the Hartlepool by-election, meaning the behaviour of the leader and his subordinates was within the rules.The report said the evidence includes time-stamped logs of WhatsApp conversations, documents and video edits and will be handed to police. The Whatsapp messages are reportedly from a group set up for the Durham visit where tweets and scripts were discussed until the early hours.Messages from at least two senior aides – both of whom were at Ms Foy’s office at Durham Miners Hall – sent queries about work matters between 10.30pm and 1am, the Guardian said. A party source told the paper: “We have been totally clear that no rules were broken. We will provide documentary evidence that people were working before and after stopping to have food.”Elsewhere, a leaked planning note showed Sir Keir and Ms Foy were scheduled to have dinner in the Labour office where he was working from 8.40pm to 10pm, and then return to his hotel. The Conservatives claimed this showed the meal was pre-planned, blowing apart the defence that the takeaway was needed because there was nowhere else to eat.But legal experts said it could save the Labour leader as it proved the gathering was for work.The Beergate scandal escalated on Friday when police said they had opened an inquiry after being presented with new evidence.The investigation forced Sir Keir to put his political career on the line by promising in a speech on Monday to resign as leader if he is given a fixed penalty notice, though he stressed he was “absolutely clear” no rules were broken.He said: “I believe in honour, integrity and the principle that those who make the rules must follow them.“This matters. It matters because the British public deserve politicians who think the rules apply to them.” More

Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to resign as Labour leader if he is issued with a fixed penalty notice by Durham Police for a possible breach of Covid rules.The Labour’s leader’s high-stakes gamble came after he cancelled morning commitments – including a keynote address on the Queen’s Speech – in the wake of continuing questions over a beer-and-curry gathering in April 2021.Putting his political career on the line, Sir Keir, who stressed that he was “absolutely clear” no rules were broken, said that if he is fined by police, he will “do the right thing and step down” as leader of the Labour Party.Moments after a hastily arranged press conference at the party’s London headquarters, his deputy, Angela Rayner, who was also at the event last spring, said she too would “do the decent thing and step down” if issued with a fixed penalty notice.After intense deliberations with close allies on Monday morning, Sir Keir told the public: “I believe in honour, integrity and the principle that those who make the rules must follow them.“This matters. It matters because the British public deserve politicians who think the rules apply to them”.He added: “They deserve politicians who hold themselves to the highest standards. And they deserve politicians who put the country first rather than themselves. They will always, always, get that from me.”Defending his actions, he said: “The idea that I would then casually break those rules is wrong, and frankly I don’t believe those accusing me believe it themselves. They are just trying to feed cynicism, so the public to believe all politicians are the same.“I am absolutely clear that no laws were broken. They were followed at all times. I simply had something to eat whilst working late in the evening, as any politician would do days before an election.Questions remained, however, over whether Sir Keir would stand down if Durham Constabulary suggests he may have broken the rules but does not issue a fine, as it did with former No 10 adviser Dominic Cummings.In 2020 the force said it had a “general approach” not “to take retrospective action” regarding Covid fines, “since this would amount to treating Mr Cummings differently from other members of the public”.Sir Keir first told reporters: “If you’ve made a law you should respect the law and if you’re found to be in breach of it you should step down.”But pressed further on the scenario, he added: “The penalty for a Covid breach is a fixed penalty notice, that’s a matter of law, and I’ve set out what the position is in relation to that.”Ms Rayner also stressed: “I’ve always been clear that I was at the event in Durham working in my capacity as deputy leader and that no rules were broken. Eating during a long day’s work was not against the rules.“We have a prime minister who has been found to have broken the rules, lied about it and then been fined. If I were issued with a fine, I would do the decent thing and step down.”After days of damaging questions over the April 2021 event, Sir Keir opted for the high-risk strategy after months of calling on Boris Johnson to resign after the prime minister was issued with a fine by the Metropolitan Police over the Partygate scandal.But he was first forced to pull out of a planned speech at the Institute for Government (IfG) on “meeting the challenges the country faces” ahead of the Queen’s Speech at the state opening of Parliament on Tuesday.The party declined to explain why the appearance was cancelled, other than to say “plans change”. Sir Keir also cancelled a planned attendance at a memorial event for the former Conservative cabinet minister James Brokenshire on Monday morning.A spokesperson for the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice said Sir Keir had made the “right decision” and stood in contrast to the prime minister, who has refused to resign despite being the first sitting prime minister to be found to have broken the law.They said the comments showed “integrity, decency and respect to the bereaved”, adding: “At the end of the day the country can’t be led by someone who’s been fined for breaking lockdown rules.“The pandemic isn’t over, and if, God forbid, a new vaccine-resistant strain should emerge, it’s essential we have a leader with the moral authority to introduce restrictions if needed. If we don’t, lives could be lost as a result.”Harriet Harman, a former deputy leader of the Labour Party, told Sky News the move by Sir Keir was “in character with the person, he believes in the highest standards in public office”.“He’s doing it because he believes it is the right thing to do,” she said. “Probity in politics matters to him”.Meanwhile, Labour MP and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell said Sir Keir “needs to investigate whether people are leaking” Beergate revelations to the media from within the party. It follows a leak last weekend of a timetable for the event to a Sunday newspaper.Despite initially deciding not to take action when images of the Labour leader consuming beer first appeared, Durham Police announced on Friday it would launch an investigation into a potential breach of Covid laws.At the time of the Durham gathering, non-essential retail and outdoor venues including pub gardens were open, but social distancing rules – which included a ban on indoor mixing between households – remained in place.Labour has stressed, however, the event at Durham Miners’ Hall was within the rules, as it was held between work events and staff were campaigning in the Hartlepool by-election. More

The European Union has urged Boris Johnson to be honest about his Brexit deal as a minister said part of it could be unilaterally scrapped to reassure voters in Northern Ireland. European Commission vice president Maroš Šefčovič said the UK government should “dial down the rhetoric” and work to “find solutions within (the agreement’s) framework”.The row erupted as DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson warned the “long shadow” of the Northern Ireland protocol had to be removed before his party would re-enter power sharing government at Stormont.At the weekend Sinn Fein made history by becoming the first party in favour of a united Ireland to win the right to nominate the next first minister.But that appointment depends on Mr Donaldson’s staunch unionists agreeing to nominate the position of deputy first minister, prompting fears of a political stalemate which could last many months.In the run up to the poll, the DUP told voters they would not take part in any administration unless there was movement on the controversial protocol, which unionists warn has created a border down the Irish Sea separating them from the rest of the United Kingdom.The latest DUP warning came as Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis held talks with all of Northern Ireland’s political parties in which he urged them to get the devolved government up and running again.Earlier, universities minister Michelle Donelan said that scrapping the protocol was “one of the options”, in the wake of Sinn Fein’s success in the Stormont elections.But the UK government faces opposition to such a move from within the Northern Ireland Assembly itself. Much of the parliament is in favour of the protocol, which many politicians argue offers the ‘best of both worlds’ in terms of trade with both the UK and the rest of the EU.The controversial policy was designed to take the UK out of the EU’s single market without the creation of a ‘hard’ border on the island of Ireland. It requires checks on goods travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.Mr Šefčovič also urged the UK government to “dial down the rhetoric” and “be honest about the deal they signed” on the protocol.He told Politico that the EU had already “shown a lot of flexibility by proposing impactful, durable solutions and we stand ready to continue discussions. We need the UK government to dial down the rhetoric, be honest about the deal they signed and agree to find solutions within its framework”. Mr Donaldson said the DUP wanted to see “stable, devolved government” but “our position remains as it was, we need to see the issues around the protocol dealt with decisively”.“The long shadow of the protocol is casting its mark over [Stormont],” he warned, saying it had created a new border without the consent of unionists .He rejected the idea his stance was undemocratic, saying his party had a mandate from voters in last week’s elections. “I gave my word,” he added.He said the UK government had had “months and months and months” to negotiate a solution with the EU. “I’m saying to the EU and the UK government … I’m not interested in their parallel universe, I’m interested in the real world… which means sort this out,” he added.The DUP came under pressure from other parties in Northern Ireland to change its stance.Naomi Long, the leader of the Alliance Party, urged the party to “step up to the plate” and enter a new Stormont Executive.But there was support, albeit qualified, from the other main unionist party, the Ulster Unionist Party.Leader Doug Beattie said that if the protocol was the obstacle to a functioning administration at Stormont then it had to be resolved.”We need to get the executive up and running again so we can start providing for the people of Northern Ireland who are suffering under a cost of living crisis,” he said.”If the obstacle to doing that is the protocol then we need to deal with the protocol.”We all know what the landing zone is, no checks on goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland if they are staying in Northern Ireland. That gets rid of the border down the Irish Sea.”The EU Commission know this, the UK government know this and all five political parties who would form the executive know this also.”So we need to get on and get it done. Once we have dealt with it then it should leave the path open for an executive to be formed.”After talks with all the major parties, Mr Lewis said the “current situation with the protocol is fundamentally undermining the Belfast {Good Friday} Agreement and creating an unacceptable situation in Northern Ireland. We will continue to press the EU to agree the crucial changes that are urgently needed but will take nothing off the table in our pursuit of those solutions.” The protocol is not expected to be part of any legislative measures unveiled in the Queen’s Speech, although there could be some mention of a desire to resolve the issue. Also expected are measures to deal with a long-standing row over veterans, designed to ensure amnesty from prosecution over alleged crimes committed during the Troubles, does not apply to those who refuse to give information on unsolved cases. More