UK Politics

A former Conservative minister warned a newly elected Scottish MP which “predatory” men to avoid in parliament.It comes after Tory backbencher Neil Parish resigned after admitting that he had been watching pornography in the Commons.Anum Qaisar, who was elected SNP MP for Airdrie and Shotts in May 2021, said she was told by opposition MPs which male politicians to avoid. She told Sky News that a former Conservative minister approached her at a parliamentary event after noticing she was uncomfortable with a male politician being “too cavalier”.

I started to feel really uncomfortable because he was being far too over-cavalierAirdrie and Shotts SNP MP Anum QaisarShe said: “Despite the fact we have this horrific, toxic culture in Westminster, it’s women looking after women.“Since I joined parliament, I’ve been taken aside by female MPs to warn me about some male MPs who say ‘Actually, Anum, you’re probably better off staying away from X, Y and Z’.“In my situation, I was at a parliamentary event and a certain male MP made a beeline for me. I started to feel really uncomfortable because he was being far too over-cavalier.“It was actually a Conservative MP – a former minister – who took me aside and said ‘Look, it seems like you feel uncomfortable. Do you want to stay with me? You’re probably best just to stay away from that person’.”Her comments follow the resignation of Mr Parish, who confessed to watching pornography twice in parliament.The Tiverton and Honiton MP told reporters it was a “moment of madness” which he will have to live with for the rest of his life. More

Minister denies culture of misogyny in parliamentA minister has denied there is a culture of misogyny in parliament despite reports more than 50 MPs are facing allegations of sexual misconduct.Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng suggested the issue was people “working in a really intense enivronment” with “long hours”.Asked about reports 56 MPs are allegedly facing allegations of sexual misconduct that have been referred to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme, he said it was “extraordinary” but insisted he had “never seen any of it” in parliament.It comes following the resignation of Tory MP Neil Parish after he admitted watching pornography in the House of Commons in what he described as a “moment of madness”.The Tiverton and Honiton MP claimed he looked at adult material twice, the first time stumbling on a porn website while looking for tractors online, but returning deliberately on the second occasion.Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has called for “radical” reform to working practices in parliament, suggesting staff should no longer be employed by the parliamentarians they work for.Show latest update

1651415412Nicola Sturgeon ways she will not ‘shy away’ from dealing with misconduct in SNPNicola Sturgeon has said she will “not shy away” from dealing with issues of misconduct within her party.Appearing on Sky News, the first minister was asked about sexual misconduct allegations within her own party, as SNP MP Patrick Grady is investigated over claims he groped two male researchers.She said she did not know the status of the investigation, adding: “I’ve seen what has been reported, as I understand it the process is under way. I have not seen any findings.”Ms Sturgeon stressed she was not trying to “dodge” the issue and said the claims should be fully investigated.She added: “I’m not trying to dodge this. It’s important that the process is allowed to proceed.”When I do know whether … finally things have been upheld, I’m happy to come on and talk to you about that.”Chiara Giordano1 May 2022 15:301651414683PM’s ‘anti-woke’ agenda fuels sexism in parliament, says senior Labour womanBoris Johnson’s “anti-woke agenda” has helped fuel the rise in misogynistic behaviour in parliament, one of Labour’s most senior women MPs has said.Margaret Hodge’s comments came after the resignation of Tory MP Neil Parish for watching porn in the Commons chamber, and amid a flood of complaints about women at Westminster being groped, objectified and belittled because of their sex.Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has the full story:Chiara Giordano1 May 2022 15:181651412804‘Anti-woke culture driven from top’ allows sexual misbehaviour to be seen as norm, says veteran MPVeteran Labour MP Margaret Hodge has claimed an “anti-woke culture driven from the top” has allowed behaviour like that of a politician caught watching porn in the Commons chamber to be seen as the norm.Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend as 56 MPs reportedly face allegations of sexual misconduct, she said: “What’s it all about? I think it’s partly the MPs think of themselves as special and important and therefore it’s ok for them to behave like that and I also think it’s something about the culture led from the top.“We have had Boris Johnson sort of creating a culture where it’s OK to break the rules and we’ve got a sort of anti-woke culture being driven from the top.“Before I came on the programme, I looked at Liz Truss’s Twitter account – she hasn’t commented on this and yet she’s minister for women. She ought to have done and it’s sort of that anti-woke culture has also I think allowed this sort of behaviour to be seen as the norm.”Chiara Giordano1 May 2022 14:461651411155Greens still seek UK’s exit from Nato despite Ukraine war, says leaderThe Green Party would seek to move the UK out of Nato in the long-term once the conflict in Ukraine is over, its co-leader has said.Adrian Ramsay told Sky News he did not want to “change structures in the middle of a conflict”, but believes the UK should leave the military alliance in the future.Asked on Sky News whether the Greens’ position on Nato had changed as a result of the Ukraine conflict, Mr Ramsay confirmed it had not.He said: “We have a long-term policy about reviewing what structures we need to have to build peace in the world and we have to remember this conflict has happened at a time when we are part of Nato, when we are still seeing nuclear weapons dominate.”Of course we are not about changing structures in the middle of conflict and what we need to do at the moment is focus on how Ukraine can be supported in a wide variety of ways.”Mr Ramsay suggested the UK needs to focus on “peacekeeping and getting the parties to the table” as well as “stronger economic action”.Chiara Giordano1 May 2022 14:191651409754Sir Keir Starmer says he will not ‘hug any previous Labour leader’ in hi style of leadershipSir Keir Starmer has said he will not “hug any previous Labour leader” in his style of party leadership.But he did pay tribute to former prime minister Sir Tony Blair, who has endorsed Sir Keir in a campaign video ahead of the local elections.Asked by Sky News if he felt closer to the leadership of Sir Tony or Jeremy Corbyn, Sir Keir repeated a claim he made ahead of his election as Labour chief that he would not have “the name of some previous Labour leader tattooed on my forehead”.He added: “Let me just tell you what I said at the time, which was I am not going to hug any previous Labour leader because I don’t believe that you go backwards to go forward.”I will learn from any Labour leader, I will talk with any Labour leader and if it is Tony Blair who has won three elections, Gordon Brown who won it with them, then I will happily take their advice and talk with them.”Chiara Giordano1 May 2022 13:551651408614PPE storage costing taxpayers nearly £500k a day, claims LabourPPE storage is costing the taxpayer nearly half a million pounds a day, Labour has claimed, as the cost-of-living crisis begins to bite.The government has revealed that storage of personal protective equipment (PPE) related to Covid is estimated to be £3.3 million a week.Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner, who requested an estimate of the costs, has claimed this equates to £471,429 being spent every day on storing PPE.She said struggling families would be “outraged” to learn how much is being “frittered away” on PPE storage costs.Labour also claimed its analysis shows government “waste” on PPE over the course of the pandemic would be enough to save each household in the UK more than £310.The written question from Ms Rayner also revealed that £5.8 million of taxpayers’ money had been spent on PPE storage in China at the end of 2021.Chiara Giordano1 May 2022 13:361651407599Tensions over cost of living surface, as Kwarteng sets face against ‘arbitrary’ windfall tax on energy firmsCabinet divisions over the cost-of-living crisis have burst into the open, as business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng set his face firmly against an “arbitrary” windfall tax on energy firms just days after Rishi Sunak indicated he was ready to consider the move.Mr Kwarteng’s comments came as inflation and the cost of living emerged as the key issue for crunch local elections across Britain on Thursday, with opposition parties arguing that a windfall tax could help ease the burden of soaring gas and electricity bills on families.Andrew Woodcock has the full story:Chiara Giordano1 May 2022 13:191651406424Call to make watching porn in public place a criminal offenceWatching pornography in a public place should be made a criminal offence in the UK, the author of a keystone new report on misogyny told The Independent.Eminent barrister and peer Helena Kennedy said that had been a dramatic and alarming increase in recent years in men viewing hardcore porn on trains or buses when seated next to women they do not know or showing women graphic pictures in workplaces, pubs and clubs, apparently getting a thrill from the discomfort and distress they cause.More on this from our political editor Andrew Woodcock:Chiara Giordano1 May 2022 13:001651405524Business secretary unclear on ‘emergency budget’ to tackle cost-of-living crisisBusiness secretary Kwasi Kwarteng suggested there will not be an “emergency budget” to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, before walking back the comments.He told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “There won’t be an emergency budget…”Questioned further, he said: “I’m not ruling out, it’s not in my power to do that.”You know as well as I do, and many of your viewers, that budgets are for the Chancellor. All I’m saying is that there’s been considerable amount of support already.”Chiara Giordano1 May 2022 12:451651404624Cabinet rift appears over prospect of windfall tax on oil and gas profitsBusiness secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has voiced firm opposition to a windfall tax on oil and gas companies despite Chancellor Rishi Sunak raising the possibility.The cabinet minister was adamant it would be a “disincentive” to investment by energy giants despite his colleague in the Treasury using the threat to encourage spending, as their profits soar along with customers’ bills.But Mr Kwarteng did not rule out that the move, long called for by Labour, is being considered by the Government as a measure to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis.He told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “I’ve never been a supporter of windfall taxes – I’ve been very clear about that publicly. I think they discourage investment.”And he said on the BBC’s Sunday Morning show “it doesn’t make much sense to me to then hit them (energy firms) with a windfall tax which is arbitrary and unexpected”.Chiara Giordano1 May 2022 12:30 More

Britain remains the “world leader” in hiding dirty money despite recent efforts to crack down on oligarchs’ illicit wealth, a leading sanctions expert has told The Independent.Bill Browder urged Boris Johnson’s government to get to grips with the “enabler community” of lawyers and accountants in London suspected of helping kleptocrats from Russia and elsewhere protect their assets.The Vladimir Putin critic – who campaigned for the “Magnitsky” human rights sanctions introduced by many western governments – said the UK government must now force so-called enablers to share more information with the authorities. More

Parliament is facing a reckoning to improve its reputation after a senior Tory admitting he twice watched pornography in the Commons capped a series of scandals.Neil Parish bowed to pressure to say he would resign as MP for Tiverton and Honiton after viewing the material in the chamber in what he called a “moment of madness”.The 65-year-old select committee chair, who is a farmer by trade, said he first accidentally viewed porn after looking at tractors online before later acting deliberately.Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is calling for “radical” reform to working practices after a series of bullying and sexual misconduct offences involving MPs. More

Information warfare is being waged from an old arms factory in St Petersburg where trolls are targeting Boris Johnson and spreading support for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, research suggests.The new study details how the Russian president’s regime is trying to manipulate public opinion on social media as well as in the comments sections of major media outlets.Online operatives were found to be ordering followers to target Western media outlets and politicians, according to the research funded by the UK Government, which plans to share it with major platforms.These include the social media accounts of the Prime Minister, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. More

Liberal Democrats were today rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of a by-election in Neil Parish’s Tiverton and Honiton seat, which strategists feel may offer the possibility of a repeat of last year’s stunning victory in North Shropshire.The east Devon constituency has been Conservative since its creation in 1997, and returned Mr Parish at the last election with an overwhelming majority of more than 24,000, making it on paper one of Boris Johnson’s safest seats in the country.But North Shropshire’s 23,000 Tory majority was overturned in December on a sensational 37 per cent swing to Lib Dems, following the disgrace of long-serving MP Owen Patterson who quit after a report found him guilty of paid advocacy on behalf of two private companies.And Lib Dem insiders today said the party will be “going for it” in Tiverton and Honiton, in a bid to repeat the historic upset in the traditional rural Tory heartlands which they describe as the Blue Wall.No date has yet been set for the by-election triggered by Mr Parish’s resignation, with June or July thought likely months. It will come hot on the heels of another awkward by-election for Mr Johnson, in Wakefield, where Labour will be bidding to snatch back a Red Wall seat after the conviction of Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan for sexual assault on a teenage boy.As in North Shropshire, Labour took second place in Tiverton and Honiton in the 2019 election, comfortably ahead of Ed Davey’s party in third.But one Lib Dem source said that the party was hopeful that its tradition of being the main challenger to Tories in the West Country would help it leapfrog into contention in the race to find Mr Parish’s successor.Lib Dem candidates regularly took second place in the constituency until 2015, missing out on seizing the seat by just 1,653 votes in 1997.In North Shropshire, Lib Dems campaigned hard on the issue of poor ambulance availability in the constituency, and their hopes of success in Tiverton and Honiton may rest on identifying a local issue of similar resonance.A party source said: “Right now we are completely focused on the local elections. But the Lib Dems have already shown we can take rural seats off the Conservatives.“People across the West Country have a strong tradition of voting Liberal Democrat as the main opposition to the Conservatives.“As we saw in North Shropshire, there is a real backlash against Boris Johnson from rural communities who are fed up of being taken for granted.” More

As the BBC’s new political editor, Chris Mason will likely have his every word scrutinised for any sign of bias. But pieces written when he was a student show that the corporation’s star Westminster journalist didn’t always have to be so impartial. One article written by Mr Mason for his student paper at Cambridge University, revealed his particular disdain for the House of Lords – labelling it a “talking shop for past-it politicians and do-gooders in high places”. The Independent has unearthed the comments after Mr Mason was unveiled as the BBC’s new political editor, taking over from Laura Kuenssberg.Mason, who currently hosts Radio 4’s Any Questions?, has been praised for his “calm, incisive analysis and signature candid style” and was reportedly considered a safe pair of hands by BBC executives for the tough job of political editor. A keen student journalist, the Yorkshireman co-founded The Cambridge Student newspaper in the winter of 1999, and alternated between the roles of Deputy Editor, Associate Editor, and a member on the editorial advisory board.In an interview Mason landed with Margaret Thatcher’s former chancellor Norman Lamont for the paper’s 3 October 2000 edition, he offered his own opinion of parliament’s second chamber. More

Neil Parish has resigned as an MP, after watching porn in the House of Commons in what he described as a “moment of madness”.Mr Parish – the MP for Tiverton and Honiton in east Devon – admitted that he had looked at adult material twice, and that the second occasion was deliberate.Speaking to the BBC, he said that initially he had stumbled across the website while looking for information about tractors, but later returned deliberately to the website. And he admitted: “I was not proud of what I was doing.”The senior backbencher had come under intense pressure after indicating yesterday that he intended to remain in his Commons seat, and hold onto his position as chair of the Westminster environment committee, until the completion of an investigation by standards commissioner Kathryn Stone.In a dramatic change of heart, he decided today he could no longer remain in post, saying that the row over his position was harming his family and his constituency party.The 65-year-old former farmer – a long-serving MEP for the West Country before entering parliament in 2010 – is thought to have come under intense pressure from a Conservative Party concerned about the impact a drawn-out scandal could have on its prospects in crucial local elections across Britain on Thursday.He told the BBC’s Politics South-West: “I thought that I could explain to the standards committee what happened and it was it would be worth explaining what happened. “But in the end, I could see that – with the furore, the damage I was causing my family and my constituency and association – it just wasn’t worth carrying on. ”The situation was that, funnily enough, it was tractors I was looking at and I did get into another website that had a sort of very similar name. “And I watched it for a bit, which I shouldn’t have done.”Mr Parish said that the first occasion occurred in the Commons chamber, but he later deliberately went back to the same site while in the adjoining voting lobby. But he insisted that he never did it with the intention that women MPs would see the footage.“My crime – my biggest crime is that on another occasion, I went in a second time,” he said. “That was deliberate. That was sitting waiting to vote on the side of the chambe, on the side door as you enter back into the lobbies.”Asked why he felt it was acceptable to watch adult material in the Commons, he replied: “Nothing … (it was) a moment of madness and also totally wrong. “But what I do want to put on record is that, for all my rights and wrongs, I was not proud of what I was doing. And the one thing I wasn’t doing – and which I will take to my grave as being true – is I was not actually making sure people could see it. In fact, I was trying to do quite the opposite.”He described his actions as “madness, total madness”, and accepted he had lost what he claimed had been “one of the best reputations ever” in the House of Commons.”I’m not going to defend it,” he said. “What I did was absolutely, totally wrong. “I think I must have taken complete leave of my senses and my sensibilities and my sense of decency and everything. I’m not defending what I did for one moment, but I thought the best thing I can do – and that’s why I want to put this on record – is absolutely tell the truth.”Mr Parish’s resignation came amid growing criticism for the Conservative Party’s slow reponse to a scandal. His name was passed to chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris on Tuesday evening by two female Tory MPs who witnessed him viewing porn. But there was no announcement of any action in the case until the afternoon of the following day when the story reached the press. Mr Heaton-Harris initially referred the case to parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme, which deals with allegations of harassment and bullying from MPS and parliamentary staff.It was not until three days after the initial complaint – during which time other MPs found themselves the subject of inaccurate Westminister rumours about the identity of the culprit – that Mr Parish was finally named and referred himself to a standards investigation.Labour’s shadow leader of the Commons, Thangam Debbonaire said that Mr Parish’s resignation was “the right decision”.“The people of Tiverton and Honiton deserve better than Neil Parish’s disgusting behaviour,” said Ms Debbonaire.“But it’s shocking that the Conservatives have allowed this debacle to drag out over many days. Time and again the Tories refuse to act, resorting to cover-ups and dragging the reputation of other MPs and the House down with them.”From the Owen Paterson scandal, voting to keep Rob Roberts in parliament, and their failure to act against their paedophile MP Imran Ahmad Khan, this Conservative government is rotting from the head down. Britain deserves better.”Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “It is appalling that Neil Parish had to be pushed to resign after those in charge of the Conservative Party spent days dragging their feet.“This still leaves unanswered questions about Boris Johnson’s leadership and his failure to trust the word of his female MPs. The Conservative party must now swiftly call a by-election, so the people of Tiverton and Honiton can finally get the proper representation they deserve.“From health and crime failures to partygate and porn scandals, the Conservatives are taking voters for granted. This Thursday is a chance to send a clear message that Boris Johnson’s time is up.” More