UK Politics

The Ministry of Defence has refused to say whether American nuclear weapons are set to return to British soil, following a 14-year absence.US government budget documents revealed earlier this month that vaults at RAF Lakenheath near Cambridge are being upgraded with the ability to store B61-12 nuclear bombs.During the Cold War the US maintained a stockpile of nukes in Britain, with the last weapon going home in 2008 after relations with Russia thawed.But the changes at the base have prompted concerns among MPs that the government may again allow the US military to store land-based nuclear weapons 20 miles from Cambridge, with no discussion or debate. “The MoD is unable to comment on US spending decisions and capabilities, which are a matter for the US government,” defence minister James Heappey said in a written parliamentary answer about the upgrade of the vaults at the base.”It remains longstanding UK and Nato policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at a given location.” The Independent approached the Ministry of Defence on Tuesday to ask whether there would be any notification in the event US nuclear weapons returned to British soil, and was told again that it was policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of such weapons.Green MP Caroline Lucas said it was “deeply irresponsible” for the government to keep the public in the dark on the issue and for any change to go through without scrutiny.“We are at a nuclear crisis point not seen since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Lowering the nuclear danger right now is vital,” she told The Independent.”If Nato members are not only continuing to renege on their agreed responsibilities under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to wind down nuclear weapons, but are in fact reinforcing their nuclear capacity, then the public must be informed, and an honest discussion must be had about its implications.”It’s deeply irresponsible for the Ministry of Defence to keep the public in the dark about these decisions of global significance, and dodge any accountability for nuclear weapons being maintained and upgraded on our own shores. It’s time for the Government to open up and come clean.”RAF Lakenheath has been the site of numerous protests against nuclear weapons and US military action, and subject to claims that its presence endangers nearby Cambridge.The Suffolk airbase was previously used by the US military to stockpile stockpile nuclear bombs, but its vaults were mothballed after the weapons were withdrawn in 2008. Two accidents involving nuclear weapons took place at the base in 1956 and 1961.In the 1990s RAF Lakenheath had 33 underground storage vaults, where 110 bombs were stored, according to the nuclear information project at the Federation of American Scientists, which first reported the budget document.The UK’s own nuclear arsenal, Trident, is mostly submarine-based, with weapons also handled at the Faslane naval base on the Clyde in Scotland.Hans Kristensen, the information project’s director, said earlier this month that it was “unclear if nuclear weapons have been returned to the base yet or NATO is upgrading the base to be capable of receiving nuclear weapons in the future if necessary”. FAS estimates there currently are roughly 100 nuclear bombs deployed at six air bases in five European countries.The upgrades at the base were revealed in the Biden administration’s 2023 defence budget request, which for the first time included the UK is a list of countries where “special weapons” storage sites are being upgraded. Britain is now listed alongside Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey in this section of the military construction programme – all countries where the US stores stockpiles of B61 nuclear bombs. The so-called “gravity bombs” are dropped from aircraft rather than launched in a missile.Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association told The Independent: “The official ‘will neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at a given location’ response from the UK government is not surprising, but it is disappointing and undemocratic.”US and UK citizens have a right to know whether there have been changes in national nuclear policies, and how their nations are collaborating on nuclear weapons deployments, and whether their communities may become targets in a nuclear attack because they are storage sites for nuclear weapons.” More

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has urged disgraced Conservative MP Imran Ahmad Khan to keep his promise to step down from his seat in Wakefield, after it emerged that he has still not formally resigned his seat.Khan pledged two weeks ago to quit as the Tory MP for the West Yorkshire constituency, shortly after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.Sir Keir said the people of Wakefield “deserve better”, as he expressed his frustration that a date could not yet be set for a by-election.“The disgraced Tory MP in Wakefield said he would resign and he still hasn’t actually resigned,” he said while out campaigning in Stevenage for next week’s local elections.The Labour leader added: “Wakefield deserves better than that. He should get on with it, so we can have a by-election.”Asked if he was disappointed that former Labour chancellor Ed Balls has ruled out putting himself forward as the party’s candidate in Wakefield, Sir Keir said: “That’s a matter for Ed Balls”, adding: “We’ll have an excellent candidate for Labour.”Local Tories in Wakefield have reportedly urged Khan to formally quit as MP, as concern builds over the fact that he has not yet fulfilled a pledge made two weeks ago.Khan said on 14 April he was appealing against his sexual assault conviction. But had added that “regrettably come to the conclusion that it is intolerable for constituents to go years without an MP”.Tory MP Stephen Hammond has suggested that the looming Wakefield contest, which could now be pushed back to June, could be the final straw for Mr Johnson if it comes on the back of poor local election results.On the key test in red-wall territory, the former minister said: “If we don’t [win], there might be some thought about what we need to do to reassure those voters that came to us for the first time in 2019.”Meanwhile, Sir Keir also said he wanted to see “an emergency budget, not a cabinet meeting” to address the cost-of-living crisis.Ridiculing Boris Johnson’s ideas meeting with ministers on Tuesday morning, The Labour leader said: “The cost of living crisis has been staring us in the face for six months now.”Sir Keir played down reports that shadow cabinet minister Lisa Nandy had urged him to stop talking about Partygate so much and focus instead make the cost-of-living crisis the centre of local election.“When we started the campaign we had a laser-like focus on the cost of living and we’ve maintained that throughout the campaign,” he said.Mr Starmer also hit out at the “disgusting” treatment of Angela Rayner, adding: “I think all of us have got a responsibility not just to call this out but to renew our determination to change the culture in parliament.” More

Angela Rayner says ‘sexist’ and ‘classist’ Mail article implied she was ‘thick’Boris Johnson threatened to “privatise the arse” off the Passport Office, as he lashed out at the organisation over huge delays putting holidays at risk.The prime minister is said to be “horrified” by repeated breaches of a new 10-week target for processing applications, branded an “absolute shambles” by MPs.There has been an unprecedented surge in demand after the lifting of Covid restrictions, because 5 million people delayed renewing their passports during the pandemic. A Home Office minister watned people hoping to travel abroad this Summer to renew their passports “as soon as possible” as one million passport applications were received in the last month alone.Meanwhile the leader of the House of Commons said anonymous Tory MPs who made controversial remarks about Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner to The Mail on Sunday was “inappropriate” but did not break Commons rules.Mark Spencer told the Commons Committee on Standards he believed those who spoke to the newspaper breached “lots” of the principles of public life, including “leadership” and “integrity” but was acting within the MPs Code of Conduct.Show latest update

1650984356Labour MPs raise human rights concerns over India dealOpposition MPs raised concerns over human rights in India after the Prime Minister said on a visit last week that the UK hopes to have a trade deal worked out with the country by October.One Labour told the House of Commons that the UK would be “dancing on the human rights and civil liberties” of communities across India if it signed a free-trade deal with the country.Labour MP Zarah Sultana, Coventry South, criticised the Prime Minister for visiting a JCB factory the day after reports its vehicles were used to “destroy and demolish Muslim homes and businesses in Delhi”.She said visiting the factory was a “mistake”.Responding, Foreign Office minister Vicky Ford said: “We do not pursue trade at the exclusion of human rights.“We regard both as an important part of a deep, mature and wide-ranging relationship with our partners.”She said both countries wanted to conclude the “majority” of the talks on the “comprehensive and balanced” agreement “by the end of October”, adding: “We condemn any instance of discrimination because of freedom of religion or belief.During Boris Johnson’s visit last week the UK and India signed a pledge for stronger tade and defence ties.Liam James26 April 2022 15:451650983456Boris Johnson threatens to ‘privatise the arse’ off Passport Office, over delays hitting holidaysBoris Johnson threatened to “privatise the arse” off the Passport Office, as he lashed out at the organisation over huge delays putting holidays at risk (Rob Merrick writes).The prime minister put other quangos on notice to improve at a cabinet meeting to discuss the cost-of-living crisis – but at which ministers were told there will be no extra spending.Mr Johnson is said to be “horrified” at the Passport Office repeatedly breaching a new 10-week target for processing applications, branded an “absolute shambles” by MPs.There has been an unprecedented surge in demand after the lifting of Covid restrictions, because 5 million people delayed renewing their passports during the pandemic.But Brexit is also a factor, because Britons must now have at least three months left on their passports in order to travel to the EU, putting more strain on the system.Liam James26 April 2022 15:301650982556PM’s cabinet meeting won’t fix cost of living crisis, says StarmerSir Keir Starmer said he wanted to see “an emergency budget, not a cabinet meeting” to address the cost-of-living crisis, after Boris Johnson said a cabinet meeting earlier today bred productive ideas on ways to support struggling households.The Labour leader told reporters in Stevenage: “The cost of living crisis has been staring us in the face for six months now … the cabinet meeting this morning isn’t going to change any of that.”Mr Starmer played down reports that shadow cabinet minister Lisa Nandy had urged Sir Keir to stop focusing on Partygate and instead make the cost-of-living crisis the centre of local election.The Labour leader said: “When we started the campaign we had a laser-like focus on the cost of living and we’ve maintained that throughout the campaign.”Mr Starmer also hit out at the “disgusting” treatment of Angela Rayner, adding: “I think all of us have got a responsibility not just to call this out but to renew our determination to change the culture in parliament.”Liam James26 April 2022 15:151650981648MoD posts update from IndiaThe Ministry of Defence posted a photo on Twitter of defence minister Jeremy Quin and Britain’s Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Tony Radakin meeting with Indian officials. The meeting aimed to further talks between Boris Johnson and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the former’s visit to Delhi last week.The two leaders pledged stronger cooperation on security and defence between Britain and India, with a particular focus on cybersecurity.Liam James26 April 2022 15:001650980700Priti Patel declared Bond premier ticket through Home Office as film ‘connected’ to role, minister claimsPriti Patel declared hospitality tickets to the James Bond premier in her role as home secretary as the movie is “connected to the executive functions”, a minister has suggested (Ashley Cowburn writes).The comment from Cabinet Office minister Michael Ellis, which prompted laughter, came amid a grilling by the Commons Standards Committee on the difference in the publication dates of gifts and hospitality received by MPs and ministers.Chris Bryant, the chair of the committee, referenced Ms Patel’s gift to the premier of the latest James Bond film – No Time To Die – on 28 September 2021, which was registed via the Home Office.The hospitality – courtesy of the Jamaica Tourist Board – was then made public in February 2022 through transparency data released by the department on a quartely basis.Liam James26 April 2022 14:451650979800Truss says Russia using UN security council seat to permit ‘barbarism’Foreign secretary Liz Truss said the government has concerns over Russia’s permanent member status of the United Nations security council.Ms Truss went on to accuse Russia of using its power to veto decisions of the body as a “green light for barbarism” in Ukraine.Russia’s position as one of five veto-wielding members has limited the security council’s ability to censure Vladimir Putin’s regime.In the House of Commons, Conservative MP Nickie Aiken asked Ms Truss whether, considering the UN’s commitment to upholding international peace and security, “perhaps it is time that the international community questioned whether Russia should remain a permanent member of the security council?”Ms Truss replied: “The security council does have a role to play, under our presidency we have used it to call out Russia’s lies.“We have also hosted President Zelensky to speak to the council.“But she is also right that we do have concerns about an international security architecture that has Russia as one of the permanent members of the security council and they have used their veto as a green light for barbarism and part of our response has been working more closely with allies like the G7, allies like Nato because we simply haven’t seen enough taking place at a UN level.”Liam James26 April 2022 14:301650978900Trigger warnings are ‘disservice’ to students, says ministerStudents are being done a “disservice” over trigger warnings placed on books such as Harry Potter at universities, a minister has said.Universities minister Michelle Donelan told PA there was a need for “common sense” over warnings on set texts for students as “there are no trigger warnings in real life”.“To say that we need to protect some of our brightest and our best from the likes of Harry Potter is to not only do our universities a disservice but to do our students a disservice,” she said.“And it’s not the way to ensure that they can enter the world having those skills at their fingertips – the ability to challenge, to be critically astute – and that’s certainly not the interpretation that I’d had talking to students, that they want or they need this from their universities,” she added.Ms Donelan said “students have to be able to live in the real world once they graduate university”.She said trigger warnings “are not the issues that students are bringing up to me – they’re bringing up sexual harassment, they’re bringing up antisemitism.”There is “an undeniable link” between academic quality and free speech, she said, noting that 86 per cent of Nobel Prize winners come from countries with the highest rating for academic freedom while just 1 per cent are from countries with the lowest rating.
Liam James26 April 2022 14:151650978000Downing Street responds to Elon Musk Twitter saleResponding to the news that Twitter will be sold to Elon Musk, Downing Street said “regardless of ownership, all social media platforms must be responsible”.“That includes protecting users from harm on their sites,” the prime minister’s official spokesman said.“It is too early to say what – if any – changes will be made to how Twitter operates.“It remains an important tool, it’s used by world leaders, and we will continue to work with them to make sure it continues to improve.”Mr Musk, listed by Forbes as the world’s richest man with an estimated wealth of $259bn (£205bn), said in a statement after the takeover deal was reached that he was planning to “increase trust” in the platform. He also listed aims of “defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans”. The Tesla founder had previously criticised Twitter for stifling free speech.Liam James26 April 2022 14:001650977100Dorries ‘minded’ to block local news mergerThe culture secretary said she could intervene over local newspaper group Newsquest’s takeover of rival Archant.Last month, Newsquest, which publishes 178 titles including the Northern Echo and Lancashire Telegraph, sealed the deal to buy the East Anglia-based competitor.Archant, which was being sold by private equity firm RCapital, owns a number of local newspaper brands in southern England including the Eastern Daily Press and Barking and Dagenham Post, alongside a portfolio of regional Country Life magazines, and employs 760 staff.Nadine Dorries said today she was “minded” to issue an intervention notice, which would lead to the move being blocked.Her department said in a letter to Newsquest and Archant that Ms Dorries is worried about the merger’s impact on competition in East Anglia, where many of the two firms’ titles cover.Ms Dorries has asked for reports by two watchdogs – the CMA and Ofcom – before deciding whether a full probe is needed by the CMA.Liam James26 April 2022 13:451650976200Defending Boris Johnson ‘very hard’, admits former Tory leaderFormer Tory leader William Hague has said that defending Boris Johnson over Partygate has become “very hard”, and said many MPs had retreated into “embarrassed silence”.“More than any other Tory leaders in my lifetime, Johnson also does things that make defending him very hard,” he wrote in The Times.Mr Hauge also warned against his tendency to try to “cheer up” Tory MPs, rather than stick to a consistent tone, was damaging support.He said: “The desire to lift the morale of those around him, irrespective of the wider message, is probably how the whole parties saga started for Johnson. If he is not careful it will be how it ends.”Liam James26 April 2022 13:30 More

Boris Johnson threatened to “privatise the arse” off the Passport Office, as he lashed out at the organisation over huge delays putting holidays at risk.The prime minister also put other quangos on notice to improve at a cabinet meeting to discuss the cost-of-living crisis – but at which ministers were told there will be no extra spending.Mr Johnson is said to be “horrified” at the Passport Office repeatedly breaching a new 10-week target for processing applications, branded an “absolute shambles” by MPs.There has been an unprecedented surge in demand after the lifting of Covid restrictions, because 5 million people delayed renewing their passports during the pandemic.But Brexit is also a factor, because Britons must now have at least three months left on their passports in order to travel to the EU, putting more strain on the system.A senior government source said Mr Johnson had used the phrase “privatise the arse” at the cabinet meeting, as a threat if the backlogs cannot be cleared.Thousands of holidaymakers have been left with no choice but to pay £150 to fast-track their passport applications in time for the summer break.That makes it a cost of living issue, the prime minister is thought to believe – because people are having to fork out for the premium service to get their passport on time.The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) is also facing a huge backlog of applications, delays potentially preventing professional drivers from getting back to work.The prime minister also pledged to increase scrutiny of what he called the “post-Covid mañana culture” at some public bodies, the Evening Standard reported.The comment would come close to calling some civil servants lazy – as the phrase is defined as meaning “anytime between tomorrow and never”.It comes after Jacob Rees-Mogg was strongly criticised for leaving “nasty” notes on empty desks in Whitehall, in an apparent attack on civil servants working from home.No 10 also dropped a fresh hint that ministers will relax the rules to allow nurseries to have fewer members of staff, to help parents with costs.A previous plan was floated to cut the staff/child ratio, perhaps to allow nursery staff to supervise five children under two, rather than just three.Downing Street is desperate to find measures that would cut costs for people without requiring the government to spend more money.Bridget Phillipson Labour’s shadow education secretary, accused ministers of planning to “drive down quality”, when investment in more early years’ places is needed.“Parents are having to work fewer hours or leave jobs because they cannot find or afford childcare, once again failing children and families,” she said.“Now the government’s solution is to drive down quality whilst making no difference to availability.” More

Angela Rayner has said that “disgusting” claims from Tory MPs about her using her body to distract Boris Johnson at the despatch box were “steeped in classism”.The Labour deputy leader said that the comments, reported in theMail on Sunday, betrayed “offensive” views on the part of the anonymous MPs about women from working-class backgrounds.Ms Rayner said she was “crestfallen” about the newspaper’s decision to publish the allegations despite firm assurances that they were untrue.And she said that she had had to speak to her children to prepare them for the inevitable furore around their publication.Speaking to ITV’s Lorraine, the Ashton-under-Lyne MP said it was clear that the MP’s comments were informed not only by sexism but also by class prejudice.The article included a quote from one MP, saying Ms Rayner “knows she can’t compete with Boris’s Oxford Union debating training, but she has other skills which he lacks”.Ms Rayner was accused of crossing and uncrossing her legs like actress Sharon Stone in the raunchy thriller Basic Instinct to distract the prime minister as he spoke.“All I worry about when I’m at the despatch box is doing a good job and being able to do justice to my constituents and the work I’m doing, so I was just really crestfallen that somebody had said that to a paper and a paper was reporting that,” she said.“It wasn’t just about me as a woman, saying I was using the fact I’m a woman against the prime minister – which I think is quite condescending to the prime minister and shows you what his MPs think about his behaviour – but it was steeped in classism as well,” she added.She also said the comments suggested the Tory MPs believed she must be “thick” because she went to a comprehensive school and was “promiscuous” because she had a child when she was 16.“I felt it was quite offensive to people from my background,” she said.Ms Rayner said she had been “overwhelmed” and “really down” as a result of the story’s publication on Sunday.“When I heard the story was coming out, we rebutted it instantly,” she said. “Like ‘This is disgusting, it’s completely untrue, please don’t run a story like that’.”Ms Rayner said she chose to wear a trouser suit for her TV appearance on Tuesday morning because she did not want to be “judged for what I wear”.“I wanted to be defiant as well because I don’t think that women should be told how to dress,” she told host Lorraine Kelly. “But I didn’t want to distract from the fact that, actually, it’s not about my legs.“Because I feel like I’m being judged for what I wear, rather than what I’m saying to you and how I come across.”Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has summoned the Mail on Sunday’s editor to a meeting on Wednesday morning, while Mr Johnson has said he will unleash “the terrors of Earth” on any MPs identified as the source of the comments.Mother of the House Dame Harriet Harman has called for changes to the MPs’ code of conduct to make misogynistic, racist or homophobic comments a breach punishable by anything from an apology on the floor of the Commons to suspension from Westminster.Ms Rayner said a wider cultural shift was needed.“We have got to teach our sons to be respectful of women and we’ve got to teach our women to be confident about themselves as well,” she said.Cabinet minister Mark Spencer said anonymous Tory MPs who spoke to Mail On Sunday about Ms Rayner acted in an “inappropriate” way, but he did not think they broke any Commons rules.The Leader of the House told the Commons Committee on Standards that he believed those speaking to the newspaper breached “lots” of the principles of public life, including “leadership” and “integrity”.But asked what rule they had broken, Mr Spencer said: “I don’t suppose they’ve broken any rule in the House or committed a crime that could be charged in general society. You know, I think they just acted frankly in an inappropriate way. And that should be roundly condemned.” More

Priti Patel declared hospitality tickets to the James Bond premier in her role as home secretary as the movie is “connected to executive functions”, a minister has suggested.The comment from Cabinet Office minister Michael Ellis, which prompted laughter, came amid a grilling by the Commons Standards Committee on the difference in the publication dates of gifts and hospitality received by MPs and ministers.Chris Bryant, the chair of the committee, referenced Ms Patel’s gift to the premier of the latest James Bond film — No Time To Die — on 28 September 2021 at the Royal Albert Hall, which was registed via the Home Office.The hospitality – courtesy of the Jamaica Tourist Board – was then made public in February 2022 through transparency data released by the department on a quartely basis.“She declared that not through the House [of Commons], but through her department,” Mr Bryant said. “Why is that in her ministerial capacity?In response, Mark Harper, the leader of the Commons, said: “That would be a matter for her register, I don’t know the influence in terms of the constituency… I think it’s fairly obvious then she was invited as the home secretary.”“It’s entirely right she — I suspect and I would suggest — was invited as the home secretary.”Asked what the James Bond premier had to do with her role as home secretary, Mr Ellis promoted laughter, as he interjected, saying: “Well, the nature of the film, one could argue, is connected to executive functions.”Mr Harper added: “The fact we know about that is because it was logged, registered and is now in the public domain. That demonstrates the system works.”Mr Bryant also added that Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, was invited to the Bond premier by producers Eon, and asked again: “In what sense is that at all in their ministerial capacity?Mr Harper replied: “Well I think they were clearly invited as the foreign secretary and the home secretary, not as constituency MPs. That was why they were invited.Quipping back, Mr Bryant said: “What because Bond travels abroad, and she’s in charge of MI6?”Earlier in the committee session, the Cabinet Office minister Mr Ellis was questioned on timing difference between MPs and ministers declarations being made public.“The minister is also required to make that declaration speedily, but the publication of it may follow because publication dates are different,” he said.“It’s important to emphasise the moment of declaration is when that minister makes the declaration via the private office and that maybe even faster than the backbencher registered those tickets”. More

Downing Street has poured cold water on the prospect of an annual bank holiday to honour the Queen, saying that this year’s Platinum Jubilee celebration is a “unique” event. There were media reports this morning that Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie, as well as chancellor Rishi Sunak, are supportive of the idea of a yearly “Thank Holiday” to recognise both the Queen’s service and the sacrifices made by Britons who stepped up to serve their communities during the pandemic.But Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson today stressed that this year’s extra bank holiday on 3 June – creating a four-day weekend along with the moved May break to celebrate the Queen’s 70 years on the throne – was a one-off.While not ruling out the possibility that additional bank holidays might be discussed by ministers, he said that they would always consider the fact that each extra day off is believed to cost the UK economy £2bn in lost productivity as businesses around the country close their doors for an additional 24 hours .He told reporters: “The Jubilee is a unique national celebration to mark the Queen’s remarkable, dedicated and continued service to the UK and Commonwealth. That’s why, to mark this special occasion, the spring bank holiday is moved. “Equally we recognise that each bank holiday presents a considerable and significant cost to our economy and therefore proposals would have to be considered carefully on that basis.“We think this is a unique national celebration… and we are confident the public will come together to mark this significant moment. “But we should recognise the impact it has on the wider economy. Our impact assessment estimates a cost of around £2bn.“I’m not aware of any plans to make it permanent. But obviously we keep the cost of these things under review.” More