UK Politics

It is impossible for children to avoid daydreaming or “mind wandering” in the classroom, a new study has found.But the research from Queen’s University in Belfast has found that daydreaming could be seriously affecting young people’s ability to learn.The paper, published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, is the first which looks at the impact of mind wandering on learning.Researchers played a story to 97 children aged 6-11 and asked them a question every two minutes to check if they were paying attention.

Our research has found that children, like adults, are unable to fully concentrate all the timeDr Agnieszka Graham, Queen’s University They discovered that the children were “mind wandering” a quarter of the time and they couldn’t help it.The study found that the frequency of mind wandering didn’t change with age but that it had a detrimental impact on learning as children who mind wandered the most remembered less about the story.Dr Agnieszka Graham, lecturer in Applied Developmental Psychology at Queen’s, said: “In school, often children can get in trouble for mind wandering, it is sometimes viewed as a sign of disrespect or misbehaviour if they are not paying attention.“However, our research has found that children, like adults, are unable to fully concentrate all the time; it’s likely that their minds will wander for a substantial proportion of a typical school day.“Our findings indicate that further exploring the causes and consequences of mind wandering in these early years at school could provide a solid foundation for developing interventions to help children detect when their minds strayed from the task at hand and refocus their attention.“The more we can learn about mind wandering in the classroom, the better we can design our teaching strategies and educational spaces to optimise learning and engagement.” More

Boris Johnson will ask cabinet ministers to come up with ideas on easing the cost of living crisis as Britons were warned of a £10bn annual hike in petrol and diesel costs.The prime minister wants to colleagues develop “innovative” ways to reduce the pressure on households, saying moves to ease the burden from price rises and soaring bills must be “a team effort”.On Tuesday Mr Johnson will urge ministers to do more to promote existing support schemes which have not been widely taken up, but The Independent understands that no new measures will be discussed.Opposition parties accused the PM of being “out of ideas”, as the government comes under growing pressure to deliver further financial support through an emergency budget.Labour has warned that the British public faces a £10bn hike in annual fuel costs at the pumps, calling again for a cut to energy bills funded by a windfall tax on oil and gas companies.Sir Keir Starmer’s party said the cost of a litre of unleaded petrol rose by 37p over the past year based on figures from a three-day period in mid-April 2022. For diesel, the rise was 47p over the same period, the party said.Factoring in the number of cars per household in the UK, along with averages for distance travelled and fuel used, the party calculated that drivers face spending an additional £6bn on petrol and £4.2bn diesel this year compared to last.Chancellor Rishi Sunak cut fuel duty by 5p in his spring statement – but Labour said this had been “swallowed up” by soaring costs.Louise Haigh, Labour’s shadow secretary of state for transport, said: “This is a savage extra cost for working people. The Conservative government needs to set out an emergency budget to tackle its cost-of-living crisis.”Saying the British people had been left “exposed to unstable foreign oil”, she said Labour’s plan for a windfall tax on oil and gas giants would help households through this crisis with up to £600 cut off energy bills.The Liberal Democrats have also called for a windfall tax. Leader Sir Ed Davey said the PM’s call for suggestions showed that the Tory government was “completely out of ideas during the most profound crisis in decades”.Davey added: “While families are facing sky-rocketing bills and soaring inflation, Boris Johnson’s answer is another quiz night at No 10.”Around four in ten people (43 per cent) said they found it hard to afford their energy bills last month, according to grim new figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Monday.Some 87 per cent of adults reported an increase in their living costs over the previous month in March – an increase of 25 per cent compared with November. Nearly a quarter of adults said that it had been “very difficult or difficult” to pay their household bills last month.Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s cabinet, Mr Johnson said: “With household bills and living costs rising in the face of global challenges, easing the burden on the British people and growing our economy must be a team effort across cabinet.”The PM added: “We have a strong package of financial support on offer, worth £22 billion, and it’s up to all of us to make sure that help is reaching the hardest-hit and hardworking families across the country.”The government has estimated that around 1.3 million families could be taking up more support through tax free childcare scheme, which offers up to £2,000 towards childcare costs a year.There is also an estimated 850,000 eligible households who are not claiming pension credit, which could be worth over £3,300 a year for pensioners.Some Tory MPs fear that Mr Sunak’s failure to offer more help with bills and benefits will cost the party dearly at the local elections next week. MP Andrew Bridgen has said the chancellor may have to consider an emergency budget before the summer recess.A government spokesperson said the £22bn package of support mentioned by the PM included the raising of the national insurance contribution threshold, moves to lower the universal credit taper rate and the expansion the eligibility for the Warm Home Discount, as well as the £200 energy rebate scheme. More

The UK is to send new ambulances, fire engines and medical supplies to Ukraine, and waive tariffs on goods imported from the country, as part of the continuing programme of support in its fight against Russian invasion.Meanwhile, a new extension of sanctions against Moscow will ban the export of products such as interception and monitoring equipment, which could be used in the repression of Ukraine, closing loopholes to ensure Russia cannot source such goods from the UK.The lifting of tariffs was a key request from Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to support the country’s producers and traders at a time when it is facing a massive hit to GDP, forecast to contract by more than 35 per cent in 2022 due to Russia’s unprovoked attack.Ukrainian exports – including, barley, honey, tinned tomatoes and poultry – were previously subject to tariffs averaging about 22 per cent, but all will now be reduced to zero.International trade secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, said: “The UK will continue to do everything in its power to support Ukraine’s fight against Putin’s brutal and unprovoked invasion and help ensure the long-term security and prosperity of Ukraine and its people.“We stand unwaveringly with Ukraine in this ongoing fight and will work to ensure Ukraine survives and thrives as a free and sovereign nation.”Meanwhile, prime minister, Boris Johnson, announced the UK is sending a further 22 ambulances to Ukraine, while a fleet of more than 40 fire engines has just arrived in the country, in response to direct requests from the Kyiv administration.The fire engines are packed with thousands of items of rescue equipment, such as 300 fire hoses, thermal imaging cameras for finding victims and almost 10,000 items of protective clothing, in the largest deployment of its type to leave the UK.There have been more than 130 attacks on healthcare facilities since the invasion and the UN has recorded about 4,800 civilian casualties. More than 100 fire stations and 250 fire engines have been destroyed in Ukraine.Frontline medical aid charity UK-Med will receive government funding of up to £300,000 to help train Ukrainian doctors, nurses and paramedics. They will also set up mobile health clinics to support the most vulnerable civilians remaining in Ukraine.Mr Johnson said: “We have all been appalled by the abhorrent images of hospitals deliberately targeted by Russia since the invasion began over two months ago.“The new ambulances, fire engines and funding for health experts announced today will better equip the Ukrainian people to deliver vital health care and save lives.“Together with our military support, we will help to strengthen Ukraine’s capability to make sure Putin’s brutal invasion fails.”UK-Med CEO, David Wightwick, who is currently in eastern Ukraine as it faces a fresh onslaught from Russian troops, said: “I’ve seen with my own eyes the devastating impact of this cruel war.  Ensuring the more than 7 million internally displaced people across the country have access to vital primary health care is and will continue to be of the upmost importance for many months to come.” More

Donald Trump has claimed he cancelled an interview with Piers Morgan due to an intervention from Boris Johnson.As part of a wide-ranging ranging interview with the former US president aired on Monday night, the ex-Good Morning Britain presenter said the pair had been due to meet for an interview in December 2019 in London “just before the pandemic”.However, Morgan went on to claim the interview was cancelled at the last minute by Mr Trump due to a request from the prime minister.Mr Trump confirmed that it “was true” and said he was in the UK as Mr Johnson’s guest so would do what he asked him.The 75-year-old said he “did not know” why Mr Johnson didn’t want him to sit down with the TV host for an interview.The former editor of the Daily Mirror said he thought the reason might be that the duo might “create something that would cost him the election”, which was only a few days after the planned meet-up. More

Boris Johnson’s government has been handed another damaging defeat in the Lords, where peers have voted against a plan which undermines the independence of the election watchdog, according to critics.The Lords backed by 265 votes to 199 – a majority of 66 – a move to strip out controversial parts of the Elections Bill relating to the autonomy of the Electoral Commission.It follows concerns over measures contained in the Elections Bill that would hand the government new powers to set the regulator’s strategic priorities.The Electoral Commission has itself warned against the move – arguing that it would enable ministers to shape how electoral law applies to their own party and political opponents.The influential crossbench peer Lord Judge described it as a “repugnant” attempt to interfere in the electoral process, while Tory peer Lord Young said it was “disrespectful of the ground rules of our constitution”.Labour frontbencher Baroness Hayman said the move “would allow political interference in the regulation of our elections … this simply cannot be allowed to happen”.Naomi Smith, chief executive of the campaign group Best for Britain, warned that any attempt to oversee the elections watchdog was “like putting a fox in charge of the henhouse”.She added: “The Lords have given MPs another chance to decide whether they support free and fair elections – or whether they’re willing to give a greater sense of impunity to a government already guilty of breaking their own laws.”Peers have already voted against an equally controversial plan to introduce photo ID for voters in elections.A coalition of organisations including Fair Vote UK and Liberty have urged the government not to reinstate that clause – arguing that it could turn millions of people away from polling booths.The latest government defeat sets the stage for a series of legislative tussles between the Lords and Commons – where the government still has a large majority – as the clock ticks down towards the end of the parliamentary session.On Monday evening MPs voted 300 to 220 – a majority of 80 – to reinstate moves to crack down on noisy protests to the controversial Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.Peers have repeatedly dug their heels in and pressed for the controversial curbs to be stripped from the legislation – but the Commons restored the words to home sceretary Priti Patel’s bill for a third time.The measures would give police in England and Wales more powers to impose conditions on non-violent protests judged to be too noisy, and thereby causing “intimidation” or “distress” to the public.But peers are now expected to attempt a last-ditch attempt to remove the noisy protest ban from the policing bill on Tuesday ahead of the Thursday’s deadline for the bills to be signed into law.The government was challenged to provide evidence of the need to prevent noisy protests. Labour’s shadow Home Office minister Sarah Jones asked: “Where is the evidence that residents have asked for this change in legislation?”Home Office minister Kit Malthouse could be heard shouting “see my inbox” during the debate on the policing bill on Monday.Mr Malthouse said the Lords had “no democratic mandate” to continue to try to block reform of protest law, adding: “There is a more fundamental issue at stake – namely upholding the primacy of this elected House in our constitutional arrangements.”Sam Grant, head of policy and campaigns at Liberty, said MPs had again voted to “strike at the heart of what makes protest effective”.He added: “Peers have voted three times to ditch the plans to shut down noisy protests, and this week must once again make it clear that this assault on our rights will not be tolerated.” More

Ministers are being targeted by hoax callers pretending to be British citizens captured by Russian forces in Ukraine, The Independent understands.Russian information operations are believed to be behind the calls, which have been made to the private offices of cabinet members.To date, two British soldiers fighting with the Ukrainian army have been captured by Vladimir Putin’s troops. Both were paraded on Russian television last week.In an email sent by Cabinet Office security last week, staff were urged not to engage with callers impersonating the soldiers and instead to direct them to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.There is concern that the calls are being recorded with the intention of being doctored and then released publicly to embarrass the government, which has already been caught out in this manner.Last month, footage was shared online of a video call between defence secretary Ben Wallace and a man posing as Denys Shmyhal, the Ukrainian prime minister.The episode raised serious questions about the security failings that had led to pranksters accessing one of the UK’s most senior ministers and asking questions about the diplomatic and military situation in Ukraine.A government spokesperson said the latest attempts to access government ministers “are standard practice for Russian information operations and further evidence of the Putin regime’s efforts to distract from their illegal activities in Ukraine, including human rights abuses”.They added that the ploy “also reflects Putin’s desperation as he seeks to hide the scale of the conflict and Russia’s failings on the battlefield”.Home secretary Priti Patel said last month that she had received a similar call to the one made to Mr Wallace, who was put through to a Microsoft Teams video call with two professional prank callers said to be linked to the Kremlin.Downing Street later revealed that an unsuccessful attempt to contact culture secretary Nadine Dorries had also been made during the same period.Experts say that Russia has a track record in using this type of tactic to spread disinformation, humiliate politicians, and twist narratives.“So called ‘comedians’ or YouTubers, who are often linked to the Russian state, will try and entrap western politicians to embarrass them or take their words out of context to suit the Kremlin’s needs,” said the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), which monitors and exposes disinformation activities.“The Kremlin will ruthlessly exploit the British nationality of the two captured soldiers – both to push false narratives around direct western involvement in the war, and to use coercive methods to make the prisoners repeat absurd talking points about Nazis in Ukraine.”Dr Marc Tuters, an expert in online political subcultures at the University of Amsterdam, said that the attempts to ensnare politicians fit into the Kremlin’s “hybrid military strategy, where they define the field of battle as also including the information space”.He said hoaxing and “trolling” were being weaponised by Russia with the aim of “probing the vulnerability within a given system” and “destabilising” the official narrative around the invasion of Ukraine.Following Mr Wallace’s prank call, a cross-department government inquiry was launched into the security breach.The CIR said it was right for the government “to be preparing” staff against further attempted hoax calls. More

Potentially damning photos of Downing Street parties may never be published, it emerged today.More than 300 photos were handed over to the Metropolitan Police by senior civil servant Sue Gray, who gathered them as part of her investigation into allegations of lockdown-breaching parties.She is expected to include some or all of them in her full report, which was today reported to include “excoriating” criticisms of Boris Johnson and is due for publication after the conclusion of police inquiries.But No 10 today said it could not guarantee the photos would be included in the published version of the Gray report, saying that they will have to be vetted before release to ensure the protection of the data and privacy of those pictured.It is thought that some of the photos show members of Mr Johnson’s inner circle – and possibly the prime minister himself – drinking alcohol during parties held in No 10 and Whitehall in breach of laws imposed to slow the spread of Covid-19 during 2020 and 2021.Tory chiefs are thought to be concerned that the release of images could have a significant impact on public perceptions of the Partygate scandal, by graphically illustrating the gulf between the social distancing and isolation experienced by the public and the socialising enjoyed by No 10 staff.The images include both snaps taken at parties and stills from security cameras showing when people entered and exited buildings.An unnamed senior official quoted anonymously in The Times said that the Gray report will be “damning” for the PM and could force him to resign.”Sue’s report is excoriating,” said the official. “It will make things incredibly difficult for the prime minister.”There’s an immense amount of pressure on her – her report could be enough to end him. No official has ever been in a position like this before.”Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson today said that he “did not recognise” the comments, adding that no-one in No 10 has yet seen the full report, limited extracts of which were released in January.The only people who should be aware of the report’s contents in full at this stage would be members of Ms Gray’s team, he said.The spokesperson confirmed that Downing Street’s aim is to publish the report soon after receiving it from the former Whitehall propriety and ethics chief, now deputy permanent secretary in the Cabinet Office.But he did not commit to publishing any photos included in the document, telling reporters: “I can’t comment on photographs, not least because I don’t know what format the report will take.“The caveat, as ever and as we had for the interim report, is that we just need to make sure that it complies with data protection and anonymity and issues like that.“We didn’t have any of those issues with the interim report.”There were no pictures included in January’s interim report, which was a severely truncated 12-page document providing a brief account of the events under investigation, after police asked Ms Gray to hold back any information which might inform their criminal inquiry.Mr Johnson has already paid a £50 fine for attending a law-breaking birthday party in Downing Street, and is thought to have been present at as many as five more events under investigation.His spokesperson today confirmed that he has not yet received a fixed penalty notice in relation to a “bring your own booze” party in the Downing Street garden in May 2020. Messages informing No 10 staff of fines for this event began appearing on Friday, but it is not known how many have so far been issued or whether there are more to come. More

The Speaker of the House of Commons has summoned the editor of a national newspaper for a meeting after it published a sexist article about a Labour MP wearing tights.The Mail on Sunday was widely criticised this weekend for running an article about Angela Rayner supposedly trying to “distract” Boris Johnson by crossing and uncrossing her legs in the chamber.The newspaper reported claims by anonymous Tory MPs that the deputy Labour leader’s gait was supposedly reminiscent of a scene from the 1992 film Basic Instinct – under the headline “Stone the crows!”.Ms Rayner said that “attempts to harass and intimidate me will fail” while the prime minister Boris Johnson sought to distance himself from his MPs and said he deplored “the misogyny directed at her anonymously today”.Now speaker Lindsay Hoyle has told MPs that David Dillon, the editor of the Mail on Sunday, has been asked to attend a meeting in parliament.”I said to the House last week in response to a point of order about a different article that I took the issue of media freedom very seriously,” Sir Lindsay told MPs at the start of business on Monday.”It is one of the building-blocks of our democracy. However, I share the views expressed by a wide range of members, including I believe the Prime Minister, that yesterday’s article was reporting unsubstantiated claims and misogynistic and offensive. “I expressed my sympathy to the right honourable member of Ashton-under-Lyne for the subject to this type of comment in being demeaning, offensive to women in parliament, and can only deter women who might be considering standing for election to the detriment of us all.”The Speaker said he would meet with Mr Dillon the editor of the Mail on Sunday “to discuss the issue affecting our parliamentary community” and also hold a separate meeting with Ms Rayner.More follows… More