UK Politics

The first transgender MP has accused Boris Johnson’s government of breaking its “promise” by excluding trans people from a ban on conversion therapy.Jamie Wallis, the Conservative MP for Bridgend who last week came out as trans, said he is “bitterly disappointed” that people who identify as a different gender to the one they are born into will be excluded from plans.The Tory rallied against Downing Street’s plans to limit a ban on conversion therapies – which seek to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity – to gay people.Taking to Twitter on Monday, Wallis said it was “wrong to exclude protections for a whole group of people from a practice described as ‘abhorrent’”.The MP added: “If the CT (conversion therapy) ban passes through parliament without any protections for the transgender community, it cannot be described as anything other than a broken promise.”The outcome of a double U-turn by Mr Johnson last week – in which the PM appeared to flip-flop on whether to legislate against conversion therapy – has reportedly seen No 10 settle on outlawing “only gay conversion therapy, not trans”.LGBT+ groups and religious leaders, including former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, have put pressure on Mr Johnson to include trans people in a ban on conversion therapy.Leading charity and 80 other organisations have pulled out of a UK government conference over the transgender conversion therapy U-turn.In a series of tweets, Wallis said: “I’m bitterly disappointed at the government’s decision not to include gender identity in the ban on conversion therapy.“Many have asked what my thoughts are … Understandably, concerns need to be looked at and debated, but it is wrong to exclude protections for a whole group of people from a practice described as ‘abhorrent’.”The Tory MP added: “I hope the announcement that a separate piece of work will now be done on this issue will be done at speed.”The government has said trans people should be “treated with the maximum possible generosity and respect” but that the “complexity of issues requires separate work to further consider transgender conversation therapy”.Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer suggested that the government’s U-turn on conversion therapy was a way of distracting people from the cost-of-living crisis. “The government should just keep to its promises on this,” he said.He added: “But look, let’s be honest and clear about what’s happening today – the government is trying to get us all to talk about conversion therapy because they don’t want us focusing on the cost-of-living crisis.”Back in July 2020, Mr Johnson denounced conversion therapy as “absolutely abhorrent”, said it “has no place in a civilised society” and vowed to bring in a ban. More

LGBTQ charity Stonewall and 80 other organisations have pulled out of a UK government conference over its transgender conversion therapy U-turn.The LGBT+ Consortium, an umbrella body for charities working in the UK, said the government’s plans to scrap planned legislation to outlaw conversion practices was “abhorrent”.The group added that it backed Stonewall’s decision to withdraw support for the government’s “Safe To Be Me: Global Equality Conference”, which was set to take place later this summer in London.It shared a statement from Stonewall, which said: “Due to the Prime Minister’s broken promise on protecting trans people from the harms of Conversion Therapy, we regret that we are withdrawing Stonewall’s support for the UK Government’s Safe To Be Me conference.“We will only be able to participate if the Prime Minister reverts to his promise for a trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy.“This is a decision we take with a heavy heart. As the UK’s first global LGBT+ conference, Safe To Be Me should be a moment for redoubling efforts globally to improve LGBTQ+ people’s rights and experiences.“This is why we have worked hard with government and civil society organisations over the last few months to try to make the conference work.“However, last week’s leaked plans, which revealed Number 10 planned to scrap the conversion therapy ban, has left us with no choice but to withdraw our support.“That the Prime Minister would so casually walk away from four years of promises to the LGBTQ+ community is appalling, and we cannot in good conscience back Safe To Be Me at a time when our community’s trust in the UK Government is shattered.”The flagship event could now be under threat after the statement was backed by dozens of other LGBTQ charities. The slew of withdrawals were prompted by the government’s announcement that a ban on conversion therapy will not extend to transgender people.The escalating row began after a Downing Street briefing paper seen by ITV News was reported to have said “the PM has agreed we should not move forward with legislation” to outlaw conversion therapy.However, within hours of the announcement, the government was forced into a screeching U-turn after Boris Johnson was said to have “changed his mind” after seeing the negative reaction to the earlier announcement. The government legislation will now outlaw gay conversion therapy, but Downing Street said that the same practice for trans people will remain legal.Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer suggested that the government’s U-turn on conversion therapy was a way of distracting people from the cost-of-living crisis.He said: “The government should just keep to its promises on this.“But look, let’s be honest and clear about what’s happening today – the government is trying to get us all to talk about conversion therapy because they don’t want us focusing on the cost-of-living crisis, on the increase in energy bills, where they’ve got such a pathetic response.“So it’s wrong, the government should keep to its promises.“But, you know, this is classic Conservative, trying to sort of distract people over here, when really the issue is the cost of living and energy prices.” More

Germany’s new chancellor will visit Boris Johnson as the Nato allies plan how to give Ukraine greater military firepower to help it defeat Russia’s “barbaric” invasion.It is believed that the prime minister is wanting to arm the devastated country with anti-ship missiles to attack Russian warships, which are now attacking the critical port of Odesa.Ukraine’s foreign minister has also revealed that some western nations have “agreed for the first time to send tanks and heavy armour” – predicting an announcement “this week”.Now Mr Johnson will host Olaf Scholz and Polish president Andrzej Duda as he “galvanises the tough and decisive response” to Vladimir Putin’s aggression, Downing Street has said.Speaking as Nato marks its 73rd anniversary on Monday, Mr Johnson hailed the Ukrainian people for fighting for freedom “with every fibre of their being”.“We have a responsibility to give them everything they need to face down this barbaric attempt to subjugate the Ukrainian people,” he said.“As the largest European contributor to the alliance and as a staunch friend to Ukraine, the UK will continue to do just that.”Last week, the cabinet discussed “a new phase” to the UK’s military support, but No 10 declined to reveal any details amid ongoing fears of provoking a wider conflict with Moscow.Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, said he and Mr Johnson had “agreed on new defensive support” during a phone call on Saturday evening.“New package. Very, very tangible support. Thank you Boris for the leadership! Historical leadership. I’m sure of it,” Mr Zelensky said.Earlier, Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, told Times Radio: “We will be receiving tanks shortly. I cannot say any more now, but it will be in the news this week.”He spoke as missiles struck near Odesa, evidence of fresh Russian aggression even as its forces fell back from around the capital, Kyiv.Critical infrastructure was hit, according to local officials, as Russia said it had destroyed an oil processing plant and three fuel depots.Mr Johnson is also announcing the appointment of one of his top foreign policy advisers, David Quarrey, as the UK’s next permanent representative to Nato.Mr Quarrey is currently the deputy national security adviser, and is a past ambassador to Israel as well as a former Foreign Office director for the Middle East and north Africa.No 10 says the UK has supplied 6,000 missiles, 4,000 anti-tank weapons, and Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles to bolster Ukrainian defences.Troop presence in Estonia has been doubled, while HMS Trent and HMS Diamond have been deployed to the eastern Mediterranean and RAF Typhoons have been sent to patrol the skies of Romania and Poland. More

Liz Truss has called for Russia to be suspended from the UN human rights council amid “strong evidence” of war crimes and “heinous butchery” in the town of Bucha.The remarks from the foreign secretary came just hours after the US said it would also seek to end the “farce” of Vladimir Putin’s regime remaining on the body.Over the weekend, as Russian forces pulled out of the town northwest of the capital, Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said troops had found civilian corpses with bound hands, gunshot wounds to the head, and signs of torture.Boris Johnson also described the discovery of mass graves in areas where Russian forces had withdrawn as “sickening” and vowed: “The UK will not stand by whilst this indiscriminate and unforgivable slaughter takes place”.In a statement posted later on Monday, Ms Truss added: “Given strong evidence of war crimes, including reports of mass graves and heinous butchery in Bucha, Russia cannot remain a member of the UN human rights council. Russia must be suspended”.Earlier, US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said: “We believe that the members of the Russian forces committed war crimes in Ukraine, and we believe Russia needs to be held accountable”.“We cannot let a member state that is subverting every principle we hold dear to continue to sit on the UNHRC,” she posted on social media.The council – an inter-govenrmental body within the UN made up of 47 member states – is resposibile for the “promotion and protections of all human rights around the globe”.During a joint press conference with her Ukrainian counterpart on Monday, Ms Truss also pledged a £10 million civil society fund for Ukraine, including support for organisations dealing with sexual violence. More

The government’s former chief adviser on ethics has apologised after being fined by police for attending a lockdown party on Whitehall.Helen MacNamara is among the first group of people to have been given a fixed penalty notice in connection with the Partygate scandal.The Daily Telegraph reports that Ms MacNamara brought a karaoke machine to a leaving bash for Downing Street aide Hannah Young.The event reportedly took place in the cabinet secretary’s Whitehall office on 18 June 2020, at a time when all indoor gatherings were banned.Members of the public had also been told not to sing in public, in an effort to stop the spread of Covid-19, meaning that hymns could not be sung at funerals.Ms MacNamara, who was director general for propriety and ethics in the Cabinet Office from 2018 to 2020, said: “I am sorry for the error of judgement I have shown. I have accepted and paid the fixed penalty notice.”She was reportedly fined £50 for the offence. Her role in government was to ensure that the highest standards of propriety, integrity, and governance were met and adhered to.The former deputy cabinet secretary has since left the government and now works for the Premier League.The Metropolitan Police is investigating 12 events, including as many as six that the prime minister, Boris Johnson, is said to have attended. The force has sent out more than 100 questionnaires, including one to the prime minister in February. An initial round of 20 fixed penalty notices have been issued by the force in connection with the Partygate scandal, with more expected. More

The government’s former ethics chief has said she is “sorry for the error of judgement I have shown” after being fined as part of a Metropolitan Police investigation into No 10 parties.Helen MacNamara said she has paid the fine she was handed reportedly in connection with a leaving do held in the Cabinet Office on June 18 2020 to mark the departure of a private secretary.In a short statement, the former deputy cabinet secretary said: “I am sorry for the error of judgement I have shown. I have accepted and paid the fixed penalty notice.”Ms MacNamara was earlier reported to have been among the first wave of people to be dealt a fixed-penalty notice (FPN) by Scotland Yard as part of its probe into 12 government gatherings during Covid restrictions.It comes as a cabinet minister Simon Hart claimed the “world has moved on” from Partygate, while his colleague Jacob Rees-Mogg insisted Boris Johnson had been given “incorrect” information about social gatherings.Others officials and aides have been fined for attending a Downing Street leaving drinks held on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral last year, reports indicate.FPNs have been handed to some No 10 staff who joined the 16 April 2021 gathering for former director of communications James Slack by email, according to the BBC.Mr Hart said on Monday that “of course” the allegations of partying did not sit comfortably with him – but he dismissed calls that Mr Johnson should resign if they were issued with a penalty.The Welsh secretary said the “vast majority” of his constituents say “they want contrition and they want an apology, but they don’t want a resignation”.No 10 said the prime minister had not received a fine at this stage – but continued to decline to say whether Mr Johnson believes Covid laws were broken.His official spokesman said: “The prime minister wants to comment at the conclusion of the process and not at the middle of it.”Mr Rees-Mogg said on Monday that Mr Johnson had been handed “incorrect” information about the gatherings when he first told the Commons in December that no rules had been broken.“The prime minister said that he was told the rules were followed, but that turns out not to be correct … the prime minister can only work on the information he is given,” the Brexit opportunities told LBC.Mr Rees-Mogg also defended his dismissal of Partygate as “fluff” in the context of the war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis, saying the fines was “not the most important issue in the world”.He added: “I don’t think the issue of what may or may not have happened in Downing Street and what we are now finding out is fundamental” – adding that some restrictions imposed during lockdown were “inhuman”.But Downing Street did not back that view. The PM’s official spokesman said the government had imposed Covid rules “to save both lives and livelihoods, and that was always a balanced judgment”.Responding to the latest developments, Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Johnson had “misled the public” over parties and presided over “widespread criminality” at No 10 – repeating his claimed that the PM is “unfit for office”.The Labour leader also called for the names of all senior officials fined to be made public. “We seem to be going through this process where instant by instant, fines are coming out but the public are being left in the dark,” said Starmer.He added: “The public complied with the rules – they are entitled to know who didn’t comply with the rules and what is going on.”Sir Keir later said: “The idea that he had no idea what was going on in his home and his office and he only gave answers because he was lied to by his officials is a case he needs to make – I would like to see him make that case because I don’t think he can.”“He needs to come to parliament to be held to account. He has not only misled the public about this, he has presided over widespread criminality in his home and his office and that is why I am convinced he is unfit for office.” More