UK Politics

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head, and signs of torture.Boris Johnson also described the discovery of mass graves in areas where Russian forces had withdrawn as “sickening” and vowed: “The UK will not stand by whilst this indiscriminate and unforgivable slaughter takes place”.In a statement posted later on Monday,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

Jacob Rees-Mogg defends calling Partygate row ‘fluff’A former government ethics chief has said she is “sorry for the error of judgement I have shown” after being fined as part of a 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.Downing Street has confirmed that Boris Johnson has not yet been informed whether he is to be fined over lockdown-breaking parties he allegedly attended. Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer said Boris Johnson has “misled the public” and presided over “widespread criminality” at No 10 – saying again that PM is “unfit for office”.He also called for the names of all senior officials fined for Downing Street parties to be made public.However, Downing Street continues to refuse to accept the law had been broken, despite the Met issuing 20 FPNs. Show latest update

1649084142Breaking- Stonewall and 80 LGBTQ organisations pull out of government conference over trans conversion U-turnLGBTQ charity Stonewall and 80 other organisations have pulled out of a UK government conference over its trans conversion therapy U-turn.My colleague Joe Middleton reports:Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 April 2022 15:551649083180Breaking- Former government ethics chief apologies after being fined over partygateEx-deputy cabinet secretary says she has paid fixed-penalty notice.Our political correspondent Ashley Cowburn reports. Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 April 2022 15:391649083070PM presides over ‘widespread criminality’Sir Keir Starmer said Boris Johnson has “misled the public” and presided over “widespread criminality” at No 10 – saying again that PM is “unfit for office”.He also called for the names of all senior officials fined for Downing Street parties 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. “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: “If the prime minister wants to come to parliament and tell us that he was repeatedly lied to by his own advisers then let him do that.“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.”Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 April 2022 15:371649081849Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer talks non-disclosure agreements and sexual harassmentLabour leader Sir Keir Starmer said “nobody” in the party would be asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement after making an accusation of sexual harassment. When asked about reports of the practice within Labour, Sir Keir said: “I cannot comment on the individual cases. What I can say is nobody in the Labour Party is asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement in relation to sexual harassment.“That is against our policy.”Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 April 2022 15:171649081151UK should drill ‘every last drop’ of North Sea oil and gas, says Jacob Rees-MoggMy colleague Adam Forrest reports.Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 April 2022 15:051649080391‘Who cares if wind farms are an ‘eyesore’, Mr Shapps?’“After business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng announced a significant push for renewable and nuclear energy, Grant Shapps sounded a note of caution that wind farms are an ‘eyesore’.”Jude Wilkinson has more: Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 April 2022 14:531649079502Sir Keir Starmer says the country needs an ‘energy strategy’- not ‘energy rationing’ Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK needs a proper energy strategy from the Government rather than going “cap in hand” to dictators.Asked by broadcasters whether his shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds was right to agree over the weekend that the country needed to prepare for energy rationing, Sir Keir said: “We don’t need energy rationing. We do need an energy strategy. “And going from one dictator in Russia for your oil and gas, cap in hand to another dictator in Saudi Arabia is not an energy strategy.“We need a strategy that is fast-forwarding on renewables and on nuclear, retrofitting so that we can actually keep our houses and our homes warmer.“That is the strategy, the security strategy, that we need for this country and we don’t have it from this Government.”Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 April 2022 14:381649078446Putin’s ‘barbaric’ actions leave UK ‘in no doubt’ further sanctions needed, No 10 saysOur political correspondent Ashley Cowburn reports:Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 April 2022 14:201649077546Average nursery place cost soars by nearly £1,500 in five years – Labour saysThe average annual cost of a nursery place for children under two has risen by nearly £1,500 in five years, putting a strain on working families, Labour has claimed.The Independent has more here:Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 April 2022 14:051649076646Energy supplier gives out free electric blankets to customers as heating bills soarAs British households struggle with rising electricity and gas bills, Octopus Energy has been praised for handing out 5,000 free electric blankets to its customers to help them keep warm.My colleague Joe Sommerlad has more:Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 April 2022 13:50 More

Rishi Sunak has ordered the Royal Mint to create a UK government-backed NFT (non-fungible token that could be traded online.The Chancallor has told the mint to issue the NFT by the summer as the government examines whether it could borrow money using blockchain technology.Speaking at a financial technology conference in London Monday, Mr Sunak’s deputy and the Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glenn, said: “I am announcing today that the Chancellor has asked the Royal Mint to create a non-fungible token – an NFT to be issued by the Summer, an emblem of the forward-looking approach we are determined to take.”The Tory minister there would be “more details available very soon”.NFTs are unique units of digital data that use the same “blockchain” technology that is behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.The tokens have in recent years become used as a speculative asset and have been implicated in a number of scams.The best-known NFTs claim to give the bearer ownership over a unique picture of a cartoon ape, a series known as the “Bored Ape Yacht Club”.Speaking at the Innovate Global Finance Summit 2022 on Monday, the economic secretary Mr Glenn said: “Unlike the EU and US, the UK has a small number of regulators, and central government sets the overall framework and can take decisive action. So, we can move very nimbly.”And, trust me, we have a determined, unified, single-minded government that is going to prioritise this.”For instance, we’ll be undertaking a programme of work to explore whether it’s possible to apply [distribued ledger technology] DLT to the debt issuance process.”Could the UK one day issue a debt instrument using DLT? I don’t yet know the answer … but let’s find out.“And we will lead by example. We are already effectively using crypto-technologies to make government more efficient. “We are developing opportunities to use distributed ledger technology for Customs and International Trade, to ease the import of goods, and we will continue to support further opportunities to deploy that technology.”Finally, I am announcing today that the Chancellor has asked the Royal Mint to create a non-fungible token – an NFT… to be issued by the Summer, an emblem of the forward-looking approach we are determined to take… and there will be more details available very soon.”More follows… More

Rishi Sunak has seen his popularity plummet with Conservative Party supporters, according to a survey charting the views of the Tory grassroots.The chancellor is ranked one of the least popular members of Boris Johnson’s cabinet, amid his perceived failure to provide enough support during the cost of living crisis.Mr Sunak has a lowly net satisfaction rating of only +7.9 in the Conservative Home’s regular ‘cabinet league table’ survey – a table he regularly topped during the early phase of the Covid pandemic.The chancellor is now second from bottom among cabinet members, ahead of only home secretary Priti Patel who has net satisfaction rating of –13.6.Meanwhile, Mr Johnson is back out of negative ratings with the Tory grassroots – appearing mid-table with a net satisfaction of +33 – following months of poor ratings in the wake of the Partygate scandal.While 93 per cent of Tory supporters took a positive view of the prime minister’s handling of the Ukraine crisis, some 58 per cent took a negative view of the chancellor’s Spring Statement.Defence secretary Ben Wallace is now the most popular cabinet minister in the league table survey, narrowly ahead of education secretary Nadhim Zahawi, international trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan and foreign secretary Liz Truss.The slump in Mr Sunak’s popularity has also been recorded by polling companies in recent days following his much-criticised Spring Statement.The senior Conservative MP’s approval rating has dropped from 48 per cent during last year’s Budget to 35 per cent currently, Opinium found.And Redfield & Wilton recorded its lowest-ever net approval rating for Mr Sunak, with 36 per cent approving of the chancellor, and 35 per cent disapproving of the job he is doing.Senior backbencher David Davis was among those criticising his failure to use fiscal “headroom” to offer more support, saying: “What the chancellor is doing is making things worse.”It emerged that a car that Mr Sunak was pictured filling with petrol did not belong to him, while the chancellor appeared to struggle with contactless payment as he tried to buy a can of coke in a clip which went viral.The chancellor has also come under pressure over his wife Akshata Murthy having a 0.91 per cent stake in IT and services giant Infosys – a company founded by her father which continues to operate in Russia.The BBC reported on Friday that Infosys is now closing its office in Russia, and attempting to find replacement roles outside of the country for staff employed in Moscow.Mr Sunak said criticism of his wife over her family company had been unfair and “upsetting” – as he compared the attacks to the Will Smith Oscars slap scandal.“Both Will Smith and me having our wives attacked – at least I didn’t get up and slap anybody, which is good,” he told Laura Kuenssberg. More

Thousands of workers at British companies are set to take part in the world’s “biggest ever” trial of a four day working week.From June this year 60 companies will give their 3,000 employees a three day weekend without any reduction in pay.The pilot is planned to run for an initial six months but if it works well the firms could make the approach permanent. The size of the UK trial, which will be overseen by academics from institutions including Oxford and Cambridge universities, is the largest to date.It exceeds the scale of a previous pilot by Iceland’s government and Reykjavík City Council, which cut hours for more than 2,500 workers and concluded in 2019.That trial was dubbed an “overwhelming success” and found increases in productivity as well as worker well-being. Some trade unions in the country have moved to make the changes permanent by negotiating new collective agreements.The UK trial will cover a variety of companies – from office-based software developers through to a local fish and chip shop, a brewery, and a telecoms provider.“The momentum behind the four-day week continues to build, and this is borne out by the incredible response we have received from UK employers to our pilot programme,” said Joe O’Connor, chief executive of campaign group 4 Day Week Global.“Increasingly, managers and executives are embracing a new model of work which focuses on quality of outputs, not quantity of hours. Workers have emerged from the pandemic with different expectations around what constitutes a healthy life/work balance.“Sometimes it takes a big disruptor to dislodge deeply embedded societal and cultural norms. That’s what we are seeing with the traditional five-day working week following the covid-induced flexible working revolution. Those who think we will turn the clock back to the way things were two years ago are engaged in ‘pie in the sky’ thinking – the four day week is an idea whose time has come.”The organisations set to undertake the pilot include the Royal Society of Biology, Hutch, Yo Telecom, Adzooma, Pressure Drop Brewing, Happy, Platten’s Fish and Chips, Eurowagens, Bookishly, Outcomes First Group, and Trio Media.The principle behind the approach is known as the “100:80:100 model” – where employers continue 100 per cent of the pay for 80 per cent of the time, in exchange for a commitment by workers to maintain at least 100 per cent of their existing productivity.Academics are expected to work with each participating organisation to measure the impact on productivity in the business and the wellbeing of its workers, as well as the impact on the environment and gender inequality.The number of companies taking part has grown since The Independent first reported the plan for the pilot project in March. Organisers were met with a flurry of last-minute sign-ups just before their deadline.Dr Mark Downs, chief executive of the Royal Society of Biology, one of the larger employers to take part in the pilot, said: “The four-day week pilot is a fantastic opportunity to challenge another long standing truism – that to deliver quality you must work long hours. “RSB believes joining the vanguard of a four-day working week movement will position us as a leading employer, allow us to retain and attract the best staff and to continue to deliver impact and value. It will be another important string in the bow of flexible working leading to greater diversity of thought and people.”Kyle Lewis, co-director of the think-tank Autonomy, which will help analysis the pilot, said it was “very exciting” that the pilot would include “a very wide cross-section of sectors from across the British economy.“The UK pilot is going to be the biggest ever four-day week pilot to take place anywhere in the world,” he said.“In the wake of Covid, it looks like the main reason organisations are embracing the four-day week is to retain staff and attract new talent.” More