UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak is under mounting pressure – including from within his own party – to immediately suspend arms sales to Israel amid a growing chorus of opposition to the number of civilians killed in its war on Hamas. The prime minister faces calls from Tory grandees, hundreds of lawyers, dozens of MPs and peers from across the political spectrum, as well as top military commanders to halt arms exports to the nation.Mr Sunak has also been urged to exert Britain’s influence on Israel to force a change of approach in how Israel Defence Forces (IDF) conducts the invasion. Days after the slaughter of seven aid workers, three of them British, The Independent joins the call for the sale of arms to Israel to stop. Conservative former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind said Britain must suspend arms sales to Israel unless it demonstrates an urgent change in the behaviour of the IDF.Sir Malcolm Rifkind said it is ‘difficult to believe’ Israel’s approach meets acceptable standards More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailFormer foreign minister Sir Alan Duncan is being investigated by Tory chiefs after he said pro-Israel “extremists” in the party should be kicked out because they refused to support international law.Sir Alan said ex-cabinet minister Eric Pickles and Tory peer Stuart Polak, both members of the powerful Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) organisation, should both be thrown out of the party.The CFI was being used to ‘exercise the interests of another country’ by lobbying for Israel, he said.He also branded Michael Gove, Oliver Dowden, Suella Braverman, Robert Jenrick and Priti Patel “extremists” for failing to denounce unlawful Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.Conservative head office responded by launching an inquiry into Sir Alan’s comments, which could lead to him having the party whip withdrawn.It comes as the party faces a split over the Gaza war, with figures including Sir Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Winston Churchill, former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, and Mark Logan, a PPS in the Department for Work and Pensions, among those calling for a suspension of UK arms to Israel.Sir Alan, who stepped down as an MP in 2017, launched an outspoken attack on Israel in an article in The Independent in which he argued it could no longer be considered an ally by the UK. He then he used an appearance on LBC to call for security minister Tom Tugendhat to be sacked for “not believing in international law”.Sir Alan Duncan is under investigation by the Conservative Party More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe health tech company belonging to disgraced Conservative party donor Frank Hester has been dropped as a sponsor from Yorkshire’s largest LGBTQ+ celebration after the CEO was embroiled in a racism row.Mr Hester came under fire after it was revealed he had made racist comments about Labour MP Diane Abbott, having said she made him “want to hate all back women” and that “she should be shot”.Now the organisers of Leeds Pride have announced they are ending their sponsorship deal with Mr Hester’s company in a stance against discrimination.In a statement confirming it was cutting ties with TPP, Leeds Pride said: “This move comes after discussions with the board of directors and collaborative partners, reflecting a stand against discrimination and in support of creating an inclusive atmosphere.”Frank Hester allegedly made the comments in 2019 (Screengrab/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailAn official advisory body to the EU has urged leaders to let young people travel freely between the UK and EU, aiming to reignite opportunities for those under 30 post-Brexit. The European Economic and Social Committee, an official consultative body to the EU Commission, has today agreed to a proposal that urges the EU to reintegrate the UK into the Erasmus programme which allows students to study abroad.After Brexit the UK left the Erasmus scheme, which had enabled 200,000 UK nationals to study at the best universities across Europe at no extra cost. New Brexit rules have also made it much more difficult for people to move between the EU and UK for work, study, and travel due to new border rules. But today’s resolution is a significant step, as the European Commission is urged to approach the UK government about “the possibility of negotiating an ambitious reciprocal youth mobility partnership.”A British Youth Council ambassador has said Brexit caused a ‘devastating loss of exchange and educational opportunities for young people on both sides of the Channel’ More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email Austria’s justice minister said Thursday that she plans to tighten the country’s rules on espionage, which currently is explicitly banned if directed against Austria itself but not if it targets other countries or international organizations.Justice Minister Alma Zadic’s push to tighten Austria’s laws comes as the arrest of a former Austrian intelligence officer on allegations of spying for Russia focuses attention on espionage activities in the country. Austria is a European Union member that has a policy of military neutrality. Its capital, Vienna, is host to several U.N. agencies and other international groups such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC.Austria’s criminal code currently states that anyone who “sets up or operates a secret intelligence service to the detriment of the Republic of Austria or supports such an intelligence service in whatever way” faces a prison sentence of between six months and five years. It also bans setting up, operating or supporting a “military intelligence service” for “a foreign power or a supra- or international body,” which can carry a prison sentence of up to two years.Zadic said in a statement to the Austria Press Agency that the country has long been accused of being an “island of the blessed” for intelligence services from around the world and lamented that “gaps in the law so far have allowed foreign intelligence services to spy with impunity in Austria.”“We want to expand the espionage paragraphs so that, in the future, our law enforcement authorities can also act against foreign spies when they are not targeting Austria itself, but international organizations based here such as the U.N. or friendly states,” she said.Zadic is a member of the junior party in Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s governing coalition, the Greens. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, a member of Nehammer’s Austrian People’s Party, told Oe1 radio he sees the need for tougher penalties for spying — but also renewed a call for authorities to be allowed to eavesdrop on calls via messenger services, something the Greens have balked at. More