UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailPressure continues to mount on the government to return a £10 million donation from business mogul Frank Hester following the resurfacing of racist and sexist remarks targeting Diane Abbott.Hester, chief executive of The Phoenix Partnership (TPP), which has won more than £400m in government and NHS contracts, allegedly made derogatory comments about Abbott during a 2019 company meeting, suggesting she “should be shot”.The comments, brought to light by The Guardian newspaper, prompted Hester to admit to being “rude about Diane Abbott,” although he vehemently denied accusations of racism.Leading Tory figures have condemned the language used by the Conservative donor, who gave the party £10m in 2023.However, Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake asserted that retaining the donation was justifiable since Hester “is not a racist” and had issued an apology.In contrast, Andy Street, the Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, voiced his support for returning the donation.While the Tory party appear divided on what to do with the funds, Independent readers were largely united on the issue when we put the question to them this week.Here’s what you had to say: ‘Give all his donations to anti-racist charities’By accepting it in the first place the Tories demonstrated their lack of judgement and morals. Hester has a reputation for making this type of comment about people he dislikes. They should tell this odious little man they won’t accept his money and give all his donations to anti-racist charities.Stardust‘An inquiry needs to happen immediately’The money should never have been accepted in the first place because the money comes from profits on taxpayer funded contracts. Surely the Tories knew this? An inquiry into party funding needs to happen immediately, but the tories won’t call one because they need all the money they can get to campaign in an election they’ll likely lose.As for Hester’s comments, he needs to be held to account for inciting racial and gender violence. Let’s see what the police do about it, nothing I suspect.Tabbers‘They need it to cling to power’They will not give the money back as they need it in a desperate effort to cling to power. Hopefully, the electorate will see through them and oust them when the election eventually comes.Rob‘A moral obligation to donate’Returning the money to Hester is out of the question but donating it to charity, particularly one that combats racism, is a moral obligation. Of course, the Tories will keep it because decency and integrity are not currency in their world.IanHall‘It should be illegal’Given that his profits come from contracts awarded to him by the Tories, the money he gave to the Tories originated with the taxpayer. This is typical Johnson-era malfeasance. In other words corruption. It should be illegal. In fact, it probably is, but as usual in this country, Westminster will turn a blind eye to the malpractices of its own.TrussedUpTurkeys‘Their credentials are clear’If the Tories don’t either return the money OR donate it to some good causes including those in Hackney, then their credentials are clear. Be as racist and insulting as you like. We will forgive and forget if you give enough money to the Conservative Party.voxtrot‘Return the money’Return the money and use it to support services in Abbott’s constituency.And then an independent inquiry into lobbying. It makes a mockery of the democratic process.stoniaSome of the comments have been edited for this article. You can read the full discussion in the comments section of the original article.The conversation isn’t over – there’s still time to have your say. If you want to share your opinion then add it in the comments of this story.All you have to do is sign up, submit your question and register your details – then you can then take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen.Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines, which can be found here. For a full guide on how to comment click here. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email Croatia’s parliament was dissolved on Thursday to pave the way for a parliamentary election later this year.All 143 of a total of 151 lawmakers who were present at the session voted in favor of the move. The date of the election is yet to be set. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has suggested it should be held before the vote for the European Parliament, which will be held on June 6-9. The upcoming vote in Croatia will pit ruling conservative Croatian Democratic Union against a group of center and left-leaning parties who have announced they will run in a coalition. Plenkovic and his HDZ party have faced mounting accusations of high-level corruption from the opposition ahead of the ballot. He has denied the claims.Croatia is slated to hold a presidential election as well by the end of the year. Plenkovic’s HDZ largely has held power since Croatia gained independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991. The Adriatic Sea nation became the newest member of the European Union in 2013 and joined Europe’s free-travel and euro zones last year. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailArtificial intelligence could save the taxpayer billions and transform public services, but the Government lacks a coherent plan to adopt it in the public sector, the National Audit Office has said.In a report on the Government’s use of AI, the NAO found that while 70% of Whitehall departments were exploring opportunities to use the new technology, a lack of skills remained a significant barrier.The watchdog said pay levels were too low to attract the workers required for the scale of transformation the UK needs, pointing to the fact there were 4,000 digital, data and technology vacancies in Government by October 2022.Contractors and agency workers can make up for this shortfall, but come at a greater cost and reduce the Government’s ability to develop its own capabilities.It also found the lack of a single body with clear responsibility for implementing AI in the public sector presented a risk to value for money.Both the Cabinet Office and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology share responsibility for adopting AI, while a cross-government AI Strategy Delivery Group was disbanded in March 2022 and only replaced in October 2023 by a new body.While the report found that there were productivity gains to be made through greater use of AI, it added that the Government was yet to examine how much it would cost to make those gains or whether they were even feasible.Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: “AI offers Government opportunities to transform public services and deliver better outcomes for the taxpayer.“To deliver these improved outcomes Government needs to make sure its overall programme for AI adoption tackles longstanding issues, including data quality and ageing IT, as well as builds in effective governance of the risks.“Without prompt action to address barriers to making effective use of AI within public services, Government will not secure the benefits it has identified.”Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, said: “Government has encouraged the use of AI for several years and there is existing AI activity and exploration across Government, so the Cabinet Office needs to bring together this insight and learning and share it across departments.“To realise the benefits of AI in the public sector it must address AI risks and be clear who is responsible for the strategy for AI adoption and how it will be delivered and funded.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRussia is believed to have jammed the GPS signal on an RAF aircraft carrying Grant Shapps during a trip to Poland.In what has been called a “wildly irresponsible” act of electronic warfare, the GPS signal of the plane was said to have been interfered with for half an hour while passing the Russian territory of Kaliningrad, which sits between Poland and Lithuania.The attack left phones unable to connect to the plane’s WiFi and the plan forced to use other means of navigation available to the pilots, The Times reported.The defence secretary was aboard an RAF Dassault 900LX Falcon jet, named Envoy. It is unclear if Mr Shapps himself would have been deliberately targeted, though his flight path was visible to trackers.Mr Shapps was assured the attack did not threaten the safety of the plane.A defence source said: “While the RAF are well prepared to deal with this, it still puts an unnecessary risk on civilian aircraft and could potentially endanger people’s lives. There is no excuse for this and it’s wildly irresponsible on Russia’s part.”It is not the first time that British planes have faced likely jamming by Russia. In 2021, planes flying in and out of RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus wre also thought to have had their GPS signals jammed by Moscow. The aircraft affected were believed to have been F-35 and Typhoon fighter jets, A400M transport aircraft and Voyager troop planes. No serious incidents were reported at the time, but the singal was thought to have been coming from Syrian territory, where Russia has had a presence. Mr Shapps was returning from a visit to a military training site in Orzysz, northeast Poland, about 100 miles from Kalinigrad. He watched troops taking part in the Steadfast Defender, Nato’s largest military exercises since the Cold War. The exercises, taking place until May includes around 90,000 troops from across the alliance.During the trip to Poland, Mr Shapps hit out at Vladimir Putin’s “sabre-rattling” after the Russian leader used an interview with state media to claim that his nation was “ready” for nuclear war if the need arose. It is a threat that he has used repeatedly since invading Ukraine, with Western allies – including the UK – having rallied around Kyiv as it has defended itself. Mr Shapps called such rhetoric “irresponsible” and that Putin should “drive back east and get out of the democratic country he decided to invade two years ago”.More follows on this breaking story… More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch live as Michael Gove shares a statement on the government’s new extremism definition on Thursday 14 March. The government has unveiled its new definition amid rising concern about threats to social cohesion and British democracy.Groups covered by the extremism definition, which is designed to include conduct that falls short of criminality but is still deemed “unacceptable”, will be denied access to government funding and prevented from meeting ministers and officials or gaining a platform that could “legitimise” them through association with the government.The definition describes extremism as “the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance” that aims to “negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others” or “undermine, overturn or replace the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights”.It also includes those who “intentionally create a permissive environment for others to achieve” either of those aims.Mr Gove, the communities secretary, who has overseen the formulation of the new definition, said it would “ensure that government does not inadvertently provide a platform to those setting out to subvert democracy and deny other people’s fundamental rights”. More