UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailMichelle Donelan has apologised for publicly posting a letter on social media falsely suggesting an academic had expressed sympathy for Hamas.The Science Secretary later retracted her comments about Professor Kate Sang and agreed to pay her £15,000 in taxpayer money.She accepted there was “no evidence” the academic, who had recently been appointed to the UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) advisory group on equality, diversity and inclusion, was a Hamas supporter.Speaking at the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee on Tuesday, Ms Donelan said she should have privately written to UKRI raising her alleged concerns, instead of posting the letter on X, formerly known as Twitter.She also said that civil servants were aware that she was going to publish her letter on the platform.Ms Donelan told the committee: “While I always err on the side of transparency, I am now clear that in this case, I could have sent the letter in confidence to the UKRI in order for them to undertake the investigations privately.“And I do apologise for not having done so, and for any distraction that this decision has caused from this Government’s positive agenda.”She added: “I highlighted it on the platform that the original tweet was done on – Twitter, or X – and that was something I have apologised for.“With hindsight, I could have just sent it privately and if I had the ability to do it again, I would certainly just send it privately.“So I’ve said that publicly as well as retracting the original comments, which I do think is important.“In terms of advice, of course, with long-time precedent, we don’t get into the actual nature of the advice.“But what I can tell you here today, is that both policy and legal were not only cited but also cleared the approach taken.”The letter written by Ms Donelan expressed “disgust and outrage” that Prof Sang and another academic, Dr Kamna Patel, had “shared extremist views” and, in Prof Sang’s case, expressed sympathy for the terrorist group after the October 7 attacks in Israel.This followed a tweet by Prof Sang saying: “This is disturbing. Suella Braverman urges police to crack down on Hamas support in UK” with a link to an article by the Guardian describing the response to the Hamas attacks in the UK.Ms Donelan has since accepted that Prof Sang’s comments referred to the story as a whole, and not just the headline.The Science Secretary told the committee she is a champion of academic freedom of speech and that the incident had to be viewed in the context of the recent Hamas attack at the time.My actions were never motivated by any political desireScience Secretary Michelle DonelanMs Donelan continued: “And we have seen a great deal of hatred across online social media platforms – something that I had addressed directly with the platforms themselves – and we were very worried about potential violence on our own streets.”She also told the peers: “My actions were never motivated by any political desire.“They were motivated by a concern around whether proper process and due diligence had been followed.“And as I outlined at the very beginning, in my initial statement, the specific tweet, or X, that I saw I felt was concerning especially given the context at the time, and that is why I highlighted it for an investigation by UKRI.”Ms Donelan also explained that there is “no surveillance at all” of academics and she had been alerted to the initial tweet by an official within the department.Asked how the damage caused by the incident can be repaired, the Science Secretary said there would be an “internal review of processes to ensure that we learnt the lessons of this and that we don’t ever repeat those”. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email A major donor to Britain’s ruling Conservative Party came under fire Tuesday after he reportedly said a Black member of Parliament made him “want to hate all Black women” and she “should be shot.”The remarks by Frank Hester, chief executive of healthcare software firm The Phoenix Partnership, about Diane Abbott, the first Black woman elected to Parliament, were blasted by opposition parties who said the Tories should return the 10 million pounds ($12.8 million) he donated last year.“The comments about Diane Abbott are just abhorrent,” Labour leader Keir Starmer told ITV. “This apology this morning that is pretending that what was said wasn’t racist or anything to do with the fact she’s a woman, I don’t buy that I’m afraid, and I think that it’s time the Tory Party called it out and returned the money.”The Guardian reported that Hester told a company meeting in 2019: “It’s like trying not to be racist but you see Diane Abbott on the TV, and you’re just like … you just want to hate all Black women because she’s there. And I don’t hate all Black women at all, but I think she should be shot.”Hester said he phoned Abbott to apologize Monday for the “hurt he has caused her,” according to a statement from his company.“Frank Hester accepts that he was rude about Diane Abbott in a private meeting several years ago but his criticism had nothing to do with her gender nor color of skin,” the statement said. “He wishes to make it clear that he regards racism as a poison which has no place in public life.”Hester’s company has has been paid more than 400 million pounds ($510 million) by the National Health Service and other government bodies since 2016. Abbott, 70, was elected to the House of Commons in 1987 representing an area in north London. She sits as an independent after being kicked out of the Labour Party caucus for comments that suggested Jewish and Irish people do not experience racism “all their lives.”Abbott issued a statement Tuesday saying the comments were alarming for a public figure who is a visible presence in the community because she doesn’t have a car and regularly walks or takes the bus. “It is frightening,” Abbott said. “I am a single woman and that makes me vulnerable anyway. But to hear someone talking like this is worrying.”A spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, speaking on condition of anonymity according to government policy, said Hester’s comments were “clearly unacceptable” but refused to say they were racist. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailNHS and Government websites should be made free of data charges to ensure the least well-off can use important public services online, ministers have heard.Labour MP Simon Lightwood called for a change in the law, requiring all mobile phone data providers to mark public authority websites as “zero rated”, guaranteeing free access.The Wakefield MP urged the Commons to back his Public Sector Websites (Data Charges) Bill, which he said would help anyone “no matter their situation” access services like Universal Credit and NHS health information without depleting their data allowance.We know that those with the greatest need to access online services are often the ones facing the greatest barriers to do soLabour MP Simon LightwoodIntroducing his Bill by the 10 minute rule procedure, Mr Lightwood said: “The increasing prevalence of public information and resources being available online is good thing. As a former NHS worker myself, I know it has the capacity to make our public services more efficient, more agile and better value for money for taxpayers.“But being able to access the NHS website should not be constrained by someone’s financial situation. Likewise, someone on Universal Credit shouldn’t have to worry about not being able to access their account because of their data allowance.“Simply put, we know that those with the greatest need to access online services are often the ones facing the greatest barriers to do so.”He said that during the pandemic operators including Vodaphone, EE, Virgin Media, O2 and Three “recognised the huge surge in need” and gave their customers free online access to the NHS website, Covid information, the NHS App and online education resources like BBC Bitesize and the Oak National Academy.Mr Lightwood added: “This procedure is known as zero-rating, whereby accessing any of these websites would not consume a user’s mobile data allowance.”The Labour MP said some have continued zero-rating public websites after the pandemic “after seeing what a vital help it can be for their least well-off customers during the cost-of-living crisis”.By making gov.uk and nhs.uk sites zero rated, we can extend universal free access to the most vital services like Universal Credit, local authority services, and NHS health information for everyone, no matter their financial situationLabour MP Simon LightwoodHe added: “My Bill very simply proposes that we continue this good work that some operators have already done by extending this precedent into a legal requirement for all network providers operating in the UK.“By making gov.uk and nhs.uk sites zero rated, we can extend universal free access to the most vital services like Universal Credit, local authority services, and NHS health information for everyone, no matter their financial situation.”Mr Lightwood’s Bill is set to be considered by the Commons again on May 17, but is unlikely to become law without Government support. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailGetting a mobile phone between primary and secondary school has become a “rite of passage” for nearly all children, the schools minister has said.Damian Hinds said some children were given smartphones “quite a lot earlier” than Year 6 and said he welcomed the debate on primary school pupils’ accessing devices.But he told the Education Select Committee that the Government did not tell parents when it was the right time to buy smartphones for their children.I do welcome the debate around this. I think having it in the public sphere – having commentators, journalists, academics, and politicians talking about it – I think is helpfulSchools minister Damian HindsHis comments came after schools in England were given guidance from the Government intended to stop the use of mobile phones during school hours.Mr Hinds told MPs: “Almost close to everybody gets a mobile phone now at least between Year 6 and Year 7.”He added: “There seems to be something of a rite of passage about that. You’re also right, some children will get a phone or a smartphone quite a lot earlier.“The Government doesn’t tell parents when is the appropriate time to do that. These are decisions for families, they are decisions for parents in bringing up their children.I’m not anticipating there being a problem implementing (the guidance), but if there were, you’re quite right, that option remains to make (it) statutorySchools minister Damian Hinds“But just to be clear, I do welcome the debate around this. I think having it in the public sphere –  having commentators, journalists, academics, and politicians talking about it – I think is helpful.”Last month, the Department for Education (DfE) published guidance, which is non-statutory, which instructed headteachers on how to ban the use of phones, not only during lessons, but during break and lunch periods as well.When asked whether the Government would consider making a mobile ban in schools “statutory”, Mr Hinds told MPs: “We want to create this new norm and I think actually pretty much everybody welcomes there being that norm.“And so I’m not anticipating there being a problem implementing this, but if there were, you’re quite right, that option remains to make (it) statutory.”Officials from Ofcom, the media regulator, also gave evidence to MPs on the committee as part of its inquiry into screen time and its impact on children.There are a lot of under-13s who are using services, whether it’s social media or messaging services, I think that is a concern. Our immediate priority will be trying to make services safe for all child usersMark Bunting, OfcomWhen asked whether stricter age verification measures should be introduced on social media, Mark Bunting, director of online safety strategy delivery at Ofcom, said social media companies’ lower age limits “tend to be 13”.But he said: “There are a lot of under-13s who are using services, whether it’s social media or messaging services, I think that is a concern.“Our immediate priority will be trying to make services safe for all child users. So there’s nothing very magical about the boundary at 13 and if a service is safe for a 13-year-old then that will help ensure it is safe for under-13s who are there when they shouldn’t be.”Esther Ghey, the mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey, is campaigning for an age limit for smartphone usage and stricter controls on access to social media apps.Mr Bunting told MPs that he thought the campaign was “thoughtful and thought-provoking”, but he said the matter was “one for Government”. More