UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email Former populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis’ retrial started Wednesday after an appeals court dismissed a previous ruling acquitting him of fraud charges in a $2 million case involving European Union subsidies.In September, Prague’s High Court canceled the lower court’s decision and ordered the case to be retried at Prague’s Municipal Court.The case centered around a farm known as the Stork’s Nest, which received EU subsidies after its ownership was transferred from the Babis-owned Agrofert conglomerate of around 250 companies to Babis’ family members. Later, Agrofert again took ownership of the farm.The subsidies were meant for medium- and small-sized businesses and Agrofert wouldn’t have been eligible for them. The conglomerate later returned the subsidy.Prague’s Municipal Court also acquitted in January Babis’ former associate, Jana Nagyova, who signed the subsidy request.The former premier pleaded not guilty and repeatedly said the charges against him were politically motivated.The prosecution asked on Wednesday for suspended sentences, possible for such a crime in the Czech Republic, and fines for the two. It was not immediately clear when the verdict would be announced.Babis, a billionaire, is currently part of the country’s opposition after his populist ANO centrist movement lost the 2021 parliamentary election. He also contended for the largely ceruminous post of president in January last year but lost to Petr Pavel, a retired army general. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailFake audio clips of Sadiq Khan criticising Remembrance weekend events and encouraging pro-Palestinian marches nearly caused “serious disorder”, the London mayor has said.The so-called deepfake material shared on social media had an AI simulation of Mr Khan’s voice saying he did not care “about the Remembrance weekend” and suggesting the commemorations be postponed to allow for a pro-Palestinian march to go ahead.Mr Khan told BBC Radio 4’s Why Do You Hate Me? podcast that current legislation is not “fit for purpose” and the audio creator “got away with it” after the Metropolitan Police said the material did not “constitute a criminal offence”.“We almost had serious disorder,” the Labour mayor said, adding that other scenarios such as close elections and referendums might also be targeted by people spreading fake or manipulated material.What was being said was a red rag to a bull for the far-right and othersSadiq Khan, mayor of LondonHe added: “What was being said was a red rag to a bull for the far-right and others.“But what concerned me the most was if you’re an innocent listener of this.“Because it’s a secret undercover recording – in inverted commas – because it sounds like me, because of the timing and the context.”The pro-Palestinian march began hours after the two minutes’ silence on Saturday November 11 and was met with resistance from counter-protesters, who clashed with police.Some 120 people – mostly far-right counter-protesters – were arrested.The commemorations had already been a source of political tension.Then-home secretary Suella Braverman accused the Met Police of “playing favourites” after its commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, said the force did not have sufficient intelligence to ban the rally.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had labelled pro-Palestinian marches elsewhere in London “disrespectful”.Officers continue to review material and content related to this and we are also consulting with colleagues from the CPS given this relates to very new and emerging technologiesMetropolitan Police spokespersonMr Khan said neither he nor the police had been contacted by the social media sites on which the audio had gone viral.TikTok told the BBC it removes deepfake content and “does not allow synthetic media that contains the likeness of any real private figure”.On February 6, Meta announced it would label images posted on Facebook and Instagram which were created by AI.But former deputy prime minister Sir Nick Clegg, now president of global affairs for Meta, said this would not yet apply to audio or video content, for which users may voluntarily disclose AI assistance.A Met Police spokesperson said: “On Friday November 10, we were made aware of a video featuring artificial audio of the mayor.“Specialist officers carried out an initial review of this video and assessed that it did not constitute a criminal offence.“However, officers continue to review material and content related to this and we are also consulting with colleagues from the CPS given this relates to very new and emerging technologies.” More

Inflation could rise in second half of 2024, Andrew Bailey says as interest rates held at 5.25%Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the worldSign up to our free Morning Headlines emailEconomists are bracing for rises in the cost of living to have accelerated for a second month, as the Office for National Statistics publishes new data on inflation.While inflation has fallen from a 41-year high of 11.1 per cent in October 2022 to below prime minister Rishi Sunak’s stated goal of 5 per cent by the end of 2023, it remains above the Bank of England’s longstanding target of 2 per cent.While chancellor Jeremy Hunt celebrated a surprise fall to 3.9 per cent in November, the rate of inflation rose again in December to 4 per cent – and is now expected to have done so again last month.The fresh figures, due on Wednesday morning, are expected to show that Consumer Prices Index inflation – a measure of the costs that households face – hit 4.2 per cent in January.Economists will be watching keenly for signs on what impact the figures could have on the Bank of England’s base interest rate, which is causing pain for borrowers and homeowners struggling with higher mortgage rates.Show latest update 1707878340FTSE 100 drops as interest rate concerns weigh on housebuildersLondon’s markets slid in a gloomy afternoon session amid concerns over persistent inflation, reports Henry Saker-Clark.The FTSE 100 had a cautious morning of trading but quickly dropped to its lowest point this month after hotter-than-expected US Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation figures.The data suggested hopes of interest rate reductions soon could be premature and particularly dented housebuilders amid concerns about the mortgage market.London’s top index moved 0.81 per cent, or 61.41 points, lower to finish at 7,512.28, with Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Developments and Persimmon all notable fallers.Andy Gregory14 February 2024 02:391707874380What has been happening to wages?Wage growth has slowed to its lowest level for more than a year but is still outpacing inflation, according to official figures.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said average regular pay growth, excluding bonuses, fell to 6.2% in the quarter to December, down from an upwardly revised 6.7 per cent in the three months to November.This was the slowest growth since the three months to October 2022.But when taking Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation into account, real regular wages rose by 1.9 per cent – a high since summer 2019, excluding the pandemic-skewed years.This is thanks to inflation having fallen back sharply after hitting an eye-watering 41-year high of 11.1 per cent seen in October 2022.But the fall in wage growth was less than expected by most experts and in financial markets, with investors reining in their bets on interest rate cuts this year after the data.Andy Gregory14 February 2024 01:331707870660Wage rise data could also impact inflation and interest ratesThe higher-than-expected wage rises in Tuesday’s Office for National Statistics figures will also spark worries of delayed cuts to the Bank of England’s base interest rate – given that wage rises can push up inflation.“Today’s wage rises contribute to tomorrow’s spending power, impacting demand and influencing inflation, so the Bank will be keenly monitoring average earnings growth in particular,” said Rob Morgan, chief investment analyst at Charles Stanley.“Resilient wages have been a driver of sticky consumer price inflation, and they are not falling back into line as fast as the BoE (Bank of England) would like as it looks to return inflation to the 2 per cent target.“What’s more, a further inflationary impulse could lie in wait in the form of an increase to the national minimum wage of almost 10 per cent from April, which stands to simultaneously increase costs for employers and bolster household spending power, potentially exerting further upward pressure on prices.”Andy Gregory14 February 2024 00:311707867386How will new inflation figures impact on the Bank of England’s base interest rate?Economists will be tracking the data to try to figure out what influence it might have on the Bank of England.The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is tasked with keeping inflation as close to 2 per cent as possible.One of the main ways it has to do this is by changing interest rates. By increasing rates it restricts the amount of money that mortgage holders have to spend, therefore reducing demand for goods and services. That can help take pressure off prices.So if inflation is higher than the 4.1 per cent the MPC expected in its last forecast, that could make rate setters more likely to delay cuts to the base rate.Andy Gregory13 February 2024 23:361707863966Why have mortgage rates gone up?Following a period of decline in borrowing costs, several major mortgage lenders have announced increases in rates in recent days, my colleague Alex Ross reports.Mortgage rates are closely tied to swap rates, which is effectively the rate the lenders pay a financial institution for funding, and that is affected by the Bank of England’s base interest rate and inflation.Tomorrow, experts believe inflation will go up marginally from the annual 4 per cent recorded last month.Ken James, director at Contractor Mortgage Services, told The Independent: “Lenders at the moment are pricing in potential inflation rises.“I think what they are doing is safeguarding. They are saying ‘we think that everything is going to rise with all these figures coming in and therefore let’s partly protect ourselves against that future rise and get it in early’.“I think with tomorrow, because I’m pretty confident rates are going to rise with inflation, I think lenders have just done it early, I think they are just protecting themselves.”Andy Gregory13 February 2024 22:391707860486What’s happening to your mortgage as major lender hikes rates ahead of inflation announcementIt’s been a turbulent few days for prospective and current homeowners looking for mortgages, with several major lenders announcing increases in rates after a period of decline in borrowing costs.Nationwide, the country’s biggest building society, revealed its mortgage rates would rise by up to 0.25 percentage points on Tuesday. It comes after lenders Halifax and TSB said they were also raising rates on some of their products.But, strangely, other lenders have gone in the other direction. Santander has announced mortgage rate cuts of 0.16 percentage points.The mixed picture for mortgage rates comes after the Bank of England held its base rate at 5.25 per cent earlier this month. However, it is Wednesday’s release of inflation figures which appear to have resulted in what some brokers are calling a “yo-yo” market.My colleague Alex Ross reports:Andy Gregory13 February 2024 21:411707857246Inflation still likely to have fallen in February, economist saysDespite an expected blip in Wedesday’s figures, inflation could fall as low as 3.4 per cent in February, an economist has said.Samuel Tombs, the chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics who believes that inflation hit 4.1 per cet in January, said that regardless of Wednesday’s data, inflation is likely to fall considerably, to 3.4 per cent, this month.Andy Gregory13 February 2024 20:471707853826How has the rate of inflation changed in recent years?This graphic by the PA news agency charts the rate of inflation as recorded in recent years by the Office for National Statistics: More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis offered some concessions Tuesday to farming unionists who are threatening to block roads around the country amid protests over high production costs.But it was unclear whether the representatives of farming associations who met with Mitsotakis in Athens were appeased by the concessions, which included some tax rebates. They said decisions would be taken following regional meetings of protesting farmers from later Tuesday.Rizos Maroudas, a unionist present at the meeting, indicated he would advocate a tough stance.“Not all our demands have been met,” he told journalists after the talks. “We believe that our (protests) must continue.” Farmers in several parts of the country have been staging brief, largely symbolic roadblocks, mostly avoiding key highways, for days, and have threatened to ramp up the campaign. The unrest follows farmers’ protests in several European Union countries over inflation, foreign competition and the costs of combating climate change.Greece’s center-right government has said it will try to reduce production costs and expedite compensation payments and tax relief for farmers hit by deadly floods last year.Mitsotakis on Tuesday promised farmers reduced energy bills and some tax rebates, but warned that budgetary constraints left little room for major increases in spending. More

Sunak accuses Starmer of ‘standing by’ Azhar Ali after Israel remarks Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA second Labour candidate has now been suspended over comments criticising Israel, after Sir Keir Starmer faced questions over his party’s “shambolic” U-turn on withdrawing support for its Rochdale by-election candidate Azhar Ali.Breaking his silence on Tuesday, Sir Keir insisted he took “tough” action to withdraw support for Mr Ali, who apologised after he was recorded suggesting in a meeting of the Lancashire Labour Party that Israel had taken the 7 October Hamas attack as a pretext to invade Gaza. He was initially backed by the party for his swift apology and retraction of the remarks – but in a dramatic climbdown on Monday night, the party said its support for him had been withdrawn following “new information about further comments”, and he was suspended from the party pending an investigation.In a further blow to Sir Keir, the Guido Fawkes website published a recording of the same meeting in which Hyndburn candidate Graham Jones referred to “f***ing Israel” and said Britons who fight for the Israel Defence Forces should be locked up”. He has been swiftly suspended pending investigation.Show latest update 1707876000It is difficult to imagine anything good emerging from the wreckage of the Rochdale by-electionEditorial: Vague promises of ‘levelling up’ gone nowhere, grooming gangs, and now antisemitism – Rochdale deserves better than thisJoe Middleton14 February 2024 02:001707872400ICYMI: Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters rally outside Downing StreetThousands of pro-Palestine protesters rally outside Downing StreetJoe Middleton14 February 2024 01:001707868788Labour’s Rochdale by-election row part of antisemitism ‘tornado’ in UK, expert warnsBritain is facing a “tornado” of anti-Jewish racism working its way through the country, the government’s antisemitism tsar has warned.John Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, has called on political leaders from all parties to “get their collective acts together to sort this out”.The ex-Labour MP’s dramatic intervention comes amid the latest antisemitism scandal engulfing Labour, after Sir Keir Starmer dropped the party’s Rochdale by-election candidate over comments he made about Israel.Joe Middleton13 February 2024 23:591707866073Furious Briton rants at Rishi Sunak for more than one minute over Covid vaccineFurious Briton rants at Rishi Sunak for more than one minute over Covid vaccineJoe Middleton13 February 2024 23:141707861648Labour think-tank boss apologises for saying smuggling gangs should be shipped to ScotlandThe director of an influential Labour think-tank has apologised after suggesting the government should put people-smugglers on a barge and ship it to the north of Scotland.Fuelling tensions just days ahead of Scottish Labour’s annual conference, Josh Simons apologised for his “poorly judged comment made in jest” – which was denounced as “stupid” and “cringe” by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.Speaking to LBC on Monday, Mr Simons – whose group Labour Together has close links to Sir Keir Starmer’s top team – said his main concern with Rishi Sunak’s ailing policy of sending asylum-seekers to Rwanda “is not actually the human rights implications of it”.Joe Middleton13 February 2024 22:001707858347Starmer engulfed in second Labour antisemitism row after Rochdale by-election furoreSir Keir Starmer is at the centre of a second antisemitism storm after Labour was forced to suspend a would-be MP just 24 hours after it ditched its candidate in the Rochdale by-election.The party acted after Graham Jones, the prospective Labour MP for Hyndburn, appeared to say that Britons who volunteer to fight for the Israel Defense Forces “should be locked up”.His taped comments, in which he also referred to “f***ing Israel”, were reportedly made in a rant to Labour’s former candidate in Rochdale, Azhar Ali, at a now infamous meeting at which Mr Ali claimed that Israel had “allowed” last October’s Hamas terror attacks to take place so that it could use them as a pretext to attack Gaza.Joe Middleton13 February 2024 21:051707847241Government ‘looking closely’ at bringing injured Gazan children to UK for treatmentLord Cameron said the Government is “looking closely” at the possibility of bringing children injured in Gaza to the UK for medical care.He said: “This is Project Pure Hope, we are looking very closely at this – is it possible to take the people in greatest need and take them to British hospitals, as we have done in the past?“The early work we’ve done is to say that there’s much we can do in the region and we should probably do that first, so helping in the field hospitals that have been established, helping to send medical teams to referral hospitals that are being used in the region supporting organisations like medical aid for Palestinians“Now if that leads to the identification of specific cases where actually they would be better off taking that long journey back to Britain and going to Great Ormond Street Hospital, then we certainly don’t rule that out and continue to look at it.”Matt Mathers13 February 2024 18:001707847206Breaking: Labour suspends second candidate over Israel remarksKeir Starmer is at the centre of a second antisemitism storm after Labour was forced to suspend a would-be MP just 24 hours after it ditched its candidate in the Rochdale by-election.The party acted on Tuesday after Graham Jones, the prospective Labour MP for Hyndburn, said Britons who volunteer to fight for the Israeli Defence Force “should be locked up”.His taped comments, in which he also referred to “f**king Israel”, were reportedly made in a rant to Azhar Ali at a now infamous meeting in which Mr Ali claimed Israel “allowed” the Hamas terror attack as an excuse to attack Gaza.Jewish Labour Movement, one of the oldest societies affiliated to the party, demanded an investigation and said the party should stand Jones down as a candidate.My colleagues Kate Devlin and Archie Mitchell have more in this report:Andy Gregory13 February 2024 18:001707845441ICYMI: Sunak insists views on issues facing trans people ‘not controversial’ More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSuella Braverman has said white people should not be made to feel guilty for being white, amid claims the countryside is racist.The former home secretary said it is wrong and dangerous to suggest the countryside is not welcoming to ethnic minorities because it is predominantly white.And she said it is “wholly disempowering” for non-white people to be judged by their skin colour rather than “by character”.Suella Braverman has said white people should not be made to feel guilty for being white Ms Braverman, who was sacked as home secretary in November, was responding to a report by charity Wildlife and Countryside Link which said a perception that green spaces were “dominated by white people can prevent people from ethnic minority backgrounds from using [them]”.Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Ms Braverman said: “This [view] is not just wrong but dangerous. We need to stop making white people feel guilty for being white.”She added: “It’s wholly disempowering for ethnic minorities to be judged by skin colour rather than by character.“Why cast me as a victim and rob me of my agency? Why foster resentment? The truth is that so many people are terrified to challenge this groupthink which is taking over our country.”Ms Braverman claimed people are frightened of losing their jobs if they challenge the “groupthink” of white privilege and unconscious bias awareness. “Best just keep your head down, they think,” she added.And she warned that if Labour wins the next election Britain would be overrun by “self-censured identikit automatons who parrot the same Orwellian newspeak”.It is the former home secretary’s latest foray into the so-called culture wars, having been sacked for accusing Metropolitan Police chiefs of bias in their handling of pro-Palestine protests.She has railed against migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats and previously included on a list of people she dislikes the “Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati”.In her Telegraph article, Ms Braverman said it is “essential” to “relentlessly” challenge “Left-wing identity politics”.“It’s a symptom of a deeper problem within our society – the urge to constantly view everything through the lens of race or gender, plead victimhood and point the finger at an oppressor,” she said. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailMatt Hancock has defended his decision to use a chauffeur-driven Jaguar funded by the taxpayer to travel to the Covid inquiry despite leaving his government job more than two years ago.A spokesperson for Mr Hancock, the independent MP for West Suffolk, said it was “entirely reasonable” for the government to arrange his travel to the inquiry given that he was attending as the former health secretary.The Daily Mirror reported that Mr Hancock used a ministerial car on three occasions in June, November and December last year when travelling to the inquiry but the Department of Health and Social Care would not reveal how much the journeys had cost.Secretaries of state are provided with chauffeur-driven cars while they are serving in government but lose the privilege once they leavePictures from the inquiry showed Mr Hancock stepping out of a Jaguar on at least one occasion.A spokesperson for Mr Hancock said: “Matt attended the Covid inquiry entirely in his capacity as having been the secretary of state during the pandemic. It is entirely reasonable that the government should take care of his travel and security arrangements in this instance.”Secretaries of state are provided with chauffeur-driven cars while they are serving in government but lose the privilege once they leave.DHSC said it had a duty of care to provide adequate security for the former health secretary, who has faced intense criticism over his handling of the pandemic.Mr Hancock resigned from his position as health secretary in disgrace in June 2021 after he was caught breaching the Covid rules he had helped to draw up by kissing his colleague Gina Coladangelo in his office.The MP is among a number of other current and former government ministers to have attended the inquiry, chaired by Baroness Heather Hallett.Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, Rishi Sunak, the current prime minister and Sajid Javid, who replaced Mr Hancock as health secretary, have each given evidence.Since leaving the government, Mr Hancock has appeared on reality TV shows I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, netting him a reported £445,000.Giving evidence to the inquiry in December, Mr Hancock admitted admitted his affair with Ms Coladangelo breached lockdown rules.The former health secretary giving evidence at Dorland House in LondonHe told the inquiry “the lesson for the future is very clear” in that “it is important that those who make the rules abide by them”, adding: “I resigned in order to take accountability for my failure to do that.”Mr Hancock also defended his decision to discharge hospital patients into care homes without testing them for Covid as “rational and reasonable”, adding: “Nobody has yet brought to me a solution to this problem that I think, even with hindsight, would have resulted in more lives saved.”He has also come under heavy criticism from other officials who have given evidence to the inquiry, including Helen MacNamara, the former deputy cabinet secretary, who said Mr Hancock displayed “nuclear levels” of confidence at the start of the pandemic.She claimed that Mr Hancock “regularly” told colleagues in Downing Street things “they later discovered weren’t true”.Mr Hancock, who lost the Conservative Party whip after going to the jungle while parliament was still sitting, announced in December 2022 that he would stand as an MP at the next election. More

Sir Keir Starmer said he took “tough” and “decisive” action to withdraw support for Labour’s Rochdale by-election candidate, after a storm of criticism about remarks Azhar Ali made about Israel.The Labour leader insisted the party had “changed” under his leadership after it was confirmed on Monday (12 February) that Mr Ali, who is understood to be suspended pending an investigation, would have Labour’s backing withdrawn.Mr Ali had apologised after he was recorded in a meeting of the Lancashire Labour Party suggesting that Israel had taken the October 7 Hamas assault as a pretext to invade Gaza.Labour, however, said it moved to end its backing of the candidate “following new information about further comments”. More