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Lee Anderson’s comments on migrants boarding the Bibby Stockholm were “not unreasonable,” Alex Chalk has said.The Tory deputy chairman told the Express: “If they don’t like barges then they should f*** off back to France.”The incendiary comments came after 15 migrants boarded the barge in Portland, Dorset.Twenty others have been granted a last-minute reprieve after legal challenges.The justice secretary said Lee Anderson “expresses the righteous indignation of the British people” and added that his “indignation is well placed”. More

Andrew Malkinson has said that his wrongful conviction compensation represents “two decades of living hell” after he spent 17 years in prison for a rape in Greater Manchester he did not commit.The 57-year-old’s case sparked outrage about living costs covering their time in prison being docked from compensation payments.The rule was scrapped with immediate effect on Sunday, 6 August, by Justice Secretary Alex Chalk KC.Mr Malkinson said the payment under the miscarriage of justice compensation scheme, which is a maximum of £1m for more than 10 years’ imprisonment, represents “lost opportunities and lost love.” More

A junior doctor slammed prime minister Rishi Sunak telling him “it’s your fault we are all unhappy” during a heated live phone-in on LBC on Wednesday morning.Junior doctor Olivia, from Newcastle, called the show to say she found it “amazing” the prime minister blames the doctor strike for NHS increased waiting times.Olivia told Sunak: “You’re losing staff because we’re undervalued, and it’s not just doctors, it’s everyone. We are all leaving. A happy workforce is your responsibility. You’re the government. Your staff aren’t happy. That’s your fault and ultimately that’s not good for patients.” More

A newly-elected Tory MP refused to give Rishi Sunak credit for winning the by election in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.Steve Tuckwell claimed a narrow victory in Boris Johnson’s old seat by 495 votes.When asked why he’d not given the prime minister credit and instead said Sadiq Khan lost Labour the by election in his victory speech, Mr Tuckwell told Sky News: “Rishi Sunak’s my prime minister, I’m right behind him as a newly-elected MP.”We won [the election] on the fact that it was a referendum on Ulez.” More

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf has insisted the Yes campaign would win “comprehensively” if a second referendum on independence was held tomorrow.Despite several polls putting support for independence at less than 50%, Yousaf made the claim as he published the latest paper from the Scottish Government to make the case for leaving the UK.“If there was a referedum I think we would win it and win it comprehensively,” the SNP leader said. “But that’s also part of the reason we’re publishing these papers, because they help to make the argument, give people the information they need to make that informed decision about independence.” More

The shadow net zero secretary, Ed Miliband compared the government’s windfall tax on energy companies to Swiss cheese, saying it is full of holes, after Shell and British Gas reported significant profits. “People will be scratching their heads and thinking ‘isn’t the government doing a windfall tax?’ Well the answer is they are, but it’s full of holes,” the former Labour leader told BBC Breakfast. “This is like the proverbial Swiss cheese, it’s full of holes, because there’s a massive loophole in this windfall tax,” Miliband added. More

The government’s decision to put pressure onto demands for NatWest CEO Dame Alison Rose to resign in the row over Nigel Farage’s Coutts account is “astonishing,” a Labour shadow minister said on Wednesday (26 July).Rishi Sunak told a press conference in Warwick: “It’s not right for anyone to be denied financial services because they’re exercising their lawful right to free speech.”Nick Thomas-Symonds told Sky News the matter was “for NatWest” and not politicians.“When it comes to dealing decisively with colleagues… the prime minister has invariably been slow to act but when it came to this situation… they moved straight in.” More