UK

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UKSign up to our Brexit email for the latest insightDavid Cameron has admitted that the plan is for EU Frontex border guards to police the entry into Gibraltar in a deal to allow “a fluid border” between the Rock and Spain.The foreign secretary was giving evidence to the European Scrutiny Committee which has raised serious concerns over the impact on UK sovereignty with the proposed treaty.The row has broken out because of a need for Gibraltar to come to a longer border solution with the EU as a result of Brexit.Had the UK voted to remain in the EU, the free travel provisions would not have been a problem but with 15,000 crossings a day, the Gibraltan and UK governments are seeking a solution. Gibraltar opposed Brexit with 96 per cent voting Remain.Lord David Cameron discussed Gibraltar More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour will build a new generation of towns in a bid to tackle the housing crisis, Angela Rayner will say in an attempt to impress the house-building sector.The deputy Labour leader has said the “foundations of our past” are the inspiration for the proposals, pointing to her party’s record in government following the Second World War, when towns like Stevenage and Basildon were built.Speaking at the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF), a property industry conference, Ms Rayner is expected to say Labour will back “developers who deliver” if it wins power.Ms Rayner, who is also the shadow housing secretary, will tell the conference a Labour government would set high standards on design, quality, affordable homes, green spaces and infrastructure.New towns will be a crucial part of Labour’s plans to grasp the ongoing housing crisis across Britain, she is expected to say.Labour will build a new generation of towns in a bid to tackle the housing crisis, Angela Rayner will say More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA Tory foreign minister has slammed the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders as a “repugnant” moral equivalence.UK deputy foreign secretary Andrew Mitchell said the court’s request “smacked of an unworthy and ludicrous” comparison between Israel and Hamas – and it would not help end the war.The ICC sought arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, and Ismail Haniyeh, for allegations of war crimes on Monday.Mr Mitchell said: “This smacks of an unworthy and ludicrous sense of moral equivalence between a murderous proscribed terrorist organisation and the democratically elected government of Israel seeking to protect its citizens.“We do not believe the ICC prosecutor seeking warrants will help with a ceasefire. As we have said from the outset, we do not think the ICC has jurisdiction in this case.”Top left to bottom right: Yoav Gallant, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif More

Brexit betrayal: David Cameron set to sell Gibraltar out in EU ‘capitulation’Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UKSign up to our Brexit email for the latest insightForeign secretary David Cameron is giving evidence to MPs and members of the Commons European scrutiny over the planned treaty for Gibraltar.Both governments are currently in the process of agreeing a post-Brexit treaty amid fears Gibraltar could become subject to Schengen area rules.MPs warned the Brexiteer that his promise of a stronger sovereignty has failed and it could lead to a loss of control of British territories. They are concerned Lord Cameron’s draft would leave UK citizens at the mercy of EU Frontex border guards and give them the power to turn away people from the territory.During today’s Commons session, MPs are demanding answers to a list of key questions following evidence sessions with foreign minister David Rutley and Gibraltar’s chief minister Fabian Picardo.It comes as National Audit Office warned the Government is splashing £4.7bn in Brexit border checks system. The watchdog also found there is no clear timetable to fully implement its post-Brexit border controls.Sir Jim Ratcliffe has joined criticism and has slammed the Conservative Government for the way post-Brexit policies were handled, saying it didn’t turn out as people anticipated. Show latest update 1716195203In full: What are MPs key concerns over the UK-EU Gibraltar deal?Schengen controls at Gibraltar’s airport: MPs are concerned about the introduction of rules that would restrict the free movement of UK citizens.Implications for residents: The Committee highlighted the significant disruption for Gibraltarians who could face checks to enter their own territory. New EU Entry/Exit regime: With the new EU Entry/Exit regime starting in October, there are fears over biometric registration requirements which could cause delays for travellers and workers. Impact on UK nationals: MPs say there is uncertainty on whether time spent in Gibraltar would count towards the 90 days for non-EU nationals in the Schengen Area. Military and security concerns: MP’s are worried about a potential EU border guards force that would block UK and NATO military personnel from entering the territory. Oversight by the European Court of Justice: There are concerns about the court having a say on border and trade matters. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSelf-driving vehicles could be used on Britain’s roads in just two years, a Cabinet minister claimed, as a Bill outlining the legal framework for autonomous vehicles became law.Transport Secretary Mark Harper said the deployment of the technology will be “a real boost to both safety and our economy”.The Automated Vehicles Bill received royal assent on Monday.Britain stands at the threshold of an automotive revolutionMark Harper, Transport SecretaryThe legislation, which applies across Britain, delivers “the most comprehensive legal framework of its kind worldwide”, according to the Department for Transport (DfT).It means motorists will not be held responsible for the action of a vehicle in self-driving mode, with businesses such as insurers, manufacturers and software developers liable when something goes wrong.The DfT added that self-driving vehicles must achieve a level of safety at least as high as “careful and competent human drivers”.Trials of autonomous vehicle technology are ongoing across the UK, such as by Wayve in London and Oxa in Oxford.Mr Harper said: “Britain stands at the threshold of an automotive revolution, and this new law is a milestone moment for our self-driving industry which has the potential to change the way we travel forever.“While this doesn’t take away people’s ability to choose to drive themselves, our landmark legislation means self-driving vehicles can be rolled out on British roads as soon as 2026, in a real boost to both safety and our economy.”Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said: “This is a watershed moment for UK automotive innovation and road safety in the UK.“Self-driving vehicles will revolutionise our society, and this new law will help turn ambition into reality, putting the UK alongside a handful of other global markets that already have their regulatory frameworks in place.“The industry will continue its close collaboration with government and other stakeholders to develop the necessary secondary legislation that will enable the safe and responsible commercial roll out of self-driving vehicles and the significant social and economic benefits they will afford the UK.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA post-Brexit border control system designed to “take control” of Britain’s borders has no clear timetable for completion, warned the National Audit Office (NAO) on Monday.The public spending watchdog said repeated changes and deferrals to the government’s flagship plan for full import controls from the EU was leading to uncertainty for businesses and extra costs for government and ports.The Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) is being brought in through phases, with the second for animal and plant exports coming in on 30 April. A third part of the model on safety and security declarations is due to be introduced in October – but it’s not clear when full controls will be in place.Lorries at the Sevington Inland Border Facility in Ashford as the National Audit Office warns over uncertainty for a post-Brexit border controls system More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour is set to make it easier to change gender by allowing a single family doctor to sign off on the decision under plans to “simplify” the process.The policy would include scrapping a panel of doctors and lawyers that approve gender recognition certificates to stop the “futile and dehumanising parts” of changing gender.A source said the party wanted to make the process “less medicalised” but added that the plans would retain the involvement of a doctor, as reported by The Times.Anneliese Dodds, the shadow women and equalities secretary, told the newspaper: “We want to see the process for gender recognition modernised, while protecting single-sex spaces for biological women. “This means stripping out the futile and dehumanising parts of the process for obtaining a gender recognition certificate, while retaining important safeguards.”Labour is set to make it easier to change gender by allowing a single family doctor to sign off on the decision More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email Europe’s far-right political parties unofficially launched their campaign Sunday for European Union elections in Spain with strong messages against illegal migration and the bloc’s climate policy while declaring their support for Israel in its war against Hamas. French National Rally party leader Marine Le Pen and Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni tried to rally voters at an event organized by Spain’s far-right Vox party in Madrid ahead of the European Union’s parliamentary elections June 6-9. Analysts say the vote across the bloc’s 27 nations could see a strong rise of the far right.“We are in the final stretch to make 9 June a day of liberation and hope,” said the French presidential candidate. “We have three weeks left to convince our respective compatriots to go out and vote.”Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy party has foundations in Benito Mussolini’s fascism, spoke in Spanish via video conference and called for young people to vote. “You are the only possible future for Europe,” Meloni told them.The defense of the EU’s borders was another main theme of the last of two days of a meeting organized by Vox in an arena in the outskirts of the Spanish capital.“We are not against human rights, but we want strong borders in Europe… because it is hours,”said André Ventura, leader of Chega, a party that won the third largest number of parliamentary seats in Portugal earlier this year. “We cannot continue to have this massive influx of Islamic and Muslim immigrants into Europe,” he added. Meloni defended her country’s policy of reaching agreements with third countries to try to curb illegal immigration, while Le Pen advocated for reform of the Schengen area — which allows free movement of people within most of the bloc’s borders — so that “Europe allows each country to choose who enters and who leaves its territory.”Vox’s president, Santiago Abascal, called for unity of the far-right ahead of the European election. “In the face of globalism we must respond with a global alliance of patriots in defense of common sense, economic prosperity, security and freedom because we share the threat, and that leads us to solidarity,” Abascal said.The vote will indicate whether the continental political drift will match the rightward swing seen across much of the globe from the Netherlands to Slovakia to Argentina.Argentina’s flamboyant president, Javier Milei, who was welcomed like a star amidst chants of “Freedom”, dedicated his long speech to bashing socialism. He said that socialism “is an ideology that goes directly against human nature and necessarily leads to slavery or death.”“There is no other possible destiny,” he said. “To open the door to socialism is to invite death,” he added. Supporters who packed the Palacio de Vistalegre arena cheered on messages against the European Green Deal and in favor of farm workers, whose protests brought several cities in the continent to a standstill in recent months. They also applauded every speaker’s message in solidarity with Israel in its war in Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.Israel was represented at the meeting by its Minister for Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli.Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the former prime minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, also spoke from a video screen.During the event, hundreds of left-wing activists were demonstrating against fascism in the city center in Madrid.“I am here because in Vistalegre we have a summit of hate and we must fight against fascists,” said Frank Erbroder, a Polish activist at the gathering. “I am worried because Hitler won, because of democracy, and I think that maybe we’ll have the same situation.”___Associated Press writers Iain Sullivan and Alicia León in Madrid contributed to this report. More