UK

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSuspended Labour MP Kate Osamor has had the party whip restored four months after a controversial Holocaust Memorial Day post suggesting the Israeli action in Gaza is genocide. Ms Osamor, a shadow minister under Jeremy Corbyn, subsequently apologised and instead referred to a “humanitarian disaster”. But she was placed under investigation over the post, which also likened Israel’s war in the beseiged enclave to genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda and Bosnia.Labour confirmed Ms Osamor had been given the whip following “a full investigation”. For her part she said she wanted to “unreservedly apologise again for my comments. I made remarks which were insensitive, inappropriate, and which I apologise for and regret.” The Independent revealed late last month that Ms Osamor would be given the Labour whip again within days. But the decision has been condemned by the Jewish Labour Movement, one of the oldest socialist societies affiliated to the Labour Party. A JLM spokesperson said: “Kate Osamor’s original actions and non-apology were disgraceful and smeared the memory of all those who died in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Darfur, Rwanda and Bosnia, as commemorated by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.” He added that the onus was “now on her to engage with her local Jewish community… and the wider community, properly. Given her previous record and comments in this area, this will require a sincere and honest approach. Until and unless this happens, the jury is still out.”Edmonton MP Kate Osamor has had the Labour whip reinstated (Richard Townshend/UK Parliament/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailNatalie Elphicke’s defection to Labour has raised concerns among some in Kier Starmer’s party who condemned her defence of her former husband who was imprisoned after being charged with sexual assault.After Charlie Elphicke was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault against two women, the MP for Dover said he had been punished for being “attractive” and being “attracted to women”.Ms Elphicke, who defected to the Labour Party on Wednesday, was temporarily suspended from the Commons in 2021 for trying to influence his trial and was forced to apologise.Charlotte Cornell, a Labour councillor who ran against Ms Elphicke in Dover in 2019, told The Independent: “Her comments minimised what was predatory behaviour and sexual abuse. “It is one of the reasons I find today really hard to understand. I know there will be women in the local area who are incredibly upset by today’s decision.”Ms Cornell, who is a cabinet member on Canterbury City Council, accused Ms Elphicke of “gaslighting other women during and around“ the time of the trial of her former husband.She added: “She has held fervent anti-union positions. She has mocked Marcus Rashford and anti-child poverty initiatives.”Ms Elphicke criticised Mr Rashford for missing a penalty in the Euro 2020 final, saying he should be “perfecting his game” rather than “playing politics” after he campaigned against child food poverty.Ms Cornell argued there are “huge questions“ surrounding the political views which Ms Elphicke holds.Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer with former Tory MP Natalie Elphicke in his parliamentary office (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More

Starmer Welcomes Natalie Elphicke After Labour MP Deflects From ConservativesSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailTory MP Natalie Elphicke has defected to Labour, hitting out at the “broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic Government”.The Dover MP crossed the floor in the Commons just moments before Prime Minister’s Questions.She said in a statement: “I have carefully considered this decision. The change has been dramatic and cannot be ignored.”For me key deciding factors have been housing and the safety and security of our borders.”In a humiliating blow for Rishi, Ms Elphickle has joined Dr Dan Poulter and Christian Wakeford in crossing to the Labour side. In the first face-to-face since last week’s local election results, Sir Keir Starmer hit out at the Conservatives for losing nearly 500 council seats in last week’s elections.The heated exchange saw the Labour leader call the PM a “dodgy salesman” as he pushed him on small boat crossings.Show latest update 1715180141Kate Osamor gets Labour whip back The MP for Edmonton was suspended after posting a message on Holocaust Memorial Day referring to other genocides.After a huge wave of criticism, she tweeted an apology “for any offense caused” by her references.The Labour party has now readmitted Osamor with the condition she engages with the local Jewish community.A spokesperson said: “Kate Osamor’s original actions and non-apology were disgraceful and smeared the memory of all those who died in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Darfur, Rwanda and Bosnia, as commemorated by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. It is right that, as we understand,  she has received a formal written warning from the Labour Party. “The onus is now on her to engage with her local Jewish community in Enfield and the wider community, properly. Given her previous record and comments in this area, this will require a sincere and honest approach. Until and unless this happens, the jury is still out.”Salma Ouaguira8 May 2024 15:551715179272Tory minister sorry for e-gate airport chaos MP Tom Pursglove has apologised to passengers for Tuesday’s glitch that saw long queues and delays across UK airports.He said the incident was caused by “technical issues within the Home Office network” after a cyber attack was ruled out. Mr Pursglove said: “The relevant teams quickly swung into action, and a technical response was underway within six minutes. Once the fault was identified, officials worked closely with partners to rectify the problem and restore service. “At this stage, I can assure the House and the wider public that all security checks were maintained throughout. Border security was not compromised at any point and there is no indication of malicious cyber activity. Police access to operational systems was unaffected.“I sincerely apologise for the disruption that occurred. I can assure the House that the Home Secretary and I will be unswerving in our determination to ensure that every possible lesson is learned, to ensure that this does not happen again.”Heathrow travellers cheer after e-passport gates reopen following nationwide outageSalma Ouaguira8 May 2024 15:411715177978Labour ‘safe heaven’ for Tories National Executive Committee member for Labour Mish Rahman has slammed the party for accepting Natalie Elphicke. He questioned the former Tory member’s stand on Rwanda and said it is a “new low” for Starmer. Salma Ouaguira8 May 2024 15:191715177163Labour backlash over Natalie Elphicke’s defection Natalie Elphicke has caused a stir after crossing the floor to take a seat alongside Keir Starmer during today’s fiery PMQs. But not everyone has welcomed the former Conservative MP for Dover and Deal with open arms. Frustrated Labour supporters took to social media to vent out their disappointment. Salma Ouaguira8 May 2024 15:061715176908Audio of Reeves saying Elphicke can ‘f**k off’ resurfaces after defectionAn audio clip of Rachel Reeves appearing to say Natalie Elphicke can “f**k off” for criticising Marcus Rashford after he missed a penalty for England has resurfaced after the Dover MP defected to Labour.Ms Elphicke had criticised England footballer and social campaigner Marcus Rashford in 2020 after his crucial penalty miss at the Euro 2020 final, messaging colleagues: “They lost – would it be ungenerous to say Rashford should have spent more time perfecting his game and less time playing politics.”In the audio clip, Ms Reeves can be heard paraphrasing Ms Elphicke’s comments before saying she could “f**k off”.Matt Mathers8 May 2024 15:011715176215Watch: Sunak tells Starmer he can be ‘as cocky as he likes’ after Tory election defeats More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailJames Cleverly has announced the explulsion of a senior Russian diplomat from the UK over allegations of spying.The home secretary told the Commons that the Russian defence attache had been lined to an attack on a commercial property in London owned by a Ukrainian. Five people have been arrested over the incident.Mr Cleverly said that the attack was part of “a pattern of suspected Russian activity across Europe”.Cleverly has announced measures against Russia’s diplomatic presence in the UK More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailTory MP Natalie Elphicke has defected from the party to Labour, heavily criticising the prime minister and her former party.The MP for Dover hit out at the “broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic Government” in a statement issued moments before Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday. She then crossed the floor in the Commons to sit on the Labour benches for the first time.Follow The Independent’s live coverage for the latest politics newsNatalie Elphicke has defected to Labour from the Tories (David Woolfall/UK Parliament) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has suffered another humiliating blow as Dover MP Natalie Elphicke defected to Labour moments before PMQs.Ms Elphicke has joined Dr Dan Poulter and Christian Wakeford in crossing the floor.The move is a shock from an MP who had been part of the rightwing Common Sense Group but whose seat was set to be lost to Labour according to the polls.The announcement saw Kent’s preniously only Labour MP Rosie Duffileld, who has been repeatedly snubbed by Sir Keir Starmer over her views on trans issues, put out a sarcastic tweet: “At least one woman from Kent got a meeting.”Sir Keir Starmer, who held talks with Ms Elphicke in the run up to the defection, welcomed his new MP at the start of prime minister’s questions (PMQs) in a rowdy session in the Commons.Natalie Elphicke has defected to Labour from the Tories (David Woolfall/UK Parliament) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was accused Wednesday of leading a “chaotic” government as another one of his Conservative lawmakers defected to the main opposition Labour Party ahead of a looming general election.In a stunning move just ahead of weekly prime minister’s questions, Natalie Elphicke crossed the floor of the House of Commons to join the ranks of Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, which appears to be heading to return to power after 14 years in opposition.Elphicke, who represents the constituency of Dover, which is at the front-line of migrant crossings from France, lashed out at the “broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic government” and said that Labour now occupies the center ground of British politics.“From small boats to biosecurity, Rishi Sunak’s government is failing to keep our borders safe and secure,” she said. “Lives are being lost in the English Channel while small boat arrivals are once again at record levels.”Sunak has made stopping small boat arrivals one of his main priorities, notably with his controversial plan to send some asylum-seekers to Rwanda. Starmer welcomed Elphicke to the Labour benches as well as Chris Webb, the party’s new lawmaker in Blackpool South in northwest England following his big victory in a special election last Thursday. Elphicke is the second Conservative lawmaker to defect to Labour in two weeks after Dan Poulter quit in anger over the government’s handling of the National Health Service.Starmer called on Sunak to call a general election now as he wondered what was the point of “this failed government staggering on” when even the Conservative lawmaker ”on the front line of small boats crisis says the prime minister cannot be trusted with our borders and joins Labour?”Last week, the Conservatives suffered a historic drubbing in local elections, losing nearly half of its candidates, while Labour made gains and won most of the key mayoral races it fought, including in London.In the U.K., the date of the general election rests in the hands of the prime minister. It has to take place by January, and Sunak has repeatedly said that his “working assumption” was that it would take place in the second half of 2024. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch as Rishi Sunak faces Sir Keir Starmer in Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday 8 May.It will be the first time the two leaders go head-to-head since last week’s local election results.The Conservatives suffered a mauling from the electorate, losing nearly 500 council seats, the West Midlands mayoral race and the Blackpool South by-election.Sir Keir has urged the prime minister to call a general election “as quickly as possible” as he welcomed Labour’s newest MP to Parliament yesterday.Chris Webb took his seat in the House of Commons five days after winning the Blackpool South by-election with almost 60 per cent of the vote.Welcoming Mr Webb to parliament’s Westminster Hall, Sir Keir praised his “phenomenal victory” and hailed him as “the first born-and-bred Blackpool MP for 60 years”.The Labour leader joked that the party was “making a habit of this”, with Mr Webb making last Thursday’s by-election the eighth of the parliament to see Labour gain a seat. More