UK

Related video: MP who made Rayner complaint unable to explain what offence he thinks she committedSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has doubled down on his refusal to exempt Afghan heroes who served with British forces from being deported to Rwanda.A No 10 spokesman said on Wednesday that the government would not be making any concessions on the Rwanda bill after the House of Lords last night voted in favour of the move.The defiant upper chamber refused to cave to ministers’ demands and sent the flagship Rwanda plan back to the Commons.Peers are also demanding the set up of a monitoring committee to assess whether Rwanda is safe before the government sends asylum seekers there.Downing Street also on Thursday was unable to recommit to the prime minister’s pledge to get flights to Rwanda off the ground by the spring.The spokesman said: “I’m not going to get ahead of the bill passing, which obviously we’ve seen again last night has continued to be held up.“We’re working at pace to ensure these flights leave as soon as possible. It’s now incumbent on the Lords to pass this Bill such that we can trigger the final planning phases and ultimately stop the boats.”Show latest update 1713451530Post Office staff had ‘bunker mentality’ towards press, lawyer tells inquiryA Post Office lawyer has said there was a “bunker mentality” among staff in relation to the media’s coverage of the Horizon IT system.Rodric Williams, who joined the organisation as a litigation lawyer in 2012, was asked at the Horizon Inquiry on Thursday about an email sent to the Post Office by journalist Nick Wallis in 2014.Full report: Matt Mathers18 April 2024 15:451713450159Scotland ditches target of reducing emission by 75% by 2030The Scottish government is ditching a climate change target committing it to reducing emissions by 75 per cent by 2030, the country’s net zero secretary confirmed.Mairi McAllan told MSPs in a statement at Holyrood: “In this challenging context of cuts, UK backtracking, we accept the Climate Change Committee’s recent re-articulation that this parliament’s interim 2030 target is out of reach. We must now act to chart a course to 2045 at a pace and scale that is feasible, fair and just.“With this in mind, I can today confirm that, working with parliament on a timetable, the Scottish government will bring forward expedited legislation to address matters raised by the Climate Change Committee, and ensure our legislative framework better reflects the reality of long-term climate policymaking.“The narrowly drawn bill will retain our legal commitment to 2045 alongside annual reporting on progress, while introducing a target approach based on five-yearly carbon budgets.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has been forced to abandon his commitment to get flights off the ground to Rwanda by the end of spring, in a serious blow to the prime minister’s flagship policy.Downing Street has admitted that the policy is now facing delays as the Lords refused to back down on amendments to the bill, meaning the government will not set out a new timeline for the first flight to take off until it is passed into law.The government had previously said on several occasions that flights would take off by the Spring, but the prime minister’s spokesperson has now repeatedly declined to recommit to the original timetable. Mr Sunak’s spokesman said: “The timetable that we had previously set out factored in plenty of time for parliamentary debate but obviously the bill has continued to be delayed.“We will set out the timeline as soon as the bill passes through the House of Lords. The Lords did hold the bill up again last night, we are working at pace to get the bill passed and get flights off.”The Rwanda Bill is set to face another round of back and forth between the two houses of Parliament next week after defiant peers snubbed ministerial calls to back down and again insisted on revisions to the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill.The fresh government defeats mean a continuation of wrangling at Westminster over the proposed law that aims to clear the way to send asylum seekers who cross the Channel in small boats on a one-way flight to Kigali.The Bill and a treaty with Rwanda are intended to prevent further legal challenges to the stalled asylum scheme after the Supreme Court ruled the plan was unlawful.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has u-turned on plans for the first flight to Rwanda to take off in the spring More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailAnother day in Westminster, another party whip suspended or withdrawn – as allegations of sleaze, dishonesty or failure to uphold parliamentary standards land yet another MP in hot water.Mark Menzies, the Tory MP for Fylde and a government trade envoy, is under investigation over allegations that he misused campaign funds and abused his position after making a late-night phone call saying he’d been locked up by “bad people” demanding thousands of pounds.Mr Menzies, who has relinquished the Tory whip pending the results of the internal party probe, now finds himself among 18 MPs who currently sit as independents, having lost their party whip since the 2019 general election.The growing number of independents has outnumbered the Lib Dems as the Commons’ fourth-largest cohort of MPs since January 2023, and now includes eight former Tories, seven former Labour MPs, along with one each from the SNP, DUP and Plaid Cymru. The Independent takes a look at the group of independents – and those who are no longer MPs – below:Matt HancockWhile Matt Hancock’s ministerial career was ended by a steamy lockdown-busting affair with his aide Gina Coladangelo, his time as a Tory MP came to an end only when he signed up for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!The former health secretary, who dined on camel’s penis during the 2022 instalment of the show, was suspended by chief whip Simon Hart for his appearance in the contest.Mr Hancock, who is quitting as an MP at the next election, came third in the end behind actor Owen Warner and footballer Jill Scott. He has denied that his “primary” motivation for going on the show was monetary, adding that a £10,000 donation to charity from his £320,000 fee was a “decent sum”. Former health secretary Matt Hancock More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailIn the lead-up to the release of her memoirs, Liz Truss may have spent more days promoting the book than she did serving as prime minister. The Tory MP, who took over from Boris Johnson in the summer of 2022, offered a look behind the scenes of Ten Years to Save the West in a series of television and radio interviews. Despite some very negative reviews, it seems the promotion has worked as the book soared to the fourth best-selling book on Amazon on Wednesday morning.Liz Truss’ memoir hit the book shelves this week More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch as Oliver Dowden delivers a speech on economic security on Thursday 18 April.Britain needs to boost its economic defences to counter the “security risks” of globalisation, the deputy prime minister warned.Mr Dowden set out plans to bolster the UK’s ability to deal with “economic security shocks” such as the rise in energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.He told the Chatham House think tank that “while the financial crash exposed the economic risks of globalisation, today’s rising geopolitical competition is demonstrating the security risks behind such integration”.“We must be clear-eyed that one of the great strengths of our system is its openness, but that also brings vulnerabilities,” he added.Mr Dowden was also expected to set out a review of export controls of emerging technologies and the risks from UK businesses investing overseas. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailAngela Rayner is expected to claim that she did not have to pay capital gains tax when she sold her former house due to a kitchen renovation, as the row over her housing affairs rumbles on.The deputy Labour leader is likely to argue that enhancements she made to her former council house have offset the tax she would have paid had it not been her primary property, according to TheTimes.It comes as the police are investigating “tax matters and other issues” in connection with Ms Rayner’s housing affairs, including whether she broke electoral law, whether she paid the correct amount of capital gains tax when she sold her property, and what the council tax arrangements were at her former house. The shadow levelling-up secretary is expected to provide a raft of legal and financial documents – which could include utility bills, payslips and bank account details – as evidence to show that her own home was her primary residence.The probe into Ms Rayner’s tax affairs was launched after Conservative MP and deputy party chair James Daly complained after the Greater Manchester Police previously said it would not be investigating the allegations. Mr Daly said he had been made aware of neighbours contradicting Ms Rayner’s statement that her property, separate from her husband’s, was her main residence.James Daly (right) complained to the Greater Manchester Police about Ms Rayner’s former living arrangements More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Conservatives have suspended MP Mark Menzies over allegations he misused campaign funds.The 52-year-old reportedly spent thousands of pounds given by donors on medical expenses and made a late-night call to a 78-year-old aide asking for help because he had been locked up by “bad people” demanding money for his release.The Fylde MP disputes the allegations reported by The Times, but the Conservative Party has launched an investigation into the claims.MP Mark Menzies has agreed to give up the Conservative whip while the party investigates claims he misused campaign funds (Richard Townshend/UK Parliament) More

Related video: MP who made Rayner complaint unable to explain what offence he thinks she committedSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe House of Lords has snubbed fresh ministerial calls to back down in the tense stand-off over Rishi Sunak’s asylum plan – and insisted on a requirement that Rwanda cannot be treated as safe until promised protections are in place.Peers voted by 245 votes to 208, majority 37. The fresh setback for means the wrangling will continue, after MPs again rejected amendments to the government’s flagship Rwanda Bill, renewing their battle with the Lords.Peers had on Tuesday voted to amend the legislation for a third time, but MPs voted on Wednesday afternoon against four key amendments, including one to exempt asylum-seekers who aided UK troops overseas, such as Afghan special forces, from deportation to Rwanda.Downing Street ruled out making concessions on its Safety of Rwanda Bill.The government had been reportedly considering concessions, including exemptions for Afghans who assisted British forces, but the prime minister’s official spokesman ruled out any such move.Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer accused “billionaires” Rishi Sunak and Tory peer Lord Ashcroft of “smearing a working class woman”, his deputy, Angela Rayner.The pair have criticised Ms Rayner over the sale of her former council house, suggesting she may have failed to pay capital gains tax or given false information.Also at Prime Minister’s Questions, Rishi Sunak refused to rule out cuts to the NHS and state pensions to fund a £46bn national insurance giveaway.Show latest update 1713379100Lords keep deadlock going in snubbing calls to back downThe House of Lords has snubbed ministerial calls to back down – and insisted by 245 votes to 208, majority 37, on a requirement that Rwanda cannot be treated as safe until promised protections are in place.The fresh government setback means yet more wrangling at Westminster over the proposed law that aims to clear the way to send asylum-seekers who cross the Channel in small boats on a one-way flight to Kigali.Jane Dalton17 April 2024 19:381713405593Jeremy Hunt refuses to say ‘anything negative’ about Liz Truss More