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Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSir Keir Starmer has denied his plan to bring in supervised toothbrushing of young children in schools amounts to nanny state politics.The Labour leader said the Conservatives should be ashamed of the decline in some health outcomes for British children – suggesting that it amounted to criminal neglect.Defending Labour plans to introduce supervised toothbrushing at free breakfast clubs, Sir Keir said tooth decay should be consigned to the history books.He also vowed to boost dental services to ensure children can get appointments when they need one – part of plan to create the “healthiest and happiest generation of children” ever in Britain.But the announcement drew criticism from teaching unions, with leaders saying it is “not the role of teachers to be making sure children brush their teeth each day”.Asked by reporters if supervised toothbrushing for three to five-year-olds was nanny state politics, Sir Keir said: “We want to encourage good parenting, but I don’t think we can just turn our back on it.”He added: “When I first read the statistic that for six to 10-year-olds that the biggest admission to hospitals I was really struck. That is shocking – and I don’t think you can simply say, ‘That’s none of our business.’”Starmer said he was ‘up for the fight’ on whether support for children was nanny state politicsSir Keir said that both parents and the government had a role in the wellbeing of children. “It’s saying there is a role for the state in this,” he said – adding that he was “up for that fight”.Labour analysis of OECD data shows that British children are falling behind their international counterparts when it comes to poor health outcomes.Children in the UK today are smaller than Haitian children, haver greater obesity levels than the French, and are less happy than the Turks, the figures show.Sir Keir told reporters he was “very concerned” that the height of children had fallen behind some many other countries, adding: “That is primarily down to malnutrition … it’s something the government ought to be ashamed of.”The Labour leader added: “Frankly if this was a parent who had treated children this badly – as badly as the UK government – they would probably be charged with neglect.”Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said they were relieved that supervising toothbrushing won’t be a part of the school day – but added: “We remain somewhat sceptical about how this will work in practice.”Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said free breakfast club provision was a positive development for many schools.But he added: “What is essential to the effective rollout of breakfast clubs and toothbrushing supervision, however, is sufficient funding and staffing levels. It is not at all clear who will administer these new drives.”Other aspects of Labour’s plan include introducing a 9pm watershed for junk food ads, banning vape adverts aimed at children, better access to mental health support, cutting waiting times for hospital care for children, and ensuring more dental appointments.Sir Keir said the child health action plan was fully costed and would be made “definitely [in] the first term of a Labour government – these are things we would seek to do pretty much straight away”.Andy Bell, chief executive of the Centre for Mental Health, welcomed Labour’s proposals to “improve support for children and young people’s mental health”.And Dr Lade Smith, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said the number of children struggling with their mental health has increased “significantly” in recent years. “It is positive to see commitments being made by the Labour Party to tackle this issue and reduce NHS waiting lists.”Tory public health minister Andrea Leadsom said Sir Keir “should focus on fixing his own house before criticising others”, adding: “This is the same old Labour of more spending and more taxes.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSir Keir Starmer has been dragged into the Post Office scandal after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) revealed it had prosecuted postmasters while the Labour leader was in charge.The CPS said on Wednesday night that it prosecuted 11 cases that “involved evidence connected to Horizon” – three resulted in convictions while Sir Keir was in charge.It turns the focus of the scandal to the Labour leader, after days of outrage at former Post Office boss Paula Vennells and Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey.Labour said Sir Keir was unaware of any cases being prosecuted while he was director of public prosecutions (DPP).Keir Starmer said the Post Office scandal was a ‘huge injustice’ But he has previously told Sky News that he “carries the can” for mistakes made while he was DPP. It opens the Labour leader up to questions about why he did not intervene in the cases, and attacks over his involvement in the scandal.Errors made by Horizon software, which was made by tech firm Fujitsu and used by the Post Office, led to the wrongful conviction of more than 700 people over false accounting and theft between 1999 and 2015.The renewed focus on the scandal follows the recent broadcast of ITV drama, Mr Bates vs the Post Office.Addressing the scandal in parliament, Sir Keir said: “It is a huge injustice; people lost their lives, their liberty and their livelihood, and they have been waiting far too long for the truth, for justice and for compensation.” A spokesperson for the Labour leader said during his time as chief prosecutor “no cases” relating to Horizon were brought to his desk. The spokesperson said: “The scandal that’s emerged is one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history and Labour has been calling for swift exoneration and compensation for the victims. “It’s vital that all action is taken to right these wrongs. Labour’s focus is on playing our part in making sure this injustice is never repeated.” During Sir Keir’s time as DPP, the CPS handled more than 4 million cases. And while the CPS said the “vast majority” of cases against postmasters were private prosecutions, it said on Wednesday it had found “a small number” of CPS cases prosecuted based on evidence connected to Horizon.A spokesperson said: “We’ve worked extensively and identified a small number of CPS cases which involved evidence connected to Horizon.“In these cases, we have written to those defendants to disclose information so they could pursue an appeal.”It argued cases involving the CPS were taken forward in good faith based on evidence provided by the Post Office and the police.In 1999, Horizon, a defective Fujitsu IT system, began incorrectly reporting cash shortfalls at Post Office branches across the country. The accusations tore people’s lives apart, with many losing their jobs and homes.Several people took their own lives due to the stress.To this day, not a single Post Office or Fujitsu employee has been held to account over the scandal, much less faced criminal investigation. At least 60 of the victims have died before finding any justice at all.But on Wednesday Rishi Sunak announced that Post Office branch managers wrongly convicted are to be exonerated.After a decades-long fight for justice, hundreds of those caught up in the scandal will have their good names restored by the end of the year under the government’s plans. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailAfter weeks of mounting speculation about how the government intends to respond to the Horizon Post Office scandal, Rishi Sunak has announced the government will introduce legislation to exonerate 700 victims accused of theft and fraud.The prime minister announced the legislation on Wednesday, as well as the introduction of a new upfront payment of £75,000 in compensation to affected victims, stating that the government will “make sure that the truth comes to light”.The announcement follows calls for justice from politicians and the public following the release of ITV Drama Mr Bates vs. The Post Office, which publicised the plight of the hundreds of postmasters wrongly prosecuted for theft, fraud and false accounting as a result of errors in the Post Office’s Horizon computer system. Here, we take a look at everything you need to know about the new legislation:What will the law do?Public anger over the scandal has been growing since the release of ITV drama “Mr Bates vs The Post Office” Postal minister Kevin Hollinrake set out some of the details of how the government intends to quash at least 700 convictions of Post Office staff caught up in the Horizon scandal.Mr Hollinrake told MPs that the law is “unprecedented” but that the situation requires “exceptional circumstances” which would see victims exonerated within the year.The details of the legislation have not yet been published, but we can expect the bill “within weeks” according to the prime minister’s spokesperson.In order for victims to claim the upfront offer of £75,000 in compensation, subpostmasters must sign a statement to the effect that they did not commit the crimes of which they are accused. Anyone found to have signed it untruthfully could be subject to prosecution.How will this be received?Victims have long been campaigning for exoneration, pointing to the reputational, emotional and mental trauma they experienced during this period.Though calls for mass exoneration have come from across the political divide, legal experts have raised concerns that it could interfere with the constitutional independence of courts and judges. Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve told the BBC earlier this week that exonerations are “in a sense a parliamentary interference”. However, those in support of the move have argued that since all the cases for wrongful conviction rest on the allegation that the Post Office deliberately hid the truth about issues within the Horizon system, the grounds for a one-off exoneration is strong enough to avoid further constitutional challenges.Post Office scandal victims confront minister in heated exchange: ‘It’s a cop out’When will it be introduced?The government has not yet announced a timetable for the introduction of the legislation but Mr Hollinrake told MPs on Wednesday it would be introduced “within weeks”Mr Hollinrake also confirmed that the UK government is now liaising with devolved authorities in Scotland and Northern Ireland about the next steps.Will the legislation encounter opposition?This issue has transcended party politics and is likely to receive broad support across parliament.The leader of the opposition Sir Keir Starmer has also given his support to the principle of the legislation, calling the scandal a huge injustice. There may be some dispute and debate over the minor details within the bill, such as the timetable for exoneration, the amount of compensation offered and whether any follow-up action will be taken against Fujitsu and the Post Office for their role in the scanda, as these details are yet to be revealed.Mr Hollinrake has also indicated that the blanket legislation may result in some who are guilty having their convictions overturned. He told MPs: “I can not tell the House that all those prosecuted were indeed innocent… without retrying every case, we can not know.” Conservative former minister Sir David Davis raised concerns that some of the victims may want an “individual exoneration rather than a grand pardon, because they are understandably concerned of being bracketed with a very small number of people who will actually not be innocent.”Some MPs may also be concerned that the bill could create a precedent for government interference with the judiciary. As such, eagle-eyed MPs will expect a clear rationale within the legislation for the exceptional nature of its existence. However, these details are unlikely to prevent the legislation becoming law and are most likely to be ironed around over the next couple of weeks and during parliamentary debates. More

Rishi Sunak says Post Office horizon scandal an ‘appalling miscarriage of justice’Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has announced new legislation to exonerate wrongly convicted Post Office branch managers after one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.The prime minister also said there would be a new upfront payment of £75,000 for some of those affected.Mr Sunak said a new law would be introduced so people wrongly convicted in the Horizon scandal are “swiftly exonerated and compensated’’.He told the Commons: “This is one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history. “People who worked hard to serve their communities had their lives and their reputations destroyed through absolutely no fault of their own. The victims must get justice and compensation.”Another 130 people affected by the scandal have now come forward since a new TV programme dramatising the miscarriage of justice aired, postal services minister Kevin Hollinrake said.The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) would normally look at individual convictions and send them to the Court of Appeal. But only 93 of at least 700 convictions have been overturned to date.Show latest update
1704898032£75k payments show Sunak out of touch, says victimJo Hamilton, who was wrongfully convicted in 2008 of stealing thousands of pounds from the village shop she ran in Hampshire, said the £75,000 payments showed Rishi Sunak was “out of touch”.Replying to the PM on Twitter, formerly X, she said: “You still haven’t paid to GLO group [Group Litigation Order] and the fact that you think throwing £75k at people will help, just shows how completely out of touch you are. Wouldn’t even cover the interest on what has been stolen from them by POL.”Jane Dalton10 January 2024 14:471704895211Post Office showed ‘incompetence and malevolence’, says ministerPostal minister Kevin Hollinrake said the public inquiry had already shown that Post Office displayed both “incompetence and malevolence” towards its staff in the Horizon scandal. He said: “We have seen whole lives ruined by this brutal and arbitrary exercise of power.”Rishi Sunak said earlier at PMQs that staff were victims of “one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history”.Jane Dalton10 January 2024 14:001704894011 More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailPost Office branch managers wrongly convicted in one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history are to be exonerated, Rishi Sunak has announced. After a two-decade long battle for justice hundreds of those caught up in the scandal will have their good names restored by the end of the year under the goverment’s plans. There will also be a new upfront payment of £75,000 for some of those affected, after the PM said innocent people emboiled in the fiasco would be “swiftly exonerated and compensated”.Ministers acted in the wake of widespread public outcry after ITV aired a drama, Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, based on the scandal over Christmas.No 10 also suggested that Mr Bates could receive an honour for his campaign for justice, after former Post Office boss Paula Vennells finally bowed to intense public pressure and returned her CBE.The PM’s press secretary said: “There is a formal process for honours… but it’s hard to think of someone more deserving of being rewarded through the honours system than him.”Esther McVey, the so-called ‘common sense’ minister, said Mr Bates should receive a knighthood for exposing the Post Office accounting scandal “as soon as possible”.It began when Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon accounting software made it appear as though money was missing from outlets. Subpostmasters were forced to pay back many thousands of pounds, while hundreds were convicted based on the faults. Sunak promised extra £75,000 upfront payments Despite warnings from subpostmasters, the Post Office was prosecuting those caught up in the scandal as recently as 2015.Mr Sunak said they were victims of “one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history”.He MPs: “We will introduce new primary legislation to ensure that those convicted as a result of the Horizon scandal are swiftly exonerated and compensated.”Downing Street insisted Fujitsu would be held to account if it is found guilty of wrongdoing by an independent inquiry. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We strongly believe that individuals, that businesses, will be held to account for one of the biggest miscarriages of justice this country has ever seen.”We will not resile from that. But it is right that we allow an independent inquiry to get the facts, to set them out, and then we can act.”Postal minister Kevin Hollinrake said the whole country had been united by the ITV drama starrring Toby Jones.“We’ve all been moved by the stories of postmasters who have been unjustly convicted, and the terrible effects over a period of two decades on their finances, their health and their relationships,” he told MPs.The postal affairs minister said the public inquiry into the scandal has already shown “not only incompetence, but malevolence in many of their actions”.And he said while the government “recognises the importance of an independent court system and judiciary”, the government was prepared to take “unprecedented action” to overturn hundreds of convictions.He said doing so would create a risk of an “unknown number of people” who have genuinely stolen from their Post Office branches being exonerated.Ministers plans to bring forward new legislation “within weeks” which would overturn the conviction of all those convicted during the scandal in England and Wales.To minimise the risk of dishonest postmasters being compensated alongside wrongly convicted postmasters, Mr Hollinrake said they would be asked to sign a statement swearing they did not commit the crimes they were accused of.Anybody who wrongly signs the document will put themself at risk of prosecution for fraud, he said.Senior Tory MP David Davis, who has campaigned for years for justice for postmasters, said it “looks as though the government has responded correctly”.And, while welcoming the action, he urged the government to go further and require Fujitsu, which developed the faulty Horizon software, to contribute to some of the cost of compensating victims.And he called for the government to accelerate investigations into those responsible so that those who “are really guilty” in the scandal can be convicted.But Jo Hamilton, who was wrongfully convicted in 2008 of stealing thousands of pounds from the village shop she ran in Hampshire, said the £75,000 payments showed Mr Sunak was “out of touch”.Replying to the PM on Twitter, formerly X, she said: “You still haven’t paid to GLO group and the fact that you think throwing £75k at people will help, just shows how completely out of touch you are. Wouldn’t even cover the interest on what has been stolen from them by POL.”Shadow business minister Jonathan Reynolds told MPs it was important the government was exonerating postmasters, not pardoning them, “because a pardon does imply guilt that is then forgiven”.He added: “We stand ready to work with the government to deliver a solution that achieves the long awaited justice and compensation.”Retired high court judge Sir Wyn Williams is chairing an inquiry into the Post Office scandal, considered the worst miscarriage of justice in recent British history. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailBuilding HS2 between London and Birmingham alone will cost as much as £66.6bn, almost twice the original estimate for the entire project, according to Sir Jon Thompson, the executive chair of HS2 Ltd.Sir Jon admitted on Wednesday that the cost has soared from an initial estimate under Gordon Brown’s government that it would cost just £37.5bn (in 2009 prices). That was under the original plans for the project, which included connections to Leeds and Manchester that have since been scrapped.On Wednesday, Sir Jon said the estimated cost for Phase 1, from London to Birmingham, is between £49bn and £56.6bn at 2019 prices. But adjusting the range for current prices involves “adding somewhere between £8bn and £10bn”, he told a committee of MPs.Rishi Sunak used his party conference speech last year to cancel HS2 north of Birmingham Sir Jon said reasons for the cost increase include original budgets being too low, changes to the scope of the project, poor delivery and inflation. He went on: “It is the government’s long-standing policy that infrastructure estimates are only updated at spending review points, that’s my understanding of it.” (Spending reviews see the Treasury periodically looking at the efficacy of past expenditure and setting future limits).“So that’s why we’re still working to 2019 prices and the whole conversation [is] about 2019 – which is, to be frank with you, an administrative burden of some significance in the organisation.” It comes four months after The Independent first revealed there had been talks between Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt to scrap the second phase of the high-speed rail project.The prime minister later confirmed that the section connecting Birmingham to Manchester would be scrapped, prompting outrage from Northern business chiefs and political leaders. Mr Sunak promised the government would reinvest £36bn from the high-speed rail project in a series of road and rail schemes across the country.Sir Jon also confirmed that HS2 trains now running between Birmingham and Manchester will be slower than trains currently being operated by Avanti on the line. Since HS2’s northern leg was scrapped, the high-speed trains running from London will continue their journey to the North, but more slowly, so they can use the existing lines. Extraordinarily, because of a lesser ability to tilt at the bends on the line, the HS2 trains will actually be slower than the Pendolinos currently running on the tracks.Plans to scrap HS2 in the North, revealed by The Independent, sparked a backlash, with critics saying it will further entrench the North-South divideSir Jon went on to tell MPs there are four reasons why the cost of HS2 is more than the initial estimate. “The cost estimate in the first place, and the budget that was set in the first place were too low in my opinion,” he said. “There have been some changes to the scope … there definitely has been some poor delivery on our point … and fourthly, there’s inflation.”Sir Jon added: “It’s worth remembering that between 2010 when prime minister Gordon Brown launched HS2 and 2019 when the current budget was set, the scope of HS2 has been changed significantly by a whole series of ministers.” 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 at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday 10 January.Much of the discussion was around the Post Office scandal, which has dominated headlines in recent days.The government is “very close” to announcing how it will clear the names of those wrongly convicted in the Horizon IT scandal, according to postal services minister Kevin Hollinrake.Mr Sunak came under pressure from MPs to set out how the government will exonerate hundreds of subpostmasters accused of swindling money as a result of the flawed computer system.The government says compensation has been paid to more than 2,700 claimants, but hundreds were also prosecuted over shortfalls in their branches caused by software errors.Another 130 people have come forward after an ITV show dramatised what has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history.The Government is considering emergency legislation to overturn all convictions but there are concerns that it could be seen to be interfering with the independent courts process by quashing them “en bloc”, Mr Hollinrake said. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak faces a new threat over his flagship Rwanda bill, with around 30 right-wing Tory rebels planning to back amendments aimed at toughening up the legislation.The PM is under pressure from both sides of his party over the controversial legislation – aimed at overcoming the Supreme Court’s objections to the deportation flights plan.Led by former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, hardliners have tabled amendments designed to tackle last-minute injunctions by the European Court of Human Rights.Mr Jenrick said: “If we don’t fix this bill the country will be consigned to more illegal crossings, more farcical migrant hotels and billions more of wasted taxpayers’ money in the years to come.”Ms Braverman – supporting the changes put forward by Mr Jenrick – warned Mr Sunak that failure to toughen the bill would be “a betrayal of the British people”.Writing in the Daily Mail, she said: “As drafted, this bill will not stop the boats,” before adding that government lawyers had warned it would get “bogged down with individual legal challenges from migrants”.Mr Jenrick would not say whether he will vote against the Rwanda Bill at the crucial third reading stage if it is not amended.He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I hope that we’ll win the argument first, so we’re not looking ahead to that.”Right-wingers Danny Kruger and Miriam Cates, leaders of the New Conservatives, said that the amendments were “proportionate, consistent with our international obligations, and have respectable legal arguments behind them”.Ms Cates told Times Radio that “the biggest threat” to the Tories is “looking daft” at the general election expected later in 2024 if they had not stopped the boats.Robert Jenrick, former immigration minister, poses major threat to Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda billAs well as trying to block any role for the European court in deportation cases, Mr Jenrick and the New Conservatives are also set to table amendments aimed at tightening the grounds on which illegal migrants can bring individual claims.At least nine former cabinet ministers – including former PM Liz Truss, former home secretary Suella Braverman, Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg – are understood to be ready to back the four amendments.It would take just 29 Tory MPs to overturn Mr Sunak’s 56-seat parliamentary majority and defeat the government – if enough right-wingers are angry about their amendments being ignored by the government.More than 20 Conservatives abstained at the initial reading before Christmas, but some threatened to vote against unless Mr Sunak agrees to changes. And some big names who did not abstain are ready to back the amendments set to be tabled next week.“This is the third piece of legislation in three years, it’s three strikes or you’re out, we’ve got to get this right,” Mr Jenrick told the Today programme. The right-winger claimed that the amendments were still in line with international law – though he argued that “vital national interests supersede very contested notions of international law”.Sunak said his Rwanda bill will help him deliver his ‘stop the boats’ pledgeCommons Leader Penny Mordaunt on Tuesday announced the bill’s committee stage will take place next week, on 16 and 17 January.Former deputy prime minister Damian Green, leader of the ‘One Nation’ group of Tory moderates, said on Tuesday that Mr Sunak had assured him the bill would not be strengthened.“The prime minister’s looked me in the eye and said that he doesn’t want to go any further” and potentially break international law by ignoring its human rights obligations, he told the New Statesman.Mr Sunak won a key Commons vote on his emergency draft law in December despite speculation about a major rebellion by Tory MPs. But it faces further dissent during the upcoming parliamentary stages and heavy scrutiny in the Lords.The Tory leader has said he would welcome “bright ideas” on how to improve the bill – but has previously insisted it strikes the right balance with only an “inch” between his rescue plan and more radical measures that would risk Rwanda pulling out of the scheme.The legislation seeks to enable parliament to deem Rwanda “safe” generally, but still makes limited allowances for personal claims against being sent to the east African nation under a clause disliked by Conservative hardliners.Meanwhile, Labour was defeated in its bid to force the government to release documents relating to the scheme. MPs voted 304 to 228, majority 76, to reject the proposal.The opposition motion asked for any documents that show the cost of relocating each individual asylum seeker to Rwanda as well as a list of all payments made or scheduled to be made to Rwanda’s government.It also asked for the government’s internal breakdown of the more than 35,000 asylum decisions made last year and an unredacted copy of the confidential memorandum of understanding ministers reached with the East African country. More