Badenoch accuses former Post Office boss of lying for claiming that the Government wanted to delay compensation payouts
“The Business Secretary has accused the former chairman of the Post Office of lying in a row over the handling of the Horizon scandal. Kemi Badenoch launched the attack on Henry Staunton on Sunday after he claimed in an interview that he had been told by a senior government official to slow down the payment of compensation for sub-postmasters to allow the Tories to “limp into” the next election. Mrs Badenoch, who sacked him as chairman last month, said his comments were “full of lies” and accused him of failing to get justice for postmasters.” – Daily Telegraph
Keegan urges headteachers to search pupils for mobile phones
“Headteachers will be told to search pupils for mobile phones as part of a government ban on the devices in schools. Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, said phones were an “unwanted distraction in the classroom” and banishing them would reduce disruption and improve behaviour. In guidance to be published on Monday, headteachers will be given four options on how to implement the ban, with the most severe being a prohibition on mobile phones on school property, meaning children will have to leave their phones at home…Headteachers are also encouraged to search children and their bags if they believe they are carrying a mobile phone under existing legal powers.” – Daily Telegraph
- Classrooms should be a sanctuary for children – Gillian Keegan, Daily Mail
Tomlinson insists that Rwanda flights will take off before the General Election
“Deportation flights to Rwanda will take off before the general election, the illegal migration minister has declared. The pledge was made by Michael Tomlinson — but he stressed Parliament must vote for the bill and ratify the treaty underpinning the policy. He insisted it was a “moral imperative” to deter the boats and stop the smuggling gangs. Asked if he was guaranteeing flights before the next election, he told Sky News: “Yes. We need to get through the bill first. We need to get the treaty ratified and then the planes will take off.” – The Sun
>Yesterday: Video: “What people saw is if you vote for Reform, you get Labour and you go back to square one.” Tomlinson on Labour’s by-election victories.
Starmer calls for Gaza “ceasefire that lasts”
“Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said a “ceasefire that lasts” must “happen now” in the Israel-Gaza conflict. He was speaking at a Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow, a day after it passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. On Wednesday, there will be a SNP-led vote in the Commons on an immediate ceasefire, three months after 56 Labour MPs backed a previous SNP motion. The situation puts Sir Keir under fresh pressure over his stance on the crisis.” – BBC
- Israel rejects allies’ two-state solution and sets date for Rafah ground offensive – Daily Telegraph
- Labour leader says ceasefire can’t be one-sided – The Times
- Lord Austin receives death threats after being suspended from housing role – The Times
>Yesterday:
Poll shows only Johnson would outperform Sunak as Tory leader
“Boris Johnson is the only Tory who would outperform Rishi Sunak against Sir Keir Starmer if the party changed leader, a new poll has suggested. The poll, commissioned by Lady McAlpine, a long-standing party supporter, found that the former prime minister is the most popular candidate to succeed Mr Sunak as Tory leader. He beat 10 other Conservatives, including Lord Cameron and Kemi Badenoch, to become the favourite to replace Mr Sunak should the party change leader.” – Daily Telegraph
- Rebel Tory MPs “pushing for Rishi Sunak to quit before he is deposed” – The Guardian
- Military “tells Shapps to stop plotting to become Tory leader” – Daily Mail
Jenrick visits Trump’s border wall
“Looking out over the Texas-Mexico border from the river bank at Eagle Pass on Tuesday, Robert Jenrick saw the kind of physical infrastructure that he believes is necessary to tackle the small boats crisis in the English Channel. Britain’s former immigration minister saw the latest construction of Donald Trump’s border wall and the drastic temporary measures that are being installed as stopgaps before it is completed to stop the thousands of migrants who attempt to cross the border daily. Gigantic buoys line the Rio Grande river in an attempt to block migrants crossing, while endless coils of razor wire meet those who do manage to get across. Shipping containers on the Texas side of the river are stacked up on top of each other, acting as a temporary wall before permanent infrastructure is in place.” – The Times
>Today: Lord Ashcroft on Comment: My latest poll finds Trump and Biden neck and neck in the race for the White House – but a generic Democrat ahead
Call to strip Natural England and the Environment Agency of their power
“Natural England and the Environment Agency (EA) should be stripped of their responsibilities, two former Cabinet ministers and grassroots Tory activists have urged. The Conservative Rural Forum (CRF), a pressure group that relaunched last year to champion the countryside, will call for the quangos to be brought back into the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) after criticism of their performance. Natural England stands accused of blocking the construction of up to 145,000 homes by policing European Union-derived laws that require developers to prove new homes will not raise levels of phosphate and nitrate in rivers.” – Daily Telegraph
Timothy: High energy costs in the UK are an act of self-harm
“In Britain, policy has deliberately increased the cost of energy. Yet expensive energy makes British goods less competitive. In foreign markets and at home, British companies lose out to foreign rivals, with cheaper inputs, lower labour market standards, and higher carbon emissions. Many consider this progress, but it will soon come to be seen as serious economic, social and geopolitical self-harm…Most European countries have seen prices rise dramatically since Russia invaded Ukraine. But compare British prices with specific countries and the difference is shocking. Our industrial electricity prices are three times higher than in America and Canada. They are more than twice as high as in Korea and New Zealand.” – Nick Timothy, Daily Telegraph
Badenoch: We are saving jobs in the steel industry
“The two largest steelworks in the UK, run by British Steel in Scunthorpe and Tata in Port Talbot, are losing between £1-1.5million a day. Some have suggested we let the companies go. But doing that would leave the Government with a bill running into billions to close down and clean up the sites. So this Government has decided to bring in one of the biggest industrial support packages in our history to secure a future for Port Talbot and create a regeneration plan…The Labour Party, despite running the Welsh government, have not lifted a finger to help in this process. They have been commenting about jobs lost during the transition, ignoring the tens of thousands of jobs saved at the steelworks and in the supply chain. They also never mention that their outlandish and uncosted promise to decarbonise the grid by 2030 would mean even more steel jobs lost, or tens of billions extra spent – which would mean higher taxes.” – Kemi Badenoch, Daily Mail
- You can virtually hear big firms sucking up to Labour, but if they win it’ll be the sound of jobs gurgling down the plughole – Dominic Lawson, Daily Mail
- We need lower taxes to boost manufacturing – John Longworth, Daily Express
Hill: There is a gap between Conservative rhetoric and Government policy
“There is now an almost complete disconnect between the Conservative party’s idea (or indeed ideas) of itself and how it actually governs. Rhetorically, it continues to cherish low taxes and personal responsibility. In reality, taxation is at a historic high – and even Hunt’s mooted tax cuts would be illusory, offset by his decision to freeze income tax thresholds. On paper, the party is committed to strong borders and lower immigration. In reality, since 2019 the government has operated one of the most laissez-faire immigration policies this country has seen in modern times. Time and again, the home secretary du jour is tasked with talking tough while the departments of business, education and the Treasury push for higher numbers.” – Henry Hill, The Guardian
Other political news
- Rochdale by-election is a referendum on Gaza, says Muslim charity boss – Daily Telegraph
- Special forces blocked UK resettlement applications from elite Afghan troops – BBC
- One in four foreign care workers abuse UK visa rules – The Times
- Some “right to roam” areas have no public access – BBC
- UK dentists warn staff ‘crisis’ will worsen without more overseas recruits – Financial Times
- ‘Desire to look tough’ on benefits is backfiring, ministers told – The Times
- Councils call for funding help as more Ukrainian refugees become homeless – The Guardian
- Planning permission to be required for holiday lets – Daily Express
- Labour plans citizen’s juries that will ‘bypass Whitehall’ – The Times
- Ursula von der Leyen to seek second term as head of European Commission – The Guardian
- Reed claims Labour would “close loopholes” to end fox hunting – The Times
- Patients face hidden NHS waiting list – BBC
- Putin cronies poisoned – Daily Express
News in brief
- Britain’s Jews aren’t safe – Stephen Daisley, The Spectator
- Gove is not a true YIMBY – Henry Oliver, The Critic
- Red Sea crisis is a warning that we must invest in our maritime capability – Liam Fox MP, The House magazine
- Tory MPs avoiding Party branding on their leafelts – Guido Fawkes
- Anti driver madness at the crossroads – John Redwood
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