Politics (Page 24)

B ritain has demanded Russia releases Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny after he was sentenced to a further 19 years’ imprisonment on charges he rejected as politically motivated. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Friday evening that Moscow’s “abuse” of the opposition leader shows a “complete disregard for even the most basic of human rights”. Mr Navalny, who is already serving prison time in Russia, was handed 19 years more on Friday following a behind-closed-doors trial at the IK-6 penal colony east of Moscow. Following the hearing Mr Cleverly tweeted: “Alexei @Navalny has been sentenced to an additional 19 years in a Russian prison. “His abuse shows Russia’s complete disregard for even the most basic of human rights. “Dissent cannot beContinue Reading

T he chairman of a UK-based Republican group has said a lot of conservatives wish former US president Donald Trump would not run in the forthcoming election. Greg Swenson, from Republicans Overseas UK, told the PA news agency the latest indictment against Mr Trump was a “weaponisation of the judicial system” but said it would be “better for the party and the country” if he did not run for president again. Mr Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday to trying to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost. It is the third criminal case brought against him in less than six months, after he was also charged in New York with falsifying business records in connectionContinue Reading

T he Justice Secretary has called on the regulatory body for solicitors in England and Wales to wield the “full force of sanctions” against unscrupulous lawyers after an investigation alleged false asylum claims are being submitted for a fee. The Daily Mail said multiple solicitors agreed to help an undercover reporter posing as an economic migrant submit a phoney application in exchange for thousands of pounds. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) strictly prohibits lawyers from deceiving courts, and any act of dishonesty or lack of integrity may result in them being struck off. I would strongly encourage you to use the full force of sanctions available to you against solicitors where there is a finding of a breach. In aContinue Reading

F requent SNP rebel Fergus Ewing has described the party as “toxic” and claimed some in Government or leadership roles have not spoken to him in more than a year. Mr Ewing has become a critic of the leadership of the party in recent months, accentuated by his outbursts from the backbenches against policies including highly protected marine areas (HPMAs), the failure to dual the A9 and the deposit return scheme. The former minister has also criticised the SNP decision to unite with the Scottish Greens, bringing the party’s co-leaders into Government as junior ministers. Speaking to the Holyrood Sources podcast, the former minister said he had not heard from some in the party’s upper echelons. I respect others thatContinue Reading

T he resignation of NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose in the wake of the Nigel Farage account closure row has intensified pressure on UK lenders amid concerns people are being denied banking services because of their political views. Ministers are pressing ahead with accelerated reforms to give customers more rights on so-called de-banking. But what has led to the debate, what are the current rules and what is changing? The PA news agency takes a look. – What has happened? In summary, former Ukip leader Nigel Farage sparked a row over the current UK banking rules after he said his account with private bank Coutts was shut because it disagreed with his political views. Ministers, politicians and banking experts haveContinue Reading

In a statement released early on Wednesday, NatWest Group chairman Sir Howard Davies confirmed that Dame Alison was stepping down. It came after she said she had made a “serious error of judgment” when she discussed Mr Farage’s relationship with private bank Coutts, owned by NatWest Group, with a BBC journalist. Sir Howard initially said the board members had decided the chief executive retained their “full confidence” but her position became ever more uncertain after the Chancellor and Downing Street were said to have “serious concerns” over her conduct. Speaking to the PA news agency early on Wednesday, the former Ukip leader hit out at the wider NatWest Board, saying: “Anybody on that Board that backed that statement that wasContinue Reading

T he Government has more work to do to address “structural problems” in the early years system to ensure families benefit from high-quality affordable childcare under its reforms, MPs have said. Plans to expand the number of subsidised childcare places for working parents in England “should not come at the expense of quality”, the Commons Education Select Committee has warned. From September, the Government will change minimum staff-to-child ratios from 1:4 to 1:5 for two-year-olds in England, but it will remain optional. The group of MPs said it is “deeply concerned” about the plans and it is calling on the Government to reverse the changes “if quality is degraded”. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced reforms in the Budget in March whichContinue Reading

R ussian could target civilian ships in the Black Sea in a bid to “destroy” Ukraine’s exports following the collapse of a crucial grain deal, the Government has warned. It comes as Rishi Sunak said he was “appalled” by Russian strikes on Odesa in a call with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as he stressed UK efforts to restore the Black Sea Grain Initiative ended by Moscow. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly warned: “The UK believes that Russia may escalate its campaign to destroy Ukraine’s food exports by targeting civilian ships in the Black Sea.” He said that the Government would raise this “unconscionable behaviour” at the UN Security Council. “Russia should stop holding global food supplies hostage and return toContinue Reading

M ichael Gove said on Tuesday that a 2030 ban on the sale of new diesel and petrol cars is “immovable,” in a tougher stance than Rishi Sunak. Downing Street left open the possibility that this target could change, possibly if there were technological improvements in emissions. But asked on Times Radio, if the 2030 ban was immovable, Communities Secretary Mr Gove said: “Yes.” Pressed again on this specific point that it would not change, he added: “Yes.” However, he also stressed that the Government would take into account the costs on people of net zero measures when deciding policies to combat global warming, as parts of Europe were being hit with “toxic heat” record temperatures. “It’s important that theContinue Reading

T he UK and EU deal to reduce red tape on post-Brexit trade has improved the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol but problems remain, peers have concluded. The House of Lords committee on the protocol has published a report on the economic, political, legal and constitutional impact of the Windsor Framework deal struck by London and Brussels earlier this year. The framework sought to cut the bureaucracy on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland created by the protocol. It sought to achieve this by the creation of red and green lanes that differentiated between goods whose end destination was Northern Ireland and those due for onward transport into the EU single market over the Irish border. It also created aContinue Reading