Politics (Page 62)

P olice are “all over” a massive security operation involving MI5 and Britain’s spies for the King’s coronation on Saturday, a minister said on Wednesday. As a ring of steel was being put in place around Westminster Abbey, security minister Tom Tugendhat stressed that it was one of the “most important” security operations ever planned in the UK. Not only was it needed to ensure the coronation goes smoothly, but it was also a chance to “showcase the United Kingdom to the world”. He also praised police for swiftly dealing with an incident outside Buckingham Palace on Tuesday night. Mr Tugendhat told Times Radio: “What we have been planning for a number of months now is one of the mostContinue Reading

H ere is a list of provisional declaration times for the elections taking place on Thursday in England, with results expected from the early hours on Friday. The list contains all 230 local authorities with elections, and is arranged alphabetically. Some timings are based on previous elections, and all times are subject to change. They all relate to Friday. ALPHABETICAL 1 Amber Valley 19:002 Arun 16:303 Ashfield 05:304 Ashford 16:005 Babergh 16:006 Barnsley 15:007 Basildon 01:308 Basingstoke & Deane 17:009 Bassetlaw 05:3010 Bath & North East Somerset 04:0011 Bedford 17:0012 Blaby 16:0013 Blackburn with Darwen 13:3014 Blackpool 15:0015 Bolsover 04:0016 Bolton 04:0017 Boston 03:0018 Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole 18:0019 Bracknell Forest 13:3020 Bradford 16:3021 Braintree 04:0022 Breckland 15:0023 Brentwood 02:0024Continue Reading

T he Conservatives are overseeing a “car theft epidemic”, the Liberal Democrats have warned, as the party claimed that around four in five car thefts went unsolved last year. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said that criminals are being allowed to act with impunity, as he hit out at the Government’s crime record just a day before the local elections. The party said that an analysis of the latest Home Office figures shows that 100,258 car theft cases across England and Wales were closed in 2022 without a suspect being identified. The Lib Dems also said that police had failed to attend three in four car thefts last year. This Conservative Government has decimated community policing, leaving victims ofContinue Reading

A group representing former and current female members of the Defence Forces has criticised the approach taken by Government to forming draft terms of reference for a statutory inquiry into the military. Tanaiste and Minister for Defence Micheál Martin committed to a full statutory inquiry into sexual misconduct, bullying and discrimination in the Defence Forces following the recommendations of a report by an independent review group (IRG). Women Of Honour, which represents female members of the Defence Forces, said it was presented with a draft terms of reference for the inquiry following a meeting with Mr Martin on Tuesday. It said it was “disappointing” that the Department of Defence had not spoken to victims prior to designing the draft. “ItContinue Reading

T he Foreign Secretary has said he is Scotland’s “excellent advocate overseas” after he was accused of “sabotaging” the Scottish economy with his “draconian” rules on foreign trips. James Cleverly was challenged in the Commons by SNP foreign affairs spokesman Drew Hendry, who suggested his new guidance to heads of mission abroad is sabotaging “vital economic activity” north of the border. Mr Hendry’s comments come after the Foreign Secretary asked diplomats to take a “strengthened approach” to Scottish ministerial visits – ensuring officials from the UK Government are present during meetings with host governments. While foreign policy has always been a matter reserved to Westminster, ministers in Holyrood have often engaged with foreign governments on a number of issues. WhyContinue Reading

S ir Keir Starmer has said he is “confident” that partygate investigator Sue Gray has not broken any rules in her discussions with Labour about a senior party role. A Cabinet Office minister is due to issue a written statement to the House of Commons on Tuesday containing an “update into the circumstances leading to the resignation of a senior civil servant”, according to Parliament’s order paper. The PA news agency understands the statement will shed more light on how former senior official Ms Gray came to switch from her high-ranking Whitehall position to a planned move to the Labour leader’s chief-of-staff. Several reports have suggested Ms Gray, who led a Government investigation into allegations of parties being held inContinue Reading

The inflation rate in the eurozone inched higher last month, extending the squeeze on households and keeping pressure on the European Central Bank (ECB) to announce another large interest rate increase. Consumer prices across the 20 eurozone countries jumped 7 per cent in April from a year earlier, just down from the annual rate of 6.9 per cent in March, Eurostat said on Tuesday. Food prices eased a little, falling to an annual 13.6 per cent from March’s 15.5 per cent, while energy prices rose a more modest 2.5 per cent. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel, slowed slightly but was still high at 5.6 per cent, underlining the expectation that the ECB will press ahead with itsContinue Reading

A n update on a review into the circumstances surrounding partygate investigator Sue Gray’s departure from the Civil Service to join the Labour Party is due to be presented to MPs. A Cabinet Office minister is due to issue a written statement to the House of Commons on Tuesday containing an “update into the circumstances leading to the resignation of a senior civil servant”, according to Parliament’s order paper. It is understood the statement will shed more light on how former senior official Ms Gray came to switch from her high-ranking Whitehall position to take a job as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s chief-of-staff. Several reports have suggested Ms Gray, who led a Government investigation into allegations of parties beingContinue Reading

T he UK’s aerial evacuation mission from Sudan is over with the passengers on the final repatriation flights expected to land in Britain within hours. Two flights organised by the Royal Air Force (RAF) were expected to land in Cyprus late on Monday. The evacuees, which include Sudanese doctors working for the NHS, were then expected be transported to the UK within 48 hours of landing at the Larnaca airbase, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said. According to UK Government figures, as of Monday at 5.30pm, the number of people repatriated from the war-torn African nation by Britain’s armed forces stood at 2,197. The number of people who were on the last rescue flights, which left from PortContinue Reading

A demonstration in Dublin has heard criticism of “extreme” abortion law recommendations. Thousands attended the March for Life event in the capital from St Stephen’s Green to Leinster House. It came as an independent review into Ireland’s abortion legislation has recommended the removal of the current mandatory three-day waiting period between the certification of a termination of pregnancy and the procedure taking place. It said this should be replaced with a statutory right of a woman to a reflection period which she may exercise at her own discretion. It is set to be referred to the Oireachtas health committee. Speakers at Monday’s rally criticised the government, saying it had allowed the review to focus on paving the way for widerContinue Reading