“Rishi Sunak is poised to block Scottish laws that make it easier for people to change their gender, in a move that will provoke a constitutional row. The Times has been told that new legal advice will pave the way for the government to stop Nicola Sturgeon’s gender recognition laws from getting royal assent next week. The advice states that the legislation will have an adverse impact on UK-wide equality legislation, enabling ministers to block it. The government will make its case on technical and legal grounds but ministers have repeatedly expressed concerns about the potential impact of the Scottish legislation. Sunak will make a final decision with Alister Jack, the Scotland secretary, next week on invoking section 35 of the 1998 Scotland Act…” – The Times
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“A long-promised Bill to ban conversion therapy is set to be announced by the Government within days, according to reports. ITV News revealed the legislation, which will ban attempts to alter a person’s sexuality or gender identity, will be confirmed this week after nearly five years of delays. The Bill was first promised under Theresa May in 2018 and again by Boris Johnson ahead of the 2019 election, but has faced a series of delays and U-turns. Mr Johnson was reported to have ditched the planned Bill altogether last year, before an outcry from Tory MPs forced him to revive it. Officials then said the Bill would only ban attempts to “cure” gay, bisexual and lesbian people but exclude transgender people…” – The I
“Rishi Sunak will on Monday propose new measures to help the police stop disruptive public protest in Britain, heading further down a route that has drawn heavy criticism from civil rights groups. The prime minister wants to broaden the legal definition of “serious disruption” in a new public order bill, to help police stop what he calls a “disruptive minority” who use tactics such as blocking roads or slow marching. Sunak believes the public and business will support the government’s efforts to stop protesters causing serious disruption following a series of high-profile protests by groups such as Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain. But Human Rights Watch, the international NGO, last week criticised the government for a series of recent measures, including restrictions on protest.” – The Financial Times
“Rishi Sunak is preparing to appoint the UK’s first “free speech tsar” with powers to ensure academics and visiting university speakers are not “cancelled” or censored for controversial views. The new director for freedom of speech and academic freedom will have powers to investigate claims of no- platforming on campuses including a new complaints scheme for students, staff and visiting speakers. It is understood that the leading contender for the role is Arif Ahmed, a Cambridge philosophy professor who has spoken out against the “cancel culture” on campuses… The new role is being established under the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, which is passing through parliament.” – The Times
“Britain and the European Union will today assess progress made during months of technical Brexit talks and decide whether to enter into intensive negotiations on the most difficult issue remaining between the two sides. James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, is due to meet Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s chief negotiator, for the second time this month after consultations with Northern Irish leaders last week. Whitehall sources said the two men would assess remaining gaps between the two sides on proposals to reduce customs checks on goods crossing between Britain and Northern Ireland, and the scope for further compromise… A sticking point remains on what role the European Court of Justice has in policing the Northern Ireland protocol.” – The Times
“Rishi Sunak will today put his Strikes Bill before the Commons as more industrial unrest hits the UK this week. MPs will decide if it should pass to the next stage of the process towards becoming law. The legislation requires a minimum level of service in front line sectors such as the NHS. Bosses could sack staff who refuse to come in on a strike day, while unions are liable to be sued. Health Secretary Steve Barclay yesterday told ambulance union bosses that existing “voluntary arrangements” were not sufficient to keep patients safe during strikes. Nurses are staging another 48-hour walkout this week over pay. Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said her party would oppose the “shoddy, unworkable bill”.” – The Sun
“New laws are needed to stop union barons who put ‘lives at immediate risk’ by failing to provide enough timely cover during ambulance worker strikes, the Health Secretary has said. In a letter to the GMB union, Steve Barclay said ‘voluntary arrangements’ put in place ahead of recent walkouts were too last-minute and not enough to ‘ensure patient and public safety’. He said it showed that new strike laws designed to ensure a minimum level of services run during ‘blue light’ strikes are desperately needed. MPs are expected to clash over the legislation when it is debated in Parliament today, with Labour vowing to block it despite warnings that doing so could put lives at risk…the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union warned that nurses’ strikes…will be the biggest yet.” – The Daily Mail
“Ministers are set to plead with schools to keep classes open for GCSE and A-level pupils if unions announce on Monday that strike action by teachers will go ahead. The National Education Union (NEU) and the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) are due to make the results of ballots for industrial action public. Whitehall insiders and trade union figures believe that the NEU, the largest education union with 300,000 members, will reach the turnout threshold needed to hold strikes. The outcome of the NAHT ballot is said to be more in the balance. The Department for Education has drawn up guidance to be issued to all schools in England on Tuesday morning if strike action by at least one of the unions is announced.” – The Daily Telegraph
“A senior minister today warned teachers against ‘disrupting children’s education’ by joining public sector strike action. The National Education Union is expected to announce the results of a ballot of 300,000 classroom staff tomorrow. Reports today suggest they have voted to take industrial action over pay that could close all schools in England and Wales for days at a time, placing further pressure on working families. Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, today cautioned against industrial action if the vote passes the necessary threshold…It came as he confirmed he had given train operators ‘permission’ to make a new offer to end strikes that have blighted the transport system for many months.” – The Daily Mail
>Yesterday:
“Suella Braverman has personally thanked the heroic fisherman and his crew who rescued more than 30 migrants from the freezing sea in a tragedy that cost the lives of at least four people. The Home Secretary has written to Raymond Strachan, hailing his “deeply commendable” actions during the “devastating” search and rescue last month, saying it deserves the “highest praise”. She said she would like to show her gratitude for his work with his team “in such difficult and distressing circumstances”. Mr Strachan, skipper of the Arcturus trawler, and his crew pulled 31 “screaming” migrants from the icy water after their flimsy dinghy punctured and began to sink in the middle of the Channel just before 3am, in temperatures of -4C (24.8F).” – The Daily Telegraph
“The immigration minister has been accused of verbally “lynching” Albania after publishing a promotional video praising work to find and detain illegal migrants from the country. In a fresh diplomatic clash over the UK’s handling of its borders, Robert Jenrick was said to have declared “open season” on all Albanians. Olta Xhacka, Albania’s minister for Europe and foreign affairs, said that the language used by the Home Office minister was a “shameful” attempt at winning votes. In the video released on Friday, Jenrick was filmed at 4am at a Home Office removal centre ahead of a weekly deportation flight to Tirana, the Albanian capital, for migrants whose stay in the UK has been deemed illegal.” – The Times
“A clampdown on transgender women taking part in elite and competitive sport in the interest of ‘fairness’ is reportedly being planned by the Government. Senior figures from major national sporting bodies are understood to have been asked to meet Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Michelle Donelan to discuss the matter. An insider said she will insist that elite women’s sport ‘must be reserved for people born of the female sex’. Open categories for transgender athletes are expected to be offered as a solution to the issue, which has caused problems among sports organisations and frustration among competitors… Critics of trans women taking part in female sport say physical changes from puberty make for an unfair advantage.” – The Daily Mail
“The Tory MP leading the rebellion against the Online Safety Bill has revealed that the Government has approached rebels to try to strike a deal. Miriam Cates, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, said that the Government was “keen to work with us” but that making bosses of tech firms criminally liable for online harms remained a red line. Ms Cates has tabled an amendment to the Bill that would see named directors at tech companies jailed for up to two years if they fail to comply with legal duties to protect children from harms such as child abuse, suicide and self-harm. About 50 Tory MPs are already backing the amendment, which goes further than current plans, under which directors would only face criminal sanctions if they refused to cooperate with…Ofcom…” – The Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday:
“Grant Shapps is to be quizzed in the Commons about prepayment energy meters as pressure grows on the Government to ban forced installations. It comes as the Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for snow and ice, with temperatures set to plummet to -10°C in parts of the country this week. Charities fear some of the UK’s poorest families will be left sitting in the freezing cold without heat or light as they are forced to self-disconnect because they cannot afford to pay for gas and electricity amid the cost of living crisis. Pressure on the Government has been growing since an investigation by i revealed that magistrates have granted nearly 500,000 warrants allowing energy firms to forcibly enter properties since the last Covid lockdown.” – The I
“Boris Johnson could be supported by one of Britain’s most famous KCs in his showdown with the Commons committee investigating whether he misled MPs over lockdown parties. The former prime minister is considering whether to take up an offer by the privileges committee of legal representation when he is called to give evidence later this year. If the committee finds him guilty it has the power to suspend him from the Commons. The most likely candidate to represent him is understood to be Lord Pannick, who defeated Johnson’s government in the Supreme Court over its decision to prorogue parliament in 2019. Pannick has represented Johnson in his legal wrangles with the committee so far and was paid by the Cabinet Office for his work.” – The Times
“Components routinely fitted to modern cars threaten to hand China a massive intelligence advantage and could even expose a prime minister to blackmail, the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee has warned. Alicia Kearns was speaking after the revelation in the i about the discovery in a government car of an IoT cellular module capable of being used as a tracking device. The MP for Rutland and Melton said the component was an example of the serious vulnerabilities inherent in new Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity technologies dominated by China. She said that three Chinese companies had won more than 50 per cent of the global market in the components as car manufacturers opted to pay less than charged by Western providers.” – The I
“A former Conservative business secretary has described his successor Kwasi Kwarteng’s abandonment of a planned industrial strategy for the UK as “mystifying”. Greg Clark said the government’s current lack of industrial policy was having “alarming consequences”, in the foreword of a report by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) think-tank published on Monday. The former business secretary, who developed a 111-page industrial strategy while in office between 2016 and 2019, wrote that the aspects of this blueprint that had been implemented “proved to be beneficial”. In the report, Making the Change, Clark calls for the current government to prioritise the revival of manufacturing to reduce regional disparities.” – The Financial Times
“A former Tory MP who quit in shame after admitting watching pornography in the House of Commons wants to make an unlikely return to politics, he confirmed today. Neil Parish, 66, resigned his Tiverton and Honiton seat in May after confirming he had viewed smut on his phone while sitting on the famous green benches. The Tories subsequently lost his previously safe seat to the Liberal Democrats, one of a series of embarrassing election reverses last year. But father of two Mr Parish, whose friends said he had been trying to research tractors when he stumbled across X-rated material, told Times Radio today he had ‘unfinished business’ in politics. And he threatened to run as an independent if his former party failed to select him.” – The Daily Mail
“The Labour leader yesterday refused to stand by his pledge to abolish tuition fees, in the latest of a string of U-turns. Despite making the promise when he ran to be leader in 2020, Sir Keir Starmer sidestepped questions on whether it still stood. He told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: ‘I think the tuition fees system needs to be changed, I don’t think it’s working. ‘But looking at the damage that’s been done to the economy… we will only make commitments that we can afford at the next general election so we need to look at that promise again.’ His refusal to commit to the policy follows a string of U-turns, including on Brexit, the NHS and welfare. Sir Keir last week struggled to explain major policy U-turns…” – The Daily Mail
>Today:
“Labour will demand today that Jeremy Hunt rule out a fuel duty rise this year, as the party positions itself before the budget as the motorist’s friend. In March Rishi Sunak announced a temporary 5p cut to the cost of a litre of petrol and diesel in response to record prices at the pump caused by the war in Ukraine. The measure, which cost the Treasury £2.4 billion, runs until March when fuel duty is predicted to rise by up to 23 per cent to take inflation into account, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility. Today Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, will call on Hunt to keep the discount saying that if he does not a litre of petrol could go up by 12p… Hunt is examining ways of keeping the 5p cut in his budget on March 15.” – The Times
“Labour called on ministers yesterday to proscribe Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group. The Government is considering the move after the execution of Alireza Akbari, 61, a British-Iranian dual national who was lured back to Iran by the security services three years ago… Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said his execution was a ‘callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime’. Ministers have imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on the Iranian prosecutor general, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri… Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has also temporarily withdrawn Britain’s ambassador to Iran, Simon Shercliff. But Shadow Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, and Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, urged ministers to go further and faster.” – The Daily Mail
>Yesterday: