“Inflation continued to fall at the end of last year but remained close to a 40-year high, giving little respite to households facing a squeeze on living standards. The consumer prices index, the headline measure of inflation, fell to 10.5 per cent in December, down from 10.7 per cent in November, figures from the Office for National Statistics show. Inflation is thought to have peaked at 11.1 per cent in October when households received their winter energy bills. The ONS said that the fall in inflation was the result of lower petrol prices. There was also a slight drop in the cost of clothing. This was offset by increases for coach and air fares and hotel accommodation. Food costs continued to increase.” – The Times
“The Government appears intent to let NHS staff keep striking for several more months before a new pay deal for workers comes into force in April. Health Minister Maria Caulfield said ministers are focusing on the next financial year rather than the current one – despite a NHS leader saying the health service is locked in a “vicious cycle” brought about by extreme pressures in emergency care, ongoing high levels of flu, Covid and respiratory infections, and industrial action. Thousands of Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members will go on strike on Tuesday and Wednesday across England and Wales, leaving tens of thousands of appointments and operations cancelled. The RCN…has also announced that two more, bigger strikes will be held next month.” – The I
“Plans for a bonfire of EU laws are ‘crucial’ to Britain’s economic recovery, Rishi Sunak said yesterday. Tory rebels will join forces with Labour today in an effort to water down legislation that could lead to the deletion of more than 4,000 Brussels regulations this year. But Downing Street yesterday said the Prime Minister was committed to the Retained EU law Bill, which started life under Boris Johnson’s administration. The PM told the Cabinet that removing EU red tape was already creating economic opportunities in areas like gene-edited crops and financial services. He said there was further scope for post-Brexit deregulation in areas like the creative, medical and farming sectors.” – The Daily Mail
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“Jeremy Hunt is planning a “slimmed down” spring budget with no immediate tax cuts as the Conservatives press ahead with attempts to win back economic credibility after the damage inflicted by the Truss administration. Treasury insiders told the Guardian the chancellor was not expected to announce any tax cuts in his fiscal statement this March as his focus was wholly on getting the economy back on a steady footing and the public finances were tight. They said that boosting growth, bringing down inflation and reducing national debt were the government’s top priorities as it seeks to restore confidence among business and the public – and only then could taxes be reduced.” – The Guardian
“Home secretary Suella Braverman is under mounting pressure to shake up the way the police are policed after a prolific rapist evaded sanction for years while serving in an elite firearms unit. David Carrick, an officer in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, who has admitted carrying out dozens of sexual offences including 24 rapes, was only formally sacked from London’s Metropolitan Police at a disciplinary procedure on Tuesday. Carrick, who first joined the Met in 2001, was discharged after a court hearing on Monday unleashed a string of chilling revelations about his case. He is due to be sentenced next month. MPs…sought reassurance that other officers under scrutiny for sex offences are swiftly removed.” – The Financial Times
“Suella Braverman has called for an overhaul of police vetting procedures as she warned of “more shocking cases” of sexual assault by officers in the wake of revelations about David Carrick. Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, the Home Secretary called on the Metropolitan Police to “demonstrate that they have an effective plan in place to rapidly improve their vetting processes”, after Carrick, a serving officer, admitted yesterday to being one of the worst sexual offenders in Britain’s history. Ms Braverman said revelations of the “monstrous abuse” perpetrated by Carrick marked “a dark day for British policing and the Metropolitan Police as a whole”. “There is still some way to go to ensure that the force can command the trust of the people that it serves,” she said.” – The I
“The British government is not working to a deadline of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement to resolve issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol, the Foreign Secretary said. There have been indications that Joe Biden could cancel a potential visit to the UK in April to mark the anniversary, unless Brussels and London strike a deal on the Irish Sea border by then. Speaking in Washington, at a press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, James Cleverly said the aim was not to resolve matters by a certain date… Mr Cleverly updated Mr Blinken on talks he held on Monday with European commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic. Mr Blinken welcomed apparent progress in the talks…” – The Daily Telegraph
“The British defence secretary, Ben Wallace, will join counterparts from Poland and the Baltic countries in Estonia to mount a final attempt to put pressure on Germany to authorise sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine this week. The meeting of so-called “Leopard coalition” of countries willing to or keen to see western tanks sent to Kyiv comes a day before a group of about 50 defence ministers assemble in Ramstein, Germany to discuss future weapons shipments to Ukraine. Defence sources said a purpose of the meeting on Thursday was “to encourage the Germans” if no decision has been made by Berlin before then, although the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is due to speak at the Davos summit on Wednesday afternoon.” – The Guardian
“Ministers have pledged to tackle the ‘TikTok traffickers’ on social media encouraging migrants to make the dangerous crossing of the Channel. Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said the new Online Safety Bill will be used to punish crime groups who are ‘increasingly using social media to facilitate migrant crossings’ by showing the journey in a ‘positive light’. The measure was yesterday tabled as an amendment to the law by backbench Tory MP Natalie Elphicke and also received backing from senior Conservatives including Sir Graham Brady and Theresa Villiers. It had threatened to inflict Rishi Sunak’s first parliamentary defeat if it had been put to a vote…Smuggling gangs have repeatedly used social media to advertise their services.” – The Daily Mail
“Tech companies will be forced to release information and co-operate with families and coroners following the death of a child after a minister committed the government to closing a legal loophole. Paul Scully, the technology minister, made the pledge last night as the Online Safety Bill completed its passage in the Commons. Damian Collins, a Tory MP who has been a member of several committees examining online safety, asked Scully whether the government backed moves, led by the crossbench peer Baroness Kidron, to stop the obstruction of coroners, as happened in the case of Molly Russell and other teenagers…Sajid Javid, the former home secretary, and Labour also backed the move.” – The Times
“Kemi Badenoch will urge Tory MPs that a ban on transgender conversion therapy must not criminalise parents, it was reported last night. The equalities ministers is planning to write to Conservative colleagues to express concerns over proposed legislation, of which she is responsible for. Mrs Badenoch is to say that conversations between trans children and carers must not be outlawed. She will call for input from parents, doctors and members of the LGBT+ community. A source close to Mrs Badenoch told the Daily Telegraph: ‘The area of gender identity is much more complex than sexual orientation. We have said we will not inadvertently criminalise parents who are trying to support children.’” – The Daily Mail
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“The UK and Scottish governments appear set on a court battle on constitutional powers after Westminster ministers formally blocked a law passed by Scotland’s parliament creating a self-identification system for people who want to change gender. Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, said the decision by Alister Jack, the Scottish secretary, would “inevitably end up in court”. Announcing the decision to the Commons, Jack also said he expected the issue to be decided this way. Jack told MPs he was making a so-called section 35 order under the 1998 Scotland Act, which created the devolved parliament, which meant the gender recognition reform Scotland bill would not receive royal assent.” – The Guardian
“It was once seen as the panacea to almost all of Britain’s ills. Levelling up would solve racial inequality, antisemitism, and boost disability rights, according to officials, as well as fulfilling its initial aim of fixing regional disparities. But now Boris Johnson’s flagship policy — which helped him to win the 2019 election — has been the victim of a “mercy killing” akin to that of its biggest backer. Conservative MPs in key marginal seats say they have been told to shun the use of the phrase because no one knows what it means. Those at risk of losing their seats have been advised by party staff to use phrases such as “stepping up”, “gauging up” or “enhancing communities” instead, one Tory said.” – The Times
“Former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said Ukraine should join NATO after the war with Russia concludes. Kissinger, who has long maintained that Ukraine should remain neutral and autonomous, conceded that the nation joining NATO would be an ‘appropriate outcome’ in light of the latest conflict. The 99-year-old was speaking at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Tuesday. His comments come a day before Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to deliver an ‘important statement’ concerning the war in Ukraine on Wednesday. Previously Kissinger has reiterated a belief that the key to Ukraine’s success is not to align itself with the East or the West but to maintain its own identity and governance.” – The Daily Mail
“Full disclosure: I am a Jeremy Clarkson fan, liable to inhale almost everything he writes. But for me at least, that now-infamous newspaper column, in which he wrote of his heavy dislike of the Duchess of Sussex, went too far. It came across as boorish, ungallant, even deranged. His editors ought to have excised the more unsavoury parts, or at least made it clear that this was intended as a Game of Thrones parody. In perhaps the biggest crime a joke can commit, it wasn’t funny… But surely anyone with any wit could see that Clarkson wasn’t genuinely calling for the Duchess to be dragged naked through the streets and pelted with excrement?… The frog is well and truly dead.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Labour raised more than £2 million from individual donors last year, fuelled by Tory switchers, as Sir Keir Starmer’s pro-business drive showed signs of cutting through. The amount is on course to be the highest pot from individual donors accumulated by Labour since 2015, with donations in the last three months of 2022 still to be declared. It means the party raised more from individuals under the leadership of Sir Keir than in the election years of 2017 and 2019, when Jeremy Corbyn was leader. Fundraising tends to be higher ahead of elections. Analysis of Electoral Commision declarations also shows a similar rise in donations to Labour from companies, sometimes used by businessmen to make their contributions.” – The Daily Telegraph