“Rishi Sunak will take a zero-tolerance approach to future breaches of the ministerial code after sacking Nadhim Zahawi for failing to be honest about his tax affairs, senior allies have said. Sir Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser on ministers’ interests, found that Zahawi had repeatedly failed to disclose details about an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs. He also accused the former chancellor of making an untrue public statement. Sunak sacked Zahawi within an hour of receiving Magnus’s report. The prime minister had been accused of failing to act quickly enough… A senior ally of Sunak said his decision to sack Zahawi demonstrated that he would not hesitate to act…” – The Times
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“Nadhim Zahawi yesterday launched an extraordinary attack on the Press over media reports that ended his career in frontline politics. In an unrepentant letter to Rishi Sunak who fired him yesterday morning, the former Tory chairman made no reference to the tax row that led to his sacking, and offered no apology for his conduct. Mr Sunak is now hunting for a ‘squeaky clean’ candidate for Tory party chairman, and was last night struggling to find an immediate replacement for the post, which is critical in the run-up to a general election expected next year. Showing no contrition over his behaviour, Mr Zahawi instead yesterday claimed he was ‘concerned’ about the conduct of sections of the Press which had investigated his tax affairs…” – The Daily Mail
“Rishi Sunak will vow to rapidly slash long waiting times for urgent NHS care with a promise of thousands more beds, 800 new ambulances and an expansion of community care backed by a dedicated fund of £1bn. The health service is engulfed in its worst-ever crisis, with urgent and emergency care in particular under unprecedented pressure in recent months. The prime minister will describe his blueprint for resolving the problems as “ambitious and credible”. However, the Guardian understands the £1bn dedicated fund being pledged to finance the strategy is not new money. It will come out of cash announced last year for health and social care in the autumn statement. There were also no precise details on who will staff new ambulances and beds.” – The Guardian
“We are all aware of, and some of us have even experienced the current challenges in hospital urgent and emergency care departments, from hours spent in an A&E waiting room to anxious waits for an ambulance. At times of pressure like this, the promise of an NHS that is always there for us can feel strained. This winter has seen the NHS have to cope with an early surge in flu cases on top of Covid. But knowing where the pressure comes from doesn’t make those difficult waits any easier to bear. Today, together with NHS England, we are setting out our Delivery Plan for Recovering Urgent and Emergency Services. We are clear these proposals must be about more than just getting us through this tough time.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Hongkongers in Britain have called on Suella Braverman to reconsider controversial measures in her public order bill, which they likened to the…measures used to crack down on…opposition in their home city. In a letter to the UK home secretary, aspects of the bill were described as “repressive measures that threaten to paralyse entire social movement” and posed a threat to their right to protest in Britain, including against Chinese communist repression in Hong Kong. “Many of us are, or represent and work with, Hongkongers who have recently arrived in the UK in the hopes of a better life for ourselves and our loved ones – where we can exercise our rights and freedoms without fear,” says the letter, sent on behalf of…Hongkongers and east and south-east Asian people.” – The Guardian
“Murderers and terrorists trying to sneak into Britain on small boats will no longer be able to use modern slavery loopholes to stay. From today, ministers will withhold protections — that may have previously stopped removals — for anyone sentenced to 12 months or more. Migrants who declare false details of their journey will also face tougher immigration record and passport checks. Evidence of modern slavery will be needed. Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “We must stop people exploiting our laws. “It’s unfair genuine victims of modern slavery may be left waiting longer due to abuse of the system.” It comes as the Home Secretary asks peers to back “proper penalties” for disruptive protesters in a planned law to curb guerilla tactics…” – The Sun
“Michael Gove has pledged to bring forward laws to scrap most “feudal” leaseholds in England this year. Ministers are preparing to ditch rules that bar flat owners from buying the freehold to their property if a small part of their building is given over to commercial use, such as shops. The government will also make it much easier for leaseholders in flats to take over their buildings and bring them into common ownership to avoid extortionate management fees and ground rents. Gove told Sophy Ridge on Sunday on Sky News: “We want to introduce legislation in the final parliamentary session — later this calendar year — in order to change the leasehold system…” Criticism of the rules intensified after the cladding scandal.” – The Times
“Michael Gove insists a big pay rise for teachers would fuel inflation. The Cabinet Minister’s warning comes ahead of strike action which is likely to hit 23,000 schools this week. Asked by Sky News about awarding a big pay rise to teachers, Mr Gove said: “That would only contribute to further inflation. “It would only create a spiral.” He said the Government’s priority was cutting inflation, adding: “That is the best tax cut, the best pay rise that anyone could have.” Teachers are among 500,000 workers, including train drivers and civil servants, due to walk out on Wednesday in the biggest day of industrial action in a decade. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan is to hold talks with teaching unions in a last-ditch attempt to avert their strike.” – The Sun
“The UK is to set out plans to introduce value-for-money tests for pensions funds, aimed at raising disclosure standards, driving better outcomes for retirement savers and boosting economic growth. The measures, to be unveiled on Monday as part of a wider package of policies, will mean that the pension plans and trustees concerned are forced to disclose, assess and compare the value for money that their arrangements provide. However, ministers say the initiative will require a “cultural shift” in the UK workplace pensions market, which is focused on low charges rather than overall value and investment returns. Currently, employers choosing a pension scheme for their staff cannot easily scrutinise and compare the options available.” – The Financial Times
“Ministers are facing a rebellion from Tories who are calling for tougher rules to stop children accessing pornography online. Lord Bethell of Romford, a former health minister, is bringing forward an amendment that would force pornography sites to introduce strict age checks within six months of the bill becoming law. The bill reaches the House of Lords on Wednesday with its second reading and Bethell believes he has enough support to force his measure through, having joined forces with Miriam Cates and Bill Cash, Tory MPs who recently forced the government to accept tougher criminal sanctions for technology bosses in the legislation. Bethell also has the backing of 14 charities, including the NSPCC, Barnardo’s, the Internet Watch Foundation and Cease.” – The Times
“The Bank of England is poised to raise interest rates for the 10th time in succession when its policymakers meet this week in a further squeeze on the finances of mortgage holders and businesses. Financial markets expect a 0.5 percentage point increase in the central bank’s base rate to 4%, its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis. It comes after nine straight rate increases from the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) since December 2021… [T]he anticipated rate increase also comes as the Bank faces a delicate balancing act between driving high inflation out of the system and the risk that its actions exacerbate an economic downturn. After the rate increase expected this week, most economists polled by Reuters envisage one more rate rise…”- The Guardian
“Vladimir Putin made a chilling threat to Boris Johnson that he could kill him in a missile attack, the former PM reveals today. Mad Vlad’s menacing phone call came a day after Boris visited Kyiv last February amid fears of a Russian invasion. Mr Johnson makes the shock claim in a BBC series starting tonight. Mr Johnson tried to use his trip to warn the Kremlin an assault would be disastrous. Paranoid Putin feared Nato encroachment on his borders. Moscow was told there would be tough sanctions if Putin invaded and “more Nato, not less” in the region — which triggered Mad Vlad’s threat… Mr Johnson describes the menacing phone call in three-part series Putin vs the West on BBC2 and BBC iPlayer from 9pm tonight.” – The Sun
“Boris Johnson has been spotted looking at schools and is house-hunting in Oxfordshire, prompting speculation he is considering running for his former seat of Henley at the next election, the Guardian has been told. The former prime minister had been planning to contest his existing seat of Uxbridge, a marginal in west London with a majority of 7,200. However, Labour believes it could be winnable and if Johnson loses it could end his hopes of another run at Conservative leader. Johnson’s successor in the leafy Oxfordshire seat, John Howell, is understood to have told local Conservative party members privately that he has not yet made up his mind whether he will run again or stand down at the election, expected next year. The Tory MP declined to comment.” – The Guardian
“The BBC chairman told staff that the broadcaster should apologise for a story about Boris Johnson’s text messages, it has been claimed. Senior news sources at the BBC said that Richard Sharp felt that the corporation had “got something wrong” about the story by Laura Kuenssberg, who was political editor at the time. The BBC ultimately did apologise and issued a clarification over an element of the story. The Times can reveal that BBC staff took the director-general to task this week during a fiery question-and-answer session held in response to claims that Sharp helped to secure an £800,000 loan for Johnson… A spokesman for Johnson said: “Richard Sharp has never given any financial advice to Boris Johnson, nor has Mr Johnson sought any financial advice from him.”” – The Times
“The Conservative mayor of the West Midlands has criticised the government’s levelling up policy for being too centralised, and said he chose to “put place before party” when he spoke out on the issue. Last week Andy Street broke ranks with his party as he labelled the government’s levelling up plans as a “broken begging bowl culture”, and said he was disappointed more funding hadn’t been allocated to the West Midlands. Street later told the Guardian he was a strong proponent of the broad idea of levelling up, but did not approve of how funding allocation was being decided.…Last week, the government announced the second tranche of levelling up funding, totalling £2.1bn, with the West Midlands receiving £155m of that after most of the region’s bids were turned down.” – The Guardian
“Conservative backbenchers have accused Sir Keir Starmer of hypocrisy over claims that he received a bursary to study at his fee-paying grammar school. The Labour leader has vowed to strip private schools of their charitable status in a move which the party estimates could raise £1.7 billion to fund teacher recruitment for state education. While the independent schools sector says stripping charitable status would push more students into the state sector, increasing pressure on places, and would probably reduce the sums they could offer in bursaries, critics say the schools largely benefit the better-off and offer limited direct benefits to the majority of pupils…Starmer received a bursary for his sixth-form studies at the now-private Reigate Grammar School.” – The Times
“Sir Keir Starmer claims his party has changed since it ‘allowed hate to spread unchallenged’ – despite one senior female MP being heckled by male colleagues in a recent debate on gender. Speaking on Saturday, the Labour leader alluded to the anti-Semitism scandals which had plagued his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn. ‘Never again will Labour allow hate to spread unchallenged,’ Sir Keir told London Labour’s annual conference. ‘We have changed our party and we’re ready to change Britain.’ However, yesterday Labour peer Baroness Hayter claimed misogyny within the party is ‘a bit like anti-Semitism’. Her comment came just over a week after Rosie Duffield was shouted down by male colleagues during a debate on Scotland’s controversial Gender Recognition Reform Bill.” – The Daily Mail
>Today:
“Trans prisoners with a history of violence against women will no longer be moved to female jails in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon’s Government has said in a…U-turn aimed at stopping more scandals. Keith Brown, the SNP’s justice secretary, announced a temporary ban affecting newly convicted trans criminals with “any history” of violence against women, or those wanting to move from a male to female prison. He said the measures had been introduced to ensure the “ongoing” safety of women prisoners while the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) conducts a review of the management of trans inmates… Current SPS guidance states that trans criminals should be sent to the prison that matches the self-identified gender that they were living in prior to their conviction.” – The Daily Telegraph