“Ministers are prepared to resign over Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal if it risks Northern Ireland’s place within the UK, The Times has been told. There is a mounting backlash among Eurosceptic Conservative MPs to the deal. The prime minister spent several hours in his Commons office meeting Brexiteer critics of his deal as he tried to address their concerns yesterday. Sunak told them that no deal had yet been agreed and talks were continuing. He was told he “hasn’t got a hope” of succeeding without the support of the Democratic Unionist Party. Suella Braverman, the home secretary, became the second cabinet minister to warn against abandoning the Northern Ireland Protocol bill, which would allow the government to rip up the UK’s existing Brexit deal.” – The Times
Labour:
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Johnson’s revenge – and other risks that Sunak is running with the Northern Ireland Protocol
“Of course, it has to be a deal that sorts out genuine grievances: it is not right or necessary for the EU to be busying itself restricting or complicating the flow of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Many of the objections of the Democratic Unionist Party are entirely legitimate. But if this set of ministers concludes in the coming days they have achieved the best outcome attainable, that should carry great weight. No alternative strategy of bluster, threat and intransigence is likely to prove more successful.” – The Times
Editorial:
“Defence spending WILL increase at the Budget, a top Cabinet Minister has confirmed. Penny Morduant told broadcasters: “I am confident we will keep defence spending strong and it will be a priority of this Government.” The Treasury and Ministry of Defence are haggling over replacing billions of kit handed to Ukraine – as more top brass go public with warnings the Armed Forces need billions more amid claims we only have 40 working tanks. General Sir Richard Barrons, former commander of Joint Forces Command, called in the Sunday Express for Jeremy Hunt to approve an annual boost of £3 billion and stop “deliberately keeping defence broken”. It comes after Mr Wallace last week warned that the war in Ukraine has exposed the vulnerability of Europe’s defences.” – The Sun
“Rishi Sunak’s two predecessors have united to pile pressure on the Prime Minister to send fighter jets to Ukraine. In her first Commons intervention since her resignation in October, Liz Truss said she “could not wait to see fighter jets over Ukraine”. Speaking in the same debate, Boris Johnson said it was time to “cut to the chase” and give Kyiv the planes it needs to defeat Vladimir Putin’s forces. The pair’s interventions came after Joe Biden, the US president, made a surprise visit to Ukraine as the first anniversary of the Russian invasion approaches. However, Mr Biden was accused by Ron DeSantis, the Republican Florida governor and a leading 2024 presidential candidate, of a “blank cheque policy” on the conflict.” – Daily Telegraph
“Rishi Sunak has read the riot act to woke publishers rewriting Roald Dahl books – telling them not to “gobblefunk” the author’s words. The PM was horrified to see sections of his children’s novels changed and insisted fiction should never be “airbrushed” from history. He weighed in after Puffin Books altered passages deemed offensive – including removing the word fat when describing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s Augustus Gloop. Mr Sunak’s spokesman today blasted: “When it comes to our rich and varied literary heritage, the Prime Minister agrees with the BFG that you shouldn’t gobblefunk around with words.” Gobblefunk is the language used by the Big Friendly Giant, changing English words to bizarre alternatives.” – The Sun
“Record tax revenues from workers and capital gains taxes helped to offset massive spending on energy bill support and soaring debt interest payments, official figures show. In the final set of public borrowing figures before Jeremy Hunt delivers his Spring Budget, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the Government received £5.4bn more in taxes in January than it spent on public services. This is much higher than the £8bn deficit forecast by economists and £5bn larger than forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the Government’s tax and spending watchdog. January is traditionally a month where the Treasury receives more than it spends as businesses and workers, including the self-employed pay their tax bills.” – Daily Telegraph
“Iran’s most senior diplomat has been summoned by the foreign secretary after UK journalists faced a series of threats from the Iranian regime. James Cleverly followed up the meeting by sanctioning eight Iranian officials – three of whom were judges who had imposed the death sentence against protesters, including children, according to Mr Cleverly. London-based TV network Iran International had been forced to suspend their UK operations following repeated threats by the Iranian regime. Vijay Rangarajan, Director General for the Middle East, met with Iranian Chargé d’Affaires Mehdi Hosseini Matin to make clear the government, in Mr Cleverly’s words, “will not tolerate threats to journalists in the UK”.” – Daily Express
“Cash for visa schemes that provide crime bosses and corrupt oligarchs with a backdoor route into Britain face being shut down in a crackdown by security minister Tom Tugendhat. He has ordered a review of golden visa schemes where wealthy individuals can buy citizenship in dozens of countries in the Caribbean, Pacific and central America by investing as little as £60,000, The Telegraph can reveal. Suspected criminals or sanction-busting Russians can then exploit the countries’ visa-waiver agreements with the UK which allow entry to Britain for up to six months ostensibly for tourism, business, study or medical treatment.” – Daily Telegraph
>Today: Isaac Ho and Andrew Yong in Comment: The Government should create a shorter path to settlement for Hong Kongers
“Refugee charities operating in Calais are “fuelling” Channel crossings, the deputy chairman of the Tory Party said. Lee Anderson warned of what he called a “multi-million-pound industry” operating around illegal crossings, consisting of “hotels” and “lefty lawyers”. He accused the charities of being “just as bad as people smugglers”. A record 45,756 migrants crossed the Channel to the UK in 2022, despite repeated efforts by the Government to clamp down on the crisis. Mr Anderson, who is on the Home Affairs Select Committee, said groups such as Care4Calais were teaching migrants English. He claimed that refugee charities in Calais are “part of the trade” in illegal immigration.” – Daily Express
>Yesterday: Wesley Smith in Comment: There is an epidemic of violence in our schools, and the Government must act
“Kate Forbes, who on Monday announced that she would run to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the Scottish National party, has called for a “reset” of the party’s independence strategy, signalling that she would break with the current first minister’s plan for a “de facto” referendum. Asked by the BBC if she favoured treating the next UK general election as a referendum on breaking the union with England, Scotland’s finance and economy secretary said the answer was not simple. “We need a reset on our strategy for independence, and I think that needs to come through listening to people and building bridges,” she said… Forbes, who has been on maternity leave since last summer, is the bookmakers’ favourite to replace Sturgeon, who announced her resignation on Wednesday last week.” – FT
More:
>Today: ToryDiary: Can such a conservative as Kate Forbes lead the SNP?
>Yesterday: Douglas Ross MSP in Comment: Sturgeon’s legacy. She didn’t end the Union. Instead, it ended her.