“Rishi Sunak appealed to Tory MPs to back him and finally “get Brexit done” as he pledged yesterday to push ahead with or without the support of the DUP. In an impassioned plea to critics in his party the prime minister also warned MPs that if they rejected his compromise with the EU, voters would doubt their ability to “deliver on other issues” before the next election. He insisted that the agreement struck on Monday fulfilled the central pledge of the Brexit referendum by giving Northern Ireland, as well as the rest of the UK, “control” of its laws… Downing Street has privately said that the deal is not open to renegotiation or amendment and that the DUP would have a straight choice between accepting it or not.” – The Times
>Today:
“Rishi Sunak has suggested the UK government will press ahead with his new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland even if it is rejected by the Democratic Unionist party, saying it was not about “any one political party”. The UK prime minister met business leaders and politicians in Belfast on Tuesday to sell the agreement with the EU, arguing it would unlock fresh investment in the region and turn Northern Ireland into “the world’s most exciting economic zone”. Sunak unveiled the Windsor framework with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Monday, with both sides hailing it as a “new chapter”…The deal has won cross-party support at Westminster and has been hailed by…Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron…as a significant step forward.” – The Financial Times
“Boris Johnson will not oppose Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal because he can “see which way the wind is blowing”, allies have said. The former prime minister is yet to say whether he will back the deal. He heavily criticised the plans in the run-up to Sunak’s announcement. However, allies said that given the relatively muted response from Conservative Eurosceptics…Johnson may now hold his counsel. “Boris will row in behind this deal because there’s no rebellion,” one close ally of Johnson said. “He doesn’t want to be an outlier on this. If he ends up voting with 12 to 15 other people he will look silly. He knows the way the wind is blowing.” Another ally said they expected Johnson to be absent during votes rather than oppose Sunak’s deal outright.” – The Times
“The King has “jeopardised” the Monarchy by meeting the European Commission president and will “regret” his actions, a leading figure in the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has said as it refused to rule out complaint to Buckingham Palace. Sammy Wilson, the DUP’s Brexit spokesman, accused King Charles of “politicising the Monarchy” and taking sides in the dispute between his party and the Government over the deal in Northern Ireland. The DUP is furious that the King met with Ursula von der Leyen on Monday after the Windsor Framework Brexit deal was announced. Speaking to Chopper’s Politics podcast, Sammy Wilson said: “It’s a decision that the King will come to regret in the future.”… Mr Wilson did not rule out a complaint to Buckingham Palace.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Brussels has opened the door to closer co-operation on the regulation of financial services with the UK in a sign that easing political tensions after a deal on Northern Ireland could unlock other disputes. A “memorandum of understanding” on regulatory issues has been stalled for two years because of the fractious relationship…But a senior EU official indicated that Brussels was now willing to sign the MoU after the two sides agreed to the Windsor framework…“It would require some discussions with the UK. For us, it is just a question of ‘one thing at a time’,” he added. “We will turn to the MoU on financial services soon.” British government insiders said they had not been contacted by the EU about the MoU…” – The Financial Times
“The home secretary has expressed concern after the police recorded a “hate incident” at a school where four pupils allegedly caused “slight damage” to a copy of the Quran. West Yorkshire police became involved at Kettlethorpe High School, Wakefield, after a Year 10 pupil said to be autistic was told to bring in a copy of the Islamic holy book by friends after losing a video game. It was damaged, allegedly after being dropped in a busy corridor. Four pupils were suspended for a week and the police intervened as false rumours spread that it had been set alight. Humanists UK said the decision to suspend the boys was “horrendous” and the school had allowed itself to be “pressured into excessive disciplinary action by a religious group”.” – The Times
>Yesterday:
“Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is examining plans to protect millions of British families from a looming spike in their monthly energy bills by reversing a planned cut in subsidies. The government said in November it would reduce the level of support it has provided under the “energy price guarantee” from April, which would lift the cap on an average households bill from £2,500 to £3,000 a year. Until now the Treasury has resisted pressure to keep the guarantee at £2,500, despite warnings from poverty campaigners the imminent cut in support would leave millions more households struggling to pay their bills. However, on Tuesday government officials confirmed that plans to lift the threshold from April was “under review” and could be dropped in the Budget in two weeks time.” – The Financial Times
>Today:
“Parents could lose their child benefit payments if they allow their children to play truant, under plans being pushed by Michael Gove. The levelling up secretary wants the penalties to be included in an action plan on reducing antisocial behaviour that he is preparing for Rishi Sunak. Gove said it was time to “think radically about restoring an ethic of responsibility” and argued that financial penalties would give parents an incentive to stop their children missing school and committing low-level crime. Last month, when Sunak put Gove in charge of the plan, he said antisocial behaviour should not be seen as “inevitable or a minor crime” but as a gateway to more serious offences. Gove said that cutting truanting would be central to stopping teenagers drifting into offences…” – The Times
>Yesterday:
“The education secretary, Gillian Keegan, has described her family’s battle to get the right support for her nephew, who has Down’s syndrome, as the government prepares to publish its improvement plan for special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in England. In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Keegan said the experiences of her 16-year-old nephew Joseph and his family had shown her first-hand how parents of children with Send have to fight every step of the way for the support they need. The government’s long-awaited Send improvement plan is expected to be unveiled on Thursday, almost a year after the review was first published as part of a green paper consultation. It has since attracted thousands of responses…” – The Guardian
“Britain will not follow the US and EU in banning government officials from using TikTok despite growing security concerns over the Chinese-owned app. The new Science Secretary, Michelle Donelan, said prohibiting MPs and civil servants from using the popular social media platform would be a ‘very, very forthright move’ which would require more evidence to justify. Last month Canada became the latest Western power to ban TikTok on government-issued mobile devices…But the UK Government has been reluctant to take any action despite growing calls from senior MPs to clamp down on use of the app. MPs are under pressure to stop using TikTok in case Beijing can access sensitive smartphone data…” – The Daily Mail
“UK gambling groups are preparing for the release of a major government review into the £10bn industry as soon as late March, which will introduce a statutory levy to fund public health initiatives and tighter financial checks on customers. The sweeping reforms are expected to ban so-called VIP packages on betting sites, pressure football’s Premier League to end front-of-shirt gambling sponsorship and legally oblige operators to allocate 1 per cent of gross yields to gambling harms care, raising an estimated £140mn a year, according to Whitehall insiders. Coming after almost two years of delays, which have been strongly criticised by medical professionals…, the white paper will mark the first overhaul to the rules governing the industry since 2005.” – The Financial Times
“Ministers and officials could be exposed to prosecution in the Hague under new espionage legislation that gives them immunity in UK law for “assisting or encouraging” crimes overseas. The International Crime Court (ICC) has said it could take on British cases after critics said that the National Security Bill, an overhaul of the Official Secrets Act, could shield politicians from prosecution. The bill, to be examined in the Lords tomorrow, gives immunity if the actions of ministers and other officials were “necessary for the proper exercise” of the functions of the UK intelligence agencies or armed forces. Reprieve, the human rights charity, has said that politicians could escape domestic accountability if they enabled serious human rights violations overseas.” – The Times
“Matt Hancock rejected the Chief Medical Officer’s advice to test for Covid all residents going into English care homes, leaked messages seen by The Telegraph reveal. Prof Sir Chris Whitty told the then health secretary early in April 2020, about a month into the pandemic, that there should be testing for “all going into care homes”. But Mr Hancock did not follow that guidance, telling his advisers that it “muddies the waters”. Instead, he introduced guidance that made testing mandatory for those entering care homes from hospital, but not for those coming from the community. Prior to the guidance, care homes had been told that negative tests were not required even for hospital patients.” – The Daily Telegraph
“The NHS is in “full-blown crisis” and will not meet backlog recovery targets, according to a report. MPs on the public accounts committee said the first year of NHS England’s three-year recovery programme was falling short of expectations, highlighting record waits for cancer care. Assumptions made about the first year of recovery, including that there would be low levels of Covid-19 and minimal adverse effects from winter pressures, were “unrealistic”, the MPs said. NHS England bosses said they disputed the report’s accuracy and insisted that “significant progress” was being made… The report said NHS England’s three-year recovery programme was “very ambitious [and] relies on innovative but relatively untested approaches”.” – The Times
“Keir Starmer has vowed to make it his “personal mission” to stand up for victims of domestic violence, after a collapse in the number of charges brought for the crime. The Labour leader said that as the director of public prosecutions he had witnessed “the devastating impact domestic violence has on victims and their families”, and how abuse often escalated into other forms of serious violence. Speaking at a conference held by the domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid, Starmer promised to use his own experience to crack down on the crime and said Labour would create a domestic abuse register for abusers convicted of serial domestic abuse and stalking. He also promised the party would end the “postcode lottery” faced by victims…” – The Guardian
“The favourite to replace Nicola Sturgeon has said Isla Bryson should have the right to self-identify as female despite arguing that the transgender rapist is “at it”. Humza Yousaf argued that it would be unfair to oppose Ms Sturgeon’s self-ID gender laws “because of one despicable individual” whom he said had tried to “manipulate” Scotland’s prison system. Although the laws have been blocked by the UK Government and have never been implemented, he argued this would be akin to “rolling back” transgender rights. Mr Yousaf argued the current system, under which people must get a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, should be abolished as “99.9 per cent of trans men and women do not commit crime.”… Bryson has been jailed for eight years for two rapes…” – The Daily Telegraph