“Illegal migrants are pretending to be gay to “game the system” and get into Britain, Suella Braverman claimed today. The Home Secretary said people crossing the channel on small boats lie about their sexuality to receive “special treatment” on the border. The comments follow a major speech in Washington DC where the senior minister called on world leaders to rip up the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. Ms Braverman praised the convention as an “incredible achievement of its age”, but caveated that “we now live in a completely different time”. She argued global asylum rules are now out of date and have expanded over time to facilitate illegal migrants “shopping around” for their country of choice.” – The Sun
Comment:
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Braverman’s speech addressed important issues – but it is a mistake for Conservatives to elide legal and illegal immigration
“Suella Braverman has been authorised by Downing Street to float the prospect of leaving the European Convention on Human Rights as a “warning shot” to the Strasbourg court not to block flights deporting migrants to Rwanda. A three-day hearing will start on October 9 at the Supreme Court, which will determine whether the government’s policy on shipping asylum seekers to Rwanda is lawful, although a ruling is not expected until November. Ministers are trying to overturn a Court of Appeal ruling in June that concluded the policy did not comply with Britain’s obligations under the ECHR. The government is confident of winning the case, opening the way for flights to take off early next year. However, ministers fear that the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, the ultimate arbiter of the convention, will allow legal challenges that could delay or suspend flights.” – The Times
Comment:
“Suella Braverman today admitted it was ‘inevitable’ that fentanyl would replace heroin among drug users in Britain. The Home Secretary, who is on a trip to the US, saw first-hand evidence of how America is trying to combat its opioid crisis. Fentanyl, which is up to 50 times stronger than heroin, is a powerful synthetic opioid that has played a large part in the overdose epidemic in the US. Mrs Braverman visited the Drugs Enforcement Administration (DEA) headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, to talk to agents about the fentanyl crisis across America. She voiced fears the drug could soon be more prevalent on the UK’s drugs market. ‘In the UK it’s mainly heroin, and we’re seeing emerging signs of fentanyl coming into the drug-supply market, but it’s not at the scale,’ she told one of the agents.” – Daily Mail
“Rishi Sunak hailed the approval of a major oil and gas drilling project yesterday as he stepped up his opposition to counter-productive green pledges. The Prime Minister said the decision was the best way to ensure Britain’s energy security after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent prices soaring. Mr Sunak has already moved to delay or dilute costly green pledges such as banning new petrol and diesel cars and gas boilers. His support for the scheme will draw a clear battle line with Labour, which has said it opposes new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea… Announcing the move yesterday, Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho said that even by 2050, fossil fuels will still be producing a quarter of Britain’s power and accused critics of ‘relying on foreign regimes’. – Daily Mail
Comment:
Editorial:
>Yesterday: Helen Millman in Comment: Sunak’s climate change speech last week was disappointing. Here’s why Net Zero fits his five priorities.
“A Conservative peer has been cleared of breaking lobbying rules for a second time by the House of Lords watchdog over introducing a company that was awarded government PPE contracts worth £50m. The watchdog had been asked to reopen his investigation into Lord Chadlington after it emerged that there was an exchange with the government that had not been fully provided to his first inquiry. In a report published on Wednesday, the House of Lords commissioner for standards, Akbar Khan, concludes that “on the balance of probabilities, there is insufficient evidence” to suggest Chadlington, whose real name is Peter Gummer, had broken parliamentary rules that forbid peers from lobbying for companies that pay them or in which they have a financial stake. He also ruled that it was “regrettable” that during his first investigation Chadlington did not disclose how he initially contacted the government and introduced the company.” – The Guardian
“Less than a third of Conservative supporters back Rishi Sunak’s plan to scrap HS2’s northern link between Birmingham and Manchester, despite believing that the railway does not represent good value for money. New YouGov polling for The Times has found that about half (52 per cent) of all Tory voters still support the project despite its spiralling costs, with a third (35 per cent) saying they oppose it. However, just 29 per cent of Conservative voters say the high-speed line should stop at Birmingham, once it is built to there, and not proceed to Manchester. This is despite just 11 per cent saying that they think the project represents good value for money. The polling comes after five Labour mayors claimed Sunak was “risking the cohesion” of the country with his plan to curtail the project.” – The Times
More:
Comment:
>Yesterday: Jack Brereton MP in Comment: Halting HS2 could release vital funds towards levelling up the North and Midlands
“Tories have accused the Labour Party of “making it up as they go along”, after Sir Keir Starmer was forced into an embarrassing u-turn on tax breaks for private schools. Labour dropped its plans to end the schools’ charitable status, leading to accusations Starmer and co can’t be trusted. Now the Conservative Party has issued an official response, via the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen MP. The statement accuses Starmer of being “only interested in short term policies designed to grab headlines, without any regard for the consequences.” Glen, however, claims the “Conservatives are taking immediate action to provide relief” and will “take the long-term decisions for a brighter future for our children.” It comes after the Labour U-turned on pledges to strip Private schools of charitable status.” – Daily Express
More:
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Instead of scrapping inheritance tax, Sunak and Hunt should get rid of stamp duty – or take a penny off income tax
“Labour risks a £5 million hit to its election war chest as a result of the spiralling legal costs of an anti-Semitism lawsuit against five former staffers. At a hearing on Tuesday, the party will learn how much it would have to stump up if it loses the case, expected to be held next summer. A negative result could seriously dent its finances and reopen internal rifts ahead of an autumn election. Labour is suing five former officials who worked for Jeremy Corbyn, including Seumas Milne, his head of communications, and Karie Murphy, his chief of staff. Georgie Robertson, Laura Murray and Harry Hayball, all former aides to the ex-Labour leader, are the other three ex-staff members facing the legal action.” – Daily Telegraph
“Sadiq Khan risks being booted out as London Mayor by a Tory maverick. An exclusive poll for The Sun shows Susan Hall is just three points behind the Labour incumbent ahead of next year’s May election. The survey by JL Partners puts her on 32 per cent with Mr Khan on 35 per cent, despite Ms Hall having received little support from senior Tories such as the PM. It comes as Mr Khan faces a backlash for expanding the Ulez to every borough in London. Labour suffered a shock defeat in the recent Uxbridge by-election where the £12.50 daily sting was a dividing issue. Ms Hall has vowed to axe ULEZ on her first day in City Hall if she wins. The knife-edge polling shows Ms Hall ahead with male voters, older people, and those in outer London, while Mr Khan’s supporters are generally younger living in the inner city.” – The Sun
More:
“A Labour-led council has ordered two tower blocks in south London to be demolished in a move that could leave tenants of the 205-flat buildings homeless. The Royal Borough of Greenwich has issued an enforcement notice against Comer Homes Group after it constructed two apartment buildings in breach of planning permission. The developer has been told to completely tear down its Mast Quay Phase II residential towers, in Woolwich, which were originally given planning permission in 2012. The council says the blocks, one of which reaches 23 storeys in height, have essentially been ‘built without planning permission and is therefore unlawful because it is so substantially different to the scheme that was originally permitted’. It means that tenants who have already moved in now face being kicked out of their homes, with residents pleading for help from the council if it goes ahead.” – Daily Mail
“Labour should look at introducing “safe consumption” rooms for drug users across the UK, one of the party’s most senior backbench MPs has suggested. Dame Diana Johnson, the chair of the Commons home affairs committee, said pilot schemes should be set up to test whether the idea would work. Her remarks came after Scotland, which has the highest death rate from addiction in Britain, approved the first such facility in the country on Wednesday. The £2.3 million consumption room will be opened in east Glasgow as part of a new approach to tackle the blight of drug use in the city. Under the scheme, users will be able to take substances like heroin and crack cocaine while under the supervision of healthcare professionals.” – Daily Telegraph
“The veteran MSP Fergus Ewing has been suspended from the Scottish National party for a week. The Inverness and Nairn MSP – the son of the late SNP trailblazer Winnie Ewing – has been an outspoken critic of the party’s leadership in the past year. The former rural affairs secretary has publicly objected to a number of policies, most notably plans for highly protected marine areas, the deposit return scheme and the Scottish government’s deal with the Scottish Greens. Before the summer recess, Ewing voted with the opposition in favour of a motion of no-confidence in the Green co-leader and government minister, Lorna Slater, which prompted the sanction. Ewing can appeal the decision during a 14-day period.” – The Guardian