“Border Force officials have been sent to Egypt in the hope of evacuating British citizens trapped in Gaza before Israel mounts a ground invasion. Rishi Sunak said that about 200 Britons had contacted the Foreign Office for help. He promised that the government would do “everything we can to get our nationals out”. The prime minister said that during talks with Israeli and Egyptian leaders he had highlighted the importance of allowing Britons to cross from Gaza into Egypt. He has also asked Israel to avoid targeting the border area with airstrikes if the crossing is opened. President Sisi of Egypt refuses to allow people to leave, fearing the security consequences of letting in Hamas sympathisers. Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, which he overthrew to seize power.” – The Times
“Nearly a quarter of Labour MPs have publicly called for a ceasefire in Gaza, contrary to the party’s official line, including two frontbenchers. Underlining the extent of pressure on Keir Starmer over the issue, 49 Labour MPs have either said they want a ceasefire or signed a Commons motion calling for one, out of a current total of 199 Labour members in the Commons…Imran Hussain, the Bradford East MP and shadow minister for the future of work, signed an early day motion on Friday calling for a ceasefire. About 40 Labour MPs have signed the EDM…which condemns the massacre of Israeli civilians by Hamas but says this does not “justify responding with the collective punishment of the Palestinian people”, and calls for a ceasefire.” – The Guardian
>Today:
“Rishi Sunak is facing a backlash from Tory MPs after inviting China to attend a UK summit on artificial intelligence next week. The prime minister confirmed that China had been invited to the gathering at Bletchley Park, although he said Beijing had yet to confirm it would attend. “I can’t say with 100 per cent certainty that China will be there,” he said. On Thursday morning he added: “I know there are some who will say they should have been excluded but there can be no serious strategy for AI without at least trying to engage all of the world’s leading AI powers. That might not have been the easy thing to do but it was the right thing to do.” The decision to invite China prompted a backlash from Liz Truss, the former prime minister, who wrote to Sunak urging him to reconsider.” – The Times
>Today:
“Rishi Sunak is expected to put crime and energy at the heart of his final legislative King’s Speech next month, along with the potential creation of an independent football regulator. The UK prime minister this week marked his first anniversary in Number 10 by suggesting he intends to govern until an election next autumn. “What can a country achieve in 52 weeks? Watch this space,” he said in a video. The King’s Speech on November 7 is a crucial moment for Sunak, who may now be at the halfway point of his premiership, as well as marking a debut as monarch for King Charles at the state opening of parliament…Downing Street insiders point to a sweeping criminal justice bill as being at the heart of measures…” – The Financial Times
“Ministers have formally warned councils in England to abandon any plans to adopt four-day working weeks for staff, in an escalation of a…row over town hall working practices. Government guidance issued on Thursday said councils that have adopted four-day weeks should end the practice…while any authorities planning to embrace it in future should stop any trials…The guidance appears to be the latest salvo in a war of words between the government and South Cambridgeshire district council, which is believed to be the only English authority so far to have experimented with a four-day week. The council has said its continuing trial of the practice…has…helped it improve recruitment and led to over £500,000 in savings on agency workers.” – The Guardian
“Conservative MP Crispin Blunt has been arrested in connection with an allegation of rape and possession of a controlled substance. Mr Blunt, MP for Reigate since 1997 and a former justice minister, outed himself on social media after reports emerged that a senior politician had been arrested in connection with drug and sex offences. Mr Blunt claimed in a statement that Surrey Police had begun an investigation three weeks ago when he reported “concerns over extortion”. The Conservative Party confirmed on Thursday night the 63-year-old has been stripped of the party whip, meaning he now sits as an independent MP. He has also been asked to stay away from the parliamentary estate during the course of the police investigation.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Boris Johnson and his former adviser Dominic Cummings sent “disgusting and misogynistic” WhatsApp messages that will be released by the Covid-19 inquiry, George Osborne has claimed. On Tuesday, Cummings is due to give evidence at the public inquiry, while the former prime minister is expected to give evidence next month. Osborne, the former chancellor, said: “I’ve got to be a little bit careful here — it’s a judicial inquiry. But from what I understand, there are some pretty staggering things that have been said on those WhatsApp messages not just by Boris Johnson, but key advisers like Dominic Cummings — really pretty disgusting language and misogynistic language…” Johnson and Cummings did not respond to requests for comment.” – The Times
“Rachel Reeves has said she holds her hands up and acknowledges making mistakes in her new book about female economists after she faced allegations of plagiarism. The shadow chancellor admitted on Thursday that some sentences in her book, The Women Who Made Modern Economics, were “not properly referenced in the bibliography”. An examination by the Financial Times of the book found more than 20 examples of passages from other sources that appeared to be either lifted wholesale, or reworked with minor changes, without acknowledgment. The sources cited by the paper included an obituary from the Guardian, several Wikipedia entries and a passage from a fellow Labour frontbencher.” – The Guardian