“Protesters marching in support of Palestine are condoning Hamas’s “brutality and murder”, Boris Johnson has said. The former prime minister made the intervention on a trip to Israel to show his support after the Oct 7 attacks which have left more than 1,000 dead. Pro-Palestine protesters have flooded the streets of London and other major cities as Israel responded by bombing the Gaza Strip. The next demonstration is planned for Armistice Day on Saturday… Some protesters in London have displayed images of the Hamas paragliders who breached Israel’s border wall to massacre and kidnap civilians last month. Others have repeated the “from the river to the sea” chant, including a tube driver who was subsequently suspended.” – The Daily Telegraph
Editorial and Comment:
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“Israel has unleashed another bombardment on the Gaza Strip from land, sea and air as Binyamin Netanyahu defied calls from across the Middle East for a ceasefire and vowed that the fighting would continue until hostages held by Hamas are freed. Explosions lit up the sky above the Palestinian territory from a heavy wave of attacks after local internet and mobile services were completely severed…The Hamas spokesman Salama Marouf said hospitals were being targeted in an “intense” wave of bombings, hours after an Israeli military spokesman said that human shields were being kept at Gaza’s hospitals… Netanyahu, speaking to troops at the Ramon air force base in southern Israel, repeated his pledge that the conflict would end only with Hamas’s defeat.” – The Times
“Less than a third of Labour voters think Sir Keir Starmer has responded well to the crisis in Gaza, polling for The Times suggests, as a senior party figure acknowledged the hurt caused by his initial approach to the conflict. The YouGov survey found that just 27 per cent of people who say they will vote Labour at the next election said Starmer had handled the crisis well. The poll also found that 40 per cent of voters believed that the UK should back calls for a complete Israeli ceasefire in Gaza compared with 21 per cent who supported a temporary ceasefire to allow aid into the area. Thirty-one per cent of voters — and 72 per cent of Tory voters — backed Rishi Sunak’s handling of the crisis.” – The Times
“Oil and gas licences that allow drilling in the North Sea will be introduced every year under a new law that Rishi Sunak will unveil in the King’s Speech on Tuesday. The North Sea Transition Authority will be required by law to invite applications for new production licences every year under the proposals, which the Prime Minister is set to announce on Tuesday as he outlines which law changes the Government will prioritise between now and the next general election. Claire Coutinho… argues…that the change would provide certainty for the 200,000 workers connected to North Sea oil and gas. But she also uses the announcement to criticise Sir Keir Starmer’s promise that Labour will block all new domestic oil and gas developments…” – The Daily Telegraph
“Jeremy Hunt is facing renewed calls from Tory colleagues to cut taxes after figures revealed a multibillion-pound improvement in the public finances since March’s budget. Economists said that higher-than-expected tax receipts had increased government revenues by £15 billion this year, largely offsetting the additional cost of borrowing from higher inflation. It is now expected that the chancellor will have about £13 billion of “fiscal headroom” at this month’s autumn statement, double the £6.5 billion he left himself at the time of the March budget. However, the Resolution Foundation think tank, which carried out the research, warned that the higher inflation responsible for boosting tax receipts would also feed through into government costs after the election…” – The Times
>Today:
“A former Tory chairman said the party “may” have paid for the medical care of an alleged rape victim amid claims it covered up multiple allegations against an MP. Oliver Dowden did not deny the claim that an alleged victim had her private treatment paid for by the party, but said he had not approved any such payments himself. He rejected suggestions that the party had covered up the actions of an alleged rapist, insisting it had “zero tolerance” for sexual misconduct and an independent complaints procedure. It comes after the Mail on Sunday reported that Sir Jake Berry, another former Conservative chairman, wrote to the police when the party allegedly failed to act against the individual.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Kemi Badenoch has blasted doom-mongers who insisted Brexit would devastate trade with the EU. The Trade Secretary says it has not “severely damaged” the economy as predicted. And she will today back a new report declaring UK-EU trade has moved broadly in line with countries outside the bloc. Figures reveal UK goods exports rose 13.5 per cent to the EU and 14.3 per cent to non-EU countries between 2019 and 2022. Vital UK services grew by 14.8 per cent to the Continent and up by just over a fifth to outside the bloc over the same period, the Institute of Economic Affairs study says. It says the UK has been “resilient” thanks to the tariff-free and quota-free Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU in 2020.” – The Sun
“Grant Shapps has warned Aviva against any “immoral” withdrawal of backing for defence companies, after a letter it sent to investors triggered a backlash from the Ministry of Defence. Aviva, which manages £221bn of assets including insurance and pension funds, told customers last week it would be selling out of “certain companies that do not meet our Aviva Baseline Exclusion Policy”. These would include companies that “might be involved in coal production, weapons/arms, and tobacco production”, the letter said. The move prompted a swift intervention from Mr Shapps and James Cartlidge, the defence procurement minister, who spoke directly to the company about its apparent policy shift.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Labour would give consumers who use buy now, pay later services such as Klarna the same protections as if they were using credit cards under new rules for short-term loans. The government promised in February 2021 to bring in new regulation on buy now, pay later (BNPL) financing to protect consumers but industry sources said they did not expect to see rules change before the next election. Tulip Siddiq, the shadow City minister, said the King’s Speech was the government’s “last chance” to introduce changes. “The Conservatives’ constant dithering and delay on regulation has left millions of consumers unprotected and the buy now, pay later sector in a state of uncertainty,” she said in a letter to Andrew Griffith, the economic secretary to the Treasury.” – The Times