“The charity regulator has pledged to crack down on bodies that host anti-Semitic extremists amid “serious concerns” about activities linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Writing for The Telegraph, Orlando Fraser, the chairman of the Charity Commission, warned that charities “must not allow their premises” or events “to become forums for hate speech” or unlawful extremism, adding: “The commission will not stand by and permit charities to be abused in this way.” His intervention comes after campaigners contacted the watchdog over a series of videos of hateful sermons being preached at a series of mosques linked to charities, in the weeks following the Oct 7 attacks by Hamas. They include sermons featuring a call for victory over “the usurping Jews”, urging congregations to pray for the “oppressors” to be “destroyed”, and one stating that if all Muslims “just marched on Israel it’s all over, if they spat in the direction of Israel, it’s all over”.” – Sunday Telegraph
“The Conservative Party deputy chairman, Lee Anderson, has been secretly recorded claiming that he was offered “a lot of money” to defect to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party. Anderson, 56, made the comments at a “Lagers with Lee” meeting at Cambridge Rugby Club last month after saying: “We’re not taping this, are we?” In the recording of the event, hosted by South Cambridgeshire Conservative Association, the Tory MP for Ashfield revealed that he had been approached to defect to Reform UK.” – Sunday Times
“Downing Street has moved to quell a Conservative backlash over the new Home Secretary’s warning that people should not “fixate” on the Government’s flagship Rwanda migration scheme. A No 10 source insisted that ministers were “completely committed” to plans set out by the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda…Mr Cleverly, who replaced Suella Braverman in this month’s reshuffle, also told The Times that leaving the European Convention on Human Rights would jeopardise “key cooperation” with countries such as France, Albania and Bulgaria, which has helped drive down illegal migration. In remarks that particularly irked some of his colleagues he also warned against “hyperbole” in discussions around overall levels of migration.” – Sunday Telegraph
>Today: ToryDiary: Is Brexit Britain set to be the West’s liberal outlier on migration and Ukraine?
“Rishi Sunak has vowed that the tax cuts announced last week are ‘the start of a journey’, with more to follow before the General Election if economic conditions allow. In an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday, the PM said that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s 2p cut in National Insurance was the start of moves to ‘shift gears’ on fiscal policy. He told the MoS: ‘I always said I wanted to cut people’s taxes, but first we had to get inflation under control and stabilise the economy.’..Mr Sunak’s words came as Tory insiders told the Daily Mail the Government’s ‘stealth tax’ raid on incomes could end earlier than planned.” – Mail on Sunday
“Labour has denied claims it could further water down its flagship green prosperity plan. A senior source had suggested to the BBC that the level of investment previously promised – of £28bn a year – might never be reached. But a party spokesman said, if elected, Labour would “ramp up investment in jobs and energy independence” to a “total of £28bn a year as planned” in the second half of their Parliamentary term.” – BBC
“Matt Hancock and Michael Gove have been interviewed by the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of its investigation into a PPE company linked to Baroness Mone. The former health secretary and current secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities are among a number of witnesses to whom the NCA has spoken in recent months as part of its long-running inquiry into PPE Medpro, a supplier of facemasks and medical gowns. Others questioned by the agency include Lord Bethell, a former health minister, and Lord Agnew, who served as a minister in the Cabinet Office.” – Sunday Times
“In Loto (the leader of the opposition’s office), officials seem convinced the Tories will cut and run in May. The problem with the theory is that it seems to be shared by almost no one who might make the decision to go to the country. James Forsyth, Sunak’s political secretary, and Richard Holden, the new party chairman, are said by colleagues to see the appeal. And Will Tanner, the deputy chief of staff, has begun talking to centre-right think tanks about working up policies for a manifesto. But sources in Downing Street say the timing would not be recommended to Sunak by Liam Booth-Smith, the No 10 chief of staff, and Isaac Levido, the Tory campaign director. Neither is understood to be enthusiastic about the prospect of an early poll. A third source close to Sunak said, emphatically: “There is no chance of an early election.” A Tory aide who has discussed the issued with Levido said: “Anyone who thinks May is a good idea needs their head testing.” – Tim Shipman, Sunday Times
“Milei so exciting and different is that he has gone far beyond merely acting as a repository of fury and disenchantment. He actually has an intellectually coherent programme. He references economists such as Milton Friedman and Ludwig von Mises in mainstream media interviews. He waxes lyrical about “internalising externalities” – and people listen. He eschews the easy road of simply blaming his opponents for incompetence and mismanagement, rather he explains how the present systems are unmanageable whoever is in charge.” – Mark Littlewood, Sunday Telegraph
“Remember the great Omicron scare? The country was almost plunged into a lockdown at the end of 2021 because of modelling of this new variant that was analysed by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, which gives advice to the Government. A series of graphs were produced predicting the likely impact. One showed a worst-case scenario of 6,000 deaths a day, and a best case of 600. In the end, deaths reached a high of 262. Another estimated likely hospitalisations. The highest line peaked at 10,000, the lowest 3,000. The true number ended up at 1,700.” – Dan Hodges, Mail on Sunday