“Britain will quit the European court if that is what it takes to stop small boats, Rishi Sunak promised Sun readers last night. For the first time in his premiership, the PM threatened to end the UK’s 71-year tie to the European Convention of Human Rights. He told our Never Mind The Ballots show: “I believe that border security and controlling illegal migration is more important than our membership of any foreign court.” It is the strongest warning yet to meddling Strasbourg judges who blocked the first attempted flight to Rwanda two years ago.” – The Sun
>Yesterday: Columnist Olivia O’Malley: Immigration into New Zealand is at record levels. Why doesn’t it top the political agenda?
“A new hate crime law has left police swamped by almost 4,000 spurious claims in 24 hours. Senior officers have had to set up a special “gold group” of investigators, with 60 cases an hour being processed. Scotland’s Community Safety Minister Siobhan Brown admitted the legislation, introduced north of the border on Monday, was leading to people making “false and vexatious” claims. Ms Brown revealed a false claim had even been submitted under her name, with Police Scotland phoning her office number to check.” – The Sun
“Alliance members must do more to pay their way. US taxpayers are not wrong to expect Nato allies to stump up more cash. The UK has always met our Nato spending obligations. With our defence budget at 2.28% of GDP and our commitment to increase it 2.5%, we will continue to be a leader in the Alliance. In the rest of Nato, things are also moving in the right direction. Nato’s Secretary General expects at least 18 allies to spend 2% of their GDP on defence this year. Last year the number was 11. Poland is increasing its budget by 70 per cent since Russia’s illegal incursion into Crimea. At the same time, it’s 10 years since Nato allies agreed to meet 2 per cent and we must look beyond that target to shore up our defences. Yet some nations are still failing to meet even the 2 per cent. That cannot continue.” – Grant Shapps, Daily Telegraph
>Today: George Barnes on Comment: The Chief of the General Staff was right. The UK must consider developing a ‘Citizen Army’
“Judges have been told to consider more lenient sentences for offenders from “deprived” or “difficult” backgrounds. The Sentencing Council, the official body responsible for setting guidelines for judges and magistrates, has for the first time spelt out “mitigating” factors relating to disadvantage that courts should consider before passing sentence.” – Daily Telegraph
“Jeremy Hunt is the most senior cabinet minister predicted to lose their seat under new projections handing Labour a victory just short of Sir Tony’s Blair’s 1997 landslide. Polling from YouGov says 11 cabinet ministers will lose their seats in the election expected to be held later this year, with the Tories suffering worse losses than Sir John Major’s defeat in 1997.” – The Times
>Today: Chris Hopkins on Comment: Johnson and Truss lost Conservative voters to Labour. But it’s Sunak that has lost them to Reform.
“The UK culture secretary is lobbying the government to change the tax system in a bid to spur philanthropy among wealthy donors, as the charity sector comes under increasing financial strain. Lucy Frazer has been in discussions with Treasury officials about adopting a US-style approach towards charitable giving, by boosting tax perks for donors and simplifying the process for reclaiming tax on gifts, according to people familiar with the matter. The proposals include streamlining the Gift Aid scheme, which allows UK charities to claim back the basic rate of tax on donations, the people said.” – Financial Times
“At least a dozen MPs, their staff members and political journalists have been targeted in a sinister cyber honeytrap scandal. Parliamentary authorities are under pressure to investigate after a string of Westminster figures – including a serving minister – were sent flirtatious messages and naked pictures. Victims have voiced concerns that those behind the ‘spear phishing’ attacks seem to have intimate knowledge of their lives and movements and there are fears that a foreign state may be involved.” – Daily Mail
>Yesterday: Peter Riddell on Comment: How to regulate, maintain, and improve standards in public life
“Sunak’s critics and supporters agree the fate of the longstanding Tory metro mayors will decide the mood. As one former cabinet minister put it: “Andy losing the Midlands is very difficult. Ben losing would be nuclear.” “All eyes will be on the mayoralties on polling night,” a current minister added. “If they both lost there would be a leadership crisis and the doom loop would get worse. They are not the types to keep quiet and could blame the leader and the brand.” A victory for both would give Sunak a shot in the arm — and probably get him through to an autumn campaign. When Houchen and Street first won, in 2017, it was the high point of Theresa May’s brief turn in power. The triumph of the local elections that year stood in stunning contrast to the June debacle in which she lost the Tory majority.” – Katy Balls, The Times
>Today: ToryDiary: Give responsibility for the NHS to the Metro Mayors
“Israelis rightly point out that Hamas fighters sheltering behind civilians is a clear violation of the laws of war. So is taking hostages. So is building tunnels under churches and mosques. So is firing rockets from hospitals. What is Israel supposed to do: just let that happen? Instead, it is reacting in the only way possible, by doing everything it can to comply with international law itself, and accepting the losses that come with bitter urban fighting in which Hamas is quite happy for civilians to be casualties…A ceasefire would leave Hamas in being, able to reconstitute itself, and with no incentive to release hostages. There would be little real chance of moving on to reconstruction and the installation of some minimally capable, non-destructive administration in Gaza. And Israel’s enemies, notably Iran, would draw the conclusion that, in a crisis, Israel would be allowed to hit back, but would always be stopped by the West from fighting to a finish.” – David Frost, Daily Telegraph