Politics
Former security minister urges Government to ‘improve’ Home Office scheme ‘not scrap it’
Home Office’s Prevent programme should be “improved” not scrapped, says former Security minister Tom Tugendhat as Axel Rudakubana was jailed for 52 years for attacking and killing children in Southport last year.
The Government has launched a review of the Prevent programme after it emerged Rudakubana was referred to Prevent three times between 2019 and 2021, yet went on to commit his bloody murders in July last year.
Tugendhat – who was Security minister between 2022 and 2024 – was asked on Chopper’s Political Podcast whether he felt that Prevent should be axed.
He replied: “No, I wouldn’t. I would improve it.”
Home Office’s Prevent programme should be “improved” not scrapped, says former Security minister Tom Tugendhat as Axel Rudakubana was jailed for 52 years for attacking and killing children in Southport last year
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Tugendhat urged ministers to implement the recommendations in a review of Prevent by Sir William Shawcross.
He told today’s Chopper’s Political Podcast: “I would look at the Shawcross report – there’s a huge amount in there that we were able to get done. And there’s bits that we weren’t able to get done because they take time to introduce.
“And part of it is about making sure you’re ‘triaging’ properly. So you’re getting stuff in line in the appropriate way and you’re responding appropriately.”
Tugendhat – who was Security minister between 2022 and 2024 – was asked on Chopper’s Political Podcast whether he felt that Prevent should be axed
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He added: “We need to get better at identifying triggers, as it were, on people.
“And when people have radicalised themselves or been radicalised to find out where we’re going.
“That’s why the Prevent aspect is so important.”
Listen or watch Chopper’s Political Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or GB News’ YouTube channel.
Reform UK has pulled ahead of both Labour and the Conservatives to top a national poll alone for the first time ever.
Fresh data from pollsters at Find Out Now has placed Nigel Farage’s party three points clear of the Tories – while Labour has slipped to a distant third.
Some 26 per cent of Britons would now vote for Reform if a General Election were called tomorrow, the data says – with 23 per cent opting for Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives, and 22 for Labour.
In a defiant statement quashing calls for a pact between Reform UK and the Tories, the former’s chairman Zia Yusuf said on social media: “No pacts, no deals. Reform is headed for Government.”
Some 26 per cent of Britons would now vote for Reform if a General Election were called tomorrow
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While leader Nigel Farage said: “Reform LEADS for the first time in a national opinion poll. This is just the beginning.”
And Reform’s Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe added: “Reform now in the clear, leading a national opinion poll.
“I am more confident than ever that we will outright win the next general election – it is going to happen. It cannot come soon enough.”
But the Tories have poured cold water on the figures – a spokesman for Kemi Badenoch told GB News: “Polls go up and down and change every week.
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Kemi Badenoch’s Tories have poured cold water on the figures
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“We’re focused on what matters – the damage Labour is doing to the economy, our schools and our international standing.”
And Labour has accused the two right-wing parties of “fighting among themselves”.
A Labour source said: “The Labour Government is getting on with delivering the Plan for Change. We’ve been clear from the outset that means taking the tough decisions needed to undo 14 years of Tory chaos and decline.
“While the opposition fight among themselves, the Labour Government is putting in the hard yards to deliver much-needed growth, create more jobs, make people better off by putting more money in people’s pockets, rebuild Britain and get our NHS back on its feet.”
It comes just weeks after Find Out Now placed Reform UK neck-and-neck with Labour – the first time Nigel Farage’s party had topped a national poll.
Before the new polling emerged, Tory peer Lord Frost had warned that his party would have to come to some sort of arrangement with Reform
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Back then, Refom and Labour jointly led with a 25 per cent vote share each, with the Conservatives left with 20 per cent.
But after a fortnight of gloomy headlines for the Labour Government, voters appear to be turning away.
Reform UK has gained one percentage point, the Tories three, and the Liberal Democrats one – all while Labour has sunk by three per cent.
Before the new polling emerged, Tory peer Lord Frost had warned that his party would have to come to some sort of arrangement with Reform if neither can come out on top.
And he looks to be vindicated by the data – running the Find Out Now results through an Electoral Calculus projection would see Reform take 170 seats, the Tories 165 and Labour 179, raising the prospect of a Reform-Tory coalition Government.
GB News’ Royal Correspondent Cameron Walker has provided his exclusive insight into engagements undertaken by Prince William, King Charles and the Princess of Wales this week.
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IS TRUMP ABOUT TO INVITE THE KING TO THE WHITE HOUSE?
On Monday, President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States of America.
The relationship between Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Government and the new Republican President, however, is (at best) rocky.
But Britain has a ‘Trump’ card – The Royal Family – and The President is known for his pro-monarchist tendencies.
Good trade (without eyewatering tariffs) and diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and the United States could prove essential in an increasingly volatile world.
Is it any wonder, therefore, that a Downing Street source told The Times this week that the government is planning for a senior royal to visit the United States to renew the “special relationship”?
Buckingham Palace confirmed on Monday that The King sent a personal message to President Trump on his inauguration, reflecting on the enduring special relationship between the UK and USA.
Members of the Royal Family have soft power to strengthen relationships between two countries in a way which politicians will never be able to do; royals have to remain politically neutral.
I understand the option of a State Visit to the U.S. remains firmly on the table, as does the possibility of The King inviting President Trump to London.
A source insists that there are no dates in the diary yet, and any visit would be subject to advice from the Foreign Office.
The Times reports 2026 is the most likely option for an outward State Visit to Washington.
If I was a betting man, I would perhaps place a bet on The Prince and Princess of Wales – if Catherine is well enough.
This is because Prince William met President Trump in Paris last year, and Trump remarked “he looks better in person” as he beamed with delight.
A royal source previously branded William a “global statesman”, and his popularity in the United States (despite his brother’s personal attacks) could be something the UK Government could capitalise on.
Buckingham Palace confirmed on Monday that The King sent a personal message to President Trump on his inauguration, reflecting on the enduring special relationship between the UK and USA.
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WILLIAM BACK IN THE BOXING RING?
On Tuesday, The Prince of Wales visited Centrepoint’s Ealing service to meet young people being supported by the homeless charity.
2025 will mark 20 years of Prince William being the charity’s Patron, having made secret visits as a boy with his mother Diana, Princess of Wales.
During the engagement, he played table football and boxed with young people experiencing homelessness.
He appeared to thrive during boxing drills, saying: “It might get me back into boxing, you never know”.
I hear The Prince of Wales has, in the past, taken to the boxing ring: all be it “briefly” and “not properly”.
At Centrepoint, each young person (16 – 25) is provided with a home, employment and education opportunities, as well as counselling.
I understand The Prince really enjoyed meeting the young people – especially hearing their personal stories of why they needed support.
For example, he met 24-year-old Bethany who was in care as a child – she fell pregnant aged 17.
She “pushed through” with the help of Centrepoint, and earned a degree from the London School of Economics (LSE) and now works in local government.
In 2023, The Prince of Wales launched ‘Homewards’ – a five year plan to demonstrate homelessness can be ended in the UK, making it rare, brief and unrepeated.
On Tuesday, The Prince of Wales visited Centrepoint’s Ealing service to meet young people being supported by the homeless charity.
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WHAT PRINCE HARRY’S UNCLE TELLS US ABOUT ROYAL FAMILY RELATIONS
The Duke of Sussex has settled out of court with News Group Newspapers (NGN) over alleged unlawful information gathering at both The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World.
NGN has offered Harry an “unequivocal apology” for the intrusion into the private lives of himself and his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
It is the first time The Sun newspaper has ever admitted liability for their use of private investigators to carry out unlawful information gathering, but the title has always denied phone hacking.
Prince William and Harry’s uncle, Earl Spencer, has now made a rare public statement: “It takes an enormous amount of guts to take on opponents like News Group Newspapers, and a great tenacity to win. And it’s just wonderful that Harry fought for – and gained – an apology to his mother. She would have been incredibly touched at that and rightly proud.”
It is incredibly telling that Diana’s brother has gone on the record to defend, and praise, his nephew’s tenacity.
Following the late Princess’ tragic death in a Paris car crash, during a paparazzi chase, Earl Spence accused British newspaper editors of having “blood on their hands”.
It appears Prince Harry and his uncle could share the same resentment towards British tabloids, and shows their bond is still strong, despite Harry’s fallout with the Royal Family over ‘Megxit’.
I understand Prince Harry is still not on speaking terms with his brother, Prince William, and has limited contact with The King.
Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace declined to comment on Prince Harry’s legal settlement.
The Duke of Sussex has settled out of court with News Group Newspapers (NGN) over alleged unlawful information gathering at both The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World.
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KING’S SECRET DINNERS WITH THE GRENADIER GUARDS
Yesterday, I attended the Grenadier Guards’ inspection at their barracks near Aldershot.
On Monday, they take up Ceremonial Public Duties for The King at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, The Tower of London and St James’s Palace.
For the last five years, these battle-hardened soldiers have been deployed on operational combat duties.
With a few minor tweaks, ordered by the Brigade Major of the Household Division Lieutenant Colonel Charles Foinette, they will achieve ‘ceremonial perfection’ by Monday’s ceremonies.
He tells me: “The things we tend to be commenting on are things like fit of uniforms, where perhaps some tailoring adjustment is required, or, in 1 or 2 cases, where [bearskin caps] are perhaps a little bit beyond their design life and are going a funny colour, or could fit better. So it’s really about providing the appropriate support to make sure that the soldiers and indeed the battalion, get the support they require to perform to the highest standard.
The Grenadier Guards have a particularly close bond with King Charles, who I understand often has private dinners with them. His Majesty is the Company Commander of the King’s Company Grenadier Guards – one of the oldest regiments in the British Army They have been on duty inside Westminster Abbey at every coronation since King Charles II was crowned, following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 They were originally formed from loyal bodies of men who remained close to, and trusted by, The King throughout his exile in Bruges – his father, Charles I, was executed in 1649.
A majority of Britons support cutting or abolishing inheritance tax (IHT), known as “the most unpopular tax in Britain”, according to new polling conducted for the TaxPayers’ Alliance.
The research, carried out by Public First, found that 55 per cent of those surveyed want to either reduce or completely eliminate the tax. These findings show widespread support across all demographics, including both genders, all age groups, social grades, regions, education levels and political affiliations.
The polling comes as the TaxPayers’ Alliance launches a campaign calling for the complete abolition of inheritance tax, which they describe as “unworkable, unfair and immoral”.
Recent data has shown inheritance tax receipts increased by £600million in the nine months to December compared to the previous year. The poll revealed that 27 per cent of respondents wanted inheritance tax to be cut, while 28 per cent supported its complete abolition.
In contrast, 21 per cent believed the tax should remain at current levels, and just 10 per cent favoured an increase. The remaining respondents were unsure about their position on the issue.
Do you have a money story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing money@gbnews.uk.
A landmark poll of Britons suggest the country wants to see the end of inheritance tax
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A majority across all age groups, both genders and all social grades expressed support for either cutting or abolishing the tax. When asked about the fairness of nine different taxes, inheritance tax emerged as the most unpopular, with 46 per cent listing it as the most unfair.
Income tax followed at 27 per cent, with stamp duty at 26 per cent and VAT at 24 per cent. National insurance, capital gains tax, insurance premium tax, vehicle excise tax and air passenger duty were viewed as less unfair by respondents.
The survey found that inheritance tax was considered the most unfair by a plurality across nearly all demographic groups. Only those with a PhD differed from this pattern, though the specific preference of this group was not detailed in the findings.
Furthermore, polling revealed strong support for abolishing inheritance tax specifically for family farms and businesses. A significant 63 per cent of respondents backed removing the tax for those passing down farms to family members.
Inheritance tax is one of HMRC’s most unpopular levies
PA
Similarly, 59 per cent supported abolishing the tax for family businesses. The findings showed particularly strong backing for farm inheritance, with a majority of every demographic group supporting tax abolition in these cases.
This comes as a notable challenge to Labour Government reforms to agricultural and business property relief. John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said the findings demonstrated clear public sentiment against the tax.
“The British public clearly recognise that inheritance tax is an almost uniquely bad tax, given their unanimous support for cutting or abolishing it altogether,” he said.
He suggested that while some reforms could provide temporary relief, a complete overhaul was necessary.
“While there are certain reforms – such as lifting thresholds – that could ease some of the pain, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the only acceptable solution in the long term is complete abolition,” he added.
O’Connell called on politicians to take decisive action based on public opinion. “Our political leaders now need to listen to the electorate that put them in office and scrap inheritance tax once and for all.”
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Britons are preparing for drastic changes to inheritance tax rules GETTY James Frayne, Chairman of Public First, highlighted politicians’ historical misjudgment of public sentiment towards the tax.
“For twenty years, polls have shown how much voters detest inheritance tax but politicians still blunder into raising it, only to be shocked when their ratings go down,” he said.
Frayne criticised the fundamental nature of the tax and its impact on bereaved families.
“It’s a stupid tax: It raises comparatively little but sends a message that the state is prepared to tax you even when you’re grieving for lost relatives,” he added.
Politics
‘We’re taught to be ashamed!’ Ann Widdecombe urges Britain to follow in US footsteps and end ‘profusion of LGBT and BLM flags’
Reform UK spokeswoman Ann Widdecombe has called for government buildings to fly only national flags and those of visiting nations, echoing recent policy changes in the United States.
Speaking on GB News, the former Conservative minister said: “I think that the only flags that should be thrown from a government building are, first of all, the national flag from our case, Union Jack in Wales, or the Welsh flag, and the flag of any country that is making a state visit.”
She argued this approach would avoid controversy and special treatment whilst preventing any confusion from a “profusion of flags.”
Widdecombe’s comments follow President Donald Trump’s recent directive through the State Department that only the American flag should be flown at U.S. facilities worldwide.
The order, implemented this week, explicitly prohibits the display of Pride and Black Lives Matter flags at diplomatic buildings.
“The flag of the United States of America united all Americans under the universal principles of justice, liberty, and democracy,” states the order, as reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
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The directive allows for limited exceptions, permitting only the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action flag and the Wrongful Detainees flag to be displayed alongside the Stars and Stripes.
Addressing specific concerns, Widdecombe highlighted potential contradictions in current flag policies.
“Particularly with the Black Lives Matter you have the issue that they’re in favour of defunding the police, which seems a very odd thing to fly over the Home Office,” she told GB News.
She emphasised that a national-flags-only policy would eliminate potential disputes.
“You can avoid all these controversies, you can avoid all the conscientious objections if the only thing you have is the national flag and that of any visiting country,” she said.
The stance aligns with growing debate over flag displays at government buildings on both sides of the Atlantic.
Widdecombe went on to criticise what she sees as a lack of patriotic education in Britain.
“First of all we’re taught to be ashamed of our country. Children are taught the worst possible aspects of colonialism in schools, virtually no addressing of the good aspects at all,” she said.
The Reform UK spokeswoman called for immediate changes to education policy if her party gained power.
“I’m not suggesting that you teach [children] the country is always right and has never been wrong,” she explained. “I’ve advocated teaching them how to think and to get them thinking, they need balance.”
She argued Britain needs to project a more confident image to attract international investment.
Reform and the Conservatives will have to come to some sort of arrangement if neither can come out on top according to a top Conservative peer.
Lord Frost, the former Conservative minister who negotiated Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, also said that Tory and Reform politicians should stop trying to “rubbish” each other in public.
The comments from Lord Frost, the former Brexit negotiator, come after former Tory Home Secretary Suella Braverman suggested that the Tories and Reform UK had to unite to defeat Labour.
Frost told today’s Chopper’s Political Podcast that the two parties had to agree on a deal to work together before the election if neither came out on top.
‘We can’t let Labour win again!’ Reform and Tories must form alliance if split on Right opens door to Starmer victory
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Lord Frost sat down with GB News’ Christopher Hope
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He said: “No, I don’t think it is inevitable. I think it’s possible that one or other party could come out on top and get a decisive lead, and then politics has to accommodate that.
“If it doesn’t happen, then there’s got to be some sort of arrangement or whatever, because we can’t allow Labour to win again on a third of the vote.”
Frost urged Reform and Tory MPs to stop publicly attacking each other.
He said: “I personally don’t think it’s right for Conservatives to rubbish Reform figures, or even more so, people who voted for Reform.
“And I don’t think it’s particularly wise for Reform to do that either. We need to be building agreement and understanding between each other, not, you know, digging the trench even deeper.”
Listen or watch Chopper’s Political Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or GB News’ YouTube channel
Politics
Labour opens door to Brexit betrayal after ‘helpful’ EU chief demands UK ‘shackles’ itself to Brussels
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has hinted that the UK could join the EU’s custom-style Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention just hours after Brussels bureaucrat Maros Sefcovic touted the potential arrangement in Davos.
Reynolds, who met with Sefcovic yesterday, claimed that joining the group could be acceptable as it is “not a Customs Union”.
The Business Secretary told the BBC: “We can improve the terms of trade with the EU in a way which doesn’t revisit customs unions or single markets or the arguments of Brexit, and we can do that whilst pursuing closer trade links around the world.”
Reynolds also hinted at further Brexit betrayals, including on food and farm products.
Business Secretary Jonathan ReynoldsPALiberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, who ultimately hopes for even closer ties with the EU, said ruling out the PEM proposal would be an “act of economic negligence”.
However, Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel accused Labour of “bending the knee” to the EU.
She said: “These latest reports that the Government might shackle us to the European Union are deeply concerning, and once again make clear that Keir Starmer and his chums are all too happy to put their ideology ahead of our national interest, no matter the cost.”
The Prime Minister is under pressure to return Britain to the EU’s orbit after Brussels’s new trade chief Maros Sefcovic stresseed such an agreement would represent membership of the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention (PEM).
European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic PAPEM operates under common rules which enable parts, ingredients and materials for manufacturing supply chains to be sourced from across dozens of countries in Europe and North Africa tariff-free.
The suggestion, rejected by the previous Tory Governments, was touted during Sefcovic’s appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The Prime Minister is unequioval about his determination to “reset” cross-Channel relations but continues to insist that this will not infringe on the UK’s decision to leave the Single Market or Customs Union.
Despite No10 remaining quite coy about the UK’s potential membership of PEM yesterday, Starmer’s Government is reportedly holding consultations with business leaders over the benefits of PEM but no final decision has yet been made.
Brexiteers have long warned that being part of a Customs Union would block the UK from signing independent Free Trade Agreements, including with the United States.
Keir StarmerPADuring Sefcovic’s Davos appearance, the EU’s trade chief said the idea has not been “precisely formulated” by London yet and the “ball is in the UK’s court”.
Sefcovic also hinted at a full-scale veterinary agreement to reduce frictions on farming and food trade, an updating fisheries deal and mobility plan for under 30s.
Sefcovic stressed he hoped the scheme would “build bridges for the future for the European Union and the UK”.
“That was the idea,” he said. “[But] we’ve been a little bit surprised what kind of spin it got in the UK.
“It is not freedom of movement,” Sefcovic added. “We have been very clear what we’ve been proposing.”
Politics
Youngest MP Calls For ‘Voting Terminals’ Around Parliament As Backbenchers Plan Modernisation Drive
Vote result being read out in the House of Common
3 min read
Labour MP Sam Carling has called for the Modernisation Committee to consider reform of Parliament’s voting system to make MPs “more productive”.
Speaking to PoliticsHome, the Labour MP for North West Cambridgeshire said: “MPs have a huge amount of demands on our time. Physically walking through a room to vote several times in a row – it may be 15 minutes, but then we have to hover till the next one starts. So we could be there for over an hour straight… How much could I have done in that time? Quite a lot.”
Carling told PoliticsHome “there’s a lot of people who are looking to see reform to the voting system”.
Carling estimated that it currently costs up to £7,600 of MPs’ total time per vote, presuming that all 650 turn up.
He calculated the figure by assuming the House manages three votes an hour, with MPs working a 50 hour week. Looking at four votes per hour on a 60-hour week, the cost was £4,759 per vote.
“At the moment, I have to give myself time to trek over to the palace, which takes… 10 minutes.”
“If I could just have some buttons to press. That’s a two-minute job. So there’s a significant amount of time I think we can save there.”
MPs ‘could be a lot more productive’
“I would put terminals around the place.”
Carling said he appreciated that there are arguments against modernisation, for example the fact that being in the Chamber is a “good opportunity to lobby ministers”.
While he accepted that that argument had merit, he said: “I think a lot of that is outweighed by just the fact that we could be a lot more productive.”
If there were resistance to full-scale change, Carling said “getting rid” of the tellers – who physically count MPs’ votes – would be “a happy medium” as “the thing that slows us down is the single file queue at the end to get past the tellers”.
This way, he said, the party whips would still be confident they are able to help people who are not sure what’s going on “because I think that’s another worry as well there”.
Speaking to PoliticsHome about his proposals in his office, Carling said: “But what I prefer to have is just have pass readers around the estate. So there’s a division on, [we] could have one on the ground floor of this building [1 Parliament Square], or just one on each floor in this building, which would be significantly easier to deal with quicker for everybody.”
It comes after a group of MPs were expected to make a submission to the Modernisation Committee calling for it to look at curbing alcohol provision during working hours, diversifying paintings on display, and improving lighting within the building.
The Liberal Democrats have also submitted to the committee, calling for an improved Private Members’ Bill (PMB) process, and an independent body to decide the scheduling of the House, PoliticsHome recently learned.
Sarah Olney, the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for the Cabinet Office, said the party has suggested a “sifting process” for PMBs, where backbenchers are supported by government officials to design a PMB that will “really work”, and so will have “improved chances of legislation getting on the statute”.
Olney said the party has also suggested introducing an independent body to “take the programming [of the House] out of the hands of the government”.
“It’s basically so that the scheduling doesn’t then become a political football,” she said. “All parties will get better notice of what’s happening when, so that you don’t suddenly get things scheduled at the last minute.”
She added: “Certainly during a lot of the Brexit debates, we were just not given enough time to properly debate really serious issues. An independent body would ensure that proper time was being given to things that needed proper scrutiny.”
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Foreign Secretary David Lammy has been accused of misleading MPs over his “bonkers” agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
The draft agreement has faced a number of setbacks since it was announced in October, with Donald Trump poised to veto the deal as Mauritius demands even more concessions from the UK.
However, the latest row appears to have created a divide on Labour’s own benches.
Speaking at a Chagossian meeting at Portcullis House, Crawley MP Peter Lamb claimed there is “certainly evidence” that statements made in the Commons by the Foreign Secretary “do not appear to be true”.
David Lammy
PA
The campaign group Chagossian Voices claimed Lammy has not met with them thoroughout negotiations concerning the archipelago.
Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty reportedly met with the group twice after the accord was agreed but refused to discuss the negoations.
Doughty met with members of the Chagossian community on September 30 and October 3.
However, Foreign Office sources have insisted that officials remain in regular contact with Chagossians.
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Chagossian demonstrators gather in London
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Jean-Francois Nellan, who was present at both meetings, said the second discussion was just 10 minutes long.
Chagossians who attended the recent meeting also disagree with the Government about how Lammy considers indigenous interests.
Carl Buckley, a lawyer working with Chagossian Voices, told the meeting: “We have a Secretary of State who is on the record saying, all of these [people] have been consulted when they have not.
“There is a refusal to correct the record, there is a refusal to respond to correspondence that they have sent. There is an utter refusal to engage with these people. So their humanity, their individuality, is being ignored.
Downing Street has defended the deal around the Chagos ArchipelagoREUTERS“They were forcibly removed from their homes, but they are again being ignored now over 50 years later when we are discussing their homeland.”
Lamb added: “I’ve forwarded their [Chagossian Voices] correspondence again and asked for a response. Freedom of Information requests are going largely unanswered, the argument being national security, which I find very difficult with the questions that I was asking.”
He added: “There is certainly evidence that statements made in the house by the foreign secretary do not appear to be true.”
Clarifying the situation, a Chagossian Voices spokesman told The Independent: “There has been no engagement. We never met with Lammy. And we only spoke to Stephen Doughty after the negotiations were over.”
Foreign Secretary David LammyReutersShadow Armed Forces Mark Francois also said: “The Foreign Secretary’s benighted Chagos deal just staggers from one disaster to another. Not only are president Trump’s team clearly very unhappy with it, but now even Labour backbenchers are speaking out against it too.
“If David Lammy had any sense he would stop digging and abandon the whole bonkers plan, sooner rather than later.”
A Government spokesman said: “The negotiations were between the UK and Mauritius with our priority being to secure the full operation of the base on Diego Garcia.
“We recognise the importance of the islands to Chagossians and have worked to ensure this agreement reflects their interests. The UK government, under both the previous and current administration, has been engaged with Chagossians at both official and ministerial level during negotiations which first started in November 2022.
“As part of the agreement, we will finance a new trust fund for Mauritius to use in support of the Chagossian community. We will work with Mauritius to start a new programme of visits for Chagossians to the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia. And Mauritius will be free to develop a programme of resettlement on the islands, other than Diego Garcia.”
Politics
Trump Team Is “Very, Very Sceptical” Of UK Government, Says Labour Peer Invited To Inauguration
President Trump speaks at a ball after his inauguration, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington (Credit: AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
3 min read
Lord Glasman, the only UK Labour Party figure to be invited to President Trump’s inauguration, has told PoliticsHome that the team around Trump is “very, very sceptical about the Labour government”.
“They want an alliance with the UK, à la Churchill or Thatcher,” Glasman said. “They are pro-worker, so they hate globalisation. A big part of MAGA square is working-class, and people like Steve Bannon and [JD] Vance are very engaged with that.
“They are looking for the government to be their partner, but they don’t see any indication that they are.”
Labour peer Maurice Glasman is a founder of the Blue Labour movement, which combines a left-wing stance on the economy with conservative views on cultural issues.
In an exclusive interview with PoliticsHome, he said he received his invitation to the inauguration from the Republican National Committee. “It was an invitation from the Republican Party, really, in the name of transatlantic dialogue,” he said.
Asked why he had been singled out for an invitation, Glasman explained that JD Vance, now US Vice-President, had sent the peer his book Hillbilly Elegy eight years ago and said he admired Blue Labour.
“I had no idea who he was. So we had two or three email exchanges that were very polite and measured, discussing globalisation and the status of workers who would be best-placed to represent that,” Glasman said.
When he arrived in the US, Glasman said the Trump team were “extraordinarily friendly” to him. “They even presented me with a handmade pair of cowboy boots,” he added.
In attending the inauguration and Nigel Farage’s party overlooking the White House, Glasman confirmed that he met Vance, the Vice-President; Bannon, the former Trump strategist; and Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State. “They really opened the doors,” he said.
Glasman spent a significant amount of time with Farage in the US. “He is a Republican politician superstar over here. The queues were lined up, shaking his hand, offering him money, saying, ‘Any support you need, Nigel, we’re with you.’”
The peer said: “Nigel, I’ve got to say, was extremely generous in introducing me to people. I just had a chat with him and said, ‘We’re patriots, right? So, let’s just represent our country as best we can.’ He did that. He wasn’t partisan at all.“
Asked how No 10 has felt about his attendance, Glasman replied: “It’s too early to judge. I’m obviously trying to communicate with them as best I can.
“I’m not expecting them to do cartwheels when the Prime Minister wasn’t invited, the Foreign Secretary wasn’t. It’s a difficult moment for them, and I’m just doing my best to represent Labour and the government in the way that I can.”
While there have been many comments on social media about the significance of Keir Starmer not being invited to the inauguration, no UK prime minister appears to have visited the United States at the time of any presidential inauguration since records of visits began.
It was notable, however, that Glasman as a Labour figure was invited. And in a break with tradition, Trump did invite selected world leaders to join him on his inauguration day.
The peer told PoliticsHome he had spent his visit “defending the Labour Party” by telling those around Trump: “You’ve mistaken us – we’re not a liberal party, we’re the Labour Party.”
Glasman also said he is planning to start a show on GB News – “Blue Labour versus Reform” – which will see him debate with Farage on a weekly basis.
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NFU President launches fresh attack on Labour over ‘abhorrent’ inheritance tax raid on farmers: ‘Completely inhumane!’
President of the National Farmers’ Union Tom Bradshaw has launched a fresh attack on the Labour Government, claiming their inheritance tax raid on farmers is “unfair” and “abhorrent”.
Today, Bradshaw and NFU Cymru President Aled Jones handed in their petition on behalf of the union to 10 Downing Street, calling for a change in the proposed legislation.
Over 270,000 people have signed the petition in support of farmers, with Bradshaw warning on the petition’s official page that the tax will “deal a hammer blow to farming families” across Britain.
Speaking to GB News, Bradshaw told reporter Katherine Forster that the Government “are the only ones” who believe the raid is a “fair deal”.
Bradshaw launched a fresh attack on Labour, claiming the inheritance tax changes are ‘completely inhumane’
GB News / PA
Bradshaw told the People’s Channel: “Over 270,000 people have supported our petition. We’d like to thank every one of them for their support.
“It means so much to the farming industry, but food production is something that everyone in this country relies on.”
Detailing the impact on the farming industry, Bradshaw declared that confidence in the agricultural industry has been “completely broken”.
He explained: “Nobody wants to invest for the future and without that investment, there is no food security.
Bradshaw and NFU Cymru president Aled Jones handed in their petition to 10 Downing Street today
Pa
“We’ve seen the supermarkets all come out saying they’ve got serious concerns for the resilience of our food supply systems.”
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Expressing particular concern for elderly farmers, Bradshaw warned Labour that giving them “no time to plan” in how they will pass their farms on before the changes come into place is “completely inhumane”.
Bradshaw fumed: “These people that are in our community, that have given a lifetime to producing this country’s food, have no ability to plan. We’ve got 94-year-olds that still own the farm because until October 30, the very best tax advice was to keep the farm until death.
“They have no ability to plan their way through this. The abhorrent changes proposed are completely inhumane.”
He stated: “Putting those people in that position is completely unfair, and we have to get the Government to urgently look at changing the proposals so that we can take them out of the eye of this storm.”
Bradshaw told GB News that confidence in the agricultural industry is ‘completely broken’
GB News
Revealing the union’s next steps in their campaign against Labour’s changes, Bradshaw told GB News that more than “100 events” are planned for tomorrow, for farmers to “thank the public for their support” and get their message across to Government.
Delivering his verdict on the tax raid, NFU Cymru president Aled Jones claimed that there is a “sense of betrayal” felt by farmers, following the Labour Goverment’s announcement in October’s Budget.
Jones said: “We were told a while ago that family farms were integral to this country, and farming and delivering food security was an essential part of national security. And farmers really took those messages and they were proud to deliver for this country.
“But there’s a sense of betrayal. It’s this utter sense of betrayal at the moment to think that those historic contributions that farmers made to this country is now being taken away from them. The breakup of family farms will be devastating for this country.”
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