Politics
Keir Starmer defends Chagos Islands deal after Boris Johnson accuses Labour of ‘sheer political correctness’ – as it happened | Politics
Starmer: most important thing about Chagos Islands agreement was securing future of base
Keir Starmer has defended the government’s decision over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands by saying it had been welcomed with “warm words” by the US.
Speaking at an event where he had launched investment in green technology, the prime minister said:
The single most important thing was ensuring that we had a secure base, the joint US-UK base; hugely important to the US, hugely important to us. We’ve now secured that and that is why you saw such warm words from the US yesterday.
The move to hand sovereignty of Britain’s last African colony has been criticised by prominent figures in the Conservative party leadership race, and by MPs from Reform UK. James Cleverly decried it as “weak”, while Rupert Lowe called it a “capitulation”. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has called for an immediate debate when parliament sits on Monday.
Earlier on Friday Jonathan Powell, who was leading negotiations for the new government with Mauritius over the islands, also defended the deal, saying that the agreement had been reached in lockstep with the US, and the final treaty “secured all of their red lines.”
The process of negotiating with Mauritius took 13 rounds, 11 of which were held under the previous Tory administration who started the process.
Key events
Keir Starmer has defended the government’s decision over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands by saying it had been welcomed with “warm words” by the US. The prime minister said “The single most important thing was ensuring that we had a secure base, the joint US-UK base; hugely important to the US, hugely important to us. We’ve now secured that and that is why you saw such warm words from the US yesterday”
The Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey had said the deal offering sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius was the “right things for us to do”, but it has faced criticism from the Conservatives. Disgraced former prime minister Boris Johnson has decried the agreement as “sheer political correctness”, while former Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns has called Tory leadership candidate James Cleverly “stupid” for opening up the negotiations in 2022
Jonathon Powell, who had been leading the negotiations for the new Labour government, said that it secures the future of the base for the next 99 years at a time when the UK’s continued possession of its last African colony was looking increasing legally tenuous. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has called for an immediate debate when parliament sits on Monday. The treaty has to be ratified by parliament before it can come into effect
Starmer, chancellor Rachel Reeves and energy secretary Ed Miliband all gave speeches at a glass manufacturer announcing government investment in green technologies in Merseyside this morning. The government has announced plans to commit almost £22bn over 25 years to fund carbon capture and storage projects. Starmer described the project as “the politics of national renewal in action”
Starmer has said that he is committed to a free vote on assisted dying in England and Wales, and that the government will remain neutral
Transport secretary Louise Haigh has personally intervened and demanded that the large advertising board in London’s Euston mainline station is switched off
GB News has lost a high court bid to temporarily block Ofcom from sanctioning it after the regulator claimed that a Q&A with Rishi Sunak broke impartiality rules. Barristers for GB News said that the publication of the sanction would cause “irreparable damage” to its reputation, but in a ruling on Friday Mr Justice Chamberlain said that the “likely impact” on the channel had been “overstated”
Thank you very much for reading and for all your comments today. I will see you again soon.
Transport secretary Louise Haigh has personally intervened and demanded that the large advertising board in London’s Euston mainline station is switched off, as part, she said of tasking Network Rail with “a clear plan to immediately improve conditions for passengers.”
The station has come in for renewed recent criticism, not least of which for replacing the main departures board in front of the platforms with a giant billboard, and relegating train information to a smaller number of screens seemingly plonked at random in the station. Gwyn Topham, our transport correspondent, has more here: Euston station’s big advertising screens turned off after overcrowding fears
PA Media reports that GB News has lost a high court bid to temporarily block Ofcom from sanctioning it after the regulator claimed that a Q&A with Rishi Sunak broke impartiality rules.
Barristers for GB News said that the publication of the sanction would cause “irreparable damage” to its reputation, but in a ruling on Friday Mr Justice Chamberlain said that the “likely impact” on the channel had been “overstated”.
The Liberal Democrat leader had said the deal offering sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius was the “right things for us to do”, and reminded people that the process started under the previous Conservative administration. Speaking to PA Media, Ed Davey said:
I have seen the Conservatives complaining about it but they started all the talks. I think it was James Cleverly when he was foreign secretary.
People need to realise that this had to be done for us to follow the law. It was the right thing for us to do as well, but let’s just make sure they have done it in the right way.
Earlier today Keir Starmer said “The single most important thing was ensuring that we had a secure base, the joint US-UK base; hugely important to the US, hugely important to us. We’ve now secured that and that is why you saw such warm words from the US yesterday.”
Jonathon Powell, who had been leading the negotiations for the new Labour government, said that it secures the future of the base for the next 99 years at a time when the UK’s continued possession of its last African colony was looking increasing legally tenuous. Disgraced former prime minister Boris Johnson has decried the agreement as “sheer political correctness” and “a desire to look like the good guys … a desire to look as though we’re unbundling the last relics of our empire”. Former Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns has called Tory leadership candidate James Cleverly “stupid” for opening up the negotiations in 2022.
Britain formally took possession of the Chagos Islands and nearby Mauritius from France in 1814, and between 1967 and 1973 the entire population of the Chagos Islands were forced to leave their homes by the British. The expulsion of the Chagossians was found to have been unlawful by the UK high court in 2000.
Mother of the House Diane Abbott has spoken to Sky News about the Labour donations and gifts row, and suggested that the prime minister offering to pay back some gifts suggests he knows he was in the wrong.
In comments the Labour leadership are likely to find unhelpful, the veteran MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington told viewers: I do think, as a general rule, when millionaires give a lot of money to individual politicians, they’re not just doing it out of altruism at some point. So they think that that politician is gonna, you know, listen to them. Giving back any money at all makes it look as if you are now realising that you did something wrong.
Earlier today Keir Starmer said he had made a personal decision to pay back some of the gifts ahead of the formal definition of new principles, telling the media:
We’re going to draw up some principles so that everyone can see the basis on which donations can be accepted. We are working on that. Until they are drawn up I decided to repay so that any future activities, of me or anybody else, are in accordance with whatever the new principles are. That is my personal decision, I am not saying others should do the same.
I am well aware from the comments that quite a few of you have some very strong views about how Keir Starmer and the new Labour government have started their time in administration. And I suspect some of you would be quite interested in sharing them with our community team, who are looking to put together a piece in time for when Labour will mark 100 days in office, on 12 October. Find out more here …
By the way, there is an awful lot of comment on social media by angry politicians that the Chagos Islands agreement should have gone through parliament. All international treaties have to be ratified by parliament, so there will clearly have to be a debate about it in due course, and it is somewhat disingenuous by those in certain quarters who appear to be trying to suggest that parliament has been bypassed.
Under the provisions of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, all treaties (defined as written agreements between states or between states and international organisations which are binding under international law) must be laid in each house by a minister, together with an explanatory memorandum. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office also sends a copy of the treaty and the memorandum to the foreign affairs committee, and to relevant departmental select committees.
A couple of my colleagues have also made observations about the Chagos Islands deal. Political editor Pippa Crerar has said it is descending into a blame game for the Conservative party. She posted to social media: Chagos Island deal has descended into huge political blame game …
There were 13 rounds of talks with Mauritius, 11 of which took place under the Tory governmentt who started process.
So far, Tom Tugendhat has blamed James Cleverly who has blamed Liz Truss who has blamed Boris Johnson, who now says agreement is “completely wrong” to do.
Labour claims they had no choice but to sign deal because of legal mess left behind.
John Crace, meanwhile, has put into words a sentiment which has been expressed by several people in the comments on the blog today too. He said: I’d be surprised if either Boris Johnson or Nigel Farage could pinpoint were the Chagos Islands were on a map before yesterday.
If you missed it earlier in the week by the way, our former legal affairs correspondent, Owen Bowcott, who followed the story for many years for us, had this analysis piece which is well worth reading …
Scotland’s first minister has not ruled out the possibility of calling an early election if he can’t get the SNP’s budget passed.
PA Media reports that speaking on the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast, SNP leader John Swinney said:
You need 65 votes to pass a budget, we don’t have that number of votes in our party, so we’ve got to get others to vote for us. So we’ll work to create a set of propositions that will command support, but that puts as much emphasis on other political parties and what they’re prepared to support.
Since the breakdown of the Bute House Agreement earlier this year the Green party in Scotland have not been formally backing the SNP in Holyrood. Swinney said the public expect an election in 2026, and in the meantime “I think they expect politicians … to get on with taking the decision to govern.” He said his was a message for everybody, because “there’s no hiding place for any political party. If we don’t have a budget in place on 1 April, hospitals can’t get their budgets, schools can’t get their budgets, benefits can’t be paid, all sorts of things like that.”
Former Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns has called Tory leadership candidate James Cleverly “stupid” for opening up negotiations over the future of the Chagos Islands, and also suggested that the previous Conservative government had tried to keep negotiations “hush hush”.
The long-running international dispute, which involved several cases in UK and international courts going back to 2000, has led to an agreement announced yesterday which will see Mauritius gain sovereignty of the islands while the UK and US retain the use of their joint base.
Speaking to GB News, Jenkyns said: I wasn’t even aware [of the discussions over the Chagos Islands] so I don’t know if that was kept hush hush at the time from when I was an MP. But had I known that at the time, I would have spoken out about it.
I think, how stupid of James Cleverly [to have] started those talks as well, especially if you look at the moment, what’s going on globally. These strategic locations, these allies, we need to be working together, not handing it back and leaving them open to the likes of China jumping in there. So I’d say, whether it’s James or Labour, it is a ridiculous thing to do.
In November 2022, while Jenkyns was MP for Morley and Outwood and just after she had left Boris Johnson’s government as Liz Truss became prime minister, the then-foreign secretary James Cleverly said in a written ministerial statement that the UK had agreed to open negotiations with Mauritius over the future handover of the Chagos Islands.
Cleverly issued a second ministerial written statement in March 2023 about the progress in the negotiations after three rounds had been completed. Cleverly yesterday described the outcome of the negotiations, which included a final two rounds conducted by the present Labour administration, as “weak”.
The Labour government has said the deal protects UK interests by securing the use of the military base there for 99 years, and has said the US has also welcomed it warmly. Disgraced former prime minister Boris Johnson, currently out and about promoting his memoirs, has weighed in on the Chagos Islands while speaking to Camilla Tominey on GB News.
He decried the agreement as “sheer political correctness” and “a desire to look like the good guys … a desire to look as though we’re unbundling the last relics of our empire.”
Johnson said:
It’s a bad idea in hard geopolitical terms, because the base in Diego Garcia is of huge strategic importance for the US, for the west, and it’s a key component of the Anglo-American alliance. It’s one of the things we bring to the table, has been for decades. It’s completely the wrong thing to do.
Jonathon Powell, who has been leading the negotiations for the new Labour government, has said that it secures the future of the base for the next 99 years at a time when the UK’s continued possession of its last African colony was looking increasing legally tenuous. The negotiations were started under the previous Tory government. Former prime minister Liz Truss has said it was Johnson who asked her to start the process. Johnson also cast aspersions on why the deal had been done with Mauritius. He told viewers of GB News:
It’s crazy. I urge viewers of GB News to get out your maps, get out your atlases. Check out the Chagos islands, see where they are and see where Mauritius is. It’s a long way away.
The Chagos Islands are about 9,350km (5,800 miles) from London.
Keir Starmer has defended the government’s decision over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands by saying it had been welcomed with “warm words” by the US.
Speaking at an event where he had launched investment in green technology, the prime minister said: The single most important thing was ensuring that we had a secure base, the joint US-UK base; hugely important to the US, hugely important to us. We’ve now secured that and that is why you saw such warm words from the US yesterday.
The move to hand sovereignty of Britain’s last African colony has been criticised by prominent figures in the Conservative party leadership race, and by MPs from Reform UK. James Cleverly decried it as “weak”, while Rupert Lowe called it a “capitulation”. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has called for an immediate debate when parliament sits on Monday.
Earlier on Friday Jonathan Powell, who was leading negotiations for the new government with Mauritius over the islands, also defended the deal, saying that the agreement had been reached in lockstep with the US, and the final treaty “secured all of their red lines.”
The process of negotiating with Mauritius took 13 rounds, 11 of which were held under the previous Tory administration who started the process.
Prime minister Keir Starmer, asked by the media about political donations and gifts, said “I’m not sure there’s anything I can add to the very many answers I’ve given in the last week or two,” and said that his decision to repay money for some gifts was a personal one. He told reporters:
We’re going to draw up some principles so that everyone can see the basis on which donations can be accepted. We are working on that.
Until they are drawn up I decided to repay so that any future activities, of me or anybody else, are in accordance with whatever the new principles are.
That is my personal decision, I am not saying others should do the same.
During the media questions after his announcement of investment into carbon capture technology, Keir Starmer was asked about his position on assisted dying. The government is proposing to put a bill before parliament about assisted dying in England and Wales. He didn’t elaborate on his own views, but told reports:
I made a promise to Esther Rantzen before the election that we would provide time for a debate and a vote on assisted dying, and it will be a free vote.
And obviously that opportunity has now arisen, and I’m very pleased that I’m able, as it were, to make good on the promise I made to Esther.
The government will be neutral on this, as you know, but I did make that commitment to a free vote, and I’m sticking to that commitment.
Asked by the Guardian’s Richard Partington whether carbon capture is an effective technology, Keir Starmer the prime minister said: It absolutely is the right investment. It’s very important in relation to our climate obligations, and that’s why those leading the discussions in climate say this is the right thing to do.
It is a recognition that when it comes to cement, to glass, to other vital industries, there’s an element of carbon, that if we’re to support those industries going forward we need to find a way of capturing that and ensuring that through initiatives like this, we can continue with glass production, we can continue with cement production.
And therefore this has sort of got a double benefit, if you like. We’ve got the skills and the jobs and the potential to get ahead on carbon capture. That is a good thing in its own right. But secondly, it supports glass, it supports cement, it supports those industries where there’s always going to be an element of carbon.
Keir Starmer has said the big political divide is now the choice between investment with Labour or decline with the Tories.
He said “We’ve had the decline bit for 14 years. We were elected for change, and that change is investment.”
The prime minister said:
That is the new political divide. It’s how we take our country forward, and that is why this [carbon capture investment] is so important. You don’t get investment just like talking about investment, you get investment by partnering with business, by stabilising the economy, by showing you’ve got a long term strategy, and having the ambition to take the plan forward, put the money down and invest in the future.
Starmer continued: Anybody who’s spoken to an investor in the last five or ten years and asked what has put you off investing in Britain, you will have had the same answer as I gave repeatedly before the election. It’s the instability, it’s the chaos, it’s the ever changing minister behind the desk. There was no long term strategy.
He added
We’ve got to take difficult decisions in the budget in relation to the missing money from the last government, really tough decisions like, for example, the winter fuel payment. That is to stabilise the economy. Because I’m absolutely convinced that only by stabilising the economy.
Prime minister Keir Starmer has said that today’s investment announcement shows “the politics of national renewal in action”.
He told an audience at a glass manufacturing factory “we’re fixing the foundations and providing a long term industrial strategy.”
Describing his work with families of coal miners as a lawyer when the industry was being closed down by the Conservative government of the time, Starmer said: I worked with families and communities who were going to lose their jobs in a really important industry, and I therefore know first hand what this country lost when we ended coal in that way. Because we lost jobs, we lost communities, we lost a way of life. I think we lost dignity, and we also, I think, lost identity.
He said that is why his government is investing to create jobs as the country decarbonises. He said:
We are the first industrial nation. That’s who we are as a country. It’s our story. A source of pride that this country, our country, communities like here, changed the world. And that what is made here matters.
You can’t take that away from people without a plan to replace it. It’s like losing a part of yourself, a missing limb, an open wound, a heart ripped out of the nation.
He said the investment today was “not just a moment of industrial renewal, it’s also a line in the sand. We’re going to do things differently.”
Summary of the day …
Ed Davey: Chagos Islands deal was ‘right thing for us to do’
Blame game erupts over Chagos Islands deal
Boris Johnson says Chagos Islands deal is ‘sheer political correctness’ and says islands are ‘a long way away’ from Mauritius
Starmer: most important thing about Chagos Islands agreement was securing future of base
Starmer says he is committed to a free vote on assisted dying and the government will remain neutral
Starmer defends investment in carbon capture in face of environmental campaigners’ doubts
Starmer: the new political divide between Labour and Tories is ‘investment or decline’
Starmer: investment in carbon capture technology is ‘national renewal in action’
Politics
Suella Braverman sent government documents to private email 127 times
Suella Braverman forwarded government documents to her private email accounts at least 127 times while she was attorney general in a potential breach of the ministerial code, it has emerged.
The revelation came after a Freedom of Information campaign by the Times newspaper.
The Conservative, who was in the Cabinet role under Boris Johnson, and the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) did not respond to requests for comment.
For security reasons, ministers are banned from sending sensitive emails and documents to their private accounts.
As attorney general, the chief legal adviser to the government, Braverman dealt with highly sensitive matters of state.
But between 2021 and 2022, she forwarded 127 emails to her private accounts, with the emails containing at least 290 documents.
The contents of the emails are not yet publicly known.
The information was revealed after an 18-month transparency battle by the Times and a ruling by a tribunal judge.
The AGO had refused to answer the Times’ Freedom of Information request about Braverman’s emails, saying it would be too costly to search her ministerial inbox.
In a ruling, Judge Simon Heald said “it appears to us that the AGO initially went about finding private email account details in a convoluted way”, which was “not a sensible way to start”.
He said the AGO could, “using the tools available in Outlook, answer the request with relative ease”.
During the period in question, Ms Braverman took the BBC to the High Court in a bid to stop the publication of a story about an abusive MI5 agent.
She was one of those formally investigated by a leak inquiry when secret details of the court case were passed to the Daily Telegraph in January 2022.
She was later appointed home secretary, but had to resign when it emerged she had sent an official document to a parliamentary colleague using her personal email.
She later admitted sending official correspondence to her private email account on six more occasions.
After becoming home secretary once again, she was sacked last year by then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for comments in a newspaper article accusing the Metropolitan Police of bias in the policing of protests.
She said police applied a “double standard” by being tougher with right-wing demonstrations than pro-Palestinian ones.
Ms Braverman remains an MP and influential figure in sections of the Conservative Party.
Politics
Jokey reform ideas removed from NHS consultation website
Some members of the public have not taken Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s call for new ideas to improve the health service as seriously as he might have hoped.
Suggested ideas for NHS reform included putting beer on tap in hospitals, and placing Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta in charge.
The health department told the BBC officials were reviewing posts, and were removing or hiding material that was “clearly inappropriate or irrelevant”.
Ministers launched an online “national conversation” earlier, to inform a new 10-year plan to improve health services.
In a social media post, Mr Streeting sought to laugh off some of the more irreverent suggestions.
Writing on X, he quipped that a recommendation for a Wetherspoons pub in every hospital had been “sadly vetoed by the chancellor”.
He also rejected a call for him to be fired out of a cannon in a bid to raise funds for the service.
The health department has promised that the listening exercise will “help shape” its new NHS strategy, to be published in spring next year.
But some of the suggestions are less likely to be taken seriously than others.
Ideas that appear to have disappeared from the consultation website include putting lager Madrí on tap in all hospitals to “help patient morale”, and replacing Streeting as health secretary with a dog.
However suggestions to replace ambulance sirens with healthy eating advice, and install Thunderbird 2-style detachable patient compartments in ambulances, appear to still be online.
By late afternoon, the suggestions ranked most popular by users on the site included limits on sending out paper letters, and making it easier for GP surgeries to access digital records from hospitals.
Other highly-ranked ideas include making it easier for non-British nationals to pay for treatment, and fines for missed appointments, an idea suggested and then dropped by former prime minister Rishi Sunak.
The health department has not confirmed which posts it is removing, but a spokesperson said “clearly inappropriate or irrelevant” material was being removed or hidden by the moderation team.
Ideas suggested by ministers at the launch of the consultation include making full medical records, tests results and letters from doctors available in the NHS App.
Currently the NHS App is limited because patients records are held locally by a patient’s GP and any hospitals they visit – and not all parts of the health service interact with the app.
It is not the first time ministers have attempted to engage the public directly in matters of state.
The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition asked the public for suggested laws to abolish, and ran a Treasury-led public consultation on ideas to save money.
The most famous example of a listening exercise, however, remains the 2016 poll which saw the public vote to name a new polar research ship “Boaty McBoatface”.
The name, suggested by former BBC Radio Jersey presenter James Hand, achieved viral fame and became the runaway winner in a contest run by the Natural Environment Research Council.
In a blow to online democracy, the ship was later named after broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, although one of its remotely operated sub-sea vehicles was named “Boaty” in recognition of the vote.
Politics
Serious Fraud Office probe £112m Unite union hotel
The Serious Fraud Office is investigating the construction of a hotel and conference centre owned by one of the UK’s biggest trade unions, the BBC can reveal.
Unite the Union spent a total of £112m of its members’ money on the project in Birmingham.
The building has since been valued at just £29m, suggesting £83m has been wasted.
A KC-led inquiry commissioned by Unite’s general secretary Sharon Graham also identified a missing £14m which has been described as a “mystery” and does not feature in the project’s final accounts.
Unite has told the BBC the case is “now with the Serious Fraud Office” and Ms Graham would “leave no stone unturned in finding out if there was any financial wrongdoing”.
A KC-led inquiry commissioned by Ms Graham, who took over as Unite’s general secretary in 2021, also identified a missing £14m which has been described as a “mystery” and does not feature in the project’s final accounts.
An SFO spokesperson said: “In line with long established practice to avoid prejudice to law enforcement activity, we can neither confirm nor deny any investigation into this matter.”
The Birmingham project was intended to be an investment for Unite as well as saving the union money with hotel and conference costs.
Construction was completed in 2020 and development includes a four star 195 bedroom hotel, a 1,000 person capacity conference centre, as well as Unite’s regional offices.
Employment tribunal documents reveal the union believes its ruling executive council had been misled as to the true value of the project.
In 2022 South Wales Police searched the union’s London headquarters as part of a separate bribery, money-laundering and fraud investigation.
The force has told the BBC that the investigation is ongoing.
A Unite spokesperson said: “It is important to note that Sharon Graham has had to endure repeated attacks by those with much to lose since she launched these inquiries, from both inside and outside the union.
“These have been sickening and horrendous but she has remained determined to get to the truth.
“We are also pursuing legal claims to recover money lost to the union and the general secretary has put safeguards in place to ensure that such things can never happen again.”
Politics
English smacking ban being considered by government
Government ministers are considering a smacking ban for England, the Department for Education has confirmed.
Smacking bans have already been brought in by devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Jersey, outlawing the use of physical violence to punish children.
Plans for similar laws in England were rejected by the previous Conservative government as recently as last year – but Labour ministers are now “looking carefully” at whether more can be done on the issue.
The move comes following fresh calls for a ban by the Children’s Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza, after the death of 10-year-old Sara Sharif.
A court heard Sara was hooded, burned and beaten over a two-year period as her father, stepmother and uncle stand trial for her murder, which they deny.
Dame Rachel said a ban on any type of corporal punishment, including smacking, hitting, slapping, and shaking, could stop lower level violence from escalating.
“If we are serious about keeping every child safe, it’s time England takes this necessary step,” she posted on X.
“Too many children have been harmed or killed at the hands of the people who should love and care for them most.”
In England and Northern Ireland it is legal for a carer or parent to discipline their child physically if it is a “reasonable” punishment – but the Children Act 2004 made it illegal to assault a child causing actual or grievous bodily harm.
Dame Rachel said the experience of Scotland and Wales ” has taught us we need to take that step in England too” and “now is the time to go further”.
The NSPCC and Barnardo’s have long called for an English smacking ban and two-thirds of English people polled by YouGov in March last year said physically disciplining a child is not acceptable.
The previous government argued parents should be trusted to discipline their children.
However, a Department for Education spokesperson told the BBC that stance has changed.
“Any form of violence towards a child is completely unacceptable, and we are looking closely at the legal changes made in Wales and Scotland as we consider whether there is any more we could do in this area,” they said.
“We are already supporting teachers, social workers and all safeguarding professionals to spot the signs of abuse or neglect more quickly, including with our mandatory framework for safeguarding children.”
Politics
Angela Rayner given security council seat after Starmer U-turn
Angela Rayner has been made a full member of the UK’s national security council (NSC), following a U-turn by Sir Keir Starmer.
The deputy prime minister’s name did not appear on a list of ministers attending the committee published by the government last week.
But the document has now been re-published to include her as a member, confirming a move first reported by the Guardian.
The newspaper reported the new No 10 chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, had pushed for the change in a bid to shore up her position.
Downing Street said she had previously attended NSC meetings, claiming the change merely “formalises” an expectation she would do so regularly.
First established under former prime minister David Cameron, the NSC brings together senior ministers and defence and intelligence chiefs for meetings on security issues. Its members are appointed by the prime minister.
It membership has fluctuated over the years and varies by issue discussed, but has typically included previous deputy prime ministers as standing members.
The only exception was Therese Coffey, who held the post during the 49-day premiership of Liz Truss.
Ms Truss who effectively put an end to the NSC by merging its functions with two other foreign policy committees, before it was later reinstated by Rishi Sunak.
Topics discussed at the NSC include foreign policy, defence, economic security, and resilience to security threats.
Its membership was slimmed down in July 2021under Boris Johnson, in a bid to keep discussions “focused and strategic”.
Alongside Ms Rayner, the committee is will be attended by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Defence Secretary John Healey and the Attorney General Lord Hermer, and will be chaired by Sir Keir.
Mr Rayner, who is also the housing secretary, also holds seats on cabinet sub-committees discussing constitutional matters, home and economic affairs, and changes to employment law.
Politics
Fears children at risk due to out-of-town taxi licences
Taxi drivers are buying licences in Wolverhampton to get round tough rules aimed at protecting children, a Labour MP claims.
One-in-five private hire vehicles in England, such as Ubers and minicabs, have obtained licences from Wolverhampton City Council, where they are cheaper and less stringent than in other parts of the country.
Drivers do not have to get licences from their own local authority, under a law introduced in 2015.
Rotherham MP Sarah Champion says this allows drivers in her constituency to bypass tough safeguarding rules introduced after a 2014 child sex abuse scandal.
“The frustration is that in Rotherham we have probably the best regulation in the country and we’re trying to get that adopted nationally,” she told the BBC.
“We needed it because a lot of children who were being exploited were being raped in taxis or being transported from one children’s home to the abuse location through a taxi.
“The problem is those regulations are only set by the licensing authority so unless we get national minimum standards then drivers can go to a different local authority with different regulations and still drive in Rotherham.”
Only 1,781 of the 48,447 drivers currently licensed by Wolverhampton live in the city, with the rest operating as far afield as Newcastle, Somerset, Cardiff and Skegness.
The cost of a one year private hire licence in Rotherham is £210 and applicants must sit a child and vulnerable adults safeguarding test with a 100% pass rate. They also have to fit CCTV cameras to their vehicles, which can cost upwards of £350.
In Wolverhampton, by contrast, a one year licence costs £49.
Wolverhampton City Council insists it takes safeguarding seriously – and applicants receive training in at as part of a one-day course they have to take.
But Rotherham driver Lee Ward, a Unite the Union representative for South Yorkshire, said out-of-town licences were making taxi drivers “very frustrated”.
“Unfortunately a lot of taxi drivers around here were tarred by the same brush as those who were criminals,” he told BBC News.
“These are innocent drivers who were all of a sudden hit by so many extra regulations, training, CCTV.
“They’ve all gone through that – with open arms and a glad heart – just to sit next to a taxi who has a license in another authority 100 miles away, with officers who never come to Rotherham or Sheffield to check their drivers.
“It just makes a mockery of what they are trying to do.”
Wolverhampton City Council has generated millions from issuing licences to taxi drivers around the country but says the money has been ploughed back into reducing fees.
A City of Wolverhampton Council spokeswoman said: “The council would refute any suggestion of prioritising earning money over passenger safety.”
In a recent report, the council said: “As the number of licensees increase, the likelihood of a serious issue taking place.
“There has been serious child sex exploitation scandals revealed in Rotherham and Telford, which involved taxi drivers.
“Licensed vehicles provide a ‘camouflage’ which allows vehicles to traffic vulnerable people, as well as the offer of free trips for grooming. It is the service’s goal to minimise risks by all legal means.”
Earlier this year, Louise Haigh – who is now transport secretary but at the time was in opposition – raised the issue of child safeguarding in a debate on taxi licensing, saying she had worked alongside victims and survivors of child sexual abuse in Rotherham.
She said: “Following the scandal, Rotherham council set very high standards for its taxi drivers, including installing CCTV in cabs and requiring national vocational qualification level 3 on child safeguarding.”
She called on then Conservative government to bring in “robust legislation” and national minimum standards to protect women and girls.
Sarah Champion has written to Haigh asking for new laws to ensure taxis must be licensed “in the local authority area in which they routinely operate”.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Everyone deserves to feel safe when using a taxi or private hire vehicle and we’re aware of concerns around licensing.
“There are safeguarding procedures in place and all drivers must undergo enhanced DBS checks, but we are carefully considering the options available to improve safety and accessibility in the sector.”
MPs are due to debate the issue later on Monday.
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