From 2h ago Mandelson’s conduct with Epstein ‘unequivocally wrong’ and ‘far below standard expected of any minister’, Jones says Jones says Jeffrey Epstein was “a despicable criminal who committed disgusting crimes and destroyed the lives of countless women and girls”. He goes on: On Friday, the Department of Justice in the United States released around 3 million pages from the case files relating to Jeffrey Epstein. It is increasingly clear that his awful crimes involved and were facilitated by many, often powerful people, both by actively participating in the crimes…
Tag: Conservatives
China has lifted sanctions from six serving British MPs and peers, Starmer says
China has lifted the sanctions it imposed on serving British MPs and peers in a significant sign of warming relations after Keir Starmer travelled to Beijing for landmark talks with Xi Jinping. Nine UK citizens were banned from China in 2021, including five Conservative MPs and two members of the House of Lords, targeted for highlighting human rights violations against the Muslim Uyghur community. However, it is unclear whether an academic, a barrister, and a former Tory MP who stepped down from parliament at the last election, who were also…
Trump warns UK against doing business with China after Starmer visits Beijing – UK politics live
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Starmer says he is ‘focused on our national interest’ as he begins China visit – UK politics live
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Tories call for block on Chinese super-embassy amid claims of hidden chamber near sensitive cables – UK politics live
From 50m ago ‘Frankly insanity’ – Tories claim plan revelations show why Labour should block Chinese ‘super-embassy’ plan Responding to Pennycook, Alicia Kearns, a shadow Home Office minister, said she was disappointed by the fact that she just got a “technocratic history lesson” from the minister. She went on: 208 secret rooms and a hidden chamber just one metre from cable serving City of London and the British people. That is what the unredacted plans tell us that the Chinese Communist Party has planned for its new embassy if the…
Jenrick rules out defecting to Reform as Farage denies report of election pact with Tories – UK politics live
From 30m ago Jenrick rules out defecting to Reform UK Some senior Reform UK figures think Nigel Farage should get Robert Jenrick to defect from the Tories, offering him the post of Reform’s candidate for chancellor, Steven Swinford from the Times reports. He also says Tory figures believe that Jenrick is unhappy because Kemi Badenoch is in a stronger position than she was, meaning that Jenrick’s chances of replacing her are fading a bit. Jenrick himself does not sound keen to go. Asked on Times Radio this morning about the…
OBR says it raised concerns with Treasury about pre-budget briefings – UK politics live
From 1h ago OBR raised concerns with Treasury about pre-budget leaking before budget took place, MPs told Hillier started by asking about the letter sent by the OBR to the Commons Treasury committee on Friday explaining what the OBR told the Treasury in the run up to the budget about its forecasts. Prof David Miles said the OBR decided to send the letter because there were a lot of misconceptions about the role played by the OBR this time. He said the letter was meant to be published on budget…
Starmer refuses to rule out freezing tax thresholds as Badenoch criticises budget plans – UK politics live
From 51m ago Starmer refuses to rule out freezing tax thresholds in budget Badenoch asks Starmer to confirm he won’t break another promise by freezing thresholds. Starmer does not answer that, saying the budget is next week. But Labour won’t return to austerity, he says. Share <gu-island name="KeyEventsCarousel" priority="feature" deferuntil="visible" props="{"keyEvents":[{"id":"691db7368f082fb6e8672411","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" Lee Anderson (Reform UK) accuses Labour of “dog whistle politics”. That generates laughter from MPs. Reform is cracking on with the day job, he says. He says Reform councils are working, he says. He asks Starmer to confirm the…
MPs warned to avoid China-linked agents trying to contact them on LinkedIn – UK politics live
From 18m ago MPs warned to avoid China-linked agents trying to contact them on LinkedIn, ahead of statement by security minister Dan Jarvis, the security minister, will soon make a statement to MPs about spying by China. (See 11.41am.) Ahead of that, MPs and peers have just been sent an email from the parliamentary authorities highlighting an espionage alert sent by MI5. It says: This alert highlights how the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) is actively reaching out to individuals in our community. Their aim is to collect information…
Attorney general says, if spy case had gone to trial, Badenoch saying China not a foe would have helped accused get off – UK politics live
Lord Hermer gives evidence to joint committee on national security strategy about the China spy case Mark Sedwill, the former cabinet secretary and former national security adviser, goes next. He is now a peer, and a member of the committee. He says the deputy national security adviser, Matthew Collins, thought there was enough evidence for the case to go ahead. But the CPS did not agree. Who was right? In 2017, the Law Commission flagged that the term enemy [in the legislation] was deeply problematic and it would give rise…