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…
Tag: Scotland
Richard Tice confirms Reform abandoning firm commitment to most of the £90bn tax cuts in its 2024 manifesto – UK politics live
From 1h ago Richard Tice confirms Reform abandoning firm commitment to most of £90bn tax cuts in 2024 manifesto Richard Tice, the Reform UK deputy leader, has confirmed that the party has dropped its commitment to most of the £90bn tax cuts it was promising in its election manifesto last year. In a significant change of tack, the party is now saying that it will not implement tax cuts until it has cut government spending first. Tice and Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, still believe that colossal cuts in…
Tories would abolish stamp duty, Badenoch tells party conference – UK politics live
From 2h ago Badenoch says next Tory government will abolish stamp duty Badenoch says, because of all the savings she has promised, she can afford one more announcement. As the Conservative party, we know who our people are. They are people who work hard, they are the people who plauy hard, they are the people who understand the importance of putting down roots. They are the people who make sacrifices today for a better life. They are also people who want to own their own home, she says. But there…
Reports PM privately thinks Rwanda plan won’t work are why costs must be published, Yvette Cooper says – UK politics live
From 30m ago Yvette Cooper says reports saying Sunak privately thinks Rwanda plan won’t work show why full costs must be published In the Commons MPs have just voted on the Labour motion criticising the government’s record on dentistry. It was defeated. Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, is opening the next debate on the “humble address” motion that, if passed, would oblige the government to publish confidential documents about the cost of the Rwanda programme. The text of the motion is here. Cooper says it is particularly important for…
‘Rock star of an animal’: Edinburgh zoo’s pandas to return to China
As soon as she heard that Edinburgh’s pandas were about to be flown home, Sarah Greenwood knew she had to see them. “I love everything about pandas,” she said. “I absolutely couldn’t miss it.” Wrapped in a thick coat and hat to guard against the freezing temperatures and the first snow flurries of winter, Greenwood, an events manager, 52, travelled from Cambridge on Wednesday to watch Tian Tian and her partner, Yang Guang, grazing on bamboo, sleeping and exercising. She is not alone: the news that the only pandas in…
Exit from Edinburgh zoo may signal end to era of China’s panda diplomacy
As the UK’s only giant pandas leave Edinburgh zoo , returning to their native country after a 12-year sojourn away from China, the era of panda diplomacy also looks to be coming to an end. Tian Tian and Yang Guang will board the panda express back to Sichuan less than a month after three giant pandas left the Smithsonian national zoo in Washington DC, ending the zoo’s five-decade panda programme. The homecoming of the five giant pandas in recent weeks reflects the end of long-agreed lease arrangements. Zoos typically pay…
Britain Says Bye-Bye to Its Only Pandas as They’ll Soon Depart for China
Britain’s only two pandas will soon be returned to China, officials said, in a send-off that has dispirited fans of the playful, waddling bears and signals what appears to be the end, at least for now, of panda diplomacy. “Bamboo bon voyage,” the Edinburgh Zoo of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland said on its website, noting that there would be “a giant farewell” on Thursday for the bears, whose names are Yang Guang and Tian Tian. The pair of giant pandas will be prepared to return to China in…
12 African Artists Leading a Culture Renaissance Around the World
In one of his famed self-portraits, Omar Victor Diop, a Senegalese photographer and artist, wears a three-piece suit and an extravagant paisley bow tie, preparing to blow a yellow, plastic whistle. The elaborately staged photograph evokes the memory of Frederick Douglass, the one-time fugitive slave who in the 19th century rose to become a leading abolitionist, activist, writer and orator, as well as the first African American to be nominated for vice president of the United States. Diop is no stranger to portraying the aches and hopes of Black people…
Scottish Water admits solar farms could use parts linked to China’s forced labour camps
Scottish Water has admitted that its solar farms could use components linked to forced labour camps in China, “in clear conflict” with its anti-slavery policies. Scottish Water, a state-owned monopoly, has installed tens of thousands of solar panels it suspects are linked to Chinese slave labour at 66 sites around the country, bought for tens of millions of pounds. They include a “super solar” scheme at its large water treatment works that supplies 565,000 people in the Glasgow area with drinking water. It said the 8,448 panels at Balmore in…
Sunak branded ‘inaction man’ at PMQs as Starmer attacks record on schools, prisons and China – as it happened
From 19h ago Sunak branded ‘inaction man’ at PMQs as Starmer attacks his record on schools, prisons and China Here is the PA Media story on PMQs. Rishi Sunak has been branded “inaction man” by the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, as the government grapples with crumbling schools, Chinese espionage, and a prisoner on the run. Starmer urged the prime minister to call a general election, as he accused the government of failing to heed warnings which led to a series of crises for ministers over the last week. But Sunak…