No 10 refuses to endorse Braverman’s claim she did ‘nothing untoward’, with no decision yet on inquiry
At the afternoon lobby briefing, No 10 refused to endorse Suella Braverman’s claim that she did “nothing untoward” related to her response to a speeding offence, my colleague Aubrey Allegretti points out.
And there is still no decision on whether Sir Laurie Magnus, the ethics adviser, will be asked to investigate whether Braverman broke the ministerial code.
No 10 is withholding support for Suella Braverman.
PM’s spokesman twice declines the opportunity to repeat her assurances that “nothing untoward has happened”.
No decision on an investigation by the PM’s ethics adviser, but Sunak “continues to avail himself of the information”.
— Aubrey Allegretti (@breeallegretti) May 22, 2023
Updated at 11.55 EDT
Key events
- 35m ago
Junior doctors to strike in June
- 46m ago
Labour will repeal strikes bill if it becomes law
- 2h ago
Braverman says government will set up redress scheme for victims of child sexual abuse
- 3h ago
Sunak rejects Jeremy Corbyn’s call for UK to back international calls for ceasefire in Ukraine
- 3h ago
Sunak says he wants ‘further information’ before deciding what to do about Braverman’s alleged breach of ministerial code
- 4h ago
No 10 refuses to endorse Braverman’s claim she did ‘nothing untoward’, with no decision yet on inquiry
- 4h ago
Starmer accuses Sunak of being content with ‘managed decline’ for UK
- 4h ago
Rishi Sunak makes G7 statement to MPs, saying he rejects view that Britain’s influence is in decline
- 4h ago
Yvette Cooper says Braverman has track record of acting as if she’s ‘above normal rules’
- 5h ago
Sinn Féin says it would be unacceptable for DUP to delay resumption of power sharing until autumn
- 5h ago
Labour would revive NHS app used during Covid as part of move towards ‘fully digital’ health service, says Starmer
- 5h ago
Braverman accuses Labour of raising speeding issue to distract attention from its record on crime policy
- 5h ago
Braverman says she ‘at no point’ tried to avoid sanction when challenged about her speeding by MPs
- 6h ago
Only 9% of Britons think Brexit has been more of success than failure, poll suggests
- 6h ago
DUP MP claims Northern Ireland local election results show unionists support his party’s stance on protocol
- 7h ago
Braverman refuses to deny asking civil servants to arrange private speed awareness course for her
- 7h ago
Braverman says she is ‘confident nothing untoward happened’ in relation to claims she broke ministerial code
- 8h ago
Labour criticises ‘weak’ Sunak for not yet ordering inquiry into claims Braverman broke ministerial code
- 8h ago
Sunak has spoken to ethics adviser about Braverman, No 10 says, but no inquiry launched yet into potential code breach
- 8h ago
Labour publishes details of its health mission
- 8h ago
Margaret Ferrier loses appeal against Commons suspension, paving way for crunch SNP/Labour byelection test
- 8h ago
PCS union accuses PM of ‘double standards’ over Braverman, saying official who broke rules would not be treated so leniently
- 9h ago
Starmer says Labour wants to reduce heart attacks and strokes by a quarter within decade
- 9h ago
Starmer says NHS ‘not sustainable’ without serious, long-term change
- 9h ago
Starmer claims NHS would not survive another five years of Tory government
- 10h ago
Starmer says he would ‘expect’ net immigration to fall under Labour, but declines to say by how much
- 10h ago
Hunt reprimanded over wrongly implying UK public debt forecast to fall
- 10h ago
Starmer says NHS needs reform as well as more cash, but insists it’s ‘always better funded under Labour’
- 11h ago
Suella Braverman did breach ministerial code says former top civil servant
More from the rally outside parliament in opposition to the anti-strikes bill being discussed in the Commons on Monday evening.
The RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch, has called for a “mass campaign of workplace disobedience” if the bill goes ahead.
He told the rally: “We will defy this law. If this law comes into fruition … the TUC and all of the trade unions affiliated and every worker in this country has got to unleash a mass campaign of workplace disobedience.”
Lynch urged Labour MPs to vote against the legislation.
“It’s easy,” he said. “You just have to walk across the room and stand in a hall and vote against it.”
He went on to say that a bill of rights for workers was needed.
“We need a new deal that enshrines in law … the right to strike as a human and civil right,” he said, PA Media reported.
Lynch added: “If the Labour party and others want our vote … they must repeal and unshackle the unions and repeal four decades of anti-union laws and let us rebalance the workplace on behalf of our members.”
Updated at 14.57 EDT
Junior doctors to strike in June
Denis Campbell
Junior doctors in England will stage a fresh strike for three days next month after negotiations with ministers failed to resolve their pay dispute.
The 72-hour stoppage will run from 7am on Wednesday 14 June to 7am on Saturday 17 June, the British Medical Association announced on Monday evening.
It will be the third strike junior doctors have held as part of a campaign to force ministers to give them a 35% pay rise to make up for what they estimate to be a 26.2% fall in the real-terms value of their salaries since 2008.
Read more:
The Labour deputy leader, Angela Rayner, has likened the government’s anti-strikes bill to a “Conservatives’ sacking nurses bill”.
She told the Commons: “We oppose this bill in its entirety and we stand ready to repeal it when in government.
“That said we do thank members of all parties in the Lords who made the thoughtful and sensible amendments that we consider tonight. While these don’t solve all of the very long list of issues with this legislation, they significantly take the sting from its worst elements.
“For that reason, on this side of the house, we will reject all attempts by the government to remove these amendments.”
Updated at 14.29 EDT
Business minister Kevin Hollinrake said the government believed amendments made in the Lords to the strikes (minimum services levels) bill could delay the reforms and make them “inoperable”, adding that the government did not support them.
One of the key changes made to the bill by peers was a measure that would ensure staff who fail to comply with a work notice on strike days do not face the sack or disciplinary action, with Hollinrake telling the Commons: “The government considers these amendments were intended to make the bill inoperable.”
He added: “Amendment four ensures there can be no consequences for a worker who does not comply with a work notice. The government disagrees with this as without such consequences an employer is powerless to manage instances of non-compliance, which will continue the disproportionate impact strikes can have on the public – severely undermining the effectiveness of this legislation.
“Given this amendment would make the bill ineffective, as I suspect the opposition intended, the government cannot support it.”
Peers also demanded consultation before the use of key ministerial powers to specify minimum services levels, including the involvement of parliament, which Hollinrake labelled “duplicative and would ultimately end up delaying implementation of the policy”.
The government also wants to overturn moves by peers to limit the legislation to England only, after peers expressed concerns the bill would infringe on services devolved to Wales and Scotland.
Updated at 14.30 EDT
Labour will repeal strikes bill if it becomes law
A rally is taking place outside parliament, as the Commons gets prepared to debate the Lords’ amendments to the strikes bill.
Labour MP Jo Stevens has promised that Labour “will” repeal the strikes (minimum service levels) bill if it gets passed.
Speaking to a crowd of more than 100 people at a rally in Parliament Square, central London, the shadow Welsh secretary said: “I promise you if Labour gets into power at the next election, and I hope we will, we will repeal this legislation.”
She later reiterated: “If it passes on the back of Tory votes, no ifs, no buts, Labour will repeal it.”
She called the bill “indefensible”, PA Media reports.
“This is all about Rishi Sunak distracting from the Tory conveyor belt of crisis with a vindictive attack on working people,” she added.
Updated at 14.14 EDT
Streeting says that Braverman does “have form” for breaking the rules – a reference to her sacking last year because she sent an official document from her personal email to a fellow MP.
He added: “We have got to hold ministers to the rules, otherwise what’s the point in having them? I think the most obvious and easy thing to do is to ask [Rishi Sunak’s] independent adviser on ethics and the ministerial code [Sir Laurie Magnus] to do a review and present the report.
“But Rishi Sunak is so weak and held hostage by Suella Braverman and the right of the Conservative party, he can’t even ask for advice. That’s how weak he is.
“I also think it’s a problem when special advisers lie on behalf of their bosses, it tells us something about the boss. I don’t think it’s acceptable to tell bare-faced lies to journalists, as has seemed to have happened in this case.”
Updated at 13.48 EDT
Wes Streeting is speaking to Andrew Marr on his drivetime LBC show.
Marr opened the show by reflecting on Labour’s promises on the outcomes from strokes and heart attacks, given his own major stroke in 2013, saying he would not be broadcasting without NHS care.
Streeting said the plans for the NHS have been costed. He said that most people expect Labour to invest in the health service which is why Labour is trailing its ideas for reform. “We’ve deliberately gone out there making the strong case for reform first and foremost. What the want to know is are we serious about modernising and changing,” he said.
In terms of spending Streeting said that Labour has policies, such as removing tuition fees, that it would like to put in place but will not because of the cost. The shadow health secretary added that Labour is hoping to spend money in the NHS more efficiently, and to stop people turning up to accident and emergency departments unnecessarily, which costs the NHS more.
Streeting refuses to say whether he would resign if Labour fails to deliver its promises on the NHS if the party is elected, but said he would not expect to be in the job for much longer.
On a question about immigration, he said there are some benefits from immigration, including students coming from abroad to study in the UK. However he said he thought net migration should come down if Labour wins the next general election.
He said: “The NHS will always be an international employer. I think that is a strength. But is there an over-reliance on international labour? Absolutely … so [we would] train more people here.”
Updated at 14.52 EDT
Steven Morris
A high-profile Tory member of the Welsh Senedd has announced her bid to become mayor of London.
Natasha Asghar, the shadow minister for transport and technology, told the Guardian on Monday she had submitted her application.
She has been leading the fight against plans in Wales for ultra-low emission zones (ULEZ) and more 20mph schemes.
Asghar said: “I have spent the best part of two years fighting against Labour’s backwards policies in Wales and now I am ready to take the fight to London.”
She said if she became mayor she would scrap expansion of London’s ULEZ schemes, work to restore trust in the Met police and tackle the housing crisis.
Updated at 13.20 EDT
Andrew Sparrow
Tobias Ellwood, the Conservative MP who chairs the Commons defence committee, told Times Radio earlier that it would be wrong for a minister like Suella Braverman to “pull strings” to try to cover up wrongdoing. But he sounded more angry about her speech to the National Conservatism conference last week, which was widely seen as the opening salvo in a leadership bid for after the next election. He said:
We’re just beginning to get back to some form of normality. It has been a turbulent year in British politics … yet we see the home secretary stirring the right of the party, almost writing off our prospects to win the next election.
Asked if he was accusing Braverman of making a pitch to be leader of the opposition after the anticipated Tory defeat at the general election, Ellwood replied:
That’s I’m afraid how it’s interpreted. It distracts us from what we’re starting to do.
It’s somewhat baffling to see the right of our party, encouraged by Suella Braverman, write off chances of winning the next election, having the very debate as if we’ve lost now as to where the party should then go.
That’s all from me for today. My colleague Harry Taylor is taking over now.
Updated at 12.52 EDT
Braverman says government will set up redress scheme for victims of child sexual abuse
Suella Braverman, the home secretary, has published the government’s response to the report from the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse (IICSA). In a statement to MPs, she said that the government was accepting 19 out of 20 of the final recommendations, and that the report should lead to “fundamental change”. She said:
It is a call for fundamental change, cultural change, societal change, professional and institutional change. I am pleased today that this government has risen to the inquiry’s challenge. We are accepting the need to act on 19 out of the inquiry’s 20 final recommendations …
We must address the systemic under reporting of child sexual abuse. As I announced in April the government accepts the inquiry’s recommendation to introduce a new mandatory reporting duty across England and today I am launching the call for evidence which will inform how this new duty can be best designed to prevent the continued abuse of children and ensure they get help as soon as possible.
The inquiry recommended a redress scheme for victims and survivors of historic child sexual abuse which the government also accepts. Of course nobody can ever fully compensate victims and survivors for the abuse they suffered.
But what we can do is properly acknowledge their suffering, deliver justice and an appropriate form of redress. This is a landmark commitment, it will be complex and it will be challenging, but it really matters.
Updated at 12.45 EDT
In a column for the i Paul Waugh says, if Rishi Sunak does not trust Suella Braverman, it may be hard to see why the public should. He cites examples of colleagues doubting her competence, and quotes one unnamed former minister saying she was “completely useless” when they worked together. He also points out that, on speeding, Braverman has form. When she first became an MP, she asked officials if MPs could claim the cost of a speeding ticket on expenses, the Tory MP William Wragg revealed earlier this year.
Sunak rejects Jeremy Corbyn’s call for UK to back international calls for ceasefire in Ukraine
Earlier in the Commons, Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, asked Rishi Sunak if he backed international calls for a ceasefire in Ukraine. Any peace process had to start with a ceasefire, he said. “Otherwise this war will go on and get worse and worse,” he said.
Sunak said he could not disagree more. He said a ceasefire was “not a just and lasting peace for Ukraine”. Russia had conducted an illegal invasion and committed “heinous war crimes”, he said. He went on:
The right and only response to that is for Russia to withdraw its forces from Ukraine and that all plans masquerading as peace plans, that are in fact attempts just to freeze the conflict where it is, are absolutely wrong and should be called out.
Updated at 11.53 EDT
Sunak says he wants ‘further information’ before deciding what to do about Braverman’s alleged breach of ministerial code
Back in the Commons, Andrew Western (Lab) asked Rishi Sunak if he had met his ethics adviser to discuss the Suella Braverman case, if there would be an inquiry, and if Braverman would be sacked if found to have broken the ministerial code.
In response, Sunak said this was not a topic that came up at the G7 (the subject of his statement).
But he said, in the interests of being generous, he would respond. He went on:
I’ve always been clear that where issues like this are raised, they should be dealt with properly and they should be dealt with professionally.
Since I returned from the G7 I have been receiving information on the issues raised.
I have met with both the independent adviser [Sir Laurie Magnus] and the home secretary.
I’ve asked for further information and I’ll update on the appropriate course of action in due course.
This does suggest that Sunak is not taking Braverman’s assurance that “nothing untoward has happened” (see 12.38pm) at face value.
Updated at 11.52 EDT
No 10 refuses to endorse Braverman’s claim she did ‘nothing untoward’, with no decision yet on inquiry
At the afternoon lobby briefing, No 10 refused to endorse Suella Braverman’s claim that she did “nothing untoward” related to her response to a speeding offence, my colleague Aubrey Allegretti points out.
And there is still no decision on whether Sir Laurie Magnus, the ethics adviser, will be asked to investigate whether Braverman broke the ministerial code.
No 10 is withholding support for Suella Braverman.
PM’s spokesman twice declines the opportunity to repeat her assurances that “nothing untoward has happened”.
No decision on an investigation by the PM’s ethics adviser, but Sunak “continues to avail himself of the information”.
— Aubrey Allegretti (@breeallegretti) May 22, 2023
Updated at 11.55 EDT
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2023/may/22/suella-braverman-rishi-sunak-speeding-row-ministerial-code-ethics-inquiry-keir-starmer-uk-politics-live
