Labour accuses prime minister of being ‘slippery’ over Covid inquiry messages
Good morning and welcome to the UK politics live blog. We begin the day with the Labour party accusing Rishi Sunak of being “slippery” in the row over whether the government will hand over Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages and other documents to the Covid inquiry.
The shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting , has told Sky News the prime minister should “comply with the inquiry and do it today”.
He said:
I think the prime minister looks really slippery today. He says he wants the government to cooperate with the inquiry but the government has been withholding information the inquiry has asked for.
One minute the government says the messages they have are immaterial; the next minute they’re saying they don’t exist. Which is it?
It comes as the work and pensions secretary, Mel Stride, said the government intended to be “absolutely transparent and candid” in relation to the Covid inquiry.
He told Kay Burley on Sky News:
So what the government is doing here is we have started this inquiry because we think it’s very important that we get to the bottom of some really important questions that many, many millions of people want to know the answers to around the Covid pandemic and our response to it.
We’ve provided around 55,000 documents, eight witness statements and corporate witness statements, as well, to the inquiry. And we absolutely intend to continue to be absolutely transparent and candid.
Inquiry chair Heather Hallett had ordered the government to hand over the messages, as well as diary entries and notes, by 4pm on Tuesday 30 May but the deadline has now been set for 4pm on Thursday 1 June.
The Cabinet Office’s request for an extension to Monday 5 June was rejected.
Updated at 05.13 EDT
Key events
British businessman and Labour donor Dale Vince has vowed to double all money given to Just Stop Oil for the next 48 hours after senior Conservatives urged Sir Keir Starmer to return the funds the green energy entrepreneur gave to the party.
Vince told people on Twitter to “make a donation” to the climate activist group in the next 48 hours, adding: “I will double the amount you give”.
“This is what we did after the right-wing mud slinging…”
💥This is what we did after the right wing mud slinging…
Make a donation to @JustStop_Oil in the next 48 hours and I will double the amount you give.
Visit Just Stop Oil website to donate…
— Dale Vince (@DaleVince) May 31, 2023
The tweet comes amid controversy in the Labour Party over financial support from Vince, who is also a key donor to Just Stop Oil, whose protesters are known for carrying out disruptive stunts such as interupting sporting events and bringing roads to a standstill, PA reports.
Starmer has previously condemned Just Stop Oil activists, describing them as “wrong” and “arrogant” and senior Conservatives, including party chairman Greg Hands, have called on the Labour leader to hand back money given by Vince, arguing it legitimises group’s tactics.
The businessman, who is the founder of green energy firm Ecotricity, has given around £1.5 million to Labour over the past decade, according to filings to the Electoral Commission.
Lunchtime summary
Here is a round-up of the day’s headlines so far:
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The Labour party has accused Rishi Sunak of being “slippery” in the row over whether the government will hand over Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages and other documents to the Covid inquiry. The shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, has told Sky News the prime minister should “comply with the inquiry and do it today”.
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The government has “absolutely nothing to hide” from the Covid inquiry and intends to be “absolutely transparent”, a cabinet minister has said, after Rishi Sunak faced accusations of attempting to cover up the actions of senior MPs during the pandemic. The Covid inquiry, led by the retired judge Heather Hallett, has used its powers to request unredacted notebooks, diaries and WhatApp correspondence between Boris Johnson and 40 senior government figures.
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Labour’s plans to ban ex-ministers from lobbying the government for five years after leaving office are “encouraging” but need to go further, lobbyists have said. Along with the lobbying ban, the party is considering a five-point plan that would see former ministers fined for breaking lobbying rules and a new Integrity and Ethics Commission with the power to enforce standards across public life.
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Rail services in parts of England have ground to a halt with the first of three train strikes this week taking place as the long-running dispute between the unions and the government over pay, jobs and conditions continues. A 24-hour strike by members of the driver’s union Aslef is under way and a further day of industrial action is planned for Saturday, the day of the FA Cup final.
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Rishi Sunak should resurrect the help to buy scheme and lower national insurance in a bid to woo younger voters, a Tory MP has said. Bim Afolami, MP for Hitchin and Harpenden, said graduates under 40 should be paying a lower rate of tax as he claimed younger voters were more concerned with money than social issues.
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Britain’s future is outside the EU, the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, has said, as he promised to make Brexit work. Writing in the Daily Express newspaper, Starmer – who campaigned for Remain in the 2016 referendum – also said he would not be seeking a return to freedom of movement.
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The British businessman Dale Vince is a “perfectly legitimate person” to take money from and his donations to Just Stop Oil do not change Labour’s position on the climate activist group, the shadow international trade secretary has said. Nick Thomas-Symonds said his party had been “extremely clear on our views on Just Stop Oil” and that Vince was perfectly entitled to “give money to other causes”, PA reported.
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Keir Starmer has been told by trade union Unite that any plan to block new North Sea oil and gas developments must not leave workers “paying the price”. Unite, the party’s single biggest donor, told the Labour leader that such a move could risk a “repeat of the devastation” caused by the closure of coalmines, PA reported.
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Scotland’s deposit return scheme (DRS) could be scrapped if the UK government does not U-turn on its decision to exclude glass from the plans, Humza Yousaf has warned. The first minister said the Scottish government is looking at options on how the scheme can progress without damaging Scottish businesses, but if no alternative can be found, the proposals may not continue, PA has reported.
My colleague Caroline Davies be with you for the next hour or so.
Keir Starmer has been told by the trade union Unite that any plan to block new North Sea oil and gas developments must not leave workers “paying the price”.
Unite, the party’s single biggest donor, told the Labour leader that such a move could risk a “repeat of the devastation” caused by the closure of coalmines, PA reported.
Starmer is reportedly on the verge of announcing the plan when he sets out his net zero energy policy next month, but the move has prompted a backlash from the party’s trade union backers concerned about the impact on workers.
Graham Stuart, the minister for climate and net zero, said earlier this month that the Government is committed to new North Sea oil and gas licences.
The Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, hit out at Starmer on Wednesday and said the proposal lacks crucial details.
“Grabbing the headlines is easy, developing a serious plan for more renewable energy is not,” she said.
“When Keir Starmer decided to let the world know that he would halt new oil and gas production in the North Sea he left out everything that was important – the detail.
“Labour must now be very clear that they will not let workers pay the price for the transition to renewable energy. When it comes to jobs we can’t have jam tomorrow.”
Updated at 07.57 EDT
Scotland’s deposit return scheme (DRS) could be scrapped if the UK government does not U-turn on its decision to exclude glass from the plans, Humza Yousaf has warned.
The first minister said the Scottish government is looking at options on how the scheme can progress without damaging Scottish businesses, but if no alternative can be found, the proposals may not continue, PA has reported.
Scotland’s DRS is due to begin in March 2024, with the earlier start date forcing ministers to seek an exemption from UK-wide legislation which aims to ensure there are no trade barriers between the four nations.
The UK government agreed the temporary extension from the Internal Market Act, but insisted the Scottish scheme could not include glass so it matched the initiative in England, which is due to begin in 2025.
Under plans outlined for Scotland, shoppers would pay a 20p deposit every time they buy a drink in a can or bottle, with that money refunded to them when the empty containers are returned for recycling.
Yousaf said excluding glass could be at the “severe detriment” to Scottish brands like Irn-Bru and Tennent’s.
Updated at 07.25 EDT
Labour’s plans to ban ex-ministers from lobbying the government for five years after leaving office are “encouraging” but need to go further, lobbyists have said.
Along with the lobbying ban, the party is considering a five-point plan that would see former ministers fined for breaking lobbying rules and a new Integrity and Ethics Commission with the power to enforce standards across public life.
Alastair McCapra, CEO of the lobbyists’ trade association the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), welcomed the plans but urged Labour to do more, PA reported.
He said:
It is encouraging to see the Labour party addressing the issue of lobbying that has tarnished our politics for so long.
Their proposed five-point plan and Integrity and Ethics Commission is a huge step in the right direction and rightly focuses immediate concerns on the actions of those within parliament and those who have recently left.
He added that the CIPR had met with Labour last week to discuss the proposals, and had advised the party that transparency around external lobbyists was “still missing” from its plans.
Rishi Sunak should resurrect the help to buy scheme and lower national insurance in a bid to woo younger voters, a Tory MP has said.
Bim Afolami, MP for Hitchin and Harpenden, said graduates under 40 should be paying a lower rate of tax as he claimed younger voters were more concerned with money than social issues.
The Times reported that, speaking at an event held by the centre-right think thank Onward, he said that millennials “should suit the modern Conservative party with a modern Conservative leader – especially Sunak”.
An Onward report recently found that Sunak’s personal brand was more popular than his party with millennial voters.
Updated at 06.48 EDT
Britain’s future is outside the EU, the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, has said, as he promised to make Brexit work.
Writing in the Daily Express newspaper, Starmer – who campaigned for Remain in the 2016 referendum – also said he would not be seeking a return to freedom of movement.
The comments are Starmer’s latest pitch to Brexit-backing voters ahead of the next general election, with the Labour leader promising to improve on the UK-EU deal reached by Boris Johnson, PA reported.
“If we are to make Brexit work, we need a government with the vision and the focus to deliver it,” he wrote.
“As Rishi Sunak heads off to meet with Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, there are no signs that he or his Government have any proper plan to deliver that better future for our country.
“Britain’s future is outside the EU. Not in the single market, not in the customs union, not with a return to freedom of movement. Those arguments are in the past, where they belong.”
He said that the current deal between London and Brussels is “paper-thin”, arguing that it had “stifled Britain’s potential and hugely weighted trade terms towards the EU”.
Updated at 06.49 EDT
Cabinet minister says government has ‘nothing to hide’ from Covid inquiry
Aletha Adu
The government has “absolutely nothing to hide” from the Covid inquiry and intends to be “absolutely transparent”, a cabinet minister has said, after Rishi Sunak faced accusations of attempting to cover up the actions of senior MPs during the pandemic.
The Covid inquiry, led by the retired judge Heather Hallett, has used its powers to request unredacted notebooks, diaries and WhatApp correspondence between Boris Johnson and 40 senior government figures.
But the government is opposing the request on grounds that it wants to protect the privacy of ministers and officials, and is considering legal action to prevent disclosure.
The Cabinet Office has been given more time to hand over the unredacted information in relation to Johnson and one of his senior aides, Henry Cook, with the material now due by 4pm on Thursday. Refusing to comply with the inquiry’s order is a potential criminal offence.
Updated at 06.49 EDT
The British businessman Dale Vince is a “perfectly legitimate person” to take money from and his donations to Just Stop Oil do not change Labour’s position on the climate activist group, the shadow international trade secretary has said.
Nick Thomas-Symonds said his party had been “extremely clear on our views on Just Stop Oil” and that Vince was perfectly entitled to “give money to other causes”, PA reported.
His comments come amid controversy in the Labour party over donations received from Vince, who is also a key donor to Just Stop Oil, protesters for which are known for carrying out disruptive stunts such as disrupting sporting events and bringing roads to a standstill.
Vince, the founder of the green energy firm Ecotricity, has given about £1.5m to Labour over the past decade, according to filings to the Electoral Commission.
Over the weekend, the home secretary, Suella Braverman, told the Telegraph Keir Starmer was “in bed” with Just Stop Oil donors and the Tory party chair, Greg Hands, urged Labour to hand back the money donated by Vince.
Speaking to the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Thomas-Symonds defended his party’s position, saying:
We have been extremely clear on our views on Just Stop Oil. Indeed, Keir Starmer has said of them ‘just go home’ because they are not actually promoting the cause of tackling climate change.
What they are doing is entirely counterproductive and the only debate it’s provoking is about our public order laws.
He said Vince, who is also the chairman of the League Two football club Forest Green Rovers, was a “successful businessman here in the UK”, adding:
He’s a perfectly legitimate person to take money from.
If he wishes to give money to other causes that’s up to him, but it can hardly be said that this affects our views as a Labour party on Just Stop Oil.
Updated at 05.44 EDT
Joe Middleton
Rail services in parts of England have ground to a halt with the first of three train strikes this week taking place as the long-running dispute between the unions and the government over pay, jobs and conditions continues.
A 24-hour strike by members of the driver’s union Aslef is under way and a further day of industrial action is planned for Saturday, the day of the FA Cup final.
Rail operators have said services will be severely reduced and have urged passengers to plan their journey before travelling.
About 40% of trains will be running but there will be wide regional variations, with no services on networks including Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Northern, Southern, Southeastern, Thameslink and Northern.
In addition, crew and station staff who are members of RMT will take industrial action on Friday. Approximately half of normal services will run.
Updated at 05.12 EDT
Labour accuses prime minister of being ‘slippery’ over Covid inquiry messages
Good morning and welcome to the UK politics live blog. We begin the day with the Labour party accusing Rishi Sunak of being “slippery” in the row over whether the government will hand over Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages and other documents to the Covid inquiry.
The shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting , has told Sky News the prime minister should “comply with the inquiry and do it today”.
He said:
I think the prime minister looks really slippery today. He says he wants the government to cooperate with the inquiry but the government has been withholding information the inquiry has asked for.
One minute the government says the messages they have are immaterial; the next minute they’re saying they don’t exist. Which is it?
It comes as the work and pensions secretary, Mel Stride, said the government intended to be “absolutely transparent and candid” in relation to the Covid inquiry.
He told Kay Burley on Sky News:
So what the government is doing here is we have started this inquiry because we think it’s very important that we get to the bottom of some really important questions that many, many millions of people want to know the answers to around the Covid pandemic and our response to it.
We’ve provided around 55,000 documents, eight witness statements and corporate witness statements, as well, to the inquiry. And we absolutely intend to continue to be absolutely transparent and candid.
Inquiry chair Heather Hallett had ordered the government to hand over the messages, as well as diary entries and notes, by 4pm on Tuesday 30 May but the deadline has now been set for 4pm on Thursday 1 June.
The Cabinet Office’s request for an extension to Monday 5 June was rejected.
Updated at 05.13 EDT
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2023/may/31/labour-rishi-sunak-slippery-covid-inquiry-messages-uk-politics-live
