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Category: POLITICS

  • John Lewis boss rejects Dominic Raab Brexit jibe

    Dominic Raab Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Dominic Raab says it is mistake for businesses that “aren’t doing so well” to blame Brexit

    The boss of John Lewis has hit out at Brexit secretary Dominic Raab after he said companies should not blame Brexit for poor results.

    Sir Charlie Mayfield said he “didn’t say Brexit was the reason” for a 99% slide in half-year profits.

    “The fact is sterling is weaker, it’s more expensive to import goods… so we have to absorb that within our margin,” he said.

    “I’m not going to get into some sort of ding-dong with the secretary of state.”

    Dominic Raab told the BBC on Thursday it was a mistake for “business that aren’t doing so well to blame Brexit”.

    Image copyright Reuters

    Mr Raab also said the government was preparing for a no-deal Brexit despite being confident that eventuality would not come to pass: “Getting a deal with the European Union is still by far and away the most likely outcome.”

    This week Ralf Speth, the boss of Jaguar Land Rover, warned the government needed to get “the right Brexit” or risk wiping out profits at the UK’s biggest carmaker and trigger big job cuts.

    Meanwhile, the Brexit secretary welcomed a promise by two mobile operators, Vodafone and Three, not to impose Europe roaming charges for UK customers if Britain leaves the bloc with no deal.

    “What we have said is we would like to see other companies following suit, but, in any event, we would legislate for a limit on roaming charges to make sure in a no-deal scenario that we protect British consumers,” Mr Raab said.

    A new raft of technical papers is being released by the government on Thursday outlining the impact of a no-deal Brexit on business and consumers.

    Mr Raab also accused those warning about shortages of food and medicines after a no-deal withdrawal of “scaremongering”, saying it was “nonsense” to claim UK supermarkets would run out of food.

  • Calls for abortion clinic buffer zones rejected

    Media playback is unsupported on your device

    Media captionAre women seeking abortions being harassed?

    Calls for buffer zones to be introduced outside abortion clinics to stop patients being harassed have been rejected by the home secretary.

    Sajid Javid said such protest-free areas around UK clinics “would not be a proportionate response”.

    He said a Home Office review found cases of harassment and damaging behaviour but they were “not the norm”.

    Labour called it a “disgusting failure to uphold women’s rights” and called for Mr Javid to urgently reconsider.

    The home secretary’s predecessor, Amber Rudd, has said it was “unacceptable” that anyone should feel intimidated at a clinic.

    In a written statement, Mr Javid said the review had gathered evidence that showed protesters’ behaviour had left patients distressed and caused some to rebook their appointments and not to follow medical advice.

    He said that in some of these cases, protesters handed out model foetuses, displayed graphic images, followed people, blocked their paths and even assaulted them.

    However, he added that the review showed these activities were “not the norm” and most anti-abortion activities were “more passive”, such as praying, displaying banners and handing out leaflets.

    ‘I felt like a criminal for having an abortion’ ‘That’s where the babies are suffering’

    In 2017, 363 hospitals and clinics in England and Wales carried out abortions – 36 of which experienced anti-abortion demonstrations, according to the review.

    Mr Javid said: “Having considered the evidence of the review, I have therefore reached the conclusion that introducing national buffer zones would not be a proportionate response, considering the experiences of the majority of hospitals and clinics, and considering that the majority of activities are more passive in nature.”

    He went on to say that there was already legislation – such as the Public Order Act 1986 – in place that restricted protest activities which cause harm to others.

    In April, the west London council of Ealing took matters into their own hands, imposing a 100m protest-free “buffer zone” outside a Marie Stopes clinic.

    But the constituency MP, Labour’s Rupa Huq, said it was a “national problem that requires a national solution”.

    Media playback is unsupported on your device

    Media captionNewsnight: Should there be ‘buffer zones’ around abortion clinics in Britain?

    Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said Mr Javid had “given the green light for women to be harassed and abused for exercising their right to choose.

    “This is a disgusting failure to uphold women’s rights over their own bodies. Sajid Javid must urgently reconsider,” the Labour MP said.

    And her party colleague, Yvette Cooper, chairwoman of the home affairs select committee, said: “The whole point of having this review was because existing powers are not working or are proving cumbersome and difficult for councils or the police to use.”

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  • Roaming charges: What will happen after Brexit?

    Woman using smartphone in front of aeroplane Image copyright Getty Images

    In June 2017 the European Union scrapped additional charges for roaming on smartphones when you travel to another EU country.

    Roaming is when you use your mobile phone abroad. Since last year, UK consumers have, within reason, been able to use the minutes, texts and data included on their mobile phone tariffs when travelling in the EU.

    There are fair use limits, which mean you can use your mobile phone while travelling in another EU country, but you couldn’t get a mobile phone contract from Greece and then use it all year round in the UK.

    Before the rules changed, using a mobile phone in Europe was expensive, with stories of people returning from trips to find bills for hundreds or even thousands of pounds waiting for them.

    Will these charges return after Brexit?

    Image copyright Getty Images

    In March 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May announced: “The UK will not be part of the EU’s Digital Single Market, which will continue to develop after our withdrawal from the EU.”

    That means that the European regulation that prohibits roaming charges will not automatically be part of UK law, so UK mobile network operators, if they want to, might be able to reintroduce the charges.

    EU mobile phone roaming cost-cuts ‘a step closer’ Mobile phone roaming charge abolition plan rewritten Mobile phone roaming charges cut within EU

    A spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which is responsible for this area, told Reality Check that the White Paper on leaving the EU had proposed “new arrangements for services and digital sectors, recognising that the UK and the EU will not have current levels of access to each other’s markets”.

    They continued: “That approach would not preclude discussions with the EU on arrangements for consumers, for example in the area of mobile roaming, if that would be in the mutual interests of both sides.”

    In other words, it would depend on a future UK-EU deal, which is yet to be negotiated.

    It is also possible that the UK government could create its own laws regulating roaming fees after Brexit, but it would be hard to impose that on UK network operators without a reciprocal agreement with their counterparts in the EU.

    Operators’ plans

    Of course, just because the operators might be allowed to reintroduce roaming charges, it does not necessarily mean that they will do so.

    Three has “committed to maintain the availability of roaming in the EU at no additional cost following Brexit”.

    Vodafone said it was too soon to assess the implications of Brexit on roaming regulation, but added it expected competition to continue to drive good value for customers and that it currently had no plans to change its roaming charges.

    EE also said it had no plans to introduce charging and called on the government “to put consumers at the top of their agenda in the Brexit negotiations to help ensure that UK operators can continue to offer low prices to our customers”.

    And O2 said: “We currently have no plans to change our roaming services across Europe. We’re engaged with the government with regards to what may happen once the UK officially leaves the EU.”

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  • PM to discuss no-deal Brexit plans

    Theresa May leaves Downing st Image copyright PA

    The prime minister is to hold a special three-hour cabinet meeting to discuss preparations for a no-deal Brexit.

    The government is also due to publish guidance on issues such as mobile phone roaming charges, driving licences and passports in the event of the EU and the UK not reaching an agreement.

    The Brexit secretary has said the UK will not pay its financial settlement to the EU in a no-deal scenario.

    He said the government was “stepping up” its contingency planning.

    Theresa May’s proposals, set out after a Chequers summit in July, are fiercely opposed by some Tory MPs and the EU has also expressed reservations.

    Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Roaming charges in EU countries were scrapped in 2017

    Extra charges for people using their phones in another EU country were scrapped in June 2017. But the EU regulation banning them will not automatically be part of UK law after Brexit.

    Mrs May has said the UK will no longer be part of the EU’s “digital single market” after Brexit.

    In theory this means UK mobile operators, if they want to, could reintroduce the charges that could make it expensive to use a mobile phone in another EU country.

    However, last month major operators told the BBC they had no plans to raise charges.

    ‘Nonsense’ and ‘scaremongering’

    Mr Raab said the no-deal plans were “not something we want to have to implement”.

    “No one should pretend that no deal would be straightforward,” he said.

    “There would be risks and some short-term disruption. Extra checks at the EU border would bring delays for businesses.”

    And trading with the EU on World Trade Organization terms – an outcome backed by a group of Brexiteers in a report this week – would be “inferior” to the current arrangements, he said.

    But Mr Raab also criticised those he said were “scaremongering for political ends” about no deal being reached.

    “It’s nonsense to claim that UK supermarkets would run out of food,” he said, adding that people should not be scared by the government’s request to pharmaceutical companies to stockpile extra medicine supplies.

    More no-deal publications are expected in the coming weeks.

  • Karen Bradley comment taken ‘out of context’

    Karen Bradley Image caption Secretary of State Karen Bradley was appointed to the post in January

    The Secretary of State has said that her recent comments regarding Northern Ireland’s voting patterns were “taken out of context”.

    Karen Bradley said that she did not understand that nationalists did not vote for unionist parties during elections.

    The original comment was made during an interview with The House Magazine.

    Mrs Bradley said she did not comprehend that campaigns are generally fought within each part of the community.

    Karen Bradley ‘did not understand’ NI voting patternsJames Brokenshire to step down on medical reasons

    She told the magazine that it was “a very different world from the world I came from”

    She added: “I didn’t understand things like when elections are fought for example in Northern Ireland – people who are nationalists don’t vote for unionist parties and vice-versa.”

    Mrs Bradley was appointed in January to replace James Brokenshire.

    “I am here doing the job”

    Mrs Bradley defended her comment on Wednesday while taking a walk in Belfast City Centre to see the damage caused by the Primark fire.

    She said: “One thing from the interview was taken out of context.

    “The whole point is that I am here as the Secretary of State doing the job, here on the ground, meeting people, dealing with people, listening to businesses and individuals living in Northern Ireland and really focusing on getting that devolved government back up and running.”

    When asked about possible funding from the Treasury to help revitalise Belfast, Mrs Bradley said she was looking at the best way to deal with the situation and could make no commitments at this stage.

  • Jeremy Corbyn aide investigated over Commons pass claim

    Parliament Image copyright PA

    Claims that a Jeremy Corbyn aide has been working in the Labour leader’s Commons office without security clearance are being investigated by the parliamentary authorities.

    Iram Awan, the Labour leader’s private secretary, was reported by the Huffington Post to be routinely working in Parliament on a visitor pass.

    The Commons authorities say this is against the rules.

    Labour said it did not comment on “staffing matters”.

    The Huffington Post claims Ms Awan has for nine months been escorted to Mr Corbyn’s Commons office by other members of his team, who do have security clearance.

    This means she will have passed through airport-style X-ray machines and security checks, like other visitors to the parliamentary estate.

    A Labour source said: “We have not been told that any members of staff have been refused a pass or any reasons for why any pass may not have been granted.”

    A Commons spokesman said: “Visitor passes are for visitors only. They cannot be used to carry out work on the parliamentary estate.”

    The spokesman said they could not comment on individual cases but added an “investigation into an alleged breach of the Parliamentary rules has been launched”.

    The investigation is reported to have been launched after Conservative MP Leo Docherty wrote to the serjeant at arms, Kamal El-Hajji, who is in charge of security at the House of Commons, to request one.

  • ‘Abhorrent’ Jacob Rees-Mogg protest condemned

    Media playback is unsupported on your device

    Media captionProtesters shout at Jacob Rees-Mogg’s children during protest

    Protesters who targeted the home of Conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg and shouted at this children have been condemned by Downing Street and MPs.

    A video on the Facebook page of the Class War group shows a man telling one of the Tory MP’s children “your daddy is a horrible person”.

    Police officers stood between the protesters and the MP during the incident outside his Westminster home.

    Downing Street said the “intimidation” was “completely unacceptable”.

    “No elected member or their family should be subjected to intimidation or abuse in that way,” said the prime minister’s spokesman.

    Labour’s shadow Brexit minister Jenny Chapman said the protesters’ behaviour was “abhorrent”.

    She told the BBC’s Politics Live she was “ashamed if those people think they have anything to do with the Labour movement” and condemned the protest “without any reservation”, adding that the people in the video should “never be anywhere near someone’s children”.

    In the Class War video, a protester asked Mr Rees-Mogg how much he paid his family’s nanny, and when she too came out onto the street, demanded to know her salary and told her she had “Stockholm Syndrome”.

    A subsequent Class War Facebook post said people were getting their “knickers in a twist” over the footage, saying the MP’s family had come outside after the protesters arrived.

    The protest is believed to have been staged by veteran anarchist Ian Bone, who has taken part in similar stunts in the past.

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  • Leah Aldridge: Police find body parts of baby killed in 2002

    Leah Aldridge Image copyright Police handout Image caption Leah Aldridge died on Christmas Day in 2002

    Three funerals had to be held for a baby girl killed by her father after police twice found they had retained body parts, it has emerged.

    The family of Leah Aldridge had “no confidence” in Greater Manchester Police after some of her remains were found for the second time, Bolton West MP Chris Green told Parliament.

    Leah, from Atherton, near Manchester, died aged five weeks old in 2002.

    Mr Green asked the prime minister to launch a public inquiry.

    Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions he said: “[Leah’s family] have no confidence in Greater Manchester Police or the police and crime commissioner, the mayor of Greater Manchester [Andy Burnham], that they now have finally allowed the family to lay their daughter Leah to rest.”

    Image copyright Police handout Image caption Andrew Ashurst was jailed for three years for manslaughter

    Her body was initially returned to her family for a funeral but in 2017 the police discovered they had returned some of Leah’s body parts.

    These were returned to the family for a second funeral.

    “Only a few weeks ago yet more body parts were discovered by the police and the family had to go through the ordeal of a third funeral,” Mr Green told the house.

    Theresa May said it was an “absolutely terrible case” and expressed her sympathies to Leah’s family for their “prolonged trauma”.

    She said she understood the deputy mayor of Greater Manchester had been in touch with the Human Tissue Authority about the case to evaluate what went wrong.

    ‘Deeply distressing’

    “Officials in the Home Office will meet both the Greater Manchester police and the National Police Chiefs’ Council to further address the issue of historically held human tissue. I will ensure that the relevant Home Office Minister updates my honourable friend on the outcome of those meetings,” she said.

    A spokesman from the mayor’s office said it was a “tragic and deeply distressing matter”.

    He said the mayor was contacted about the case in August and has discussed it with the deputy mayor and the chief constable, and has written to Leah’s family to offer his full support.

    “This is being treated with the upmost seriousness and the mayor and deputy mayor’s firm focus continues to be supporting the family until they get the answers they need,” he said.

    Greater Manchester Police has been approached for comment.

  • PMQs: Corbyn and May on Universal Credit benefit

    Video Corbyn v May on Universal Credit

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  • PMQs: Swire and May on Windrush Report publication date

    Video Where is Windrush report?

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