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The federal government mustn’t have introduced a commerce partnership with Egypt with the case of jailed British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah unresolved, David Lammy, the shadow overseas secretary, stated in the present day.
Lammy informed the Right now programme:
I’m unsure in these circumstances we [Labour] would have launched a brand new strategic relationship with Egypt, which was introduced in July this 12 months.
We have now a £4bn buying and selling partnership with Egypt, that’s large leverage. Why has it taken months and months and months for the Overseas Workplace to behave?
The prime minister has successfully been dragged into this case due to Cop. That ought to not have been the case.
The secretary of state for overseas affairs solely just lately in the previous couple of days made contact with the household regardless of me as MP elevating this situation with successive overseas ministers.
I don’t assume the federal government ought to be saying a strategic relationship with Egypt this 12 months when, the truth is, this case is lingering and has gone on for months and months and months, and UK officers haven’t had entry to test on his welfare. That isn’t acceptable.
Sunak has ‘fabulous judgment’, says schooling secretary Gillian Keegan, in response to Labour assaults
Gillian Keegan, the schooling secretary, was batting for the federal government on the airwaves this morning. Her interviews had been dominated by questions on Sir Gavin Williamson, and listed here are her key strains.
I feel Rishi has the very best diploma of integrity and judgment. We noticed it everywhere in the summer time, he was ready to inform the exhausting truths. That’s actual management.
The truth is you appoint individuals and, you recognize, the one factor you are able to do if issues don’t work out or issues go flawed or issues come to gentle afterwards is act rapidly.
Gavin’s acted rapidly, he’s eliminated the distraction. I might anticipate after in the present day that it gained’t be mentioned any additional.
I feel it’s all the time unhappy when a colleague resigns. It does have an effect on them personally, it has an affect on their household. So, you recognize, no one takes glee out of those conditions in any respect.
However … it occurs quite a bit in politics truly.
I’ve labored with him a number of occasions and I haven’t seen any of that. He’s by no means threatened me, or he’s solely solely ever been supportive truly, personally, to me.
Sixth council takes authorized motion in opposition to authorities to cease migrants being housed in resort
A sixth native authority is taking authorized motion to cease the federal government utilizing a resort to accommodate asylum seekers, PA Media experiences. PA says:
North Northamptonshire council desires to stop migrants being accommodated on the Royal Lodge in Kettering.
The authority utilized to the excessive court docket for an emergency injunction and is contemplating its subsequent steps after this was dismissed.
Council chief Jason Smithers stated: “We don’t really feel that the Royal Lodge in Kettering is the suitable place to accommodate asylum seekers for numerous causes.
“We don’t really feel the proposals have been correctly thought of to make sure the very best welfare might be offered to asylum seekers and the native communities wherein they’re housed.
“We at the moment are contemplating our choices in gentle of the injunction’s dismissal by the excessive court docket.”
5 different native authorities are additionally taking authorized motion: East Driving of Yorkshire council, Ipswich Borough council, Stoke Metropolis council, Nice Yarmouth borough council, and Fenland district council.
Williamson’s ‘bullying by no means acceptable’ video exhibits ‘rank hypocrisy’ at coronary heart of presidency, say Lib Dems
When Sir Gavin Williamson was schooling secretary, he recorded a video for his division wherein he stated “bullying isn’t acceptable”. He stated all colleges ought to have anti-bullying insurance policies in place.
The Liberal Democrats say the truth that Williamson might say this, when there’s now appreciable proof that he himself bullied colleagues, exhibits the “rank hypocrisy” on the coronary heart of presidency. Munira Wilson, the Lib Dem schooling spokesperson, stated:
This exposes the rank hypocrisy and double requirements on the coronary heart of this Conservative authorities.
Gavin Williamson himself admitted that bullying isn’t acceptable.
Faculties rightly have a zero tolerance method to bullying. However as soon as once more it appears it’s one rule for Conservative ministers and one other for everybody else.
Sunak beneath stress from Labour forward of PMQs to say why somebody with Williamson’s ‘odious’ document given ministerial job
Good morning. There are two large departures within the information at Westminster this morning: Sir Gavin Williamson has left the federal government, and Sir David Butler has departed life, on the age of 98. We can be specializing in Williamson, however Butler, who nearly invented trendy psephology, is the better and extra consequential determine. If you consider elections by way of percentages, swings and demographics, and when you worth the TV punditry of consultants like Prof Sir John Curtice, you might be inhabiting a psychological framework that Butler did as a lot as anybody to create. Extra on him later.
However, first, Gavin Williamson. He might have gone, however the questions in regards to the choice to nominate him within the first place haven’t, and this morning David Lammy rehearsed among the strains we would right here from Keir Starmer at PMQs. Lammy, the shadow overseas secretary, informed the Right now programme:
This raises actual questions in regards to the prime minister’s judgment. The behaviour [from Williamson] that we’ve heard about in the previous couple of days is repellent, it’s odious, and it’s fairly, fairly unacceptable.
The prime minister knew a lot of this. It was reported to him. Why did he appoint Gavin Williamson to the federal government within the first place? Why did it even take 10 days to grasp what Gavin Williamson can be doing?
He appointed him as some type of enforcer, apparently as a result of that is the best way he behaves.
That is weak, it’s unacceptable, and we actually ought to have an account of why why he got here again into authorities.
When a scandal reaches the ‘raises questions in regards to the PM’s judgment’ section, that may be a signal that it’s starting to go away. You don’t complain about “judgment” when you may complain about substance. However it’s comprehensible why Labour doesn’t wish to let this go, and this assault line is efficacious to the opposition as a result of Rishi Sunak is sad having to defend the final 12 years of Tory authorities and would love the general public to assume he’s main a model new authorities. However the Williamson appointment confirmed that he isn’t. Sunak’s cupboard is like an “edited highlights” of the Theresa Might/Boris Johnson/Liz Truss administrations (with a little bit of David Cameron thrown in), and, as a extremely efficient, backroom fixer and vote engineer, Williamson was somebody who had made himself invaluable to Cameron, Might and Johnson. And he carried out an analogous position with Sunak, which is why he obtained a job.
Right here is our in a single day story on Williamson’s resignation, by Pippa Crerar and Rowena Mason.
And right here is the agenda for the day.
11am: MPs begin voting within the poll for a brand new chair for the Commons Treasury committee. The outcome can be introduced within the afternoon.
12pm: Rishi Sunak faces Keir Starmer at PMQs.
After 12.30pm: Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Eire secretary, makes a press release to MPs in regards to the want for an election in Northern Eire.
3.15pm: Sunak meets Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary basic, in Downing Avenue.
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