Category: News Story

STORY

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, has met with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Turkey, at NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. A spokesperson for Rishi Sunak said in a statement:

“The Prime Minister welcomed Türkiye’s support for Sweden’s accession to NATO and commended President Erdoğan for his efforts.

The leaders reaffirmed their shared commitment to ensuring the UK-Türkiye relationship reaches its full potential, building on growing trade links and strong defence and security cooperation.

Discussing opportunities to bolster our bilateral cooperation, including in cutting-edge defence technology and in addressing the shared challenge of illegal migration, the Prime Minister set out that dealing with criminal people smuggling gangs is a key priority for him.”

STORY

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s commitment to “stop the boats” is a long-term strategy aimed at addressing the issue of migrant crossings in the English Channel and he said today that the plan is working despite record numbers of migrants using the route. He said that he recognised fulfilling his pledge wouldn’t happen overnight and that despite recent surges in migrant crossings Sunak maintains that the numbers are as expected. To reduce migrant numbers, the Government is implementing various measures, such as finding alternative accommodation to move people out of hotels and returning illegal migrants to countries like Albania. Sunak repeated the importance of bringing forward the toughest laws ever proposed by a government to tackle this issue and said that there was a determination to address the situation saying that his plan was “the right strategy”.

STORY

The Illegal Migration Bill has returned to the House of Commons after undergoing scrutiny in the House of Lords where there was much opposition to the Government’s plans. The bill aims to prevent and deter unlawful migration, particularly through unsafe routes, by requiring the removal of individuals who arrive to what the Government refer to as illegally in the UK to their home country or a safe third country for processing their asylum claim. During the report stage in the House of Lords, several amendments were proposed and voted upon and the Bill returns to the Commons today. One of these amendments reinstated judicial reviews to challenge potentially incorrect age assessments of migrant children, and another clarified the grounds for blocking a child’s removal based on age assessment.

The House of Lords also voted in favour of inserting a new clause into the bill, requiring the Government to outline its plans for safe and lawful entry into the UK. The Government has made a number of concessions to the Migration Bill, limiting the length of detention for unaccompanied children and preventing retrospective removal of individuals who have already entered the UK. These changes were made by the Government to speed up the Bill’s progress through Parliament and the Home Office said that it would address concerns about the exploitation of vulnerable individuals.

STORY

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, has said that the UK will be contributing financially to help support the development of Ukraine’s cyber defences. He said that Russia had been able to launch a series of cyber attacks on Ukraine and that the funds donated by the UK Government would held defend the country.

Sunak said in a statement:

“Russia’s appalling attacks on Ukraine are not limited to their barbaric land invasion, but also involve sickening attempts to attack their cyber infrastructure that provides vital services, from banking to energy supplies, to innocent Ukrainian people.

This funding is critical to stopping those onslaughts, hardening Ukraine’s cyber defences and increasing the country’s ability to detect and disable the malware targeted at them.”

RESOURCES

Government’s Press Release

STORY

There have been calls to investigate the personal conduct of Boris Johnson, the former Prime Minister, after he has accepted a role with the Daily Mail without following the required procedures. Just a day after the Privileges Committee after the House of Commons found that Johnson had deliberately misled the House, there are now further allegations of misconduct.

Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, Acoba, confirmed that Boris Johnson had failed to notify them of his intended employment which was a breach of the rules for former Prime Ministers. Downing Street have yet to comment on Johnson’s decision to disregard the usual procedures. Acoba have said that they will be contacting Boris Johnson to clarify the situation.

EXTERNAL NEWS LINKS

Acoba Web-Site

STORY

Rhun ap Iorwerth, the Senedd member for Ynys Môn, has been confirmed as the new leader of Plaid Cymru as no other contenders stood for the position. He follows Adam Price, the previous leader who stood down in May 2023, having held the role since September 2018. Rhun ap Iorwerth, born in 1972, served as the deputy leader of the party from October 2018 and has been a member of the Senedd since August 2013.

EXTERNAL NEWS LINKS

Plaid Cymru Web-Site

STORY

The death of Glenda Jackson, the Labour MP for Hampstead & Highgate between 1992 and 2010 and then the Labour MP for Hampstead & Kilburn from 2010 until 2015, has been announced. She also served as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport between 1997 and 1999. Jackson was 87 years old.

STORY

Brendan Clarke-Smith, the Conservative MP for Bassetlaw, has launched an attack on the House of Commons parliamentary procedures, calling them “a kangaroo court” after the Conservative majority report found that Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, had knowingly lied to Parliament.

Clarke-Smith said about the processes of the House of Commons:

“I’m backing fairness and justice – not kangaroo courts”.

RESOURCES

Twitter post by Brendan Clarke-Smith

STORY

A report published by the Privileges Committee’s report has found that Boris Johnson, the former Prime Minister, deliberately lied to Parliament. Johnson, who resigned from the Commons in advance of the report’s publication, would have faced a recommended 90 day suspension from the House. The report, which was far more damning than had been expected, was led by a Conservative majority.

The now disgraced former Prime Minister was found to have lied to the Privileges Committee, willingly leaked material relating to the proceedings and undermined the democratic processes of Parliament.

RESOURCES

Privileges Committee Report