Archive for: Political Database

Today’s Political Headlines include Jeremy Hunt’s call for the EU to copy US sanctions on Russia, NHS trusts warning against a no-deal Brexit, Liam Fox’s pledge to make the UK an exporting superpower and the Corbyn staffer writing the guide to rid Parliament of Israel-supporting MPs. 

Hunt calls for EU to copy US sanctions on Russia
The BBC says that Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is to use a speech during his trip to the USA to call on the EU to impose further sanctions on Russia, emulating those introduced by the USA. He will warn that there must be a ‘serious price’ for violating international rules of conduct. During the trip, Hunt will meet the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and address the UN Security Council on Islamic terrorism.

NHS trusts warn of no-deal Brexit impact
The Times has obtained a leaked warning by NHS Providers (the association of NHS trusts) to NHS England and NHS Improvement. In a letter, the body’s chief executive Chris Hopson warns of the impact of a no-deal Brexit on the pharmaceutical supply chain, public health, disease control and the workforce. He claims that both other bodies have not planned sufficiently for this scenario and that communication has been poor.

Fox pledges to make UK an ‘exporting superpower’
The BBC reports that International Trade Secretary Liam Fox will claim that the UK can be a ’21st century exporting superpower’ in a speech later today, promising to increase exports from 30% of the country’s GDP to 35%. He will say that the UK needs to ‘set its sights high’.

Corbyn staffer wrote guide to ridding Parliament of Israel-supporting MPs
The Sun reveals that Nicolette Petersen, who has worked for Jeremy Corbyn since 1994, wrote a guide advising people on how to rid Parliament of Israel supporters for the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign. She advised readers to look at the Jewish Chronicle and ‘look at websites that will show you who not to vote for’. Jewish Chronicle Editor Stephen Pollard told The Sun that ‘This isn’t about helping Palestinians. It’s about attacking Jews.’

Umunna to call for ‘national mission’ to combat youth violence
The Guardian says that Labour MP Chuka Umunna is to use a speech in Brixton this evening to call for a ‘paradigm shift’ in the understanding of youth violence, rejecting the ‘populism of left and right’ and calling for a ‘national mission’ to tackle the problem, arguing  that it was necessary to go further than Scotland, which treats it as a public health issue.

Hague warns against changing Tory leadership election rules
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, former Conservative leader Lord Hague warns that his party should not change its rules to give its membership a greater say in choosing the next leader, warning that this could lead to entryism and the party being ‘swamped by new recruits’. He pointed to the example of Labour’s changes to its election rules and warned that party activists are ‘not remotely representative of society at large or even of their voters’.

Over 60,000 left in lurch after mortgage benefit withdrawn
According to The Daily Mirror over 60,000 people have been ‘left in the lurch’ following the abolition of Support for Mortgage Interest. It was replaced by a loan, but over half of those affected turned down this down when they were offered it. Lib Dem MP Stephen Lloyd has written to Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey, asking her to conduct a study into the reasons people are rejecting the loan.

Treasury guidance too ‘negative’ about no-deal Brexit
The Daily Telegraph claims that Chancellor Philip Hammond was forced to amend the Treasury’s technical notices on a no-deal Brexit because they were too similar to ‘Project Fear’. Sources told the paper that the documents were too ‘upbeat’ about EU membership and too ‘negative’ about no-deal, but had now been made ‘more factual’.

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Today’s Political Headlines include Len McCluskey’s input in the anti-Semitism row, Hunt says no-deal Brexit would be a mistake, £10m crackdown on drugs and phones in prisons and the vaping report. 

Len McCluskey accuses Jewish leaders of ‘truculent hostility’ towards Labour
The Guardian reports that Unite general secretary Len McCluskey has accused Jewish leaders of ‘truculent hostility’ towards Labour, but also called for the party to adopt the full International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism. Margaret Hodge has told Sky News that when she was investigated for confronting Corbyn over antisemitism, it made her think about ‘what it felt like to be a Jew in Germany in the 30s’.

Hunt says no-deal Brexit ‘would be a mistake we would regret for generations’
The BBC says that Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who has just completed a tour of northern Europe has warned that a no-deal Brexit ‘would be a mistake we would regret for generations’ and refused to rule out accepting EU environmental and social legislation. The Times reports that Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary Greg Clark warned in a meeting with Austrian and Finnish counterparts that if the European Commission rejected the UK’s proposals it would cause ‘lasting economic harm’ to millions across the continent. The Sun adds that the UK will publish its first batch of technical notices for a no-deal Brexit next week, covering topics including farming, fishing, customs and cigarette packets.

£10m crackdown on drugs and phones in prisons
The BBC reports that the Ministry of Justice is to invest £10m to counter the proliferation of drugs and mobile phones at ten of England’s most ‘challenging’ prisons. The policy will see the introduction of new body scanners and sniffer dogs, prison governors sent to military-style colleges and repairs and improvements to windows and perimeter walls.

Committee’s vaping report causes ‘outcry’ from scientists
The Daily Mail claims that a new report by the Commons Science and Technology Committee on vaping has caused ‘outcry’, with leading scientists describing it as ‘one-sided’. The report recommends reconsidering bans on vaping in public places, making it easier to obtain vaping devices on prescription and relaxing advertising restrictions.

Lord Sheikh claims calls for his expulsion from Tories are ‘politically motivated’
The Times reports that Lord Sheikh has claimed that Zac Goldsmith and Robert Halfon’s calls for him to be expelled from the Conservatives for attending the same event in Tunisia as Jeremy Corbyn are a ‘politically motivated’ attack. He denies meeting Hamas and says that he did not participate in the wreath-laying ceremony.

BMA warns of ‘potentially catastrophic consequences’ of no-deal Brexit
The Financial Times says that the British Medical Association has ‘stepped up’ its warnings about a no-deal Brexit, claiming that it poses ‘potentially catastrophic consequences for patients, the health workforce, services and the nation’s health’. A briefing paper suggests that care for those suffering from rare diseases and cancer would be disrupted, while the country’s response to pandemics would also be put at risk.

Ministers considering ‘inheritance insurance’ plan to fund social care
In an exclusive, The Sun reveals health ministers are considering proposals for ‘inheritance insurance’, under which elderly people would take money out of their pension on a tax-free basis and buy insurance to pay for their care. The insurer would guarantee to protect their home, allowing it to be passed onto their children.

New apprenticeships fall by 31% as business groups call for reforms
The Financial Times reports that new figures show that there has been a 31% drop in the people starting apprenticeships. Business groups have warned that the Government is in danger of missing its target of 3m apprenticeships by 2020 and called for it to take action.

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Today’s Political Headlines include Ministers considering the closure of the road outside Parliament, Grayling criticised by the RMT, Labour dismissing Corbyn cemetery claims and Brown to attack child poverty. 

Ministers consider closing road following attack on Parliament
The BBC reports that police are searching three addresses in the Midlands and a man has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism after a car hit pedestrians and cyclists outside Parliament before colliding with a barrier yesterday. The Daily Telegraph says ministers are now in talks about closing the road outside Parliament in order to prevent future attacks and have committed £5m to fund a feasibility study.

Rail union accuses Grayling of imposing ‘pay cap’
The BBC reports that the RMT has accused Transport Secretary Chris Grayling of trying to impose a ‘pay cap’ on its members by basing future rail fare and wage increases on the lower Consumer Prices Index measure on inflation, rather than the higher Retail Prices Index.

Labour dismisses cemetery visit claims as ‘false and misleading’
The Guardian says that the Labour Party has dismissed what is calls ‘false and misleading’ claims about Jeremy Corbyn’s visit to a Palestinian cemetery in Tunis, insisting that he was actually attending a memorial for victims of an Israeli air strike on the PLO headquarters in 1985, not commemorating Salah Khalaf, the mastermind of the 1972 Munich terror attack. The Times adds that Corbyn is facing an inquiry into claims that he failed to declare who paid for the visit and The Daily Telegraph reports that he has been condemned for making a Muslim Brotherhood salute during a visit to Finsbury Park mosque.

Brown to attack child poverty
The Guardian reports that Gordon Brown is to make a ‘scathing attack’ on the failure to address quickly rising child poverty levels today. He will use an event at the Edinburgh International Book Festival to claim that it is a national disgrace that the number of children below the poverty line is due to increase to over five million by the early 2020s.

May promises ‘new generation of council homes’ amid scepticism from sector
The Financial Times says that Theresa May used the launch of yesterday’s green paper on social housing to promise ‘a new generation of council homes to help fix our broken housing market’. However, the paper reports that councils and housing associations are sceptical that the proposed measures go far enough and criticised the absence of new funding.

Report calls on UK to strengthen Arctic military presence
The Daily Mirror has details of a new report by the Commons Defence Committee which warns that the UK needs to expands its Arctic military presence in order to combat Russian expansion. As the Arctic ice sheet retreats, oil and minerals are being exposed and the report claims that the UK is behind in the race to exploit these.

Hunt starts second tour of European capitals
The Financial Times reports that Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has embarked upon a second tour of European capitals, visiting Finland, Latvia, Denmark and the Netherlands in an attempt to gain support for the UK’s Brexit proposals. The paper says that this underlines ‘the new activism of the Foreign Office on Brexit since the resignation of Boris Johnson’.

Chief executives’ pay grew by nine times that of the average worker
The Times carries figures from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and the High Pay Centre which show that the pay of FTSE100 chief executives increased by 23% in the last year, while that of the average worker grew by just 2.5%. Rachel Reeves, who chairs the Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, said that this was a sign that ‘something is going very wrong’.

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Today’s Political Headlines include the widows of the Munich massacre victims calling for Corbyn to apologise, the Muslim Council calling for an investigation into Boris, May’s fanciful customs plan and the Government’s £100m pledge to end rough sleeping. 

Widows of Munich massacre victims call for Corbyn to apologise
The Daily Mail reports that widows of the victims of the Munich massacre have called for an apology from Jeremy Corbyn after details of a trip he made to the Tunisian cemetery where members of terrorist group Black September are buried were revealed in Saturday’s Mail. Labour claimed that Corbyn was there to commemorate victims of an Israeli air strike on a PLO base, but in an article written at the time he said he had laid wreaths on other graves.

Muslim Council calls for investigation into Johnson as Islamophobic incidents increase
The Guardian says that the Muslim Council of Britain is to write to the Prime Minister to demand a full disciplinary investigation into Boris Johnson, claiming that there has been an increase in Islamophobic incidents since his article on the burqa was published. Data from the Tell Mama project shows that there has been an increase in abuse towards women wearing niqabs and hijabs in the last week.

May’s customs plan is ‘fanciful’, experts say
According to The Times, trade experts have described Theresa May’s planned customs deal with the EU as ‘fanciful’, questioning the pledge that most businesses would pay the correct or no tariff at the border, and the assertion that businesses would be able to reliably track goods in order to prevent smuggling. The paper says that if her proposal fails, she would have to choose between remaining in the customs union or pulling out completely.

Government pledges £100m to end rough sleeping
The BBC reports that the Government has promised to end rough sleeping in England by 2027 in its new Rough Sleeping Strategy, to be announced by Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary James Brokenshire today. It has promised to spend £100m ‘to help people turn their lives around’, including spending on mental health, substance misuse and housing.

Johnson calls for stamp duty cut
The Daily Telegraph carries a column by Boris Johnson, in which he claims that ‘absurdly high’ stamp duty should be cut and targets for affordable housing should be ditched in an attempt to increase rates of building. He claims that developers have become an ‘oligopoly’, land-banking and building poor-quality homes.

Minister apologises after Tory tweet leaves Chris Boardman ‘genuinely sick’
The Mirror says that Chris Boardman, the Olympic medal-winning cyclist whose mum was killed while cycling, has claimed that he was left ‘genuinely sick’ by a Conservative claim that new laws would protect ‘our most vulnerable road users’ from cyclists, leading transport minister Jesse Norman to issue an apology and the party to delete the tweet in question.

Moderate Tories set up ‘pragmatic Brexit’ group
The Daily Telegraph reveals that a bloc of 50 moderate Conservative MPs led by Simon Hart and Andrew Percy have established the Brexit Delivery Group, which aims ‘to find a pragmatic Brexit outcome’ and challenge the European Research Group. The party’s head of policy, Chris Skidmore, has called for the party to unite and to talk about domestic issues.

Stewart calls on military to boost prison leadership
The Times reports that prisons minister Rory Stewart is asking for assistance from military leaders to set up a military-style staff college for prison governors, although he has abandoned the idea of making governors wear uniforms. The paper adds that prison sources have cast doubt on the idea that the military’s experience is relevant.

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Today’s Political Headlines include Davidson calling Johnson’s burka remarks gratuitously offensive, residents to be given a direct say over local decisions, no deal Brexit fears causing the pound to fall and May writing to Tory members about her Brexit plans.  

Davidson calls Johnson’s burka remarks ‘gratuitously offensive’
The Daily Telegraph reports that Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has said that Muslim women who wear burkas should be treated in the same way as Christians who wear crucifixes, describing comments by Boris Johnson about the garment as ‘gratuitously offensive’. The Times adds that a ‘senior iman’, Taj Hargey of the Oxford Islamic Congregation, has said that Johnson should ‘not apologise for telling the truth’, while The Sun claims that the party has been accused of ‘blinking’ by not launching an investigation, despite deceiving ‘dozens’ of complaints.

Residents to be given direct say over local decisions
The Times carries details of the Government’s new civil society strategy, which it says will give residents the power to have their say on local proposals, using online polls or ‘citizen juries’, with local authorities in six areas taking part in a trial over the next year. The Guardian adds that the ‘big society’-style policy will also see charities playing a larger role in providing public services, such as social care, homelessness and libraries.

No deal Brexit fears cause pound to fall, as EU leaders prepare new offer
The Guardian says that the pound has fallen against the dollar and the euro to the lowest level this year, which it links to increasing concerns that the UK could leave the EU without a deal. The Times adds that European leaders are preparing to offer a deal allowing the UK to remain in the single market for goods but opt out of free movement of people, in return for further concessions from May, under a plan to be discussed in Salzburg next month.

May writes to Tory members about Brexit plan
The Guardian reports that Theresa May has written a letter to Conservative members in an attempt to persuade them to back her Chequers plan for Brexit. The letter, which carries the endorsement of prominent Brexiteers including Andrea Leadsom and Liam Fox, claims that her proposals are ‘in no sense a concession’ to the EU’s demands.

McDonnell claimed Israel tried to commit ‘genocide’ against Palestinians
According to The Daily Telegraph, in 2016 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell told a meeting of the Labour Representation Committee that Israel was trying to commit ‘genocide’ against the Palestinians and shared a platform with Jackie Wilson, who had previously accused Jews of being the ‘chief financiers of the sugar and slave trade’.

Corbyn faces ‘ambush’ by local parties over second Brexit referendum
The Sun claims the Jeremy Corbyn is facing ‘an ambush’ by 300 local Labour parties in an attempt to force him to back a second Brexit referendum. A campaign is to be launched next week to persuade activists to sign a motion to be voted on at the party’s conference next month calling for a ‘People’s Vote’ and possibly also for the UK to stay in the EU.

Lewis announces aim to make MP shortlists gender-balanced
The Financial Times says that Conservative Party Chairman Brandon Lewis has announced that the party is aiming to have shortlists for prospective MPs split equally between male and female candidates. He said that the current situation under which around 30% of the people selected by the party to stand at the next election are women was ‘not enough’.

Tory MP calls on Government to learn lessons from council’s collapse
The Guardian reports that Andrew Lewer, the Conservative MP for Northamptonshire South, has asked ministers to ‘learn the lessons’ from the financial collapse of Northamptonshire County Council in order to prevent it from happening elsewhere. He said that there needed to be ‘a discussion on how future local government is structured, financed and delivered’.

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Today’s Political Headlines include the extradition request for Russian nerve agent suspects, the Labour plot in a Sussex B&B, tougher sentences for downloading child abuse images and the no deal Brexit warning from police chiefs. 

UK ready to submit extradition request for Russian nerve agent suspects
In an exclusive, The Guardian asserts that the UK is about to submit an extradition request to Russia for two people suspected of carrying out the nerve agent attack in Salisbury. The paper claims that the move follows months of investigation by the police and the security investigations and that the Crown Prosecution Service has now completed its process and is ready to file its request, although a ‘scornful response’ is expected from Russia.

Labour moderates plot at luxury Sussex venue
The Daily Express reveals that a group of around 12 moderate Labour MPs have held at least two away days in a luxury Sussex B&B ‘to discuss how to take back control of the party’. One MP claimed that a plan discussed was to allow Corbyn to win the next election and for the moderates to then form their own party or a separate Labour party in Parliament. Chris Leslie claimed that the meetings were about policy and that Corbyn had not been discussed.

Tougher sentences for viewers of child abuse images
Robert Buckland, the Solicitor General, has told The Daily Telegraph that paedophiles who download child abuse images will face tougher sentences and should be dealt with as harshly as those who abuse children. The offence will be brought into the ‘unduly lenient sentence’ scheme, allowing members of the public to challenge sentences. Official figures show that less than one in four people convicted of the offence goes to jail.

Police chiefs issue no deal Brexit warning to Javid
The Guardian has seen a leaked letter from the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners to Home Secretary Sajid Javid, warning that a no deal Brexit would ‘pose significant risks to our local communities’ and cause ‘a significant loss of operational capacity’. The letter details 32 different measures which rely on EU membership.

May blamed for chaotic no deal preparations
The Daily Telegraph claims that Theresa May is being blamed for ‘chaotic’ preparations for a no deal Brexit. Officials are currently compiling seventy technical notices to explain what firms and self-employed workers need to do to prepare, but ministers have complained that they were not consulted before the papers were announced, while civil servants are having to create extra documents in order to meet May’s promise.

May holds talks with Sturgeon
The BBC says that Theresa May is to hold talks with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today. May is in Scotland to launch the Edinburgh and South East Scotland city deal and will also visit the Edinburgh Festival. Ahead of the meeting, Sturgeon has called on May to set out her ‘plan B’ if European leaders reject her Brexit proposals.

Labour abandons action against Hodge
The Times reports that Margaret Hodge has accused the Labour Party of lying in its explanation for the abandonment of the disciplinary action against her. She rejected the suggestion that the investigation had been dropped because she had expressed regret to the party’s chief whip, Nick Brown. She admits telling Jeremy Corbyn that he was ‘perceived as being antisemitic’ but denies swearing at him.

Truss calls for planning restrictions to be lifted
The Daily Mail says that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss, is facing a ‘furious backlash’ after she called for more houses to be built on greenfield sites and for planning rules to be liberalised, allowing houses to be extended upwards without planning permission. She claimed that if this did not happen, Corbyn would win the next election.

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Today’s Political Headlines include Downing Street denying Fox’s claim that a no deal Brexit is probable, criticism of Corbyn’s antisemitism apology, Ministers claiming a no deal Brexit would break EU law and accusations against Javid that he’s buying the silence of the Windrush generation.

Downing Street denies Fox’s claim that no deal Brexit is probable
The Guardian reports that Downing Street has insisted that Theresa May is still confident of agreeing a Brexit deal, despite International Trade Secretary Liam Fox suggesting that it was now probable that no deal would be reached. Whitehall sources claimed that Fox’s intervention was part of a strategy to talk up a no deal Brexit in the hope that EU leaders would take the Government’s Chequers proposals more seriously.

Corbyn’s antisemitism apology met with criticism
The Times says that a new apology by Jeremy Corbyn for the party’s treatment of antisemitism has been met with criticism. He has now pledged to include three of the four excluded examples of antisemitism from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition within Labour’s own definition, but the Board of Deputies of British Jews warned that it ‘won’t accept a watered-down definition designed to let antisemites off the hook.’

Ministers claim no deal Brexit would break EU law
The Daily Telegraph asserts that ministers have warned the EU that if it doesn’t compromise on Brexit, it is breaking its own laws. They claim that Article 8 of the Lisbon Treaty imposes a duty on the Eu to ‘develop a special relationship’ with its neighbours. ‘Senior Whitehall sources’ told the paper that if there was no deal, ‘we will make it clear whose fault it was’.

Labour accuses Javid of buying the silence of Windrush generation
According to The Guardian, Labour has accused Home Secretary Sajid Javid of attempting to ‘buy the silence’ of the Windrush generation by imposing non-disclosure agreements on those receiving fast-track compensation payments. Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott said Javid had ‘gone back on his word’, describing the agreements as ‘totally unacceptable’.

Women could be forced to give up work if EU care workers not prioritised after Brexit
The Daily Telegraph reports that a Department of Health and Social Care dossier warns that women will be forced to give up work to look after ageing parents and grandparents unless EU care workers are given priority after Brexit. In a worst case scenario within five years there would be a shortfall of 6,000 doctors, 12,000 nurses and 28,000 care staff.

Building on green belt will not solve housing crisis, CPRE claims
The Times carries details of a report by the Campaign to Protect Rural England, which claims that the number of homes being proposed by local authorities on the green belt has increased from 425,000 to 459,000 in the last year, but that just 22% of those already granted planning permission are affordable. According to the CPRE, this shows that building on the green belt will not address the ‘affordable housing crisis’.

Opt-out organ system to be in place by 2020
The Daily Mirror reveals that a new opt-out system for organ donation will be in place in England by 2020 if Parliament approves plans for ‘Max’s law’ in the autumn. According to health minister Jackie Doyle-Price the plans could save up to 700 lives a year.

Hammond warns of French-led attempts to drown City in red tape
The Financial Times claims that Chancellor Philip Hammond warned senior figures in the City of London that they ought to be preparing for the EU to bind the UK’s financial services industry in red tape after Brexit, led by the French, which could lead to a loss of access to European markets. Instead he suggested that firms should develop ‘alternative pathways for growth’.

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Today’s Political Headlines include pressure on Corbyn over anti-Semitism, the Home Office ignoring the forced marriages of British teenagers, Shapps’ cryptic deal and the big society is failing. 

Pressure increases on Corbyn over anti-Semitism
The Times reports on a speech made in 2010 by Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn in which he compared Israel’s actions to those of Nazi Germany. The Telegraph has also splashed on allegations that Corbyn silenced a Holocaust survivor after they objected to the comparisons being made between Israel and Nazi Germany. The Guardian has added to the claims, reporting that Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell supported an anti-Zionist group accused of anti-Semitism.

Home Office ignores the forced marriage of British teenagers
The Times reports that the Home Office granted visas to the husbands of British teenagers forced into marriage abroad. Their investigation found that despite appeals from the women for the applications to be blocked, just under half of the visa requests were approved.

Shapps’ cryptic deal
The FT has revealed that former Conservative Party Chairman Grant Shapps has resigned from two appointments after a secret pay deal was discovered, despite Shapps listing his role as ‘unpaid’. The MP was set to receive cryptocurrency tokens ahead of public sale, which could have amounted to hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Cameron’s failing ‘big society’
The Guardian reports that a youth scheme set up by former Prime Minister David Cameron is failing to reach teenagers. Councils have called for ministers to divert funds into local government schemes rather than into the National Citizen Service (NCS), set up by Cameron in 2010. According to the Local Government Association, just 12% of eligible people used the NCS in 2016.

Vaz accused of bullying Commons clerk over expenses
The Guardian reports on claims broadcast by Newsnight on Wednesday that Labour MP Keith Vaz intimidated a House of Commons clerk, after she tried to control Vaz’s behaviour on trips abroad. Vaz is alleged to have bullied the clerk of the home affairs select committee, which he chaired at the time, after she raised concerns over an unscheduled dinner he attended in 2008 on a trip to Ukraine.

Scottish Government criticised over education tests
The Telegraph has reported on hundreds of complaints made to the SNP Government over primary school assessments introduced this year. The criticisms were revealed following a Freedom of Information request, which revealed 172 pages of comments detailing the ‘soul destroying’ impact of the tests.

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Today’s Political Headlines include Barnier softening his opposition to Brexit finance plans, Labour NEC Member Peter Willsman attacking Corbyn critics, the culture of denial in Aid sector and John McDonnell’s criticism of Corbyn. 

Barnier softening his opposition to May’s post-Brexit plan
The FT reports that chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier has relaxed his opposition to Theresa May’s Brexit plan for financial services. After initially rejecting May’s proposals, Barnier has amended his position after clarification from the UK that Brussels would have control over the City of London’s access to EU markets.

Labour NEC Member attacks critics of Corbyn
The Jewish Chronicle has revealed a tape of Peter Willsman, an ally of Jeremy Corbyn and member of Labour’s ruling body, in which he angrily questions whether colleagues had experienced anti-Semitism in the Party, blaming Jewish ‘Trump fanatics’ for false anti-Semitism claims. Labour MP Luciana Berger has called for Willsman to be suspended to enable a formal investigation, while Deputy Leader Tom Watson has criticised Willsman on Twitter.

International development committee warns of ‘culture of denial’ in Aid sector
The Guardian leads with the latest report from the international development committee, which condemns the aid sector for failing to deal with endemic sexual abuse. The report has claimed that charities are more concerned for their reputation rather than dealing with cases, with the UN failing to demonstrate leadership in dealing with abuse.

Shadow Chancellor criticises Corbyn over antisemitism
The Times reports that Jeremy Corbyn’s closest ally and Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has met with Corbyn to criticise his handling of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. He is said to have urged Corbyn to end the disciplinary process underway against Margaret Hodge, who is alleged to have sworn at Corbyn and called him an anti-Semite.

Leaked Labour democracy review calls for online voting at conference
Labour’s ‘Democracy Review’ has been entirely leaked to The Huffington Post, who report that the review proposes to introduce e-voting to Labour meetings. The move is aimed at handing more power to the party membership, allowing online ballots for conference and local constituencies.

Jeremy Hunt gets the nationality of his wife wrong
Sky News reports that during talks with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and officials, the Foreign Secretary accidentally stated that his wife is Japanese, when she is actually Chinese. As well as risking upsetting his wife, Mr Hunt’s blunder also threatened to offend the Chinese officials sat across the table from him.

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