Today’s political headlines include May securing an improved Brexit deal, Watson’s Future Britain Group holding its first meeting, the ICO using its powers to prevent a second Molly Russell and Begum’s mother pleads with Home Office.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
May secures \u2018improved Brexit deal\u2019 Watson\u2019s Future Britain Group holds first meeting Information Commissioner would use new powers to prevent a \u2018second Molly Russell\u2019 Begum\u2019s mother pleads for Home Office to reconsider its decision Officials accused of trying to cover up costs of Johnson\u2019s trip Raab pitches for leadership in speech Grayling accused of keeping residents \u2018in the dark\u2019 over Heathrow noise pollution Stronger auditing regulator to be introduced
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that Theresa May has claimed \u2018victory\u2019 in the Brexit negotiations after travelling to Strasbourg yesterday, having secured what she called an \u2018improved Brexit deal\u2019 ahead of a vote today, made up of three parts: a legal document giving more weight to guarantees that the backstop won\u2019t be permanent, alterations to the political declaration committing negotiators to work to find alternatives to the backstop, and a unilateral statement explaining why the Government doesn\u2019t expect the UK to be trapped in the backstop. The paper\u00a0adds<\/a>\u00a0that the EU is preparing for a Brexit delay of at least a year.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The BBC\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson\u2019s new Future Britain Group, established in the wake of the defections to The Independent Group, held its first meeting last night, which was attended by around 130 Labour politicians, including Lord Mandelson, Lord Kinnock and Yvette Cooper. Kinnock called for \u2018democratic socialist values\u2019 and \u2018achievable, possible and affordable policies\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Interviewed<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0The Daily Telegraph<\/em>, Elizabeth Denham, the Information Commissioner, has said that she would use new powers and block \u2018addictive\u2019 technology to \u2018break\u2019 the \u2018cycle\u2019 of children being exposed to \u2018ever more provocative content\u2019. She vowed to prevent a \u2018second Molly Russell\u2019, a 14-year-old girl for whose suicide Instagram has been accused of contributing towards.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that the mother of Shamima Begum has written to the Home Office, requesting it to reconsider its decision to stop the 19-year-old who joined Isis of her British citizenship as an \u2018act of mercy\u2019. Yesterday, Home Secretary Sajid Javid rejected suggestions that he was responsible for the death of her baby.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Daily Mirror<\/em>\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0that officials have been blamed for trying to cover up the cost of a trip made by Boris Johnson, then Foreign Secretary, to Afghanistan to avoid a vote on expanding Heathrow. The Foreign Office gave details to a member of the public while delaying journalists\u2019 freedom of information requests, blaming an \u2018IT issue\u2019 for this, the details of which cannot be revealed owing to \u2018national security\u2019 concerns, and has now admitted breaking rules by internally identifying journalists\u2019 requests.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab \u2018made his pitch for the Tory leadership\u2019 in a speech yesterday. He called for a \u2018second-chance society\u2019, arguing that his life had taught him that \u2018no one-off meritocratic process will ever be perfect\u2019 and that young people need \u2018a genuine opportunity to fulfil their potential\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0that lawyers for five London councils, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Greenpeace are to tell the High Court today that Transport Secretary Chris Grayling understated the impact of an expanded Heathrow Airport on residents in order to keep them \u2018in the dark\u2019 about the effect of noise pollution on them.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Financial Times<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary Greg Clark has announced that the audit regulator the Financial Reporting Council is to be replaced by a new Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority with greater powers, following the conclusions of a review by Sir John Kingman into the FRC.<\/p>\n