Trump fires two impeachment witnesses February 8, 2020 US President Donald Trump has removed two senior officials from their posts after they testified against him at his impeachment trial. The US Ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, issued a statement on Friday saying he had been recalled from his post by the president. Sondland, who was a Trump political donor before being [...]
Senior Tories tell government to ‘rule out’ Huawei from 5G plans February 8, 2020 A number of senior Conservatives including four ex-cabinet ministers have written a letter to Tory MPs to raise concerns about the decision to give Huawei a role in the UK’s 5G network. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Owen Paterson, David Davis, Damian Green, Tobias Ellwood and Bob Seely, said they “working to find a better solution” [...]
UK appoints first female US ambassador February 7, 2020 The government has appointed a new US ambassador after the last person to hold the post quit in the wake of leaked messages about President Donald Trump. Dame Karen Pierce will become the new UK ambassador to the US at a crucial time – with Trump reported to have been “livid” about Prime Minister Boris [...]
Change is in the air across the Irish Sea, as Leo Varadkar is learning the hard way February 7, 2020 Change is the word du jour across the Republic of Ireland right now. As the General Election comes to its final stages tomorrow, the word has become so ubiquitous — in the leaders’ debates and on the campaign trail — it feels it has lost all meaning. For nearly 10 years, centre-right Fine Gael has [...]
Iowa caucus: Pete Buttigieg wins Democrat vote by 0.1 per cent February 7, 2020 Pete Buttigieg narrowly won the Democrats’ presidential Iowa caucus, the state party said last night, after a long delay in releasing the results of the first contest in the race to pick a challenger to Republican President Donald Trump. Buttigieg, the moderate 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, edged out progressive US senator Bernie [...]
Don’t turn BBC reform into a political football February 7, 2020 Move over Brexit, there’s a new B-word battle: over the fate of the BBC. Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister’s chief adviser, has had the broadcaster in his sights for some time, with reports from his think tank in 2004 suggesting axing it altogether. Opening shots were fired after December’s election, when Cummings imposed a ministerial [...]
We must not let fear of terror attacks compromise our human rights February 7, 2020 The recent attacks in London Bridge and Streatham have highlighted clear flaws in the management of terror offenders. Both were perpetrated by convicts still under licence conditions, released automatically halfway through their sentences. The government is now urgently looking to address this — as it undoubtedly should. However, it should be wary of trampling civil [...]
Does Philip Hammond deserve a peerage? February 7, 2020 Does Philip Hammond deserve a peerage? Ben Kelly, a commentator for Reaction, says YES. Philip Hammond became a mighty irritant to Tory Brexiteers during his time as chancellor, so it is unsurprising that many of them are irked by Boris Johnson nominating him for a peerage. It’s true that he passionately opposed Brexit and was [...]
City grandee Peter Cruddas in line for a peerage February 6, 2020 Peter Cruddas will reportedly be granted a peerage as Boris Johnson adds to the Brexit-supporting Conservatives in the House of Lords. Cruddas, who is the co-founder and chief executive of CMC Markets, is on a list of nominees that will be considered by the House of Lords Appointments Commission, according to Sky News. The appointment [...]
Bercow criticised by House of Commons as peerage row rages on February 6, 2020 Former speaker John Bercow has been attacked by the House of Commons for naming staff members in his tell-all book of his time in the chair, which was published this morning. A spokesperson for the House of Commons said: “Staff work incredibly hard to enable the effective functioning of our democracy and have a right [...]