Ukraine opens investigation into alleged surveillance of US ambassador January 16, 2020 Ukraine has said it will open a criminal investigation into allegations that the former US ambassador to Ukraine was put under surveillance by people working for President Donald Trump. In a statement today the Ministry of Internal Affairs said it was aware of materials published by investigators “related to possible illegal surveillance on the former [...]
BoE governor Mark Carney to advise PM on climate change January 16, 2020 Outgoing Bank of England governor Mark Carney is to be a key adviser to the government in the run-up to the UN climate change conference, COP26. Boris Johnson confirmed Carney in the role during a meeting at Number 10 today. The Canadian economist will help the UK government to “mobilise ambitious action from across the [...]
Downing Street pulls back from Big Ben bongs campaign January 16, 2020 Downing Street pulled further back from the “Big Ben bongs” campaign, as Brexiters plough cash into a crowdfunder to raise half a million pounds. The Prime Minister’s spokesman gave the clearest signal yet that the iconic bells would not chime on 31 January even if the £500,000 is raised. Although he stopped short of suggesting [...]
Boris Johnson to attend summit on Libya conflict January 16, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson will attend a summit on the conflict in Libya this weekend, his spokesperson said today. The PM will travel to Berlin on Sunday, with representatives across Europe, the Middle East and the US invited, though US President Donald Trump is not expected to make the trip. “The conflict in Libya has [...]
City Hall’s 300 per cent rise in office spending under Sadiq Khan queried January 16, 2020 A threefold increase in City Hall office spending under Sadiq Khan has come under question, with one London Assembly member suggesting it could be “uncontrolled”. The assembly’s Budget Committee today released its first response to the mayor’s 2020-21 budget, which details £17bn of public expenditure. Read more: Sadiq Khan has increased press office spending by [...]
Donald Trump proved the doubters wrong and got it right on Iran with Qassem Soleimani January 16, 2020 When the Middle East crisis broke at the start of this year, many outcomes were predicted by a panicked commentariat in response to the US drone strike on Iran’s terrorist-in-chief, Qassem Soleimani. The various theories peddled by such observers fell into two broad camps: that war would inevitably result, or that the west would suffer [...]
Labour leadership hopeful Lisa Nandy says party should have been ‘bold’ on free movement January 15, 2020 Labour should have been “bold enough to defend free movement” while the party formulated its Brexit position, leadership hopeful Lisa Nandy has said. The Wigan MP, who has been running an exhaustive series of events as part of her leadership campaign, said Labour had to “connect the local and the global”, acknowlegding that the system [...]
Nigel Farage’s Westminster Brexit bash granted planning approval January 15, 2020 Nigel Farage has been granted permission to throw a Brexit day party at Wesminster’s Parliament Square. The Brexit bash is set for 31 January to coincide with the date Britain leaves the EU, and is expected to cost £100,000 and attract 10,000 people. Read more: Planning uncertainty over Nigel Farage Brexit night party Farage tweeted [...]
Health secretary Hancock suggests A&E waiting targets could be scrapped January 15, 2020 Four-hour waiting targets for A&E could be scrapped in England, on the back of the worst figures on record this winter, Matt Hancock hinted this morning. The health secretary said “clinically appropriate” aims and the “right targets” would be a better approach, as he sought to defend the NHS’s failure to meet existing targets in [...]
A tip for Dominic Cummings: Don’t hire anyone who fails to grasp the power of incentives January 15, 2020 The job advert issued by Dominic Cummings for people to work in government has attracted a wide range of comments. One particular focus has been on the sorts of skills he is looking for. Computer science, forecasting, artificial intelligence, causality theory — all these topics excite his interest. Cummings advocates a small selection of scientific [...]