Government to hunt down ‘callous’ benefit fraudsters in new £600m crackdown that should save £2bn May 19, 2022 A new crackdown on benefit fraud should save the taxpayer £2bn over the next three years. A £600m plan is to be unveiled by the Government. The plan will involve 2,000 trained specialists reviewing two million universal credit claims over the next five years. DWP officers will also be bolstered with new powers, including to [...]
Monkeypox spreading across UK as more cases of extremely rare virus are discovered in LGBT people May 19, 2022 Concerns across the UK are growing this morning as the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed it has detected two additional cases of monkeypox, one in London and one in the South East of England. The latest cases bring the total number of monkeypox cases confirmed in England since 6 May to 9, with recent [...]
Back to the ’80s? Rishi should borrow from the playbook May 18, 2022 An embattled Tory Prime Minister hunkered down in Westminster. A cost of living crisis becoming the defining issue of the political age. Unions plotting strike action. The similarities between 1982 and 2022 are eerie, and they don’t even stop there: it was that year that a promising England team headed off to a World Cup [...]
PM asked to explain how a private plane was allowed to fly from Scotland to Moscow breaching Russian sanctions May 18, 2022 A private charter flight travelled from Inverness to Moscow breaching UK sanctions against Russia, despite air traffic control being informed about the flight beforehand. SNP MP Richard Thomson raised the issue in parliament during Prime Minister’s Questions, urging the PM to tell the house how it was allowed to happen. The details of a transcript [...]
After Grenfell: Government puts forward new rules as fire boss hits out at progress May 18, 2022 The Government has put forward new fire safety regulations, which will see building owners share the level of risk that the design and materials of outer walls have with emergency fire services. It is hoped to give fire brigades an opportunity to adopt the best strategy to tackle potential blazes. However, the Home Office has [...]
PMQs: Boris Johnson deflects on windfall tax as Starmer teases him on an ‘inevitable u-turn’ May 18, 2022 Boris Johnson has been accused of dithering on a windfall tax by Keir Starmer during Prime Minister’s Questions, as the leader of the opposition said he would do an ‘inevitable u-turn’ on the issue. The PM refused to be drawn on whether he supported the one-off tax, with Starmer highlighting Rishi Sunak’s comments to the [...]
Tory MP criticised for tweet about colleague’s arrest for rape which showed ‘callous disregard for the alleged victims’ May 18, 2022 A veteran Tory MP has been accused of showing “callous disregard” for victims of rape, after appearing to joke about the arrest of his colleague for it. Conservative MP for Lichfield Michael Fabricant caused uproar this morning over a message about the shock arrest yesterday of a Tory colleague on suspicion of rape. The party [...]
Tory MP arrested on suspicion of rape and told to stay away from Westminster is bailed May 18, 2022 A Conservative MP arrested on suspicion of rape and asked to stay away from the parliamentary estate – has been bailed. The Metropolitan Police said the alleged sexual offences were committed between 2002 and 2009. The force said he had been bailed to a date in mid-June. A statement from Scotland Yard on Wednesday : [...]
Second London man charged over fatal stabbing of ‘loving father’ near St Paul’s Cathedral May 18, 2022 Police have charged a second London man over the fatal stabbing of a 32-year-old father near St Paul’s Cathedral. Jordell Menzies, 25, of Tennyson Road, Brent, was charged with murder Emmanuel Odunlami from Romford. The victim was found in Gresham Street, suffering from a fatal stab wound at 11:30pm on May 1, 2022. Menzies has [...]
Impact of post-Brexit trade deal with New Zealand examined by parliamentary committee May 18, 2022 Post-Brexit trade with New Zealand is being brought into focus this morning, with Westminster’s top trade committee examining the impact of the free trade deal signed in February. The arrangement between the UK and the Pacific nation, which is more than 18,000 miles away, is being looked at by two panels, focusing on services and [...]