Labour minister sorry for ‘dog-whistle' remark over grooming film
The Conservatives called for Lucy Powell, the leader of the House of Commons, to resign after she appeared to dismiss the victims of sexual abuse during a BBC debate.
Powell interrupted Tim Montgomerie, the political commentator and Reform UK supporter, when he raised a recent documentary about women who had been groomed and abused by gangs during an edition of BBC Radio 4's Any Questions.
• Groomed: A National Scandal review — enraging, harrowing stories
'Oh, we want to blow that little trumpet now, do we? Let's get that dog whistle out, shall we?' she said.Powell later apologised, saying
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The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
Asylum seekers to lose housing and support if they refuse to move out of hotels
Asylum seekers who refuse to move out of hotels into new accommodation will have financial and housing support removed from them, the government has warned. The new crackdown has been ordered by Keir Starmer's government as it attempts to demonstrate it is taking action amid fears of a repeat of last year's summer riots, with violence already seen in Epping in Essex after the far right fuelled protests at an asylum hotel. But the move also appears to be an attempt to get to grips with the continuing small boats crisis on the Channel, with fears of record crossings this summer. The issue has been seen as a key reason why Nigel Farage's Reform UK is leading in the polls and taking votes away from Labour in their traditional heartlands. The announcement also comes amid a row over the language being used by senior Tory figures, which some fear is 'stoking division' and 'inciting violence'. The latest rant on social media came from shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick, who many believe is positioning himself to be a rightwing candidate in a new leadership bid to replace Kemi Badenoch. In an inflammatory post on X, the former immigration minister took the side of protesters in Epping, saying: 'I don't want my young daughters to share a neighbourhood with men who broke into this country illegally and about whom we know next to nothing. 'And I don't want anyone else's family to have this forced on them either. 'When I see mothers and fathers peacefully protesting in Epping, I see decent, fair-minded people being pushed to breaking point.' The violence and protests in Epping, which have seen 16 arrested, broke out after accusations were made about asylum seekers sexually abusing local women. Mr Jenrick accused Sir Keir of 'being oblivious' to men pretending to be children to game the system, or migrants carrying guns and knives and, he claimed, security briefings suggesting that they pose a terrorist threat. 'It's high time Starmer took his head out the sand and listened to what communities are saying and experiencing. It's time he went and spoke to the law-abiding citizens who are being made to suffer the consequences of the failure to control our borders. Communities like Epping.' It came just 24 hours after it emerged that asylum seekers may be using payment cards intended for buying essentials for gambling. A Freedom of Information request made by PoliticsHome revealed more than 6,500 payments in gambling settings were attempted by asylum seekers in the past year, with shadow home secretary Chris Philp saying 'this madness has to end'. Meanwhile, fellow Tory MP Louie French took to X saying: 'Deport the migrants.' Mr Jenrick's outburst provoked a furious response from Labour. A Labour source said: 'Robert Jenrick was at the heart of a Conservative government that let the asylum system spiral into chaos. He had the power to act - and didn't. How dare he talk about a 'gutless elite' when for years he sat around the cabinet table and in the Home Office doing nothing? 'This Labour government is taking decisive action to regain control of our borders - cracking down on criminal gangs, clearing the asylum backlog, and ending the costly hotel use left behind by the Tories.' Among the measures to tackle the crisis is the government's new failure to travel policy which will be published today and is designed to tackle non-compliance by asylum seekers. It will ensure individuals who are moved from hotels to suitable alternative accommodation must take it. Those who refuse to move without a valid reason will now risk losing their housing and support. It is a firm but fair approach, aimed to end abuse of asylum support and contribute towards the closure of costly hotel accommodation. While the government has a duty to support all asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute in appropriate accommodation, the new policy establishes clear consequences for those who game the system whilst protecting the vulnerable. At the peak of the crisis under the previous administration, 400 hotels were being used to accommodate asylum seekers, costing £9 million per day. The government made a clear commitment to end that practice, and is delivering. In the first three months of 2025 the number of asylum seekers in hotels fell by almost 6,000, a 15 per cent reduction since December. The number of hotels in use has now halved from its peak in 2023. Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said: 'We inherited an asylum system on the brink of collapse - mismanaged, under strain, and costing the public a fortune. We are getting a grip. 'We are working to close hotels, restore order, and put fairness and value for money at the heart of our asylum system. This government is making those necessary decisions to protect the taxpayer and uphold the integrity of our borders. 'These reforms to the Failure to Travel policy are another example of this government's action to transform the asylum accommodation system and crack down on those who abuse our system, so it operates fairly and saves the taxpayer money.'
Spectator
17 minutes ago
- Spectator
The BBC has finally done something right
This isn't a sentiment you'll have read much in recent weeks, given the BBC's series of appalling misjudgements and editorial disasters. But here goes: Three cheers for the BBC. Its critics are completely wrong and its decision making is spot on. To be clear, I'm not referring to its coverage of Bob Vylan at Glastonbury, the Gaza documentary narrated by the son of a Hamas minister or the BBC's sacking of the two Masterchef presenters. I'm talking about something it has actually got right – but for which it is nonetheless being lambasted: the decision not to decamp its entire political team, and all its political programmes, to this year's party conferences. Previously the lunchtime Politics Live programme has been broadcast from what we used to call the two main party conferences – Labour and the Conservatives – along with Newsnight and much of the news channel's output. To do that, the BBC has taken around 80 journalists and technicians. That compares with three for ITV and eight for Channel 4. Bloated, you say? In years gone by, it was possible to see the validity of such largesse in staffing and coverage. The party conferences used to matter. For hacks, they provided an invaluable opportunity to take 'the feel' of party members and to speak to politicians in a less guarded environment – especially in the bars late at night. For Labour, the proceedings in the hall also mattered, with its jargon of composites, motions and references back all feeding into an atmosphere where votes counted for something. I spent too many years having to attend them, first as a policy wonk and later as a hack. You really did have to be there. There was the Bennite wars of the 1980s, the Militant years and John Smith's 1993 OMOV (one member, one vote) fight. There was Tony Blair's first conference speech in 1994, when he argued for the abolition of Clause IV (Labour's constitutional commitment to 'the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange') and almost no one in the hall realised what he was saying. Labour conference was the arena in which the party's future was played out, with fringe meeting battles and – literally – smoke-filled rooms. Although the conferences mattered, I hated them. All the people I wanted to spend time with I could do so in London. I never got to grips with being forced to spend time with people I had no wish to spend time with, but in a secure area. Add to that the permanent stench of stale air and the annual conference cold, and I was thrilled when I no longer had to go. Party conferences now are just stage shows, like the US conventions, which exist solely to provide fodder for social media clips of Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch's speeches and to give the mainstream news broadcasters something to talk about. For the party faithful they're a fun – each to their own – few days of political self-indulgence and a chance to get drunk with people you've seen on telly. For everyone else, they are meaningless for anything other than the set piece speeches – which could equally be broadcast, like Keir Starmer's first as Labour leader during covid in 2020, online from an empty room. The BBC is quite right to call out the emperor's new clothes. The conferences don't need – and don't deserve – the broadcast army of hacks they've always had. Not least because now they're not even necessarily the most relevant gatherings, with Reform increasingly solid ahead in the polls. Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, told PoliticsHome, which broke the story: 'It's a surprising move by the BBC, who took over 500 of their staff to Glastonbury.' She has a point – but the point isn't that the BBC should take its usual army to the conferences, it's that it took an absurd number to Glastonbury. PoliticsHome also quotes a BBC source: 'We're really upset about it.' Chacun à son goût.
Powys County Times
17 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Rachel Reeves to pledge £66m for key Scottish transport projects
Rachel Reeves will announce £66 million of funding for transport projects in Scotland – with the Chancellor insisting the cash shows the Labour Government is 'investing in Britain's renewal' after a 'decade of decline' under the Conservatives. Scottish Secretary Ian Murray meanwhile said the money would make a 'real difference to people's daily lives'. The money will go towards projects linked to new investment zones and advanced manufacturing sites supported by the UK Government in Scotland. Three key transport schemes are to benefit, with plans to create direct links between these new economic hubs and local towns in the west of the Scotland. The largest chunk of cash – some £38.7 million – will go to Renfrewshire Council to help link Paisley town centre with both Glasgow Airport and the nearby Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS). As part of this new walking, cycling, bus and car links will be built, allowing local people to benefit from the growth of high value manufacturing in Renfrewshire. Another £23.7 million will go to North Ayrshire Council to upgrade the B714 road, allowing faster travel between the towns of Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston and Glasgow, and cutting traffic in Kilwinning. It comes after the Chancellor pledged to find the cash for this work in last month's spending review. In addition the Scottish Government is being given an extra £3.45 million to suggest ways in which the A75 in Dumfries and Galloway can be upgraded. The road there links the port in Cairnryan – where ferries sail to Northern Ireland – with the rest of the UK, and as a result is seen as being vital for both transport connections and the economy. Ms Reeves, who is due to visit Paisley on Friday, said the UK Government was 'pledging billions to back Scottish jobs, industry and renewal'. She added: 'That's why we're investing in the major transport projects, including exploring upgrades to the A75, that local communities have been calling for. 'Whilst previous governments oversaw over a decade of decline of our transport infrastructure, we're investing in Britain's renewal. 'This £66 million investment is exactly what our Plan for Change is about, investing in what matters to you in the places that you live.' Welcoming the cash Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said: 'This £66 million investment in Scotland's roads demonstrates the UK Government's commitment to improving infrastructure and driving economic growth in all parts of the UK as part of our Plan for Change. 'This investment will make a real difference to people's daily lives and to the local economies of the south of Scotland, Ayrshire and Renfrewshire.' Mr Murray continued: 'New road links will connect Paisley town centre with Glasgow Airport and the new advanced manufacturing innovation district, to boost high value manufacturing in Renfrewshire. 'The upgrade to the B714 will speed up journeys between Glasgow and the three towns of Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston, as well as cutting traffic in Kilwinning. 'And the A75 is strategically important just not within but beyond Scotland. Its upgrading is long overdue. I am pleased that the UK Government has stepped up to fund the delivery of the A75 feasibility study in full.' Mr Murray said: 'This investment is yet another example of how the UK Government is building the foundations for a stronger, more prosperous future that benefits communities right across Scotland.' However SNP MSP Kevin Stewart said Ms Reeves should take the opportunity to apologise to Scots during her visit. Hitting out at the Chancellor, Mr Stewart said: 'On the week it was confirmed that Scottish energy bills will rise to pay for an English nuclear power plant, the Chancellor has some cheek to pass off old spending commitments as her own. 'Labour think Scotland should be grateful for receiving a share of money we pay to Westminster in taxes. 'Folk need real action on the cost of living under Labour – not reheated commitments that Westminster has already announced. 'Labour promised that everyone's energy bills would be cut by £300 when they came to power. That was a lie. 'Ms Reeves should apologise on behalf of her party for this lie during her trip to Scotland.'
