Tory grandee and Thatcher ally Norman Tebbit dies aged 94
Tebbit was the Tory hard man who took on the trade unionsFormer Cabinet minister played key roles during Margaret Thatcher's time in officeAs Conservative Party chairman, Norman Tebbit masterminded Margaret Thatcher's third general election victory despite tensions with the PM
©Press Association
Tory former Cabinet minister Lord Norman Tebbit has died aged 94, his son said.
The Conservative grandee was one of Margaret Thatcher's closest political allies and played a key role in Tory politics for a generation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- RTÉ News
Taoiseach, UK PM agree to work 'constructively' on Legacy Act issues
The Taoiseach Micheál Martin spoke with the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer by phone this afternoon, with both leaders agreeing to work constructively on a framework for dealing with issues surrounding the Northern Ireland Legacy Act. Mr Starmer's government has come under pressure in recent days, with his Veterans Minister Alistair Carns reported to have threatened his resignation should British soldiers lose their immunity. The UK government has committed to repealing and replacing the controversial legislation, however some Labour backbenchers have expressed concern. Ireland took an inter-state case against the UK under the European Convention of Human Rights, after the former Conservative government introduced the law. Today's phone call between Mr Martin and Mr Starmer was part of regular dialogue between both leaders and they agreed to continue working "constructively" on the Legacy Act. Separately, it is understood that Mr Starmer also thanked the Taoiseach for Ireland's support of the recent EU-UK Summit and subsequent agreement. During a "constructive" and "warm" phone-call, both leaders also talked about the Ireland-UK 2030 strategy which was agreed at the recent Ireland-UK Summit last march. It saw both countries sign up to closer cooperation in a number of areas including energy, security and trade. The relationship between both governments is understood to have improved significantly in recent months, since Mr Starmer embarked on a "reset" in relations between the UK, Ireland and other EU countries.
The Journal
4 days ago
- The Journal
Cork native Morgan McSweeney, Starmer's chief of staff, highest paid UK Government special adviser
KEIR STARMER'S CHIEF of staff, Cork native Morgan McSweeney, is the highest paid UK Government special adviser, new figures have indicated. Macroom native McSweeney is paid between £155,000 and £159,999 (€179,000 and €185,000), according to data released by the Cabinet Office today. The UK media hailed McSweeney as the man behind Labour's emphatic electoral landslide victory last summer. In a profile in The Guardian , McSweeney was labelled 'Labour's elections guru' who has 'near-unrivalled influence'. But while he has been hailed as Labour's election guru by many, some see Morgan as an enemy to the Labour left. He has been accused in the past of removing every supporter of former leader Jeremy Corbyn from positions within the party. He became the chief of staff of British Prime Minister Starmer in October after the resignation of Sue Gray. File image of Sue Gray pictured with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo It was reported at the time that McSweeney had clashed with Gray. Gray was said to have been 'blind-sided' by the decision to give McSweeney her job, and it was reported that she only found out shortly before it was announced. Advertisement Gray first made headlines in December 2021 when she took on the civil service investigation into allegations of Covid-rule-breaking events in Boris Johnson's Downing Street. In May 2022, the report into 'partygate' detailed events at which officials drank so much they were sick, sang karaoke, became involved in altercations and abused security and cleaning staff at a time when millions of people across the country were unable to see friends and family. In recent weeks, McSweeney has garnered criticism from the left of the Labour party over proposed cuts to social welfare payments, which were largely rolled back. McSweeney has emerged as a primary target for Labour 'rebels' and those MPs have been pointing to McSweeney as the main influence behind Starmer's austerity measures and rightward shift more generally. Elsewhere, a raft of other senior Number 10 advisers, also known as spads, occupy the next highest pay rung on salaries between £145,000 and £149,999 (€167,800 and €173,600), as well as Chancellor Rachel Reeves's top economic adviser. Overall the pay bill for spads in the 2024/25 was £16.7 million (€19.3m), but this included £3.1 million (€3.6m) in severance costs, which would have covered outgoing advisers from the previous Conservative government. The salary bill was £9.5 million (€11m), lower than the £10 million (€11.6m) spent in the previous year. According to the UK Government's release, as of 31 March there were 130 special advisers across the Government. Salaries over £76,000 (€87,900) are declared in bands of £5,000 (€5,800). McSweeney was the only person in the £155,000 to £159,999 band. -With additional reporting from Press Association Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Details of MoD ‘kill list' STILL being blocked by Government despite fury over 1000s of Afghans secretly airlifted to UK
THE Government is still battling in courts to keep details of the Afghan data leak secret – despite condemnations of a two year gagging clause that kept parliament and the public in the dark. Defence Secretary 6 Defence Secretary John Healey making a statement to MPs in the House of Commons Credit: PA 6 Lawyers acting for the Ministry of Defence have gone to court today to defend a second injunction connected to the leak Credit: Getty 6 Evacuation of Afghans in 2021 - ahead of the Tory Government's secret airlift two years later He told MPs: 'No government wishes to withhold information from the British public, from parliamentarians or the press in this manner.' Yet lawyers acting for the Ministry of Defence have gone to court today to defend a second injunction connected to the leak. The injunction concerns the identities of British nationals – including MPs, Special Forces and spies – whose details were part of the leak. At the opening of the hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice today MoD lawyers requested a hearing behind closed doors. Read more News It meant once again the media could not hear what they went on to say. Mr Justice Chamberlain said he would be 'scrutinising very carefully any justification for holding any parts of this hearing in private, never mind in closed'. The identities of spies and serving special forces are already covered by a convention known as the D Notice System. It prohibits the publication of sensitive personal information that reveals the identity, location or contact details members of 'members of the UK Security and Intelligence Agencies, MOD, Special Forces and Operational Cyber Units'. Most read in The Sun The superinjunction which lifted on Tuesday was the first time the government had used one to gag the press. It also prevented the government from telling parliament of top secret air lift mission that flew 4,500 Afghan migrants to Britain and is expected to cost almost £1bn. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer claimed the Conservative government which secured the injunction had 'serious questions to answer'. It came after a British Special Forces soldier accidentally sent a list of 18,714 names of Afghans who had applied for asylum in Britain after Kabul fell to the Taliban. Taliban warns thousands of Afghans secretly airlifted to UK 'we will HUNT you down' He thought he was sending a shorter list of 150 people to a trusted group of former comrades. But the spreadsheet contained details of almost everyone who had applied to flee Afghanistan to Britain on the grounds that they had helped UK forces between 2001 and 2021. It also included their contact details, their last known locations and in some cases their UK sponsors. Parts of the list were later published on Facebook triggering a massive government cover-up and a secret mission code named Operation Absurdly, the government is still defending its injunction even though Healey revealed details of what it's trying to keep secret in parliament. He said: 'It contained names and contact details of applicants – and some instances, information relating to the applicants' family members. "In a small number of cases Mr Speaker, the names of Members of Parliament, senior military officers and government officials were noted as supporting the application." Some news organisations covered by the injunction – which does not include The Sun – are banned from reporting what Healey said in Parliament. The leak, which included details of a 'secret route' for some of those affected to come to the UK, was only discovered when excerpts were put on Facebook in August 2023. The next month, the Tory government used a superinjunction to stop journalists reporting the breach. It was extended until being lifted by a High Court judge this Tuesday. The potential huge bill emerged as Nigel Farage claimed 'convicted sex offenders' were among the Afghans secretly airlifted into the UK. The Reform UK leader said the rescue of almost 20,000 Afghans is a risk to women's safety — triggering a row with Labour and the Tories. Defence Secretary John Healey insisted everyone had been checked 'carefully' for any criminal records. And he said if Mr Farage had any hard evidence, he should report it to police. Shadow Chancellor , Defence Secretary at the time, insisted there was not a cover-up and the gagging order was to protect at-risk Afghans , and he made 'no apology' for doing so. 6 Reform UK leader Nigel Farage claimed 'convicted sex offenders' were among the Afghans secretly airlifted into the UK Credit: PA 6 Then-Defence Secretary Ben Wallace refused to apologise for the gagging order Credit: AFP 6 Around 100,000 Afghans were put at risk of death when their names or loved ones' were revealed
