Afternoon summary
For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.
Ambassador defends UK's decision to stop automatically voting against item 7 UN motions criticising Israel
The Foreign Office has defended its decision to stop automatically voting against motions at the UN human rights council (UNHRC) under a procedure that singles out Israel.
Last week the Conservatives said it was “disgraceful” that the government was changing its stance on so-called item 7 motions.
The UNHRC has a permanent feature on its agenda, called item 7, set aside for matters relating to the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories. Israel claims this is discriminatory because no other country is singled out in this way in UNHRC debates.
When Jeremy Hunt was foreign secretary in 2019, the UK adopted a policy of always voting against item 7 motions as a protest against this process – even though it was still happy to vote for motions criticising Israel’s record on human rights tabled under other parts of the agenda.
Last week, after it was revealed that the UK is dropping this policy, and will in future abstain on item 7 motions, Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, attacked this as a concession to sectarianism. She said:
It’s disgraceful that Labour are ditching the longstanding cross-party commitment to vote against item 7 resolutions unfairly targeting Israel.
By abandoning this principle, Labour are surrendering to those who wish to single Israel out for special punishment. Questions will rightly be asked about whether this is an attempt to pander to sectarianism here in Britain.
The Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies have also criticised the Foreign Office’s shift in position.
But today Eleanor Sanders, the UK’s ambassador at the UNHRC, defended the new approach. In a speech at the council, she said:
Today the UK has abstained on all three resolutions tabled under this agenda item. This represents a change in our voting position since we were last members of the council, when the UK by default voted no on all resolutions under Item 7, including where those votes contradicted stated UK policy and whilst conditions on the ground worsened.
Our abstentions today reflect our continued objection to the unfair procedural mechanism by which these legitimate issues are raised. However, the UK remains resolute in its support for the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and we are proud to have taken the historic decision to recognise Palestine in September 2025.
Updated
Second Reform UK candidate in Wales resigns protesting about how party run
A second Reform UK candidate for the Senedd in Wales has stood, complaining about the way the party has selected to be MSs (members of the Senedd).
At the weekend Patrick Benham-Crosswell, who had been a candidate in the Gŵyr Abertawe constituency, said he was quitting because he felt the party had sunk “into the sewer”.
In a post on Facebook, he said:
Having been an active member of Reform since it was founded, and the Brexit party before that, it is with some sadness that I resign. In truth, Reform has left me.
The party I joined and helped build had a clear vision of how to solve our country’s problems: better politicians who care more about the people they serve than their careers. That’s how we fought the 2024 general election, winning 14.3% of the vote across the UK. In Swansea, I came in second, with 17.5% of the vote.
The “professionalisation” of the party has led it to take its members and candidates for granted. Communications that once began “Thank you” now more often start “You are required to …” The party’s employees in Millbank forget that branch officers and candidates are unpaid volunteers.
Some will call my resignation petulance or sour grapes at my lowly placing on the list (fifth to an ex-Tory on the make and three novices). That rankles, but it has also confirmed to me what I feared; Reform is no longer open or honest. Politics is a dirty game, but Reform has sunk deep into the sewer when it should have been a beacon of decency.
Today Owain Clatworthy has announced that he is resigning too. He has also criticised the candidate selection process. He has posted this on social media saying he has “significant concerns” about how people have been chosen, and that some of them will have “little or no connection” to the communities they want to represent.
Clatworthy, an independent councillor in Bridgend, was a Reform candidate for the Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg.
Under the new electoral system being used in Wales, there will be 16 constituencies, each electing six MSs using the closed proportional list system. Under though Reform is doing well in Welsh polls, any candidate not in the top two or three has next to no chance being elected on the party. Clatworthy was in sixth place on his list, just as Benham-Crosswell was in fifth place on his list.
Another Reform UK candidate in Wales has resigned after a photograph was published of him giving a Nazi salute in the past. The party defended Corey Edwards, but he decided to stand down in the interests of his mental health.
In Scotland Reform UK’s candidate problems have been even worse; five of the party’s candidates have either withdrawn or been suspended since the list was unveiled less than a fortnight ago.
Here is Jessica Elgot’s story on Karl Turner being suspended from the PLP.
And this is from Aubrey Allegretti at the Times on the suspension.
The MP Karl Turner is said to have been emailed this afternoon and told he was having the Labour whip suspended.
It was put in writing rather than communicated via phone call to ensure there was an official record.
The decision was said to have been taken after multiple previous warnings.
Apparently concerns were raised about him making disparaging comments about MPs, and colleagues feeling he was behaving in an “intimidating way” in the chamber.
Earlier this month, Turner told Times Radio: “I’m not going to be threatened with suspension. I’m already on a conduct warning for having the audacity to say that these proposals are ludicrous. I’m not going to be bullied around.
“If my parliamentary Labour party chief, Prime Minister, leader of the party or whatever else doesn’t want me in the party anymore, fine. I don’t mind walking and causing a by-election.”
Donald Trump has posted this on Truth Social welcoming the news that the state visit has been confirmed by Buckingham Palace.
Labour defends APD increase and criticises Farage for opposing higher tax on private jets
Labour has defended the increase in air passenger duty (APD) taking effect from April that was criticised by Reform UK at their press conference this morning. (See 11.23am.)
The party said APD rates are set in advance using inflation forecasts and that, because inflation in the past been higher than expected, it had fallen in real terms. The increase announced in the budget for 2026-27 was to compensate for this, the party said.
Labour said:
For those travelling short-haul in economy class, this will be an increase of £2 per passenger per flight. This is a proportionate adjustment and a very small increase relative to average ticket costs, equal to about one per cent. For example, a family of four (two adults and two children) travelling to Spain would see a total increase of £4, given that under 16s are exempt from APD if travelling in economy class. For passengers taking domestic economy flights the increase is £1, and for passengers travelling economy to long-haul destinations it is £12.
Labour said the budget also included a 50% increase in the APD for private jets. But Reform UK opposed this, a Labour spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said:
Labour took the fair choice to hike tax on big private jets, which Farage opposed. Only this Labour is delivering a serious plan to ease the cost of living for families. From this week, the lowest earners will get a pay rise, pensions are going up, and energy bills being cut.
Updated
Starmer and Syrian president discuss Damascus taking back more Syrians refused asylum in UK during No 10 talks
Keir Starmer and Ahmed al-Sharaa, the president of Syria, discussed Syria taking back more Syrians refused asylum in the UK, Downing Street has signalled.
The two leaders met in Downing Street today and, in a readout of their talks, a No 10 spokesperson said:
On the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, they both affirmed the importance of avoiding further escalation and restoring stability in the region. They discussed the need for a viable plan to reopen the strait of Hormuz, in the face of the severe economic impact of prolonged closure, and agreed to work with others to restore freedom of navigation.
The prime minister welcomed the Syrian government’s action against Da’esh to date and the progress made on cooperation between the UK and Syria on counter-terrorism. He set out how he hoped to make further progress on the issue of migration, including closer work together on returns, on border security, and on tackling people smuggling networks.
They agreed that regeneration of infrastructure would be vital for Syria’s economic transition, and discussed opportunities for British businesses across several sectors to play a role in this.
Al-Sharaa is the former leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist rebel group that had been designated as a terrorist organisation by the UK and other countries. He took power after Bashar al-Assad was deposed at the end of 2024.
While the civil war was taking place, Syria was one of the main countries producing people coming to the UK to seek asylum. But over the last year those numbers have fallen. And, whereas Syrian asylum seekers used to have a very high success rate when applying for asylum in the UK, Syria is now deemed a safe country and “the grant rate has since plummeted from 98% in the year ending December 2024 to just 9% in the year ending December 2025”, according to this briefing on the Free Movement website.
Updated
And this is what Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, has said about Reform UK’s proposal to scrap air passenger duty. (See 11.23am.)
Before coming out with yet more half-baked announcements, Reform should explain the vast £10.5bn black hole in their pubs ‘plan’.
A Reform government would be an economic catastrophe. Serious times, call for serious thinking – not gimmicks and economic illiteracy.
Greens propose one low-tax flight for everyone per year, with levy for frequent fliers, as alternative to Reform UK's APD plan
The Green party has criticised Reform UK’s proposal to get rid of air passenger duty (see 11.23am) as a “giveaway” for rich.
Rachel Millward, a co-deputy leader of the Greens, explained:
Abolishing air passenger duty is another unfunded giveaway which would largely help wealthier people but dressed up as a special offer to families flying off to Spain for their summer hols. This policy would mostly benefit the 15% of people who take around 70% of flights from the UK and offer no support at all to the estimated 50% of people who take zero flights in any given year.
A much fairer solution for both people and climate, advocated by the Green party, is to offer one flight a year at low or zero tax and then apply a frequent flyer levy on any additional flights – a levy that would increase with each extra flight taken in any given year.
Updated
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth joins Trump in taunting UK, with jibe about Royal Navy
Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, has been holding a press conference, and, taking a lead from his boss (see 12.31pm), he has also engaged in a bit of Brit-bashing. As Sky News reports, he said:
I think the president was clear this morning in his Truth that there are countries around the world who ought to be prepared to step up on this critical waterway [the strait of Hormuz] as well …
Last time I checked, there was supposed to be a big, bad Royal Navy that could be prepared to do things like that as well.
Turner not being suspended for opposing government's plans to curb trial by jury, sources say
Here is more on the suspension of Karl Turner.
This is from the Press Association.
The Press Association understands the Kingston upon Hull East MP was informed by chief whip Jonathan Reynolds that he was suspending the whip “following his recent conduct”.
And these are from my colleague Jessica Elgot.
I understand several MPs complained about an interview criticising No10 that Turner gave to Jody McIntyre for his X account.
McIntyre is a campaigner who stood against Jess Phillips at the general election in a campaign she heavily criticised.
Labour sources say the suspension is not about Turner’s opposition to jury reform or criticism of figures in Number 10 but suggest it relates to conduct online and towards other MPs.
Turner has been one of the most vocal critics of jury reform as a former barrister.
In 2025, after four Labour MPs had the whip suspended, a party source was quoted in the Times as saying they were being punished for “persistent knobheadery”. That was last year, but the term may still be helpful in explaining what sort of behaviour can get you kicked out of the PLP.
Turner says, although media have been told he has had Labour whip suspended, he hasn't been notified
Karl Turner says, while the media have been told he has lost the Labour whip (see 1.52pm), he has not been notified about this by the party. In a post on social media he says:
I am being told that I have had the whip suspended but I have not had any notification from the whips about this. It seems journalists have been told but I have not.
UDPATE: Ollie Cole from Times Radio says Labour sources dispute this.
Party sources pushing back on this claim. Insisting Turner was informed in a form of writing ahead of the decision being published by press.
Updated
Karl Turner MP has Labour whip suspended
The Labour MP Karl Turner has had the party whip suspended, the Press Association has reported in a news alert.
Turner, who represents Kingston upon Hull East, has been leading backbench opposition to the government’s plans to restrict access to trial by jury (although at second reading he did not actually vote against the bill containing the plans, and just abstained). But he has also been outspoken on other issues, and last week he claimed that Morgan McSweeney, the PM’s former chief of staff, was lying when he said his mobile phone had been stolen last year.
I will post more on the story as further details come in.
Reform UK claims Plaid Cymru/Green pact would deliver 'woke policies on steroids' for Wales
Dan Thomas, the Reform UK leader in Wales, says a Plaid Cymru/Green coalition in Cardiff would lead to independence and “woke policies on steroids”. In a post responding to the Green party campaign launch in Cardiff this moring (see 12.56pm), he claims:
A Plaid/Green coalition of the unhinged would lead to Wales being torn out of the UK and woke policies on steroids.
Plaid and the Greens are both officially in favour of independence. But Plaid says it would not push for independence in its first term in office and, at the Green event today, the party’s leader in Wales, Anthony Slaughter, said the Greens would not be “pushing a pro-independence agenda” in this election.
Ed Davey says Starmer showing 'staggering lack of backbone' by allowing state visit to US to go ahead despite Trump's insults
The Liberal Democrats have condemned Keir Starmer for allowing the king’s state visit to the US to go ahead in the light of Donald Trump’s repeated insults about the UK.
In a statement Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, who has been arguing for some time that the visit should be cancelled, said:
The prime minister is showing a staggering lack of backbone by pushing ahead with this state visit while Donald Trump treats our country with contempt.
To send the king on a state visit to the US after Trump dismissed our Royal Navy as ‘toys’ is a humiliation, and a sign of a government too weak to stand up to bullies.
What appalling thing does Trump have to do next to make the Government see sense and cancel the state visit?
Trump, whose mother was Scottish, claims to be an anglophile. But in recent weeks he has repeated criticised and insulted the UK, and Keir Starmer in particular, because of the UK’s refusal to fully support his war in Iran. He has criticised other European countries and Nato allies too, but he seems to be particularly bothered by Britain’s stance.
Yvette Cooper says Israel wrong to pass law imposing death penalty on Palestinians guilty of fatal attacks
Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, has criticised the Israeli parliament’s decision to a law imposing the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of fatal attacks. In a post on social media, she says the UK issued a joint statement with Germany, France and Italy condemning the legislation before the final vote.
My statement with France, Germany and Italy on our united opposition to Israel’s death penalty law.
The death penalty is wrong and we oppose it around the world.
Buckingham Palace confirms king's state visit to US going ahead next month, with Charles addressing Congress
The king’s state visit to the US is to go ahead next month as planned, Buckingham Palace has finally confirmed. The Press Association says:
Charles and the queen’s long-expected historic trip to see Donald Trump will take place in late April despite calls for it to be postponed because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
It will be the king’s first visit to the US as monarch and the first state visit by a British sovereign to America for nearly 20 years, since Queen Elizabeth II’s tour in 2007.
Charles and Camilla will commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence, attend a glittering state dinner at the White House, and the king will address Congress, the Palace confirmed.
But exact dates and details have yet to be disclosed.
Buckingham Palace said:
On advice of His Majesty’s government, and at the invitation of the President of the United States, the king and queen will undertake a State Visit to the United States of America.
Their Majesties’ programme will celebrate the historic connections and the modern bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States, marking the 250th anniversary of American Independence.
The king will then continue to Bermuda to undertake His Majesty’s first Royal Visit as Monarch to a British Overseas Territory.
Greenpeace UK criticise Reform UK's pledge to get rid of air passenger duty
Greenpeace UK has criticised Reform UK for proposing to get rid of air passenger duty. (See 11.23am.) Lily-Rose Ellis, a climate campaigner for Greenpeace, said:
As Trump’s war causes price spikes and flight cancellations, it won’t surprise anyone to see Farage rush to point the finger at taxes. This policy fits perfectly with Reform’s brand of rightwing populism, which seems surprisingly closely aligned to the commercial interests of their wealthy donors and the sleaze we saw from the last government.
Not only does Christopher Harborne, the UK’s biggest political donor who gave Reform £12m in the last financial year, sell aviation fuel, but Heathrow gave Reform £36,000 last year too.
The idea that this is the party that is going to take on the elites in defence of the common man is transparent nonsense, they’re the Tory plan B, with the same policies, the same scapegoats, the same rhetoric, the same donors and the same MPs.
Zack Polanski says Greens could be 'kingmakers' in Senedd after election because they are likely to hold balance of power
Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, has said that his party could be the “kingmakers” in the Senedd after the election because they are likely to hold the balance of power.
Speaking at the launch of his party’s campaign in Wales, Polanski said:
The Greens could be the kingmakers at this election.
What does that mean? That means we know there will be a new government in Cardiff Bay.
What the colour of that government looks like, and the mix is ultimately up to the voters, but we’re being very clear – every single Green that is elected to the Senedd will be a Green in those negotiations.
A YouGov MRP poll released last week suggests that Plaid Cymru will be the biggest party in the Senedd after the election (with 43 seats), but that to have a majority (49 seats) it will need the support of either Labour (on 12 seats, the poll predicts) or the Greens (10 seats).
These figures seem to imply that a Plaid/Labour deal of some sort would be just as appealing to Plaid as a Plaid/Green deal.
But Plaid are closer to the Greens on policy than they are to Labour. Even though Plaid has in the past been in coalition with Labour, and supported Labour in a cooperation deal, there is some acrimony in the relationship. And Plaid are promising “change” after 27-years of Labour-led government since devolution, and governing with Labour would make them look more like a continuity administration.
Anthony Slaughter, leader of the Greens in Wales, said Green MSs would be deciding the direction of the next Welsh government and said the party was “already shifting” Plaid Cymru’s position on some policy matters.
Trump tells UK 'you'll have to start learning how to fight for yourself' in taunt over fuel oil shortages
Donald Trump has resumed his taunting of the UK, and Keir Starmer, over Britain’s Iran policy. The president (who regularly says things which are untrue) has just posted this on this Truth Social platform saying the British will “have to start learning how to fight for yourself” because the US won’t be there to help in future.
Streeting claims deal with BMA to avert resident doctors' strike still possible
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has insisted that a deal with the BMA to avert the resident doctors’s strike in England is still possible. In a post on social media responding to the BMA’s reaction to the PM’s article about the strike (see 9.36am), Streeting said:
The BMA seems surprised that if they reject the deal on offer and go on strike their members don’t get what the Government is offering.
We have time before Easter weekend to resolve this dispute.
A deal on jobs and pay is on the table.
Trump 'not dictating policy to me', says Farage
At the end of his press conference Nigel Farage was asked if he was worried that his association with Donald Trump would hurt him electorally.
Farage said that he could not pretend not to know Trump. He said he admired some of the things Trump had done, on the border and on energy policy in particular. There were other things Trump had done that he did not agree with, he said, without specifying what. He went on:
He is not dictating policy to me. I’m dictating policy to me.
Farage said he also thought close links between the UK and the US were “absolutely vital”.
Farage says he's opposed to youth mobility deal with EU, claiming it's 'just attempt to completely undo Brexit'
Q: [From the Guardian] Would you keep the youth mobility scheme that the government is negotiating with the EU, or would you repeal it?
Farage says he does not support the proposals because “this will always be one way traffic”. He says there will be three or four times as many Europeans coming to Britain as Britons going to Europe.
There are more exciting parts of the world for young British people to visit, he says. “Europe isn’t actually very sexy any more,” he says.
He says the Spanish made a “catastrophic error” by granting an amnesty to migrants in the country illegally. He goes on:
We are living in an age of increased global insecurity where national borders and protecting national interests matters more and more. And I think the youth mobility scheme falls at that first hurdle, if at nothing else.
And it’s just an attempt by the government to completely undo Brexit.
And Jenrick says, instead of letting young European people come to the UK to work, the government should be prioritising finding jobs for British people.
Q: Are you worried that Reform UK’s support is mainly coming from older people, not younger people?
Farage does not accept this. He claims the polling shows that his party’s support among young people is almost as high as it is amongst voters as a whole.
And by the way, if [Labour] do lower the vote to 16, the Greens will do very well. We will do well and Labour will do terribly.
Farage rejects claim election candidate controversies mean Reform UK's vetting procedures flawed
Q: Do you think Reform UK’s candidate vetting processes have been inadequate, given that a candidate in Wales has had to stand down after a picture emerged of him giving a Nazi salute?
Farage defends the party’s vetting process.
We vet people. We ask them to tell us the truth. We asked them for their social media handles. We do all those things.
Sometimes people lie to you and they might be using social media handles that you have no way of finding.
He says a Plaid Cymru candidate has already stood down, and he predicts the party will have more problems with candidates.
This is a problem for all parties. He goes on:
I think we’re dealing with it as effectively, if not more effectively, than the others.
(The questioner did not ask about Scotland, where five Reform candidates have already stood down or been suspended.)
Farage says he thinks Keir Starmer has been right to adopt a tough position with the BMA over the proposed resident doctors’ strike. He says:
Unusually Keir Starmer has taken a strong position. There’s a first time for everything I suppose.
Farage says he does not think anyone fully knows what Trump's Iran war aims are
Q: What do you make of the suggestion that Donald Trump could end the Iran war without securing the strait of Hormuz? Or do you think he should finish the job?
Farage replies:
I don’t think we should take literally anything right now that Donald Trump says … And then the last thing he’s going to do, or the last thing his colleagues in the White House are going to do, is to give the Iranians any idea of what their true intentions are.
Farage says he does not think anyone knows what Trump’s aims were when he embarked on the war.
Was it to remove nuclear capability? Was it aimed at regime change? I don’t think any of us quite know the absolute truth about that.
But he says he does not think Repubicans in the US would accept it if Trump were to end the war allowing Iran to continue restricting access to the strait of Hormuz. He says it is only open selectively now, “mostly for Pakistani vessels taking oil to China”.
Farage and Jenrick are now taking questions.
Q: Do you have confidence in the grooming gangs inquiry?
Farage says he doesn’t. He explains:
The problem is any third party inquiry is a waste of space unless you can subpoena police officers, social services, civil servants who were all part of turning the collective blind eye. And I think everything this government has done on this issue is an attempt to literally kick the can down the road, to not fully open this up.
Reform UK says it would abolish air passenger duty on short-haul flights
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, and Robert Jenrick, his Treasury spokesperson, are holding a press conference at Heathrow.
They have just said that Reform UK would get rid of air passenger duty (APD), a tax on flights, on short-haul flights.
Jenrick said this would save families £45 on average per flight, or £48 on a flight in the UK. He said:
This is a time of year where millions of Brits will be going on holiday, catching some sun in Mallorca or Tenerife, and millions more will be sat at home over the Easter holidays thinking about booking a family holiday. And this year, of all years, that will be a tough decision because household finances are just so tight, and so we want to make it cheaper.
In our first budget, we will get rid of the family holiday tax. Air passenger duty will be gone for short-haul family trips, that will save a family on average £45 on their flights whether that’s abroad, or £48 if they’re going on holiday here in the UK.
That means that if you are catching a flight, for example, as a family to Málaga, you would save 23% on the cost of your flights. We appreciate that’s not a huge amount of money, but it’s an important saving that will make (it) just a bit easier, to have that family trip, to have a bit of fun, to get away and spend time with your loved ones.
He did not give details of the costings, or how this would be funded.
Asked if this would be fair, given that that wealthy people are far more likely to fly than poorer people, Jenrick did not engage with the point, but he said that people regarded APD as a sin tax, and that people should not feel ashamed for wanting to go on holiday.
He also contrasted Reform UK’s proposal with Rachel Reeves’s decision to raise APD in the budget, with the increase coming into force in April.
Updated
The SNP could win 62 seats in May’s Scottish Parliament election, with Reform UK narrowly in second place over Labour, a new poll has suggested. The Press Association says:
The survey of 1,068 people carried out by Survation for the Diffley Partnership between March 16 and 23 put the SNP ahead with 35% of the Holyrood constituency vote and 32% of the regional list, leaving the party just three seats short of the majority.
Reform UK would receive 19% of the constituency vote and 18% of the list, projecting a 19-seat return.
Labour followed closely behind in the survey, with 19% of respondents backing the party in constituencies and 17% in regional votes, equalling 18 Holyrood seats.
The survey put the Tories on 13 seats, with 11% of the constituency vote and 13% of the list vote, with the Scottish Greens on 10 seats and the Lib Dems on seven.
Back to energy, and today the Common Wealth thinktank has published a report saying consumers would benefit from replacing the current energy supply model with a system of regional energy boards. The thinktank, which focuses on the case for public ownership, argues that energy privatisation, and encouraging people to choose between competing suppliers, has not worked.
The report says:
Having a “contestable” retail energy market means that people choose which company supplies them with electricity and gas. We can each switch our energy supplier within five days. In this report, we show that this market is not doing what it is supposed to do – the assumptions about how people would behave in the market were wrong and that structural change is needed. A move to a non-contestable model, where all homes and small businesses in each region have the same supplier, would deliver five benefits: a fairer and more flexible system that can support long-term energy efficiency upgrades to the fabric of our homes. The transition to regional energy boards can be done fast, because retail energy supply companies are asset light and currently have low market value. The transition to Regional Energy Board can be done first, before deeper public interventions in other parts of the system.
The report is here, and there is a summary here.
Mathew Lawrence, the Common Wealth director, said:
Bold energy system reform is more urgent than ever. That means grasping the nettle of a consumer market that is letting households down. A regional energy board model is a tried and tested way to reduce bills and encourage clean energy tech adoption – while supporting consumer flex and innovation. Now is the time to go big on behalf of the British billpayer.
Updated
Home Office tells police to stop recording non-crime hate incidents
The Home Office has confirmed that the police are being told to stop recording non-crime hate incidents, the Press Association (PA) reports. PA says:
Under current rules, police forces are expected to look into acts which appear to be motivated by hostility towards people with certain characteristics including race, religion, disability or gender, that fall short of being crimes.
Unclear guidance has led to officers being called to people’s homes over “insults and routine arguments”, the government said.
London’s Met Police last year announced it would no longer investigate the incidents after it dropped a probe into social media posts about transgender issues by Father Ted creator Graham Linehan.
There will be no automatic wiping of the incidents from people’s records after the decision, PA understands.
Scrapping non-crime hate incidents will give officers more time to focus on their day-to-day policing, ministers hope.
The move, which comes after a College of Policing and National Police Chiefs’ Council review, will see a tighter definition of what constitutes an incident requiring police involvement.
The Conservatives have responded to the Cornwall Insights energy price cap forecast (see 10.18am) by renewing their call for the government to allow more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, said:
Shutting down the North Sea means we are losing out on £25 billion in tax receipts that we could use to cut bills and reduce the cost of living.
The government must adopt the Conservatives’ cheap power plan to cut bills by £200 immediately by taking VAT, taxes and levies off energy bills without costing taxpayers a penny. We would cut bills for everyone rather than taxing working people to fund yet another bailout for people on benefits.
Minister confirms support package may be offered as experts predict energy price cap to rise by £288 in July
From tomorrow the Ofgem price cap goes down from £1,758 to £1,641. The government is highlighting this as one of its cost of living support measures, because the cap is coming down as a result of decisions taken in the budget.
Here is a chart from Ofgem explaining how they calculated the new figure, which will apply for three months (from 1 April to 30 June).
It is important to stress what the price cap actually is. It is not a cap on the amount people will pay for their energy. Many people (around 50%, to be more precise) will pay more, because the cap applies to what can be charged for units of energy, not the overall bill. The Ofgem headline figure is the amount an average household would pay assuming typical household useage.
And it only lasts for three months. There will be a new figure for July to September and this morning Cornwall Insight, an energy consultancy whose price cap forecasts are widely respected in the industry, is predicting that for Q3 the cap will rise to £1,929. That is an increase of £288, or 18%, on April’s cap.
Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at Cornwall Insight, said:
A rise in July is pretty much unavoidable, but how high prices go remains to be seen.
There is some relief in the timing, summer is when energy demand is at its lowest, which should soften the impact on household energy expenditure.
If higher wholesale prices continue, it will be the effects on the October cap that have the most impact, and that is when the question of government support for households is likely to be revisited.
In response, Martin McCluskey, an energy minister, confirmed that the government was willing to intervene to help some consumers with energy costs if necessary. He said.
Tackling the affordability crisis is our number one priority and I know many families will be thinking about how events in the Middle East might impact the cost of living at home.
We will continue to fight people’s corner through this crisis and, as the energy secretary has said, if it’s necessary to intervene, we will.
Grooming gangs inquiry to examine role of ethnicity, culture and religion
The grooming gangs inquiry will directly examine whether ethnicity, culture or religion influenced offending and whether they shaped the institutional response, the Press Association reports.
BMA dismisses Starmer’s 48-hour warning over resident doctors’ strike plan, calling for talks not 'threats'
Good morning. Keir Starmer is chairing a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee later to discuss the Iran war, but domestic issues don’t go away and he (or, to be more accurate, his staff) have also found time to write an article for the Times delivering a warning to resident doctors in England planning to go on strike. As Jamie Grierson reports, the PM is threatening to withdraw an offer of thousands of extra NHS training posts for resident doctors if they do not call off the strike within 48 hours.
Judging by what Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA resident doctors committee, told the Today programme in an interview this morning, Starmer may have as little success with his ultimatum as Donald Trump seems to be having with his inconsistent and increasingly apocalyptic warnings to what is left of the Iranian government.
Fletcher told Today:
I’m very happy to sit down with the government at any point to try and negotiate a settlement, but I don’t think that’s done by writing in newspapers and issuing threats unilaterally.
He also claimed that the BMA had been pushed into strike action because the government changed the terms of what it was offering at the last minute. He said:
The government made very late changes to the pay offer, reducing the pay investment and stretching it over a longer period in a way that had not been previously talked about.
Ministers effectively moved the goalposts on the deal at the last minute.
But these negotiations are not about arbitrary cut-offs as the prime minister seems to think.
Any ‘deadline’ disappears the moment there is a credible and sustainable offer on the table.
Our focus remains on getting a good deal for both doctors and for patients, and we are seeking to talk once again with the government later today with every intention of achieving a meaningful outcome that could see the strikes called off and a pay deal we can support.
Asked if it was true that he had personally been in favour of giving his members the option of voting on the pay offer, Fletcher replied:
Two weeks ago, the government took that investment, reduced it, and then stretched it over three years. That is a very, very, very different outcome to the one that we were discussing just two weeks ago.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9am: The Home Office publishes the terms of reference for the national grooming gangs inquiry.
Morning: Zack Polanski, the Green leader, launches his party’s campaign for the Senedd election in Cardiff.
Morning: Kemi Badenoch is on a visit in south-west Hertfordshire.
Morning: John Swinney, the SNP leader and Scottish first minister, is campaigning in Dundee and Stirling. Alex Cole-Hamiliton, the Scottish Lib Dem leader, and Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, are also doing media-focused campaign events.
11am: Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, and Robert Jenrick, his Treasury spokesperson, are holding a press conference at Heathrow airport to publicise a cost of living announcement.
Afternoon: Keir Starmer chairs a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee to discuss the Iran war.
Starmer is also meeting Ahmed al‑Sharaa, president of Syria, in Downing Street at some point today.
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