That’s it for tonight. I’m closing this liveblog now. Thanks so much for joining us and for all the comments.
Theresa May also made comments about the Salisbury spy attack, calling it “a terrible incident”.
She said: “It is Russia that has the capability, the intent and the motive to conduct this attack.”
There was no plausible alternative explanation other than that responsibility lay with Russia, said the prime minister, adding that it was part of a broader pattern of activity from Russia in terms of attempts to interfere with elections, cyber attacks and backing the Assad regime in Syria.
Here’s more from Theresa May’s latest press conference, which took after she arrived in Stockholm.
May said Britain condemned the “truly barbaric chemical attack in Douma”.
The prime minister added: “Saturday’s horrific attack against the people of Douma, among them a number of innocent children, was utterly reprehensible.”
Asked if the UK would join any US-led military action in Syria, she said:
What we are currently doing is working urgently with our allies to assess what has happened here. This has been an absolutely barbaric attack that has taken place. And, if it is clear that it is the responsibility of the Assad regime, it’s yet another example of the callous and brutal way in which he’s been treating his people.
And we are clear that those responsible should be held to account. We, as I say, are working urgently with our allies to asses what has happened. But, we are also working with our allies on any action that is necessary.
Donald Trump says "nothing is off the table" for US response to Syria attack
The US president has told reporters that he will make “some major decisions” as early as this evening on how the US will respond to the “atrocious” chemical weapons attack on civilians in Syria.
.@POTUS Trump condemns the heinous attack on innocent Syrians with banned chemical weapons. #Syria pic.twitter.com/qiEahlL3Ah
— Department of State (@StateDept) April 9, 2018
“We are very concerned that a thing like that can happen. This is about humanity ... it can’t be allowed to happen. We’ll be looking at that barbaric act and studying what’s going on,” the US president said before a Cabinet meeting.
He added:
If it’s Russia, if it’s Syria, if it’s Iran, if it’s all of them together, we’ll figure it out and we’ll know the answers quite soon.
Theresa May is now in Stockholm and has just done a press conference with the Swedish prime minister, Stefan Löfven.
She has used it as an opportunity to “reiterate her condemnation” of the attack on the people of Douma in Syria.
She was asked if she would join a US-led coalition against Bashar al-Assad following comments by US president Donald Trump. May said she was working with allies to establish responsibility and again repeated that those responsible should be held to account.
May added that she is “working with allies on any action” deemed necessary, which perhaps shows she is not ruling out military action, however she ignored a question on whether she’ll be recalling parliament for a vote on this.
Updated
This is Nicola Slawson taking over from Haroon for the evening.
Boris Johnson has spoken to America’s acting secretary of state about the situation in Syria.
A foreign office spokesman said:
The foreign secretary spoke to acting US secretary of state John Sullivan this afternoon about Saturday’s devastating attack in Douma, Syria. This follows his conversation with French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian this morning.
The foreign secretary and acting secretary of state agreed that, based on current media reports and reports from those on the ground, this attack bore hallmarks of previous chemical weapons attacks by the Assad regime.
They reiterated their commitment to standing up for the Chemical Weapons Convention and to ensuring that those responsible for this horrific attack are held to account. They underlined the importance of the UK, the US, and France remaining in close touch.
Summary
Here is an afternoon summary:
- Theresa May has said the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, and his Russian backers must be held to account if found responsible for the chemical attack that killed dozens of people. May did not spell out what action the UK was prepared to take.
- The prime minister linked the Salisbury poisoning of the former Russian spy, Sergei Skripa, and his daughter Yulia to the Syria attack. She said the former showed “a similar recklessness” to the assault on Douma.
- Jeremy Corbyn has said Amber Rudd has been “completely undermined” by leaked Home Office documents suggesting government cuts are linked to the rise in violent crime. Rudd earlier denied seeing the documents and said the increase was not connected to police funding cuts.
- Theresa May has overtaken Jeremy Corbyn in a poll for the first time since the election, according YouGov. The prime minister’s net rating (favourable minus unfavourable) was -13 while the Labour leader’s was -23.
-
The foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, has congratulated Viktor Orbán, who ran a hardline anti-immigrant campaign, on winning the Hungarian election. Johnson expressed hope the UK and Hungary could “further develop our close partnership”. In comments not aimed directly at Johnson, the European parliament’s Brexit negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt said congratulating Orbán without urging him to respect European values “legitimises his vile campaign”.
The foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, is getting some stick for congratulating the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, on his re-election.
Viktor Orbán persecutes migrants, destroys press freedoms and uses his position to peddle state sponsored antisemitism. He is the 21st century far right, and our Foreign Secretary sends him congratulations. Disgusting. https://t.co/abh1Rr1z4q
— Momentum (@PeoplesMomentum) April 9, 2018
And yet @BorisJohnson sent warm congratulations to Orban. But then . . . https://t.co/5MeOmHOqW6
— Molly Scott Cato MEP (@MollyMEP) April 9, 2018
Jeremy Corbyn has said he would be willing to discuss Maureen Lipman’s concerns about antisemitism within Labour, after the actor said she was leaving the party. In 2014, Lipman said she was abandoning a lifetime’s support of Labour, partly in protest at Ed Miliband’s support for recognising the Palestinian state.
Asked about Maureen Lipman, who announced she can no longer be a member of Labour amid concerns over antisemitism, Jeremy Corbyn tells LBC: "Maureen Lipman is a great actress." pic.twitter.com/zUQymOePkj
— Lucy Fisher (@LOS_Fisher) April 9, 2018
Here is the Guardian’s news story on the prime minister’s comments on Syria:
The European parliament’s Brexit negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt, has criticised the parliament’s centre-right bloc, the European People’s Party (EPP), for congratulating the Hungarian president, Viktor Orbán, on his re-election without any qualifications. Boris Johnson has offered similarly unreserved felicitations (see 12.53pm update).
By congratulating Orbán without calling on him to respect European values, the EPP legitimises his vile campaign, his attack on the rule of law & attempt to install authoritarianism. The only positive news is the emergence of @MomentumHU. They're the hope for the future. 🇪🇺🇭🇺 https://t.co/UYRuy4Z9Ro
— Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) April 9, 2018
Here’s what May said about Syria attack and the Salisbury poisoning during questions:
We are very clear that if this is a chemical weapons attack of the sort that it appears to be from the regime we want to ensure that those responsible are held to account. There is a very clear message that we have been giving consistently in relation to actions in Syria that yes this is about the brutal actions of Assad and his regime but it is also about the backers of that regime. And of course Russia is one of those backers. The message that we have consistently given is that those who are backing the regime need to look very carefully at the position that they have taken. This is a brutal regime that is attacking its own people and we are very clear that it must be held to account and its backers must be held to account too.
If this is at the hands of the Assad regime it is yet another example of the brutality of that regime and the way in which they have treated their own people. We are urgently working with our allies to assess what has taken place and talk with them about what actions will be necessary.
On the evidence for Russian involvement in the Salisbury attack she said:
“Porton Down, which is a world renowned laboratory, has identified this as a military grade nerve agent of the family of novichoks, which were developed by the Russians. We also know that Russia regards certain defectors as legitimate targets and has been involved in state-sponsored assassination previously. We believe Russia has the capability, the intent and the motive to conduct such an attack.”
May links Syria chemical attack with Salisbury poisoning
May did not spell out what action the UK would take against Syria or Russia, but she used very strong rhetoric against both regimes and linked the chemical attack in Syria to the poisoning in Syria.
Here’s a transcript:
Let me say a word on the reports this weekend of a barbaric chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria, targeting innocent civilians many of them children. The UK utterly condemns the use of chemical weapons in any circumstances and we must urgently establish what happened on Saturday. If confirmed this is yet another example of the Assad regime’s brutality, and brazen disregard for its own people and for its legal obligations not to use these weapons. If they are found to be responsible, the regime and its backers including Russia, must be held to account.
The events in Douma fit into a troubling wider pattern of acts of aggression and abuse of long-standing international norms on counter-proliferation and the use of chemical weapons. In recent years Russia’s repeated veto at the UN have enabled these rules to be broken and removed mechanism that allow us to investigate and hold to account chemical weapons attacks in Syria. This must stop. And we will work closely with our allies, including at the UN security council later today, to ensure the international community strengthens its resolve to deal with those who are responsible for carrying out these barbaric attacks, and to allow global norms to be breach in such an appalling way.
We saw a similar recklessness last month with the use of chemical weapons on the streets of Salisbury ... The UK’s case for holding Russia responsible for the attempted murder of Sergei and Yulia Skripal is clear.
Based on our world leading experts at Porton Down positively identifying the chemical agent as a novichok, our knowledge that Russia has previously produced this agent and retains the capability to do so, Russia’s record of conducting state-sponsored assassinations, our assessment that they have used some defectors as legitimate targets for assassination, and our information indicating that they have investigated ways of delivering nerve agents probably for assassination, and as part of this programme have produced and stockpiled small quantities of novichoks, the government has concluded that there is no plausible explanation other than that Russia was responsible. No other country has a combination of the capability, the intent and the motive to carry out such an act.
Denmark’s solidarity, along with many countries across the international community, has been invaluable in sending a strong signal to Russia that its illegal and destabilising activity will not be tolerated.
Theresa May condemns “barbaric” targeting of innocent civilians in chemical attack and says that if it’s confirmed Assad regime was behind it, Syria and its allies - including Russia - “must be held to account”. #Syria #Denmark pic.twitter.com/3FQqF9QIAB
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) April 9, 2018
May is asked what evidence she has of Russian involvement in the Skripal attack. “We believe Russia has the ability, the intent and the motive for such an attack,” she says.
“It is an absolutely appalling attack,” May says.
She calls for a broader and deeper trade deal with EU than any other country. She reaffirms the governments commitment to its target on net migration.
Rasmussen says allowing young people to study abroad is one of the EU’s greatest achievements. He says he would like it to continue if possible.
On Syria Rasmussen calls for a united response.
May is asked whether the UK is considering an attack on Syria without parliamentary approval. She describes the attacks as reprehensible. She repeats that if the regime is responsible it should be held to account. It is also about the backers of the regime, she says naming Russia. “Its backers must be held to account,” she says.
On Brexit Rasmussen says it is too early to talk about compromise, but he says he wants Denmark’s trading relationship with the UK to remain close. Leaving the single markets comes with a price tag for both the UK and Denmark, he says.
May is asked whether she has changed her view about Brexit after voting Remain. The British people gave their verdict and we should all now pull together, she said.
May: Syria must be held to account for chemical attack
Theresa May and Danish prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen are giving a press conference in Copenhagen. Rasmussen says Denmark stands united with the UK over the attack on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal is Salisbury.
He points out the Denmark has expelled two Russian diplomats over the poisoning.
May says the UK “utterly condemns” the chemical attack in Syria. If the Assad regime is found to be responsible Syria and its backers must be held to account, she says.
May says Russia has repeatedly used its UN veto to stop Syria being held to account. This must stop she says. She describes the attack in Salisbury as similarly reckless, and says there is no other plausible explanation than that Russia was responsible.
She thanks Denmark for its support over the attack.
Updated
Jeremy Corbyn has said Amber Rudd has been “completely undermined” by leaked Home Office documents suggesting government cuts are linked to the rise in violent crime, and demanded the home secretary explain herself to parliament.
The Labour leader, speaking at the launch of his party’s London local election campaign, said every Londoner had experienced the effects of cuts to police and social services.
“The daily experience of every single one of us, whatever political party you support, is that when there are no PCSOs, no Safer Neighbourhood team, you feel a sense of unease … People start to act with impunity,” he said.
Corbyn said he would host a roundtable meeting on Tuesday that would include police officers, families who have lost children, and organisations working to end knife and gun crime.
He said the Conservatives had a record of “reckless failure” and leaked documents revealed by the Guardian on Monday showed the government was ignoring evidence from its officials.
“We always said cuts have consequences and now the Home Office’s own officials agree with us,” he said. “Today’s leaked documents make a nonsense of the Tories’ repeated claims that their cuts to police numbers have had no effect.”
Theresa May has overtaken Jeremy Corbyn in a poll for the first time since the election, according YouGov.
The public sees Theresa May more favourably than Jeremy Corbyn for the first time since the general election:
— YouGov (@YouGov) April 9, 2018
Favourable / Unfavourable (net)
Theresa May: 37% / 50% (-13)
Jeremy Corbyn: 31% / 54% (-23)https://t.co/v0sgg5dumP pic.twitter.com/eugkkGfzVL
Loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland have pledged to support the rule of law and expel members who engage in criminal activity, PA reports.
In a joint statement, the Red Hand Commando, Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) “emphatically” condemned crime. It said:
“We fully support the rule of law in all areas of life and emphatically condemn all forms of criminal activity.
“Individuals who use criminality to serve their own interests at the expense of loyalist communities are an affront to the true principles of loyalism.
“We reject and repudiate as unacceptable and contrary to loyalist principles any criminal action claimed to have been undertaken in our name or attributed to any individual claiming membership of one of our organisations.
“We further declare that any engagement in criminal acts by any individuals within our organisations will be regarded as placing those persons outside the memberships.
“This has been collectively agreed. “We cannot allow criminals to hinder transformation and the ground in which such people stand is now shrinking.”
The statement, which was read out during a press conference, at the Linen Hall Library in Belfast was issued to mark the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement which largely ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland.
It was the result of lengthy discussions with three Protestant church leaders.
The statement comes seven months after a new task force targeting criminal activity by all paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland became fully operational.
Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable George Hamilton has welcomed the loyalist commitment.
Left to right: Reverend Harold Good, Jim Wilson, Archbishop Alan Harper, Jackie McDonald, Reverend Norman Hamilton and Dr William Mitchell at Linenhall Library, Belfast Photograph: Niall Carson/PA
Boris Johnson has congratulated Viktor Orban on winning the Hungarian election, after Orban and his Fidesz party ran a hardline anti-immigrant campaign.
Congratulations to Fidesz and Viktor Orban on winning the elections in Hungary. We look forward to working with our Hungarian friends to further develop our close partnership. #UKandHungary
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) April 9, 2018
Responding to the serious violence strategy, announced by Amber Rudd today, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned the squeeze on councils’ budgets is affecting their work with young people.
Cllr Simon Blackburn, chair of the LGA’s safer and stronger communities board, said:
It is not helpful that councils are still waiting to receive their youth justice grant allocations for 2018/19. This is vital funding used to support young people and help keep them away from criminality in the first place. This follows government funding for council youth offending teams already being halved from £145m in 2010/11 to just £72m in 2017/18.
Councils also face significant rises in demand for urgent child protection work and with a children’s services funding gap that will reach almost £2bn by 2020, councils are increasingly having to divert funding away from preventative work into services to protect children who are at immediate risk of harm.
Only with the right funding and powers can councils continue to make a difference to people’s lives, by supporting families and young people, and helping to tackle serious violent crime in our local communities.
Summary
Here’s a lunchtime summary:
- Amber Rudd, has denied seeing documents from her department, leaked to the Guardian, which said government cuts to the police had “likely contributed” to a rise in serious violent crime. Rudd repeatedly insisted that a recent rise in violent crime, including a high-profile series of murders in London, was not connected to police funding cuts.
- The impact of police numbers on violent crime was left out the government’s new Serious Violence Strategy. It focussed instead on the impact of drug markets, social and economic disadvantages and social media.
- Jeremy Corbyn urged Rudd to explain to Parliament the impact of police cuts on violent crime. He said the leaked research made a nonsense of her claims.
- The EU has accepted that Britain will not be changing its mind on Brexit and may never return to the bloc after next year’s divorce, according to Phil Hogan, Ireland’s EU commissioner in Brussels. EU leaders do not expect any substantive change in the UK’s position before article 50 of the Lisbon treaty is invoked in March 2019, even if there is a vote on the Brexit deal in parliament before that deadline, he is due to say.
- Boris Johnson has called for a robust international response to the chemical attack in Douma. The head of th Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Ahmet Üzümcü, expressed his “grave concern” over the incident and launched an inquiry.
- Two Tory MPs, Tom Tugendhat and Johnny Mercer, have called for an attack against Syria without a parliamentary vote. “Standing by as kids are gassed isn’t pacifism, it’s tolerating evil,” Tugendhat said.
- Harriet Harman has accepted an apology from a Tory MP Kemi Badenoch for hacking into her website and altering its contents. Asked about the “naughtiest” thing she had done, Badenoch said: “About 10 years ago, I hacked into a Labour MP’s website and I changed stuff in there to say nice things about Tories.”
- Theresa May has arrived in Copenhagen for talks with her Danish counterpart. She is due to give a press conference at around 1.30pm.
Theresa May arrives in Copenhagen for her bilat with Danish PM Lars Lokke Rasmussen 🇩🇰🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/p1Xv3Ll5cv
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) April 9, 2018
Rudd is asked why the strategy contains no reference to cuts in police numbers.
She says she recognises the pressure on police. She repeats that she has not seen the leaked research. She says she wants a strategy based on evidence not anecdote.
Rudd urges social media companies to ban content linked to gangs inflaming violence.
She said they must review their terms and conditions to make it clear they will not host gang content.
Tackling serious violence is not a “law enforcement issue alone”, according to a key government strategy published amid an embarrassing row over the impact of police numbers on a rising tide of violent crime in Britain.
The impact of police numbers on violent crime is conspicuous by its absence from the government’s much-hyped Serious Violence Strategy, published by the Home Office on Monday after the Guardian revealed department research concluded falling police numbers “likely contributed” to an increase in knife and gun crime.
The leak threatened to overshadow the broader findings and conclusions of the strategy, such as the impact of drug markets, social and economic disadvantages and social media, at a time when knife and gun deaths on British streets, particularly in London, surge with 50 murders in the capital this year alone.
The final 115-page document contains little about the impact of increasing or decreasing police numbers, despite the research seen by the Guardian being clear on its findings and marked “official – sensitive”.
Amber Rudd is outlining the government’s new strategy to tackle violent crime. She insists again that there is no evidence to support claims that cuts in police numbers are behind the rise in violence.
She points to a strong link between drugs and violent crime.
Serious violence is on the up and this is linked to drug dealing, Rudd says, especially within so-called county lines gangs and particularly crack cocaine.
— Jamie Grierson (@JamieGrierson) April 9, 2018
Labour continues to attack the government over the home office leak and Rudd’s admission that she hasn’t read the research.
Shadow Home Secretary, Diane Abbott, said:
“The Tories’ concern about knife crime doesn’t even run so far as providing new money or extra officers to tackle it. What part of the Home Office budget is being raided to fund this initiative? It must not be from elsewhere in the police or security budgets which have already been slashed.
“This morning the Home Secretary claimed to be launching “a fact and evidence-fuelled” strategy, but then admitted she hadn’t even bothered to read the evidence her officials have compiled.
“This looks increasingly like a PR stunt by Amber Rudd designed to grab a good headline. The Tories have slashed police funding and resources, leaving them struggling to cope with rising serious crime. This latest announcement looks like a cover up of their own failures.”
Corbyn called for an investigation into the Douma attack.
On Syria, Corbyn says there should be an investigate so world "can find out exactly who delivered that chemical weapon”. Doesn't name Assad.
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) April 9, 2018
He also called for Rudd to explain to Parliament why her own department found that cuts in police numbers were a contributory factor to the rise in violent crime.
Corbyn paid tribute to Lammy but said MPs had to be the ones who spoke up for their communities.
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) April 9, 2018
Johnson calls for robust international response to Syria chemical attack
Boris Johnson has called for a robust international response to the chemical attack in Douma.
The foreign office released this account of a call Johnson made to his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drain, about the “horrific attack”.
“Speaking to Le Drian, the foreign secretary underlined the urgent need to investigate what had happened in Douma and to ensure a strong and robust international response. They noted that international investigators mandated by the UN Security Council had found the Assad regime responsible for using poison gas in at least four separate attacks since 2014 and agreed that those responsible for this attack must be held to account.
“They both condemned the use of chemical weapons by anyone anywhere and they agreed to work together to stand up for the Chemical Weapons Convention and to ensure that there was no impunity for those that use such barbaric weapons. They agreed that today’s meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York would be an important next step in determining the international response and that a full range of options should be on the table.”
Harriet Harman has said she has accepted an apology from a Tory MP for hacking into her website and altering its contents.
Kemi Badenoch, the MP for Saffron Walden and a rising star in the Conservative party, made the confession in a video interview unearthed this week.
Asked about the “naughtiest” thing she had done, Badenoch said: “About 10 years ago, I hacked into a Labour MP’s website and I changed stuff in there to say nice things about Tories.”
OPCW has 'grave concerns' over Douma attack
The head of th Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Ahmet Üzümcü, has expressed his “grave concern” over the chemical weapons attack in Syria.
In a statement the OPCW added:
The OPCW Situation Centre has been closely monitoring the incident and made a preliminary analysis of the reports of the alleged use of chemical weapons immediately after they were issued. The Fact Finding Mission (FFM) is in the process of gathering further information from all available sources to establish whether chemical weapons were used. The FFM will report its findings to States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Jeremy Corbyn’s says the leaked home office research “make a nonsense” of government claims that cuts to police have no effect on rising violent crime.
In a speech to Labour’s local election campaign launch he said:
You cannot protect local communities when you cut funding to local councils to such an extent they are unable to provide the essential youth service support that stops many young people being drawn into violent crime.
The Tory record on policing and crime is one of reckless failure. Plain and simple - you can’t have security on the cheap and cuts have consequences. Too many communities are living with those consequences.
On Brexit he promised never to use European citizens as a bargaining chip in the negotiations.
And he said Labour would “not tolerate any concession to antisemitism or anti-Jewish bigotry in any form.”
He added:
I know my party, the party I have been a member of for 50 years and I know that the overwhelming majority of members are united, determined to root out any anti-semitism, and to make our party the welcoming movement that is has always been.
Prejudice and hatred of Jewish people has no place whatsoever in society and every one of us has a responsibility to ensure it is never allowed to fester again.
Labour’s local election campaign launch is well underway. Jessica Elgot is tweeting the highlights.
Georgia Gould, the leader of Camden council, is introducing Sadiq Khan, who will speak before Corbyn. Gould says Labour councils on frontline of austerity, and says half her council's budget has gone.
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) April 9, 2018
Gould said government ignoring people living in unsafe homes covered in Grenfell-style cladding, but councils have borne the costs
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) April 9, 2018
Gould, who is Jewish, says there must be a "strong united stance" against anti-semitism, which she says has no place in Labour
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) April 9, 2018
Sadiq Khan speaking now at the London Labour local elections campaign - says Londoners have choice between investment in services or “more social vandalism.” pic.twitter.com/13Z5uu2JIn
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) April 9, 2018
"If you keep cutting, the social fabric will tear," Khan says. A life of crime and violence should never be inevitable.
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) April 9, 2018
Nick Clegg has refused to rule out joining a new political party after the Observer reported that the idea has secured £50m from financial backers.
Asked on Today if he could join and possibly lead the new movement, Clegg said: “Of course not.”
But Politics Home quotes him adding there was a “gaping hole in the middle of British politics” which if not plugged by the Lib Dems should be filled by another centrist party.
“I personally have always felt that liberal values... are more important than which particular vehicle is carrying them at any particular time.”
“I think other people - whether it’s liberals or liberal conservatives… should always be open to doing what they think is right and consistent with their values rather than being high bound by whatever political tribe they are in.”
Senior Labour figures and commentators continue to pour scorn on the idea.
A concept doomed to failure from a bunch of millionaires, pushed by a failed leader of a party that he left in ruins, a smokescreen purely designed to try and split the Labour Party. Mr Clegg supported&propped up a disastrous Tory coalition of doom, l don't fear any "new party" https://t.co/4LeZUpo9Rl
— Angela Rayner (@AngelaRayner) April 9, 2018
Not so much a new party as a corporate funded juncket for defeated and discredited politicians. https://t.co/3N3whFncqK
— Owen Jones🌹 (@OwenJones84) April 9, 2018
Jessica Elgot is poised to cover the launch of Labour’s local election campaign.
Waiting for @jeremycorbyn and @SadiqKhan at Labour’s launch of the London local elections. Conveniently, and symbolically, in central Westminster, one of the councils the party is hoping to snatch. pic.twitter.com/waknqCGd2K
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) April 9, 2018
Former Labour solicitor general Dame Vera Baird, now the police and crime commissioner for Northumbria, continues to feud with Rudd over police cuts.
After Rudd tried to shift the blame for cuts onto PCCs, Baird tweeted:
PCCs can't spend money on police that the Government's taken away https://t.co/R2N9gSLPye
— Dame Vera Baird QC (@NorthumbriaPCC) April 9, 2018
And in a Facebook post she wrote:
“New laws don’t replace the officers needed to enforce them. The Home Secretary cant prosecute her way out of this appalling violent crime spike in London nor with other crime increases elsewhere. Deep cuts to police number does affect safety - simple as that. Neighbourhood policing was put in place as the bedrock of preventive policing, producing intelligence capable of triggering early intervention to head off criminality. Due to funding cuts, officers are stretched as never before and are unable to focus as much on neighbourhood policing, which in turn reduces intelligence and thwarts prevention.
In our force cuts have meant we have lost over 900 police officers since 2010, even though I have spent our reserves down to the very tightest safe minimum to keep officers on the beat, but with ever decreasing government funding, like this year yet again, this can’t continue”.
While we wait for Corbyn and Khan to launch Labour’s local election campaign, Pippa Crerar sets the scene:
The Labour leader will put soaring violent crime at the heart of his party’s bid to take over at least four fiercely guarded Tory local authorities, branding the Tories’ record on policing and crime as a “reckless failure”.
At an event in Westminster – one of Labour’s target councils – Corbyn will also criticise Theresa May’s housing policy, saying that the Grenfell disaster showed that London “may be united, but we are deeply unequal”.
Khan, meanwhile, will hope to appeal to remain voters by telling them the local elections on 3 May will be their last chance to give their verdict on the “extreme, hard Brexit” the government is pursuing.
Outside London, the elections are as likely to be about bins as Brexit. But it is inevitable that much of the focus will fall on the capital, where all the seats in 32 boroughs – 20 of which are currently held by Labour – are up for grabs.
The red surge in the capital has been evident for some years. Labour now needs little over 150 net gains to match its best ever result in the capital: 1,221 seats in 1971. The Tories, who have no councillors in five London boroughs, are within 100 losses of their worst showing.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has urged Rudd to accept her department’s own research suggesting cuts to policing are a factor in the rise of violent crime.
Met Home Sec @AmberRuddHR this morning to discuss knife crime - which is rising in 39/43 police forces in England & Wales. Some positive ideas on tackling violence, but there needs to be an acceptance that cuts to policing & youth services are a factor. https://t.co/M7HNGbdb6w
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) April 9, 2018
Nick Timothy, the former joint Downing Street chief of staff and special adviser to Theresa May at the home office, has come to Rudd’s defence on the leaked home office document on the drivers of serious crime.
He reckons the claims about cuts in police contributing to a rise in violent crime are likely to be an official assertion rather the research and suggests the Guardian’s story has been “overbaked”.
I’m happy to be corrected but having seen thousands of Home Office documents over the years this doesn’t read like “research” or “data” to me. More like an official’s assertion midway through a high level powerpoint document on all factors associated with crime. Overbaked story.
— Nick Timothy (@NickJTimothy) April 9, 2018
In response to Timothy’s tweet, reader Ray Richardson emails to point out the front of the leaked document says: “Home office analysis and insight informing decisions through evidence”.
Updated
Influential Tory backbenchers are urging the government to launch some form of attack against Syria without a parliamentary vote following the chemical attack on Douma.
Tom Tugendhat, chair of the foreign affairs select committee, tweeted: “standing by as kids are gassed isn’t pacifism, it’s tolerating evil”.
This is why @UN agreed the 2005 Responsibility to Protect. This is why @ICRC Geneva Conventions added the 1925 Gas Protocol. This is why @JoCox @Alison_McGovern and I argued there are legitimate uses of force. Standing by as kids are gassed isn’t pacifism, it’s tolerating evil. https://t.co/B4Hysd7NA8
— Tom Tugendhat (@TomTugendhat) April 8, 2018
And writing in the Telegraph Johnny Mercer, who like Tugenhat is a former army officer, said:
We have reached such a fetid low post-Iraq that there is now an expectation that any foreign action will go through a vote in parliament. This is a uniquely useless way of conducting foreign policy, and in almost one action emasculates us on the world stage...
Every individual inside Syria involved in the chemical weapons decision-making cycle should be targeted (not always with violence). The bases they launch from should be levelled. Assad (who should have been dead long ago) doesn’t read our newspapers; so statements decrying him are largely irrelevant. If warfare is changing, then we damn well change with it.
While Rudd appeared to blame the London mayor and police and crime commissioners for the cuts in police numbers, they are blaming the government.
In a week when 9 people died of knife crime in London, Amber Rudd announces a new law. You can't prosecute your way out of this. Try properly funding neighbourhood police, youth services, probation bring back EMAs, tackle poverty & unemployment,
— Vera Baird DBE QC (@VeraBaird) April 8, 2018
stop slashing in-work benefits
As Mayor, I refuse to accept that nothing can be done to stem the appalling tide of violence we are seeing on our streets, and alongside @MetPoliceUK, City Hall will continue to work ceaselessly to stop it. pic.twitter.com/lZeKvK9Va2
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) April 5, 2018
Rudd refused to be drawn on whether the government would launch an attack without a parliamentary vote.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in February that Britain should consider joining military action against Assad’s regime if there is fresh “incontrovertible” evidence he has used chemical weapons against his own people.
Asked if the government was considering limited military action, Rudd told Today: “The foreign secretary is right in his comments. The UN Security Council is of course meeting today.
“What we have seen is another horrific piece of activity in Syria, hurting children and families, and we need to make sure we have a strong international response.”
Israeli war planes have bombed a Syrian regime airbase east of the city of Homs, two days after a chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town outside Damascus drew international outrage.
Labour’s Yvette Cooper, chair of the home affairs select committee, says it is “shocking” for Rudd to claim she has not see leaked research from her own department on the drivers of serious crime.
This is shocking. Surely Home Office officials sent the document to Home Sec, to junior ministers and to special advisors? Cant imagine a department withholding from decision makers the evidence & analysis it did for a new strategy. Something has gone very wrong in Home Office https://t.co/E481KFN5lj
— Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) April 9, 2018
For those of us, including Amber Rudd, who haven’t seen the leaked home office research on the likely between rising violent crime and police cuts here’s a sample from the document.
Asked if she acknowledged that police cuts have contributed to a rise in violent crime, Rudd said: “No. This is me acknowledging that new pressures which we’ve put onto the the police, which they have responded to - dealing with the new types of crime that we are increasingly seeing - because of these pressures they need additional resources and they are getting them.”
She added: “I think it is a mistake, and we do a disservice to the communities and the families who have seen these tragedies by just pointing to police numbers. This is a complex area, it is not all about police numbers.
Asked about the leaked research, Rudd said:
“I haven’t seen this document. There are a lot of documents that go round the home office. We do a lot of work in this area.”
“You cannot arrest your way out of this, what we need is what we are proposing in the serious violent crime strategy which is about early intervention.”
“One of the things that we have learnt from this report is that forces with the biggest falls in numbers have not seen the biggest rise in crime.”
Rudd went on to blame police and crime commissioners for the cuts in police numbers. She said:
“We need to make sure that community policing and neighbourhood policing is absolutely at the centre of what police forces do. I haven’t cut it. It is up to different police and crime commissioners to make their decisions about how the money is spent.”
“Some forces are increasing their numbers of PCSOs (police community support officers), some are cutting them in order to have more funds available for local policing of a different type.
“This is the type of policing we have now. It’s up to the Met Commissioner in London and the Police and Crime Commissioner Sadiq Khan to decide how that money is spent. They will have their views about how best to support their local communities.”
Updated
On stop and search, Rudd says the strategy has been successful but that it has to be more intelligence-led. Since the introduction of body-worn cameras complaints against police have gone down by up to 70%, Rudd says.
Updated
Rudd denies seeing leaked home office research
Amber Rudd acknowledges that police are facing “new pressures”. But she says it is “mistake” to focus on police numbers as the problem is a complex one.
Speaking to the Today programme she insists she has not seen the home office research which found that reducing police numbers contributed to the problem.
She says she is interested in addressing the underlying causes of the violence. Parrying stats on police numbers won’t help families hit by violence, Rudd insists.
Updated
Shadow policing minister Louise Haigh said Rudd has “serious questions” to answer over the leak about the possible causes of violent crime.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Haigh said: “She [Rudd] had in front of her home office research that suggested that resources dedicated to serious violence have come under pressure and that it is therefore likely to be a factor in the rise in violent crime.”
She added: “Either she saw that research and chose to say the exact opposite, or she commissioned that research and didn’t see it. Either she’s incompetent, or she chose to mislead the public.”
Haigh pointed out that the Labour is not claiming that police cuts are the main driver in rising violent crime, but she added: “You cannot take over 21,000 police officer off the street without firstly reducing the police’s ability to respond to crime, or without destroying the ability to police communities and to build the trust in police and allow the police to police by consent.”
Summary
Welcome to Politics Live. Although the parliamentary Easter break continues it promises to be a lively day on the political front.
Amber Rudd is due to launch a new strategy on violent crime after a spate of shootings and stabbings in London. Her claim in the Sunday Telegraph that the spike in violence was not linked to police cuts was questioned by an embarrassing leak from her own department. It said cuts are likely to have contributed to a rise in serious crime.
Jeremy Corbyn and Sadiq Khan are sure to highlight the problem of violent crime in the capital when they launch Labour’s local election campaign. But the Labour leader is still facing protests about antisemitism in the party.
Meanwhile, Theresa May is on a one-day tour of Scandinavia. She will discuss bilateral cooperation on issues such as security and defence with the Danish prime minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, and the Swedish prime minister, Stefan Löfven, as well as Brexit and trade.
May is due to give a press conference in Denmark at lunchtime.
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