Evening summary
Here’s a roundup of the key developments from the day:
- The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has defended his wife after revelations that she claims non-domiciled status, meaning she does not legally have to pay tax in the UK on her income earned abroad. Sunak told the Sun: “She loves her country like I love mine,” and said his wife had done nothing wrong in choosing a financial arrangement that legally exempts her from paying tax in Britain on foreign income.
- Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty had US green cards and were declared “permanent US residents” for tax purposes while Sunak served as chancellor. Sunak and Murty, who own a £5.5m California penthouse holiday home, held green cards while they lived in the US and continued to keep the status when they moved to the UK.
- The shadow attorney general has said that the chancellor’s wife is “taking advantage” of her decision to claim non-domicile status to avoid paying taxes. Emily Thornberry told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “In the end, we have somebody who’s been living here for eight years, raising her children here, living at … Downing Street in accommodation provided by the taxpayer and aspiring to be the wife of the next prime minister, and yet she says that she isn’t a permanent resident of this country.”
- Boris Johnson insisted Rishi Sunak had done “absolutely everything” required after it was reported he held a US green card for a period while chancellor. He added: “I think that Rishi is doing an absolutely outstanding job.”
- Russia may have committed another war crime by targeting civilians fleeing from an eastern Ukraine railway station with precision missiles, the defence secretary has said. Ben Wallace vowed to “do everything” to ensure Vladimir Putin fails in Ukraine.
- Boris Johnson and Olaf Scholz held talks and a press conference at Downing Street. The prime minister said he was “absolutely thrilled” to be hosting the German chancellor at Downing Street during a “very important” time for Europe, Ukraine and the countries’ bilateral relations.
- Boris Johnson said the attack on fleeing civilians at the Kramatorsk train station was “unconscionable”, as he suggested Vladimir Putin’s forces were guilty of a war crime. He said: The attack at the train station in eastern Ukraine shows the depth to which Putin’s once vaunted army has sunk.”
- Boris Johnson welcomed German chancellor Olaf Scholz’s “seismic” attempts to divest from Russian fossil fuels after the pair met in Downing Street. Johnson told a joint No 10 press conference they agreed on the importance of weaning off Russian oil and gas.
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Priti Patel has apologised for the time it has taken for Ukrainian refugees to arrive in the UK under two visa schemes, after new figures showed just 12,000 have so far reached Britain.
- Boris Johnson hinted at a disagreement with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, over triggering Article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol, which he refused to rule out, despite the war in Ukraine.
- Boris Johnson has said it would be “irresponsible” to rule out further lockdowns if more deadly coronavirus variants emerge. The prime minister continued to say he could not rule out the prospect of taking drastic action again as the nation feels the impact of the Omicron variant, PA Media reports.
- The number of Covid-19 infections remains at or near record levels in most of the UK, with only Scotland seeing a drop, new figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed. The ONS data for the week ending 2 April, based on swabs collected from randomly selected households, shows that, for the second week running, about one in 13 people across the UK are thought to have had Covid – an estimated 4.88 million infections.
- Outgoing Metropolitan police commissioner Dame Cressida Dick has warned against the “politicisation of policing”, saying it is “a threat not just to policing but to trust in the whole criminal justice system”. She left Scotland Yard this morning and was applauded by officers as she walked out.
That’s it from me today. Thanks for joining me.
My colleague Jessica Elgot has looked at whether Rishi Sunak has blown his chances of ever becoming the leader of the Conservatives, which you may find interesting.
For the latest news on Ukraine, follow our dedicated live blog:
Updated
Rishi Sunak admits he still held a US green card while chancellor, but denies wrongdoing
Rishi Sunak has admitted holding a US green card while chancellor but said he immediately returned it after seeking guidance upon his first American trip in a government capacity in October 2021, according to a statement from his spokesperson.
A spokesperson for the chancellor said:
Rishi Sunak had a green card when he lived and worked in the US.
Under US law, you are not presumed to be a US resident just by dint of holding a green card. Furthermore, from a US immigration perspective, it is presumed that permanent resident status is automatically abandoned after prolonged absences from the US.
At the same time, one is required to file US tax returns. Rishi Sunak followed all guidance and continued to file US tax returns, but specifically as a non-resident, in full compliance with the law.
As required under US law and as advised, he continued to use his green card for travel purposes. Upon his first trip to the US in a government capacity as chancellor, he discussed the appropriate course of action with the US authorities. At that point it was considered best to return his green card, which he did immediately.
All laws and rules have been followed and full taxes have been paid where required in the duration he held his green card.
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Boris Johnson hinted at a disagreement with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, over triggering Article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol, which he refused to rule out, despite the war in Ukraine.
He told a Downing Street press conference:
It came up, I think I raised it. It was entirely predictable. The almost seamless harmony that you have observed between Britain and Germany today I would not wish to interrupt by going any further.
But what I will say to answer your question, will we take that off the table, the use of Article 16 – no clearly not, there is a problem.
But he said the two countries were in agreement on “virtually every other issue” of policy.
Updated
Boris Johnson has praised the “huge steps” EU countries are already taking to wean themselves off Russian energy.
Speaking at a press conference at Downing Street alongside the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, he said:
Just bear in mind the huge steps that the EU are already taking and the Germans are already taking to move away from from oil and gas.
The dependency has been massive. It’s clearly been something that they’re now moving away from very, very fast. I think by the middle of 2024, as I recall, Germany’s going to stop using Russian gas, which is quite extraordinary.
And that is going to be done through technological change and progress and we want to work together with Germany to achieve that.
Scholz has said Germany is doing “all we can” to wean itself off Russian energy but that it will take two decades.
He told a joint press conference with Johnson that Germany is working on becoming a country that will just use renewables to generate its electricity.
He said this will be achieved through offshore and onshore wind, solar and investment into its grid, but he acknowledged it would take “approximately 20 years”.
He added:
It is absolutely necessary that we understand that for the time being between, it will be important to get the supply from fossil resources from other places than from Russia.
We are doing so and working very hard to make this happen.
Updated
Boris Johnson does not rule out considering arming Ukraine’s resistance against Russian troops with tanks.
The prime minister told a Downing Street press conference:
I’m in principle willing to consider anything by way of defensive weaponry to help the Ukrainians protect themselves and their people.
I think it’s important that we should be giving equipment that is genuinely useful and is operable by Ukrainians, that’s our consideration.
The press conference has ended now. Both leaders have left the room.
Updated
Asked about criticism of Emmanuel Macron, who has continued to have conversations with Vladimir Putin since the invasion of Ukraine began, Boris Johnson said he admired efforts by those continuing diplomatic conversations but was “cynical” and did not trust Putin.
The prime minister said he last spoke to the Russian president before the invasion, when Putin said he had no plans to invade Ukraine.
He said:
Negotiating with Putin does not seem to me to be full of promise … That is not to say that I don’t admire the efforts of those try to find a way through, but for myself I am very sceptical and indeed cynical.
Scholz said that criticism of Macron was “unjustified”.
He said the French president is “very committed” and “tries to make his contribution”.
Scholz said he has told Putin about Russian losses because he may not hear it from his inner circle in the Kremlin.
Updated
Boris Johnson has dodged a question on Rishi Sunak’s wife’s non-dom status.
He said:
I would just stress that the chancellor, Rishi, is doing an absolutely outstanding job and, as far as possible, as I think I said yesterday, I don’t think people’s families should be dragged into this.
He was later asked another question on the issue and said he did not know about Akshata Murty’s tax status before the news broke.
He also denied that No 10 had been briefing against Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, as has been reported.
He said he didn’t know where the briefings were coming from, if there have been any.
If there are such briefings they’re certainly not coming from us.
He added that he thought Sunak was doing a “fantastic job”.
Asked if Sunak had his full backing, he replied: “Emphatically yes.”
Updated
Boris Johnson welcomed German chancellor Olaf Scholz’s “seismic” attempts to divest from Russian fossil fuels after the pair met in Downing Street.
Johnson told a joint No 10 press conference they agreed on the importance of weaning off Russian oil and gas.
He said:
This is not easy for any of us and I applaud the seismic decisions taken by Olaf’s government to move Germany away from Russian hydrocarbons.
We cannot transform our respective energy systems overnight but we also know that (Vladimir) Putin’s war will not end overnight.
He said they both agreed the need to maximise potential of the North Sea and collaborate on energy security and renewables.
Johnson also said the two nations will hold a joint cabinet meeting within the next year.
Olaf Scholz said cooperation between Germany and UK will be important as Germany weans itself off Russian fossil fuels.
The German chancellor said:
We are going to intensify our cooperation on all levels.
We want to make progress and intensify relations between our two countries.
Asked whether Germany and the EU need to move faster on cutting off Russian oil and gas, Scholz said:
We are doing all we can, and we are doing a lot ...
We are actively working to get independent from the import of oil and we think we will be able to make it this year.
He also said it is “not feasible” to replace gas with other sources immediately because of the need to build new infrastructure to handle it.
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Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, promises to end the use of fossil fuels.
Germany is heavily dependent on oil, coal and natural-gas imports from Russia, which is why this is a big step.
He said:
Germany is already starting to wean itself off its dependence.
We’re investigating large scale... in order to import gas via the northern German shores.
The country will import natural gas via North Sea ports rather than through Russian pipelines, he adds.
Updated
Olaf Scholz is speaking now. He thanked Boris Johnson for hosting him at Downing Street and says they have had many conversations in recent weeks but that it was good to meet in person.
He said:
Killing civilians is a war crime and the Russian president bears the responsibility for these war crimes. Boris Johnson and I share this assessment.
I call upon Russia again to finally agree a ceasefire and withdraw its troops.
This war needs to stop immediately.
Boris Johnson said:
The Europe we knew just six weeks ago no longer exists.
But says Putin has “succeeded in uniting Europe and the whole transatlantic alliance in support of Ukraine and in solidarity with each other”.
He added that the UK and Germany “will hold a joint cabinet meeting between our two governments within the next year”.
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Boris Johnson said the UK will send another £100m of high-grade equipment to Ukraine including Starstreak missiles, anti-tank missiles, precision munitions capable of “lingering in the sky”, plus extra helmets, body armour and night vision.
He told a Downing Street press conference:
Today I can announce the UK will send a further £100m of high-grade military equipment to Ukraine’s armed forces, including more Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles, which fly at three times the speed of sound, another 800 anti-tank missiles and precision munitions capable of lingering in the sky until directed to their target.
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Boris Johnson condemns 'unconscionable' Kramatorsk attack at press conference with Olaf Scholz
Boris Johnson and the German chancellor Olaf Scholz are holding a joint press conference in Downing Street.
Johnson accused Russia of war crimes.
He said:
It is a war crime indiscriminately to attack civilians. Russia’s crimes in Ukraine will not go unnoticed or unpunished.
Johnson said the attack on fleeing civilians at the Kramatorsk train station was “unconscionable”, as he suggested Vladimir Putin’s forces were guilty of a war crime.
He told a Downing Street press conference:
The attack at the train station in eastern Ukraine shows the depth to which Putin’s once vaunted army has sunk.
At least 39 people killed and dozens wounded on a train platform crowded with women and children.
It is a war crime indiscriminately to attack civilians and Russian crimes in Ukraine will not go unnoticed or unpunished.
Updated
Boris Johnson has said he is “absolutely thrilled” to be hosting the German chancellor at Downing Street during a “very important” time for Europe, Ukraine and the countries’ bilateral relations.
Speaking in No 10, the prime minister said:
The relations between the UK and Germany are absolutely crucial, crucial, crucial for both of us and we have a lot to talk about.
He thanked Olaf Scholz for coming, who replied: “Thank you for having me here.”
Updated
Outgoing Metropolitan police commissioner Dame Cressida Dick has warned against the “politicisation of policing”, saying it is “a threat not just to policing but to trust in the whole criminal justice system”.
She left Scotland Yard this morning and was applauded by officers as she walked out.
Dame Cressida Dick has now left Scotland Yard for the last time as she leaves her role as Commissioner of the Met
— Scott Beasley (@SkyScottBeasley) April 8, 2022
She was applauded by officers as she left
In a “letter to London”, Dick wrote:
Of course as I look back there is more I wish we had achieved.
We hear the criticism, know not everyone has confidence in us to provide a good service when they need us, and have seen among us those whose horrific actions have let you all, and us, down so terribly.
Each one drives us to get better, to root out those who don’t uphold our standards and don’t deserve to wear our uniform. To improve our response so all our communities feel protected by us.
We are listening and acting on what you tell us so we can change for the better. Just this week we launched our violence against women and girls plan, shaped by the views of hundreds of Londoners.
The current politicisation of policing is a threat not just to policing but to trust in the whole criminal justice system. Operational independence from local and central government is crucial for an effective democracy and is a model respected around the world. We must all treasure and protect it.
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The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has arrived in Downing Street for talks.
Boris Johnson will appear alongside Scholz at 3.15pm as Britain and Germany present a united front amid the war in Ukraine.
Johnson is expected to offer assistance to Berlin, which is still heavily reliant on Russian gas, to reduce its dependence on Moscow’s energy exports in a bid to starve Vladimir Putin’s war machine of funds.
The prime minister is expected to urge Scholz’s government to ramp up sanctions on the Kremlin following reports of war crimes being carried out by Russian soldiers in the outskirts of Kyiv.
In a tweet, Johnson said: “Looking forward to welcoming BundesKanzler Scholz to the UK today.
“I welcome his principled determination to end dependence on Russian energy. How we respond to Russia’s invasion will define the international order for years to come. We cannot let Putin’s crimes go unpunished.”
Updated
Pressed on whether he thinks the station attack was a war crime, Ben Wallace said evidence would be collected to prove the answer, but added: “The circumstantial evidence absolutely points to a range of war crimes being committed by Russia.”
Wallace insisted Putin’s war would backfire.”There will be more Ukraine after this, there will be more forces on the border with Nato, there may be more Nato members as a result of Putin’s actions,” Wallace said.
Updated
Russia may have committed another war crime by targeting civilians fleeing from an eastern Ukraine railway station with precision missiles, the defence secretary has said.
Ben Wallace vowed to “do everything” to ensure Vladimir Putin fails in Ukraine and predicted the war would backfire for the Russian president, perhaps getting more nations to join the Nato defence alliance, PA reports.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said at least 30 people were killed in the attack on the crowded Kramatorsk station, which was an evacuation point for civilians.
A further 100 people were injured, Zelenskiy said as he blamed Russia for “an evil without limits”, while the Kremlin denied targeting the station.
Wallace, visiting Romania for talks, said the strike was a repeat of the Russian president and his generals targeting civilians.
Speaking in Constanta, he said:
Not very far away this morning in a place called Kramatorsk, what appears to be Russian missiles struck civilian people queueing for trains to seek a safer place from the war.
The striking of civilians and critical infrastructure is a war crime. These were precision missiles aimed at people trying to seek humanitarian shelter.
Wallace said the sanctions targeting Russia must not be lifted to allow Putin to go back to “his superyachts and normality”.
“Whatever happens in Ukraine, we must not let the international community forget that. What Putin is doing here today is creating his own cage around himself,” he said.
He said the RAF will increase its contribution to protect Nato’s eastern flank in Romania from four to six planes, “because Putin listens to only one thing and that is strength”.
“We will do everything to see him defeated in Ukraine. There is more to do, Britain will do more, it will contribute more,” he added.
Updated
Boris Johnson has moved to paper over differences with Germany on support for Ukraine, by hailing Berlin’s “principled determination” to end its dependency on Russian energy before a meeting in London with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz.
It is the first meeting between the two men since the Social Democrat Scholz was elected to lead a three-party coalition government, and follows a week in which Germany resisted British calls for the major economies to set out a timetable to end dependency on Russian energy.
In advance of the meeting with Scholz in Downing Street, the UK prime minister said: “I welcome his principled determination to end dependence on Russian energy. How we respond to Russia’s invasion will define the international order for years to come. We cannot let Putin’s crimes go unpunished.”
Scholz has been criticised domestically and by Ukrainian politicians for not moving fast enough to wean Germany off its decades-old dependency on cheap Russian energy, and for being slow to back the transfer of the heavy weaponry Ukraine needs.
He has also been warned by German industrialists that an immediate gas embargo would lead to mass unemployment, a position largely shared by the Green party, his coalition partners.
The number of Covid-19 infections remains at or near record levels in most of the UK, with only Scotland seeing a drop, new figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed.
The ONS data for the week ending 2 April, based on swabs collected from randomly selected households, shows that, for the second week running, about one in 13 people across the UK are thought to have had Covid – an estimated 4.88 million infections.
However, the picture varied between countries. In England, the number of infections for the week remained steady, with an estimated 7.6% or one in 13 people in the community thought to have had Covid.
In Wales, the estimated rate was up from one in 14 people to one in 13. In Scotland, 396,800 people – about one in 13, down from one in 12 the previous week – were estimated to have had the virus.
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Sadiq Khan has said the protest by Extinction Rebellion (XR) climate activists that shut down Tower Bridge on Friday morning was “counterproductive”.
Speaking at the launch of Labour’s local election campaign in Barnet, north London, the London mayor said: “I think one of the things that those who feel passionate about something have to do is to win over public opinion at the same time as putting pressure on the government.
“My concern is some of the actions of XR discourage people from joining the campaign and don’t affect government policy.
“I think all campaigns or protests should be peaceful, lawful and safe, and I’m concerned that some of the tactics being used are counterproductive.”
Police were called to the bridge at about 7.30am after protesters from Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion occupied the famous landmark and unfurled a green banner with black writing, which read “End fossil fuels now”.
The demonstrators suspended themselves from the bridge on ropes, with police shutting it for several hours.
Officers cleared the protesters by 11.40am, escorting them into police vehicles, and the bridge was reopened at midday.
Updated
Councils are seeing a “concerning increase” in Ukrainian refugees arriving in the UK and becoming homeless due to relationship breakdowns with their sponsors and problems accessing accommodation.
PA reports that Ukrainian families who arrived under the family visa scheme are struggling to access cash while they wait for benefits, and some are being put in hotels because their relative is unable or unwilling to house them.
Dozens of matches under the separate Homes for Ukraine scheme are understood to have broken down, with local authorities having to put families in emergency accommodation while they wait to find a new sponsor.
Councils are calling for a way to get refugees whose matches have broken down back on the database so that they can be matched quickly with sponsors in the local area who have homes ready and waiting.
They are also exploring with the government the possibility of matching people who cannot stay with their family sponsor with sponsors registered under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
The chair of the Local Government Association (LGA), councillor James Jamieson, said councils need to be told in advance who is arriving under the family scheme and given funding so they can support them.
He said: “Councils are already seeing a concerning increase in homelessness presentations from Ukraine arrivals – including those who have arrived via the family scheme and where the families’ accommodation is not suitable or the relationship has broken down shortly after arrival – and lone children arriving in the UK needing support.
“New arrivals should be able to be rematched with a different sponsor if a sponsorship breaks down, to ensure families can swiftly move to other accommodation so they can rebuild their lives in their new communities.”
In a survey published last week, the LGA said 57 councils have been approached by a total of 144 Ukrainian households who have become homeless after arriving under both schemes.
The British Red Cross said it has had to refer people to homelessness charities, local authorities and housing associations due to problems getting funds or accommodation. In some cases it has had to fund short-term accommodation itself as an emergency measure.
The charity says more must be done to tackle these “basic problems”. Alex Fraser, British Red Cross director of refugee support and restoring family links, said: “We’re increasingly concerned about the access to information about support people are receiving when they arrive.
“We’re seeing an increasing number of calls to our support line from Ukrainians struggling to get cash and housing, and British families desperate to help but being prevented by the system.”
Updated
Full story: Sunak and Murty held US green cards while he was chancellor – reports
Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty had US green cards and were declared “permanent US residents” for tax purposes while Sunak served as chancellor.
Sunak and Murty, who own a £5.5m Californian penthouse holiday home, held green cards while they lived in the US and continued to keep the status when they moved to the UK before Sunak was elected MP for Richmond (Yorks) in 2015. Sky News first reported that Sunak continued to hold a green card for at least a year of his chancellorship, which began in 2020.
The Treasury and Murty’s personal spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment. A source close to the couple said “they do not currently have green cards” but would not say exactly when they gave up the status, which requires holders to “make the US your permanent home”.
The disclosure raises further awkward questions for the chancellor – who said his multimillionaire wife had claimed non-dom status, which allows her to avoid UK tax on her foreign earnings, because she one day intends to return to live in India.
Under non-dom rules, Murty does not legally have to pay tax in the UK on the estimated £11.5m in annual dividends she collects from her stake in her billionaire father’s IT business.
The non-dom status may have allowed her to avoid up to £20m in UK tax. Murty has said she pays tax on the dividends overseas, but has refused to state how much she pays or in which country. She has previously collected other shareholder income via the tax haven of Mauritius, which does not tax dividends.
Holders of green cards are required to pay US tax on their worldwide income – and also to make a legal commitment to “make the US your permanent home”.
They are required to file annual US tax returns, and are “responsible for reporting your income and paying taxes on any foreign earned income”.
Read more here:
Updated
Sadiq Khan has said he is not “going to hide from the fact” he lost confidence in outgoing Metropolitan police commissioner Dame Cressida Dick.
Speaking at the launch of Labour’s local election campaign in Barnet, north London, the London mayor said:
In the recent past, she’s worked with many others to help us reduce violent crime but I’m not going to hide from the fact that I lost confidence in her.
I’m not going to hide from the fact that we’ve had in our city a series of devastating scandals, overt racism, sexism, discrimination, homophobia, we’ve had trust and confidence from Londoners in the police service at rock bottom.
It’s one of the reasons why I lost confidence in her and it’s one of the things I’ll be looking for in a new commissioner, how they will address some of these serious issues that, frankly speaking, the current commissioner failed to address.
Updated
The percentage of people testing positive for Covid-19 in England has increased among those from school year 12 to age 34, and for people aged 70 and over, the ONS said.
Infection levels have fallen for children from age two to school year 6 and adults aged from 35 to 49.
For all other age groups the trend is “uncertain”.
Updated
Keir Starmer has said Rishi Sunak and his family will “probably be all right” in the cost of living crisis, following revelations about the chancellor’s wife’s tax-reducing non-domiciled status.
Speaking about rising bills for families across the UK at the launch of his party’s local election campaign in Barnet, north London, the Labour leader said:
I was going to say every family is going to be paying more, but I think, as we’ve seen in the last few days, I think the Sunaks will probably be all right in this cost of living crisis.
At least we’ve solved one mystery that’s been eluding me for the last few days – we now know why the chancellor calls himself a tax-cutting chancellor.
Updated
About 12,000 people have arrived in the UK under Ukraine visa schemes as of Tuesday, according to Home Office figures.
About 10,800 people arrived under the Ukraine family scheme and 1,200 under the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme, provisional data published on the department’s website shows.
A total of 79,800 applications have been received for both schemes and 40,900 visas have been granted as of Thursday.
There were 43,600 applications for the sponsorship scheme and 12,500 visas have been issued.
Out of 36,300 applications for family visas, 28,500 have been granted.
The home secretary, Priti Patel, said she apologised “with frustration” over the time it was taking for Ukrainian refugees to arrive in the UK under visa schemes.
But she denied that visa requirements and checks were slowing the process and causing delays, in a pre-recorded interview with the BBC which aired on Friday.
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Sunak and wife held US 'green cards' while he was chancellor, reports say
Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty were legally declared to be “permanent US residents” – including for tax purposes – for more than a year into his chancellorship, it has been reported.
Sky News reports claims that the couple held US “green cards” permitting them residence in the US until more than a year into his chancellorship – before then giving it up during his period at the Treasury.
Holders of the green card are required to pay US tax on their worldwide income but are also required to make a legal commitment to “make the US your permanent home”.
Sam Coates of Sky News said:
The US government website says the card is only for people who “make the US your permanent home” – which would be odd for someone holding multiple jobs in government, including local government minister, chief secretary to the Treasury and chancellor.
A source close to Mr Sunak said “neither of them have green cards”, but refused to answer questions over whether they had them during any of his period as chancellor.
Meanwhile, Mr Sunak suggests the ultimate family destination will be India – telling The Sun “that’s where she, you know, ultimately will want to go and look after her parents as they get older”.
After marrying in a lavish ceremony in India, the couple actually planned to settle down in California and bought a penthouse flat in Santa Monica, which they still own and use for holidays.
The flat, which the couple are reported to be visiting over the Easter holidays, is valued at $7.2m (£5.5m) by US property website Redfin and boasts sweeping views of the world famous Santa Monica pier and the Pacific ocean beyond.
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A union leader is urging the government to press on with its energy strategy, warning that “squabbles” within the Conservative party could kick the plans into the long grass.
Gary Smith, the general secretary of the GMB, said on a visit to the new Hinkley Point nuclear site that the strategy looked like just another “Boris promise”.
He was meeting workers on the project, which is creating thousands of jobs, PA Media reports.
He said:
Nuclear is critical to our energy future and GMB has long told ministers there can be no net zero without new nuclear.
But it’s 24 hours since the prime minister was here at Hinkley Point C and the questions over this so-called energy plan won’t go away.
Dangling the carrot of a new fleet of reactors may grab headlines today, but without a hard and fast timetable for construction, internal Tory party squabbles could still kick things into the long grass.
Offshore wind could provide a huge number of clean energy jobs here at home, but current practice is for UK projects to ship them overseas, leaving the nation open to ransom by despotic regimes.
It’s already looking like this plan could be just another Boris promise – here today, gone tomorrow.
The government has to get on with it, secure the UK’s energy future and make sure the next generation doesn’t face the same crushing cost of living crisis.
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The home secretary, Priti Patel, said she apologises “with frustration” over the time it is taking for Ukrainian refugees to arrive in the UK under visa schemes.
Around 12,000 people had arrived in the UK under Ukraine visa schemes as of Tuesday, according to Home Office figures.
However, she denied that visa requirements and checks are slowing the process and causing delays, in a prerecorded interview with the BBC, which aired on Friday.
She told the broadcaster:
We are an independent third country and we want to give people the status and security of coming to our country along with the warm welcome.
Yes, we want to welcome people, we are welcoming people – over 40,000 visas being granted, over 10,000 people over a space of five weeks coming to the United Kingdom.
We have to ensure that they are protected and safeguarded in the United Kingdom as well.
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The £200 energy bill rebate Rishi Sunak announced last month is a “discount” not a “loan” even though the money will need to be paid back in instalments over five years, starting in 2023.
Greg Hands’ explanation didn’t go down too well with the BBC Question Time audience last night, who shouted “It’s a loan!” at the energy minister.
“It’s not a loan, it is a discount”
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) April 7, 2022
“What are you all shouting? They’re saying it’s a loan”@Greghands tries to explain to the #bbcqt audience why the government’s £200 energy discount is not a loan. pic.twitter.com/jstBCNxD9H
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Johnson: 'irresponsible' to rule out further lockdowns if more deadly Covid variants emerge
Boris Johnson has said it would be “irresponsible” to rule out further lockdowns if more deadly coronavirus variants emerge.
The prime minister continued to say he could not rule out the prospect of taking drastic action again as the nation feels the impact of the new Omicron variant, PA Media reports.
While symptoms are generally less severe than earlier variants, the rate of Covid-19 hospital admissions in England is the highest since January 2021.
Johnson downplayed the chances of having to impose a lockdown again, but said he was holding on to the option in case even more concerning new variants emerge.
Speaking to Conservative MPs Esther McVey and Philip Davies for GB News, he said:
I want to avoid any such thing ever happening again and I can’t rule out something, I can’t say we wouldn’t be forced to do non-pharmaceutical interventions again of the kind we did.
I think it would be irresponsible of any leader in any democracy to say that they’re going to rule out something that can save lives.
I believe the things we did saved lives. I’ve got to be absolutely frank with you, there could be a new variant more deadly, there could be a variant that affects children, that we really need to contain, I’m not going to take any options off the table. But I don’t think it will happen.
We’re now in the phase where the virus is losing its potency overall and we’ve got a massively vaccinated UK population.
Research from the UK Health Security Agency indicates the overall Covid-19 hospital admission rate for England hit 20.5 per 100,000 people in the week ending April 3.
That is the fifth successive weekly increase and means total admissions are now at a higher rate than at the peak of the original Omicron wave at the start of January this year, which was 19.9.
But the rate is still some way below the all-time high of 36 per 100,000 in the first week of January 2021.
Updated
Greg Hands said the commentary around Rishi Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty, is “a little bit unpleasant, to be frank”.
Speaking on LBC, he said:
As politicians, I think we should stick to the politicians – it’s the politicians who should be scrutinised, not politicians’ families.
As it is, Rishi Sunak’s wife has put out a statement yesterday, explaining that she does pay UK tax on her UK income, pays international taxes on her international income; that is not unusual for somebody who is a foreign national.
She is an Indian national and her affairs in that regard are not unusual for somebody who is not domiciled here, but is a foreign national.
Energy minister Greg Hands has said he is trying to reduce his energy usage in the face of high bills.
Speaking on LBC, he said:
We totally recognise that energy bills are very, very high for people.
It’s driven particularly by the world situation - the appalling Russian invasion of Ukraine has driven global energy prices to record highs.
The UK is not immune or exempt from those prices. That is why we are providing some support but, equally, we recognise that these are difficult times for many people with their energy bills.
Asked what he is doing to keep his own bills down, Hands said:
I’m always trying to keep an eye on my energy consumption, make sure that energy is used sensibly.
I’m making sure that I’m not using cars as much as possible, making sure (of) public transport use, all of these things I think all help to reduce energy usage... the way that we lead our lives, I think, is going to be really important.
But most of all is the support being provided by government and particularly the energy strategy where, in the medium to long term, we need to produce more of our own energy and more of that energy coming from low-carbon renewable sources and nuclear.
The rules around non-dom status “are out of date” and “they do need to be reviewed”, a former minister has said.
Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons Defence Select Committee, told Sky News that the debate over the tax status of chancellor Rishi Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty was a distraction from the war in Ukraine.
He said there was “nothing illegal” about the arrangement, but added:
If there are bigger, more fundamental questions about the existence of the non-dom status, that is something for us as a country – perhaps and indeed Parliament – to debate.
But the idea that we focus on this discussion about following the rules that actually exist at the moment, I think, is a distraction from what we need to be focusing on, which was the previous subject right now, of what Britain is going to do to help and lead other countries support Ukraine.
On the current rules, he added: “In my view, they are out of date, they do need to be reviewed.”
The shadow attorney general has said that the chancellor’s wife is “taking advantage” of her decision to claim non-domicile status to avoid paying taxes.
Emily Thornberry told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
In the end, we have somebody who’s been living here for eight years, raising her children here, living at ... Downing Street in accommodation provided by the taxpayer and aspiring to be the wife of the next Prime Minister, and yet she says that she isn’t a permanent resident of this country.
She added that the ministerial code mentions that the financial status of ministers’ spouses are relevant because “there can be a conflict of interest”.
She said that it is a “complete red herring what passport somebody has”, in reference to the fact that Akshata Murty is an Indian citizen.
She added:
What’s relevant is that she’s of the 0.1% of the population who have positively chosen to say that although they’re living here, they’re not living here permanently and taking advantage of that decision in order to not pay as much tax.
Welcome to today’s politics live blog. I’m Nicola Slawson and I’ll be taking the lead today. You can contact me on Twitter (@Nicola_Slawson) or via email (nicola.slawson@theguardian.com) if you have any questions or think I’m missing something.
We also have a dedicated Ukraine blog, which you can follow here:
The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has defended his wife after revelations that she claims non-domiciled status, meaning she does not legally have to pay tax in the UK on her income earned abroad.
The heiress and businesswoman Akshata Murty, estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds, is an Indian citizen and is reported to hold a 0.91% stake in Infosys, an IT business founded by her father.
Her share is thought to be worth £11.5m a year, meaning she may have avoided up to £20m in UK tax by being non-domiciled in the UK. Murty has said she pays tax overseas.
Sunak told the Sun newspaper: “She loves her country like I love mine,” and said his wife had done nothing wrong in choosing a financial arrangement that legally exempts her from paying tax in Britain on foreign income.
Asked if he blamed Labour for the “awful” smears against his family, Sunak replied: “yeah”. A report in the Times suggested unnamed allies of the chancellor had claimed the prime minister’s office were behind the leaks – an allegation No 10 and No 11 strongly denied.
A Treasury source told the Guardian:
It is categorically not true that Rishi or anyone else in his team believe this is coming from No 10.
A No 10 spokesperson told PA Media:
It is categorically untrue that No 10 is behind the briefings. The prime minister and chancellor are united.
Sunak told the Sun newspaper that Murty was entitled to use the so-called “non-dom” arrangement as she was an Indian citizen and planned to move back to her home country to care for her parents.
On Wednesday, Murty claimed the non-dom status was given to her automatically as an Indian citizen. But tax experts have said she must choose to seek the status each year. Murty pays £30,000 a year for having non-domiciled status, her spokesperson confirmed. The status will automatically cease once she has resided in Britain for 15 years, with her due to reach that milestone in 2028.
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