Summary
Here’s a roundup of today’s politics news on Maundy Thursday, as a report has been published into claims of Islamophobia by Tory minister Nus Ghani.
Rishi Sunak’s ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus said he could not determine what then chief whip Mark Spencer had said to Ghani.
Ghani claimed she had been told she was being sacked as a minister in 2020 because of her “Muslimness”.
Magnus criticised Spencer for “shortcomings” in his evidence.
Ghani welcomed the report, saying it is clear her evidence was “clear and consistent”.
Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Mark Rowley, has said he does not have the powers to sack officers who he has concerns about being dangers to the public.
He described “police regulations” over employment as “byzantine”.
In a review of cases by Met officers, “concerns remained” over four fifths who were accused of sexual or domestic violence.
Labour has established a 40-point lead over the Conservatives in London. The party is on 58% compared to Sunak’s who are on 18%.
One model, based on the YouGov polling, shows it leaving the Tories with less than 10 seats in the capital.
The National Education Union has threatened to organise a mass protest in Manchester during the Conservative party conference in the ongoing dispute over pay.
Long queues have started to form at the Port of Dover as people try to get away for holidays over the long Easter weekend, with a fear of a repeat of last weekend where thousands had to wait up to 14 hours.
Suella Braverman has been selected for the Fareham and Waterlooville seat, after winning a contest on Wednesday night.
Tory MP Scott Benton has had the whip removed after an investigation by the Times showed him offering to help lobby for gambling investors.
Thanks for following along today. I’ll be back tomorrow.
A body set up by the government to work with politicians in northern England to improve transport links has not met since May 2022.
PoliticsHome reports that the Northern Transport Acceleration Council (NTAC) has not convened since May 2022, less than two years since it was founded by then-transport secretary Grant Shapps.
In the eleven months since, there have been numerous problems affecting transport including timetabling of services, poor performance on cross-country services run by Avanti and the delay of HS2 to Birmingham and Manchester.
The rail minister Huw Merriman has now suggested to PoliticsHome that officials are “reviewing” the role of NTAC and how they work with northern leaders.
Labour MP for Barnsley Central and former South Yorkshire mayor Dan Jarvis said he finds it “very strange” that the most recent meeting was last May, and felt ministers “should work out with northern leaders what is the most appropriate forum and then get on and make it work; joined up government is key”.
