Evening summary
That’s all from me for today. Thanks for reading. Here’s a summary of the day’s main events:
Conor Burns was sacked as trade minister after a complaint of serious misconduct was made against him, Downing Street said. Tory whips confirmed Burns was also suspended from the party pending an investigation.
Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, described as “absurd” the fact that she has not heard from Liz Truss since she became prime minister. “I don’t know whether that is arrogance, lack of respect, or insecurity or whatever it is. It’s not the right way to do government in a grown-up way.”
Ireland is looking for a ‘nil-all draw’ in negotiations between the UK and the EU, its foreign affairs minister said. “What we’re after here is a nil-all draw, where everybody can walk away feeling that they haven’t won or lost, but they can live with the outcome,” Simon Coveney said.
The UK and Ireland agreed to do “everything possible” to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland. Following a meeting of the British-Irish intergovernmental conference in London, a joint communique set out that both countries “noted the ongoing discussions to address issues around the Northern Ireland protocol and to find an agreed way forward”.
Public feuding between senior Tories continued. The former culture secretary Nadine Dorries should “settle down a little while”, the climate minister Graham Stuart said, amid an increasingly bitter row among Conservative MPs.
The UK government’s representative on the morning media round repeatedly refused to rule out energy rationing. Graham Stuart said: “Events move on … We’ve seen all sorts of threats to our energy security.”
Updated
Responding to the ICO’s reprimand, a Home Office spokesperson has said:
The UK has one of the most robust and transparent oversight regimes for the protection of personal data and privacy anywhere in the world.
We note the decision published by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) today, and will take its implications into consideration. We continue to ensure that robust controls and independent oversight are in place to ensure we are fully compliant with requirements on processing of personal data.
