Thank you for following developments today. We are now closing this blog, you can read all our UK politics coverage here.
Afternoon summary
The Conservative party is resisting calls from Keir Starmer for allegations that campaign funds were misused by the MP Mark Menzies to be referred to the police. (See 5.21pm.)
Updated
Conservative party HQ resists calls to refer Mark Menzies allegations to police
The Conservative party has not responded to Labour’s question about whether it has referred the Mark Menzies allegation to the police and it has certainly not announced that the police are being called in. It has also declined to respond to all the other questions raised by Labour. (See 10.52am and 2.24pm.)
But party sources have confirmed that an investigation into Menzies is under way. It is understood that a whisteblower approached Simon Hart, the chief whip, three months ago, and the matter was referred to CCHQ. Initially the whistleblower did not want Menzies to know that concerns had been raised. An inquiry only started when the whistleblower was happy for it to go ahead. Sources say there is a lot of information to process and the inquiry is still going ahead. They suggest that whether or not there is a referral to the police will depend on the outcome.
The party maintains that the original approach from the whistleblower did not amount to a “complaint”. But this sounds like semantics. On the basis of what the Times is alleging, it has hard to see how this would not have sounded like a complaint.
Menzies says he strongly disputes the allegations that have been made.
Nicola Sturgeon's husband Peter Murrell re-arrested by police over probe into SNP's finances
Peter Murrell, former SNP chief executive and husband of ex-first minister Nicola Sturgeon, has been re-arrested in connection with the police investigation into the party’s finances, PA Media reports. PA says the 59-year-old was previously arrested on 5 April last year in the same investigation and was taken into custody this morning.
Police Scotland said in a statement:
A 59-year-old man has today, Thursday, 18 April 2024, been re-arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National party.
The man, who was previously arrested as a suspect on 5 April 2023, was taken into custody at 9.13am and is being questioned by Police Scotland detectives.
The matter remains active for the purposes of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 and the public are therefore advised to exercise caution if discussing it on social media.
As the investigation is ongoing we are unable to comment further at this time.
Scottish government accused of 'worst environmental decision in history of devolution' after 2030 emissions target dropped
Holyrood ministers have been accused of making the “worst environmental decision in the history of devolution” as the Scottish government abandoned a key climate change target, PA Media reports.
Environmental campaigners hit out after Scottish net zero secretary Màiri McAllan conceded the goal of reducing emissions by 75% by 2030 is now “out of reach”.
With the target enshrined in law, the Scottish government – which includes the Greens thanks to a powersharing agreement with the SNP – will now bring forward new legislation to ensure climate change targets “better reflect the reality of long-term climate policymaking”, McAllan told MSPs.
This will also see the Scottish government move away from legally-binding annual targets – which it has missed for eight out of 12 years.
But McAllan stressed Scotland’s target to reach net zero by 2045 – five years earlier than the UK – will remain.
Humza Yousaf had earlier told MSPs his government will “not move back by a single month, a week or even a day from that 2045 target”.
Prof Piers Forster, interim chairman of the UK’s Climate Change Committee, said the removal of the 2030 target is “deeply disappointing”.
Friends of the Earth Scotland’s head of campaigns Imogen Dow said:
SNP and Green ministers choosing the scrap these climate commitments is the worst environmental decision in the history of the Scottish parliament.
The 2030 target could and should have been met, but instead politicians are going to break their promises and betray both their constituents and the most vulnerable people already enduring the impacts of climate breakdown.
A reader asks:
Do the Conservatives have the kind of rules that I believe Labour do, which would mean that MPs who have had the whip withdrawn will not be standing as Conservative candidates unless it’s restored before an election is called?
Yes, they do.
Labour ahead of Tories on all key issues, including defence, poll suggests
The Ipsos poll out today (see 10.15am and 11.56am) is not the only one out today providing a grim read for No 10. Lord Ashcroft, the former Tory deputy chair and Angela Rayner biographer, has for years run a well-regarded polling operation, and his latest poll shows Labour ahead of the Conservatives on every issue of importance to voters, including defence.
In an article on the findings, Ashcroft writes:
In a survey just under a year ago I found that defence and national security was the one area in which the Conservatives were still trusted more than Labour. As the world seems to become more unstable by the week, and with UK forces taking part in an operation to shoot down Iranian drones, might these issues come to play a bigger part in people’s voting decisions, to the Tories’ advantage?
There is certainly evidence that defence is on the minds of more voters. Only 8% named it among the top three issues facing the country a year ago, compared to 13% today. But four times as many mention the cost of living and even more name the NHS.
In any case, the Conservatives should not expect a dividend if national security is climbing the political agenda. My latest poll now finds Labour to be ahead on the issue, for the first time I can remember in my years of polling. Only 28% of voters think Labour would do a better job on defence, but the Tories languish on 26%, with nearly half of voters saying they don’t know. In the event of an armed conflict that threatened the UK, only just over one in five say they would trust Keir Starmer more than Rishi Sunak to lead and make good decisions, but only 15% say the reverse. Sir Keir is hardly the new Sir Winston, but defence is not the firm Tory territory it once was.
It is not just the poll numbers that will worry Rishi Sunak; he will be even more worried about the fact that the Daily Mail, which is normally reliably pro-Tory, made the story its splash.
My new poll covered in today's Daily Mail @MailOnline - all the data at https://t.co/jBlv7RVlRQhttps://t.co/r2r03BrAdc pic.twitter.com/IARmA6uupT
— Lord Ashcroft (@LordAshcroft) April 18, 2024
UK firms may be barred from funding emerging tech in hostile countries
Ministers are considering blocking British investors from funding emerging technologies in hostile countries if they believe the technology could pose a threat to UK security, Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, has said. Kiran Stacey has the story here.
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IFS says closing 3 inheritance tax loopholes could raise almost £4bn a year by end of decade
Labour has announced only a very small number of measures to increase the amount it would raise through tax and none of them affect what might be described as taxes paid by ordinary people. But Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, has in the past suggested that she might raise more by closing “loopholes”, and she so is likely to take a close interest in a report published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies today saying the government could raise almost £3bn by closing three inheritance tax loopholes.
It says removing business relief for AIM (Alternative investment market) shares could raise £1.1bn this year; capping agricultural and business relief at £500,000 per person would raise £1.4bn; and including the value of defined contribution pensions in estates would raise £200m.
By 2029-30 those measures would raise almost £4bn a year (£1.6bn, £1.8bn and £400m respectively), it says.
David Sturrock, a senior research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said:
Inheritance tax is littered with special reliefs and exemptions which make the tax unfair. The spring budget introduced yet another relief to this long list. Rather than gradually carving out more and more assets from the tax, the government should take steps to reduce or eliminate some of the major exemptions in the system. Eliminating the special treatment given to some shares, capping reliefs for business and agricultural assets, and bringing pension pots into the scope of the tax would make the system fairer and raise revenues.
Kemi Badenoch says UK's wealth does not come from colonialism or white privilege
It would be wrong to attribute the UK’s wealth and economic success to its colonial history or racial privilege, the business and trade minister, Kemi Badenoch, has told an audience in the City. Kalyeena Makortoff has the story here.
Starmer restates 'complete confidence' in Rayner
In his interview clip for broadcasters, Keir Starmer also restated his “complete confidence” in Angela Rayner.
And he said the fact there is now a police investigation into issues relating to a house purchase and Rayner’s living arrangements before she became an MP should “draw a line” under the affair.
Asked if he still had complete faith in his deputy, Starmer replied:
Angela has answered no end of questions on this. She’s said she’s happy to answer any further questions. I have complete confidence in her and the police investigation, I think, allows a line to be drawn in relation to this.
By “allows a line to be drawn” etc, Starmer seemed to be saying that he thought the fact that the police are investigating should put a stop to the need for any further media comment until the inquiry is over.
He also said Rayner would be out with the party campaigning in the local elections.
Updated
Starmer calls for police investigation into Mark Menzies allegations
Keir Starmer has called for the police to launch an inquiry into some of the allegations made by a Times story that has led to Mark Menzies MP being suspended from the Conservative party.
Asked for his response to the report, Starmer told broadcasters:
There are obviously a lot of unanswered questions in relation to these allegations, not least why it seems the Conservative party took so long to act and whether they’ve reported this to the police, who it seems to me should be involved in this.
Starmer also claimed the Menzies allegations showed why voters should “turn the page on this shower and have a fresh start with Labour”. He said:
We’re two weeks away from really important local and mayoral elections when you know there’s a lot of positive arguments that we want to make about the change we can bring about elections.
And yet again we’re talking about misbehaviour by Tory MPs.
If ever you needed evidence of why we need to turn the page on this shower and have a fresh start with Labour, I think it’s in these allegations coming out today.
Labour has already sent a letter to Richard Holden, the Conservative party chair, challenging him to provide answers to a whole series of questions raised by the Times story about Menzies. (See 12.31pm.) For the record, here are the questions from that Labour leader, sent by Anneliese Dodds, the party chair.
The Conservative party has reportedly been aware of these serious accusations for over three months. What action was taken, by whom, and when?
When did CCHQ become aware of this incident?
On being made aware of this incident, did CCHQ advise the person involved to contact the police themselves?
When presented with evidence of an MP involving junior staff in paying thousands of pounds to ‘bad people’, did you immediately report this matter to the police? And if you have not yet, why not and will you do so today?
Will you give the police full access to all evidence you have in this case?
At least one of Menzies’ donors is reported to have given a “four-figure sum” to the Fylde group. Has this been declared with the Electoral Commission?
Is it common practice for Conservative party MPs to use money donated for campaigning activities to instead pay their personal expenses?
According to the Conservative party constitution, the board of the Conservative party is responsible for the Conservative party’s compliance with PPERA [Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act]. As chairman of the Conservatives, you chair the board in the absence of Rishi Sunak. Can you confirm that you and the board have completely satisfied your obligations under PPERA? Can you further confirm that the Conservative party are fully compliant with all relevant UK electoral and donations law?
In a statement about the allegations, first report by the Times, Menzies said:
I strongly dispute the allegations put to me. I have fully complied with all the rules for declarations. As there is an investigation ongoing I will not be commenting further.
Updated
Quarter of Tory voters think Angela Rayner story 'sounds like smear', poll suggests
Around a quarter of Conservative supporters believe the row about Angela Rayner’s housing arrangements before she became an MP “sounds like a smear campaign”, according to new polling.
The Savanta polling, commissioned by the pro-Labour website LabourList, found that amongst the population as a whole 40% of people say the story sounds like a smear. Amongst Labour voters that figure is 56%, and amongst Tory voters that figure is 26%.
Tom Belger, editor of LabourList, said:
Labour has attacked rightwing ‘smears’ against Angela Rayner, and this poll suggests a striking number of Tory and Labour voters alike agree there are political reasons this story is getting so much attention.
Updated
Pupil suspensions in England hit record high, rising by nearly a third year on year, DfE figures show
The number of pupil suspensions in England has risen by nearly a third in a year to more than 260,000, PA Media reports. PA says:
Data from the Department for Education (DfE) shows there were 263,904 suspensions in the spring term of 2022/23, compared to 201,090 during the spring term of 2021/22 – a rise of 31%.
The number of suspensions in spring 2023 is the “highest” termly figure recorded, the DfE said.
Suspensions are typically higher in the autumn term, but the figures show the number rose by 7% from autumn 2022 (when there were 247,366 suspensions) to spring 2023.
The rise of suspensions – which are when a pupil is excluded from a school for a set period of time – comes amid warnings of challenging behaviour in classrooms following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The number of permanent exclusions also increased in the spring term of last year compared to the same period in 2022.
There were 3,039 permanent exclusions in spring 2023, compared to 2,179 in spring 2022 – a rise of 39%, the figures show.
The most common reason for suspensions and permanent exclusions was persistent disruptive behaviour, the DfE said.
In the Commons William Wragg, the MP who recently resigned the Tory whip after admitting divulging colleagues’ phone numbers to a stranger threatening him on WhatsApp, had been due to open a backbench debate on access to redress schemes, according to the Commons order paper. But he did not speak, and the Lib Dem MP Richard Foord opened the debate instead.
He said compensation schemes like those for victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal and the infected blood scandal were “frequently blighted by unnecessary complexity, delays [and] a huge emotional and legal burden on the victims”. Redress schemes should be “effective, timely, proportionate and fair”, he argued.
No 10 says it hopes to end Commons/Lords deadlock on Rwanda bill on Monday night
During questions in the Commons on next week’s business, Penny Mordaunt, leader of the house, said that MPs would debate the latest Lords amendments to the Rwanda bill on Monday and that, if necessary, time would also be set aside on Tuesday for MPs to vote again on Lords amendments to the bill.
But, at the No 10 lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson told journalists that the government wants to conclude the “ping pong” process (when the bill shuttles between the Commons and the Lords until both sides agree on its wording) on Monday night. He said:
Our intention is to get this passed on Monday such that we can then set out the timetable for getting flights off as soon as possible.
Downing Street is prepared, if necessary, for the Commons and the Lords to sit late into the night until the deadlock is broken.
Ultimately, the Lords almost always does back down, but sometimes peers might send a bill back to the Commons up to about five times in the hope of getting ministers to “think again” and grant concessions.
When the Lords first debated the Rwanda bill, they inserted 10 amendments that were later removed by MPs. Since then, rather than accept the government version, peers have now sent the bill back to the Commons three times with changes opposed by the government. The last debate was last night, when peers dug their heels in on just two issues.
At the lobby briefing this morning the PM’s spokesperson indicated that the government would not be making any further concessions on the bill.
But the spokesperson did not offer a clear explanation as to why MPs were not debating the bill again until Monday afternoon. It had been expected that they might debate it again late last night, or today.
Anneliese Dodds, the Labour party chair, has written an open letter to Richard Holden, her Tory counterpart, raising questions over his party’s handling of the allegations about Mark Menzies.
As PA Media reports, Dodds said the allegations raised “extremely serious questions relating to potential criminality” and asked whether the matter had been or would be reported to the police.
She also asked when the Conservative party had become aware of the allegations, what action had been taken and whether it was “common practice for Conservative party MPs to use money donated for campaigning activities to instead pay their personal expenses”.
She wrote:
A long-serving Tory worker involved in this disturbing incident says they believe the Conservative party wants to ‘brush it under the carpet’. I trust you will now take all steps to show this is not the case.
In a statement about the allegations, first report by the Times, Menzies said:
I strongly dispute the allegations put to me. I have fully complied with all the rules for declarations. As there is an investigation ongoing I will not be commenting further.
Mark Menzies suspended from role as unpaid trade envoy to Colombia, Chile, Peru and Argentina, No 10 says
Mark Menzies MP has been suspended from his role as one of Rishi Sunak’s envoys following allegations he misused campaign funds, PA Media reports.
At the No 10 lobby briefing, the PM’s spokeperson said Menzies had been suspended from the unpaid, voluntary role aimed at boosting trade with Colombia, Chile, Peru and Argentina.
Updated
The polling company Ipsos has now published online the charts accompanying the polling it released today showing Rishi Sunak’s approval rating at a record low. (See 10.15am.)
Here is the chart comparing Sunak’s ratings with other prime ministers’.
And here is the chart comparing Keir Starmer’s ratings with other opposition leaders’.
It shows that, compared to other opposition leaders at the same point after their election, Starmer is doing a lot better than Jeremy Corbyn, a lot worse than David Cameron and Neil Kinnock, and about the same as Ed Miliband and William Hague on this measure.
Those final three words in the paragraph above are important. On the net satisfaction measure, Starmer is only average as opposition leader. But if you judge him by how popular his party has become under his leadership (a more relevant measure if you care about election results), Starmer is doing far better than any opposition leader since Tony Blair.
Neil Gray, the Scottish government’s health secretary, has welcomed the decision of two health boards – one of which covers the only gender clinic in the country for young people – to pause the prescription of puberty blockers to new patients, PA Media reports. PA says:
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) and NHS Lothian said the decision came with the support of Scotland’s chief medical officer, Prof Sir Gregor Smith, following a review by Dr Hilary Cass in England and the same decision being taken south of the border.
NHSGGC covers Scotland’s only gender clinic for under-18s while NHS Lothian provides care to those aged 17 and over at its Chalmers gender identity clinic.
Gray said it was right for the decision to be made by clinicians rather than politicians, adding that the Scottish government and boards are considering the recommendations of the Cass Review.
Updated
Mordaunt says government won't change Commons procedure to allow all MPs to question Lord Cameron on foreign affairs
During business questions Lucy Powell, the shadow leader of the Commons, also asked Penny Mordaunt why the government is refusing to change parliamentary rules to allow David Cameron, who sits in the Lords as foreign secretary, to be questioned by all MPs.
After Cameron’s surprise appointment last year, Mordaunt initially suggested she was open to the idea of all MPs getting the chance to question Cameron, perhaps in Westminster Hall.
In January the Commons procedure committee published a report proposing instead that all MPs should get the chance to question Cameron, and other secretaries of states who sit in the House of Lords, by allowing them to take questions at the bar of the Commons chamber (the line in the carpet near the entrance to the chamber, where non-MPs stand or sit if summoned to appear).
But in its reponse to this report, which has just been published, the government has said it will not adopt this proposal. (It does not categorically reject the idea, but it argues the current arrangements work well, it claims letting MPs question ministers from the Lords at the bar of the Commons would create various practical problems, and it says it would welcome “further consideration” of the proposal.)
Mordaunt told Powell that the government was going to stick to the current rules because MPs already have plenty of opportunity to question ministers about foreign policy. She said that, since Cameron was appointed foreign secretary, there have been eight ministerial statements on foreign policy, three prime ministerial statements on foreign policy, a debate on the situation in the Red Sea and 17 Westminster Hall debates on foreign policy, as well as the usual question time sessions.
In its reponse to the procedure committee, the government said:
Throughout its history, the Commons has called non-members to give evidence in various formats, and in living memory the preferred format for scrutiny of non-members has been via select committees. This is an arrangement that has worked well in facilitating Commons scrutiny of secretaries of state in the House of Lords, and Lord Cameron has already given evidence to select committees in the Commons since his appointment.
By contrast, the use of the bar of the House for routine scrutiny of non-members is entirely untested. Indeed, there is no evidence yet brought forward that suggests any Peer has responded to routine scrutiny from members of parliament at the bar of the House of Commons.
A lack of modern – or even historic – precedent does not mean that the Commons should not consider novel measures to achieve the level of scrutiny it demands. It does, however, demand thorough consideration of the potential consequences of such a procedural change.
Updated
Labour says Tory response to Mark Menzies allegations 'too weak' and suggests they should be reported to police
In the Commons Lucy Powell, the shadow leader of the Commons, asked Penny Mordaunt when the government first knew about the allegations against Mark Menzies. And she asked if the matter had been referred to the police. “If not, why not?” She went on:
It seems that yet again, like with [William Wragg] and so many of the recent cases of sleaze and scandal, they’re too weak to act decisively and instead choose to brush things under the carpet. The truth is, they’ve given up on governing.
In her response, Mordaunt, the leader of the Commons, did not refer directly to the Menzies case, but she said some “very serious allegations” had come to light during the Easter recess (she seemed to be referring primarily to the Wragg revelations] and she said she could not comment on them.
Updated
Sunak's approval rating hits record low for a PM, poll suggests
Rishi Sunak’s approval rating is at a record low for a prime minister in modern times, according to the polling company Ipsos.
In its latest Political Monitor report it says net satisfaction with Sunak (% satisfied with how he is doing his job minus % dissatisfied) is now at -59. This matches John Major’s -59 score in August 1994, the record low for a prime minister in the Ipsos data going back to the 1980s.
The record low for an opposition leader on net satisfication was the -60 that Jeremy Corbyn achieved in September 2019.
Keir Starmer’s appoval rating has also fallen, although it is still a lot higher than Sunak’s. Ipsos says:
Starmer’s ratings have also fallen since February. 25% are satisfied with his performance as Labour leader (-4) and 56% are dissatisfied (+1). His net score of -31 is his worst as Labour leader since he recorded a -29 in May 2021. Among Labour supporters, satisfaction with his performance has also dropped from 58% to 51%.
Ipsos found that, when people were asked who would make the most capable PM, Starmer has a clear lead over Sunak.
When presented with a head-to-head choice, the public think Keir Starmer would make the most capable prime minister over Rishi Sunak by a margin of 22 points (44% to 22%). 22% say neither and 10% don’t know.
This is an increase in Keir Starmer’s lead since January (from 13 points to 22), and is similar to Starmer’s 20pt lead over Boris Johnson in July 2022. Although 2019 Conservative voters still prefer Sunak over Starmer by 49% to 20%.
On voting intention, Ipsos has Labour on 44% (down 3 points from February), the Conservatives on 19% (down 1 point), Reform UK on 13% (up 5), and the Lib Dems on 9% (unchanged).
Ipsos also found that none of the potential alternative Tory leaders it included in its survey were seen as capable of being a better PM than Starmer. It says:
Nobody from a list of 6 potential alternative Conservative leaders stands out as doing particularly better versus Keir Starmer in a head-to-head contest
Starmer leads each of the following as most capable PM:
-Penny Mordaunt by 17 points (42% to 25%). 10% say neither and 22% don’t know.
-James Cleverly by 29 points (47% to 18%). 11% neither. 24% don’t know.
-Grant Shapps by 33 points (47% to 14%). 12% neither. 26% don’t know.
-Kemi Badenoch by 34 points (48% to 14%). 9% say neither. 29% say don’t know.
-Suella Braverman by 35 points (53% to 18%). 10% say neither and 19% don’t know.
-Priti Patel by 35 points
Grant Shapps attacks Labour over Rwanda bill and says RAF planes could be used for deportation
Good morning. Yesterday Richard Holden, the Conservative party chair, plonked himself on the moral high ground yesterday, issuing a statement attacking Keir Starmer for ignoring the “serious ethics scandal” around Angela Rayner. He is looking rather less principled today in the light of extraordinary allegations in the Times about Mark Menzies MP.
🔺 EXCLUSIVE: A Tory MP is under investigation over allegations that he misused campaign funds and abused his position after making a late-night phone call saying he’d been locked up by “bad people” who were demanding thousands of pounds | ✍️ @billykenber https://t.co/KRP4AS56C1
— The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) April 17, 2024
Our write-up of the story is here. According to Billy Kenber in the Times, CCHQ (which means Holden) knew about the Menzies allegations more than three months ago, but did not suspend him until the Times published his story. Menzies says he strongly disputes the allegations made in the story.
Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, was on media round duties for the government this morning. He said that there should be a proper investigation into the allegations, but the Menzies sounded like “potentially somebody who’s quite troubled”. It is not clear if the story will move on much today, and for legal reasons there is a limit to how much we can say, and so the story won’t feature much in the blog today. If people start commenting on it directly BTL, comments may get closed.
In his interviews, Shapps was also asked about the government’s Rwanda policy. The government had been hoping to get its Rwanda bill onto the statute book this week but last night the Lords voted again to insert two safeguards opposed by the Commons and, instead of getting MPs to vote again on the bill today, ministers have postponed the next debate until next week.
In his Times Radio interview, Shapps claimed that this showed Labour did not want the bill to pass, and that it wanted small boat arrivals to continue. He said:
Labour have once again locked the ability for parliament to pass this law. Labour don’t seem to have an answer [to the small boat problem], they don’t seem to want it [the Rwanda policy] to happen. It’s directly at Keir Starmer’s door if they don’t go [ie, if asylum seekers are not send to Rwanda].
Labour sources say they do expect the bill to become law, and that it could have become law this week if ministers had scheduled more “ping pong” debates last night or today.
In his interviews Shapps also confirmed that RAF planes could be used for deportation flights to Rwanda.
As PA Media reports, it is understood RAF Voyager aircraft could be deployed after the Home Office failed to find an airline that would charter the flights. Downing Street has drawn up plans to order the Ministry of Defence to repurpose at least one of the leased aircraft for this, according to The Times.
Asked about this on Sky News this morning, Shapps said:
We will do whatever we need to do to make sure that we can get these flights off, whether they are charter flights or other kinds of flights.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary, takes questions on the Commons.
10.15am: Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary, speaks at the CityUK conference in London.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
11.30am: Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, gives a speech at Chatham House.
12pm: Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister, takes questions from MSPs at Holyrood.
Afternoon: William Wragg, the MP who recently resigned the Tory whip after admitting divulging colleagues’ phone numbers to a stranger threatening him on WhatsApp, is due to speak in the Commons, opening a backbench debate on access to redress schemes.
Afternoon: Màiri McAllan, the Scottish government’s climate minister, is due to make an announcement to MSPs ditching a greenhouse gas target for 2030.
Also, Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves and Ed Miliband are doing a visit today in the north-east of England to promote Labour’s plans for investments in ports. And David Cameron, the foreign secretary, is a the G7 foreign ministers’ summit on the Italian island of Capri.
If you want to contact me, do use the “send us a message” feature. You’ll see it just below the byline – on the left of the screen, if you are reading on a laptop or a desktop. This is for people who want to message me directly. I find it very useful when people message to point out errors (even typos – no mistake is too small to correct). Often I find your questions very interesting, too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either in the comments below the line; privately (if you leave an email address and that seems more appropriate); or in the main blog, if I think it is a topic of wide interest.
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