Afternoon summary
James Cleverly, the new home secretary, has failed to deny calling the Rwanda policy ‘“batshit” in private. (See 9.27am.)
Welfare claimants who “refuse” to engage with their jobcentre or take work offered to them will lose their benefits, under plans confirmed this afternoon by the chancellor before next week’s autumn statement. Commenting on the proposals, Liz Kendall, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said:
This poor excuse of a proposal does nothing to fundamentally change the state of our health service or our jobcentres after a decade of failure from the Tories. A record 7.8 million people are still stuck on NHS waiting lists, and 2.6 million people are trapped out of work due to long-term sickness, with the increase since the pandemic alone costing the taxpayer an extra £15.7bn a year.
Updated
Nandy says Labour would stop 'constant raiding' of aid budget by other Whitehall departments
Labour in government would end the “constant raiding” of the aid budget by other departments, Lisa Nandy has said, as the shadow overseas development minister pledged it would spend aid for the reasons that the public supported it.
This would include a rebalancing again towards spending more on humanitarian aid – after a decade under the Conservatives during which spending reduced as a proportion and money was diverted towards financial instruments or spending by the Home Office in the UK.
Speaking at a lunch for journalists in Westminster, Nandy said:
The cynicism that motivated Boris Johnson, to take the axe to one of the greatest contributions that Britain has ever been able to make to the world is based on a view of people in the so called red wall that is deeply offensive, and profoundly wrong. And when we’re in government, I’m going to prove it.
Updated
Nandy defends Labour not voting for ceasefire in Gaza, saying to Israel that sounds like telling them to accept threat
Lisa Nandy has mounted an unrepentant defence of the party’s refusal to brook dissent on Gaza by saying that there was a “realistic possibility” Keir Starmer will be in the region in a year’s time as prime minister and its frontbenchers needed to speak with the authority of a united government.
The shadow international development minister, who chaired Labour Friends of Palestine for a decade, said the party “would not apologise” for refusing to call for the word ceasefire, which she said would be seen by Israelis as an instruction to lay down their arms while hundreds of hostages were in Hamas tunnels and rockets were being fired from Gaza.
Speaking to journalists at Westminster the day after eight Labour frontbenchers resigned as Labour was hit by a major rebellion over Gaza, Nandy said:
There are heartfelt and genuine views in every part of the Labour movement about this, as there are in every part of the country. In the end, as a member of parliament, you have to be able to live with yourself looking at the decisions that you’ve made, and live with your own conscience.
But Nandy said that she “would not apologise” for a number of things, adding:
Firstly, the decision that we’ve reached that actually calling for a ceasefire at a time when you’ve got 200 hostages potentially sitting in tunnels in Gaza, and Hamas rockets flying into Israel. And you’ve got leaders of Hamas still at large, still talking about amassing weapons.
To many people in Israel, including the Israeli government, when they hear the term ceasefire, it is simply an instruction that they should lay down their arms, and just allow that situation to continue. I don’t see, first of all, how that’s a correct position to hold.
In a year’s time there’s a realistic prospect Keir, David [Lammy, shadow foreign secretary] and I will be in the region, not as the official opposition but as the government … and our international partners will need to know that we speak with the authority of the entire government.
Labour had been through “turbulent times” in recent years, she said, referring to the leadership of the party under Jeremy Corbyn, and had been in a position where it had allowed its MPs to have free votes and take their own decisions about matters of foreign policy. She went on:
That might stand in opposition. It doesn’t stand in government. And everybody in the Labour party understands that, they accept it. And I can’t apologise for saying that.
Updated
UK ministers’ efforts to revive Rwanda policy likely to fail, lawyers say
Lawyers have said that UK ministers’ latest plans to get their high-profile Rwanda policy off the ground are unlikely to overcome the legal obstacles that defeated them in the supreme court, Haroon Siddique reports.
Nandy dismisses criticism from JK Rowling on trans rights, saying debate shouldn't be reduced to one about 'bodily parts'
Lisa Nandy, the shadow international development miniser, has defended her support for transgender rights after JK Rowling criticised her as “one of the biggest reasons many women on the left no longer trust Labour”. Asked about the comment at a press gallery lunch at Westminster, Nandy said:
It breaks my heart actually, we’re re-reading Harry Potter at the moment in my house with an eight-year-old who is absolutely Harry Potter obsessed.
And I don’t think we should end up in an oppositional relationship where we’re talking about some of the most marginalised, discriminated against women and girls on the planet, and we can’t have that debate – because there’s a genuine conversation to be had about the rights of transgender people and the protection of safe spaces and hard-fought rights for women.
Nandy also complained that the debate on trans right was “based on fear, and creating fear about a group of people who are having a very, very tough time”. She went on:
When we look at the way we reduce the debate to things like bodily parts, I think when we look back in history we will be utterly ashamed of ourselves.
Updated
Here is John Crace’s sketch on James Cleverly’s outing on the airwaves this morning.
Sixty women at MoD complain of widespread ‘toxic’ and ‘hostile’ behaviour
Sixty senior women at the UK’s Ministry of Defence have described a “hostile” and “toxic” culture at the department in a letter that alleges sexual assault, harassment and abuse by male colleagues, Harry Davies, Dan Sabbagh and Rowena Mason report.
Starmer says having right policy for Israeli hostages and people in Gaza more important to him than Labour party unity
Keir Starmer has said that having the right policy for people in Gaza is more important to him than Labour unity. In an interview with ITV News, asked about the vote last night that saw 56 Labour MPs defy the party whip, Starmer said:
Of course, I want us to move forward as united as we can as a party, but you wouldn’t expect me to stand here today and say my concern is the Labour party management rather than the hostages and the innocent civilians and children that are dying in Gaza.
My focus and attention is there, and that’s where it is and where it will always be.
'You wouldn't expect me to stand here today and say my concern is the Labour Party management, rather than the hostages and the innocent civilians dying in Gaza'
— ITV News Politics (@ITVNewsPolitics) November 16, 2023
Sir @Keir_Starmer says he is more concerned by the crisis in Gaza than the unity of his party https://t.co/f79VOnvX00 pic.twitter.com/kfmD6UyUrf
Labour's Rushanara Ali faces protests in Bethnal Green and Bow over her failure to vote for Gaza ceasefire
Labour frontbenchers who voted with the SNP in favour of a ceasefire in Gaza last night have paid the consequences, losing their shadow roles as a result.
But some of those who stayed loyal are also feeling the heat today, not least Rushanara Ali, the MP for Bethnal Green and Bow.
Hundreds of students are marching today to her constituency office to protest at her decision, while more are expected to turn up later.
Students march to @rushanaraali’s office after she failed to vote for a ceasefire in parliament last night.
— Clare Hymer (@ClareHymer) November 16, 2023
(via @ShabbirLakha)pic.twitter.com/f6f4jNyU2F
Ali is receiving abuse and veiled threats on X.
Bethnal Green and Bow is, of course, the “safe” Labour seat which the party unexpectedly lost to George Galloway in 2005 following the Iraq war - a seat where 41% of voters are Muslim. Ali will hope last night doesn’t trigger a repeat of that result at the next election.
Updated
Scottish health secretary apologises unreservedly for £11,000 iPad bill largely caused by son watching football abroad
Michael Matheson, Scotland’s embattled health secretary, has apologised “unreservedly” to the Scottish parliament after admitting he failed to properly disclose that his sons had largely rung up an £11,000 iPad bill he initially charged in full to taxpayers.
In a personal statement to MSPs after first ministers’ questions on Thursday, Matheson said he had referred himself for possible investigation by parliament for breaching its code of conduct, as he fought against mounting calls from opposition leaders for his resignation.
During first minister’s questions on Thursday, Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, called on Matheson to quit and came as close as parliamentary rules allowed to accuse him of lying to MSPs. Ross said Matheson had misled Holyrood: “It wasn’t just a mistake; it was dishonest.”
Matheson in his statement admitted one of his sons had watched football using his parliamentary iPad as a data hotspot: on Sunday 2 January, Celtic played Rangers in the Scottish Premier League. According to figures released by Holyrood officials, nearly 3.8Gb of data was used that day, at a cost of £8,666.
Fighting back tears at several points, Matheson said:
Mistakes have been made by me and mistakes have been made by my family, and mistakes have been made in the way I have handled this.
The scandal erupted last week after it emerged he had racked up an £11,000 roaming charges bill on his parliamentary iPad during a week-long Christmas holiday in Morocco, and refused to explain why.
He insisted to Holyrood’s authorities and to Humza Yousaf, the first minister, those charges were legitimately incurred on parliamentary business: Holyrood officials accepted his assurances and agreed to pay nearly £8,000 of that bill and allowed him to put the remainder on his parliamentary expenses.
After days of intense pressure on Matheson and parliamentary authorities to explain how that bill was incurred, Holyrood released his daily data charges, revealing that usage spiked on Sunday 2 January. It also emerged Matheson had ignored repeated requests to update his sim card, which was by then out of contract, and his iPad data settings, and had failed to tell officials he was taking it overseas.
Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour’s deputy leader, said this had raised “serious questions” over his judgment, in part because Matheson’s attention was diverted during this crisis from tackling the NHS’s significant crises, and whether this meant his iPad had not been kept secure.
Updated
Lord Cameron could be questioned by MPs as foreign secretary in special sessions in Westminster Hall, Commons leader hints
David Cameron could end up taking questions from MPs in his new role as foreign secretary in special sessions in Westminster Hall, a cabinet minister hinted this morning.
Because he will be doing the job as a menber of the House of Lords, MPs will not be able to question Cameron in the Commons chamber. Andrew Mitchell, the development minister, will take the lead in answering questions there on behalf of the Foreign Office.
During business questions in the Commons this morning Lucy Powell, the shadow leader of the Commons, said a mechanism must be set up to allow MPs to question Cameron.
She said that, when Gordon Brown was prime minister and he gave senior cabinet jobs to two peers, Lord Mandelson and Lord Adonis, the Commons procedure committee drew up a plan to allow them to be questioned by MPs in Westminter Hall, the Commons annex used for minor debates. Those sessions never took place, because the 2010 election came first, but Powell said the government should adopt the same policy for Cameron now.
Penny Mordaunt, leader of the Commons, implied the government would be open to this. She said Powell should be “reassured” that this was being considered and went on:
Mr Speaker has taken advice on the matter. My understanding is that the procedure committee will be consulted on the best way forward. [Powell] alluded to some of the options that may be required of the new foreign secretary, who I know will want to be accountable to this house.
The government has not even published its “emergency” Rwanda legislation asserting the country is safe for asylum seekers, but Conservative MPs are already lobbying to amend it, ITV’s Anushka Asthana reports. She says they are pushing for the inclusion of something like notwithstanding clauses, allowing the European convention on human rights to be ignored.
Hearing dozens of Tory MPs are writing to PM today demanding that emergency Rwanda legislation is protected from human rights challenges. They want notwithstanding clauses; to dis-apply the HRA; & last min “pyjama injunctions” to be blocked
NEW: Hearing dozens of Tory MPs are writing to PM today demanding that emergency Rwanda legislation is protected from human rights challenges. They want notwithstanding clauses; to dis-apply the HRA; & last min "pyjama injunctions" to be blocked 1/ https://t.co/P4VgtitrP7
— Anushka Asthana (@AnushkaAsthana) November 16, 2023
The feeling is the PM went further than expected but also that the proposals will still get tangled up with Lords and then in courts - and so they are sceptical about the timeline and fear a flight will not be able to get out before the next election.
The feeling is the PM went further than expected but also that the proposals will still get tangled up with Lords and then in courts - and so they are sceptical about the timeline and fear a flight will not be able to get out before the next election. 2/
— Anushka Asthana (@AnushkaAsthana) November 16, 2023
Sir John Hayes was one of several Tories calling for notwithstanding legislation yesterday. They are referring to clauses in a law saying, “notwithstanding” what the European convention on human rights says, the government is entitled to ignore those obligations.
Many lawyers argue in practice clauses like this would never work.
Labour has a 23-point lead over the Conservatives, according to the latest polling from YouGov.
Latest YouGov Westminster voting intention (14-15 Nov)
— YouGov (@YouGov) November 16, 2023
Con: 21% (-2 from 7-8 Nov)
Lab: 44% (-3)
Lib Dem: 10% (=)
Reform UK: 10% (+2)
Green: 8% (+1)https://t.co/PYYiuiJKij pic.twitter.com/rTITKdAnVZ
A Commons deputy speaker and a Tory MP are under investigation by the Commons standards watchdog, PA Media reports. PA says:
Commons’ standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg is looking into allegations that Dame Eleanor Laing and Virginia Crosbie, MP for Ynys Môn, may have broken rules for MPs.
The allegations relate to “actions causing significant damage to the reputation of the house as a whole, or of its members generally”.
The commissioner has not released any further details regarding the inquiry.
The pair previously faced questions about a gathering in parliament on 8 December 2020.
The gathering, said to have been arranged by Dame Eleanor, was cited by Boris Johnson in a statement accusing Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin of “monstrous hypocrisy” for allegedly attending the event before sitting on the cross-party panel which found the former prime minister had lied to MPs with his Partygate denials.
Crosbie apologised earlier this year for attending an event in parliament while Covid restrictions were still in place.
Updated
James Johnson, a pollster who used to work in No 10 for Theresa May, has posted on X a thread with findings from a focus group for Times Radio involving swing voters. He says the results are the worst for the Conservatives since he started doing these groups in 2020.
It starts here.
*Worst focus group for the Conservatives since we started this series in 2020.
* Views of PM Rishi Sunak: - “Failed” - “Meek, no real presence” - “Money, upper class” ... (1/6)
NEW 🇬🇧 focus group for @timesradio with swing voters (half undecided, half Con-to-Lab switchers)
— James Johnson (@jamesjohnson252) November 16, 2023
*Worst focus group for the Conservatives since we started this series in 2020.*
💥 Views of PM Rishi Sunak:
- "Failed"
- "Meek, no real presence"
- "Money, upper class" ... (1/6)
No 10 says it will produce 'emergency' bill to show Rwanda safe country 'in coming weeks'
Downing Street has said that the “emergency legislation” on Rwanda promised by Rishi Sunak yesterday will be produced “in the coming weeks”.
Speaking at the No 10 lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson said the bill would “make clear Rwanda is safe on the basis of the work we have done” over the last 15 months and the “upgraded assurances we have secured to address the court’s concerns in our new treaty”.
The treaty will provide a “guarantee” that the risks of refoulement – the process of returning refugees to their origin countries – identified by the court will not materialise, the spokesperson said.
Yesterday Sunak said the legislation would make it clear that the UK regards Rwanda as a safe country. Boris Johnson has also called for this, implying it could be done by secondary legislation, but No 10 said there would be primary legislation – meaning there will be a bill that will have to go through the House of Lords as well as the Commons.
The spokesperson also claimed that that the new legislation prevent “systemic challenges” to the Rwanda policy. He said:
The approach we have seen where people challenge the principle of our Rwanda policy, that will be dealt with through the emergency legislation.
We think this is the fastest route through to getting flights in the air. We think by closing off these avenues of challenge it will help speed through the process.
Updated
At his Institute for Government Q&A Sir Mark Rowley, commissioner of the Metropolitan police, refused to say what he felt about Lee Anderson, the Conservative party deputy chair, declaring yesterday that ministers should just ignore the supreme court judgment saying the Rwanda police was unlawful. Asked to respond, Rowley just said:
Politicians hold me to account, I don’t hold them to account.
Updated
Keir Starmer has attacked the UK government’s “unforgivable” trade strategy during a visit to a Scottish distillery, PA Media reports. PA says:
Starmer travelled north of the border just hours after a revolt within his party over a ceasefire in Gaza resulted in the resignation of eight of his frontbenchers.
The Labour leader highlighted what he described as the “failure” of the UK government to negotiate a trade deal with India, a key exporter for Scotch whisky.
Visiting the InchDairnie distillery in Glenrothes, Fife, Starmer said a government he leads would put in place a trade strategy that would “back Scotch producers to the hilt”.
Cleverly hints government could change law to stop protesters climbing on war memorials
James Cleverly, the home secretary, has hinted the government may tighten the law to stop protesters climbing on war memorials.
He was responding to a question about an incident last night when a pro-Palestinian protester climbed to the top of the large Royal Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park Corner in London.
Cleverly, who served in the Royal Artillery, told LBC:
We’re going to look at this.
I’m not going to let my personal feelings cloud my judgment on this but it is clearly wrong, and the police have said that they recognise it is deeply disrespectful for people to climb on war memorials.
We have made a commitment to review the legislation around public order policing.
If the police – and I’m going to look at this in real detail – if the police need more powers to make sure that really deeply distasteful, provocative things like that do not happen for the public good, because of course this is about making sure it doesn’t stimulate violent action or any kind of violent responses, but if we need to take action specifically to give police more powers, we are looking at doing that.
Johnny Mercer, the veterans minister, issued a statement implying the police should have stopped protesters getting on the monument.
My statement on last night’s scenes on the Royal Artillery War Memorial last night. 👇 pic.twitter.com/OQr5kJZPqa
— Rt Hon Johnny Mercer (@JohnnyMercerUK) November 16, 2023
Sir Mark Rowley, commissioner of the Metropolitan police, was asked about the incident in a Q&A at the Institute for Government thinktank this morning and he defended the officers involved. He said it was “not illegal to climb on to a statue”, and he said it would have been wrong for the officers to “make up a law” and perform an arrest which would have been illegal. Instead the officers sought to deescalate the situation by asking the protesters to climb down, which they did, Rowley said.
He also said that it was for the government, not him, to decide whether climbing on war memorials should be criminalised.
Updated
Patrick Vallance and Chris Whitty to give evidence to Covid inquiry next week
The chief scientist whose diary entries contained revelations that Boris Johnson described coronavirus as “nature’s way of dealing with old people” is set to appear before the UK’s public inquiry next week, PA Media reports. PA says:
Sir Patrick Vallance is expected to give evidence on Monday followed by England’s former chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty and his former deputy, Sir Jonathan Van-Tam later in the week.
Vallance has objected to the publication of his pandemic-era diary in full, describing the notes as a “brain dump” written “at the end of immensely stressful days to protect his mental health”.
But further extracts could be put before the inquiry as he answers questions from lawyers about his time in office during the government’s response to the virus next week.
His evidence will be followed by Whitty on Tuesday and Van-Tam next Wednesday, according to a timetable published by the inquiry on Thursday.
Dame Angela McLean will also appear next Wednesday, while the business secretary and equalities minister, Kemi-Badenoch; and Dame Jenny Harries, a former deputy chief medical officer for England, are expected next Thursday.
Here is the timetable from the inquiry’s website.
Updated
Cleverly describes debate about ECHR withdrawal as distraction, saying Rwanda policy can happen without it
In his interviews this morning James Cleverly, the home secretary, also dismissed the debate within the Conservative party about whether the UK would need to withdraw from the European convention on human rights (ECHR) to implement the Rwanda policy as a distraction.
Speaking on Times Radio, he said the government’s “preferred option” was to remain within the ECHR. He went on:
This is a distracting conversation. I get it is of interest, legitimate interest, but the point I have made is I, the prime minister, the government, will not be distracted from focusing on what we have been told by the supreme court judges needs to be fixed in order to get this out of the way.
Later, on the Today programme, he said:
I don’t believe [withdrawal from the ECHR] will be necessary. I believe that we can act in accordance with international law and we are very determined to do that.
Yesterday, in a statement during his press conference, Rishi Sunak implied that he would be willing, if necessary, to withdraw from the ECHR. He declared:
Let me tell everyone now – I will not allow a foreign court to block these flights.
If the Strasbourg court chooses to intervene against the express wishes of parliament, I am prepared to do what necessary to get flights off.
But this may just have been a reference to Sunak’s objection to one aspect of how the European court of human rights operates – its use of interim injunctions, like the one that blocked the government’s first flight to Rwanda. Sunak also said, in response to questions, that he did not think ECHR withdrawal would be necessary.
Updated
Cleverly rejects Lord Sumption's claim that passing new law declaring Rwanda safe country would be improper
Yesterday the supreme court said the Rwanda policy was unlawful on the grounds that Rwanda is not a safe country for asylum seekers because there is a real risk they will suffer “refoulement” – return to their home country where they were at risk of persecution. In its response, the government said that it was negotiating a treaty with Rwanda to address these concerns, and that it would pass legislation asserting that Rwanda is safe.
Lord Sumption, a former supreme court judge, has dismissed the notion that legislation like this would make any difference. He told the News at 10 last night:
I have never heard of them trying to change the facts, by law. For as long as black isn’t white, the business of passing acts of parliament to say that it is profoundly discreditable.
And in an interview with the Today programme podcast, he said:
I have never heard of a situation in which parliament intervenes to declare the facts – the safety or unsafety of Rwanda – to change the facts from those which have been declared by the courts to be correct.
The courts have perused hundreds of pages of documents to arrive at this conclusion. For parliament simply to say the facts are different would be constitutionally really quite extraordinary.
This morning, in his interview on the Today programme, James Cleverly, the home secretary, said he did not accept Sumption’s argument. When it was put to him that Sumption was a former supreme court justice, Cleverly replied:
Lawyers argue all the time, that’s literally what they do. I have very eminent lawyers who take a different view.
Cleverly also argued that the new treaty with Rwanda would address the concerns raised by the court. He said:
We have been working with the Rwandans to beef up, to strengthen, to professionalise and enhance their professional institutions, we’ve been doing this throughout this last year.
The supreme court is only able to look at the facts as presented to the appeal court, which was 15 months ago, and we have not wasted the intervening months.
We have been working extensively with the Rwandans on this very issue.
So we are confident that the treaty, the legally binding treaty which is binding on both countries, will be robust, will address the issues raised by the supreme court – because we have been working on it for over a year.
Updated
Cleverly says he won't apologise for £140m already spent on Rwanda scheme, saying it's already having deterrent effect
The government has already given Rwanda £140m as part of its deportation deal, even though not one asylum seeker has yet been sent to the country. Asked about this on LBC, James Cleverly, the home secretary, said he would not be apologising for spending this money. He claimed the policy was already having a deterrent effect. He said
I’m going to be really clear on this. I make no apology at all for spending money protecting this nation. It is the primary function of government.
We know that even before the first flight has taken off the Rwanda policy is having a deterrent effect.
We interview people that have attempted to come here through illegal migration and we know that people have been dissuaded from coming to the UK because of the fear of Rwanda scheme.
Updated
Cleverly ‘determined’ to get removal flight to Rwanda before general election
Ministers are “absolutely determined” to get a removal flight to Rwanda off before the next election, and will finish drafting a legally binding treaty with the country “within days”, James Cleverly, the new home secretary, said in interviews this morning. Emily Dugan has the story.
Cameron tells Zelenskiy on visit to Kyiv UK will continue to support Ukraine for 'however long it takes'
David Cameron, the new foreign secretary, has gone to gone to Kyiv in his first visit in his new role for talks with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Zelenskiy has posted this video on X.
Hosted @David_Cameron on his first visit to Ukraine as Foreign Secretary of the UK.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 16, 2023
We had a good meeting focused on weapons for the frontline, strengthening air defense, and protecting our people and critical infrastructure.
I am grateful to the UK for its support!
🇺🇦🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/zElLHsSaQT
Cameron said:
What I want to say by being here is we will continue to give you the moral support, the diplomatic support, the economic support, but above all the military support that you need, not just this year, and next year, but however long it takes.
Geneva Abdul has more coverage on our Ukraine live blog.
James Cleverly fails to deny calling Rwanda deportation policy ‘batshit’ in private
Good morning. Keir Starmer had a difficult night yesterday, after 56 of his MPs, including eight shadow ministers (or ex shadow ministers, as they are now), rebelled in the Gaza ceasefire vote, but Rishi Sunak’s problems over the Rwanda supreme court judgment are undoubtedly a lot more serious.
Partly it’s an electoral problem; on a priority issue, his policy has fallen apart, and it is not clear yet whether the alternative strategy announced yesterday afternoon will enable Rwanda flights to actually happen. But, as or more seriously, it is also a party management issue. The Rwanda decision has emboldened the many Tory MPs who want the UK to withdraw from the European convention on human rights, and Sunak’s response – sounding up for that, but not convincingly – may not be enough to contain them.
All of which helps to explain why what in other circumstances might be a piece of Westminster gossip might be quite important. Tory rightwingers liked having Suella Braverman as home secretary, but now they’ve got James Cleverly. And in the Commons yesterday Yvette Cooper, his Labour shadow, alleged that in private Cleverly had described the Rwanda policy as “batshit”.
Cleverly has been doing an interview round this morning and, while not the main focus, this issue has come up. Although he did not admit using the phrase, anyone watching or listening to his interviews will conclude that he did indeed, at least once in private, describe the centrepiece of the government’s policy for dealing with irregular migration, beloved of rightwingers, as “batshit”.
Asked about the comment on Sky News, he replied: “I don’t recognise that phrase.”
Asked again on BBC Breakfast, he “squirmed” (in the words of the Mirror) and said this was a claim made about him, not by him, and claimed he could not remember using the word.
'You were accused of describing the Rwanda system as batshit'
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) November 16, 2023
Home Secretary James Cleverly is questioned on #BBCBreakfast about a claim made by Labour in the House of Commonshttps://t.co/0VmjnTO7F3 pic.twitter.com/wK537BFe1t
And when the question got asked again on the Today programme, Cleverly laughed unconvincingly and claimed the interviewer was falling into a trap laid by Labour.
All of which means that Sunak has appointed a new home secretary who – almost certainly, at least once – has expressed views on the Rwanda policy more in line with those of Guardian readers than Daily Mail readers. In the Conservative party, that will have been noted.
I will post more from the Cleverly interviews soon.
Here is the agenda for the day.
10am: Sir Jon Thompson, the HS2 executive chair, gives evidence to the Commons public accounts committee about the Euston station project.
11am: Sir Mark Rowley, the commissioner of the Metropolitan police, speaks at an Institute for Government event.
11.20am: James Cleverly speaks at the joint annual summit of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and National Police Chiefs’ Council.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
2pm: Mark Drakeford, the Welsh first minister, joins Bill Clinton, the former US president, and his wife, Hillary, the former US secretary of state, on a visit to Swansea University.
If you want to contact me, do try 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.
Updated
