Afternoon summary
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has revealed that he and Nick Candy, the party’s treasure, met Elon Musk in Florida this week to discuss how they could “do great things together”. (See 2.33pm.)
The Horizon IT inquiry has heard nothing which showed ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells “acted in bad faith”, her legal team has said. As PA Media reports, in her closing submissions to the inquiry today, Samantha Leek KC said Vennells has “no desire to point fingers at others”, but added: “Ms Vennells still does not know why key information was not passed on to her and explained.” In her closing statement, Leek said:
Ms Vennells understands the strength of feeling about her – that of subpostmasters, those directly affected by the wrongful convictions, and that of the public.
She heard what was said yesterday about apologies being difficult to hear, and she understands that position.
She knows that any apology will offer little comfort to those affected.
She cannot and does not try to hide from the fact that whilst CEO, she did not manage to uncover the truth about the extent of the bugs, errors and defects in Horizon, as found by Mr Justice Fraser.
This is a matter of deep and constant regret to Ms Vennells, as is the fact that the convictions of the subpostmasters were not overturned sooner.
Having Welsh-only names for most new Senedd constituencies 'quite wrong', says former Welsh Tory leader
The Welsh government is introducing a new electoral system for the next Senedd elections in 2026. This will involve creating 16 super-constituencies, each electing six MSs (member of the Senedd) using a PR system. As the BBC reports, Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru has decided that most of these constituences will have Welsh language-only names.
Andrew RT Davies, the former Welsh Tory leader, has criticised this. He said:
This move is quite wrong.
Wales is bilingual, and this move will disenfranchise English-only speakers.
While it may suit some parts of Wales to have Welsh-only names, places like the Vale of Glamorgan and Bridgend are majority English-speaking and the constituency names should reflect this.
MoD says it will save billions by spending £6bn buying back military homes sold off by Tories in 1996
Labour has today announced a major nationalisation initiative. It may not be as high-profile as rail companies coming back into public ownership, but it will matter to the military. The Ministry of Defence is spending £6bn buying back military housing that was sold off by the then Conservative government in 1996.
Explaining the deal, the MoD says:
Today’s deal will bring to an end to an arrangement which has seen the taxpayer spend billions of pounds on rental payments for military housing while still being liable for rising maintenance costs and handing back billions of pounds worth of military properties.
Under the agreement, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) will buy back 36,347 houses, making major redevelopment and improvements possible. The deal is part of the Government’s drive to boost military morale, tackle recruitment and retention challenges and renew the nation’s contract with those who serve.
The MOD, supported by UK Government Investments, and Annington have formally agreed that the MOD will reacquire the service family estate sold in 1996, which is now valued at £10.1 billion when not subject to leases, and is being purchased for £5,994,500,000, representing excellent value for money.
The new deal will see the immediate saving of more than £600,000 of taxpayers’ money each day, with the current annual bill of £230 million in rent being eliminated. These savings to the defence budget will help to fix “deep-set problems” in military housing, and support the development of a high-quality new homes for military families.
The MoD also says the original decision to sell the housing ended up costing the taxpayer £8bn.
Here is Julia Kollewe’s story about the purchase.
The Home Office has announced a £140m increase in police counter-terrorism funding next year, and measures to made the Prevent anti-radicalisation programme more effective. Explaining some of the measures in a news release, the Home Office says:
With the proportion of young people in counter-terrorism casework increasing, the government will also bolster the tools available to tackle terrorist risk in these cases with the creation of new youth diversion orders.
Unlike existing CT risk management tools, youth diversion orders will be specifically designed for young people to better manage cases which require intervention beyond Prevent. They will reduce the risk of further involvement with the criminal justice system – a key aim of the government’s Safer Streets Mission and the Plan for Change – by enabling the police to intervene earlier, working with partner agencies, before a young person’s activity risks escalating to the level at which a prosecution becomes necessary.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, has complained that the extra money for the police in England and Wales announced today (see 11.04am and 12.35pm) is in practice less generous than the settlement they got from the Tories last year. He said:
The British public deserves to know the government will give the police the funding they need, including a properly funded plan to recruit police officers.
When you remove the £230m that simply makes up for Labour’s national insurance increase, the funding increase offered here is less than last year – with central government funding up just £427m compared to an increase of £624m under the last government.
Unite's leader Sharon Graham says Labour's decision not to compensate Waspi women 'a disgrace'
The Unite union, which is one of the biggest unions donating to the Labour party, has strongly condemned the decision not to compensate the Waspi women. Sharon Graham, the union’s general secretary, said:
The government’s decision not to compensate the Waspi women despite the ombudsmen’s recommendations is a disgrace. Ministers are making the wrong choices - they need to turn back now because voters will not forgive them.
Unite has a retired members section which campaigns very actively on issues affecting pensioners.
Farage and Candy also met JD Vance at Mar-a-Lago
Elon Musk’s meeting with Nigel Farage and Reform UK treasurer Nick Candy at Mar-a-Lago has rejuvenated speculation that the hard right party might be set for a multi-million pound injection of support after all.
Musk had denied earlier this month that he was going to fund Reform UK after a report in the Sunday Times suggested he was about to hand $100m to Farage’s party, but that is a space that will now be closely watched after news emerged today of the meeting at Donald Trump’s property in Florida.
The Guardian also understands that Farage and Candy met the US vice president-elect, JD Vance, but did not meet with Donald Trump himself, who was said to have been in back-to-back meetings with tech tycoons. The results of Trump’s efforts were on display on Monday as he appeared alongside SoftBank’s billionaire chief Masayoshi Son as they unveiled the Japanese tech group’s plans to invest $100bn in the US.
However, while Vance did not appear in the photos issued by Reform UK, his presence could be highly significant given his own close ties to US tech billionaires and the fact that he is odds on to be the US Republican candidate in the next presidential election.
In the meantime, and even before any money comes, Reform UK are now eagerly milking publicity from their meeting with world’s richest man, with Farage issuing a statement in which portrayed the meeting as part of a joint effort to “save the west.”
It was perhaps telling that Musk had yet to make any mention of the meeting on his relentless X feed, preferring instead to tweet about his space business and continue to wage his own personal war on “woke.”
Nevertheless, there is no indication that he has changed his mind on his clearly expressed hostility towards Keir Starmer. Should Musk chose to start funding Reform UK, it’s clear that even a tiny intervention on his terms could be significant. Musk’s fortune has risen by $133bn (£104.4bn) so far this year and stands at $362bn.
Musk could get around strict regulations on overseas donations either by giving money through the UK arm of X or by securing UK citizenship, which his father, Errol, has said he is eligible for because his grandmother was British.
Plaid Cymru has joined those accusing the Labour government of betraying promises made to Waspi women.
Referring to comments made (in 2018) by Eluned Morgan, the Labour Welsh first minister, and (in 2019) by Jo Stevens, the Welsh secretary, Ann Davies MP, Plaid’s work and pensions spokesperson, said:
Today, the UK Labour government confirmed they will not provide any financial compensation to the Waspi women, despite repeated promises. 1950s-born women deserve full and fair compensation for the failures of the UK Government.
I call on the secretary of state for Wales and the first minister to explain how their previous commitment to ending 1950s-born women’s pension injustice is consistent with the decision today to refuse any compensation. Many women across Wales will feel badly let down by Welsh Labour.
When Liz Kendall, the work and pension secretary, was asked in the Commons why she was going back on her own previous support for paying compensation to the Waspi women, she pointed out that was party policy at the time, but that after 2019 party policy changed. (See 2.03pm.)
Robert Peston, ITV’s political editor, says a corporate body like a bank would never have been allowed to ignore an ombudsman’s recommendation in the way the government was, in relation to Waspi women. He has posted this on social media.
I have a few thoughts about the government’s failure refusal to pay compensation to WASPI women for the failure of previous administrations to properly inform them about the significant increases to the state pension age for women. First, if this proven maladministration had been by a bank or private sector institution, my hunch is that regulators and courts would have compelled the payment of significant compensation with minimal requirement for claimants to prove direct loss (think of the colossal sums banks paid out for mis-selling PPI insurance). The ability of government to just say no is a striking contrast. Second the emotional distress and hardship suffered by many older women was accepted by the ombudsman, but is not deemed by the work and pensions secretary to merit financial compensation. Third this is the second time in its short life that the Starmer government has chosen to alienate an important group of pensioner voters. This is either brave and farsighted or not
Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, told the Commons home affairs committee that seven hotels are going to be closed for use by asylum seekers in the new year, Kate McCann from Times Radio reports.
Here are some more pictures from Keir Starmer’s visit to HMS Iron Duke in Tallinn, Estonia, today.
Back to Elon Musk, and this is from Christopher Hope, political editor of GB News, who follows Reform UK politics about as closely as anyone.
It seems to me that Elon Musk and the Labour Government are careering towards a big legal battle in the new year over whether the world’s richest man can legally donate to @reformparty_uk through a UK subsidiary. Nigel Farage will be rubbing his hands at the prospect.
And here are comments from more MPs angry about the government’s decision to rule out compensation for the Waspi women.
Here are comments from four MPs elected as Labour, but who are curently independents because they have had the whip withdrawn.
From Rebecca Long-Bailey, speaking in the Commons
[Liz Kendall] must realise that an apology is welcome but it’s not enough for them and, frankly, it’s unprecedented for a government to agree with the findings of an ombudsman on the one hand but to refuse to initiate redress when clear injustice has occurred.
From John McDonnell on social media
I am not in Parliament today as as i have the flu that’s going round & I am just feeling too ill but having heard of the government’s rejection of any compensation for the Waspi women I believe they will consider this to be a betrayal & I doubt if they will just go away quietly.
From Richard Burgon on social media
I’ve supported the @WASPI_Campaign for justice for many many years.
Today’s decision is totally wrong.
This fight isn’t over.
I will continue to stand with the WASPI women to get the fair compensation that they so deserve.
From Zarah Sultana on social media
The government’s announcement is a cruel betrayal of WASPI women.
Despite admitting maladministration, they dismissed the Ombudsman’s findings & refused compensation, leaving millions of 1950s-born women in hardship.
Justice is overdue — I’ll always stand with @WASPI_Campaign
This is from the Lib Dem MP Rachel Gilmour, speaking in the chamber and addressing Kendall.
[Waspi women] are not disappointed. They are devastated, as am I, because I mistakenly as it turned out believed that this government, this Labour government, which was supported by millions of women across this country who rightly turned their backs on the Conservatives, thought you had some probity and decency. Will you agree with me that it turns out that you have neither?
And this is from the Lib Dem MP Caroline Voaden on social media
Today’s statement from Liz Kendall is a huge let down to thousands of 1950s women. Palpable anger in the Chamber as she said there would be no compensation for WASPI women. To say they wouldn’t have read the letters even if they had gone out was frankly insulting.
Jeremy Corbyn, who committed Labour to paying compensation to Waspi women when he was Labour leader and who now sits as an independent MP, has said it is “beyond disappointing” that the government has now ruled out compensation. He posted this on social media.
It is beyond disappointing that Liz Kendall has rejected any compensation for the WASPI women.
First, the government cuts winter fuel. Now this? Whose side is the government on
WASPI women have been disgracefully cheated out of their pensions — and they deserve justice.
The Green party has also condemned the government’s decision not to pay compensation to the Waspi women. The Green MP Siân Berry has put out this statement.
This is a very harsh decision, admitting wrongdoing but offering a bitter dose of nothing to a generation of women, caught out by this, who faced so many hurdles and prejudices in respect of their careers and earnings …
The government should reconsider this decision and look at how it can also do more to help women born in the 1950s win the same security in retirement as enjoyed by their male counterparts.
Scottish government ministers to be banned from using WhatsApp for official business
The Scottish government is to ban the use of WhatsApp and other messaging services for its official business, after scathing criticism of its use and mass message deletion by ministers and officials during the Covid crisis.
Nicola Sturgeon, the then first minister, and other senior officials including Jason Leitch, the then national clinical director, were accused of covering-up their mishandling of the crisis by routinely deleting WhatsApp messages.
UK ministers, including Boris Johnson, the then prime minister, also faced intense criticism for their wholesale use of WhatsApp and over Johnson’s missing messages – blamed on a change of handset and unspecified technical issues.
Kate Forbes, the deputy first minister, said the ban would take effect in spring 2025 in a bid to restore public confidence in transparency and accountability, and hinted she expected the UK Covid inquiry to soon issue highly critical findings about the past practice.
She told Jamie Greene, for the Scottish Conservatives, that access to non-official messaging services would be blocked on all government-issued mobile devices, in the same TikTok is currently barred from official phones.
Greene said Forbes was being “very naïve” if she thought ministers and officials would not use messaging apps on their personal phones to avoid scrutiny. Forbes said that would be a breach of the rules. She told MSPs:
This decision aligns secure, open, transparent governance, underpinned by sound records management policy and practice and the wellbeing of staff, with the values and vision of the Scottish government.
Before she spoke, Greene tabled a point of order because Forbes had failed to circulate an independent report on the controversy to MSPs so they could read it before her statement. Ironically, he said, Forbes was not being transparent on a statement about transparency.
Updated
Labour MPs have been among those criticising the government’s decision not to pay compensation to the Waspi women. (See 1.07pm.)
In the Commons Brian Leishman, MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, said he was “appalled” by the announcement.
I have campaigned with Waspi women, as have many parliamentary colleagues, and this is an incredible let down. Waspi women, in my opinion, certainly do not need words of disappointment and they certainly do not need hollow statements. What they need is justice.
Gareth Snell, MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central, said this was a “sad moment”, and that he had previously campaigned for a “fair transition” for Waspi women.
Melanie Onn, MP for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, said she did not accept Liz Kendall’s argument that earlier notification would not have made much difference. (See 1.33pm.)
[Kendall] says this report is about the way that it was communicated to those 1950s-born women and earlier letters would not have made a difference.
But I say they would have made a difference, they would have made a difference when it comes to individuals’ financial planning, in their retirement dates and notice they were giving to their jobs, from their wider family arrangements and commitments that they made.
'It is better to engage' - Starmer defends decision to seek better relations with China, despite spying claims
A lawyer who was accused of improperly trying to influence MPs and peers on behalf of China has lost a legal challenge against MI5, who said nearly three years ago that she was trying to interfere in the British democratic processs, Dan Sabbagh reports.
The investigatory powers tribunal in this case came out only a day after a court lifted the ban on naming a businessman accused of “spying” for China when he befriended Prince Andrew.
Speaking to broadcasters in Estonia, asked if he was considering his decision to seek a closer relationship with China, Keir Starmer said:
We have to be alert to the risks and challenges of China and we are alert.
But we do have a strategy of engagement and that means where we co-operate on important issues like climate, we must do so.
But we must also challenge, and we do on important issues like human rights, with frank discussions, as I have had on a number of occasions, and of course compete when it comes to trade.
But it is better to engage whilst making sure we are clear about the threats and challenges that China poses.
Farage and Reform UK treasurer Nick Candy say they've met Elon Musk to discuss doing 'great things together'
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, and Nick Candy, his new party treasurer, have met Elon Musk at Donald Trump’s Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, the party has announced.
It has not said much about what Farage and Candy discussed with the world’s richest man, but the news will revive speculation that Musk is planning a significant intervention that could help Reform UK’s electoral prospects.
Musk denied a recent report saying he was planning to give the party $100m. But doubtless Farage would be happy to accept a smaller sum, and, because Musk has business interests in Britain, UK laws intended to prevent foreign interference in domestic politics might not get in his way. Musk also owns X, and was accused of using it during the US presidential election to help Donald Trump.
In a statement after the meeting, Farage and Candy said:
We had a great meeting with Elon Musk for an hour yesterday. We learned a great deal about the Trump ground game and will have ongoing discussions on other areas.
We only have one more chance left to save the west and we can do great things together.
Our thanks also to President Trump for allowing us to use Mar-a-Lago for this historic meeting. The special relationship is alive and well.
Farage posted this picture from the meeting on social media.
Britain Needs Reform. @ElonMusk pic.twitter.com/CrR8p9yJab
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) December 17, 2024
Updated
Labour accused of betraying Waspi women in view of party's previous support for compensation
The opposition parties that were not likely to be in government after the general election were notably more keen to say the ombudsman’s recommendations on Waspi women should be implemented in full, when they were first published, than the official opposition, or indeed the party in office at the time. And that is still the case today.
The Liberal Democrats said today was “a day of shame” for Labour. Steve Darling, the Lib Dem DWP spokesperson, said:
Today is a day of shame for the government.
The new government has turned its back on millions of pension-age women who were wronged through no fault of their own, ignoring the independent ombudsman’s recommendations, and that is frankly disgraceful.
The Conservative party left our economy in a shambles, but asking wronged pensioners to pay the price of their mismanagement is simply wrong.
For years, Liberal Democrats have pushed the government to fairly compensate Waspi women in line with the ombudsman’s recommendations.
And Kirsty Blackman, the SNP’s DWP spokesperson, said:
This Labour government announcement is a devastating betrayal of the millions of Waspi women who have spent years campaigning for justice.
Having been let down for so many years by successive Tory governments there was a sense that Labour might finally live up to their promise of ‘Change’, but instead Labour has confirmed that they will betray those women and pull yet another shady Westminster trick.For years Labour politicians, including Anas Sarwar [the Scottish Labour leader], backed the Waspi campaign and promised to help deliver justice - now in just their first year in power, they turned their back on millions of affected women.
In the chamber it was put to Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, that she too had backed the campaign by Waspi women for compensation and that Labour had promised compensation in the 2017 and 2019 election campaigns. Kendall pointed out that Labour lost both those elections.
Updated
Starmer says he has to protect taxpayers, as he defends not paying compensationt to Waspi women
Keir Starmer has said he accepts that Waspi women will be unhappy with the government’s decision not to pay them compensation.
In an interview with broadcasters in Estonia, asked if he understood the anger of those affected, Starmer replied:
I do understand their concerns. The ombudsman’s findings were clear in relation to maladministration, but also clear about the lack of direct financial injustice, as the ombudsman saw it. That’s why we’ve taken the decision that we’ve taken.
But I do understand, of course, the concern of the Waspi women.
But also I have to take into account whether it’s right at the moment to impose a further burden on the taxpayer, which is what it would be.
Tories says it is Labour's decision not to compensate Waspi women 'and they need to own it'
The last Conservative government did not give any indication that it was likely to accept the ombudsman’s recommendations if it won the election and, in her response to Liz Kendall, Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, did not argue that the government should have taken an alternative decision.
But she did say this was now Labour’s decision, and they had to “own it”. In the Commons she told MPs:
No doubt campaigners will note the government’s apology for the decisions made between 2005 and 2007 which led to a 28-month delay in sending out letters which the ombudsman identified as maladministration but let’s be clear, the decision to provide no compensation is the government’s decision and they need to own it.
I’m not going to let them get away with saying that this is because of a fictional black hole in the public finances. The country’s financial position now is a result of their political choices.
They should not try to dodge responsibility by suggesting to waspi women that if times were different, they might have come to a different conclusion.
Waspi campaign says government's decision 'bizarre and totally unjustified'
Waspi, the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign, has condemned the government’s decision as “totally unjustified”. This is from its chair, Angela Madden.
The government has today made an unprecedented political choice to ignore the clear recommendations of an independent watchdog which ordered ministers urgently to compensate Waspi women nine months ago.
This is a bizarre and totally unjustified move which will leave everyone asking what the point of an ombudsman is if ministers can simply ignore their decisions. It feels like a decision that would make the likes of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump blush.
The idea that an ‘action plan’ to avoid such mistakes in future should be the result of a six-year ombudsman’s investigation is an insult both to the women and to the PHSO [Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman] process.
An overwhelming majority of MPs back Waspi’s calls for fair compensation and all options remain on the table. Parliament must now seek an alternative mechanism to force this issue on to the order paper so justice can be done.
What Kendall told MPs about why government ignoring Waspi women compensation recommendation
Here are more quotes from Liz Kendall’s statement to MPs saying the government won’t accept the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s recommendation on compensation for Waspi women.
Kendall said the ombudsman’s report did not criticise the decision in 1995 to increase the state pension age for women, or the coalition’s decision in 2011 to accelerate that increase. The report covered instead complaints about the Department for Work and Pensions not properly warning women about the increase, she said. Decisions made between 2005 and 2007 led to a 28-month delay in warning letters being sent to women born in the 1950s. The report said that did not result in the women suffering direct financial lost. But, Kendall told MPs, it was maladministration according to the report.
She said the government accepted that this was maladministration, and she apologised on behalf of the government.
But she also said the report did not make sufficient allowance for evidence showing most women knew their state pension age was rising. She said:
[The report] references research from 2004 showing 43% of women aged over 60 were aware of their state pension age. But it doesn’t sufficiently sufficiently recognise evidence from the same research that 73% of women aged 45 to 54 were aware that the state pension age was increasing – the very group that covers women born in the 1950s. Or research from 2006 that 90% of women aged 45 to 54 were aware that the state pension age was increasing.
She also said the government did not agree with the ombudsman’s claim that sending letters earlier would have made a big difference.
Research given to the ombudsman shows only around a quarter of people who are sent unsolicited letters actually remember receiving them or reading them. So we cannot accept that in the great majority of cases sending a letter earlier would have affected whether women knew their state pension age was rising or would have increased their opportunities to make informed decisions.
She said these two “facts” justifed the government’s decision to reject the ombudsman’s recommendation.
These two facts – that most women knew the state pension age was increasing and that letters aren’t as significant as the Ombudsman says – as well as other reasons have informed our conclusion that there should be no scheme of financial compensation to 1950s-born women in response to the ombudsman’s report.
She said compensation should “normally reflect individual impact”. But assessing the impact of notification delays on the circumstances of 3.5 million women would not be practical, she said.
And she said paying a flat rate of compensation, as recommended by the ombudsman, would not be would be “a fair or proportionate use of taxpayers money”.
She said the government was committed to learning lessons from this, and ensuring that in future people get proper notification of pension changes.
First, we want to work with the ombudsman to develop a detailed action plan out of the report, so every and all lessons are learnt.
Second, we are committed to setting clear and sufficient notice of any changes in the state pension age so people can properly plan for their retirement.
And third, I have tasked officials to develop a strategy for effective, timely and modern communication on the state pension that uses the most up to date methods.
Updated
Liz Kendall tells MPs Waspi women won't get compensation, despite ombudsman saying they should
In March the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman published a report saying that the so-called Waspi women (Women Against State Pension Inequality) deserved compensation because they did not get adequate warning from the government about the fact that their state pension age was going up. It said people affected should be paid compensation, and that this could cost up to £10.5bn.
At the time the Conservatives, who were then in government, and Labour, who were expecting to replace them within months, refused to commit to accepting the recommendation. But the then government said it would take time to consider the report properly, and Labour also put off a definitive response.
In a statement to the Commons, Liz Kendall has now delivered the government’s formal response. And she has ruled out paying compensation.
She told MPs:
Given the vast majority of women knew the state pension age was increasing, the government does not believe paying a flat rate to all women at a cost of up to £10.5bn would be a fair or proportionate use of taxpayers money, not least when the previous government failed to set aside a single penny for any compensation scheme, and when they left us a £22bn in the public finances.
This has been an extremely difficult decision to take, but we believe it is the right course of action, and we are determined to learn all the lessons to ensure this type of maladministration never happens again.
David Gauke, the Conservative former justice secretary, has written an interesting assessment of Kemi Badenoch’s start as Tory leader for the New Statesman. He has never been an enthusiast for her brand of rightwing politics, but he is an astute commentator and so his insights are worth passing on. He thinks she has had “an underwhelming but not disastrous start”. In particular, he claims she is not establishing a good relationship with colleagues.
Talking to Conservative MPs, the concerns about her handling of colleagues have not abated. She is described as “distant” and “not engaging”. “She turns up to vote at the last moment, rushes through with one of her friends and doesn’t speak to anyone else,” says one MP. Another says, “She can’t even bring herself to make eye contact with and say, ‘Hello’ to people she dislikes.” Her team of close advisers are viewed as not providing sufficient challenge to her.
These are problems – perhaps driven by shyness more than anything else – that can be overcome. There is no sign that a coup is imminent, but she should be wary. One look at the range of subjects beyond his brief on which Robert Jenrick posts on X suggests that the runner-up in the last Tory leadership race has not abandoned his ambitions.
Gauke is now leading a review of sentencing policy for the Labour government.
The Liberal Democrats have claimed that the extra funding for police announced by the Home Office today (see ) is not as generous as it appears. (See 11.04am.) They explain:
Of the £986.8m of extra funding for police announced today in the provisional police grant report (England and Wales) 2025-26, around a quarter or £230.3m is just to cover the government’s national insurance tax rise. Another £329.8m is based on extra council tax, and assumes that all police and crime commissioners will raise their precept by the maximum permitted of £14 for band D.
This means the extra government cash to forces is only £426.8m - half the amount the Home Office is claiming.
Lisa Smart, the Lib Dem home affairs spokesperson, said:
Years of failure and ineffective resourcing from the previous Conservative government decimated neighbourhood policing - taking officers off our streets and leaving our communities far less safe.
The government should be stepping up to fix this by properly funding the officers our communities need - not passing the buck to local police chiefs to put up people’s council tax instead.
Post Office compensation programme to be extended to cover people affected by flaws with 1990s Capture IT system
Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, has announced that the scope of the compensation programme for victims of the Post Office scandal will be extended to cover earlier potential victims.
The government already has four schemes in place offering compensation to post officer operators who suffered because faulty Horizon IT software led to them being wrongly blamed for missing money. More than 900 people were prosecuted, more than 100 were jailed, but many more lost out because they were forced to repay money they were accused of losing or stealing, and/or because they lost their jobs.
The Horizon system was introduced in 1999. But there have been suspicions that similar flaws existed with the Capture IT accounting system used by the Post Office in the 1990s before Horizon was rolled out. In September the government published a report by the consultants Kroll saying there was “a reasonable likelihood that Capture could have created shortfalls for subpostmasters”.
Today the Department for Business and Trade has published its reponse. It says it is extending its compensation offer to take into account the Kroll conclusions. Several post office operators raised problems with Capture at the time, it says, but it does not put a figure on how many people might be eligible for compensation and it says some of those affected will have died.
A significant amount of time has also passed, and we recognise that this means that timescales are far greater, and the population of postmasters that used Capture will be more advanced in age, or a greater proportion of the population may have unfortunately died. We also recognise that the passage of time means that evidence of shortfalls and consequential losses, and evidence relating to suspensions, termination, prosecution, or convictions, will be far more difficult to find. It will therefore be difficult for claimants to corroborate their claims with contemporary evidence. Postmasters, the Post Office, or the UK government may not have enough evidence, and we may never find enough evidence to determine liability to the level that would be expected by the courts.
In a news release, Reynolds says:
It is thanks to testimony of postmasters that this has been brought to light and failings have been discovered.
We must now work quickly to provide redress and justice to those who have suffered greatly after being wrongly accused.
I’d like to encourage anyone who believes they have been affected by Capture to share their story with us so we can put wrongs to right once and for all.
Gareth Thomas, the Post Office minister, says that details of how compensation will be paid to people who suffered as a result of flaws with Capture will be worked over over the coming months. He explains:
We are considering the right form of redress for victims who have suffered.
This is a challenging exercise given the passage of time and the significant lack of records and evidence.
Our proposals will be developed through engaging with postmasters and legal representatives.
Over the coming months, we want to determine the scope of the financial redress and the eligibility criteria so that we can bring closure to the impacted postmasters.
Sibling eligibility for infected blood compensation payments extended
The first few victims of the infected blood scandal have received their final compensation pay outs, PA Media reports. And eligibility criteria allowing siblings to get compensation have been extended. PA says:
Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said that those whose brothers or sisters were infected with potentially deadly viruses while receiving care should be fairly compensated.
He also announced in a written ministerial statement that the government “accepts in full or accepts in principle” all of the 12 recommendations made as part of the Infected Blood Inquiry.
More than 30,000 people were given infected blood, or infected blood products, between the 1970s and early 1990s while undergoing NHS care.
Some 3,000 people died as a result and survivors are living with lifelong health implications.
Last week, the government announced that 10 people have been offered compensation totalling more than £13m.
Starmer announces further £35m in emergency support for Ukraine to help it repair its energy grid
Keir Starmer has announced £35m in emergency support for Ukraine to help it repair its energy grid.
In an announcement released as Starmer was attending the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) leader’s summit in Estonia, Downing Street also unveiled fresh sanctions against the “shadow fleet” of oil tankers used by Russia to sell its oil. No 10 said:
The UK has provided £35m of emergency support to help Ukraine repair its energy grid and support the most vulnerable through a third winter of war, the prime minister has announced today.
It comes as the UK also reinforces its iron-clad support for Ukraine by launching fresh sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector. Today’s sanctions target 20 shadow fleet ships carrying illicit Russian oil, including Ocean Faye, Andaman Skies and Mianzimu, which have each carried more than four million barrels of Russian oil in 2024.
Key lynchpins in enabling the trading of Putin’s precious oil, 2Rivers DMCC and 2Rivers PTE LTD have also been slapped with sanctions. These new measures will further drain Putin’s war chest, by clamping down on the oil revenues he so desperately needs to fuel his illegal war and put those who enable Russia’s oil exports on notice.
And Starmer said:
As Putin’s oil revenues continue to fuel the fires of his illegal war, Ukrainian families are enduring cold, dark nights, often without heating, light or electricity, targeted by Russia’s relentless missile attacks.
But these systematic attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure will not grind Ukraine down. It will only deepen our resolve and support.
Lisa Nandy appoints Margaret Hodge to lead review of Arts Council, to stop culture being 'preserve of privileged few'
Margaret Hodge, the former Labour minister and former chair of the Commons public accounts committee, stood down as an MP at the election. But it looks as though she has never been busier. Now in the House of Lords, last week she was appointed as the government’s anti-corruption champion. And today Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, has announced that Hodge will lead an independent review into Arts Council England. In a Commons written statement, Nandy says:
This government will ensure that the arts and culture will no longer be the preserve of a privileged few. We will also place arts and culture at the heart of our plan for change to deliver growth and break down the barriers to opportunity across the country. This review will ensure that Arts Council England is best positioned to help deliver this and successfully steward our cultural and creative sectors in every part of England, helping to rebuild Britain in a decade of national renewal.
Police in England and Wales to get real terms funding increase of 3.5%, Home Office says
Police forces in England and Wales will receive a real terms funding increase of 3.5% in 2025-26, the Home Office has announced. PA Media reports:
In a written statement, Diana Johnson, the policing minister, said the 2025-26 settlement will amount to £17.4bn, an increase of up to £986.9m on the current year.
The additional funding will cover the costs of the pay rises given to officers, the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) and also pay for recruitment to help meet the government’s neighbourhood policing promises.
The total amount going into policing, including the money to forces along with “wider system funding” will be £19.5bn, a £1bn increase, representing an overall 3% real terms rise.
And Johnson said:
Of the £986.9m of additional funding for police forces, I can confirm that £657.1m of this is an increase to government grants, which includes an increase in the core grants of £339m to ensure police forces are fully equipped to deliver our safer streets mission.
This also includes £230.3m to compensate territorial forces for the costs of the change to the employer national insurance contributions from 2025-26, and an additional £100m to kickstart the first phase of 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles. This will provide policing with the funding required to tackle crime and keep communities safe.
Chinese embassy says British MPs should 'stop creating trouble' and 'stop anti-China political manipulations'
The Chinese embassy in the UK has told British MPs to “immediately stop creating trouble” and “stop anti-China political manipulations”.
In a statement released this morning on its website, in response to Yang Tengbo being named yesterday as the alleged Chinese “spy” who befriended Prince Andrew, an embassy spokesperson that “anti-China clamours made by a handful of UK MPs” had “revealed their twisted mentality towards China”. The spokesperson accused them of trying to “smear China” and “undermine normal personnel exchanges between China and the UK”.
Here is the statement.
As for the anti-China clamours made by a handful of UK MPs, they have done nothing but fully revealed their twisted mentality towards China, as well as their arrogance and shamelessness. This is a typical case of a thief crying “catch thief”. What they are really up to is to smear China, target against the Chinese community in the UK and undermine normal personnel exchanges between China and the UK. We strongly condemn this.
I must point out that the CPC [Chinese Communist Party] and the Chinese government uphold that countries should pursue friendship and cooperation on the basis of mutual respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit. This is what we have been saying and what we have been doing. This is also why China has so many friends around the world …
We urge the UK side to immediately stop creating trouble, stop anti-China political manipulations, and stop undermining normal personnel exchanges between China and the UK.
In the Commons yesterday Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, was particularly critical of the United Front Work Department, a Chinese intelligence gathering unit. Duncan Smith said: “The intelligence and security committee report last year said [the UFWD] had penetrated ‘every sector’ of the UK economy, including by spying, stealing intellectual property, influencing, and shaping our institutions.”
But in today’s statement the embassy spokesperson defended the UFWD. The spokesperson said.
I also want to reiterate that theUnited Front led by the CPC endeavours to bring together various political parties and people from all walks of life, ethnic groups and organisations to promote cooperation between the CPC and people who are not members of it and promote people-to-people exchanges and friendship with other countries. This is above-board and beyond reproach. Though some UK politicians attempted to demonise China’s United Front work, they are doomed to fail.
We always believe that a sound and stable China-UK relationship is not a one-sided favour but what meets the common interests of both sides. The UK side must have a right perception of China, see the historical trend clearly, and handle its relations with China on the basis of mutual respect, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit.
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Former first minister Humza Yousaf says he will step down from Scottish parliament at next election
Humza Yousaf, the former Scottish first minister, has announced that he will stand down as an MSP at the next Holyrood election, in 2026.
In a letter to current first minister John Swinney, Yousaf said he will be campaigning hard for the SNP at the next election but will not run himself. He said:
Come 2026, I will have served 15 years as an MSP, 12 of those years as a minister in the Scottish government.
The next Scottish parliament elections in 2026 will be the right time for me to move on, to provide an opportunity for the next generation of MSPs to step forward, and to explore where I can best make a contribution in the future in helping to tackle some of the most pressing challenges our world faces.
Yousaf said that he hoped his time as first minister had been an inspiration to others.
It is often said that you cannot be what you cannot see. I hope by by becoming the first first minister of colour, and first Muslim leader of a Western democratic nation, I have sent a clear message to every young person, of any background, who aspires to get involved in public service, that you do belong and are just as deserving of opportunity as everybody else.
And he said that, although he had made mistakes, he felt he had always treated people with respect.
When one chapter begins to close, you often spend time reflecting on your achievements, mistakes and even regrets – I have all three. However, I hope that throughout it all, I was able to treat people with kindness, courtesy and respect.
He has posted the full letter on social media.
Come 2026, I will have served 15 years as an MSP. The time will be right for me to move on.
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) December 17, 2024
As the son of immigrants, I could never have imagined the incredible political journey I have been on. I feel blessed.
Thank you to all of those who have supported me over the years. pic.twitter.com/m1WmuG09X7
In a response, Swinney said:
I am sorry to see @HumzaYousaf stepping down @ScotParl. He has been a pioneer in Scottish politics. I value all he has contributed to @scotgov and @theSNP and look forward to his continued involvement. I wish Humza, Nadia and their family much peace together
The Post Office Horizon IT inquiry is hearing closing submissions from counsel today. Lawyers representing (in order) the Post Office, Paula Vennells, Fujitsu, Gareth Jenkins, and the Department for Business and Trade are all speaking, and they have been allocated an hour each.
The hearing started at 9.30am. There is a live feed here.
Phillipson says government has ‘no plans’ to ban smacking in England despite hints Sara Sharif case prompting rethink
Good morning. The children’s wellbeing and schools bill is being published today and, as Sally Weale reports, it will set out plans to tighten checks on children being educated at home in England.
Publication coincides with the sentencing of the killers of 10-year-old Sara Sharif – her father and step-mother – following a trial that revealed details of one of the most shocking cases of child cruelty heard by a British court in years. Sara was taken out of school, and educated at home in the months before her death, even though teachers had started to notice evidence that she was being assaulted at home, and so the legislation – although planned well before the trial – does address one of safeguarding loopholes the Sharif case has highlighted.
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has been giving interviews this morning. She told the Today programme:
Too many children have been failed by the state in recent years, it is clear that action is required. So no more lessons learned, no more words. Today we set out our plans to make sure that those agencies are working together and that we have much greater visibility of where children are and what they’re experiencing in their lives.
But in interviews Phillipson has also said the government does not plan to legislate to ban smacking children in England – even though it is banned in Scotland and Wales, and even though the government indicated in the autumn a rethink was on the cards.
In 2022, as opposition leader, Keir Starmer said he would like to see the ban extended to England. In October, after the Sara Sharif muder trial opened, Dame Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner, said that “a ban on smacking is a necessary step to keep children safe and to stop lower level violence from escalating” and at the time the Department for Education said: “We are looking closely at the legal changes made in Wales and Scotland as we consider whether there is any more we could do in this area.” Last week, after the verdicts were delivered in the Sharif trial, de Souza said:
What haunts me the most about Sara’s death is that her father used the words ‘I legally punished my child’, believing this to be a defence to murder. It is unthinkable that any parent or carer could hide behind our legal system to justify such cruelty – and yet, children living in England today have less protection from assault than adults.
Yet today Phillipson has said that the government still has “no plans” to act on this. She told LBC:
We’re not intending to legislate around this. I do want to look at the experience in Wales and Scotland where they have legislated to understand what the effect has been.
And, asked why the government is not implementing a ban in England, she told Times Radio:
Because what I want to understand is the impact and the effect of the legislation in Wales. They will be setting out the first round of a review into the implications and effect of the legislation that they had introduced. I would like to see that, would like to understand it, and to decide then whether it’s necessary to take further measures here in England.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Keir Starmer has been having a breakfast meeting with business leaders in Estonia. Later he is attending the Joint Expeditionary Force summit, and then visiting British forces near the border with Russia.
9.30am: The Post Office Horizon scandal inquiry hears closing statements from counsel representing the Post Office, Paula Vennells, Fujitsu, Gareth Jenkins, and the Department for Business and Trade.
10.30am: Charles Clarke, the former Labour home secretary, and Michael Gove, the former Conservative justice secretary, give evidence on prisons to the Lords justice and home affairs committee.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
11.30am: Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
Early afternoon (probably): The Home Office publishes a written ministerial statement with details of funding for police forces in England and Wales in 2025-26.
2.30pm: Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, gives evidence to the Commons home affairs committee (which for many years she used to chair).
2.30pm: Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, gives evidence to the Commons justice committee.
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