Summary
- Suella Braverman claims sexual misconduct at parliament part of wider problem linked to ‘coarsening of behaviour’. She said that watching pornography on a phone in the Commons chamber was “absolutely reprehensible”. She added that she did not know the identity of the male Tory MP accused of doing this, and that she was not at the meeting on Monday night when a colleague first spoke about witnessing this.
- Conservative MP Jamie Wallis charged with failing to stop after a car crash last year. The MP for Bridgend and first openly transgender MP was arrested on suspicion of “driving whilst unfit” following the late-night collision when a car hit a lamppost in Llanblethian on 28 November. At the time Wallis said he was “assisting police with their inquiries”.
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Liam Byrne says he is ‘profoundly sorry’ for bullying member of staff.
The Labour MP Liam Byrne has issued a statement saying he is “profoundly sorry” for bullying a member of his staff. He said he was glad that the panel that investigated the complaint, and recommended a two-day suspension as punishment, recognised his remorse.
- Parliament prorogues. This involves a ceremony that sees MPs attending the House of Lords (as they do for the Queen’s speech), where they listen as a royal commission (five peers, wearing robes and bicorne hats) announces that the current session of parliament is over.
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Sturgeon says society will lose out if sexism means women are discouraged from entering politics. Asked at FMQs about sexist attacks on Angela Rayner, the Labour frontbencher, Sturgeon said that she was “absolutely appalled both by the male Conservative MP who thought it was okay to make these pathetic and derogatory comments, but also by the fact that we still live in a society that is deemed acceptable for a story like that to be published in a major newspaper”.
- The Cabinet Office says UK firms will save at least £1bn from the decision to delay some planned post-Brexit checks on food imports. Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexit opportunities minister, has confirmed that the UK is delaying the introduction of physical checks on fresh food being imported into the country from the EU. As my colleague Lisa O’Carroll writes, it is the fourth time the introduction of these measures – part of the new post-Brexit border controls – has been delayed.
- Starmer says Tories should take action now against the MP accused of watching porn on his phone in the chamber. Keir Starmer has told ITV that the Conservative party should take act immediately.
- Boris Johnson has said allegations that a Tory MP watched pornography in the Commons chamber are “obviously unacceptable”.
That’s it from us for today. For the latest live news updates, you can follow our Ukraine blog:
Updated
Boris Johnson has said allegations that a Tory MP watched pornography in the Commons chamber are “obviously unacceptable”.
Asked by broadcasters during a visit to Burnley whether the parliamentarian would lose the Conservative whip if the allegations are proven, the prime minister said:
I think it’s obviously unacceptable for anybody to be doing that kind of thing in the workplace.
It would be the same for any kind of job up and down the country, let’s be absolutely clear about that.
What needs to happen now is that the proper procedures need to be gone through, the independent complaints and grievances procedure needs to be activated and we need to get to understand the facts, but, yeah, that kind of behaviour is clearly totally unacceptable.”
Updated
Imran Ahmad Khan has said he has now resigned as Wakefield’s MP and will no longer be a parliamentarian from this Saturday, two-and-a-half weeks after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.
Helen Pidd reports that Ahmad Khan told the Guardian he had submitted his resignation on Monday and that it was effective from 30 April. That means he will be paid his salary in full for April.
The Conservative party will then choose a date for a byelection, which will probably take place in late June, after the jubilee bank holidays and local elections.
The Treasury has received his resignation letter, the Guardian understands.
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The UK government has acknowledged that processing problems within the Home Office have led to delays between the approval of visas for Ukrainian refugees and emailed notification that the visas have been granted, preventing many vulnerable people from swiftly making their way to safety.
Politicians from all parties highlighted a variety of serious problems with the Homes for Ukraine visa scheme during an urgent question in the Commons on the Home Office’s handling of the refugee crisis.
Amelia Gentleman’s report looks at the latest figures, which show that just one in five people issued visas under the Homes for Ukraine scheme had arrived in the UK.
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Some of Britain’s biggest seaports are considering legal action against the government to recover the costs of building border control posts they fear will never be used, after confirmation that post-Brexit import checks will be delayed for a fourth time.
Controls on food and animal products would not be introduced until at least 2023, said Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexit opportunities minister, in a written statement published on Thursday.
Jasper Jolly reports:
Updated
Senior ministers hit out at Westminster’s “shameful” culture in which some men act like “animals”, as a Tory MP faces the prospect of being thrown out of parliament for watching pornography in the Commons chamber.
The allegations against the MP are set to be examined under parliament’s independent complaints and grievance scheme (ICGS), which investigates allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct.
Suella Braverman, the attorney general, said if the subject of the complaint was found to have been watching pornography it should result in them “no longer holding their privileged position as a member of parliament”.
She added said that while the men she had worked with had been “respectful, courteous and supportive” there was a “very small minority of men – and it is men – who fall short and there are some bad apples who are out of order, who behave like animals, and are bringing parliament into disrepute to be honest”.
Sajid Javid, the health secretary, said: “There have been several instances of inappropriate and sexist behaviour recently in parliament. It is shameful.
“Parliamentarians are public servants and it is their duty to set an example of character and integrity. The culture of Westminster needs to change.”
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Caroline Nokes has said that that calls from the chief whip for the complaint to be referred to parliamentary authorities amounted to “kicking it into long grass”.
Speaking to the PoliticsHome podcast, Nokes said she was “disappointed” that no action was taken swiftly against the accused MP the following day.
“I thought I would wake up on Wednesday morning to find somebody had had the whip withdrawn, and that didn’t happen,” she told PoliticsHome.
“We’ve seen the whip withdrawn from colleagues for a variety of reasons over the years. I thought this seemed to be fairly straightforward. It was raised by one colleague, it was corroborated by another. That seems to me perfectly enough to withdraw the whip.”
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The government has said that it has dropped its plans to impose further checks on goods entering the UK from the European Union.
The Brexit opportunities minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg, said it would be “wrong to impose new administrative burdens and risk disruption at ports” and added that no further import controls would be imposed on EU goods this year.
The change means restrictions on the imports of chilled meats from the EU and border checks on plant and animal products will not be introduced in July.
Port operators expressed frustration that time and money spent preparing for the new checks has been “wasted”.
Rees-Mogg said a “new regime of border import controls” will be established by the end of 2023.
You can read the full story from Lisa O’Carroll here:
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Ed Miliband MP, Labour’s shadow climate change and net zero secretary, has responded to the chancellor conceding the case for a windfall tax, saying: “As energy prices for families rocket, Rishi Sunak’s words show that the government is simply running out of excuses to oppose a windfall tax on oil and gas companies.
“The truth is that oil and gas companies are spending their record profits on billions in dividends and share buybacks.
“All the while that the government resists a windfall tax, the British people pay the price in the energy bills crisis they face.
“It’s time the government dropped their threadbare excuses, did the right thing, and put a windfall tax on oil and gas producers to bring real help to the British people.”
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Sajid Javid, the health secretary, has joined those saying the work culture at Westminster needs to change.
There have been several instances of inappropriate & sexist behaviour recently in Parliament. It is shameful.
— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) April 28, 2022
Parliamentarians are public servants and it is their duty to set an example of character and integrity. The culture of Westminster needs to change.
That is all from me for today. My colleague Tobi Thomas is taking over now.
The Cold Chain Federation, which represents many firms that transport food goods, has welcomed the government’s decision to further delay the introduction of physical checks on EU food imports. (See 1.44pm.) These are from Shane Brennan, its chief executive.
We welcome this decision by @DefraGovUK and @cabinetofficeuk - which marks an ongoing dialogue between @ColdChainFed and others on the implementation of post-Brexit food import controls - statement 1/6 https://t.co/Vn8MQI05E3
— Shane Brennan (@ColdChainShane) April 28, 2022
Despite all the hard work preparing it was clear that the July vet controls would have had a devastating effect on the ability of our food businesses to import goods that UK consumers want. 2/6
— Shane Brennan (@ColdChainShane) April 28, 2022
In a thread that continues from these tweets, Brennan says he hopes the government will take the time it now has to rethink the way these controls are implemented.
What we have learnt is that no amount of preparation time can solve the fundamental harm that complex, load by load paperwork processes have on ability and willingness to trade. 5/6
— Shane Brennan (@ColdChainShane) April 28, 2022
So we can now take the time available to build new, better ways to implement these rules and meet the promise of establishing the most innovative border in the world for our food traders.” 6/6
— Shane Brennan (@ColdChainShane) April 28, 2022
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Starmer says Tories should take action now against MP accused of watching porn on phone in chamber
Keir Starmer has told ITV that the Conservative party should take action now against the MP accused of watching pornography on his phone in the Commons chamber. The party has said it wants the matter to be resolved through the independent complaints and grievance scheme (ICGS) – even though that would require one of the female MPs who saw their colleague watching porn to submit a formal complaint, which is not thought to have happened yet. Starmer said the Tories should act more quickly. He said:
This is an unusual case because the Tory party knows who this individual is. I think that they should deal with it, and deal with it sooner rather than later … They know who this is. They should take action now.
Asked about the report that a member of his own shadow cabinet told an MP that she was an asset because women voters wanted to be her friend and men wanted to sleep with her, he said he was “deeply concerned” about this allegation. He said Labour had a complaints procedure and he hoped the woman would have the confidence to use it. “I would want to get to the bottom of this and do something about it,” he said.
'The Tory party, they know who this is, they should take action now'@Keir_Starmer says the @Conservatives know which MP was watching porn in the Commons and them to deal with it swiftly
— ITV News Politics (@ITVNewsPolitics) April 28, 2022
He also responds to claims of sexism against a senior Labour MP https://t.co/XKGYAn1EDt pic.twitter.com/SL185oQwER
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Cabinet Office says UK firms will save at least £1bn from decision to delay some planned post-Brexit checks on food imports
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexit opportunities minister, has confirmed that the UK is delaying the introduction of physical checks on fresh food being imported into the country from the EU. As my colleague Lisa O’Carroll writes, it is the fourth time the introduction of these measures – part of the new post-Brexit border controls – has been delayed.
In a statement, the Cabinet Office says British importers will save at least £1bn from the move – an effective admission that the Brexit controls planned by government have been a burden for business. The Cabinet Office says:
The remaining import controls on EU goods will no longer be introduced this year, the government has announced today.
Instead, traders will continue to move their goods from the European Union to Great Britain as they do now.
Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and the recent rise in global energy costs, have had a significant effect on supply chains that are still recovering from the pandemic.
The government has therefore concluded that it would be wrong to impose new administrative requirements on businesses, who may pass on the associated costs to consumers already facing pressures on their finances.
The change in approach is expected to save British importers at least £1bn in annual costs.
The government says it will now look at how to introduce the remaining checks “in an improved way”.
After Brexit, the UK and the EU both had to introduce regulations and checks for imports that were not required when Britain was in the single market. Britain has been phasing in its new checks over time, to give businesses a chance to prepare, and in 2022 physical checks on meat were due to come into force from 1 July, on dairy from 1 September and on other food products from 1 November. But now there will be no further changes this year.
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Sturgeon says society will lose out if sexism means women are discouraged from entering politics
Nicola Sturgeon has told MSPs that she stands in solidarity with Angela Rayner and called on men to reflect on the impact of misogynistic behaviour.
Asked at FMQs about sexist attacks on the Labour frontbencher, Sturgeon said that she was “absolutely appalled both by the male Conservative MP who thought it was okay to make these pathetic and derogatory comments, but also by the fact that we still live in a society that is deemed acceptable for a story like that to be published in a major newspaper”.
Referring to a previous Mail article that compared her to the then prime minister Theresa May under the headline “Legs-it”, she added:
Unfortunately, I am all too familiar with – in my case – the Daily Mail’s tactics of attempting to reduce women politicians to their legs, a tactic which, to the best of my knowledge, is never used to dismiss and degrade male politicians.
Sturgeon added that the story highlighted “deep-seated sexism and misogyny in society”, and said she was pleased that her government was now committed to consult on draft legislation to tackle misogyny following the report by Helena Kennedy’s working group on improving the legal system for women facing abuse of all kinds.
Calling on men, specifically, to change their behaviour, she concluded:
We will rue the day we make it more difficult and less attractive for women to come forward for election to public office. It is time to draw a line in the sand and it’s time for men – not all men are misogynist, but misogyny comes from men – to change.
Updated
Parliament prorogues
Parliament has just prorogued. This involves a ceremony that sees MPs attending the House of Lords (as they do for the Queen’s speech), where they listen as a royal commission (five peers, wearing robes and bicorne hats) announces that the current session of parliament is over.
Updated
In her Mansion House speech last night Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, said that Britain and its allies wanted Russia to leave “the whole of Ukraine”. In interviews this morning Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, said this included Crimea, which was occupied by Russia in 2014. He insisted this was not a new demand. He said:
The international community believes Russia should leave Ukraine, the international community has condemned Russia for its invasion of Crimea, which was illegal in 2014. We’ve constantly said that Russia should leave Ukraine sovereign territory, so that hasn’t changed.
But, speaking to Sky News, Wallace also stressed that Crimea was not an immediate priority. He said:
There’s a long way to go before Ukraine pushes into Crimea. I think what I would certainly say is, we are supporting Ukraine’s sovereign integrity. We’ve done that all along. That of course includes Crimea.
But you know, first and foremost, let’s get Russia out of where they are now in its invasion plans and help Ukraine resolve … and actually remember the Minsk agreement, which Russia has basically ripped up, was all about trying to resolve those two occupied territories.
In a separate interview, Wallace said that the more violently the Russian invaders behaved, the more the west would support Ukraine with arms. He told Times Radio:
What we were always careful to do is make sure that we calibrated whatever weapons we sent in. It’s important to link Russian behaviour with the response. If they do horrendous things, they must recognise that there will be an increase in weapons to the Ukrainians to see them off.
And so, you know, if Russia continues to bomb indiscriminately people from the air – look what it’s done in Mariupol, for example – destroyed the city, then of course the west will respond more to Ukrainian requests for self-defence, and sometimes that will include planes and tanks.
He also said that if possible the UK would supply Ukraine with anti-ship missiles.
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Liam Byrne says he is 'profoundly sorry' for bullying member of staff
The Labour MP Liam Byrne has issued a statement saying he is “profoundly sorry” for bullying a member of his staff. He said he was glad that the panel that investigated the complaint, and recommended a two-day suspension as punishment (see 11.30am), recognised his remorse. He said:
Two years ago at the beginning of lockdown, following a workplace dispute that led me to send the complainant home … I did not resolve the dispute correctly with a proper disciplinary process, and having nevertheless extended the complainant’s contract, thereby failed to fulfil my obligations as an employer and parliament’s behaviour code.
This constituted an ostracism which was a breach of parliament’s behaviour code which I strongly support, and caused distress for which I am profoundly sorry. I have apologised in full to the individual concerned.
I’m incredibly grateful to the panel for recognising the genuine remorse I felt about the impact on the individual concerned, the steps I have already taken to ensure this never happens again, along with the work still to do, and for concluding that I did not deliberately act to delay the investigation.
This has been a valuable lesson for me and one I am determined to learn, as me and my team seek to offer the best possible service and voice for the residents of Hodge Hill.
A Labour spokesperson said: “The Labour party fully supports the recommendations of this independent report, including the proposed sanction.”
Updated
Conservative MP Jamie Wallis charged with failing to stop after car crash last year
The Conservative MP Jamie Wallis has been charged with failing to stop after being involved in a car crash last year, PA Media reports. PA says:
Wallis has also been charged with failing to report a road traffic collision, driving without due care and attention and leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position.
The MP for Bridgend and first openly transgender MP was arrested on suspicion of ‘driving whilst unfit’ following the late-night collision when a car hit a lamppost in Llanblethian on 28 November. At the time, Wallis said he was ‘assisting police with their inquiries’.
South Wales police have said Wallis will appear before Cardiff magistrates’ court on 10 May.
Wallis announced that he was transgender in a statement on his website last month. In it he linked what happened on 28 November with difficulties he was having with his personal life at the time.
Updated
Braverman claims sexual misconduct at parliament part of wider problem linked to 'coarsening of behaviour'
And here is a full summary of the best lines from Suella Braverman’s interview with BBC Radio 4’s Women’s Hour.
- Braverman, the attorney general, said that some male MPs “behave like animals” - but that they were only a “very small minority”. (See 10.48am.)
- She said that watching pornography on a phone in the Commons chamber was “absolutely reprehensible”. But she said that she did not know the identity of the male Tory MP accused of doing this, and that she was not at the meeting on Monday night when a colleague first spoke about witnessing this.
- She said she would like the person seen watching porn in the Commons chamber to be removed as an MP. She said she did not want to prejudge the disciplinary process, but she suggested that in this case the recall procedure, which can lead to an MP being replaced in a byelection, might be appropriate.
- She said that sexual misconduct of this kind in parliament was part of a wider problem. She said that while people now felt more empowered than they did in the past (as an example, she cited people feeling free to post photographs of themselves online in their underwear), this was linked to a “coarsening of our behaviour in our culture”. She went on:
So I think as a society we’ve got to take this moment to reflect on what are we doing to lower standards of behaviour, whether that’s on the tube, in front of children, in parliament or in public.
The problem doesn’t start in parliament. It actually ends up there, and it starts in wider society, and that’s where we need to start discussing and agreeing some basic moral standards.
At another point, she suggested that most workplaces had similar problems. She said:
I think this is something that does happen in many, if not all workplaces, where a small minority of men – and it is men – who are behaving in an unacceptable way.
I think that’s actually a more worrying symptom of our society and our culture. How have we got to a place in our society where watching pornography on the tube, in public, in front of children, in parliament, in the workplace has become somehow normalised for some people?
This is different from the argument advanced by her colleague Ben Wallace this morning, who argued that there was a specific problem with sexist behaviour at Westminster, linked to particular factors that applied to MPs. (See 9.28am.)
- Braverman stressed that it was important for politicians, and the media, not to “fall into the trap of demonising all men”. She said her own personal experience, as an MP and as a laywer beforehand, had not involved being mistreated by male colleagues.
- She played down the significance of the Sunday Times report saying 56 MPs, including three cabinet ministers, were now the subjects of complaints about sexual misconduct. “There’s a very big difference between investigations and actual proven complaints,” she said. She also said that these complaints only covered a minority of MPs. When it was put to her that 56 seemed “quite high”, she said that she was making a judgment based on personal experience, and she believed that only a minority of MPs were causing a problem.
Updated
Labour MP Liam Byrne faces two-day suspension from Commons for bullying staff member
Liam Byrne, the Labour former cabinet minister, faces being suspended from the Commons for two days for bullying a staff member, PA Media reports. PA says:
Following an investigation by an independent investigator, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, Kathryn Stone, upheld an allegation of bullying against Byrne by a former member of his constituency staff made under parliament’s independent complaints and grievance scheme (ICGS).
The independent expert panel which considered the punishment for Byrne said the Birmingham Hodge Hill MP abused his position of power and ostracized the staff member by ceasing personal contact with him for several months and denying him access to his Parliamentary IT account.
The panel said Byrne “sought to present his actions as a reasonable HR strategy” but added: “We disagree. It was bullying.
“He should, as he now accepts, have tackled any misconduct through a proper disciplinary process not by ostracizing the complainant.”
The panel recommended that Byrne should be suspended for two sitting days on condition that he also make a written apology to the complainant; and undertake training and take action to address the causes of his behaviour and weaknesses in the management of his office.
In its report the panel said:
This case involves a serious breach of the bullying and harassment policy which arose from the respondent abusing his position of power and ostracizing the complainant, who was his employee, by ceasing personal contact with him for several months and denying him access to his parliamentary IT account. The impact of this behaviour was compounded by the fact that it occurred during the first period of lockdown when the complainant was physically separated from work colleagues, uncertain of his future work status and had undergone a period of ill health.
Byrne has accepted the panel’s decision.
Attorney general says some male MPs 'behave like animals' - but they are only 'very small minority'
Here is the quote from Suella Braverman, the attorney general, who told Radio 4’s Women’s Hour that some male MPs behaved “like animals”. She said:
I’ve been a member of parliament now for nearly seven years. I’ve been in the Conservative party and in politics for 20 years. My personal experience, I have to say, is that on no occasion have I been made to feel uncomfortable, and all the men that I’ve worked with have been respectful, courteous, and supportive.
There is, however, a very small minority of men, and it is men, who fall short. And there are some bad apples who are out of order, who behave like animals and bringing parliament into disrepute to be honest.
So I don’t think we should be saying there’s a pervasive culture. That’s not my experience. There are certain individuals who are behaving in an unacceptable way.
Suella Braverman, the attorney general, has told Radio 4’s Women’s Hour that some MPs “behave like animals”, the i’s Jane Merrick reports.
Cabinet minister Suella Braverman, the govt's chief law officer, has told @BBCWomansHour there is a small minority of male MPs who "behave like animals" and she's ashamed that the porn-watching MP wears the "Conservative rosette"
— Jane Merrick (@janemerrick23) April 28, 2022
I will post the full quotes shortly.
Updated
In an interview with Times Radio this morning Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, cited drinking as one of the factors contributing to the sexist culture at Westminster (see 9.28am) and said he would advise colleagues to stay out of the bars. He said:
My advice to any MP is, actually avoid the bars, finish your day’s work and go home.
Better advice, perhaps, might have been ”treat women with respect, and don’t watch pornography on your phone in the chamber”, because that would have stopped Liz Bates from Sky News pointing out that Wallace himself enjoys a drink. She is quoting from Politico’s London Playbook, which says he was one of the most senior guests last night at a birthday party for the Sun’s political editor, Harry Cole.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace this morning: “My advice to MPs is: avoid the bars. Finish your day’s work & go home.”
— Liz Bates (@wizbates) April 28, 2022
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace last night: pic.twitter.com/zbQ9UQruLf
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Parliament to prorogue after peers give up fighting government on elections bill and nationality and borders bill
Parliament is proroguing today because yesterday the House of Lords gave up fighting for changes to two bills passed by the Commons – the elections bill and the nationality and borders bill. The bills were among several subject to parliamentary “ping pong” – last-minute haggling between the Commons and the Lords - but, as usual, the Lords eventually conceded to the elected chamber.
This is from the PA Media report on the elections bill last night.
The way has been paved to end the current parliamentary session after the last major piece of legislation cleared the House of Lords.
Peers backed down from continuing their stand-off with the Tory-dominated Commons over the elections bill, rejecting making further changes which would have required the legislation being sent back to MPs for consideration.
The elections bill also contained contentious reforms, including the introduction of photo ID for voters, which it is feared could see a significant number of people turned away from polling stations, and provisions that critics warn threaten the independence of the Electoral Commission.
At the same time, it will scrap a 15-year limit on British citizens living overseas being able to vote from abroad.
Raising his concerns, Liberal Democrat peer Lord Wallace of Saltaire said: “One of the many adverse affects of this bill is that it makes it much easier, and without barriers, for overseas citizens to vote, but makes it more difficult for domestic citizens to vote. That’s very odd, and not entirely democratic, undesirable.”
Labour frontbencher Lady Hayman said: “The government has simply got it wrong on requiring voter ID to be presented at polling stations. We are disappointed and unhappy that there has been absolutely no movement whatsoever from the Government on this. There is clear concern right across this House about the undermining of the independence of the Electoral Commission.”
And this is from the PA report last night on the nationality and borders bill.
Controversial asylum and immigration reforms are poised to become law after peers halted their stand-off.
The bruising tussle over the nationality and borders bill ended after the House of Lords rejected by 212 to 157, majority 55, a last-ditch bid to ensure provisions in the legislation complied with the UK’s international obligations towards refugees.
There were cries of “shame” from some peers as the result was announced.
Contentious provisions in the bill include offshoring asylum, with the government already having struck a deal with Rwanda, and making it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally.
It also allows for asylum seekers to be treated differently based on how they entered the UK.
The bill had been mauled during its passage through the unelected chamber, but the changes made during the process known as parliamentary ping-pong were repeatedly overturned by the Commons, where the government has a majority.
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27,100 Ukrainians have arrived in UK under visa schemes, says Home Office
About 27,100 people have arrived in the UK under Ukraine visa schemes, PA Media reports. PA says:
This includes 16,000 people under the family scheme, and 11,100 people under the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme as of Monday, according to Home Office figures released this morning.
The figures also show that, as of Wednesday, around 117,600 applications have been made for visas, and 86,100 visas have been issued.
These include 42,900 applications under the family scheme, of which 34,900 visas have been granted, and 74,700 applications under the sponsorship scheme, of which 51,300 visas have been granted.
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There will be an urgent question (UA) in the Commons at 10.30am on the operation of visa application centres for Ukrainians, the Commons authorities have announced. The Lib Dem MP Wendy Chamberlain has tabled the UQ. A Home Office minister will respond.
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Minister says ‘toxic mix’ of factors at Westminster has created sexist culture which needs to change
Good morning. Yesterday’s revelation that a Conservative MP had been seen by female colleagues watching pornography on his phone in the Commons chamber, which emerged at a meeting where a group of female Tories complained to the whips about misogyny in the party, and which coincided with an ongoing debate about how women are treated at Westminster prompted by an article in the Mail on Sunday widely condemned as sexist, has created what feels like another MeToo moment. Whether it will lead to lasting change, though, remains to be seen.
Here is our overnight story.
Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, was on the morning broadcast round earlier and he said there was a problem with the “overall culture” at Westminster, because of a “toxic mix” of factors. He told Sky News:
This is a problem, I think, about the overall culture of the House of Commons. It is late sitting, long nights with bars, and that very often leads, and it has done for decades, to behavioural challenges.
In another interview Wallace described the long hours, the drinking and the pressure MPs face as “a toxic mix that leads to all sorts of things”.
Wallace said that he hoped the situation would improve. “I think it’s really important that we think about ways to change the culture in the House of Commons,” he said.
But the difficulty of achieving any significant culture shift became evident when Wallace was asked about the MP accused of watching porn in the chamber - who has not been named publicly, and whose identity is not common knowledge at Westminster. The Tory whips are not taking disciplinary action unilaterally; they are just saying that the matter should be dealt with through parliament’s independent complaints and grievance service (set up to deal with complaints about sexual misconduct by MPs), but that requires the female MPs who witnessed the porn watching to complain. It is not clear at this point that they will do so. Wallace told the Today programme that he would encourage them to submit a complaint.
Asked if he thought the culprit should be expelled from the Conservative party, Wallace would not go that far, but he said the person should “certainly lose the whip”.
MeToo led to women speaking about about misconduct that had previously been tolerated, and the BBC is reporting the comments of an unnamed female Welsh MP who says a member of the shadow cabinet told her that she was a secret weapon for her party because women voters wanted to be her friend, while men wanted to sleep with her. One BBC report said they were using “sleep with” as a euphemism because the actual language was cruder. Labour says it will take any complaint seriously, but according to the BBC report, the woman has not yet decided to make a formal complaint.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: The Home Office publishes its weekly figures on visas issued to Ukrainian refugees.
9.30am: The ONS publishes quarterly crime figures for England and Wales.
10.45am: James Cleverly, the Europe minister, gives evidence to the Commons European scrutiny committee.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
12pm: Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, takes questions from MSPs.
Late morning/early afternoon: Parliament is due to prorogue, meaning this session of parliament will formally end and MPs and peers will be in recess until the Queen’s speech, on Tuesday 10 May.
At some point today Steve Barclay, the PM’s chief of staff, is also due to meet Passport Office managers to discuss what it is doing to cut the delays customers are experiencing.
And Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexit minister, is on a visit where he due to announce a fourth delay to physical checks on fresh food imported from the EU.
I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com.
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