Closing summary
The government hopes to soon be able to announce measures for resolving outstanding criminal convictions in relation to the Post Office Horizon scandal, a minister has told MPs tonight. Kevin Hollinrake, the business and trade minister, told parliament that options have been “devised” for dealing with the outstanding convictions but that conversations needed to be had with senior members of the judiciary.
He told MPs: “All of us on these benches and across the house are united in our desire to see justice done. We have devised some options for resolving the outstanding criminal convictions with much more pace … I am confident that we should be able to implement measures that address the concerns expressed by the advisory board. I hope the government will be able to announce these proposals to the house very shortly.”
Ed Davey has accused senior Post Office managers of unleashing a “conspiracy of lies” against successive ministers as he defended – and refused to apologise for – his role in the Horizon scandal. The Liberal Democrat leader, who has been criticised for letting down victims of the miscarriage of justice as postal affairs minister between 2010 and 2012, said the government had “dragged their feet” on overturning convictions and issuing compensation payments.
Rishi Sunak would “strongly support” the honours forfeiture committee if it decided to review the former Post Office boss Paula Vennells’ CBE after the Horizon scandal, Downing Street has said. Calls are growing for the former chief executive, who oversaw the organisation while it routinely denied there were problems with its IT system, to hand back her honour after an ITV drama returned the widespread miscarriage of justice to the spotlight. A petition demanding that the honours forfeiture committee remove Vennells’ CBE over the scandal, which has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history, has already attracted more than 1 million signatures.
The Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, has urged independence supporters to defect from the Scottish National party to “boot the Tories out” of Downing Street, as the first minister, Humza Yousaf, told wavering voters that the cost of living crisis made independence more urgent than ever. As the two leaders made their first major speeches on Monday, in what is expected to be a general election year, both made particular reference to pro-independence voters. The cohort will be essential in the coming campaign as voters previously loyal to the SNP are becoming convinced that Labour can offer more immediate solutions to soaring household bills and crumbling public services.
Rishi Sunak has refused to endorse the partner of the disgraced former Conservative MP Peter Bone to replace him as the party’s candidate in the Wellingborough byelection. Helen Harrison’s selection on Sunday has drawn controversy given the byelection was triggered after more than 10% of local voters signed a petition to recall Bone after revelations about his behaviour. Bone, who had held the seat with a majority since 2005, was recalled after the parliamentary watchdog found he had broken the MPs’ code of conduct on four counts of bullying and one of sexual misconduct.
Centrist Conservative MPs have hit back after one of their rightwing colleagues claimed the party “faces obliteration” at the next election unless it shifts to the right. Members of the One Nation group of Tories have rejected the claims made by Danny Kruger that the party has made Britain worse during its 13 years in power and could be on course for a heavy defeat at this year’s election.
Alok Sharma, the UK’s former business and energy secretary, will not be voting for Rishi Sunak’s oil and gas bill, criticising it as a sign the government was “not serious” about meeting its international climate commitments. The bill, due to be debated in parliament on Monday, would allow for an annual licensing regime for oil and gas exploration contracts. It has been hugely controversial among the green wing of the Conservative party – the former minister Chris Skidmore announced on Friday he would be stepping down as an MP as a result of the proposed legislation.
Labour has vowed to reset the “broken relationship between schools and families” by tackling the crisis in pupil absences and child mental health, ahead of rival policy announcements from the party and the government this week. Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, is to set out the “generational challenges” facing England’s schools and pupils in a keynote speech on Tuesday. It will come a day after the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, announces the government’s latest efforts to repair school attendance rates since the Covid pandemic.
A medical NGO known for emergency relief in war zones is treating asylum seekers housed in a disused airbase in the James Cleverly’s constituency, the Guardian can reveal. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is offering thrice-weekly clinics to people contained by the Home Office in RAF Wethersfield, Essex, which is based in the home secretary’s Braintree constituency. It is the first time that MSF, which is known for its work in Gaza, South Sudan and Syria, has offered medical relief specifically for people seeking asylum in the UK.
More than 1 million people in England died prematurely in the decade after 2011 owing to a combination of poverty, austerity and Covid, according to “shocking” research by one of the UK’s leading public health experts. The figures are revealed in a study by the Institute of Health Equity at University College London led by Sir Michael Marmot. They demonstrate the extent to which stark economic and social inequalities are leading to poorer people dying early from cancer, heart problems and other diseases.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, and indeed the UK politics live blog for today. Thanks for following along.
Conservative former cabinet minister Maria Miller told the Commons: “Now is the time for the Government to consider how all convictions that relied on evidence from the Horizon system, which must now be seen as unsafe, could be quashed without victims having to endure further legal wrangling.”
Business minister Kevin Hollinrake said:
I share her ambition. Ideally we would like a process that does not require a convicted postmaster to come forward, something we could do across the board - that’s exactly what we’re looking at, and I hope to have some news for her in the coming days.
Speaking elsewhere in the session, he said:
An immediate overturning (of) convictions is something we’re looking to achieve as soon as possible, if that is possible, clearly subject to the caveats I said earlier in my remarks.
Despite what clearly the Post Office has done itself, I think most members of the public still look at the Post Office... the network, with great admiration.
