Afternoon summary
Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, said he would “choose his words very carefully” when asked if he would defend Suella Braverman calling migrant boats “an invasion”, but refused to criticise the home secretary.
Child asylum seekers who have recently arrived in the UK on small boats say screening officials have put pressure on them to say they are adults, the Guardian has been told.
The Tory MP Sir Roger Gale has said he does not trust Suella Braverman, the home secretary, on the issue of the Manston migration centre, which is in his constituency. (See 10.08am.)
Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, has had the Tory whip suspended after it emerged he was entering the jungle for I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!
A controversial and chaotic vote on fracking last month did involve some MPs shouting and crowding closely together, but there is no evidence to indicate bullying or intimidation, an official report for the Commons speaker has concluded.
There has been a surge of social media attacks on Rishi Sunak drawing on antisemitic conspiracy theories, casting the former banker as part of a “globalist” plot, with a sharp spike after Boris Johnson pulled out of the Conservative party leadership race.
Updated
Johnson says Putin would be 'crazy' to use nuclear weapon because it would be disastrous for Russia economically, diplomatically and domestically
This is what Boris Johnson said about why he thought President Putin would be “crazy” to use a nuclear weapon in the war against Ukraine. Asked if it was possible, he replied:
I don’t think [Putin] will. I think he would be crazy to do so.
I think what would happen is that he would immediately tender Russia’s resignation from the club of civilised nations. It would be a total disaster for his country.
The current economic punishment that the west has been able to dish out would be massively intensified. Russia would be put into a cryogenic economic freeze.
And I think he would lose a lot of the middle ground of global, tacit acquiescence that he’s had. If you look at sub-Saharan Africa, look at Latin America, look at Lula [Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva], who’s just been elected again, look at south Asia, there’s a lot of willingness to give Putin the benefit of the doubt. That will go the minute he does anything like that.
He would also, crucially I think, lose the patronage of the Chinese.
And above all, in his own country, I think he would trigger an absolutely hysterical reaction.
Boris Johnson confirms he is attending Cop27 climate conference in Egypt
In his interview with Sky News Boris Johnson also confirmed that he would be attending the Cop27 climate crisis conference in Egypt next week. He told Sky that he had been invited by the Egyptians, and that he was “very happy to go” because he had a “particular interest” in the topic.
Sky News is about to broadcast its Boris Johnson interview. The top line seems to be Boris Johnson saying that, if Vladimir Putin were to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, he would be “crazy” and Russia would be tendering its resignation from the club of civilised nations.
Sunak axes target for civil service job cuts, and restores fast-stream recruitment
Rishi Sunak has written to civil servants confirming the news – reported by the Guardian yesterday – that he is abandoning the plan to cut civil service numbers by 91,000. As we reported, he is also restoring recruitment through the civil service fast stream. Suspending the fast stream and axing 91,000 jobs were plans championed by Jacob Rees-Mogg when he was minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency earlier this year. But those plans were also accepted by Sunak, who was chancellor at the time. ITV’s Anushka Asthana has posted extracts from the letter.
New: Rishi Sunak has written to civil servants to confirm yesterday’s news that he his binning the plan (which I should say he signed off with Steve Barclay and Jacob Rees Mogg) to cut civil servant numbers by 91,000. Here are key bits of letter 👇 pic.twitter.com/vzePIf9COH
— Anushka Asthana (@AnushkaAsthana) November 1, 2022
Updated
Boris Johnson has recorded an interview with Sky’s Mark Austin which will be shown at 5pm. It will be his first broadcast interview since leaving No 10. It has been recorded as part of a special programme on Ukraine.
EXCLUSIVE: Boris Johnson has spoken to Sky's @markaustintv in his first broadcast interview since standing down as prime minister.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) November 1, 2022
⏰ Tonight from 5pm on Sky News
📱 Watch live: https://t.co/BfXyKDqVaF
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/IszIrrXXtR
Sinn Féin says Northern Ireland has been left 'in limbo' because Heaton-Harris refuses to say what he will do about election
Northern Ireland has been left “in limbo” because the secretary of state, Chris Heaton-Harris, is refusing to say he will do about holding a new election, Sinn Féin has said.
Michelle O’Neill, the Sinn Féin leader in Northern Ireland, made the claim after meeting Heaton-Harris for talks about the ongoing stalemate in the region, where a new election to the assembly is expected before Christmas.
O’Neill has been first minister-designate since the elections in May, which in which Sinn Féin emerged as the largest party for the first time in the 100-year history of Northern Ireland. But she has not been able to take up her post because the DUP is boycotting the power-sharing executive, because it wants the Northern Ireland protocol removed first.
When the 24-week deadline for forming a power-sharing executive ran out at midnight on Friday, the UK government came under a legal obligation to call a new election. There were reports that it might take place on 15 December. But Heaton-Harris has refused to confirm the date and in the past the UK government has sometimes legislated to postpone an election required by law in Northern Ireland – although ministers say that is not what they are planning this time.
After her meeting, O’Neill said:
The secretary of state told us that he had a legal obligation, that he would call that election at one minute past midnight [on Friday]. Then what we saw unfold last Friday was a bizarre U-turn, the failure to continue in that vein.
We’ve met with him again this morning. We’ve asked him a number of questions, but I have to say [he] provided no clarity, he provided no further information as to the U-turn. We’re left with no information in terms of what happens next, or at least what he intends to do next.
It’s very clear he has a legal obligation in which to call an election if an executive is not formed. But he did not colour in the lines today. He certainly did not provide any clarity around what he intends to do next, apart from to say that he’s here to meet with people.
O’Neill said she did not know what would happen next.
I think that the public, again, are left in limbo … I am none the wiser today in terms of his next step; he didn’t make that very clear.
He didn’t say what his next move was. But you can’t escape the reality that there’s a legal obligation on him to call the election. Instead, he’s created a political vacuum.
Updated
Tugendhat announces taskforce to defend UK's 'democratic integrity'
A taskforce is being set up to protect institutions, including parliament, from being subverted by foreign powers, Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, has announced.
In a statement to MPs Tugendhat said the PM had asked him to “lead a taskforce to drive forward work to defend the democratic integrity of our country”. He went on:
This taskforce will work with parliament, departments, the security and intelligence agencies, the devolved administrations and the private sector.
It will work to better protect the freedoms and institutions we hold dear, institutions such as this very house.
The taskforce will look at the full range of threats facing our democratic institutions.
This will include the physical threats to members of this parliament and those elected to serve across the country.
Responding to the statement for Labour, Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, asked for an assurance that there was “some kind of grip in government on attitudes towards security right across the heart of this government”. In particular, she criticised Boris Johnson for going to a party in Italy when he was foreign secretary hosted by the son of a former KGB agent, and Liz Truss for using a personal phone when she was foreign secretary that was reportedly hacked by a foreign power.
But Tugendhat refused to comment on these cases. But he did not criticise her for raising them either, and instead – adopting a consensual tone – he praised her for respecting the privacy of the briefings she has had on security matters on privy council terms. He said:
It would be completely wrong of me to use for any private party advantage comments on anything that the agencies have told me in private, and [Cooper] herself has been extremely gracious in accepting briefings on privy council terms, which she has completely correctly guarded the privacy of.
Updated
Former Tory minister suggests Hancock should be deselected by his local party for going on I'm a Celebrity
Tim Loughton, a Conservative former minister, has described Matt Hancock as “an absolute prat” following his disclosure that he will be taking part in I’m a Celebrity.
Speaking on Times Radio, Loughton also suggested that Hancock’s local constituency association should deselect him. Loughton said:
I’m completely disappointed and disgusted that he’s put his self and a so-called celebrity career ahead of serving his constituents. I think he’s been an absolute prat and the least he deserves is having the whip withdrawn from him, and if his local constituency have got any sense they might deselect him as well.
I think, particularly at this time, when there’s so much going on in the UK, when we have so much work to do for all our constituents to help people through the cost of living crisis, every MP’s attention should be focused on how we do that. And, frankly, being helicoptered off into a jungle in Australia doesn’t strike me as the best way of doing that, in which case he needs to get his priorities right.
Updated
One of the surprise appointments in Rishi Sunak’s first reshuffle was Andrew Mitchell becoming minister for development, with the right to attend cabinet. Mitchell first served in government 30 years ago, but he has been on the backbenches for the last 10 years; he may have assumed that his government career was over. A former international development secretary, he was also one of the fiercest critics of Rishi Sunak’s decision in 2020, when he was chancellor, to suspend the target of spending 0.7% of national wealth on aid.
In one of his first initiatives in his new role, Mitchell has written an open letter to the Commons international development committee saying that ending the pause on aid spending “as soon as possible” and “returning certainty” to the aid budget “this year and in future years” is a priority in his first weeks in office.
Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, has told MPs that the government wants to intenstify efforts to prevent “transnational repression” in the UK.
Responding to a Commons urgent question on reports that China has been operating secret “police stations” in the UK, which it uses to intimidate Chinese nationals living in the country, Tugendhat said:
Reports of undeclared police stations in the United Kingdom are, of course, extremely concerning and will be taken very seriously. Any foreign country operating on United Kingdom soil must abide by UK law.
The protection of people in the United Kingdom is of the utmost importance and any attempt to repatriate any individual will not be tolerated.
It is clear that we can and must do more. I have therefore asked officials to step up the work to ensure that our approach to transnational repression is robust and I have asked our department to review our approach to transnational repression as a matter of urgency.
Tugendhat also said that the protections of UK law should be available to everyone in the country and that the government was working with the police and the security agencies to address this issue. He went on to say that if evidence emerged of the law being broken, “then action will be taken”.
Updated
The Liberal Democrats have joined calls for Matt Hancock to have to forgo his MP’s salary while he participates in I’m a Celebrity. (See 12.06pm.) Sarah Olney, the Lib Dem Treasury spokesperson, said:
Yet again we see a Conservative MP taking voters for granted. At a time when MPs should be supporting their constituents with the cost of living crisis, Matt Hancock is choosing instead to go to the jungle to feed his own ego.
Matt Hancock should declare how much he is earning from appearing on the show, and forego his MP’s salary for the duration. The taxpayer should not pay him while he refuses to do his job.
Updated
The Labour MP Chris Bryant has said that he did see a Tory MP “manhandled” into voting a certain way in the fracking division – despite the Commons speaker saying today that his inquiry had found that did not happen. (See 12.35pm.)
Bryant went public on the night of the vote to say that he had seen the Tory MP Alexander Stafford “manhandled” and “bullied” by his colleagues in the voting lobby.
Speaking on the World at One on Radio 4, Bryant said:
I am not challenging the ruling of the speaker but I know what I saw and I am not withdrawing a single word.
It may be that some people feel that they weren’t bullied but I saw intimidatory behaviour.
If you have 15 or 12 MPs standing round one MP effectively, to my mind, kettling them, that is intimidatory behaviour and it will be seen as bullying in any other line of work.
Bryant posted a picture of what he saw on Twitter, even though MPs are not meant to photograph what happens in the chamber or in the voting lobbies. He later deleted the photograph, but in his interview he defended his decision to publicise it in the first place. He said:
I knew that I was breaking the rules. I have apologised to the House for breaking the rules. I thought sometimes you have to break a rule if you see a greater injustice being done. We are trying to change the culture in parliament.
Updated
Culture minister says government 'disappointed' by BBC's plan to cut local content on local radio stations
Julia Lopez, a culture minister, has said the government is “disappointed” by the plans announced by the BBC yesterday to cut the amount of designated local programming on its local radio stations.
Responding to a Commons urgent questions about the proposals, she told MPs:
Overall, we do have concerns about the proposals, which we were not given notice of.
I want to take this opportunity to stress that the BBC is rightly operationally and editorially independent from the government, and decisions on service delivery are ultimately a matter for them.
However, the government is disappointed that the BBC is reportedly planning to make such extensive cuts to its local radio output …
For those older residents living in rural areas, it can be a particular lifeline. The BBC must make sure it continues to provide distinctive and genuinely local radio services with content that reflects and represents people and communities from all corners of the UK.
Lopez also said that the BBC received £3.8bn a year from the licence fee and that, if it was not longer going to deliver “distinct, local and regional content”, then the government would be entitled to ask some “very serious questions”.
Other MPs expressed similar concerns. Emma Hardy (Lab), who tabled the UQ, said local radio “cannot call itself local when it stops being local after 2pm”. And Julian Knight (Con), the chair of the Commons culture committee, said there were “very real concerns over potential loss of local distinctiveness through these proposed cuts”.
Matt Hancock has failed to follow rules requiring former ministers to seek permission on post-government roles with his forthcoming appearance on I’m A Celebrity, the Guardian has learned.
Until June 2023, Hancock must seek permission from the advisory committee on business appointments before taking up outside employment or appointments, but has failed to make an application for his role on the reality show.
The Guardian understands that Lord Pickles, the Conservative chair of the committee, will be writing to Hancock to ask for an explanation for his failure to seek the committee’s advice before taking the role on the show.
The breach of the business appointment rules, which form part of the ministerial code, carries no financial penalties but could lead to Hancock’s future chances of receiving an honour or a peerage being diminished.
A spokesperson for Hancock did not respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.
No 10 claims 'significant proportion' of people crossing Channel in small boats are economic migrants
And here is a summary of all the other (ie, non-Hancock) lines from the Downing Street lobby briefing. It mostly covered asylum seekers, and the NHS.
Rishi Sunak told cabinet that the UK was a “compassionate, welcoming” country, the PM’s spokesperson told journalists. In a read-out of what was said at cabinet, the spokesperson said:
The prime minister said this will always be a compassionate, welcoming country and pointed to the success of the Homes for Ukraine scheme where 100,000 Ukrainians have now been taken in across the UK. He said the UK’s ability to do this depends on having control of our borders and that the entire government would be working together to further grip this important issue.
Suella Braverman, the home secretary, also stressed the need at cabinet for a “whole-government approach” to tackling the problems caused by people crossing the Channel in small boats, the spokesperson said.
But the spokesperson would not say whether Sunak could say the arrival of asylum seekers amounts to an “invasion”. He said he had not asked Sunak if he would use the term himself. Asked if the government would describe the arrivals as an “invasion”, the spokesperson said:
The home secretary was seeking to express the sheer scale of the challenge that faces the country.
George Parker, the FT’s political editor, says the “invasion” row is a typical dead cat distraction.
Suella Braverman has succeeded in turning the debate about her failing to grip the migrant crisis and security breaches into a discussion about her use of language, ie talking about "an invasion". Classic dead cat strategy.https://t.co/JlFcwU1LAZ
— George Parker (@GeorgeWParker) November 1, 2022
The PM’s spokesperson claimed that a “significant proportion” of people crossing the Channel on small boats were economic migrants. He said:
The home secretary was seeking to express the sheer scale of the challenge that faces the country, with people, including a significant proportion of economic migrants, seeking to make this journey.
But, as my colleague Aubrey Allegretti points out, the spokesperson would not define what “significant proportion” means.
Curiously, the PM’s spokesman today defended Suella Braverman’s language - saying she was reflecting frustration that a “significant proportion” of those arriving on small boats are “economic migrants”.
— Aubrey Allegretti (@breeallegretti) November 1, 2022
When pressed for evidence or any stats, none were given.
Exchange below 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/ta852xBCZN
According to recent Home Office figures, 76% of the applications for asylum considered in the year ending in June 2022 resulted in asylum being granted at the initial decision.
Sunak told cabinet the NHS faces a “challenging winter”. In a readout of cabinet, the spokesperson said:
The prime minister said significant progress had been made by the government – with almost 30,000 more nurses recruited, the continued rollout of community diagnostic centres and the near elimination of two year waits. But he said it will be a challenging winter.
Updated
Inquiry into fracking vote finds no evidence of MPs being bullied or forced into voting certain way, Speaker says
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, told MPs at the start of business today that there was no evidence of members being forced to vote a certain way during the division on fracking two weeks ago.
Hoyle launched an inquiry in response to allegations that some Tory MPs were bullied into voting for the government, and that at least one MP was “physically pulled through the door into the voting lobby”.
Conservative MPs opposed to fracking were reluctant to vote against the Labour motion that could have led to it being banned, but they were being told it was being treated as a confidence vote, until No 10 changed its mind on this point at the last minute. The U-turn added to the confusion during what was a particularly fractious division, and, after 40 MPs failed to vote for the government, the debacle contributed to Liz Truss’s decision that she would have to resign.
Announcing the initial findings of his inquiry, Hoyle said:
The atmosphere was tense and members were raising their voices to make themselves heard, but there is no evidence of any bullying or undue influence placed on other members.
The crowding made it hard to see what was really taking place. While some members thought that physical contact was being used to force a member into the lobby, the member concerned has said very clearly that this did not happen. Those who had the clearest views of the incident confirmed this.
Hoyle also said that MPs should treat each other with respect, that he took allegations of bullying very seriously and that he would “take swift action wherever necessary to address any improper behaviour in the chamber or in the lobbies”.
Updated
Downing Street criticises Hancock for abandoning his parliamentary duties for reality TV show
And Rishi Sunak has also joined those criticising Matt Hancock for taking part in I’m a Celebrity. At the Downing Street lobby briefing, asked about Sunak’s response to the prospect of an MP abandoning his constituents to spend time in the jungle in Australia, the PM’s spokesperson replied:
The prime minister thinks at a challenging time for the country MPs should be working hard for their constituents, whether that’s in the house or in their constituency … The public, when they elect their MPs, expect them to work hard for their constituency.
Opposition MPs urge Hancock to forgo salary, or resign as MP, if he wants to be on I'm a Celebrity
Here are some more tweets from opposition MPs criticising Matt Hancock’s decision to take part in I’m a Celebrity. He is being urged to forgo his salary, or even to quit his seat.
Labour’s Chris Bryant says Hancock should resign, and let his constituents choose a new MP.
If @MattHancock thinks representing his constituents is an inconvenience, his constituents should have a chance to decide whether they could bring that inconvenience to an end. #byelectionnow
— Chris Bryant (@RhonddaBryant) November 1, 2022
Lucy Powell, the shadow culture secretary, expects Hancock to be voted off first.
While his constituents need help with the cost of living and want answers about the economy his party has just tanked, Matt Hancock is jetting off to Australia to eat kangaroo testicles. Sums them up really.
— Lucy Powell MP (@LucyMPowell) November 1, 2022
No doubt he’ll be voted off first, as this never ends well for MPs. https://t.co/RJi4T9LyNx
Justin Madders, the shadow employment minister, says Hancock illustrates how Tory MPs do not take parliament seriously.
From Geoffrey Cox and Boris Johnson spending weeks in the Caribbean when they should have been in Parliament, to Matt Hancock deciding he can become a "celebrity", it seems Tory MPs consider representing their constituents to be an inconvenience at best
— Justin Madders MP (@justinmadders) November 1, 2022
Andrew Gwynne, a shadow health minister, has the same response as the SNP’s Pete Wishart. (See 11.52am.)
To be fair to Matt Hancock, I’d sooner eat Wallaby anus than be a Tory MP too.
— Andrew Gwynne MP 🇺🇦 (@GwynneMP) November 1, 2022
And the Green MP Caroline Lucas says Hancock should forgo his salary.
Great to know that Matt Hancock has worked out a way to represent his constituents from the jungle... otherwise I'm assuming he'll be returning his MP's salary? https://t.co/Ln9rJ8fQE2
— Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) November 1, 2022
Updated
Here is the statement from Simon Hart, the government chief whip, announcing that Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, is having the whip withdrawn for appearing on I’m a Celebrity. Hart said:
Following a conversation with Matt Hancock, I have considered the situation and believe this is a matter serious enough to warrant suspension of the whip with immediate effect.
And commenting on the story, the SNP’s Pete Wishart said:
It speaks volumes that Matt Hancockwould rather be stranded in a remote jungle eating kangaroo testicles than spend a moment longer on the Tory benches at Westminster, as Rishi Sunak’s government lurches from one crisis to another.
Updated
As David Hughes from PA Media reports, Matt Hancock’s decision to reinvent himself as a reality TV star has not gone down well with his local Conservative association.
Fair to say @MattHancock's local Conservative Association is unimpressed. Andy Drummond, deputy chairman (political) of West Suffolk Conservative Association, told @PA: "I’m looking forward to him eating a kangaroo’s penis. Quote me. You can quote me that.”
— David Hughes (@DavidHughesPA) November 1, 2022
Updated
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Rachel Hall.
The Commons authorities have announced that there are two urgent questions and two statements today. Steve Barclay, the health secretary, is taking questions at 11.30pm. At 12.30pm a culture minister will respond to a UQ about cuts to BBC local radio, and after 1pm a Home Office minister will respond to a UQ about reports that the Chinese are operating “police stations” in the UK. After 1.30pm Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, will give a statement on national security, and after 2.30pm Mark Spencer, the farming minister will give a statement on avian flu.
Updated
Hancock has whip suspended after I'm A Celebrity appearance revealed
Matt Hancock has had the Tory whip suspended with immediate effect after he signed up for ITV’s I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, the Conservative chief whip, Simon Hart, has said.
The Sun’s political editor, Harry Cole, reported that the former health secretary has joined the lineup for this season’s I’m a Celebrity as a “bombshell” extra campmate.
He is following in the footsteps of MP for Mid Bedfordshire and former culture secretary Nadine Dorries, who appeared on the show in 2012, and had the whip suspended as a result.
EXCLUSIVE:
— Harry Cole (@MrHarryCole) November 1, 2022
I'M A CELEB MP:
Former health secretary Matt Hancock joins I’m A Celebrity as bombshell extra campmate
- breaker with @RodMcPheeTheSun https://t.co/IlybtUqIxy
Hancock, who is MP for West Suffolk, was forced to quit as health secretary after breaking coronavirus lockdown rules by conducting an affair in his ministerial office.
Hancock was among supporters of Rishi Sunak who welcomed the new leader to Conservative headquarters last week but was overlooked for a ministerial job.
He had also reportedly been considering a run to be chair of the Treasury select committee, but pulled out of the race on Monday.
Updated
Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale has said that he agrees with Suella Braverman that the asylum system is “broken” due to the influx in illegal trafficking, though added that he thought her approach was “the wrong direction of travel”.
He said:
I share Mrs Braverman’s desire to see this ended. It is criminal. It is trading in human misery and it’s quite wrong.
When you’ve seen, as I have, two, three-year-old toddlers at Manston in the processing centre, kids slightly younger, actually, than my own grandchildren, who crossed the channel and open boats, you realise just how pernicious and how dangerous this is, and it has to be brought to a halt, that I agree with entirely.
Where I think we as a party have gone wrong, and indeed the Labour party hasn’t offered any solutions either so let’s not be holier than thou about this, is that we’ve taken the wrong approach.
Instead of trying to work with the French authorities and the European authorities to reach a pan European solution to what is a pan-European problem, we’ve chosen to play to the gallery.
Are we going to get to grips with this? Well, I hope that the prime minister’s approach to President Macron will yield results. If it does, that’s a very good thing. That is the right approach and the right direction of travel. The home secretary’s approach is the wrong direction of travel, I believe.
Updated
There’s more from the Resolution Foundation event on the autumn statement:
Rachel Wolf, who co-authored the 2019 Conservative manifesto, has said it will be “almost impossible” to deliver on the document’s “central promises” of boosting public funding and better public services
She said:
It is almost impossible, at this point, to go back to the central promise of the manifesto.
When you look at what has happened to those voters now, before we get to these autumn statement choices, it’s pretty bleak.This is not Rishi Sunak’s fault, he warned against it. It going to be very, very difficult for him to sustain over the next two years any hope of a majority or a victory next time because, fundamentally, it will be too easy to lay the blame of this at the Conservatives’ door.
Because all of the instincts of the Conservative parliamentary party remain in the kind of slightly traditional ‘freeze public spending, don’t raise taxes’ space which is not really necessarily where their voters are.
I think that the actions they’ll take in the autumn statement will say as much about their political strategy as it does about their economic one.
Updated
Tory MP for Manston constituency says he does not trust Suella Braverman
Roger Gale, the Conservative MP for North Thanet, who has Manston migrant centre in his constituency, has said that he does not trust the home secretary, Suella Braverman.
Gale told Times Radio:
Her language yesterday, I’m afraid, suggested that she is only really interested in playing the right wing.
The fact of the matter is that, of course, I’m also defending my constituents’ interest because the facility at Manston was designed to turn people around in 24 hours, maximum 48 hours, and move them on, it’s a processing centre, not a refugee camp.
I was given a clear undertaking by Priti Patel as home secretary and by the minister of state that that is what would happen and that there would be no expansion of the facility.
Over the last few days, we have seen an almost doubling of the size of the number of people in Manston and a massive building of further accommodation, and that is not acceptable.
It’s in breach of the undertakings that I was given and I’m not prepared to accept it. I don’t accept or trust this home secretary’s word.
• This post was amended on 1 November 2022. Due to an error in text supplied to us by an agency, a previous version misquoted Roger Gale as saying he did not “accept or trust [Braverman’s] work”.
Updated
As the prime minister and chancellor mull tax rises for millions of households and a squeeze on spending to plug the £50bn black hole in the public finances, former Bank of England deputy governor and OBR forecaster Sir Charlie Bean has said that “all the low-hanging fruit” has already been picked.
He told an event hosted by the Resolution Foundation thinktank about the upcoming autumn statement:
We are at the point where governments have to recognise they can’t do this by efficiency savings. All the low-hanging fruit was picked during the austerity years.
You can only really keep spending down if you’re prepared to change the view of what the public sector should be doing.
And that’s what we ought to be having a debate about.
Updated
JK Rowling has described the SNP MSP who quit the Scottish government in a row over plans to allow self-identification for transgender people as a “heroine”.
The author, who is known as a vocal critic of the reforms, praised Ash Regan, saying: “This is what a principled politician looks like.”
Her comments on Twitter came after Regan stood down as community safety minister in the Scottish government. She said then that her conscience would not allow her to vote for the gender recognition reform (Scotland) bill, quitting her ministerial post just hours before it faced its first vote at Holyrood.
Rowling, who has previously tweeted a picture of herself wearing a T-shirt calling Scotland’s First Minister a “destroyer of women’s rights” took to social media to praise Ms Regan.
The Harry Potter author wrote: “This is what a principled politician looks like. @AshtenRegan will rightly be seen as a heroine when future generations of Scottish women look back at the profoundly misogynistic legislation currently being pushed through by the Sturgeon government.”
This is what a principled politician looks like. @AshtenRegan will rightly be seen as a heroine when future generations of Scottish women look back at the profoundly misogynistic legislation currently being pushed through by the Sturgeon government. https://t.co/zqYv7Ycmb7 https://t.co/RCst0AByHN
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 30, 2022
Updated
Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said she imagines policymakers in France and Germany would look at the UK immigration numbers and “wondering what the fuss is about”.
She said the backlog had increased because, as numbers have risen, capacity for decision-making not increased and there are fewer asylum claim decisions being made over the last year or so than before the pandemic.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
The UK experienced a period for most of the 2010s where there were actually very low numbers of asylum claims by historical standards.
Updated
Chief inspector of prisons says Home Office needs to 'get a grip' on Manston
Charlie Taylor, HM chief inspector of prisons, has said the Home Office needs to “get a grip” on the situation at the Manston migrant processing centre, where he said “things are going wrong”.
Taylor told Sky News:
What’s happening at Manston when I visited was people were sleeping on the floors, on the rubber mats down on the floors and then very thin blankets or mattresses. Lots and lots of people in a room, all squished in together, very uncomfortable.
The room for families has lots and lots of different families all sharing the same room, very young children, older children. For a few hours, that would be acceptable, but where people are spending long periods of time there, it just isn’t.
I would be horrified if I went into a prison where prisoners didn’t have mattresses, where prisoners didn’t have flushing lavatories, where prisoners didn’t have telephones that they can stay in touch with family and friends.
Those are three things that we see at Manston - similarly if they couldn’t get out into the fresh air.
As I said before, the Home Office needs to get a grip.It’s extremely concerning that children are being asked to sleep on the floor in accommodation that’s wholly unsuitable.
Bear in mind that some of these people have had incredibly long journeys. Some of them are potentially victims of torture, victims of all sorts of abuse and also potentially victims of trafficking as well.
The idea that we then expect them to sleep on the floor for long periods of time just is not acceptable.
It’s a real worry. We were there earlier in the year where things were not so bad.
So we haven’t been back to inspect recently, we will go back and see but what we’re hearing from a number of very credible sources - Sir Roger Gale, from Dave Neal from the inspector of the borders, from trade unions who are working there - that things are going wrong at Manston.
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BP’s bumper profits showed the need for a higher windfall tax, the Cop26 president, Alok Sharma, has said.
He said:
We need to raise more money from a windfall tax on oil and gas companies and actively encourage them to invest in renewables.
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Immigration minister Robert Jenrick has said the processing of asylum applications was taking too long.
He told Times Radio:
We want to get to a point where, on the UK side, we are receiving people at Manston, processing them very swiftly, then sending them to accommodation such as hotels or alternatives, and ensuring that those hotels are evenly spread across the country, are as good value for the taxpayer as possible, that claims are processed swiftly.
They’re taking too long at the moment. And then those individuals, if they’re successful, go on to lead fulfilling lives in the UK and make a contribution to this country.If they’re not that, they’re removed from the UK as swiftly as possible. But that is essentially the symptom of the problem.
It will always be challenging for the Home Office to handle those symptoms if the scale of the challenge is as great as it is today.
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LBC reporter Charlotte Lynch has tweeted that a senior Home Office source said the home secretary refused to sign off on hotel bookings for migrants at Manston “because they were in Tory areas”.
The source, who Lynch says is close to Manston, claims Suella Braverman approved only three hotels last week, which were in Labour constituencies.
She notes that Braverman’s predecessor, Priti Patel, was accused of doing the same when she was home secretary and “they saw this coming”.
She adds that Braverman has repeatedly denied “deliberately ignoring advice” and Home Office says any claims advice was ignored are “completely untrue”.
EXCL: Senior Home Office source tells me Home Sec refused to sign off on hotel bookings for migrants at Manston last week “because they were in Tory areas”. @LBC
— Charlotte Lynch (@charlotterlynch) November 1, 2022
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Still on the morning broadcast round, immigration minister Robert Jenrick batted away questions on whether people across the country could face tax rises for years to come as Rishi Sunak looks to address a black hole of up to £50bn in the public finances.
He told BBC Breakfast:
I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait for the chancellor’s statement in just a couple of weeks. That will be the moment where he will set out the tax changes that he needs to make to ensure that we command the confidence of the financial markets, we get the public finances back into good order.
Without that kind of economic stability, we can’t do any of the other things we want to do as a country. We can’t invest in our public services. We can’t ensure that people have financial security so their mortgages don’t rise or their pensions be diminished by inflation. And we can’t tackle major challenges, like illegal migration, that require investment.
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Here is Suella Braverman leaving her home in London this morning on what is shaping up to be a difficult day for her.
Photograph: Nigel Howard
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Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said that reports of diphtheria at Manston had been “exaggerated”.
Asked about reports of outbreaks of disease, including cases of diphtheria, MRSA and scabies at the site, he told BBC Breakfast:
Well, those reports are not correct. They’ve been exaggerated. I spoke to the doctors who are on site and there is a very good medical centre there with – when I was there – three doctors plus paramedics supporting people with medical conditions.
There have been four cases of diphtheria in a population of around 4,000. But those are all individuals who came into the site with that condition. They didn’t pick it up there as far as we’re aware. They’ve been isolated and they’re being treated appropriately.
But that’s not to say that I’m content with the condition of the site. I’m not.
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Good morning,
The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, is set to meet with cabinet ministers this morning, as doubts mount over his judgment in returning Suella Braverman to the post of home secretary.
Braverman is facing a fresh backlash today after she referred to small boat Channel crossings as an “invasion” and concern grows about overcrowding at the Manston migrant processing centre in Kent.
This morning, the immigration minister Robert Jenrick was doing the broadcast rounds in a bid to reassure the public that Braverman was the right fit for the job. He told Sky News she had apologised for the emails sent from her personal device – which had led to her resignation under Liz Truss – and in any case they hadn’t been “top secret”.
He said:
You can’t say this was a serious breach of security. It was not the correct thing to do, she’s apologised for that and now she’s got a big job to do as home secretary.
He said instead she was focusing on developing a system “which welcomes best and brightest but clamps down on people coming here illegally”, because “that is not what British people want to see”, and argued that social housing shouldn’t be taken up by economic migrants, citing Albanians.
He argued that the “root cause” of what is happening at the Manston migrant processing centre was not the fault of the government.
He said:
Conditions are poor. They are improving. We are trying to ensure that as many people as possible leave the site to better accommodation, mostly in hotels, as quickly as possible.
It is not designed to be somewhere where people stay for a prolonged period of time. It is, by necessity, relatively austere. The task now is to ensure it gets back to its normal working pattern.
He admitted that people had been staying there for more than 24 hours and had been sleeping on the floor on mats.
He said:
This is not a satisfactory situation. I’m not here to defend that. I would just say that the root cause of what we’re seeing at Manston is not the government. It’s certainly not the brilliant Border Force staff who are managing the site, the contractors, the catering staff. The problem is that thousands of people are crossing the channel illegally every day.
9.00am: Cabinet meeting
10.30am: Judicial review over right of residence of “pre-settled” EU citizens in UK, brought by The Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA) against the Home Office over the treatment of EU citizens who have been awarded pre-settled status under the EU settlement scheme. The hearing is expected to last two days with judgment at a later date.
11.00am: The Northern Ireland secretary will hold talks with Stormont leaders amid calls for an election in the region.
2.30pm: Defence secretary Ben Wallace to appear before the Lords international relations and defence committee on defence concepts and capabilities.
2.30pm: Former Russian political prisoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky appears at the foreign affairs committee, which is into looking proxy private military companies.
If there’s anything you think we’ve missed, please do get in touch at rachel.hall@theguardian.com.
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