Margaret Ferrier appeal dismissed. Independent Expert Panel says "none of the grounds had substance and the sanction imposed was neither unreasonable nor disproportionate."
Esther Webber’s Tweets
SCOOP: Biden informed G7 leaders on Friday that the U.S. will support a joint international effort to train Ukrainian pilots on modern fighter aircraft, including F-16s, according to a senior administration official.
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NEW: "They don’t want abject narcissists, of which there have been quite a few.”
Inside the Tory selection process as the party tries to weed out potential liabilities with background checks, psychometric testing and more old-fashioned techniques:
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This is absolutely fascinating and all parties should be doing the same as they select candidates - temperament and personality matters when thinking about who we should entrust with power. I wrote on this subject here: politics.co.uk/comment/2023/0
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Pressure to do better on candidate selection is coming not only from on high but from the bottom up.
Local associations were vexed by the rapid, centrally-driven nature of the 2019 process. And by MPs' recent unseating of two leaders elected by members.
politico.eu/article/no-ske
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Pressure to do better on candidate selection is coming not only from on high but from the bottom up.
Local associations were vexed by the rapid, centrally-driven nature of the 2019 process. And by MPs' recent unseating of two leaders elected by members.
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Candidates should not be surprised to get a call from a party grandee ringing up to ask: “Is there anything in your past that might embarrass us?”
politico.eu/article/no-ske
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NEW: "They don’t want abject narcissists, of which there have been quite a few.”
Inside the Tory selection process as the party tries to weed out potential liabilities with background checks, psychometric testing and more old-fashioned techniques:
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it's Sue Gray and the privileges cttee!
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BREAKING: Manchester City have lodged legal challenges against the Premier League’s 115 charges for alleged rule breaches, disputing the involvement of the barrister who is in charge of the disciplinary process because he is an Arsenal fan thetimes.co.uk/article/mancheShow this thread
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NEW from
Minister hosted House of Commons dinner for Tory donor without declaring financial links
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Today marks a year since an MP was arrested on suspicion of indecent assault, sexual assault, rape, abuse of position of trust and misconduct in a public office.
A year for his constituents with no representation in parliament and a year in limbo for him and alleged victim/s.
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The U.K. government is pushing to cut a deal with Brussels to avoid a post-Brexit cliff-edge which could severely damage the British auto industry, No. 10 Downing Street today confirmed.
and me.
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Six years spent setting up an independent body to oversee restoration, rejecting its findings, abolishing it altogether and bringing its functions in-House. Now we wait for the alternative plan.
I wrote about it last year:
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The delay was never going to be cost-free because of ad-hoc repairs (estimated in today's report at £2 million *a week*) but has ballooned even further due to inflation driving up the cost of construction
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The time taken for Notre Dame to burn down and be restored (if it remains on course for next year) will be less than the time it has taken for MPs to vote for wholesale restoration, backtrack and decide on something new
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There is a “real risk” that the Palace of Westminster will be destroyed before renovation of the building is able to even start, MPs have been warned.
thetimes.co.uk/article/cdb29e
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Four class images from this week 25 years ago - Trimble (note Kate Hoey, too!), Kenneth Branagh and all for YES Campaign #GFA25
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Spectacular story by this morning, in which he goes aboard the KV Bergen, a Norwegian Navy vessel tasked with keeping Europe's seas safe from Russian sabotage. All the more striking with images by .
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Indian government says it is “not true” it is mobilizing ministerial and diplomatic staff to reclaim thousands of artifacts from Britain as reported by The Telelgraph.
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New: Conservative Party bosses were already aware of an Essex Police investigation into Julian Knight and are assisting officers with their enquiries.
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tuning into the Lords for the thousandth time and finding Baroness Fookes wearing something I need to own
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NEW — Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has announced he's written to the NAO to *back* Lisa Nandy's call for full investigation into the Teesworks project
His argument is that allegations are affecting investor confidence and “I want this nipped in the bud once and for all"
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An unattended mobile phone does off on the red benches in Lib Dem peer Lord Storey intervenes and silences device by sitting on it
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NEW: Windsor Framework meets Bauhaus
James Cleverly tells Lords committee that the special sub groups working through the Windsor Framework will inc reps of all groups.
"The composition of the groups...form follows function, [be] quite Bauhaus in its design. "
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NEW Essex Police confirms that it has taken over the case against Julian Knight MP from the Metropolitan Police and is investigating an allegation of serious sexual assault
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Exc: Labour staff held a meeting with General Secretary David Evans this afternoon to push for answers in the wake of our story on the aide accused of sexual harassment.
They want to know who knew about the investigations and allowed him to stay in post.
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The Slow Death of Parliamentary Scrutiny
with a really interesting and timely piece on what the House of Commons increasingly isn't doing
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Exc: Tech, gambling and music lobbyists are ramping up efforts to woo the shadow cabinet.
Keir Starmer received football tickets worth more than £12,000 since last May and staff bagged tickets to Harry Styles concert, the BRITs and Doncaster Races
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Nice nugget in this great piece... Sunak introduced “hack-a-thon”-style events allowing small teams of officials from all corners of the Treasury to pitch ambitious solutions to problems.
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I delved into the PM’s tech credentials … those who’ve worked with him reckon he is more banker than ‘tech bro’ politico.eu/article/rishi-
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I delved into the PM’s tech credentials … those who’ve worked with him reckon he is more banker than ‘tech bro’
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Zeynep Esmeray Özadikti, who has been an activist for trans rights for 30 years, is a candidate for the Workers’ Party of Turkey and the first openly trans woman with a good chance of making it to parliament.
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To Erdoğan, the LGBTQ+ community represents a “virus of heresy.”
Ahead of Sunday's election, the Turkish President has ramped up his poisonous invective against homosexuality, as he seeks to shore up his conservative Islamist base. bit.ly/42QUzax
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🚨NEW: a conservative MP accused of rape has been "unanimously" re-selected to run in the next general election
since his arrest and bail, the MP has continued to work in his community – often alongside children
my report for
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LONG READ: Because it's Friday... I've been chatting to lots of people this week with the question: what *would* happen if there was a hung parliament? 👀
Lots of little nuggets on minority government ... PR ... SIs ... and the democracy of democracy🍿
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Want a preview of the festival of Boris loyalists tomorrow? I've got one anyway:
— Boris won't be there – but has signed a load of wine bottles for the auction
— Dorries, JRM and Patel billed to speak
— Tory VC Paul Holmes going for CCHQ in show of unity
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Emmanuel Macron took his war of words with Washington to the mat Thursday, proposing a concrete counter to Washington’s electric car subsidies.
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it's Earl Howe's world, we just live in it
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They are:
- Earl Howe (only continuous one)
- Lord Benyon
- Nick Gibb
- Michael Gove
- Mark Harper
- Jeremy Hunt
- Andrew Mitchell
- Grant Shapps
- Chloe Smith
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Exc: The woman who made the harassment complaint says: "Although I am glad that the member of staff has left, I shouldn’t have had to spend years pursuing this case and the party should have taken action first.
"There are still big questions to answer."
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This follows on from our story yesterday
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Exclusive:
The Labour Party decided to let a senior aide keep his job with a "final warning" after taking three years to investigate and uphold a single sexual harassment complaint against him
politico.eu/article/uk-lab
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Labour spokesperson: ‘Two separate investigations were carried out... into the same complaint received about an individual. He fully complied with the processes of both of those investigations and the remedial action recommended. This individual has now left his position.’
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