Angela Rayner and Dominic Raab faced off in Prime Minister’s Questions this afternoon, with the Labour deputy leader leading on security concerns around Lord Lebedev’s peerage. Rayner pressed the deputy prime minister over reports that British security forces warned against awarding Evgeny Lebedev a seat in the House of Lords. Raab stated Lord Lebedev’s peerage…
The health assessment system for awarding benefits doesn’t “capture the needs” of disabled people, according to an expert in the sector. Tracey Lazard, CEO at Inclusion London, told the work and pensions committee that “neither PIP or WCA actually accurately understand or capture the needs and the barriers that disabled people experience.” Lazard added: “It’s…
The foreign secretary has claimed that western powers failed to fence in Putin as they “let down” their guard in the wake of the Cold War. Truss told the Sun newspaper that Vladimir Putin’s 2014 annexation of Crimea was not responded to adequately as the West “let down our guard” following the demise of the…
Oil demand will not fall until prices reach a staggering $160 a barrel, according to an expert in the sector. Dr Amrita Sen, director of research at Energy Aspects, says despite record fuel prices, the cost of oil is “inelastic” and would need to skyrocket to affect demand. Dr Sen was giving evidence to a…
UK residents who offer to host people fleeing Ukraine will undergo criminal record checks, the health secretary. Sajid Javid said the UK needed to “get the right balance” between aiding refugees from the Russian invasion and efficiency. The Bromsgrove MP said the government did not plan to enforce a cap on numbers. “With the hosts…
Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, has criticised the UK’s process for visa applications, claiming his own wife struggled to get a visa. Prystaiko said that despite being ambassador, the “bureaucratic hassles” of going through the UK visa application process meant even his wife couldn’t initially get a visa. The Ukrainian ambassador made the…
The Pentagon has rejected Poland’s claims it would send a fleet of fighter jets to Ukraine. Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby shot down Poland’s claims it planned to send 28 jets to an American airbase in Germany — where they would henceforth be sent to Ukraine. “We will continue to consult with Poland and our other…
The Independent Expert Panel (IEP) has today published a report reprimanding John Bercow, the former Speaker of the House of Commons, for breaching Parliament’s bullying and harassment policy. The IEP decided that his conduct was so serious that he should never be allowed a pass to the Parliamentary estate; and that if he were still…
The lead guitarist of the Vamps says the pressure to conform to body stereotypes has had a lasting detrimental impact on his mental health. James Brittain-McVey revealed the pressures of trying to looking a certain way began to take over his life as a teenager. “The first thoughts I’d have when I would wake up…
A ban on Russian oil and gas in Britain could “quite possibly” go ahead, the minister for Europe and North America suggested this morning. However, James Cleverly went to argue that it would be “more significant” if Europe at large were to increase efforts to decouple itself from Russian energy reliance. “From the UK’s point…
