The Home Office has been accused of breaching a high court order that halts the eviction of asylum seekers during the pandemic lockdown, the Guardian has learned. During the first lockdown in March, the eviction of refused asylum seekers from Home Office accommodation was paused for public health reasons to protect asylum seekers and the … Read more
Just a few hours ahead of Wednesday’s Commons vote to approve lockdown 2.0, a dozen sceptical Conservative MPs gathered in parliament’s grand committee room 14. Minds had not yet been made up. Little more than a year ago, Tory MPs filed into the same room to cast their ballots in the leadership race that propelled … Read more
More than 170 QCs and barristers who act on behalf of the government have written to the attorney general urging ministers to stop using emotive language they say is “politicising” lawyers. The letter sent to Suella Braverman QC is highly critical of rhetorical attacks on “lefty” and “activist” lawyers made by Boris Johnson and the … Read more
This week we have entered a second national lockdown, which has forced the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to U-turn on extending the furlough scheme. Both these outcomes the chancellor did not want and doggedly resisted for weeks. He led the group of ministers in cabinet who opposed the circuit-break when Labour backed it last month. And … Read more
The UK Statistics Authority has rebuked the government over its lack of transparency around projected Covid-19 deaths and hospital admissions, saying it could cast doubt over official figures. A range of estimates were used to make the case for a second English lockdown in a press conference on 31 October. However, the UKSA said “the … Read more