Key figure in Mandelson vetting scandal will not give evidence before MPs

A key figure in the row over Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to Washington will not appear before a parliamentary committee of MPs to give evidence.Emily Thornberry had requested that Ian Collard speak to the foreign affairs committee (FAC) on Tuesday, but confirmed on Saturday that he would submit written answers instead.The committee has already heard from Olly Robbins, the Foreign Office’s top civil servant who was forced out of his post last week after the decision to fail Mandelson during his security vetting was overruled by his department, and the Cabinet Office permanent secretary, Cat Little. Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, is due to appear on Tuesday.Collard, who has given evidence to the select committee previously, is a former ambassador to Lebanon and Panama and was appointed the Foreign Office’s chief property and security officer in March 2023

Security vetting stepped up after MP is given bodyguard with far-right links

The security company that provides bodyguards for MPs has tightened its vetting processes after it sent a bodyguard with far-right links to protect a politician who was under threat from extremists.Mitie, which has a £31m contract for the work, is updating its CPO (Close Protection Operative) vetting processes to include regular social media checks. There will also be random checks on the social media activity of those already taken on.Concerns about the threat to MPs from extremists – including Islamists and the far right – have risen, with elected representatives facing a level of threat not seen since the campaign mounted by Irish republican terrorists in the 1980s and 70s.Mitie’s contract followed the assassination of the Conservative MP David Amess by an Islamist terrorist in 2021

Partygate v Mandelson: Keir Starmer faces attack from his own playbook

The lexicon of a British parliamentary scandal is arcane.As Keir Starmer fights to remain prime minister, he has had to respond to a “humble address”, had his judgment picked over during an “emergency opposition day debate” and now faces the ignominy of a “privilege motion”.Close observers of UK politics will, however, recognise these terms as familiar: they are all parliamentary tools used by Labour in opposition as they tried to hold the Conservatives accountable at various points – not least during the Partygate affair that helped bring down Boris Johnson.At first sight, the two controversies are very different.Johnson was ousted in the wake of allegations that he had attended parties in Downing Street during a pandemic lockdown he presided over

Unlucky chancellor? Iran shock hits Reeves just as UK seemed to turn corner

Donald Trump’s war on Iran is “folly”; shadow chancellor Mel Stride should be “lined up for the sack”; and the Liberal Democrat Daisy Cooper’s plan for managing fuel shortages is “fundamentally economically illiterate”.Rachel Reeves has always relished a political fight, but in recent days she has been swinging at her opponents with what looks very much like enjoyment.Her team say the chancellor’s righteous anger is calculated. The consequences of the conflict may still be being felt in many months and she wants to hammer home two claims: that “we did not start this war and we did not join this war”, as Reeves told MPs this week; and that before the bombs started falling, the UK economy was on the up.“We have got to win the argument that the economy was turning the corner before the war and there was momentum behind it

‘Nigel is mad to accept his money’: who is Christopher Harborne, the mystery billionaire bankrolling Reform?

A crypto tycoon is giving record-breaking amounts to Farage’s party. But little is known about his motivesShortly before Christmas 2022, Chakrit Sakunkrit, owner of the Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary on the Thai island of Koh Samui, invited 200 guests to spend a few days celebrating his 60th birthday. One sultry afternoon, Sakunkrit and a small group gathered around a table near the shore, surrounded by the burgundy foliage of Good Luck plants. To his right, dressed down in a polo shirt, sat Nigel Farage.Since Brexit marked the achievement of his life’s work three years earlier, Farage had fizzled

‘They deserve to lose’: Labour at risk of ‘red wall’ collapsing in May elections

When millions of voters across Great Britain go to the polls on 7 May, the result will have a profound impact on the future of Keir Starmer’s government.In Wales and Scotland, nationalist parties are expected to be in charge for the first time simultaneously, joining Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland. In London and the cities, the Greens are on the charge.But it is across Labour’s former heartlands in the post-industrial swathe of the Midlands and north of England where Starmer faces losing hundreds of councillors to Nigel Farage’s Reform UKThat result would alarm several cabinet ministers whose seats are in the once-solid “red wall”, including Yvette Cooper, John Healey, Ed Miliband, Dan Jarvis and Bridget Phillipson.The Guardian spoke to voters and politicians in three traditionally Labour strongholds – Barnsley, Sunderland and Wakefield – to test the mood

Zack Polanski calls for ‘nuance’ when discussing antisemitism in rebuke of PM

Zack Polanski has called on politicians to treat antisemitism with “consideration, care and nuance” as he accused Keir Starmer of trying to play political games with the issue.The Green leader’s comments come after the prime minister accused him of playing down recent antisemitic incidents. Polanski’s party is facing increasing scrutiny over recent comments by some candidates and members.Some Green members and officials have expressed concern to the Guardian about what they say is the recent arrival of members who are vehemently anti-Israel to an extent that crosses into antisemitism, and the difficulties of countering this in a highly decentralised party.Speaking on a visit to a synagogue, Starmer labelled Polanski “disgraceful” for saying it was important to distinguish between an actual threat to the Jewish community in the UK after recent arson attacks and the “perception of unsafety”

Assisted dying bill fails to become law after running out of time in parliament – as it happened

A proposed bill to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives will not become law, after the House of Lords ran out of time to debate the numerous amendments.The assisted dying bill, which passed the House of Commons in June last year, had 16 days in the Lords for peers to debate on it, but due to the number of amendments lodged by opponents – more than 1,280 – the house ran out of time. With the parliamentary session coming to an end next week, the bill will fail.That’s all from us on the UK politics blog, thanks for following along. Here is a recap of the day’s events:A proposed bill to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives will not become law, after the House of Lords ran out of time to debate the more than 1,280 amendments tabled by opponents

Kezia Dugdale, incoming Stonewall chair, says sorry after backlash over JK Rowling remarks

The incoming chair of the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall says she is “truly sorry” after she expressed “huge respect” for JK Rowling in an interview with the Guardian. Kezia Dugdale, the former leader of Scottish Labour, said she understood that her words had caused “worry, anger and upset and I am truly sorry about that”.In an interview for the Today in Focus podcast in Edinburgh to mark her appointment as Stonewall’s chair, Dugdale was asked what she thought of the way in which Rowling has talked about transgender people.She said: “I have a huge respect for JK Rowling. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her before and I think her story and how she came to be this prolific, incredible children’s writer in this city as a single mum writing in a cafe is phenomenal and an inspiration