Lammy urged to keep promise of envoy to help free Britons held abroad

Families of prominent British prisoners detained abroad have urged the foreign secretary to deliver on pledges to help secure their release amid signs of growing resistance from diplomats.David Lammy, the foreign secretary, vowed in opposition to appoint a special envoy to help secure the freedom of those detained for years without a fair trial. Giving British citizens a legal right to consular access when they run into trouble overseas was also a Labour manifesto pledge.But there are fears that pushback against the envoy plan in particular is being mounted by senior UK diplomats who fear it would cut across relationships with other countries and affect trade deals, the Guardian has been told.Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained in Iran for six years, said: “My personal worry is that Lammy will miss the opportunity to change this and the special envoy will be stalled by civil servants until he leaves office

Liz Kendall says young people who won’t take up work will lose benefits

Young people who refuse to take up jobs or training will lose their benefits in the government’s crackdown on worklessness, Liz Kendall has said.The work and pensions secretary said on Sunday: “If people repeatedly refuse to take up the training or work responsibilities, there will be sanctions on their benefits.”Asked on Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips if this meant losing those benefits, Kendall replied: “Yes.”Ministers are preparing to announce sweeping changes to the welfare system and out-of-work support next week. It forms part of a drive to get more people into work and cut the government’s welfare bill, which has ballooned since the Covid crisis

The John Prescott I knew: Blair’s ‘beautiful people’ tried to erase him – he had other plans

Once frozen out by the New Labour elite, John Prescott fought his way in from the cold to become a loyal deputy leader. Toby Helm recalls a bruising political careerIt was normally Friday evening when he would ring. There was never a “hello, how are you?” or any pleasantry like that. He just dived straight in. “What you up to for Sunday?” he would ask, meaning he had a story for me

Why it was such a joy to interview John Prescott and discover his sweet, sad soul | Rachel Cooke

One of the bad things that comes with being a middle-aged interviewer, as opposed to a younger one, is the tendency to complain loudly that people in public life used to be so much less controlled, so much more wild and free and apt to say the wrong (the interesting) thing.No one likes a nostalgist, after all. But in the case of politicians, I’m afraid there’s no getting away from it. In 2024, unbridled they aren’t. Every word is rehearsed

Starmer seeks to hire EU negotiator in pursuit of relations reset

Ministers are hiring a new EU negotiator as Keir Starmer seeks to reset Britain’s relationship with Europe.The post, worth at least £153,000 a year and advertised by the Cabinet Office, would act as a representative for all of the UK’s dealings with the bloc.The role is described as “principal adviser to the prime minister and the minister for European Union relations [Nick Thomas-Symonds] on matters relating to relations with the EU and delivering the ‘EU reset’ and on international economic issues”.The applicant would also represent the prime minister at negotiations.The trade and cooperation agreement, the basis for the UK-EU relationship after Brexit, will be subject to renewal talks in 2025

Anti-racism campaigner’s London book events cancelled amid threat of far-right violence

Hanif Kureishi, Billy Bragg and freedom of speech groups have voiced alarm after a number of venues cancelled events to promote a book by an anti-racism campaigner amid threats and fears that the recent riots have emboldened the far right.An east London bookshop this week became the latest venue to pull plans to promote Rebel Sounds, a book about the role music plays in the fight against racism and other struggles.It follows the scrapping of similar events at bookshops and pubs over the last few weeks, and the cancellation by the BFI London film festival (LFF) last month of a screening of a documentary about the far right.Joe Mulhall, the author of Rebel Sounds and director of research at the anti-racism organisation Hope Not Hate, said: “Sadly, it feels like we are going backwards.”Mulhall held an event at a secret location last Sunday night after a pub cancelled what was intended to be an evening of discussion and music about the book