Labour MP apologises for not declaring donation from firm he praised in Commons

A Labour MP has apologised and referred himself to the standards commissioner after promoting a company in the Commons without declaring it had given him a £10,000 donation.Steve Yemm, the Labour MP for Mansfield, spoke in a debate about construction standards last month and praised the electrical utility company Power Saving Solutions as “a company that is enabling reduced reliance on diesel-generated power on building sites”.Yemm cited Power Saving Solutions and the construction company JCB as “two great examples of private-sector firms enfranchising themselves in our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower”.He had received a £10,000 donation from Power Saving Solutions in April last year but did not mention this in his speech. The MP’s code of conduct states: “Members must declare any relevant interests when speaking in the house

‘Parade of political flunkies’: MPs critical as Sunak awards Michael Gove a peerage

Michael Gove has been awarded a peerage by Rishi Sunak in a resignation honours list described by opposition parties as an “ID parade of political flunkies”.The veteran Conservative politician and editor of the Spectator, who retired as an MP at the last election, was one of seven allies of Sunak to receive peerages on Friday afternoon. His ennoblement opens the door to a potential return to Conservative politics in the future.Others given seats in the House of Lords include Mark Harper, the former transport secretary, and Simon Hart, the former chief whip.Hart sent shockwaves through Westminster earlier this year with the publication of his memoirs, which lifted the lid on the sexual misadventures of Tory MPs and infighting during the Johnson and Sunak governments

Trump’s economic adviser dampens Starmer’s hopes of tariffs relief

A senior economic adviser to Donald Trump has said it would take “an extraordinary deal” for any country, including the UK, to improve on the 10% tariff rate the US has imposed almost worldwide, pouring cold water on Downing Street’s hopes for a breakthrough.Trump succumbed to pressure from plunging financial markets on Wednesday and temporarily reduced “retaliatory” tariffs on all countries’ goods to 10%, except those from China, which face a rate of 145%.For the UK, this is no change from the levy imposed when Trump announced his “liberation day” agenda, but Keir Starmer’s government still hopes a free trade deal with the US can be reached to mitigate the impact of the tariffs. The UK also faces a 25% tariff on steel and cars exported to the US.Speaking to CNBC, Kevin Hassett, an economist and adviser to Trump, said any deal that would persuade the president to go below 10% would need to be “extraordinary”

Michael Gove to be awarded peerage in Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours

Michael Gove is among those to be awarded a peerage in Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list.The veteran Conservative politician and editor of the Spectator, who retired as an MP at the last election, is understood to be on the list due to be published as soon as Friday.Others on the list are likely to include the former Scottish secretary Alister Jack, the former chief whip Simon Hart and the former transport secretary Mark Harper – all allies of Sunak.The list of seven or eight names is in keeping with those put forward in resignation lists by Liz Truss and Boris Johnson in recent years.Gove, who ran for the Tory leadership in 2016, was an education secretary, environment secretary and housing secretary, but never held a great office of state

Cooper says five grooming gang inquiries to go ahead after Tories claim they’ve been dropped in ‘cover up’ – as it happened

During her BBC Breakfast interview Kemi Badenoch claimed that the government has dropped the plans for five local inquiries into grooming gang, or child rape scandals, that were announced in January. As she was trying to fend of the questions about Adolescence, she said:One of the things that I’m more bothered by is the fact that just yesterday, we had Labour telling us that they’re not going to be investigating the rape gang scandal, something which had happened all across the country. That’s real. That’s happening right now. We’re not talking about that

Rise in ‘racist’ online comments by members of unions, says FBU leader

Trade unions are becoming increasingly concerned by a rise in “racist and bigoted” comments online from their own members and officials, the new leader of the Fire Brigades Union has told the Guardian.Steve Wright, the general secretary of the FBU, said internal inquiries into allegations of racism have uncovered dozens of cases where members have been found to use racist slurs or stereotypes, often regarding asylum seekers.Other unions have had similar incidents, he said. Together, a group of unions plan to launch a campaign warning that online populists and far-right organisations are distorting the truth about immigration and race.“People with far-right views are becoming more brazen in what they do on social media, and I’ve witnessed it with my own union around disciplinary cases and the rhetoric of some of our own members,” Wright said