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Tory MP leaves court after being found guilty of sexually assaulting 15-year-old boy
Conservative MP Crispin Blunt has been branded “disgraceful” after he came to the defence of Imran Ahmad Khan, an ex-Tory MP thrown out of the party following his conviction in a child sex offence case yesterday.
Khan was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2008 and now awaits sentencing.
But Mr Blunt said Khan was a victim of a “dreadful miscarriage of justice” and his sentencing will be “an international scandal” with “dreadful” consequences for gay Muslims worldwide. He provided no further information to support this view.
Mr Blunt’s comments have drawn widespread condemnation. Two vice chairs of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on global LGBT+ rights, which Mr Blunt chairs, have quit and called for him to stand down.
Meanwhile, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has accused Chancellor Rishi Sunak of “rank hypocrisy” for using “schemes” to reduce his tax burden as the cost-of-living crisis worsens.
The embattled multimillionaire chancellor is facing questions over his family’s tax arrangements. He wrote to the PM seeking an investigation just days after The Independent revealed his wife’s “non-dom“ tax status.
Recommended MP Imran Ahmad Khan expelled from Conservative Party after conviction for sexually assaulting boy Tory MP branded ‘disgraceful’ after defending colleague convicted of child sex offence Labour demands openness on ministers’ use of non-dom status, as inquiry launched into Rishi Sunak Big Power Switch Off: What is it and how will it help the cost of living crisis?
Show latest update 1649744588 Commons Speaker: MPs still traumatised and fearful after Amess murder
MPs and political staff remain “traumatised” by the murder of Sir David Amess and continue to fear for their security, Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said.
He said Sir David’s death underlined how much the world had changed in recent years, following the 2016 murder of Labour MP Jo Cox, and the 2017 terror attack on parliament.
You can read the full story below.
Commons Speaker: MPs still traumatised and fearful after Amess murder Sir Lindsay Hoyle was speaking to the PA news agency following the conviction of Ali Harbi Ali for murdering veteran MP Sir David Amess in October.
Laurie Churchman 12 April 2022 07:23
1649743443 ICYMI: Johnson orders ethics inquiry into Rishi Sunak
Boris Johnson has told his independent ethics adviser Lord Geidt to conduct an inquiry into Rishi Sunak.
But Downing Street said the prime minister continues to have “full confidence” in the chancellor, following revelations in The Independent about his wife’s “non-dom” tax status and the fact Mr Sunak held a US green card while a minister.
No 10 had no timeframe for completion of the inquiry, which will look at whether the chancellor’s outside interests had been properly declared. A spokesperson said that the outcome of the investigation will be published “in a timely manner”, but did not commit to the inquiry being published in full.
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Rishi Sunak’s wife avoids tax through non-dom status
Mr Johnson’s decision to ask Christopher Geidt to carry out an investigation came after the chancellor on Sunday requested a review of all declarations of interest since he first became a minister in 2018 to ensure they had been properly stated.
Report:
Boris Johnson orders ethics inquiry into Rishi Sunak Boris Johnson has told his independent ethics adviser Lord Geidt to conduct an inquiry into Rishi Sunak.
Namita Singh 12 April 2022 07:04
1649743100 How Rishi Sunak went from ‘the next Prime Minister’ to fighting for his job
Just a few months ago chancellor Rishi Sunak was considered the likeliest successor to Boris Johnson as prime minister.
Fresh faced, he was well-liked and largely untainted by the “Partygate” scandal that threatened to finally sink his boss, an escape artist who has made a career out of getting away with it, one plummy turn of phrase at a time.
No longer the free-spending chancellor who had led the emergency economic response to the pandemic two years ago and enjoyed being the face of the ￡69bn furlough scheme, Mr Sunak has been under the cosh since 23 March.
Despite a crowd-pleasing cut in fuel duty, a YouGov poll concluded that 69 per cent of Britons believed the chancellor had not done enough to help working people out of financial hardship.
Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and his wife Akshata Murthy leave No 10 Downing Street
(James Veysey/Shutterstock)
Last week’s revelation that he and Ms Murty had made a ￡100,000 donation to Winchester College, the prestigious private school where he was once head boy, hardly helped matters
Nor did The Independent’s subsequent story that Ms Murty, believed to hold a ￡690m stake in Indian IT services giant Infosys, had saved millions of pounds in tax on her earnings thanks to her non-dom status, an entirely legal strategy but not a good look in the current climate.
Read this report by Joe Sommerlad on how the Chancellor tipped as a potential front runner for the top job came under fire over the family’s tax arrangements and cost of living crisis
How Rishi Sunak went from ‘the next Prime Minister’ to fighting for his job Chancellor under fire over family’s tax arrangements and cost of living crisis just months after being tipped as potential front runner for the top job
Namita Singh 12 April 2022 06:58
1649742246 Explained: Tories should fear the impact of this week’s miserly pension rise
To understand the political damage that this week’s miserly 3.1 per cent rise in pensions can do, it is only necessary to remind ourselves about electoral demographics. Britain’s pensioners gave Boris Johnson his majority in parliament in 2019, and what they give, they can take away. Indeed, at the council and devolved parliament elections on 6 May, there is every chance that they will make their wrath felt.
The importance of the grey vote to the Conservatives is stark. In 2019, some 67 per cent of the over-70s voted Conservative, and only 14 per cent for Corbyn’s Labour. By contrast, 56 per cent of the 18-24-year-olds voted Labour, and a remarkably low 21 per cent went for Johnson.
What should be happening this week, under a manifesto commitment, is an increase under the so-called “triple lock” that matches whichever is largest out of wage rises, price increases as they were running last autumn, or a minimum of 2.5 per cent. That would have meant a rise of some 8 per cent, matching extraordinary recent rapid wage growth – about ￡14 or so.
But the triple lock was turned into a double lock when the Treasury saw this coming, and so the rise will instead match the consumer price index last year, at 3.1 per cent.
Read this explainer by Sean O’ Grady who argues short-changed pensioners will punish the government in next month’s elections.
Tories should fear the impact of this week’s miserly pension rise Short-changed pensioners will punish the government in next month’s elections, says Sean O’Grady
Namita Singh 12 April 2022 06:44
1649740860 Foreign minister breaks ranks to voice support for ousted Pakistani PM Imran Khan
Foreign minister Zac Goldsmith has broken with government practice by speaking out in support of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan amid turmoil in the country ahead of an expected election.
Downing Street today stopped short of rebuking the Tory peer for his comments, but confirmed that it was normally the case that the UK government “would not get involved in the domestic political affairs” of another country.
Mr Khan – who was previously married to Lord Goldsmith’s sister Jemima – was removed from office by a no-confidence vote on Saturday.
But Mr Khan is calling for elections to be brought forward from their scheduled date next year, and Lord Goldsmith said he had “no doubt” he will be returned to office when Pakistanis go to the polls.
Posting on his official Twitter feed early on Sunday, Lord Goldsmith said: “Sad to see last night’s events in Pakistan.
“Imran Khan is a good and decent man, one of the least corruptible politicians on the world stage.
“I have no doubt he will be returned with a big majority in the upcoming elections.”
Our political editor Andrew Woodcock reports.
Foreign minister breaks ranks to voice support for ousted Pakistani PM Imran Khan Downing Street says government would not interfere in country’s domestic affairs
Namita Singh 12 April 2022 06:21
1649739779 Long delays blamed as victims drop two thirds of rape casesLong delays blamed as victims drop two thirds of rape cases
Long delays could be to blame for almost two-thirds of adult rape investigations being dropped because the victim wants to discontinue the case, MPs have warned.
A damning report by the Home Affairs Committee discovered 63 per cent of adult rape investigations were terminated between July and September last year because the victim decided to drop their case.
MPs condemned the “unacceptably low numbers” of prosecutions for rape and sexual offences as they argued the collapse in rape prosecutions is not likely to be tackled unless victims are provided with improved support and proper nationwide funding is rolled out.
Dame Diana Johnson, a Labour MP who is chair of the committee, said: “The collapse in the number of prosecutions for rape and sexual offences over the last five years is truly shocking and completely unacceptable.
“While it is clear that significant effort is being put in to reversing this decline across the criminal justice system, there is much further to go. Thousands of victims are failing to get the justice they deserve and this has to stop. From now on the focus must be on supporting the victims.”
Read the details in this report by Maya Oppenheim.
Long delays blamed as victims drop two thirds of rape cases ‘Thousands of victims are failing to get the justice they deserve and this has to stop,’ Dame Diana Johnson says
Namita Singh 12 April 2022 06:02
1649738376 Starmer accuses Sunak of ‘rank hypocrisy’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has accused Chancellor Rishi Sunak of “rank hypocrisy” for using “schemes” to reduce his tax burden as the cost-of-living crisis worsens.
Sir Keir indicated he was uncomfortable with the system of overseas tax status but also did not think politicians should have to publish their own tax returns.
“There is nothing to reveal in my tax returns,” he told the Guardian.
“I can tell you if I was Prime Minister, I wouldn’t be going to the country saying I want more tax from you but secretly I’m reducing my own tax burden through schemes. It’s rank hypocrisy.”
Sir Keir Starmer
He said that the situation revealed there was a “broader issue” with politicians being disconnected from the lives of the public.
Sir Keir Starmer, shown walking through Southwick on a visit to Sunderland, has continued to ask questions about Rishi Sunak’s family’s financial arrangements
(PA Wire)
“I think that even before we got to the non-dom issue, the Chancellor’s response to the spring statement - to the real pressures on people - showed that he just doesn’t get it.”
Starmer accuses Sunak of ‘rank hypocrisy’ for using ‘schemes’ to avoid tax Mr Sunak’s political career is at risk of being derailed amid intense pressure over his family’s financial interests.
Namita Singh 12 April 2022 05:39
1649737812 Push back against Blunt: 'It’s time for the chair to go'
Labour party chair Anneliese Dodds branded Crispin Blunt’s statement as “disgraceful” as she said Boris Johnson and Tory chair Oliver Dowden “must take action against this Tory MP and distance their party from his comments”.
SNP MPs Stewart McDonald and Martin Docherty-Hughes also pushed back against Mr Blunt.
Parliament needs a respected and robust LGBT group and Crispin can no longer provide that leadership. He should stand down
Stewart McDonald
And Mr Docherty-Hughes said the intervention was “utterly inappropriate”, adding: “It’s time for the chair to go.” Former Tory MP Louise Mensch demanded his expulsion from “the Conservative Party for that statement”.
“He’s just defended the convicted abuser of a 15-year-old boy, and he is thereby attacking the minor victim.”
Namita Singh 12 April 2022 05:30
1649737028 Tory MP branded ‘disgraceful’ for defending Khan
Conservative MP Crispin Blunt has been branded “disgraceful” after coming to the defence of a colleague thrown out of the party after his conviction for a child sex offence.
Mr Blunt, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on global LGBT+ rights, denounced the conviction of Wakefield MP Imran Ahmad Khan as “an international scandal” which would have “dreadful” consequences for gay Muslims worldwide.
But he was condemned by Labour party chair Anneliese Dodds, who called on Boris Johnson and Tory chair Oliver Dowden to distance their party from his remarks.
And he faced a revolt from members of the APPG, with SNP MPs Martin Docherty-Hughes and Stewart McDonald quitting their positions as vice-chairs and calling on him to stand down. The SNP’s Joanna Cherry and Kirsten Oswald and Labour MP Chris Bryant left the group over the “completely inappropriate” remarks.
Read the details in this report by our political editor Andrew Woodcock.
Tory MP comes to defence of colleague convicted of child sex offence Crispin Blunt claimed Imran Ahmad Khan guilty verdict was ‘miscarriage of justice’ and ‘international scandal’
Namita Singh 12 April 2022 05:17
1649735572
Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of UK politics for Tuesday, 13 April 2022.
Namita Singh 12 April 2022 04:52