SNP says Speaker has ‘broken his word’ by not allowing emergency debate on Gaza – UK politics live | Politics

Keir Starmer has claimed that Rishi Sunak is refusing to denounce Islamophobia in the Conservative party because he’s too weak.

In a clip for broadcasters, he said that

I think this is straightforward. It’s Islamophobia and the prime minister should call it out for what it is.

The reason he won’t is because he is so weak. They are divided, chaotic and if they are re-elected we are going to have five more years of this.

Rishi Sunak has said that he is sure Liz Truss does not regard the far-right activist Tommy Robinson as a hero.

He was speaking in response to video that has circulated widely on social media showing the former prime minister in the US last week failing to challenge Steve Bannon when he described Robinson as a hero because of his response to child grooming scandal.

Instead Truss agreed with the broader point made by Bannon, a far-right political strategist and former adviser to President Trump, which was alarm at the prospect of a pro-Palestinian candidate (George Galloway) winning the Rochdale byelection.

In an interview with 5 News, asked about Truss not challenging Bannon’s description of Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and who has convictions for fraud, assault, stalking, using threatening behaviour and contempt of court, Sunak replied:

I’m sure Liz Truss does not agree with Steve Bannon on that point … She was on a panel, you know, I don’t know exactly what happened, but obviously I would imagine that she does not agree with those comments that were made.

In his interview Sunak again refused to described what Lee Anderson said about Sadiq Khan as Islamophobic.

Andy Bell from 5 News put it to Sunak that not using the term was part of the problem. He quoted this point made by Sayeeda Warsi, the former Conservative party chair, who said at the weekend:

If you can’t call racism racism, if you can’t call antisemitism antisemitism, and if you can’t call Islamophobia Islamophobia, then how are we going to fix it?

Sunak replied:

I’ve been very clear, that any form of prejudice or racism is completely and utterly unacceptable. That’s not who we are as a country. We’re a proud multi-ethnic democracy, one of the most successful anywhere in the world.

Jeremy Hunt gave advice at a Conservative fundraiser to a senior Fujitsu executive who lobbied him in relation to government spending on AI and supercomputers, according to released emails, Ben Quinn reports.

Charity Commission boss says he will not let it be ‘weaponised’ by politicians wanting to fight culture wars

Patrick Butler

The chair of the Charity Commission, Orlando Fraser, has re-iterated his determination to resist pressure from media and politicians fighting culture wars to crack down on so-called “woke” or “political” charities.

Speaking at the launch of the commission’s new five year strategy in Waterloo, London, this morning he said charities often found themselves in “fierce public battles for the soul of our nation”, finding themselves as a consequence “at the biting edge of what we have come to know as the culture wars.” He added:

I will not allow the commission to be misused or weaponised by any army involved in fighting these wars. Whether it be led by powerful interests in politics, the media, or indeed the sector itself.

It is not the first time Fraser, a lawyer and one-time Tory parliamentary candidate, has insisted that charities have a legal right to campaign and get involved in political (but not party political) issues – and that the commission will defend that right.

In recent years Tory MPs and rightwing media have attacked and demanded the watchdog investigate several high profile charities they have accused of, variously, being woke or leftwing – notably the National Trust, and Barnardo’s. In each case the commission inquired into the claims, and exonerated the charities.

It remains to be seen whether the commission’s determination to take tough stand on this issue will make charity trustees feel any more confident of speaking out or campaigning if they worry they will be targeted by often aggressive and abusive scrutiny of culture-warriors, even if it is their legal right to do so.

Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister, has called for an investigation into “structural Islamophobia” in the Conservative party.

Describing Lee Anderson’s comments about Sadiq Khan as “a further demonstration of the fact that Islamophobia is normalised” in the party, Yousaf said:

You can look at any one of the tweets that I put out, or any one of the social media posts I put out, and you will see streams of Islamophobic abuse.

The fact that an MP thinks it is acceptable to make such Islamophobic comments against anybody, let alone the mayor of London, I think is despicable.

I think the Conservative party should be investigating what, I think, is clearly structural Islamophobia within that party.

Yousaf, who is the first Muslim to lead a country in western Europe, said that Anderson should have been expelled from the Conservative party, not just suspended.

Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster, has accused Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker, of breaking his promise to allow an emergency debate on Gaza.

In a statement responding to the speaker’s statement (see 3.49pm), Flynn said:

Yet again, Westminster is failing the people of Gaza by blocking a vote on the urgent action the UK government must take to help make an immediate ceasefire happen.

For months, the UK parliament has blocked SNP calls for an immediate ceasefire – and now it’s blocking a vote on the concrete actions the UK government must pursue to make an immediate ceasefire more likely …

It’s regrettable that this inexplicable decision will further erode trust in the speaker. The speaker broke the rules last week – and this week he has broken his word. How can MPs have any trust in the speaker when he makes a public commitment one minute, only to rip it up the next. If 30,000 dead Palestinians aren’t worthy of an emergency debate – what is?

Collectively the SNP has decided it no longer has confidence in the speaker because of what happened last week. There are now 77 MPs who have signed the Commons early day motion expressing no confidence in Hoyle, up from 71 at the end of last week.

In the Commons Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster, is making a point of order.

He says the SNP tried in good faith to have debate under standing order 24 to have another debate on Gaza. (See 12.11pm.) He says he has been told that request has been refused. Why is that?

Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker, tells Flynn standing orders say the speaker should not say why he has turned down a request for an SO24 debate.

But in these circumstances he will give an explanation, he says.

He says two factors determine whether an SO24 debate is granted.

First is the extent to which the subject is a matter for ministers. He says that in this case the matter does not relate to areas of ministerial responsibility.

(Hoyle does not explain, but the SNP motion is about the case for a ceasefire in Gaza, which is not directly a matter for the UK government.)

And Hoyle says the second factor is whether or not MPs are likely to discuss this issue by another means. In this case, MPs came to a resolution on Gaza only last week, he says. And he says ministers are expected to make a statement on Gaza to the Commons tomorrow.

He says that is why he is turning the application down.

This does not mean MPs cannot apply for another emergency debate in future, when circumstances may have changed, he says.

Earlier during Home Office questions Jonathan Gullis (Con) said a pro-Palestinian hate mob appeared outside a Conservative party fundraising event on Friday. He said a police officer allowed protesters into the building to intimidate people. One of the people involved used to be member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, the now-proscribed Islamist group, he said. And he claimed that what happened in the Commons last week “emboldened these individuals to take the action they did”.

Chris Philp, the policing minister, said no MP should feel they have to change their vote, or change procedure, because of external pressure. What happened in Stoke was unacceptable, he said.

He said he was pleased to be able to tell MPs that four people have now been arrested in connection with the incident in Stoke.