Paradise News

Tag: United Kingdom

  • Braverman sacking fallout as speaker suggests new scrutiny arrangements for Lord Cameron – as it happened

    Former home secretary Suella Braverman was sacked this morning by prime minister Rishi Sunak.

    Braverman said serving as home secretary “has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve as home secretary”.

    “I will have more to say in due course”, she added.

    Former foreign secretary James Cleverly has been announced as the man replacing Braverman in the Home Office.

    Replacing Cleverly as foreign secretary is former prime minister David Cameron, now Lord Cameron. He stunned SW1 when he arrived on Downing Street just before 9 am.

    Meanwhile, Richard Holden has replaced Greg Hands as the chairman of the Conservative Party and Steve Barclay has been demoted to environment secretary.

    Therese Coffey, who had served as the head of DEFRA since October 2022, has left government.

    Replacing Steve Barclay as health secretary is Victoria Atkins, who previously served as financial secretary the Treasury.

    POLITICS LATEST:

    17.32 pm — Braverman out, Lord Cameron in: the key moments of Rishi Sunak’s cabinet relaunch

    Braverman out, Lord Cameron in: the key moments of Rishi Sunak’s cabinet relaunch

    17.30 pm — Esther McVey appointed minister at the Cabinet Office, the role has been briefed to the Sun as the “minister for common sense”.

    17.07 pm — BREAKING: David Cameron speaks for the first time as foreign secretary.

    Lord Cameron tells Sky News: “Well I know it’s not usual for a prime minister to come back in this way but I believe in public service.

    “The prime minister asked me to do this job and it’s a time where we have some daunting challenges as a country, the conflict in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine”

    15.44 pm — Speaker says new ways must be found to ‘scrutinise’ work of foreign secretary David Cameron:

    Speaker says new ways must be found to ‘scrutinise’ work of foreign secretary David Cameron

    14.40 pm — Laura Trott has been promoted to the role of Chief Secretary to the Treasury, replacing John Glen.

    14.39 pm — Victoria Atkins has been appointed health secretary, replacing Steve Barclay.

    14.35 pm — Reshuffle latest: Steve Barclay replaces Thérèse Coffey as environment secretary

    Reshuffle latest: Steve Barclay replaces Thérèse Coffey as environment secretary

    13.48 pm — Sir Simon Clarke, a Liz Truss ally, criticises Sunak’s reshuffle. He warns it is “never wise to lack options on the right wing”.

    13.47 pm — Junior ministers Richard Holden, Victoria Atkins and Laura Trott — all long touted for promotions — are currently in No 10.

    12.56 pm — BREAKING: Therese Coffey has left the Government.

    The now ex-environment secretary said in a resignation letter to Rishi Sunak: “Having been a minister since July 2014, and having served all five Conservative prime ministers, I consider it is now the right time to step back from government.”

    12.44 pm — The health secretary Steve Barclay has been spotted going into 10 Downing Street.

    12.41 pm — Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s leader in Westminster, has said the UK is “not a serious country” after Rishi Sunak decided to appoint Lord Cameron to the role of Foreign Secretary.

    Mr Flynn pointed out that because Lord Cameron is a peer and will be speaking for the Government in the House of Lords, MPs will no longer be able to ask questions of the foreign secretary in the House of Commons

    11.08 am — Another minister resigns as reshuffle continues:

    10.54 am — Health minister Will Quince returns to backbenches. He had already announced his intention to stand down at the next election.

    10.52 am — King Charles has awarded David Cameron his life peerage.

    No 10 has said the King was “pleased to confer the dignity of a Barony of the United Kingdom for life upon David Cameron”.

    10.39 am — Former PM Theresa May has said David Cameron’s experience on the international stage “will be invaluable” in his role as foreign secretary.

    “Congratulations to [David Cameron] on his return to government”, the former home secretary tweeted.

    “His immense experience on the international stage will be invaluable at this time of great uncertainty in our world. Looking forward to working together again!”

    10.35 am — David Cameron becomes just second former PM to return to cabinet since WW2. Full story:

    David Cameron becomes just second former PM to return to cabinet since WW2

    10.29 am — David Cameron concedes he has disagreed with Sunak in the past:

    He says: “Though I may have disagreed with some individual decisions, it is clear to me that Rishi Sunak is a strong and capable Prime Minister, who is showing exemplary leadership at a difficult time. …

    “It will be an honour to serve our country alongside our dedicated FCDO staff and provide the continued leadership and support that they deserve”

    10.27 am — Labour’s national campaign coordinator Pat McFadden has said: “A few weeks ago Rishi Sunak said David Cameron was part of a failed status quo, now he’s bringing him back as his life raft.

    “This puts to bed the Prime Minister’s laughable claim to offer change from 13 years of Tory failure.”

    10.10 am — David Cameron is only the second former prime minister to be appointed to cabinet since WW2. The other was in the 1970s, when Alec Douglas-Home become foreign secretary.

    10.02 am — BREAKING: David Cameron returns to cabinet as foreign secretary. He has been made a life peer in order to make the move possible.

    09.50 am — From our editor:

    09.49 am — From the Conservative Party:

    09.43 am — BREAKING: James Cleverly has just been announced as the new home secretary.

    09.40 am — From our Editor:

    09.39 am — Reshuffle status update:

    09.29 am — A report in 2018 revealed David Cameron had dreams of returning to frontline politics as foreign secretary – as per some reports today.

    A source told The Sun in 2018: “David is dedicated to public service, and has often said he wouldn’t rule out a public role one day, domestically or internationally. But he is only 52, and still a young man.”

    09.17 am — BREAKING: Suella Braverman says “it has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve as home secretary”, adding: “I will have more to say in due course”.

    09.13 am — Conservative right backlash to Braverman’s sacking begins as Dame Andrea Jenkins tweets:

    09.11 am — It is rumoured that now-foreign secretary James Cleverly could replace Braverman, he was seen entering No 10 before the former home secretary was sacked.

    09.07 am — Health minister Neil O’Brien confirms he is retuning to backbenches. He wrote on X: “It’s been a privilege to serve at DHSC. Great ministerial team and spads [special advisers] and some fab officials.

    “But with so much going on locally I want to focus 100% on constituency work so have asked to go to back benches. I’m also keen to see more of our two small children.”

    09.02 am — Former prime minister David Cameron has been seen entering Downing Street amid re-shuffle

    08.59 am — Nick Gibb has announced that he has asked to leave his government role as schools minister.

    08.56 am — From the official Conservative Party X account:

    08.48 am — BREAKING: Suella Braverman has been sacked as home secretary, it comes as major questions had been asked over the home secretary’s future for several days.

    08.45 am — Good morning and welcome back to “Politics Live”, politics.co.uk‘s rolling coverage of the day’s key moments in Westminster and beyond. Here you can keep up to date with today’s major parliamentary debates, press conferences and news events in real time.

    Here’s what’s happening today:

    • Rishi Sunak is holding a cabinet reshuffle as had been widely anticipated, with home secretary Suella Braverman the first casualty

    Stay with us and we’ll bring you all the latest developments as they unfold.



    Source

  • Braverman out, Lord Cameron in: the key moments of Rishi Sunak’s cabinet relaunch

    At around 8.45 this morning, Rishi Sunak did what many had thought likely for some time and sacked Suella Braverman as his home secretary.

    Braverman was accused of stoking tension ahead of protests in London on Saturday in an article for the Times newspaper; worse still, the controversial comments were not entirely signed off by No 10. Downing Street later confirmed that it had proposed amendments to the op-ed which were not accepted by the home secretary’s team. 

    At around 9.15 am, Braverman issued a statement, saying: “it has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve as home secretary”.

    “I will have more to say in due course”, she added. 

    Week-in-Review: Suella Braverman isn’t as strong politically as she thinks she is

    At around the same time Braverman‘s departure was confirmed, circa 8.40 am, foreign secretary James Cleverly was seen entering No 10. Rumours abounded that he would be replacing Braverman as home secretary.

    The move was to be confirmed an hour later at 9.40 am. 

    As speculation swirled as to who would be filling Cleverly’s much-coveted Foreign Office brief, former prime minister David Cameron exited a vehicle on Downing Street just before 9.00 am. 

    At 10.00 am, what would have been unthinkable a mere hour or so prior, happened. David Cameron was confirmed as the new foreign secretary, replacing Cleverly in the role. 

    The move makes Cameron just the second former prime minister since the second world war to return to cabinet. His only post-war forebear is Alec Douglas-Home, prime minister from 1963 to 1964. Douglas-Home also became foreign secretary, serving under Edward Heath from 1970 to 1974.

    David Cameron becomes just second former PM to return to cabinet since WW2

    At around 10.17 am, then-environment secretary Therese Coffey entered No 10. After disappearing behind No 10’s famous black door, no news was heard on Coffey’s future for a further two and a half hours. 

    At 10.23 am, David Cameron posted a statement to his X account. A notable passage read: “Though I may have disagreed with some individual decisions, it is clear to me that Rishi Sunak is a strong and capable prime minister, who is showing exemplary leadership at a difficult time”.

    Circa 10.50 am, it was announced that King Charles III had awarded David Cameron a peerage. No 10 confirmed that the King was “pleased to confer the dignity of a Barony of the United Kingdom for life upon David Cameron”.

    By this time, junior ministers were beginning to announce they were returning to the backbenches. Former health minister Will Quince, who had already stated his intention to stand down at the next election, wrote to the prime minister: “Having taken the decision to stand down at the General Election and having recently joined the Army as a Specialist Reserve Officer, now feels like the right time to leave HM Government”.

    Earlier, long-serving schools minister Nick Gibb and health minister Nick O’Brien both announced they would be leaving government. 

    A lull followed as SW1 considered the events which had just unfolded. Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s leader in Westminster, was a notable critic. Reacting to Sunak’s decision to appoint Lord Cameron to the role of Foreign Secretary, he argued that the UK is “not a serious country”.

    Lord Heseltine, a former long-serving cabinet minister, described Cameron’s elevation as “excellent”. He told Times Radio that the elevation of Lord Cameron was a “signal” that the Conservative Party’s “lurch” to the right had been “put to bed”.

    Why David Cameron is back

    At around 12.40 pm, then-health secretary Steve Barclay was spotted walking into No 10 Downing Street. 

    A few minutes later it was confirmed that Coffey had resigned as environment secretary. Given she had entered No 10 through the front entrance, it is likely she was offered a job, but declined during the following two hours of negotiations. 

    Her resignation statement read: “Having been a minister since July 2014, and having served all five Conservative prime ministers, I consider it is now the right time to step back from government.”

    She added: “I look forward to supporting you from the backbenches and working together for a Conservative majority at the next election, which I believe to be profoundly in the national interest.”

    Reshuffle latest: Steve Barclay replaces Thérèse Coffey as environment secretary

    Just before 1.00 pm, former housing minister Rachel Maclean confirmed she had been “asked to step down”.

    She wrote on X: “I’ve been asked to step down from my role as Housing Minister. Disappointed and was looking forward to introducing the Renters Reform Bill to Committee tomorrow and later the Leasehold and Freehold Bill. 

    “It has been a privilege to hold the position and I wish my successor well”.

    At around the same time, then-roads minister Richard Holden arrived in Downing Street. He was closely followed by then-financial secretary to the Treasury Victoria Atkins, and then-work and pensions minister Laura Trott. All three had for some time been hotly-tipped for a promotion. 

    As the PM’s allies sauntered into No 10, his critics were beginning to notice a pattern. Deploying a tortured footballing analogy, Liz Truss loyalist and former cabinet minister Simon Clarke wrote on X: “Some controversial choices here from the manager, putting it very mildly.  Never wise to lack options on the right wing – the squad risks being badly unbalanced”.

    At 2.00 pm, Steve Barclay was confirmed to be the man replacing Therese Coffey as environment secretary. It was soon announced that Victoria Atkins would replace him as the secretary of state for health. 

    At 2.15 pm, it emerged that Richard Holden, formerly the roads minister at the Department for Transport, was the new Conservative Party chair — replacing Greg Hands. Hands was later confirmed to be returning to his old role as a trade minister. He said he was“disappointed” to have lost his job as the chairman of the Conservative Party.

    Laura Trott was confirmed to be the new chief secretary the Treasury, replacing John Glen, at around 2.30 pm. 

    At this exact time, the House of Commons began its day’s sitting. But before business could get underway, Speaker of the House Sir Lindsay Hoyle issued a statement, seeming to rebuke the government’s decision to appoint David Cameron, now a member of the House of Lords, as foreign secretary. 

    He told MPs: “This is not the first time in recent years that a cabinet Minister has been appointed in the House of Lords. But given the gravity of the current international situation, this is especially important that this House is able to scrutinise the work of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office effectively”. 

    Speaker says new ways must be found to ‘scrutinise’ work of foreign secretary David Cameron

    At around 4.15 pm, Lee Rowley was confirmed to have been appointed the 16th housing minister in the past 13 years, replacing Rachel Maclean.

    A statement from No 10 read: “The King has been pleased to approve the appointment of Lee Rowley MP as a Minister of State (Minister for Housing) in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.”

    At around 17.00 pm, with the bulk of the reshuffle complete, the new foreign secretary Lord Cameron spoke to Sky News. 

    He said: “Well I know it’s not usual for a prime minister to come back in this way but I believe in public service.

    “The prime minister asked me to do this job and it’s a time where we have some daunting challenges as a country, the conflict in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine”.

    Source

  • Reshuffle latest: Steve Barclay replaces Thérèse Coffey as environment secretary

    Steve Barclay has been demoted to the role of environment secretary as Rishi Sunak continues a major shake-up of his cabinet, which has involved Therese Coffey leaving the post.

    Barclay had served as health secretary since October last year, when Rishi Sunak became prime minister. 

    Coffey, who had served as the head of DEFRA since October, joins Suella Braverman as among the sacked cabinet ministers.

    Braverman said serving as home secretary “has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve as home secretary”.

    “I will have more to say in due course”, she added.

    The move came ahead of David Cameron’s stunning elevation as foreign secretary. As part of the reshuffle, Sunak handed the former PM a life peerage — a necessary requisite for him to serve in cabinet. 

    Meanwhile, James Cleverly has replaced Braverman as home secretary.

    In a statement this afternoon, Thérèse Coffey said: “Having been a minister since July 2014, and having served all five Conservative prime ministers, I consider it is now the right time to step back from government.”

    She added: “I look forward to supporting you from the backbenches and working together for a Conservative majority at the next election, which I believe to be profoundly in the national interest.”

    Rishi Sunak thanked outgoing environment secretary Thérèse Coffey for “years of dedicated ministerial service and your friendship to me personally”.

    He said her “teamwork and positivity” had “helped bring everyone together” during a “difficult time for our party” when she took on roles as both health secretary and deputy prime minister.

    “I want to express my gratitude to you for your years of dedicated ministerial service and your friendship to me personally”, he said in a letter to Coffey.

    Why David Cameron is back

    David Cameron becomes just second former PM to return to cabinet since WW2

    Source

  • My journey from pupil barrister to Attorney General – and why students should consider a career as a government lawyer

    Victoria Prentis KC MP writes exclusively for Legal Cheek


    Whether you are a first-year student enjoying an array of new experiences, or you’re in your final year weighing up the best route into the legal profession — I can tell you that there is no better career than working as a government lawyer.

    After graduating from Cambridge, I was called to the bar before working for chambers.

    As a pupil in chambers, I had a meeting with some interesting people from the Treasury Solicitor’s Department, now known as the Government Legal Department (GLD). I had never heard of it, but I saw the work they were doing and knew I had found my place.

    Back then, routes into GLD weren’t as accessible as they are today, and I had to patiently wait to be accepted. But when that call finally came from the then Deputy Treasury Solicitor, I dropped everything to take up this wonderful opportunity.

    In private practice, solicitors and barristers work for a range of clients. GLD lawyers work for just one client — the government of the day — which requires advice and support on a huge range of domestic and international affairs.

    Government lawyers work on some of the most complex and sensitive issues and the breadth of work they are involved in is astonishing. The government calls upon its lawyers to advise on any number of issues — complex, novel, politically sensitive and often in the public eye.

    And government lawyers work not only with other lawyers but with ministers, policy makers, chambers, private law firms and professionals from other specialist areas. You are involved in making the law as well as testing it, often in the highest courts of England and Wales — even the Supreme Court.

    When I joined GLD, I was posted to litigation and for the next 17 years I was a public law litigator, working where judicial review actually happens — the Admin Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

    I also personally benefited from the flexible working approach that is available in GLD. My job-share in the litigation team allowed me to drive forward my career, while also looking after my two young daughters.

    GLD is one of the largest legal organisations in the country, working with all the main Whitehall Departments. From roads to rivers, and health to human rights, its work touches on most aspects of public life.

    The 2024 Legal Cheek Firms Most List

    Because of the importance of the work government lawyers do, it is vital that GLD and the wider Government Legal Profession continues to attract the best legal talent in the country.

    In keeping with the Places for Growth agenda, GLD is building its national offer, adding a Salford office to its existing estate in London, Croydon, Bristol and Leeds. I am delighted that government legal opportunities now better reflect the national spread of legal talent, allowing for greater regional representation and mirroring the national legal market.

    And for those interested in a career as a government lawyer there are many routes in. Applications are welcomed from aspiring solicitors and barristers for the prestigious GLP trainee scheme. GLD is always looking to recruit and have delivered initiatives to diversify routes into the legal profession, ensuring that a career in law is an option for everyone.

    But GLD recently launched the solicitor and graduate solicitor apprenticeships alongside the established legal trainee scheme, as well as opportunities to join the Paralegal Profession. They run the very popular annual diversity summer scheme and work closely with Sutton Trust Pathways to law, providing opportunities for aspiring legal professionals from diverse backgrounds to get a taste of the work that government lawyers do.

    I have enormous respect for government lawyers and would always recommend GLD as a career for people with discipline and skill and the confidence to make their point. We would love to have you join us.

    Victoria Prentis KC MP is the Attorney General for England and Wales.

    The post My journey from pupil barrister to Attorney General – and why students should consider a career as a government lawyer appeared first on Legal Cheek.

    Source

  • Why David Cameron is back

    If you, like me, thought the headline story from today’s much-touted morning reshuffle would be the exit of controversialist-in-chief Suella Braverman, you were very wrong indeed.

    Rishi Sunak has run roughshod over the former home secretary’s long-trailed plans to style her sacking as an act of martyrdom for the “small boats”-stopping cause, with the sensational elevation of David Cameron to the post of foreign secretary.

    Cameron’s comeback puts Jeremy Hunt’s unlikely return to government, having been appointed chancellor during the Trussite implosion last year, to shame. In truth, the move is beyond sensational: it makes Cameron just the second former prime minister to return to cabinet since the second world war; his only post-war forebear is Sir Alec Douglas Home, who served as PM from 1963-1964 and also went on to return as foreign secretary.

    There are other parallels in recent history, of course. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who served as leader of the Conservative Party from 2001 to 2003, later became secretary of state for work and pensions from 2010 to 2016 under David Cameron.

    William Hague, who served as leader of the Conservative Party from 1997 to 2001, subsequently returned to the frontbench fold as Cameron’s foreign secretary. (In fact, one wonders if Hague, a close confidant of both Rishi Sunak and Cameron, had been a key voice in lobbying for the move. There is also the question of whether Hague, already in the House of Lords, had been asked first to serve but declined).

    On the topic of lobbying, Cameron’s accession is also remarkable because his post-premiership life has been rather more “chaotic”, than it has been “stable and strong”. In fact, after a period of relative quietude following his resignation as PM in the wake of the Brexit referendum, in March 2021 it was revealed that Cameron was employed by a firm called “Greensill Capital”. In late 2021, it was reported that, in his capacity as a Greensill employee, Cameron had sent several texts to then-chancellor Rishi Sunak and held a number of virtual meetings with permanent secretaries in Whitehall to try and secure coronavirus support payments for the firm.

    Cameron, who following the 2009 controversy around MPs’ expense claims, had mused that lobbying would be the next big political scandal, found himself at the centre of a classic lobbying furore.

    Of course, in his first speech as prime minister, Sunak pledged to lead of government of “integrity, accountability and professionalism”. Reminding the doubting public of Cameron’s role in a lobbying scandal which also implicated himself is therefore a bold, probably politically questionable, move.

    This aspect of the PM’s reshuffle is also interesting logistically. Because Cameron’s elevation means Sunak has so far avoided the political problems that usually flow from a more wide-ranging rejig.

    James Cleverly’s sideways move to home secretary, replacing Braverman in the post, left a large gap in the government — which needed to be filled with serious political precision. Of course, the post of foreign secretary is much coveted, and it would have been a serious and questionable statement of intent for Sunak to boost a more junior ministerial ally, even someone already at the Foreign Office, to the role — especially at a time of such international tumult.

    The most obvious option for Sunak would have been to promote a cabinet minister of slightly less seniority — but from this would have flowed a more far-reaching top-team switch-up. It had been rumoured that either of Kemi Badenoch, the business and trade secretary, or Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, could be handed the Home Office keys. But taking this approach would have seen Sunak on the look out for worthy replacements for their respective roles — and then for replacements for their replacements. It is easy to see how sometimes reshuffles can spiral out of a prime minister’s control, especially if a cabinet colleague declares they do not want to be moved.

    By going over the heads of fellow cabinet colleagues and hoisting Cameron into the Foreign Office, Sunak avoids some difficult decisions — ones which would have naturally been implicated in party-management dilemmas and his responsibility to maintain an ideologically balanced team, especially in light of Braverman’s departure.

    The decision to elevate Cameron also has clear constitutional consequences. Cameron’s elevation means that the UK’s foreign secretary will be sitting in the House of Lords, distant from the scrutiny of the House of Commons. At a time of major political instability internationally, it might be viewed as pertinent for a foreign secretary to be directly questioned by their shadow, in this instance David Lammy, in the House of Commons. But Cameron will be questioned in the Lords instead, by the rather less well-known shadow ministerial duo of Baroness Smith and Lord Collins. (That said, Smith is herself a senior politician and has served as Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords since 2015).

    Perhaps more significantly, Cameron’s move has clear ideological and factional implications. The removal of Suella Braverman was always going to be controversial in the Conservative Party — it was why Kemi Badenoch, a fellow standard bearer for the Conservative right — was touted as a potential replacement: a worthy sop to Sunak’s sceptics.

    But, instead, Sunak has opted to shift Cleverly and elevate Cameroon. It means we have gone from one of the four great offices of state being associated with the party right (with Cleverly more malleable politically), to zero. In fact, we have gone from one of the four great offices of state being associated with the “Cameroon” clique, with Jeremy Hunt as chancellor, to two — given the group’s namesake, Primus inter Pares of the notorious “Notting Hill set”, has now completed his sensational comeback.

    It will give ammunition to the argument, forwarded by many of Sunak’s critics, that the prime minister isn’t really at one with the ideological make-up of the modern day Conservative Party.

    Sure Sunak maintains a camera-friendly, mushy Cameroon outer-shell and seems far from a textbook Johnsonian populist; but it is still clear, in his championing of the Rwanda plan for instance certainly, that Sunak is no mere “moderate”. So why play into the accusations that he is somehow a sly arch wet? “Brand Rishi” will take more of a hit from his party right in the wake of this decision: with this reshuffle, Sunak has far from appeased his antagonists.

    And what of Cameron’s potential effectiveness as foreign secretary? As a former prime minister, Cameron will have retained connections on the world stage — not all countries have cycled through five premiers in the past decade or so. Moreover, at the Covid inquiry recently, we saw that Cameron’s penchant for preparedness, disarming reasonableness and canny ability to sidestep a line of questioning has not — in his 7 long years separated from the political frontline — been lost.

    And, in the end, it is clear Cameron will be an extremely loyal foreign secretary. He owes his comeback to Sunak — and will be forced to tread very carefully when it comes to moments of historic disagreement between the two. Indeed, Cameron has already tweeted: “Though I may have disagreed with some individual decisions, it is clear to me that Rishi Sunak is a strong and capable prime minister, who is showing exemplary leadership at a difficult time”. Cameron was a conspicuous critic of Sunak’s decision to scrap HS2’s second leg to Manchester, remember.

    So Sunak will be able to trust Cameron to perform his duties on the foreign stage dutifully and loyally — but it is the move’s implications at home, factionally and politically, that will be more watched in the weeks and months to come.

    Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Twitter here.

    Politics.co.uk is the UK’s leading digital-only political website, providing comprehensive coverage of UK politics. Subscribe to our daily newsletter here.



    Source

  • Open letter calling on UK government to press for Gaza ceasefire sees surge in lawyer signatories 

    From 250 to over 830


    An open letter drafted by a group of UK lawyers calling on the government to urgently press for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza has seen a surge in signatories since it was made public.

    The letter, first published on 26 October, urges the government to fulfil its international legal obligations in relation to the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

    As well as a ceasefire, the group seeks the urgent and adequate provision of food, fuel, medicine and other humanitarian assistance, as well as the restoration of water and electricity. It also calls for the urgent return of Israeli hostages who were kidnapped during Hamas’ terror attacks in southern Israel on 7 October.

    The letter was originally signed by some 250 lawyers, however this figure has since climbed to over 830, including 60 KCs and 125 law firm partners.

    In an update published on 9 November, the group say the impact of the conflict on the population of Gaza has grown “ever-more stark” and calls again for the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the government to urgently “exert [their] influence” to secure a ceasefire.

    The lawyers also urge the government to work with the international community to ensure that the fundamental rights — including the human rights — of both Israelis and Palestinians are upheld, and to work towards a just, lasting and sustainable peaceful settlement.

    Separately, a group of 400 lawyers and paralegals have signed an open letter criticising their professional bodies over their failure to respond to the “multiple breaches of international law” in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

    They point to the various statements released in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war and that “as lawyers of conscience we must insist that the values of justice and the rule of law apply to all”.

    The letter does, however, acknowledge statements already released from the International Bar Association and Law Society of Scotland.

    In a statement, the Law Society of England and Wale said: “The events in the Middle East are a source of grave concern to the international community and we recognise the suffering and distress of people within the region and around the world which flows from these terrible events. We are aware of public statements issued by certain legal institutions with a specific international and human rights remit. Those statements highlight issues of international and humanitarian law that must be respected by all involved.”

    It added: “Our more limited remit in situations of international conflict is through our Lawyers at Risk programmes. We support legal professionals worldwide who are hindered in carrying out their profession because of the cases they work on or the clients they represent, including through threats, intimidation, disciplinary measures, arbitrary arrest, detention and prosecution, disappearance and murder. In this way, the programme aims to raise awareness of the risks and challenges associated with being a lawyer and highlight the importance of an independent legal profession.”

    “We have not to date formed the view that a public statement would support the aims of the Lawyers at Risk programme, but we will keep this under review,” the statement continued.

    Meanwhile, The Bar Council said it had responded directly to the letter with the following:

    “The deeply disturbing events in the Middle East remind us all of the importance of a rules-based international order which constrains what forms of aggression are permissible, even in times of war. The Bar Council urges all those involved in the conflict to respect all their obligations under international law.”

    The post Open letter calling on UK government to press for Gaza ceasefire sees surge in lawyer signatories  appeared first on Legal Cheek.

    Source

  • David Cameron becomes just second former PM to return to cabinet since WW2

    David Cameron’s shock appointment today as foreign secretary makes him just the second former prime minister since the second world war to return to cabinet.

    Cameron’s only post-war forebear is Alec Douglas-Home, prime minister from 1963 to 1964. He also became foreign secretary, serving under Edward Heath from 1970 to 1974.

    William Hague, who served as leader of the Conservative Party from 1997 to 2001, returned as David Cameron’s foreign secretary.

    Sir Iain Duncan-Smith, who served as leader of the Conservative Party from 2001 to 2003, served as secretary of state for work and pensions from 2010 to 2016 — also under David Cameron. 

    Before the Second World War, Arthur Balfour, prime minister from 1902-1905, returned to government first as the first lord of the admiralty in the wartime coalition and then as foreign secretary under David Lloyd George (PM from 1916 to 1922).

    During WW2, Neville Chamberlain served as lord president of the council in the cabinet of Winston Churchill, who had succeeded him as prime minister.

    Cameron served as prime minister from 2010 to 2016.

    He led Britain’s first coalition government for 70 years and, following the 2015 General Election, formed the first Conservative majority government for over two decades.

    David Cameron stood down as an MP in 2016 very soon after resigning as prime minister, following the Brexit referendum.  Cameron initially maintained a low-profile after leaving Downing Street and during the subsequent Brexit negotiations.

    While stating that he did not regret calling the 2016 referendum, he has told The Times it had left him ‘hugely depressed’ and understands that ‘some people will never forgive me’.

    In 2016, Cameron became Chairman of Patrons at National Citizen Service (NCS), a youth development programme. He is also President of Alzheimer’s Research UK.

    Further to these roles, Cameron advised a number of international businesses – concentrating on innovative technology-driven sectors, including Fin-Tech, Medi-Tech and Artificial Intelligence.

    In March 2021, it was revealed that Cameron was employed by Greensill Capital, a firm that has subsequently collapsed. It was reported that Mr Cameron sent several texts to Chancellor Rishi Sunak and held a number of virtual meetings with permanent secretaries in Whitehall to try and secure coronavirus support payments for Greensill.

    Cameron, who following the 2009 controversy around MPs expense claims, had mused that lobbying would be the next big political scandal, was now himself in a lobbying furore.

    Cameron was first elected the Conservative MP for the rural constituency of Witney in West Oxfordshire in 2001. From 2001-2003, Cameron was a member of the influential House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee.

    He then occupied a number of shadow Cabinet jobs. After the 2005 General Election, he was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Skills.

    When Michael Howard announced his resignation as leader of the Conservative Party following Labour‘s third consecutive General Election victory in 2005, Cameron declared his candidacy in the subsequent leadership election.

    Some of his high-profile supporters included Boris Johnson, George Osbourne, Michael Ancram, Oliver Letwin and former party leader William Hague.

    Cameron beat David Davis to claim the Conservative party‘s leadership. He then worked to modernise the party, setting it on its path to government.

    Source

  • Lawyers among least likely to have workplace affairs

    Loyal lovers

    New research has suggested lawyers are a fairly loyal bunch when it comes to matters of the heart.

    A recent survey of 3,800 workers across the UK resulted in the admission by 1,644 of various employee entanglements. Of these, however, only nine (0.5%) workplace trysts involved lawyers. This places the legal sector 20 out of 24 for industries most likely to have an affair.

    Topping the list came sales with 14.5% of affairs, teaching and education with 13.7%, and healthcare with 12.5%, according to research undertaken by Rant Casino.

    Whilst the loved-up lawyers did rank higher than those in creative arts, business, law enforcement, and science and pharmaceuticals, it’s a solid result nonetheless.

    For those frightened fiancés and sweating significant others who don’t find the results reassuring, perhaps consider a move to Reading. The city was found to be the least likely location for infidelity, with only 1% of the reported affairs occurring there, and Sunderland and Stoke coming in close behind.

    The 2024 Legal Cheek Firms Most List

    The post Lawyers among least likely to have workplace affairs appeared first on Legal Cheek.

    Source

  • Rishi Sunak sacks Suella Braverman as reshuffle underway – politics live

    Suella Braverman has been sacked by Rishi Sunak.

    Last week the home secretary penned a controversial article in the Times newspaper which criticised the Metropolitan Police’s handling of a controversial pro-Palestinian march for Armistice Day.

    The PM has been under concerted pressure to sack Braverman ever since, amid accusations she had undermined the operational independence of the police.

    Braverman had accused the police of “playing favourites” with how it handles controversial protests.

    The Conservative Party official X account has confirmed that Rishi Sunak is conducting a ministerial reshuffle as he “strengthens his team in Government to deliver long-term decisions for a brighter future.”

    POLITICS LATEST:

    08.48 am — BREAKING: Suella Braverman has been sacked as home secretary, it comes as major questions had been asked over the home secretary’s future for several days.

    08.45 am — Good morning and welcome back to “Politics Live”, politics.co.uk‘s rolling coverage of the day’s key moments in Westminster and beyond. Here you can keep up to date with today’s major parliamentary debates, press conferences and news events in real time.

    Here’s what’s happening today:

    • Rishi Sunak is holding a cabinet reshuffle as had been widely anticipated, with home secretary Suella Braverman the first casualty

    Stay with us and we’ll bring you all the latest developments as they unfold.

    Source

  • Rishi Sunak will wait until the last possible moment to call a general election

    When will Rishi Sunak call the next general election? With the Conservatives still 20-plus points behind Labour in the polls, it’s a question that won’t go away. The Westminster consensus is that the prime minister has three main options: May 2024; October 2024; or January 2025. Until recently, many discounted the latter as a long-shot, but I increasingly believe it’s the most likely. Let me explain. 

    First, the constitutional stuff. This parliament will automatically dissolve on 17 December 2024, five years after it first met, unless it is dissolved sooner by the King. That means polling day must occur no more than 25 days later, not including weekends and bank holidays. In other words, legally the general election must be held by 28 January 2025. Although given that would be a Tuesday, and traditionally UK elections are held on Thursdays, the 23rd seems far likelier. 

    At first glance, a January election is a terrible option. The campaign would begin a week before Christmas, and demoralised Tory activists would be forced to endure cold winter nights of canvassing for the second successive election. It would also strongly imply a government on course for heavy defeat but determined to prolong the electoral verdict for as long as possible. Labour would, no doubt, make great play of ‘Sunak the squatter’ trying to eke out his days in Downing Street to the bitter end. 

    And yet, as things stand, January 2025 remains the least worst option for the prime minister. Firstly, there is nothing wrong in trying to prolong your time in office. Sunak himself will be only too aware of his diminishing prospects at the ballot box; so if you’re expecting to lose anyway, why not give yourself 27 months in Number 10, as opposed to 19 (May ‘24) or 24 (October ‘24)? It isn’t simply historical vanity that makes outlasting Anthony Eden desirable. Having only been PM since last October, Sunak will want to use every day available to deliver on his priorities: from improving the economy to leading the global approach to AI. 

    Secondly, there are concerns from the civil service about an autumn 2024 contest clashing with the US presidential election. According to The Times, officials have warned cabinet ministers any overlap would come with “huge” security risks, citing fears about an incoming Labour government with inexperienced ministers dealing with a global crisis while a new White House administration hasn’t completed its diplomatic appointments. Personally, I think these concerns, whilst serious, are not insurmountable, and they shouldn’t weigh too heavily on Rishi Sunak. More likely, such warnings could give him a political justification for delaying the general election into the New Year, deflecting accusations he’s afraid of facing the voters. 

    However, the most important justification for choosing January 2025 is probably the most obvious: the hope that something might turn up. Be it economic recovery, a new global conflict inspiring support for the incumbent PM, or a Labour scandal, playing for time is the Conservatives’ best hope of victory. On their new podcast Political Currency, George Osborne told Ed Balls about his experience as an advisor in the dying days of the last Tory government, “there was endless speculation John Major could go early… but every single day you’re confronted with that question you come to the conclusion that we’re going to lose if we call it today, so let’s see what happens tomorrow.” According to SkyBet, the chance of a January 2025 election is 8/1, with three different windows in 2024 all preferred. If you ask me, those odds will only narrow. Running down the clock might not be the most original idea, but it’s Rishi Sunak’s last hope. 

    So (very) ‘long’, prime minister: a January 2025 election has never looked more likely

    Source