Labour looking at prisoners serving time in Estonia…
“Criminals could serve their sentences in Estonian prisons under plans being considered by ministers to tackle Britain’s jail overcrowding crisis.
After the Baltic state said it had offered to rent out spare capacity to other countries, the Ministry of Justice said it was investigating “all viable options” to increase capacity because prisons were “on the point of collapse”.
Government sources said the controversial solution was “on the table” because of the severity of the situation. Men’s prisons in England and Wales nearly ran out of cells last month, with just 83 spare spaces” – Telegraph
- UK plots to deport prisoners to EU country in battle to free space in British jails – Express
- British prisoners could be sent to Estonia under scheme to stop jail overcrowding as sources claim plan is ‘on the table’ – Daily Mail
- Top ex-judges call for reduced jail terms in England and Wales – FT
- Prisons crisis needs ‘radical solutions’ in England and Wales, say former top judges – The Guardian
- Prisons to be ‘full again in a year’- much earlier than ministers expected – The i
…whilst scrapping plans to house asylum seekers on a former RAF base
“Labour has scrapped plans to house migrants at RAF Scampton after concluding that its £60 million cost did not deliver value for money.
The former airbase in Lincolnshire, once home to the Dambusters squadron, was due to accommodate up to 800 asylum seekers and was at the heart of Rishi Sunak’s plans to house migrants at large sites as part of his attempts to slash the cost of hotels.
However, an audit ordered by Yvette Cooper…found that the site was going to cost almost £200 million in total by 2027 and has decided to abandon plans to move migrants there.” – The Times
Pensioners will die because of winter fuel payments cut, warns Labour rebel
“Pensioners will die from the cold if the Treasury pushes ahead with its winter fuel payments cut, a Labour rebel has warned…
…Rachael Maskell said being more exposed to low temperatures could increase risk of stroke, heart attacks, pneumonia and hypothermia.
She issued the warning amid growing unrest among some Labour MPs over Rachel Reeves’ decision to stop giving winter fuel payments to all pensioners in order to help fill a “black hole” in the public finances” – Daily Telegraph
- Keir Starmer faces growing unrest over axing winter fuel payments – FT
- Angela Rayner squirms as she defends plans to scrap winter fuel allowance for 10 million pensioners – after slamming the Tories online for similar cuts while in opposition – Daily Mail
- Living in Fear: I’m an OAP, 70, forced to live ‘hand to mouth’ with NO food or heating… I’m terrified of winter coming – Sun
- MP vows to push for assisted dying vote next year – The Times
UK could widen Israeli arms embargo over further humanitarian breaches
“Britain could widen the arms sales embargo on Israel if more alleged breaches of international humanitarian law come to light.
Export licences are reviewed every six weeks and ministers could act again should further evidence of potential war crimes emerge, a government source said.
…David Lammy, the foreign secretary, suspended 30 export licences to Israel out of a total of 350 because of a “clear risk” the weapons could be used to commit serious violations of international law” – The Times
- COMMENT: Lammy is turning Britain into a global laughing stock – Con Coughlin, Daily Telegraph
- New Brexit food rules set to be delayed again to avoid higher prices – The i
- James Cleverly supporter was investigated over China links – The Times
>Yesterday Our survey. Badenoch maintains her lead in the leadership race – and defeats all comers in the final round – ConHome
Senior Tory lord hits out at bill to abolish hereditary peers in UK
“A leading hereditary peer has warned that he and other aristocratic parliamentarians are gearing up to battle the UK government over its plan to axe them from the House of Lords. Lord Tom Strathclyde, former Tory leader in the House of Lords, signalled that he and a number of colleagues plan to fight legislation introduced by the government on Thursday to abolish the UK’s 92 hereditary peers.
Labour promised …to remove peers who are entitled to seats in the upper chamber on account of their birthright, in one of the biggest constitutional changes in more than a quarter of a century” – FT
- Ministers introduce plans to oust hereditary peers from Lords – The i
- House of Lords reform to remove hereditary peers in 18 months – The Times
- Keir Starmer still wants to force members of the House of Lords to retire at 80 – The i
PwC tells its UK staff it will monitor office attendance
“PwC has told its 26,000 UK employees that it will start monitoring their office attendance in the same way it does their chargeable hours, as the Big Four accounting firm adopts a stricter hybrid working policy. In a memo sent to staff on Thursday, seen by the Financial Times, managing partner Laura Hinton said that the firm would begin sending staff their working location data every month, adding that employees must now spend “a minimum of three days a week” in the office or at client sites.” – FT
- Workers at small businesses ‘must get right to switch off’ – The i
- Broke’ Tories slashing jobs at HQ as donations dry up, insiders say – The i
Comment:
The winter fuel rebellion is a small taste of the welfare battles to come – Fraser Nelson, Daily Telegraph
With the appointment of former French Brexit minister Michel Barnier as Prime Minister… Now we have two Brexit wreckers in power – one in Paris, one in London – Jonathan Miller, Daily Mail
Editorial:
Does Angela Rayner know what she’s doing? – Daily Telegraph
>Today: Never mind the moving of a painting in No 10, the presence of Lady Thatcher subtly hangs over the leadership contest – ConHome
Other news and comment:
How to be anti-woke without being weird – The Critic
We are living in the Britain Keith Joseph created – CapX
Michel Barnier is France’s new PM. It’s hard to think of a worse job – Spectator
