Will the Afghan data leak cover up be a gift for Reform UK?
Plus, Harris speaks to Ed Miliband, the energy security and net zero secretary, about his plans to tackle the climate crisis, why it's becoming a culture war issue, and how to combat that.
And, what does the public really think about net zero? Harris asks Sophie Stowers, a pollster from More in Common
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
6 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Donald Trump's Scotland visit 'recipe for disaster' for struggling frontline cops
Nearly a third of Police Scotland officers are set to be deployed or on standby for the US president's visit with fears it will stretch force to limit. Donald Trump's visit to Scotland threatens a policing 'disaster' amid staff shortages, cop burnout and stretched budgets, rank-and-file officers warn. The US president arrives in Scotland on Friday and stays until Tuesday, July 29. He is set to meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Aberdeen and has scheduled separate talks with First Minister John Swinney. But even a flying visit will rack up a £5million bill for taxpayers – while the threat of mass protests could strain the force further. Police Scotland officer numbers are at near-historic lows of around 16,500 – with almost a third, about 5000, expected to be deployed or on standby for Trump's visit. David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said: 'It's a recipe for disaster. We don't have enough cops. ' President Trump is a magnet to certain groups. There will be protests. "And just because the president is one place doesn't mean that's where the protests will take place. "With this event, it is survival mode. That's the mentality that will set in.' The Stop Trump Coalition is organising a 'festival of resistance' including a major demo in Aberdeen on Saturday. A spokesperson said: ' John Swinney should stand with the people of Scotland and say no to a humiliating photo opportunity with the leader of the international far-right." Trump's last presidential visit in July 2018 prompted widespread protests in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, at a cost of more than £3million to Police Scotland. It required 'mutual aid', with forces from around the UK were drafted in. It sparked a cost-sharing row between Holyrood and Westminster. The UK-wide policing bill for the event topped £18million. In his first term in office, Trump spent two nights at his Turnberry resort in Ayrshire before heading to England. Tens of thousands protested, with an 'angry orange baby' blimp in Edinburgh and a paraglider with an anti-Trump banner sailing over Turnberry. In March, Turnberry's clubhouse was vandalised by pro-Palestine protesters. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. This visit will mean police holidays and rest days cancelled and many landed with 12-hour shifts, Kennedy said. He added: 'We'll survive but we shouldn't have to just survive. They will need plenty of help from the UK. 'All this costs money and Police Scotland's budget is already bust. Everybody working longer hours and days has a knock-on effect for months, if not years.' He said a raft of specialist units, including firearms officers, would need to be deployed with help from other UK forces. Kennedy added: "We've only got so many firearms officers in Scotland so we will need more. "Whilst you have those protecting the president, you've also got to have those protecting the public. "We have to make sure we still have that resilience that if something goes wrong, those people are there now. "When I'm getting told my firearms officers are having to work 12-hour shifts, I'm not happy about that. "I think that's extremely long shifts and potentially long days for people carrying guns that may have to use them.' Last week, the force insisted Trump's visit wouldn't 'come at the expense' of communities. But Kennedy said it will. He added: 'We don't have enough officers now to police Scotland. This needs to be a wake-up call for the Scottish Government.' It comes after Police Scotland's controversial move last year to downgrade 'minor' crimes to free up resources, meaning they will no longer investigate offences like vandalism and thefts where there are no leads. The Scottish Government said Swinney's talk with Trump is 'an opportunity to promote the interests of Scotland'.
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Unite votes to suspend Angela Rayner over Birmingham bin strike
Labour's largest union donor, Unite, has voted to suspend Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner over her role in the Birmingham bin strike row. Members of the trade union, one of the UK's largest, also "overwhelmingly" voted to "re-examine its relationship" with Labour over the issue. They said Ms Rayner, who is also housing, communities and local government secretary, Birmingham Council's leader, John Cotton, and other Labour councillors had been suspended for "bringing the union into disrepute". There was confusion over Ms Rayner's membership of Unite, with her office having said she was no longer a member and resigned months ago and therefore could not be suspended. But Unite said she was registered as a member. Parliament's latest register of interests had her down as a member in May. The union said an emergency motion was put to members at its policy conference in Brighton on Friday. Unite is one of the Labour Party's largest union donors, donating £414,610 in the first quarter of 2025 - the highest amount in that period by a union, company or individual. The union condemned Birmingham's Labour council and the government for "attacking the bin workers". Mountains of rubbish have been piling up in the city since January after workers first went on strike over changes to their pay, with all-out strike action starting in March. An agreement has still not been made. 2:58 Ms Rayner and the councillors had their membership suspended for "effectively firing and rehiring the workers, who are striking over pay cuts of up to £8,000", the union added. 'Missing in action' General secretary Sharon Graham told Sky News on Saturday morning: "Angela Rayner, who has the power to solve this dispute, has been missing in action, has not been involved, is refusing to come to the table." She had earlier said: "Unite is crystal clear, it will call out bad employers regardless of the colour of their rosette. "Angela Rayner has had every opportunity to intervene and resolve this dispute but has instead backed a rogue council that has peddled lies and smeared its workers fighting huge pay cuts. "The disgraceful actions of the government and a so-called Labour council, is essentially fire and rehire and makes a joke of the Employment Relations Act promises. "People up and down the country are asking whose side is the Labour government on and coming up with the answer not workers." Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman said the government's "priority is and always has been the residents of Birmingham". He said the decision by Unite workers to go on strike had "caused disruption" to the city. "We've worked to clean up streets and remain in close contact with the council [...] as we support its recovery," he added. A total of 800 Unite delegates voted on the motion.
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Superinjunctions must never be used to shroud mistakes
British forces in Helmand province SUNDAY TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE I n September 2023 a High Court judge granted the British government its first superinjunction. The order by Mr Justice Knowles prevented not only reporting of a terrible data breach but any reference even to the existence of restrictions. The unprecedented measure, extended several times at the request of Conservative and Labour governments, finally lapsed last week, allowing the public to learn that the details of 19,000 Afghans who had worked with the UK before the Taliban retook power had been released on Facebook, putting them and others at risk of torture or death. The mistake by an official in the UK special forces headquarters led the government to launch a secret refugee scheme that relocated to the UK more than 16,000 people compromised by the leak, at a cost of £850 million. The incompetence of the original act, which involved a spreadsheet containing hidden data being shared via email, should not cloud the argument over whether the superinjunction was reasonable. It would have been worse had the individuals affected suffered reprisals from the Taliban. Ben Wallace, then the Tory defence secretary, was undoubtedly terrified of costing lives when he first requested an injunction in August 2023. But as the injunction became a superinjunction, its very existence became a secret. Its lifespan then stretched into two years. Government officials warned the Commons and Lords Speakers not to allow any parliamentary questions hinting at it. The Labour opposition was not informed; nor was the intelligence and security committee or the defence committee. There came an indeterminate point when the interests of the Afghan breach victims faded and the interests of Whitehall officials grew stronger. Mr Justice Chamberlain, who took over the case and ruled in favour of maintaining the restrictions in November 2023, said the superinjunction was 'likely to give rise to the understandable suspicion that the court's processes are being used for the purposes of censorship'. It fell away at midday on Tuesday after a retired deputy chief of defence intelligence, Paul Rimmer, completed a review that concluded the leaked data had not spread as widely as feared and its value to the Taliban, and risk to those named in it, had diminished. Media organisations were allowed to reveal that the resettlement scheme had been hidden even from councils responsible for providing housing at considerable cost to the taxpayer, and that the Ministry of Defence's annual report had been massaged to avoid mentioning that a data incident had been reported to the Information Commissioner's Office. All this is a disgraceful abuse of the original argument over national security and the safety of the Afghans affected. The 2022 breach was a blunder rather than a systemic problem such as the infected blood or Post Office scandal. In those cases elaborate and long-running institutional cover-ups were exposed only thanks to media scrutiny, which eventually forced the government to take responsibility. As Heather Brooke brilliantly argues today, UK officialdom nearly always tends towards obfuscation and non-disclosure. Ministers and civil servants dodge embarrassment wherever they can. We must ensure that the original decision to grant the government a superinjunction is a one-off, not a precedent — and that those who rule us cannot again abuse such a powerful tool.
