EXCLUSIVE DAN HODGES: Keir Starmer's shocking behind-the-scenes comments on his future are revealed and why he may now turn to Tony Blair for salvation... as rebels tell me the Labour leadership contest has started
A couple of days later, Sir Keir appeared on the front pages of the Sunday newspapers. 'I was heavily focused on what was happening with Nato and the Middle East all weekend,' he revealed. 'I turned my attention fully to it [the welfare bill] when I got back from on Wednesday night. Obviously in the course of the early part of this week we were busy trying to make sure Nato was a success.'
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The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
Indefinite jail terms ‘not right and not fair', Lords say in call to end IPP injustice
Peers have demanded answers over the government's refusal to resentence prisoners trapped under 'no hope' indefinite jail terms, insisting: 'It is not right and it is not fair.' In an impassioned debate in the House of Lords, peers urged prisons minister James Timpson to take decisive action to end the injustice of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) jail terms. Successive governments have refused justice committee recommendations to resentence more than 2,500 prisoners still trapped under the abolished jail term. The open-ended sentences were scrapped in 2012, but not retrospectively, leaving those already jailed incarcerated indefinitely. Victims of the scandal, whose tragic cases have been highlighted by The Independent, include Leroy Douglas, who has served almost 20 years for stealing a mobile phone; Thomas White, 42, who set himself alight in his cell and has served 13 years for stealing a phone; and Abdullahi Suleman, 41, who is still inside 19 years after he was jailed for a laptop robbery. In a speech as his private members bill to resentence IPP prisoners reached committee stage on Friday, Labour peer Lord Tony Woodley, admitted it will not succeed without government support. Addressing IPP prisoners and their families, he told them not to give up hope, but added: 'Sadly, my Bill by itself will not bring you justice. But it can help build pressure on the government to do the right thing, and it can help build public awareness of this industrial-scale miscarriage of justice. 'So please don't have false hope in my Bill. Hope – but not false hope – is my aim here.' Raising a series of 'probing' amendments designed to 'expose the lack of logic' behind the government's refusal to resentence IPP prisoners, he said it is 'as big a scandal as the Post Office and the infected blood scandal'. 'Almost 100 prisoners have taken their own lives – hundreds more have been driven to insanity, with this no-hope, never-ending sentence,' he said. 'The only difference with IPP is that not enough people know about it.' He reminded the government that almost 700 IPP prisoners have served at least ten years longer than their original minimum tariff. He added: 'How can the government deny resentencing to these people – still inside, over 10 years past their minimum sentence? 'My Lords, let me remind you we are talking about people who have been locked up for over a decade longer than someone else convicted of the exact same crime, but before 2005 or after 2012. 'My Lords, a lot of nonsense is spoken about 'two-tier' justice, but this is one situation where that label seems to apply. It is not right and it is not fair.' His proposals were backed by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Dr Alice Edwards, who said the jail terms have caused 'unlawful psychological torture' to prisoners. In a statement before the debate, she said: 'It is time to end the perpetual damage caused by the IPP scheme. 'These sentences have caused unlawful psychological torture and ill-treatment to too many prisoners under the care of successive British governments. 'A resentencing court is a promising way forward, in which there could be an initial prioritisation exercise of cases, necessary exclusions and, for those whose mental state requires psychiatric or other intensive treatment, their transfer to a secure mental health facility outside the prison service until such time as they are deemed fit, with regular reviews.' However, prisons minister James Timpson said none of the amendments eased his fears over resentencing, insisting the government's priority is public protection. He said the IPP Action Plan, designed to support each prisoner's progress to release by the parole board, is 'where we will sort this out'. However he vowed to 'pull hard on every operational lever' to address the crisis and said he was carefully considering separate proposals put forward last month by an expert panel convened by the Howard League for Penal Reform. The panel, led by former lord chief justice Lord John Thomas, called for all IPP prisoners to be given a release date within a two-year window at their next parole hearing and for fewer offenders to be recalled.
South Wales Argus
32 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
DWP benefit cuts hit people with Parkinson's and MS
Claimants in this category will be entitled to a higher rate of the benefit, and will not be routinely reassessed to receive money. Labour backbencher Graeme Downie has proposed a welfare reform Bill amendment, so universal credit claimants with Parkinson's or MS (multiple sclerosis) who cannot work do not face repeated medical assessments to receive a payout. If MPs back his amendment, patients with 'evolving' needs who cannot work could also qualify for a higher rate of benefits. The Government's Bill has already cleared its first Commons hurdle at second reading, after work and pensions minister Sir Stephen Timms vowed not to restrict eligibility for the personal independence payment (Pip), with any changes coming in only after a review of the benefit. To meet his promise, ministers have had to table amendments to their own draft new law, to remove one of its seven clauses, which MPs will debate next Wednesday. Universal credit claimants with Parkinson's 'are already possibly struggling financially', Mr Downie said, ahead of the debate. He added: 'The cost of living with a condition like Parkinson's can be very high. You may well require or need additional support.' Today the UK government published its Bill that will cut eligibility criteria for, and access to, Personal Independence Payments (PIP). Here is our response 👇 🧵1/3 — Parkinson's UK (@ParkinsonsUK) June 18, 2025 The Dunfermline and Dollar MP said patients who struggle with their motor control might buy pre-chopped vegetables or chicken. 'Those things are expensive, so if you're already on universal credit and you're struggling, being able to do that significantly impacts your health, it significantly impacts your ability to live properly,' he continued. To qualify, claimants must have limited capability for work or work-related activity (LCWRA) and symptoms which 'constantly' apply. 🚨 Reminder: cuts to disability benefits affect everyone. You might not need disability benefits today. Or tomorrow. But you can become disabled at any time and find yourself in need of a financial safety net. — Scope (@scope) July 3, 2025 Mr Downie's amendment would expand these criteria to claimants with 'a fluctuating condition'. It would cover 'conditions like Parkinson's but also multiple sclerosis, ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis), long Covid and a whole range of other conditions where, you know, in the morning things could be really good and in the afternoon things could be really bad, and even hour by hour things could change', he said. 'I felt it was necessary to table an amendment to really probe what the Government's position is on this, and ensuring that people with Parkinson's and conditions like that are not excluded from even applying and being considered.' Mr Downie's proposal has backing from 23 cross-party MPs so far. Recommended reading: Juliet Tizzard, external relations director at Parkinson's UK, said: 'Criteria in the Bill say that a new claimant for the universal credit health payment will have to be 'constantly' unable to perform certain activities to qualify. 'This doesn't work for people with Parkinson's, whose symptoms change throughout the day. 'People with Parkinson's and other fluctuating conditions like multiple sclerosis will be effectively excluded from getting all the financial support they need. 'The Government has responded to our call and withdrawn the damaging restrictions to Pip. 'Now, they must do the same with the universal credit health element. The health of many people with Parkinson's is in their hands.'
Reuters
34 minutes ago
- Reuters
Welfare cuts U-turn shows extent of UK's fiscal challenges, S&P says
LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) - The inability of Britain's government to make cuts to welfare spending this week underscores the extent of the challenges it faces in repairing its finances, credit rating agency S&P Global said on Friday. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was forced to scrap 5 billion pounds ($6.83 billion) worth of benefits cuts due to opposition from within his own government, reducing the already razor-thin margin it relies on to meet its self-imposed fiscal rules. "We consider the inability to make modest cuts to welfare spending, which has ballooned in the UK since the 2020 pandemic, underscores the UK government's very limited budgetary room for manoeuvre," S&P said in an analysis. S&P has a "stable" outlook on its AA UK credit rating and though it sees the fiscal position as "vulnerable" it said the direct effect of this week's last-minute policy reversal was small in the context of the country's "existing fiscal challenges". The now-cancelled 5 billion-pound-a-year of mainly disability allowance cuts would have amounted to 0.2% of 2025 GDP, by 2029. That compares with last year's headline government deficit of 5.9% of GDP - equivalent to almost 170 billion pounds. "Getting the deficit down to the pre-pandemic five-year average of 3% of GDP would require a roughly 70 billion pound consolidation effort," said S&P, which is next due to review Britain's rating on October 10. "We expect that the UK's fiscal consolidation will remain a slow process," it added. ($1 = 0.7321 pounds)
