MP resigns as trade envoy over northern Cyprus visit
He said he had paid for the trip himself.
Turkish troops have occupied the northern section of the Mediterranean island since 1974.
Shadow foreign minister Wendy Morton told the BBC that she welcomed Mr Khan's resignation, but said Sir Keir Starmer should have sacked him earlier.
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The Guardian
2 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Sally Rooney could be arrested under Terrorism Act after pledging royalties to Palestine Action
Irish novelist Sally Rooney could be arrested under the Terrorism Act after saying she intends to use proceeds from her work to support Palestine Action, which was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK last month, a legal expert has warned. Earlier, No 10 said that supporting the group was an offence under the act, after Rooney had made her pledge. Royalties from Rooney's books, including Normal People and Conversations with Friends, and BBC adaptations of them would be used to support Palestine Action, she wrote in the Irish Times over the weekend. The legal expert also said that the bestselling writer could face prosecution if she were to express her views at, for example, a UK book festival, underscoring the proscription's 'gross disproportionality'. While the prime minister's spokesperson would not respond to the author's comments specifically, they said that there was 'a difference between showing support for a proscribed organisation, which is an offence under the Terrorism Act, and legitimate protest in support of a cause', according to the Press Association. Asked what message No 10 would give to people considering donating money to Palestine Action, the spokesperson said: 'Support for a proscribed organisation is an offence under the Terrorism Act and obviously the police will, as they have set out, implement the law as you'd expect.' More than 700 people have been arrested under the Terrorism Act in relation to the group since it was proscribed in early July, many of whom were detained at a peaceful protest on 9 August in Parliament Square, London. 'My books, at least for now, are still published in Britain, and are widely available in bookshops and even supermarkets,' wrote Rooney on Saturday. 'In recent years the UK's state broadcaster has also televised two fine adaptations of my novels, and therefore regularly pays me residual fees. I want to be clear that I intend to use these proceeds of my work, as well as my public platform generally, to go on supporting Palestine Action and direct action against genocide in whatever way I can.' Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation after activists broke into an RAF base in Oxfordshire and spray painted two planes. They 'knew, of course, that their actions were illegal,' Rooney wrote in the Guardian in June. 'From the suffragettes to the gay rights movement to the anti-apartheid struggle, genuine political resistance has always involved intentional law-breaking.' In her Irish Times article last weekend, Rooney said that she 'would happily publish this statement in a UK newspaper – but that would now be illegal'. Rooney's books also include Beautiful World, Where Are You and, most recently, Intermezzo. Lawyer and writer Sadakat Kadri said: 'Receiving money with the intention of using it to support terrorism is an offence under section 15 of the 2000 act.. That means Rooney could be arrested without a warrant as a 'terrorist'.' He added that 'the absurdities don't end there', and said the decision of the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, to bracket Palestine Action with groups such as Islamic State meant the BBC would also be criminally liable if it continued to pay royalties to Rooney. in view of her stated intentions. 'Authoritarian governments routinely threaten writers and intimidate broadcasters, but I find it quite extraordinary that Labour under Keir Starmer has now chosen to go down the same path.' Asked whether Rooney could face legal repercussions if she, for example, spoke at a book festival in the UK, Kadri said that 'there's certainly a risk she'd fall foul' of the law. If Rooney expressed 'her views in terms of condemning the war crimes being committed in Gaza, an arguable case for prosecution could be made out'. 'Saying that isn't for one moment an attempt to justify the statute,' said Kadri, which he described as 'a shameful attack' on free speech. 'It's just a particularly stark illustration of the measure's gross disproportionality.' Mike Schwarz, head of the public inquiry team at the legal firm Hodge Jones & Allen, said that 'anyone providing money which might, in the state's eyes, fund 'terrorism' and, separately, anyone supporting an organisation proscribed under terrorism legislation runs a very real risk of serious police interest and prosecution for grave offences in the UK. This seems particularly the case in the current febrile political climate surrounding Palestine Action.'
Times
32 minutes ago
- Times
Homeowners could pay new property tax instead of stamp duty
Homeowners with properties worth more than £500,000 could have to pay annual property taxes under radical plans to replace stamp duty. The Treasury is reportedly considering a proportional property tax in the budget this autumn, according to The Guardian. Rather than paying stamp duty (which ranges from 2 per cent on the purchase price between £125,000 and £250,000, through to 12 per cent on the portion of the price above £1.5 million) anyone buying a home worth more than £500,000 would face an annual tax. For years there have been calls to overhaul stamp duty, which raised £13.8 billion for the Treasury in the 2024-25 tax year but has been criticised for putting homeowners off moving. There are no firm details to the proposal, but it was reported that the Treasury was looking at suggestions from the centre-right think tank Onward, which would involve homeowners with properties worth more than £500,000 paying a 0.54 per cent annual tax on any value above £500,000. Professor Tim Leunig from the London School of Economics, who came up with the proposals last August, said: 'The way Britain taxes households is both impractical and unfair. Stamp duty raises transaction costs, preventing people from moving for new job opportunities, and undermines growth.' Any home worth more than £1 million would pay 0.81 per cent on the portion of its value over that threshold. Onward's proposals were that the new tax would not be applied retrospectively but would be paid by anyone who bought a home after it was introduced. The 5 per cent stamp duty surcharge for additional homes would remain and those owners would not pay annual levies. Leunig also proposed scrapping council tax and replacing it with a 0.44 per cent annual property tax levied by local authorities on house value between £800 and £500,000 (a maximum of £2,196 a year). Then you would pay 0.54 per cent on the portion above £500,000 to the government, instead of stamp duty. Someone with a £650,000 home would pay £3,006 a year — 0.44 per cent of £499,200 (the maximum £2,196) to their council and then another £810 a year to the government. • Read more money advice and tips on investing from our experts Treasury officials are reportedly considering a local property tax 'in the medium term' according to the Guardian, while replacing stamp duty could come earlier. The campaign group Fairer Share is calling for the abolition of stamp duty and council tax and for them to be replaced with a flat 0.48 per cent annual property tax. Andrew Dixon from Fairer Share said the reported plans would be a 'step in the right direction'. 'We look forward to working closely with the government to deliver long-overdue reform — creating a modern property tax system that supports local services, reflects real property values, and shares the burden more fairly across homeowners,' he said. The Times reported in May that 83 per cent of homeowners in England would pay less under a 0.48 per cent annual property tax than they did under the council tax system. The biggest losers would be those in London and the south east according to the estate agency Hamptons. House prices in those areas have gone up the most since April 1991, when council tax bands were set based on property values. Dixon said: 'By taxing property transactions, stamp duty discourages homeowners from moving — be it an older couple downsizing or a growing family upsizing. Removing it would lead to a more effective use of housing.' Some 85 per cent of homeowners in England and Wales were 'under-occupiers' with one or more spare bedrooms, according to a survey of more than 4,300 by Barclays. Of those, 73 per cent were over 45, and 37 per cent were over 65. The proportion of homebuyers who were 45 or older has fallen from 45 per cent in the 2015-16 tax year to 39 per cent in 2023-24, according to the estate agency Savills. Some 41 per cent of 2,000 homeowners aged over 55 polled by the estate agency Jackson-Stops said they would downsize within two years if stamp duty was reduced or removed. David Fell from Hamptons said: 'Who is better off will come down to how closely the government chooses to follow any recommendations. But I think in response to the general principle, the shift would probably cut the cost of buying the most expensive homes, but add to the annual cost of ownership, particularly given the artificially low levels of council tax charged by many places that have the most expensive house prices. 'The impact of a change to the system would probably depend on the level at which the rates were set, and the length of time it takes for the higher ownership charges to outweigh existing stamp duty and council tax bills.' The Treasury said it did not comment on speculation about the budget.
Times
34 minutes ago
- Times
Pensioners to make up a quarter of adults in Britain by 2075
Pensioners will make up a quarter of the adult population within the next 50 years because of improvements in life expectancy, according to an official review into the state pension age. Suzy Morrissey, the independent reviewer, said that the number of people of state pension age or over was expected to rise by 55 per cent to 19.5 million by 2075. The number of those aged over 85 is on course to increase from 1.8 million to 5.1 million in the same time frame. The proportion of those who are over the state pension age is forecast to rise from 22 per cent of over-16s to 28 per cent, while the cost of the state pension will rise from about 5 per cent of GDP to 7.7 per cent by the early 2070s.
