“Up to 100 extra security guards are to be sent to patrol the Channel Tunnel terminal in the latest move to get the migrant crisis at Calais under control. … Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, set out the moves last night after a lengthy meeting of Cobra, Whitehall’s emergency committee. … He insisted the Government was getting a grip on the situation, as the number of illegal migrants trying to cross the Channel had fallen in recent days.” – The Independent
And comment:
> Yesterday:
“Unemployed migrants are being given thousands of pounds to find work in Britain under an EU scheme, The Telegraph can disclose. … It has emerged that the UK has taken a third of the young migrants involved in the ‘Your First EURES Job’ programme. … Some 1,178 unemployed young people from the Continent have been found jobs, training or apprenticeships in Britain under the ‘jobs mobility’ programme since it was set up in 2012.” – Daily Telegraph
“Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has taken charge of the government response to the Calais crisis as David Cameron heads off on his first holiday of the summer. … The Prime Minister, who is expected to be away for most of August, is facing calls to return to Downing Street to take the lead on bolstering border security. … Home Secretary Theresa May is also on holiday, but violence continued for another night in Calais after a weekend where around 2,500 migrants stormed the Channel Tunnel.” – Daily Mail
“David Cameron is set to announce the award of a string of knighthoods and other honours amid concerns they will be used to compensate ‘failed’ MPs. … As Westminster awaits the publication of a controversial list of new peers, it is expected that a separate list will hand out lesser titles and honours. … Insiders say it is usually made up of former politicians – leading to fears party leaders will use the process to compensate MPs who lost their seats in the election and former ministers booted out of office.” – Daily Mail
“Chancellor George Osborne pulled the trigger on the first sale of the Government’s RBS shares since its credit crisis bailout seven years ago. … Around £2billion-worth were up for grabs in the City in a hugely symbolic auction. … The sell-off will take the taxpayers’ holding in RBS down from 78.3 per cent to 73.2 per cent. … It was expected to be sold at between 325p and 330p per share, well below the 502p needed for the State to break even on the 2008 bailout.” – The Sun (£)
And comment:
> Today:
> Yesterday:
“Eleven more bankers are to face trial after the first City trader was jailed for fixing the Libor rate today. … Tom Hayes, a 35-year-old dubbed ‘Rainman’ after making £200million for UBS over four years, was sentenced to 14 years behind bars after being found guilty of conspiring to fix rates for profit. … He was described as the ‘ringmaster’ of a larger group who ‘cajoled’ rate setters at other banks in to submitting false data to manipulate the the London interbank offered rate (Libor) between 2006 and 2010.” – Daily Mail
“Now though, Blackwood is resurgent. She secured a stonking majority of 9,852, won the vote to chair the Commons Science and Technology Committee, and takes regular injections for the migraines, which have transformed her enjoyment of life. … So she’s not wasting any time in making her presence felt. In her first interview since taking on the committee chairmanship, she makes an outspoken appeal for the Chancellor to protect the science budget in his autumn spending review. So far he has failed to commit to doing so.” – Daily Telegraph
The Government is under growing pressure to abandon plans to construct the UK’s first nuclear reactor for more than 20 years, after a damning report into the viability of the project by financial analysts was swiftly followed by data showing that the legal bill has already exceeded £1 million. … The Independent can disclose that the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has already paid the London law firm Slaughter and May more than £1.3m.” – The Independent
“Sports minister Tracey Crouch today vows to get Britain off its backside amid fears the 2012 Olympics legacy is starting to crumble. … The Tory rising star told the Sun she wanted to turn the country into a ‘truly active nation’ as she launched consultation on the first cross-Government Sports Strategy for 13 years. … She said ‘nothing was off the table’ as she looked to get more kids into sport – inside and outside of school – and to ensure lower income families are not priced out of taking part.” – The Sun (£)
“The RAF Tornado squadron spearheading Britain’s air campaign against Islamic State (Isis) in Iraq has been given a second reprieve. … Defence secretary Michael Fallon has announced that 12 (Bomber) Squadron will continue in service for a further year, until March 2017. … The squadron of Tornado GR4 fighter bombers – previously designated 2 Squadron – had originally been due to be disbanded last March and replaced with a squadron of Typhoon air defence fighters.” – The Guardian
“Christian teachers who tell pupils that gay marriages is ‘wrong’ should have anti-terror banning orders used against them, a Tory MP has argued. … Mark Spencer has called on Extremism Disruption Orders (EDOs), which were introduced by the Government to crack down on hate preachers and terrorist propagandists, to be used to stop children being taught that same-sex marriage is a sin.” – The Independent
“Police are being investigated over sensational claims they covered up child sex allegations against former prime minister Edward Heath. … The probe was launched after a retired ‘very senior’ officer raised concerns that a criminal trial was derailed in the 1990s to protect the former Tory leader. … As a result, it is alleged, he was never interviewed by police – let alone arrested – and his home was not searched. … One alleged victim claims he was sexually assaulted aged 12 by Sir Edward in a Mayfair flat in 1961, after the MP spotted him walking the streets alone.” – Daily Mail
And comment:
“John Bercow is to become the first Commons Speaker to address the Trades Union Congress, it was revealed yesterday. … In a major break with tradition, he will give a keynote speech at their annual conference in Brighton next month. … But his decision to accept their invitation to speak at the Leftie gathering will cause controversy as the Speaker is supposed to be politically neutral.” – The Sun (£)
“Jeremy Corbyn could win the next election for Labour — according to a former Tory Chancellor. … In astonishing comments, Ken Clarke said the veteran Left-winger ‘will be difficult to campaign against’ if Britain is hit by another recession. … Mr Clarke spoke out as it emerged Gordon Brown is set to wade into the Labour leadership debate. … The former PM is expected to give his views on the bitter contest at an event in Edinburgh at the end of the month.” – The Sun (£)
“Panicked Labour MPs have rounded on leadership contender Jeremy Corbyn, warning his hard-left economic policies would be a ‘recipe for disaster’. … Mr Corbyn has garnered huge support for his call to end austerity, increase borrowing and renationalise energy firms and the railways. … But opponents in the Labour party warn the Marxist throwback’s brand of ‘Corbynomics’ would push up inflation and interest rates, hitting the poorest hardest.” – Daily Mail
“George Osborne is guilty of a ‘cruel deception’ over his plan to create a northern powerhouse, which involves little more than devolving the ability to impose public spending cuts, Jeremy Corbyn will say as he sets out his economic vision for the north of England. … The Labour leadership candidate will pledge to end ‘central government diktat’ to help deliver a ‘deep-rooted regeneration’ of the British economy, as the Corbyn camp moves to show it has a wide-ranging economic plan for the whole of the UK.” – The Guardian
“The more insidious threat to Labour is actually the soft left, with its undeserved sheen of respectability. … These are the people who elected Ed Miliband as leader in 2010 and egged him on through every vainglorious showdown with corporate Britain until he crashed into the electorate on May 7. … The soft left is more electable than the hard left but then Mars is more habitable than Neptune: neither planet will host human life anytime soon.” – Janan Ganesh, Financial Times
“Crooks are selling fake documents to scammers who fraudulently claim more than £1 billion benefits each year. … An undercover investigation has discovered that just £700 will buy all the paperwork you need to claim benefits worth more than £1,000 a month using a fake name and address. … The dodgy documents — everything from birth certificates, driving licences, National Insurance numbers, bank statements, utility bills and even GP sick notes — are being openly sold online.” – The Sun (£)
“Hospitals have been told to draw up emergency plans to slash their budgets. … These include cutting staffing levels and allowing patients to languish even longer on waiting lists. … The bosses of all hospitals were sent a letter by NHS watchdogs last night warning them that their day-to-day running is ‘simply unaffordable’. … It tells them to ‘leave no stone unturned’ in identifying ways to ensure the ‘money we have goes as far as possible’.” – Daily Mail
“Mr Yentob, the BBC’s £330,000-a-year creative director, telephoned Newsnight staff hours before it aired a damning report into Kids Company last month … It is claimed he tried to ‘influence the direction’ of the item – an action that would leave him open to allegations of a conflict of interest. … Mr Yentob did not stop there. The following morning he joined Miss Batmanghelidjh at the studios of Radio 4’s Today programme when she was interviewed.” – Daily Mail