“David Cameron has been forced into announcing early that he will allow ministers to campaign to leave Europe after being confronted by senior cabinet members… It emerged last night that he brought forward the announcement after meeting Chris Grayling, the leader of the Commons, and having a telephone conversation with Theresa Villiers, the Northern Ireland secretary” – The Times (£)
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“The home secretary has rejected criticism that Britain is not doing enough to prevent UK citizens from travelling to join ISIS in Syria, after media reports suggested the main suspect in the terrorist group’s latest video had left the country in 2014 after being released on police bail… Siddhartha Dhar, who left for Syria from Britain while on bail… was identified by the BBC as the chief suspect in a new film showing the killing of five men” – Financial Times
“The Home Office is taking control of fire and rescue policy in advance of plans to work more closely with the police. Ministerial responsibility for the services will be transferred from the Department for Communities and Local Government… Mike Penning will assume responsibility for the portfolios, becoming minister for policing, fire, criminal justice and victims” – The Times (£)
“Zac Goldsmith calls his chances this spring ‘possible but not probable’ (poker is his favourite game). He may yet pull it off if he wins the second preference votes of Lib Dems and the Greens but No 10 might not mind too much if he loses… The Tory high command, though they would never admit it, also wouldn’t mind boosting Jeremy Corbyn” – Alice Thomson, The Times (£)
“Hundreds of skilled specialist staff are to be recruited into government departments on salaries of at least £300,000 in an attempt to make Whitehall more businesslike. Matthew Hancock, the cabinet office minister, is to introduce higher pay bands into the 3,600-strong senior civil service amid concern that Whitehall lacks commercial nous. The new recruits in IT, finance and other business specialities would be hired to help to run major projects” – The Times (£)
“Saudi Arabia’s attitude to human rights cannot be changed overnight, the government’s minister for the Middle East has claimed, arguing that any progress would need to ‘move at a pace that is acceptable to [the country’s] society’. Tobias Ellwood, who is parliamentary under-secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs, said the Saudi government was well aware of the British government’s disapproval of human rights abuses by the country” – Guardian
“Scores of Kurdish protesters have stormed the Conservative party’s campaign headquarters in Westminster in an attempt to highlight the suffering of civilians caught up in fighting in south-east Turkey. The Metropolitan police confirmed that protesters had broken into the building in Matthew Parker Street, near the Palace of Westminster. Officers were sent to the scene shortly after 2pm on Tuesday” – Guardian
“A leading figure behind the doctors’ strike likened Conservative policies to Nazi propaganda, and is among several supporters of Labour and Jeremy Corbyn on the British Medical Association’s council, it can be disclosed. Dr Kailash Chand said that Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler’s propaganda chief, would be ‘proud’ of Tory policies on education, health and the economy under the Coalition.He separately nicknamed Simon Burns, the then health minister, ‘Goebbels’” – Daily Telegraph
“Emily Thornberry, a critic of the Trident nuclear deterrent, has been appointed as Labour’s shadow defence secretary in the most significant change in Jeremy Corbyn’s first reshuffle. The Labour leader shifted Maria Eagle, the previous defence spokeswoman, to the culture brief as he seeks to take Labour back to its 1980s position of unilateral nuclear disarmament. At the same time Mr Corbyn has abandoned an attempt to demote Hilary Benn as shadow foreign secretary” – Financial Times
>Yesterday:
An independent watchdog for standards in Westminster is investigating a Scottish National party MP, in the latest problem for Nicola Sturgeon’s party to be caused by a politician elected at last year’s general election. Kathryn Hudson, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, is probing whether Phil Boswell, MP for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill, breached parliamentary rules on the registration of his financial interests” – Financial Times
>Today:
Columnists: Henry Hill: Davidson pushes for Scottish school reform
>Yesterday: