“On the day that the Government is expected to announce more than 40 new appointments to the House of Lords, it can be revealed that seven people who had been nominated were turned down by Whitehall’s appointments commission. There are also understood to be concerns about many more on the list but they cannot be blocked from the upper chamber under the rules.” – Daily Telegraph
Immigration
“John Whittingdale’s comments came as three former corporation chiefs attacked the organisation for an imperious attitude to viewers and overly commercial behaviour. Mr Whittingdale also suggested that the £145.50 annual charge would increase when the BBC’s royal charter is renewed by the end of next year.” – Daily Mail
“Mr Fabricant told The Sun: “It seems that a few police officers in some police forces seek fame and promotion rather than justice for those whom they are investigating. They connect individuals through the most tenuous of links and then leak this information to the press. To link someone just for being gay with being a murdering paedophile is both objectionable and plain stupid. Former Tory MP Paul Goodman also yesterday branded the allegations as “contemptible”, adding: “The abuse in this instance is not by Proctor, but of him”.” – The Sun (£)
“Last night Nick, who is said to have made a success of his life despite his years of abuse, has been upset by Proctor’s statement. Journalist Mark Watts, editor of the Exaro website, spoke to him afterwards and said: ‘Nick, as was entirely foreseeable, has been left distressed by Harvey Proctor’s over-the-top theatrics. It was a shameful performance.” – Daily Mail
> Yesterday: ToryDiary – The abuse of Harvey Proctor
Breaking a long silence, the inquiry chairman said he understood the anguish of loved ones who wanted to know why Tony Blair joined a conflict that cost 179 British lives. But he insisted the hold-ups caused by ‘Maxwellisation’, a convention allowing those criticised to respond, were necessary to avoid unfairness to political and military leaders.” – Daily Mail
> Today: Columnist Graeme Archer – Delayed justice is no justice at all
“He praised the opportunities they had created but said it was impossible to predict the ultimate jobs figure and “difficult to measure the full economic impact”. In July, chancellor George Osborne proposed creating more enterprise zones; the deadline for bids is September 18. Ministers are hoping to attract more smaller towns, while the Centre for Cities think-tank has urged that new zones should focus on central rather than out-of-town locations.” – Financial Times
Other Corbyn news
> Yesterday: James Worron on Comment – Has Corbyn made you yearn for nationalisation? Don’t. Here’s why it didn’t work.
“Nawaz wants to see Islamist extremists treated like the BNP or English Defence League. Don’t ban them, he says, just shrink their platform by ostracising their affiliates. “Treat them like racists. Why is it you can’t be a member of BNP and be a police officer, but you can still be a schoolteacher if you’re a member of the Muslim Brotherhood?” – The Times (£)
“The question today is whether the latest ructions in China really are a global show-stopper beyond the control of central banks, or just a “mid-cycle correction” that will blow over. This is a very hard call to make…Mature cycles typically look good as they are nearing the end. But this feels nothing like the prelude to the Lehman crisis in 2008, when the monetary data was flashing red warnings on both sides of the Atlantic, and US commercial lending was contracting at the fastest rate since records began.” – Daily Telegraph
“Iran is the world’s third-largest oil province, with a GDP of £260 billion, a large middle class and a population of about 80 million. In a recent note to investors, Renaissance, the investment bank, described the country as the world’s most important closed economy, with “Turkey’s population, Thailand’s GDP, Vietnam’s wages and Canada’s oil reserves”. – The Times (£)
> Today: Philip Hammond MP on Comment: Why now is the time to renew our relations with Iran