Category Archives: sky news

Labour Denies Claims It Is Offering Peerages To Left-Wing MPs Who Promise To Step Down

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Labour’s Yvette Cooper has denied claims the party is offering peerages to left-wing MPs who step down to make way for Keir Starmer’s preferred candidates.

The shadow home secretary rejected a new report from The Times which claims some people who were Labour MPs– up until parliament was dissolved last week – could be elevated to the House of Lords if they gave up their seats.

She told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: “No party can do that, it’s not the way the system works.”

She said there is a “whole process” where an independent committee vets nominations to the Lords, so no one cannot be promised a seat there by any party leader.

The report comes after a tumultuous week for the frontrunners in the general election as Labour has faced several accusations of trying to purge any left-wing candidates.

Former leader Jeremy Corbyn, Faiza Shaheen and Lloyd Russell-Moyle were all prevented from standing for Labour in recent weeks.

Starmer faced further backlash after refusing to say whether veteran MP Diane Abbott would be allowed to stand as a Labour candidate – prompting her and her supporters to accuse him of “culling” the Labour left over the last week.

Abbott lost the whip in 2023 after claiming Irish, Traveller and Jewish people only experienced “prejudice” not racism – a claim she later apologised for and withdrew.

The whip was returned to her in May but there was widespread speculation the party was planning to ban her from standing.

Starmer denied all claims of a purge, saying he just wants”the highest quality candidates”.

He also said that the decision around Abbott was up to the party’s national executive committee, and not him.

Then even Starmer’s deputy Angela Rayner said publicly that Abbott should be allowed to stand.

In an embarrassing U-turn, he finally said on Friday that the left-winger was free to represent his party.

Abbott is yet to confirm whether she will represent the party and said she will not be making a comment until she is officially endorsed by Labour’s National Executive Committee next week.

However she told Sky News that the “narrative does look positive”.

Cooper also told Phillips on Sunday that she assumes Abbott will be the Labour candidate for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, the seat she has held since 1987.

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‘You’re Going To Get A Drubbing’: Trevor Phillips Tells Sunak Tories Are Heading For Defeat

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Rishi Sunak has been told by Trevor Phillips that the Tories are “going to get a drubbing” at Thursday’s local elections.

The Sky News presenter delivered the stark warning as he challenged the prime minister to either quit or call a general election for July.

The pair clashed as rebel Conservative MPs ponder whether to try to oust the PM before the country goes to the polls.

Experts predict that the Tories will lose up to 500 council seats on Thursday, while the futures of high-profile mayors Ben Houchen and Andy Street hang in the balance.

Phillips told Sunak: “You are going to get a drubbing at the local elections.

“How many seats do you have to lose before you accept that the people have lost confidence in you? And it’s time either for you to stand down or to call a general election.”

In response, the PM repeatedly refused to rule out a July general election.

“When it comes to a general election, I’ve been very clear about that multiple times,” he said.

In January, Sunak said his “working assumption” was that it would take place in the second half of the year.

Phillips said: “Second half of this year could be July.”

The PM replied: “I’m not going to say anything more than I’ve already said, I’ve been very clear about that.”

The presenter told him: “I just need to know when to book my holidays. July is possible?”

But Sunak said: “Actually, Trevor, it’s more important than your holiday or anyone’s holiday. I’ve got a job to do which is delivering for the country.”

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Kay Burley Calls Minister Out For Side-Stepping Questions Over ‘Disgraceful’ Mark Menzies Saga

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Kay Burley cornered a minister over the Conservatives’ handling of the saga around former Tory Mark Menzies in an awkward Sky News clash on Monday.

Menzies resigned from the party on Sunday and announced he would not be standing at the next general election, days after allegations he had misused campaign funds emerged.

He denied all claims against him. A Tory Party investigation found he had not misused funds because he had taken money from a group outside of the main Conservative remit.

However, the Sky News presenter still pressed foreign minister Andrew Mitchell over the messy incident.

Burley asked: “What most offended you about [Mark Menzies]′ actions?

“Was it the misuse of funds, was it his questionable behaviour over many years or was it [him] asking a member of his team to go to a potential crime scene, with a bag load of cash, where she was already told, ‘bad men are inside’?”

Mitchell replied: “I’ve been in Washington until yesterday doing my job as the minister for international development.”

Burley refused to take that as answer, only for Mitchell to say: “I’m not fully conversant with all the details.”

“Well, you should be,” the presenter noted.

Mitchell continued: “What I am clear about is that the Conservative Party has properly investigated this matter.

“It’s done it in a timely way, which respects the rights of all parties, lessons will be learnt.”

Burley laughed and said: “What does that mean?”

According to The Times – which first broke the story – the Tories had been aware of the allegations for three months, but had not taken any action.

Burley asked again: “Are you more offended by the funds or the fact that a junior member of his team was told to go with a bag-load of cash where she had been told bad men were inside? That’s disgraceful.”

“I don’t think his actions were those one has the right to expect from a member of parliament and that is why he no longer has the whip and is no longer a member of the Conservative Party,” Mitchell said.

Burley pushed: “Should he step down altogether or are you quite relieved that he’s waiting until the next election so there’s not another by-election?”

Mitchell said that was not a matter for the Tories anymore.

Burley said: “So you’re very happy that the party have handled this in exactly the right way?”

Mitchell just replied that the party has handled it in a “way that handles the rights of the individuals” involved, and that he does not “criticise the party over the speed with which it handled this”.

“Would you expect a Conservative aide to have to behave in this manner, taking a bag load of cash to a place that isn’t safe?” Burley asked again.

Mitchell replied: “That is why we are looking at the issue of a whistleblowers’ rights, and doing a retraining of those in the Conservative Association to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

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‘Car Crash Answer’: Tory Minister Roasted Over Bizarre Rwanda Flights Remark

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A Tory minister has been slammed on social media after she gave a bizarre answer on when deportation flights to Rwanda will eventually take off.

Laura Trott insisted planes taking asylum seekers to the east African country will be in the air in the spring – then refused to say when that was.

The awkward exchange took place on Sky News this morning as MPs and peers prepare for another day of wrangling over Rishi Sunak’s flagship Safety of Rwanda Bill.

Peers last night passed four more amendments watering down the controversial legislation, but those changes will be defeated in the House of Commons later today as the parliamentary “ping-pong” over the bill continues.

Presenter Kay Burley asked Trott: “Who is going to fly these people to Rwanda?”

The Treasury minister replied: “We are working on operationalising this, but we’re not going to go into details on how we’re going to do that.

“We will be ready for flights to take off in the spring, when the legislation passes.”

Burley then asked her: “When does spring mean to you? We’re cantering towards May now.”

Laughing, Trott replied: “Well there’s lots of definitions of spring, but we’re hoping to get them up and running as quickly as possible.”

The minister’s answer did not land well with users of X (formerly Twitter).

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Andrea Leadsom Suggests Cost Of Living Crisis Is Over As Inflation Fall Has ‘Cheered Everyone Up’

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Andrea Leadsom has suggested the cost of living crisis has “ended” after a fall in the rate of inflation “obviously cheered everyone up”.

On Wednesday, the Office for National Statistics revealed UK inflation has fallen from 4% in January to 3.4% last month, the lowest it’s been since 2021.

While the news is significant given that the measure of the growing cost of goods and services peaked at 11.1% in October 2022, a 41-year high, a decline only means prices are going up at a slower rate, they are not falling.

What’s more, the 3.4% figure is still short of the Bank of England’s target of 2%.

Nonetheless, Conservative minister Leadsom was keen to promote the downward trajectory against the backdrop of Tory unrest.

When asked on Sky News about whether the party was now united, Leadsom said instead: “I think what’s really important is we have seen a fantastic drop in inflation today. That’s what’s really important.

“That has obviously cheered everyone up, it’s what we have been working towards is seeing the cost of living crisis end … seeing people able to take more home in their pay packets or in their salaries every day. That’s the critical point.”

When Rishi Sunak became prime minister, he promised to halve inflation by the end of 2023 – and it ended up being the only one of his five pledges he managed to fulfil.

However, economists question whether government’s can sincerely take credit for getting inflation back under control, not least since central banks control the base interest rate that is the key tool to combat price growth, and ministers blamed global factors when inflation spiralled to record highs.

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George Galloway Tells Journalist To ‘Suck It Up’ After By-Election Win

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George Galloway has clashed with Sam Coates of Sky News as the veteran left-winger faced criticism from the prime minister after winning the Rochdale by-election.

The Workers Party of Britain leader dismissed “little” Rishi Sunak’s comments, and urged Coates to “suck it up” after repeated questions about the conduct of his supporters during the campaign.

The journalist faced shouts of “bye-bye” and chants of “free Palestine” from Galloway activists as the interview at the new MP’s headquarters wrapped up.

Galloway ran on a pro-Palestine ticket, and pulled off a stunning victory to be elected to parliament for the fourth time, comfortably defeating Azhar Ali, the Labour candidate who was dumped by the party during the campaign.

Ali finished a lowly fourth place behind independent candidate David Tully and Paul Ellison of the Conservatives.

Galloway’s win prompted a reaction from Sunak during an unexpected address from Downing Street on Friday night. The prime minister said: “It’s beyond alarming that last night, the Rochdale by-election returned a candidate that dismisses the horror of what happened on October 7, who glorifies Hezbollah and is endorsed by Nick Griffin, the racist former leader of the BNP.”

When pressed by Sky News, Galloway was dismissive of the PM. “You talk as if this is God,” he said. “You’re talking about little Rishi Sunak, in the fag end of his prime ministership. Don’t talk to me as if he’s come down from the Mount with tablets of stone – the things that he says are somehow meant to awe me. They may awe you, they don’t awe me.”

The interview with Coates, the broadcaster’s deputy political editor, became increasingly edgy.

“Who won the election? Me or Rishi Sunak?,” said Galloway. “I’ve got the democratic mandate here, not Rishi Sunak. He didn’t even come second. He was lucky to come third. So don’t put to me statements made by Rishi Sunak as if I’m supposed to be impressed by them. He don’t impress me much.”

When asked if he respected Sunak, the Rochdale MP fired back: “I despise the prime minister. And guess what? Millions and millions and millions of people in this country despise the prime minister. I do not respect the prime minister at all.”

The mood intensified further as Coates asked about the conduct of Galloway’s supporters during the contest amid allegations of intimidation from rival campaigns.

Again dismissing Sunak’s concerns, Galloway said: “What I care about is that the returning officer, a man of unimpeachable integrity, I’m sure you’ll agree, declared it a free and fair election. And me as the winner, and Rishi Sunak as one of the crushed two big parties of the state.”

He added: “You just have to suck it up. I won the election.”

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Labour’s By-Election Candidate Will Still Stand espite ‘Completely Wrong’ Remarks About Israel

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Pat McFadden has confirmed a Labour councillor will still be running as the party’s candidate in the upcoming Rochdale by-election, after apologising for “completely wrong” remarks about Israel.

The shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster appeared on Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips and discussed The Mail on Sunday’s story about Azhar Ali.

According to recordings obtained by the newspaper, the councillor allegedly said Israel deliberately allowed 1,400 people to be killed on its own soil on October 7.

Ali reportedly said Israel did so in order to give the “green light” to invade the Palestinian territory of Gaza, when at a meeting of the Lancashire Labour Party.

When pressed about the incident, McFadden told Phillips: “His comments were completely wrong, he should never have said something like that, it is of course, completely wrong to say that.”

He added: “He’s issued a complete apology and retraction and I hope he learns a good lesson from it, he should never have said something like that.”

Ali issued a statement to The Mail on Sunday, saying: “I apologise unreservedly to the Jewish community for my comments which were deeply offensive, ignorant, and false.”

He called for the Hamas hostages to be released, recognised rising anti-Semitism in the UK and across the world, and promised to apologise to Jewish leaders “for my inexcusable comments”.

Phillips said: ’An apology is not the same thing as a denial. It seems everyone is agreeing he said it, presumably he thought it.

“Is Labour happy with a candidate who thinks that?”

“No, that’s why he has issued a complete retraction and apology,” McFadden said, “It’s right that he has completely apologised now.”

Asked if he would still be the Labour candidate, McFadden said: “In the upcoming by-election? Yes he will.”

Ali will be defending a Labour seat which has a majority of more than 9,000 after the death of former MP Tony Lloyd.

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James Cleverly Urges Israel To Show ‘Restraint And Discipline’ In Gaza

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The UK government urged has Israel to show “restraint and discipline” as it steps up its military action against Hamas in Gaza.

Foreign secretary James Cleverly said that while he supports Israel’s right to defend itself, they must do everything they can “to minimise civilian casualties”.

His comments came as he was being interviewed by Trevor Phillips on Sky News this morning.

Phillips asked him: “As steadfast as you might be in your friendship, one element of friendship is giving good advice.

“The Israelis say that they plan to eradicate or eliminate Hamas. Are you saying to your Israeli counterpart, this is a realistic objective?”

Cleverly said: “We have a very, very good working relationship with the Israeli government and whenever I have spoken to them, I’ve reinforced the UK’s position about the preservation of life, the avoidance of civilian casualties.

“I know the Israelis completely understand that.”

He added: “Restraint, discipline. These are the hallmarks of the Israeli defence force that I want to see.

“And indeed, those are the hallmarks of a high-functioning military organisation which the Israel Defence Force is, in stark contrast to the terrorist atrocities perpetrated by Hamas and I’ve maintained that clear distinction.”

More than 1,300 Israelis were killed and hundreds taken hostage following attacks by the Hamas militant group a week ago.

Some 2,300 have been killed in Israel’s bombing campaign of the Gaza Strip launched in the aftermath.

Around 1.1 million people in northern Gaza have also been ordered to leave by Israel ahead of an expected ground invasion.

The UK government has faced mounting pressure to be clearer in their stance on the war amid claims Israel is breaking international law.

Phillips said: “So to be absolutely clear, our government’s position is full support for Israel, full support for military action, but we are urging restraint and discipline?”

Cleverly said that was “a pretty good synopsis”.

He added: “Of course we respect Israel’s right to self defence. They’ve experienced the most horrendous terrorist atrocity which is still being perpetrated.

“Images of people being held, images of bodies being desecrated, are still sloshing around on social media, so of course, they have every right and we support this right to protect themselves whilst doing it.

“We’ve said though, do everything you can to minimise civilian casualties. Do everything you can to prevent Hamas getting what they want, which is this to escalate into a wider regional conflict.

“No country, including the United Kingdom, would give carte blanche to any other nation and that is a universal truth not not specifically about Israel.”

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Tory Cabinet Splits Erupt As Minister Warns Chancellor Against Cutting Benefits

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A senior Tory minister has warned chancellor Jeremy Hunt not to cut benefits in real terms in order to pay for tax cuts ahead of the next election.

In a sign of cabinet splits over the issue, justice secretary Alex Chalk said the government must “ensure, that we are decent, humane and that we support people”.

Hunt is reportedly looking at ways in which welfare payments can be increased by less than normal in a bid to raise billions of pounds.

At the moment, benefits increase by the rate of inflation – which led to them going up by 10.1% this year.

However, according to Bloomberg, the Treasury is considering putting benefits up by less than inflation next year.

Asked on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips on Sky NewsA this morning whether he would support such a move, Chalk made clear he would be opposed.

“We must do everything we can for the most disadvantaged in society,” he said.

“That’s why we put up benefits by 10.1% and universal credit and also the pension as well.

“I will want to ensure, my colleagues will want to ensure, that we are decent, humane and that we support people.”

Phillips said: “I’m taking that as a no.”

Laughing, Chalk replied: “Take it as you like.”

Former prime minister Liz Truss was hit by a furious backlash from Tory MPs – including senior ministers – when she considered increasing benefits by less than inflation.

An ally of the former prime minister said: “This was very much part of Liz’s plan to kick-start economic growth last year: she wanted to raise benefits in line with wages, not inflation – a move that was calculated as likely to cut at least £6 billion off the benefits bill.

“Yet a significant minority of her parliamentary colleagues refused to go along with it, including a number of people holding senior roles in the current cabinet.”

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‘Designed For Disaster’: Justice Secretary Alex Chalk Savaged Over Prison Conditions

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Justice secretary Alex Chalk was told prisons are “designed for a disaster” as he was grilled by Trevor Phillips on Sky News.

The former soldier managed to escape from Wandsworth Prison in London by strapping himself to the bottom of a delivery van.

Ministers have faced intense criticism over the state of security at the jail.

On Sky News this morning, Phillips told Chalk: “We don’t have enough prison staff – you’re trying to recruit more.

“Of the ones that we do have, a lot of them are off sick, with the number of sick days claimed since 2018 annually is up 60%.

“And here is the most concerning thing perhaps. Of those who are on duty, a high proportion are inexperienced. Overall one in six are in their first year in the job.

“Add it up – isn’t this a system designed for a disaster?”

Chalk – who revealed that 40 inmates had been moved from Wandsworth in the wake of Khalife’s escape – insisted the government was determined to make working in the prison service an attractive profession.

He said: “The condition of our prisons is of course very important. This is the government that has done more to put its money where its mouth is to invest very heavily in our prison service.”

Chalk added: “We accept that they are phenomenal people who do an extremely difficult job. We value them hugely and I really want to encourage people into the service.”

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