Inside Politics: ‘Code red for humanity’ on climate and Cameron made ‘£7 million’ from Greensill

Time running out for action to stop global warming and Cameron says his remuneration is a private matter, writes Matt Mathers

(AP)

Visitors to central London got to witness something uncommon but not entirely rare yesterday. Tower Bridge got stuck for 12 hours following a technical difficulty, causing traffic jams on both sides of the River Thames, before reopening shortly before 2am this morning. It previously got stuck in August last year. Sir Horace Jones’s iconic structure, which took around eight years to build, usually opens and closes more than 800 times each year – roughly the same number of occasions on which David Cameron lobbied ministers on behalf of Greensill Capital. Now it’s emerged the former PM allegedly made £7 million from the firm before it collapsed. Elsewhere, world leaders are being warned it’s “code red for humanity” on climate change and students get their A-level results.

Inside the bubble

Our chief political commentator John Rentoul on what to look out for today:

It’s A-level results day today and a chance for Gavin Williamson, the education secretary and the most unpopular member of the cabinet among both members of the public and among Conservative Party members, to try to claw back some credibility. Given that most commentators seem united in thinking the assessed grades are unfair, that is an uphill task.

Coming up shortly:

-Education secretary Gavin Williamson on BBC Radio 4’s Today at 8.10am

-Shadow schools minister Peter Kyle on Times Radio Breakfast at 8.35am

Daily Briefing

CODE RED: The release of the United Nation’s landmark climate report dominates the front pages this morning. Most major outlets use striking images of ongoing wildfires in Greece and floods to hammer home a key message from Antonio Guterres, the UN’s general secretary, that the report signals “code red for humanity”. One of the top lines from the paper is that the world is likely to be 1.5C warmer by 2040, missing climate targets set out in the Paris Agreement.

NO TURNING BACK: “We’re already experiencing climate change, including more frequent and more extreme weather events,” Professor Ed Hawkins, a climate researcher at the University of Reading, one of the scientists behind the milestone report, told a press briefing. “The consequences will continue to get worse for every bit of warning and – for many of these consequences – there’s no turning back.” If you didn’t get a chance to read the report Daisy Dunne, our climate correspondent, has these 10 key takeaways and an exclusive interview with leading activist Vanessa Nakate.

COP ON: Yesterday’s report comes fewer than 100 days before the start of COP26, when the world’s attention turns to Glasgow as the UK hosts the UN’s most important climate summit yet. Just days after suggesting he’ll do nothing to block a new North Sea oil field, Johnson is being urged by his own MPs to build upon the “favourable position” he’s inherited from his predecessors and further cut emissions. Amid suggestions that some Conservative MPs are actively trying to undermine the talks Philip Dunne, the Tory chair of the Commons Environmental Audit Committee told the PM: “Before Cop26 leaders convene in Glasgow, he must show them he has the necessary political courage, by driving the government to adopt the strategies necessary to make his high-level climate promises a reality.”

CLIMATE DELAYER: Labour leader Keir Starmer said the report confirmed that urgent action was needed as he hit out the PM’s alleged lack of action on tackling climate change. “The biggest threat we now face is not climate denial but climate delay,” he said. “Those who, like our prime minister, acknowledge there is a problem, but simply don’t have the scale of ambition required to match the moment. Our communities and planet can no longer afford the inaction of this government, who are failing to treat the crisis with the seriousness it deserves.” Johnson said the report was “sobering” and called for an end to the use of coal. But there was no mention of the Cambo oil field off the coast of the Shetland Islands. Nicola Sturgeon has also been accused by activists of failing to oppose the plans.

CASHED IN: It was a matter of when not if. Months after he appeared in front of a parliamentary select committee over his links to Greensill Capital, it has finally emerged how much Cameron is alleged to have made from the now collapsed finance firm. According to documents seen by BBC Panorama, Cameron banked a cool $10 million (£7m) before the company went under. A spokesman for the former PM turned lobbyist insisted his remuneration was a private matter, a line that might have washed a bit more with critics had Cameron not unsuccessfully begged multiple ministers to invest taxpayers’ cash in Greensill, used his influence as a former PM to speak to said ministers and the fact that the firm’s collapse put thousands of jobs at risk. According to Panorama, Cameron cashed in his chips in 2019 and the firm went into administration in March.

RESULTS DAY: Sixth-formers across the country are waking up to their A-level results which have been determined by teachers after this summer’s exams were cancelled. Students tell The Independent how they’ve managed following a disrupted year of learning due to the ongoing Covid pandemic. According to this morning’s Times, almost half of Tuesday’s A-level results are expected to be at A* or A.

EPSTEIN SUED: An alleged victim of Jeffrey Epstein has sued Prince Andrew in a US court for alleged sexual abuse. Virginia Giuffre claims that the Queen’s 61-year-old son sexually abused her at Epstein’s New York mansion and two other places when she was under the age of 18. Giuffre filed her case in New York federal court just days before the expiration date of a state law that allows alleged victims of childhood sexual abuse to file claims that would otherwise be prevented by statutes of limitations.

On the record

“(The) IPCC Working Group 1 Report is a ‘code red’ for humanity.”

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres on climate report.

From the Twitterati

“Yeah that’s a scoop.”

The Guardian’s media editor Jim Waterson on news Cameron reportedly made $10 million from Greensill before it collapsed.

Essential reading

• Caroline Lucas, The Independent: This is the year when pledges on climate must be turned into action
• Sean O’Grady, The Independent: Rishi Sunak is off the leash and will win this dogfight with the PM
• Joshua Clements, The Guardian: The police bill is not about law and order – it’s about state control
• Steven Field, The Spectator: What Starmer’s Blair bomb means for Labour