UK politics news: Government 'did not want to know' about evidence of Russian interference in Brexit vote as long-awaited report released
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Your support makes all the difference.The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) has judged it “credible” that Russia tried to interfere in the Scottish independence referendum as part of an effort to influence political life in the UK.
MPs setting out the Russia report have told Boris Johnson to order an assessment of “potential” Russian meddling in the Brexit referendum. The government “did not want to know” if there been interference in the 2016 vote – and had “actively avoided looking for evidence”, they said.
However the government quickly rejected the call for further enquiries, with foreign secretary Dominic Raab describing a retrospective investigation as “unnecessary”.
"I have been on the receiving end of certain practices in the Home Office, which quite frankly speak to some of the points which came out of the review," says Priti Patel, without explaining further.
Is it a reference to complaints about her "bullying" of staff?
Priti Patel claimed that her ambition is for "a fair, humane, compassionate and outward-looking Home Office that represents people from every corner of our diverse society".
The Home Secretary told MPs: "A series of reconciliation events to rebuild the relationship between the Home Office and those who were affected will now take place. This is an essential step to enable people whose lives were shattered because of Windrush to directly articulate the impact this scandal has had on their lives. We must learn from the past.
"Mandatory training is being introduced for new and existing members of the Home Office staff to ensure everyone working across the department understands and appreciates the history of migration and race across the country."
She added: "There are simply not enough individuals from black, Asian or minority ethnic staff working at the top in senior roles and there are far too many times where I am the only non-white face in the room.
"Action must happen now. So right now, I am introducing more diverse shortlists for senior jobs, specialist mentoring and sponsorship programmes to help develop a wider pool of talent and drive cultural change."
Sturgeon open to IndyRef interference probe
Scotland's First Minister said she has "no objection" to an inquiry being launched into Russian interference in the Scottish independence referendum.
Speaking at the Scottish Government's coronavirus briefing on Tuesday, hours after a heavily redacted report by Westminster's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) was published, Nicola Sturgeon said governments should not be "complacent" about the possibility of interference in democratic processes.
The UK Government response to such warnings could be viewed as "negligence", she said.
She said: "If there's to be an inquiry into that - and I would have no objections, to the contrary - it is for the UK Government to do."
PM rejects calls for crackdown on 'Londongrad'
Boris Johnson has rejected a second key strand of the Russia report, its call for a crackdown to stop London being a “laundromat” for illicit Russian cash.
The UK already has “some of the strongest controls in the world”, the prime minister’s spokesman insisted.
Six things we learned from Russia report
The long-awaited official report on Russia’s activities in the UK has concluded that Downing Street “took its eye off the ball” and failed to respond to a range of threats from Moscow.
So what are the very biggest takeaways from the 50-page dossier?
PM insists Brexit vote was 'fair'
Boris Johnson is "absolutely" confident the 2016 European Union referendum result was fair, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.
"We have seen no evidence of successful interference in the EU referendum," the spokesman said, as he confirmed the Government would not order an investigation of Russian activities around the vote.
"Our intelligence and security agencies produce regular assessments of the threat posed by hostile state activities, including any potential interference in past or current UK democratic processes."
PM's care home claim dismissed by CMO
Professor Chris Whitty has suggested care homes are not to blame for the severe problems they faced with coronavirus in an apparent swipe at Boris Johnson remarks on the issue.
Appearing at the Health and Social Care Committee, the chief medical officer for England said that major risks in social care settings were not considered early on in the pandemic, including staff working in multiple residences and those not paid sick leave.
Lower pay rise for long-serving teachers 'unfair', say unions
Education unions have warned that more experienced teachers may not stay in the profession following the Government's announcement of lower pay rises for long-serving staff.
One head teachers' union leader described it as a "kick in the teeth" for many teachers and he warned that many schools may struggle to pay the salary increases to staff without funding due to tight budgets.
The comments came after the Government revealed that the 3.1 per cent pay rise for teachers will consist of a 5.5 per cent rise to the starting salary for the profession, while more experienced teachers will see a 2.75 per cent rise.
Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said: "The prospect of salaries tapering off as they progress through the profession means that progress made in recruiting teachers will not be sustained in retaining them.
"More experienced teachers and leaders must see their immense hard work and efforts rewarded fairly, and this pay award does not do that."
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "First, we do not think it is fair or reasonable that the pay award is much lower for experienced teachers and leaders after years of pay austerity which has seen the real value of salaries deteriorate.
"This won't help to keep long-serving teachers in the profession and feels like a kick in the teeth."
Attorney General: 'No regrets' over Cummings lockdown trip tweet
Suella Braverman has again denied her tweet in support of Dominic Cummings' trip to Durham during lockdown amounted to political interference in due process.
Speaking at her first appearance before the Justice Committee, she said: "I don't think there is any question I offered a legal opinion. I treat the independence - operationally and in other ways - of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) extremely seriously.
"There's no question of my having interfered with or influenced any decision made by the CPS or the police on that matter."
She added: "I don't regret tweeting in the way that I did."
The tweet in question was made by the attorney general on 23 May: "Protecting one's family is what any good parent does. The 10DowningStreet statement clarifies the situation and it is wholly inappropriate to politicise it."
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