UK politics latest: Starmer to snub Taliban at Cop29 summit as Labour faces fresh pressure over Trump attacks
It comes amid concerns of what a second Trump presidency could mean for US support to Nato
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Your support makes all the difference.Sir Keir Starmer has “no plans” to meet the Taliban at Cop29, Downing Street has confirmed.
The militant group will be attending the conference taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following a year of devastating weather extremes and record heat waves.
The Taliban has been invited to the talks to “potentially participate in periphery discussion and potentially hold bilateral meetings”, according to a diplomatic source.
This comes despite the UN not recognising the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate leaders.
A Number 10 spokeswoman said Sir Keir has “no plans to meet with them”, adding that attendance is a “matter for the organisers”.
“It is obviously vital that we approach the talks and the event with [climate action and engagement at the] forefront of our mind.”
It comes as pressure increases on foreign secretary David Lammy over a past tweet about president-elect Donald Trump, in which he called him “deluded, dishonest, xenophobic, narcissistic”.
Ezra A. Cohen, Trump’s former acting under-secretary of defence for intelligence who may be seeking a role in the upcoming Trump administration, said on social media: “I look forward to David Lammy’s apology to the American people who overwhelmingly chose President Trump as our leader.”
In pictures: Badenoch speaks at Post Office scandal inquiry
Rachel Reeves accused of business ‘betrayal’ as top bank warns tax hikes will hit living standards
Rachel Reeves’s increase in employer national insurance contributions (NICs) will hit workers’ living standards, Barclays has warned, amid growing backlash over the tax hike.
It comes as leaders of Britain’s biggest business organisations accused the Labour government of “betrayal”.
Economists at the bank said the policy would cause real incomes to take a hit, as companies pass on the cost of the levy through lower pay rises and higher prices. This, they said, will leave people feeling poorer as prices rise faster than wages.
Political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:
Reeves accused of business ‘betrayal’ as top bank warns over tax hikes
It comes as business leaders accuse the Labour government of having ‘betrayed the nation’ following the national insurance hike for employers
Government refuses deadling for Post Office redress payments
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has reiterated the government’s position that they will not set a deadline for redress payments for subpostmasters affected by the Post Office scandal.
It comes after lead campaigner Sir Alan Bates requested a deadline of March for redress payments for claimants who took the Post Office to the High Court from 2017 to 2019.
Mr Reynolds was asked if the government would commit to this deadline.
He said: “The position I’m in is I’m trying to make sure people get redress for a horrendous scandal… at a minimum, I don’t want to do anything that makes that injustice even worse.
“And the worry about a deadline – can you imagine a situation where, for whatever reason, a claim has not come in?
“I think it will be unconscionable to say that that is not going to be considered.”
“If my frustration at those claims not arriving in the department meant that I felt that was the only way to speed those up, and I felt that wasn’t going to prejudice any individual claim… it will be something that I will consider.”
He also told the inquiry he accepts “ultimate responsibility” for the provision of full and fair redress for subpostmasters.
Corporate culture is at the root of Post Office scandal, says Reynolds
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds also spoke earlier today at the Horizon IT inquiry.
In his witness statement, Mr Reynolds said it is clear that the “Post Office’s corporate culture is at the root of this scandal”.
He added: “I want to make sure the system works for subpostmasters. I am supportive of a reform agenda which seeks to turn this ambition into reality.”
‘Why can’t we just give them the money?’ asked Badenoch
Kemi Badenoch was asked by Jason Beer KC, counsel to the inquiry, who allowed for bureaucracy to get in the way of redress for subpostmasters.
“Well, the government machine,” Ms Badenoch said.
“I think I remember asking a question like: ‘Why can’t we just give them the money?’”
“Then I’d be told ‘there could be a judicial review, and the Treasury has these value for money requirements, if you don’t meet them then you might end up having to go to court’ – so I just kept trying to find a way through.”
Government bureaucracy has delayed redress for subpostmasters - Badenoch
Conservative leader of the opposition and former business secretary Kemi Badenoch has been speaking at the Horizon IT inquiry today.
She told the inquiry that the government allowed “bureaucracy to get in the way of redress” for the wronged subpostmasters.
“Kevin [Hollinrake, former postal affairs minister] and I wanted to get the money out there, and we were always given a reason why we couldn’t.”
“I feel that there is often too much bureaucracy in the way of getting things done, because people are worried about process,” she continued.
“They are worried about: if things go wrong, they’ll be on the hook for that.
“So they carry out lots of checks and balances well beyond what I think is required in order to deliver the right outcome.”
Prime Minister ‘honoured’ to join Macron for Armistice Day
Sir Keir Starmer has spent the day commemorating Armistice Day with French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
“I am honoured to be in Paris to stand united with President @EmmanuelMacron in tribute to the fallen who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom we enjoy today,” he wrote on X.
Report: Keir Starmer to snub Taliban as brutal Afghan regime flocks to global climate summit
Sir Keir Starmer will snub the Taliban as a group of officials from the brutal Afghan regime flock to the UN climate summit in in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku.
The prime minister will not meet with the group at the Cop29 conference, which started on Monday, in what will be its first appearance at the forum since its forceful takeover of Afghanistan.
Asked what Sir Keir thought of the militant group attending the talks, and whether he had any plans to come face to face with delegates, a Number 10 spokeswoman said: “No plans to meet with them.”
Read the full report:
Keir Starmer to snub Taliban as brutal Afghan regime flocks to global climate summit
Host nation Azerbaijan invites Afghan environment agency officials to Cop29 as observers
People left ‘humiliated’ by process of applying for personal independence payments
A Labour MP has said that many people are left “humiliated” by the process of applying for personal independence payments (Pip).
Debbie Abrahams, chairwoman of the Work and Pensions Committee, told the Commons: “Yesterday it was reported in the Sunday papers that a blind woman with additional complex needs had her Pip assessment over the phone, which was approved, but then she was sent a letter to confirm that.
“Sense have said that over half of people that they have surveyed feel humiliated by the process. I know (Sir Stephen Timms) wants to get this right and is very keen, but can he expand a little bit more on the type of things that they’re changing?”
Work and pensions minister Sir Stephen Timms said the Government will “continue to look at” the assessment process, adding: “Clearly, it is absolutely vital that this process should be accessible to people with sight impairments or other impairments as well, and I completely agree with her.”
Liberal Democrat MP Ian Roome (North Devon) asked: “Can the Secretary of State tell me why Pip reassessments are being scheduled for people with incurable disabilities and terminal illnesses?”
Sir Stephen replied: “It is of course important that we keep the awards under review, because sometimes they go up, as well as down, and we want to make sure that the support that’s provided is appropriate for the claimant.”
UN climate talks start as experts warn 2024 is heading for record heat
The latest round of international climate talks have kicked off in Azerbaijan as the UN warns 2024 is set to be the hottest year on record.
Sir Keir Starmer, whose Labour Government has made clean energy a key plank of its plans for the UK, has headed to the Cop29 conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, although many leaders including the US and Chinese presidents and European heads of state are not attending the talks.
While the Taliban are among the delegations who are attending the conference, Downing Street said the Prime Minister had no plans to meet with them.
As the conference kicked off, the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation issued a “red alert” over the speed of climate change in a single generation, as it warned this year would break 2023’s record temperatures.
The WMO said the global average temperature for January to September 2024 was 1.54C above pre-industrial levels, based on analysis from six global datasets.
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