Westminster today - as it happened: Theresa May faces fresh questions over destruction of Windrush landing cards
All the latest updates from Westminster, as they happened
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Your support makes all the difference.Theresa May has faced fresh questions over the destruction of thousands of landing cards amid the escalating row over the treatment of the Windrush generation.
Documents recording the arrival of children of Caribbean migrants were destroyed by the Home Office in 2010 - when Ms May was home secretary - but she tried to blame the previous Labour administration by saying the decision was taken in 2009.
Downing Street later said it was an "operational" decision taken by officials rather than ministers, but Lord Kerslake, a former head of the civil service, said it was "pretty unlikely" that the Home Office would destroy records.
The row began when it emerged many of the Windrush generation had been denied medical care, lost their jobs or threatened with deportation to Caribbean countries they left as children.
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Theresa May's setpiece announcement at the commonwealth meeting centres on proposals to ban the sale of plastic straws and drinks stirrers that blight the country’s seas and rivers.
In the latest move to tackle the escalating plastic waste problem, environment secretary Michael Gove said it is “vital we act now” to eliminate straws from use – with 8.5 billion thrown away every year.
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Labour MP David Lammy has written to the prime minister about Windrush, demanding an independent review of the government's immigration policy.
The row has overshadowed much of the Commonwealth meeting, where Theresa May was forced to apologise to Caribbean leaders the other day.
John McDonnell has offered Britain's financial sector a "new start" in its relationship with Labour and promised it a "seat at the table" if Jeremy Corbyn was in Number 10.
As part of efforts to woo the City, the shadow chancellor said: "First, there are no tricks up my sleeve. What you see is what you get.
"Second, when we go into government, we want you to come with us, alongside representatives from our manufacturers, our trade unions and wider civil society.
"There will be a seat at the policy making and policy delivery table for you."
He said his many meetings with finance bosses often ended with the realisation they were on the same page, but joked they were surprised when he said “Thank you comrades.”
Sadiq Khan has said that the Windrush scandal must act as a “wake up call” over what he argues is the increasingly hostile way that the UK government has been treating immigrants.
Writing exclusively for The Independent, he said the scandal was directly linked to Conservative immigration policy.
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Councils should be given powers to confiscate homes from criminal landlords who are forcing people to live in freezing, dangerous and damp-filled properties, a parliamentary committee has said.
MPs said vulnerable tenants also needed better protection to address the “imbalance in power” as renters were often afraid to complain about squalid and unsafe conditions out of fear of being evicted, harassed or having their rent pushed up.
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Abuse levelled at Labour MPs Luciana Berger and Ruth Smeeth could be classed as contempt of Parliament, Speaker John Bercow has said.
His comments came after senior Tory Sir Bill Cash said the "outrageous abuse and intimidation" could be regarded as a contempt of the House, citing the parliamentary handbook Erskine May.
The two Labour MPs spoke out about the abuse they had suffered during a debate on anti-Semitism on Tuesday.
Contempt of privilege is a term used to describe any act, or failure to act, that may prevent or hinder the work of either House of Parliament.
Mr Bercow said: "The short answer is that there could be such a case."
Speculation mounts about a possible Commons revolt over the customs union after the Government suffered a humiliating Brexit defeat in the Lords last night.
The motion, tabled on Thursday, reads:
“calls on the Government to include as an objective in negotiations on the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union the establishment of an effective customs union between the two territories”.
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