Rebecca Long-Bailey sacked from shadow cabinet in antisemitism row - as it happened

  • 6/26/2020
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We are pausing the UK blog for now. You can head over to our global blog for all the updates on the coronavirus - The funeral of Conservative politician Mohammad Asghar, the first ethnic minority Member of the Senedd (MS) elected in 2007, was held today. Asghar died at the age of 74 last week. The funeral cortege left Newport Central Mosque and made its way to Mr Asghar’s office in the city, where politicians and members of the public paid their respects. Among those attending were Monmouth Conservative MS Nick Ramsay, Newport East Labour MS John Griffiths and Monmouthshire council Conservative leader Peter Fox. Driving lessons and tests to resume in England from July 4 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has announced that driving lessons and tests will restart in England from 4 July. Maxine Peake, the actor and Labour supporter, has issued a clarification of her interview which Rebecca Long-Bailey had retweeted. David Lammy, the shadow justice secretary, has accused Boris Johnson of misleading the Commons at Prime Minister’s Questions, when he claimed the government implemented 16 recommendations from his 2017 report into the treatment of ethnic minorities in the criminal justice system. In a letter to the prime minister - seen by the BBC - Lammy urges the prime minister to correct what he calls “a catalogue of falsehoods” - and says only six of those 16 recommendations have been implemented. His report, published in September 2017, contained 35 recommendations. During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Johnson said: “Sixteen of the Lammy recommendations have been implemented. A further 17 are in progress; two of them we are not progressing.” Earlier this week, Justice Minister Alex Chalk answered a written parliamentary question saying 16 had been “completed”, 17 were still in progress and two were not being taken forward. In his letter, Lammy says he presumes the prime minister was referring to the same 16 - but says of those, only six have actually been implemented. He writes that if the government is serious about correcting injustices, “it needs to be honest about the actions it has taken”. On Rebecca Long-Bailey’s sacking from the shadow cabinet, Dame Louise Ellman, former Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, told ITV Granada Reports: “I’m delighted to hear this. “It does gives me confidence that Keir Starmer is a man of his word and does want to stamp out antisemitism. “This is dismissing somebody who is very senior, somebody who indeed stood against him as leader of the Labour party a very short time ago. “It’s a very encouraging sign.” Ellman quit the party last October as she believed antisemitism had become mainstream under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. Councillors and an MSP have written to Police Scotland questioning the response of officers to recent protests in Glasgow city centre. SNP councillor Ruairi Kelly raised concerns with chief superintendent Hazel Hendren claiming “fascist thugs were able to run wild in George Square” on Saturday. The Glasgow City Council representative’s letter was sent days after an event aimed at “sending a positive anti-racist message from Glasgow’s George Square to the world on World Refugee Day”. Kelly said peaceful protesters and members of the public were attacked on two separate occasions in the square. He wrote: “These appeared to be planned attacks and a quick search of known social media accounts shows that groups such as the National Defence League had called people out onto the streets. “Was there not sufficient advanced warning to keep these individuals separate from the public?” Reaction from Richard Burgon MP to Rebecca Long-Bailey’s sacking. Evening summary Keir Starmer has sacked Rebecca Long-Bailey as shadow education secretary after she tweeted praise for an interview in which the actor Maxine Peake said the US police tactic of kneeling on someone’s neck was taught by the Israeli secret service. Boris Johnson has full confidence in the housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, Downing Street has insisted, despite fresh revelations about his relationship with the billionaire property developer Richard Desmond, in documents published this week. Boris Johnson appeared unwilling to compromise in order to secure a trade and security deal with Brussels when he joined EU leaders for a summit last week, one of the three who attended the meeting has told the Guardian. The latest weekly test and trace figures published by the government have shown performance falling back on three key indicators. (See 12.12pm.) More than 450 workers at four food factories across England and Wales have tested positive for coronavirus. A major incident was declared after tens of thousands of people defied pleas to stay away and descended in their droves on beaches in Bournemouth and other stretches of the Dorset coast. More than 20 police officers were injured in south London overnight after attempts to break up a street party triggered violent clashes, which have been widely condemned. The £900,000 refurbishment of RAF Voyager - the plane used by the Royal Family and the prime minister - has been completed, the BBC reports. Sir Keir Starmer has recorded a longish interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg today. Here are some excerpts.

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