Sunak refuses to endorse Braverman"s claim multiculturalism has failed Rishi Sunak has repeatedly declined to endorse Suella Braverman’s claim that multiculturalism has “failed” in her hardline speech on immigration, PA Media reports. PA says: The prime minister instead praised the UK’s “fantastic multicultural democracy”, saying the nation has done an “incredible job of integrating people”. In her speech Braverman argued the “misguided dogma of multiculturalism” had “failed because it allowed people to come to our society and live parallel lives in it”. She suggested it has allowed them to “pursue lives aimed at undermining the stability and threatening the security of our society”. But Sunak, the first British PM of Indian heritage, repeatedly declined to back her comments during a round of regional broadcast interviews ahead of the Tory conference. Asked by BBC East Midlands political editor Tony Roe if he agreed with Braverman, Sunak said: “I think that this is something that is incredible about this country, is that it is a fantastic multicultural democracy. “We have done an incredible job of integrating people into society and one of the lovely things about getting the job I have, as the first person from my background to hold this job, that’s a wonderful thing, but it’s also not a big deal in our country. “I think that speaks to the progress we’ve made over the years and how far we’ve come and something we should all be collectively incredibly proud of.” Asked if the home secretary was wrong, Sunak said it is “important that everyone subscribes to British values” but that he believes “our country has done an incredibly good job of integrating people from lots of different backgrounds”. In her speech on Tuesday Braverman said: Uncontrolled immigration, inadequate integration, and a misguided dogma of multiculturalism have proven a toxic combination for Europe over the last few decades. I’m not the first to point this out. In 2010 Angela Merkel gave a speech in which she acknowledged that multi-culturalism “had utterly failed”. The then French President Nicholas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron echoed similar sentiments shortly thereafter. Multiculturalism makes no demands of the incomer to integrate. It has failed because it allowed people to come to our society and live parallel lives in it. They could be in the society but not of the society. Early evening summary Rishi Sunak has refused to endorse Suella Braverman’s claim that multiculturalism has failed. (See 5.01pm.) There is a good thread on this on Twitter from Sunder Katwala, head of the British Future thinktank, which studies race and identity issues. He points out that the word multiculturalism is interpreted in different ways by different politicians. The thread starts here. The prime minister calling Britain “a fantastic multicultural democracy” fits with the government’s view that the UK is a role model/leader among multi-ethnic democracies, compared to other countries, like France. (It does not entail a commitment to a multiculturalism policy). Rishi Sunak has refused more than a dozen times to provide clarity over HS2’s future, but denied that scrapping the Birmingham to Manchester leg would be a betrayal of the north of England. The government is to limit measures councils can take to curb car traffic including 20mph speed restrictions and bus lanes, the Guardian understands, under plans that have alarmed travel groups and risks a row with local authorities. Growing numbers of criminals in England and Wales are being spared jail sentences because of prison overcrowding amid warnings that the problem will get worse. Sunak refuses to commit to discussing with Dublin "plan B" approach to reviving power sharing at Stormont In an interview with UTV, Rishi Sunak refused to commit to discussing a so-called “‘plan B” approach to revising power sharing at Stormont with the Irish government. Leo Varadkar, the taoiseach (Irish PM), has said a “plan B” may be necessary if the DUP continue to boycott Stormont. Sunak says he does not think drug consumption room pilot in Glasgow will work Rishi Sunak has said that he does not think the opening of a drug consumption room in Glasgow will help tackle the problem of drug addiction. In an interview with STV News, asked if he thought the initiative would be work, he replied: We don’t, and we think they condone illegal use and that’s what they run the risk of doing. But he confirmed that the UK goverment would not try to stop the pilot scheme going ahead. Sunak says Britain should try to extract "every last drop" of oil from North Sea Rishi Sunak has said Britain should try to extract “every last drop” of oil from the North Sea. He made the comment in an interview with STV News in which he defended the decision to approve the development of the Rosebank oil field off Shetland, and insisted the move was compatible with the drive towards net zero. Asked if he thought the UK should take “every last drop” of oil from the North Sea, Sunak replied: I think the UK should focus on the North Sea because we’re going to take every last drop. I mean, we need oil and gas for decades to come. So yes, I would much rather have that from home because it’s better for our energy security. It’s better for our economy and it’s better for our jobs now. Pressed again whether that approach meant “taking every last drop”, he replied: I think that is absolutely the right thing to do, because that’s better for our country. It’s better for jobs, it’s better for our energy security, and by the way, better for carbon emissions. When we import gas from somewhere else around the world, it comes here with three or four times the emission that you would get from getting it here at home so yes I do think it’s the right thing to do. It’s the right long-term thing to do for our country, and that’s what I’m always going to do. Although the terminology was new, when Sunak said he wanted “every last drop” of oil extracted from the North Sea he was just restating the position he set out in July when he said he wanted “to max out the opportunities that we have … in the North Sea”. Sunak says he wants tougher jail sentences for "heinous" crimes Rishi Sunak has said that he would like to see sentences toughened for the most serious crimes. He made the point in an interview with BBC Points West, as he spoke about how appalled he was by the stabbing to death of a schoolgirl in Croydon this week. Sunak said: The idea that a girl not much older than my own kids would have their life just cruelly ended in that way is shocking, it’s absolutely shocking. The solutions are to keep doing the things that we are doing, and that’s making sure we’re putting more police officers on the street. It’s also important to give them the powers that they need whether that’s stop and search … But most importantly we need to toughen up on the sentencing on the people who perpetuate these heinous crimes. When people just do the most awful things they should just go to jail for a very long time and life should mean life. Earlier this week the Daily Mail said the government is drawing up plans to ensure convicted rapists no longer qualify for early release. Sunak says Labour"s plan for VAT on private schools shows party does not get aspiration and is waging "class war" Rishi Sunak has said that Labour’s plan to impose VAT on private school fees shows the party does not understand aspiration and is engaged in “class war”. In an interview with BBC South Today Sunak said: Labour’s approach illustrates that they just don’t understand the aspiration of families like my parents who were working really hard. As PA Media reports, Sunak attended Winchester College in Hampshire, one of the UK’s top and most expensive private schools where fees for day pupils are more than £36,000 per year and boarders pay almost £50,000. Sunak went on: [My parents] wanted to do something for their kids that they thought would make a difference to them. Labour’s approach to that is to clamp down on it. They don’t understand the aspiration that people have to provide a better life for their kids. They want to punish them for that as part of some class war. I don’t think that is right. Sunak defends Tory deputy chair Lee Anderson over GB News presenting job Rishi Sunak has defended the right of Lee Anderson, the Conservative party deputy chairman, to receive £100,000 as a presenter for GB News. In an interview with BBC East Midlands, he was asked about Anderson, the MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, working for the channel, which suspended two presenters this week over misogynist comments. Sunak said there were rules in parliament to ensure that “MPs are focused on their constituents and that we regulate exactly what they’re doing”. He went on: But Lee’s also doing a fantastic job representing his constituency. He’s helping me deliver for people to halve inflation to grow the economy, to reduce debt, to cut waiting lists, and importantly, to stop the boats. That’s what’s Lee’s getting on and helping us deliver nationally. Lee’s also helping me deliver a more realistic, pragmatic and sensible path to net zero that’s going to save families across the east Midlands thousands of pounds by not forcing them to do things that aren’t necessary. That’s what Lee’s doing. He’s got my total support, and that’s what we’re doing for people in the east Midlands. Sunak refuses to endorse Braverman"s claim multiculturalism has failed Rishi Sunak has repeatedly declined to endorse Suella Braverman’s claim that multiculturalism has “failed” in her hardline speech on immigration, PA Media reports. PA says: The prime minister instead praised the UK’s “fantastic multicultural democracy”, saying the nation has done an “incredible job of integrating people”. In her speech Braverman argued the “misguided dogma of multiculturalism” had “failed because it allowed people to come to our society and live parallel lives in it”. She suggested it has allowed them to “pursue lives aimed at undermining the stability and threatening the security of our society”. But Sunak, the first British PM of Indian heritage, repeatedly declined to back her comments during a round of regional broadcast interviews ahead of the Tory conference. Asked by BBC East Midlands political editor Tony Roe if he agreed with Braverman, Sunak said: “I think that this is something that is incredible about this country, is that it is a fantastic multicultural democracy. “We have done an incredible job of integrating people into society and one of the lovely things about getting the job I have, as the first person from my background to hold this job, that’s a wonderful thing, but it’s also not a big deal in our country. “I think that speaks to the progress we’ve made over the years and how far we’ve come and something we should all be collectively incredibly proud of.” Asked if the home secretary was wrong, Sunak said it is “important that everyone subscribes to British values” but that he believes “our country has done an incredibly good job of integrating people from lots of different backgrounds”. In her speech on Tuesday Braverman said: Uncontrolled immigration, inadequate integration, and a misguided dogma of multiculturalism have proven a toxic combination for Europe over the last few decades. I’m not the first to point this out. In 2010 Angela Merkel gave a speech in which she acknowledged that multi-culturalism “had utterly failed”. The then French President Nicholas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron echoed similar sentiments shortly thereafter. Multiculturalism makes no demands of the incomer to integrate. It has failed because it allowed people to come to our society and live parallel lives in it. They could be in the society but not of the society. Sinn Féin says "patience has run out" with DUP as it continues to block resumption of power sharing Some elements of the Windsor framework, the revised version of the Northern Ireland protocol, come into force this weekend. At a briefing for the media, Michelle O’Neill, the Sinn Féin leader in Northern Ireland and first minister designate, said the British and Irish government should now come up with a plan to restore power sharing at Stormont, which has been blocked for more than a year and a half because of the DUP boycott. O’Neill told reporters: Everyone has been more than reasonable giving time and space to the DUP, but that patience has run out. We are at the end of that road and what we need to see is the action plan to get us back into the executive … Our priority should always be plan A, which is to get the executive up and running, but if that is not the case of course it is prudent for the two governments to work together and actually find a way. But, what does that look like? What does that joint stewardship look like? They need to be having those conversations. I do think the two governments need to bring forward a plan in the first instance to have a restored executive and how they are going to stop the DUP preventing the formation of an executive. Rishi Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty to wind down venture capital fund Rishi Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty, is winding down her startup investment fund, months after questions were raised over its links to taxpayer-funded schemes, Kalyeena Makortoff reports. Tom Brake, a former Lib Dem MP who now heads the Unlock Democracy campaign group, has joined those criticising Rishi Sunak for claiming he was powerless to intervene when Nadine Dorries was not serving her constituents properly. (See 10.34am.) Brake said: Rishi Sunak had the power to withdraw the party whip. He didn’t. Doing that would have given Nadine Dorries the clearest possible message that she needed to do her job or go. Sunak’s inaction gives the lie to his promise to lead a government of integrity, professionalism and accountability.