Post Office minister: people responsible for the Horizon scandal "should go to jail" Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake has said people responsible for the Horizon scandal “should go to jail” in an interview on BBC Breakfast. Without specifically naming any one person, he told viewers: The inquiry is unearthing the evidence, what you see now is a result of the inquiry, the statutory inquiry. The Metropolitan police are undertaking an investigation – the Government doesn’t do that, the police do that. When evidence has been established, people should be prosecuted – that’s my view. And I think you, and other people I’ve spoken to, and I certainly feel, people within the Post Office, possibly further afield, should go to jail. He continued: We have to go through a process, we believe in the rule of law – lots of people in this room, and other people, have not had the benefit of the rule of law. It has failed, failed these people, inexcusably. We do believe in process, that’s the country we are very proud to live in. But if the threshold is met, the evidence is there, where criminal prosecutions can be undertaken – and that those people are found guilty – I have no reservation in saying people should go to jail. The former Post Office boss Paula Vennells, who ran the Post Office while it routinely denied there was a problem with its Horizon IT system, has already forfeited her CBE for “bringing the honours system into disrepute” over her handling of the Horizon crisis. Fujitsu’s Europe chief Paul Patterson has said it was “shameful and appalling” that courts hearing cases against post office operators over missing funds were not told of 29 bugs identified as early as 1999 in the accounting system it built. The former chief executive of Royal Mail, Adam Crozier, and the campaigner Alan Bates will give evidence this week as the public inquiry into the scandal enters its next phase. Summary of the day … Thank you for reading the blog today, which I am just about to wrap up. Here are the headlines … Without specifically naming any one person, Post Office minister has said Kevin Hollinrake has said people responsible for the Horizon scandal “should go to jail” in an interview on BBC Breakfast. He claimed he has instructed government officials to “just settle” compensation cases where “it looks right” No 10 has told MPs to be cautious about unsolicited messages after an attempted “honeytrap” scam appears to have targeted a dozen MPs Keir Starmer has said “nobody is interested” in Angela Rayner’s tax affairs, as the Daily Mail continued to try to apply pressure about her domestic arrangements a decade ago Downing Street has responded to a report that the Foreign Office has an identity that is “somewhat elitist and rooted in the past” by saying that Rishi Sunak does not think it is, and that it should not remove colonial-era artworks from display in its premises Reform UK says it published it candidates list early so media could help vet it. Several have been stood down, and leader Richard Tice warned activists not to drink and then post on social media An episode of shadow foreign secretary David Lammy’s LBC programme is being investigated by Ofcom A review into the Ofsted’s response to the death of headteacher Ruth Perry will begin this month, led by a former Ofsted chief inspector Gordon Brown has written for the Times criticising Sunak over his threats to leave the European court of human rights (ECHR), which Brown says “plays into Putin’s hands” Work and Pensions secretary Mel Stride has agaain refused to commit Sunak’s government to paying compensation to the Waspi women campaigners over changes to their state pension That’s a wrap from me, Martin Belam. Assuming the solar eclipse doesn’t whisk us all up into the rapture, I will see you tomorrow. You can follow the eclipse live here by the way, the photos should be great, and you might even be able to see a partial one from bits of the UK – Robyn Vinter has our guide to that. Our political correspondent Aletha Adu has this report for us on Richard Tice saying that Reform UK had released its candidate list early in order to aid scrutiny, in which he said “Every party has their fair share frankly of muppets and morons. You’ve seen it with sexual weirdos in the Tory party, you’ve seen it with antisemitism in the Labour party and George Galloway’s party. So I say yes we’ll get rid of anybody with inappropriate behaviour.” He also suggested Reform UK were going to use AI to monitor candidate’s behaviour in real-time, and that his party made “the fastest decisions when someone does or says or writes something completely inappropriate”. Read more here: Reform UK says it published candidates list early so media could help vet it Here is a clip released by the Labour party from Keir Starmer’s campaign visit to an east Midlands hospital today. He was talking about Labour’s plans to digitise the children’s health record – known as the “red book” – to help parents manage the healthcare of their infants. In the clip he says that “everybody will know the NHS is absolutely on its knees”, promising that a Labour government would “pick the NHS up … and that’s where reform comes in.” Downing Street has responded to a report that the Foreign Office has an identity that is “somewhat elitist and rooted in the past” by saying that Rishi Sunak does not think it is, and that it should not remove colonial-era artworks from display in its premises. Our diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour reported this morning on the report written by former cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill, former No 10 foreign policy adviser Tom Fletcher and former Foreign Office director general Moazzam Malik, among others. In it, the report said the Foreign Office is “struggling to deliver a clear mandate, prioritisation and resource allocation”, adding it “all too often operates like a giant private office for the foreign secretary of the day.” It suggested a model similar to Canada and Australia, where a revamped international department has a strategic oversight over not just aid and diplomacy, but the climate emergency and trade. It also mentioned that “modernising premises – perhaps with fewer colonial-era pictures on the walls – might help create a more open working culture and send a clear signal about Britain’s future.” It is that comment that a Downing Street spokesperson has seized upon, with PA Media reporting that the prime minister does not agree that the Foreign Office is “elitist”, or that it should remove colonial-era paintings. The prime minister’s official spokesperson said: I don’t think he would agree with that assessment at all. The Foreign Office is doing vital work to protect and promote UK interests abroad and he fully supports the work of the Foreign Office and indeed the foreign secretary in achieving those objectives. Rejecting the idea of removing artworks, they said: We’ve previously talked about being proud of the UK’s history and looking forward, the Foreign Office is at the forefront of efforts to promote UK interests at home and abroad. The new tax year brings with it increases in benefits payments, in particular the state pension and universal credit. Over on our money desk, Miles Brignall has put together this explainer of what is changing and how it might affect you, and he has almost certainly done it much better than my attempt to summarise pension changes earlier on today. One thing worth noting, whatever the outcome of the next election, the pensions triple-lock appears here to stay. In March the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, said the Conservatives would continue it if they won, and Labour has also said it is “committed to retaining” it. The triple-lock came in under the Conservative-led coalition government in the 2011/12 financial year, and is a commitment to increase state pensions by whichever is highest of average earnings growth, CPI inflation, or 2.5%. The SNP and the Liberal Democrats also back it. Earlier today Reform UK leader Richard Tice attacked Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting for not being ambitious enough in his suggestion that Labour would use spare capacity in the private healthcare industry to try to drive down NHS waiting lists in England. The Green party of England and Wales have also been critical of what Streeting said, although as you’d expect, not for the same reasons. Co-leader Carla Denyer said: It is inadequate funding that has left our NHS in a poor state of health, not lack of reform. To say that the public is paying a heavy price for failure is an insult to hard-working NHS staff, who are doing their level best despite being overworked and underpaid. It is the failure to invest adequately and pay staff properly that is at the root of dissatisfaction with the NHS. The public agrees. They don’t want endless reforms; neither do they share the Conservative or Labour appetite for creeping privatisation. They want the current model to work and to see the NHS available to everyone free of charge and primarily funded through taxes. A tax on the super-rich billionaires and multimillionaires can provide the funds needed to fix our cherished NHS. The Green Party has never had any truck with the profit motive in health care and will continue to push for a fully publicly funded NHS. The Mirror has named Liz Truss among 25 MPs it says have not spoken in the Commons yet this year. Kevin Maguire suggests it hasn’t prevented her being able to earn a living. Truss’s first chancellor during her 49-day stint as prime minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, is also among those the paper says have not to have spoken in the Commons in 2024. It should be noted that sometimes when the media produce lists like this, it ends up including MPs who, it later transpires, have been ill or unable to attend parliament for other reasons. A review into the school’s watchdog’s response to the death of headteacher Ruth Perry will begin this month, led by a former Ofsted chief inspector. Dame Christine Gilbert will lead the independent learning review, which was announced in January, in response to the Coroner’s Prevention of Future Deaths report from Perry’s inquest. The headteacher died by suicide after an Ofsted report downgraded her Caversham Primary School in Reading from the highest grade Outstanding to its lowest, Inadequate over safeguarding concerns. In December, a coroner concluded the Ofsted inspection in November 2022 “likely contributed” to Perry’s death. On Monday, announcing Dame Christine’s appointment, Ofsted said the review would not examine the inspection of Caversham Primary School or the judgments made. Dame Christine, who was a teacher for 18 years, served as chief inspector at Ofsted from 2006 until 2011. School leaders’ union the NAHT said the review must be independent and impartial, noting a concern some might have that it is being led by a former Ofsted chief. Dame Christine said she will take a “detailed and thorough” look at events from the end of the school inspection to the conclusion of the inquest, and will speak with Perry’s family. She said: The death of Ruth Perry was a deeply sad and shocking event. Ofsted has accepted that it is vitally important for it to learn from this tragedy and has asked me to help them do that. I intend to take a very detailed and thorough look at all areas of Ofsted’s work – from the moment the Caversham inspection ended, through to the conclusion of the Coroner’s inquest. I will scrutinise the approach taken and advise on future actions and revisions needed to improve Ofsted’s policies and processes for dealing with any tragic incident. Importantly, I will hear first-hand from the family of Ruth Perry to gain a better understanding of the impact of Ofsted’s work. I would like to thank them in advance for agreeing to engage with my review. Current chief inspector of Ofsted, Sir Martyn Oliver, said: “I am very grateful to Dame Christine for agreeing to lend her valuable experience and expertise to leading this important review.” Reform UK leader Richard Tice has told candidates it is “not sensible” to use social media after drinking alcohol, and said they should avoid posting “inappropriate” comments after complaints were made about several posts. The party has ditched seven candidates for the upcoming election following complaints about their social media posts. He warned that in the future, the party would “part company” with candidates making similar posts. Tice said every party has their share of “morons” but added that he is committed to kicking them out quickly. At a press conference in London, he said: We’re very clear to all our candidates, for heaven’s sake if you’re going to have a glass on a Friday night then don’t use social media. It’s not sensible, if someone lets us down hereafter, then frankly if it is inappropriate, if it is unacceptable, then we’re going to part company. So you can have your freedom of speech, your freedom of expression, that doesn’t mean you have the right to represent Reform UK as a parliamentary candidate, because that’s our choice. Campaign group Hope Not Hate found tweets by candidates Jonathan Kay and Mick Greenhough in which they made derogatory comments about Muslims and black people. Kay, who was standing for election in South Ribble, tweeted in 2019 that Muslims “never coexist with others” and should be deported, and claimed Africans had IQs “among the lowest in the world”. Greenhough, who was the Reform candidate in Orpington, tweeted in 2023 that “the only solution” was to “remove the Muslims from our territory” and in 2019 said Ashkenazi Jews were a “problem” and had “caused the world massive misery”. Both men were removed as Reform candidates, after the publication of Hope Not Hate’s findings last week. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said the Conservatives are “chasing a smear” in raising questions about deputy leader Angela Rayner’s taxes. We reported earlier that he said “nobody is interested” in questions about the living and tax arrangements of his deputy Angela Rayner from a decade ago, and criticised Conservatives for focusing on that rather than improving the state of healthcare. Rayner has faced questions about whether she paid the right amount of tax on the 2015 sale of her ex-council house due to confusion over whether it was her principal residency. Sir Keir defended Rayner and said people were more interested in “problems caused by this government.” He said: Angela Rayner has been asked no end of questions about this. She’s answered them all. She said she’s very happy to answer any further questions from the police or from any of the authorities. I don’t need to see the legal advice. My team has seen it. But I will say this, that on the day that the A&E figures, people are waiting more than 24 hours in A&E, we now know that they are 10 times as high as they were five years ago. The idea that the Tories want to be focusing on what Angela Rayner, how much time she spent with her ex-husband 10 years ago, I can tell you here at this hospital, nobody but nobody is interested in that. They’re very, very interested in what are you going to do about the A&E problem caused by this government. Sir Keir added that it was “not appropriate” for him to see Rayner’s legal advice personally. But I do know this, that if you’re waiting more than 24 hours for A&E, you’re much more interested in why the government is not absolutely laser focused on that, which is what they should be, than chasing this smear against Angela Rayner and how much time she spent with her husband over 10 years ago. Sally Weale is the Guardian’s education correspondent A former head of Ofsted is to lead an independent review into the inspectorate’s response to the death of head teacher Ruth Perry, who killed herself last year after her school was downgraded following inspection. The announcement about the appointment of Dame Christine Gilbert, who served as Ofsted’s chief inspector from 2006 to 2011, comes after complaints from Perry’s family about the length of time it was taking to start the learning review. It will consider the actions Ofsted took in response to Perry’s death and whether internal policies and processes for responding to tragic incidents need to be revised. Gilbert will also look into Ofsted’s communications, engagement with stakeholders and information-sharing within the inspectorate about the incident, as well as the support offered internally to staff. It will not however examine the inspection of Caversham primary school in Reading, which Perry had led for more than a decade, nor the judgments reached. The school was downgraded from Ofsted’s highest grade, outstanding, to its lowest, inadequate. The independent review was among the measures promised in Ofsted’s response to Berkshire senior coroner Heidi Connor’s report concluding that Perry’s suicide was “contributed to by an Ofsted inspection”. Gilbert, who is currently chair of the Education Endowment Foundation, said: “I intend to take a very detailed and thorough look at all areas of Ofsted’s work – from the moment the Caversham inspection ended, through to the conclusion of the coroner’s inquest. “I will scrutinise the approach taken and advise on future actions and revisions needed to improve Ofsted’s policies and processes for dealing with any tragic incident. “Importantly, I will hear first-hand from the family of Ruth Perry to gain a better understanding of the impact of Ofsted’s work. I would like to thank them in advance for agreeing to engage with my review.” In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.