Post Office campaigner Alan Bates says he"s been waiting a month for reply from PM to letter about compensation delays Sir Alan Bates has told MPs that Keir Starmer has not yet responded to his requests for help with settling redress claims for those affected by the Horizon scandal, PA Media reports. The lead campaigner and former post office operator told the Commons business committee’s short inquiry into securing “fast and fair redress” that he wrote to the PM around a month ago requesting assistance. Bates was representing claimants from the 555 subpostmasters who took the Post Office to the high court between 2017 and 2019 – also known as the GLO [Group Litigation Order] scheme. He told MPs 70 of the GLO scheme claimants have died while compensation is being sorted out. Bates told MPs: I wrote to [Starmer] initially about a month ago and I said that it should be finished, it needs to be finished, by the end of March 2025. A deadline should be set and we asked for his help in setting this deadline. I never received a response. I wrote to him a few days ago to remind him that I’d never received a response. Now, we’re at five months until the end of March 2025 … People have been waiting far too long, over 20-odd years, there’s over 70 that have died along the way in the GLO group. There are people well into their 80s now that are still suffering. They’re still having to put up with this as well. They shouldn’t. They really shouldn’t. Bates also told the committee he had discussed with colleagues the possibility of fresh legal action to speed up compensation payments. But he said that would lead to the current scheme being suspended. “Now that might be a choice people are prepared to take,” he said. Afternoon summary Treasury officials may have broken the law when they failed to alert the Office for Budget Responsibility about £9.5bn of spending that should have appeared in the March Tory budget, MPs have been told. Kemi Badenoch has appointed the former policing minister Chris Philp as shadow home secretary and Alex Burghart as her de-facto deputy, as the new Conservative leader set out her full shadow cabinet. The Post Office campaigner Sir Alan Bates has told MPs that Keir Starmer has not yet responded to his requests for help with settling redress claims for those affected by the Horizon scandal. (See 4.07pm and 4.23pm.) A planned strike by tube drivers that threatened to halt all London Underground services on Thursday has been called off, their union announced. China is blocking requests to rebuild the British embassy in Beijing while the fate of its controversial mega-embassy in east London is being decided, the Guardian can disclose. No 10 says it took time replying to Alan Bates" letter about Post Office compensation so it could get it right Downing Street said Keir Starmer has not replied yet to Sir Alan Bates’ letter to him about compensation to victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal (see 4.07pm) because the government wants to take time to get it right. Asked about Bates’ comments to the business committee, the prime minister’s spokesperson told journalists at the afternoon lobby briefing: It was obviously right that we took the time to consider the issues raised in the letter to the prime minister, consider our response, make sure it was accurate and substantial and obviously we engaged with relevant departments to ensure that the prime minister’s response was as full as possible. I think that response was issued earlier today. On the substance of the issue, the government is committed to getting redress to those affected as quickly as possible and is doing all it can to increase the pace of redress across all schemes. What we don’t want to do is set an arbitrary cut-off date which could result in some claimants missing the deadline. We obviously don’t want to put pressure on claimants and put them off contesting their claim. But each postmaster eligible for the GLO scheme should receive substantial redress by the end of March and we are doing everything we can to achieve that goal. Sinn Féin"s Michelle O"Neill to attend Remembrance Sunday event as Northern Ireland"s first minister Michelle O’Neill, Northern Ireland’s first minister, has said she will participate in the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at Belfast City Hall – making her one of the first senior Sinn Féin figures to participate in such an event. In an interview with PA Media, she said that some republicans would be “uncomfortable” by her being there – but that it was a demonstration of her determination to fulfil her pledge to be a “first minister for all”. O’Neill became first minister designate after Sinn Féin got the most seats in the 2022 assembly elections, but she did not take office until February this year because until then the DUP blocked the formation of an executive. She told PA: Back in February, it was a moment of progress and equality here when I became the first nationalist, republican first minister and I made very firm pledges at that time that I would represent everybody in society. So when I got this invitation to attend remembrance events this weekend, I thought it was important to take that invitation up because that for me is the fulfilment of my commitment to those people out there from a British and unionist identity who hold this important Remembrance Day very carefully to their own heart. So, for me, this is about acknowledgement of loss, but it’s also about being respectful to all those people out there and fulfilling my commitment to be first minister for all. Sinn Féin is committed to a united Ireland and for many years it functioned as the political arm of the republican terrorist group, the IRA. In the past Sinn Féin politicians have boycotted Remembrance Sunday events on the grounds that they honour the British military, and by association British imperialism. But last year the Sinn Féin mayor of Belfast did attend an Armistice day event. Henry Zeffman from the BBC reports three more shadow ministerial appointments. More Badenoch appointments Gagan Mohindra is the Shadow Deputy Chief Whip Mark Francois is the Shadow Minister of State for Defence Kieran Mullan is the Shadow Minister of State for Justice (Mohindra backed Cleverly, Francois backed Jenrick, Mullan backed Badenoch) Post Office campaigner Alan Bates says he"s been waiting a month for reply from PM to letter about compensation delays Sir Alan Bates has told MPs that Keir Starmer has not yet responded to his requests for help with settling redress claims for those affected by the Horizon scandal, PA Media reports. The lead campaigner and former post office operator told the Commons business committee’s short inquiry into securing “fast and fair redress” that he wrote to the PM around a month ago requesting assistance. Bates was representing claimants from the 555 subpostmasters who took the Post Office to the high court between 2017 and 2019 – also known as the GLO [Group Litigation Order] scheme. He told MPs 70 of the GLO scheme claimants have died while compensation is being sorted out. Bates told MPs: I wrote to [Starmer] initially about a month ago and I said that it should be finished, it needs to be finished, by the end of March 2025. A deadline should be set and we asked for his help in setting this deadline. I never received a response. I wrote to him a few days ago to remind him that I’d never received a response. Now, we’re at five months until the end of March 2025 … People have been waiting far too long, over 20-odd years, there’s over 70 that have died along the way in the GLO group. There are people well into their 80s now that are still suffering. They’re still having to put up with this as well. They shouldn’t. They really shouldn’t. Bates also told the committee he had discussed with colleagues the possibility of fresh legal action to speed up compensation payments. But he said that would lead to the current scheme being suspended. “Now that might be a choice people are prepared to take,” he said. Streeting welcomes Argar"s appointment as shadow health secretary, but suggests he"s too "sensible" for Badenoch MPs are still debating the budget, and today health is the focus. Wes Streeting, the health secretary, opened the proceedings and he used his speech to describe his new opposite number, Edward Argar, with a word intended to damage Argar’s career prospects under Kemi Badenoch; he called him “sensible”. Streeting was talking about Labour health plans, and he said the proposals in the budget to extend soft drinks levy build on the sugar tax introduced by George Osborne when he was chancellor. He also pointed out that Labour is introducing a gradual smoking ban originally proposed by Rishi Sunak. Referring to Argar, Streeting went on: Because he’s sensible, I know the shadow health and social care secretary will support those measures. But I can’t say the same for the leader of the opposition, so trapped in the prison of ideological dogma is she, so scared is she of the Reform [UK] dog that’s barking over their shoulders. So I hope the shadow health secretary will continue to hold the torch for One Nation Conservatism, even as its light dims in his party. And if we want to know when the Conservative party has changed, maybe we will know when they have learned once again to love George Osborne. Streeting made a similar point about Argar in a post on social media. Congratulations to Ed Argar on his appointment to the best job in opposition. He is one of the few keepers of the One Nation Tory flame, now dimmed by the surge of the right wing populism that has swept his party. Wish him every success in restoring reason to Conservatism. Argar is one of the most prominent Robert Jenrick supporters to get a post in Badenoch’s shadow cabinet. In his response, Argar claimed that Streeting’s attack on Badenoch meant Labour were scared of her. He said: I think [Badenoch] should probably take that as a compliment. Because when [Streeting] attacks someone in that way, it probably means they’re somewhat frit of her. And I think he will see in the coming weeks and months why that is so. Kemi Badenoch is not appointing a deputy, according to Christian Calgie from the Express. He says when Badenoch has to choose someone to shadow Angela Rayner when she is taking PMQs, she will decide who does it depending on the issues of the day. NEW: Kemi Badenoch is not appointing a deputy party leader, despite it being reported it could go to Ben Houchen - or indeed, I was wondering, Tom Tugendhat. Instead she will pick a member of the shadow cabinet depending on the question topics to take on Angela Rayner at DPMQs Less than a third of voters think it is likely that Kemi Badenoch will still be Conservative leader at the time of the next election, polling by Opinium suggests. And, even amongst people who voted Tory at the last election, only 40% think she is likely to remain in place, while 36% think she is likely to be replaced. There is a write-up of the polling, which was carried out last week before it was announced that Badenoch was the leader, and when respondents were just asked about the “next Tory leader”, on the PoliticsHome website. MP says he was mugged last night returning to London flat and had phone stolen Chris Webb, the Labour MP for Blackpool South, says he was mugged in London last night and had his phone stolen. He posted this on social media. Last night, as I was returning to my flat in London, I was attacked and mugged by a group of individuals. Luckily, I have no injuries and I am ok. Unfortunately, they just took my phone so I’m without one for the foreseeable future. I want to thank the @metpoliceuk for their swift response and support. The officers who assisted me went above and beyond. They are a remarkable credit to the force. John McDonnell, shadow chancellor under Jeremy Corbyn, probably does not see eye to eye with Christopher Hope, the GB News political editor, on most political issues, but he does agree with Hope’s line about this being more of a shallow cabinet than a shadow cabinet. (See 10.06am.) I don’t think anyone should underestimate Kemi Badenoch, in particular the damage she could do to our society, but I do think that the depiction of the shadow cabinet as the “shallow cabinet” is pretty accurate. Treasury broke law when it failed to disclose full details of government spending pressures to OBR, MPs told Last week the Office for Budget Responsibility published a report into Rachel Reeves’s claims that the last government left a £22bn black hole in government spending plans for 2024-25. It said that the Treasury under Jeremy Hunt did withhold information from the OBR about the spending pressures it faced, but it did not specifically endorse the £22bn claim. Instead it implied that any black hole would have been about £9.5bn in size. Today, in evidence to the Commons Treasury committee, Richard Hughes, chair of the OBR, said that withholding information in this way was against the law. He said: There were about £9.5bn worth of net pressure on departments’ budgets which they did not disclose to us as part of our usual budget preparation ... which under the law and under the Act they should have done. When pressed by Meg Hillier, the Labour chair of the committee, if he was really saying that the Treasury broke the law, Hughes said there may have been a “misunderstanding” about how the law should be interpreted. Hughes also said that, as a result of what happened, the OBR was moving from a system where it just trusted the Treasury to give it the relevant figures to a “trust but verify” relationship. Graeme Wearden has more details on his business live blog. Labour says Tories "have learned nothing" because new shadow cabinet full of Truss/Johnson supporters Labour says that three quarters of the members of Kemi Badenoch’s new shadow cabinet abstained in the Commons vote to approve the report condemning Boris Johnson for lying to MPs about Partygate, that 42% of them (11 out of 26) backed Liz Truss for leader and that nearly three quarters of them served in Truss’s government. In a statement issued by Labour HQ, Ellie Reeves, the party chair, claims this shows the Tories are tainted by the past and have not moved on. She says: Instead of turning the page on 14 years of Tory government, Kemi Badenoch’s shadow cabinet shows that the Conservatives have learned nothing. How can the new Conservative leader claim to be changing the Tory party when most of her team were ministers for Liz Truss as they crashed Britain’s economy, or claim to want to uphold standards when most went AWOL for the vote on Boris Johnson’s antics at Partygate? Downing Street would not say whether Keir Starmer will be staying up late tonight to watch the US presidential election results come in. But the PM’s spokesperson told journalists at the morning lobby briefing that Starmer would be following the results. The spokesperson said: It’s obviously for the American people to decide who they want to be their president when they vote today. The UK and US share a special relationship, and we look forward to working closely with whoever wins the election. We look forward to further strengthening our close ties across all parts of the close relationship. If Starmer does decide to stay up late, he should read Archie Bland’s Guardian guide for Brits as to when the results will come in. But the Labour MP Torsten Bell says we should all just go to bed. There’s only one thing more futile than Brits staying up on US election night. Shadow cabinet meetings Labour deporting foreign offenders more quickly than Tories did, Shabana Mahmood tells MPs Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, told MPs during justice questions today that Labour is deporting foreign criminals more quickly than the Conservatives did. She said: I share the public’s view that there are far too many foreign national offenders (FNOs) in our prisons. Since coming into office we have returned more than 1,500 foreign offenders and I am pleased to say that we are currently on track to remove more foreign offenders this year than at any time in recent years … We are on track to remove more foreign offenders this year than in previous years. In fact, over the same period when the previous government was in office and in fact the shadow justice secretary [Robert Jenrick] was himself the immigration officer, the number was around 1,300. Jenrick uses first outing as shadow justice secretary to attack Labour over early prisoner releases Robert Jenrick used his first question in the Commons as shadow justice secretary to claim Labour should apologise to the public over prison releases. Speaking during justice questions this morning, Jenrick, who was runner up in the Tory leadership contest, said: I’ve been a little busy over the summer. But, during that time, the only group this Labour government’s popularity has increased with is criminals. How many domestic abusers and sex offenders who were released under their early release scheme have gone on to reoffend? And would they like to apologise to the victims? Alex Davies-Jones, the justice minister, said Jenrick had “a very short memory” and that “it is he who should be apologising to the country as a whole, on behalf of his government’s woeful, absolute misabuse of our justice system and our prisons”. In a later question, Jenrick asked if the government would review the charging threshold to make it harder for firearms officers to face prosecution following the acquittal of the officer who killed Chris Kaba. In response Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, said that charging decisions were a matter for the CPS, but that the Home Office has announced a presumption of anonymity for firearms officers who are charged following the Kaba case. Jake Richards, the Labour MP for Rother Valley and a former barrister, posted a message on social media afterwards saying Jenrick’s tone was disappointing. A depressing tone to @RobertJenrick’s debut as shadow Justice Secretary in the Chamber this morning. Any hope for building a cross-party consensus on sentencing and prison reform seems off the table. A great shame - as the appointment of @DavidGauke was an important opportunity. Ed Miliband tells cabinet climate crisis could put 600,000 more Britons at risk of flooding and cut global growth by 19% Kemi Badenoch, Priti Patel and Chris Philp all look very cheerful in the picture released by the Tories from shadow cabinet. (See 12.36pm.) But real cabinet sounds like a more gloomy affair. According to the readout from No 10, the contributions included Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, talking about the dire risks posed by climate change, Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister, and Wes Streeting, the health secretary, talking about preparations for winter, and Streeting talking about mpox. In its summary of what Miliband told colleagues, Downing Street says: [Miliband] said that since the election the government has consented over 2GW of solar power, removed the ban on onshore wind, held a record-breaking renewables auction, established Great British Energy, and invested in CCUS, hydrogen and nuclear projects that will boost growth. He went on to say that our domestic ambition and international leadership, including at Cop, go hand in hand with the 2008 Climate Change Act - the first of its kind which resulted in many countries following suit. Climate change is a threat to national security and growth, given climate change could force more than 200 million people globally to migrate, the global economy could be 19% smaller in 2049 than it would be otherwise, and it could put an additional 600,000 people in the UK at risk of flooding. Talking about the winter, McFadden said the flooding in Spain was a reminder of the impact that for example extreme weather can have on local communities. And Streeting told cabinet there two further cases of mpox in the UK have been confirmed, taking the total number to three. He said the overall risk to the UK public was low. Kemi Badenoch has posted pictures of her first shadow cabinet meeting as leader on social media. She says: Delighted to hold my first meeting of the new Shadow Cabinet this morning. My team draws on talents from across our party, based on meritocracy and with a breadth of experience and perspective, just as I promised during the campaign. We will now get to work holding Labour to account and rebuilding our party based on Conservative principles and values.