Key events
In the LBC phone-in, asked if she thought the public should have been told more about the terrorism aspects of the Southport murders, Yvette Cooper said the Crown Prosecution Service decided this did not meet the definition of a terrorist incident. But it was clearly terrorising.
Asked if the police were “gagged” from saying more, Cooper said people in government wanted to be able to say as much as possible. But the guidance from the CPS was clear, she said; they said it had to wait for the trial.
Asked if she thought the CPS made a mistake, Cooper said the last thing anyone wanted to do was prejudice a jury trial.
Yvette Cooper says she would like tech companies to do more to enable stolen phones to be disabled
Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, has been taking part in a phone-in on LBC.
Asked if she would like tech companies to have the ability to just “switch off” stolen phones, she said that is what she would like to see. She said this does happen already to some extent, but that she would like to see it extended.
She also said she wanted the police to do more to recover stolen phones. Asked if she was concerned about the many reports of people telling the police they have found where their stolen phone in, using a find my phone app, and the police refusing to act, Cooper said she wanted to see “swift action [by the police] in those circumstances”
She said she is holding a summit today to consider how this problem can be addressed.
Good morning. Kemi Badenoch has been saying that the Conservative party should not have to have a full policy offer at this stage in the electoral cycle, but she has not ruled out having any policy and today she has launched a brand new one. As Kiran Stacey reports, she has said that foreign workers would have to live in the UK for 10 years without claiming any kind of benefit before being allowed indefinite leave under a Tory government. Kiran Stacey has the story here.
To publicise the plan, Badenoch has given a long interview to the BBC’s political editor, Chris Mason, and in it she confirmed that on Monday she told Conservative party staff that they weren’t as effective as they should be and that they needed to do a better job.
Mason asked about a report on the Guido Fawkes website saying that on Monday Badenoch she summoned all CCHQ staff for a call where she told them they had to raise their game. The website reported:
Guido hears that Kemi summoned an all-staff call at CCHQ today, rallying the wider party. After 100 days in LOTO, Kemi’s verdict is that machine “must do better”, saying party members told her during the leadership election they “wanted everyone in CCHQ sacked,” with some even saying they should “burn the whole place down.” At the time she defended CCHQ—now that she’s seen it up close, she’s shifting course…
When Mason asked if it was true that she had told CCHQ staff they were not up to the job, Badenoch replied:
I believe that everyone who works for the Conservative Party needs to be fully dedicated to the mission.
Asked if she was saying some weren’t, Badenoch went on:
It is what the members have asked for. And if we feel that there are people who are doing a great job, we will tell them. And when people aren’t doing a great job, we will do the same. We need to make sure that we have good feedback. And one of the things that I want to see.
Mason said that Badenoch seemed to be saying that she thought some of her staff were “useless”. Badenoch did not accept that categorisation, but she repeated her point about the need for staff to improve. She replied:
No, that’s not what I’ve said at all. What I want people to know is that we want to have a high performing organisation. And leadership isn’t just about telling everybody how great they are. Sometimes it’s about telling them how to improve.
And quite frankly, one of the things that we’re seeing in this country is millions of people out of work, and not enough people getting pulling their socks up and getting back on their feet. We need sometimes to have tough words when people aren’t doing well, and words of praise when they are doing well. And that’s exactly what I did.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9am: Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, takes part in an LBC phone-in.
9.30am: Steve Reed, the environment secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
Morning: Keir Starmer and Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, are on a visit to promote the government’s plan to expand nuclear power in England and Wales, by changing planning laws to make it easier for more small modular reactors (SMRs) to be built.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
Noon: The Bank of England announces its interest rate decision. As Heather Stewart reports, it is expected to cut interest rates and downgrade forecasts for economic growth.
Noon: John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, takes questions in Holyrood.
5.15pm: Starmer has a meeting with Dick Schoof, the Dutch PM, in Downing Street.
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