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Accusations that Isla Bryson is not truly transgender are “almost certainly the case”, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

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As PA Media reports, at first minister’s questions in Holyrood today Sturgeon was pressed on whether she thinks Bryson – who was convicted of raping two women while she was a man called Adam Graham – is a woman.

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Bryson was initially taken to Cornton Vale prison near Stirling – Scotland’s only all-female jail – after being convicted, before being moved to the male estate following a public outcry.

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After Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, said the case, Sturgeon said she did not know if Bryson was lying about her gender. She said:

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This individual claims to be a woman – what I said was that I don’t have information about whether those claims have validity or not.

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But I don’t think Douglas Ross and I are disagreeing here, because what I think is relevant in this case is not whether the individual is a man or claims to be a woman or is trans, what is relevant is that the individual is a rapist.

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That is how the individual should be described, and it is that that should be the main consideration in deciding how the individual is dealt with – that is why the individual is in a male prison, not in the female prison, these are the issues that matter.

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Ross read a quote from one of Bryson’s victims, who said: “I don’t believe he’s truly transgender. I feel as if he’s made a mockery out of them using it. As far as I’m concerned, that was to make things easier for himself.”

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In response, Sturgeon said:

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The quote that Douglas Ross narrated there, my feeling is that is almost certainly the case, which is why the key factor in this case is not the individual’s claim to be a woman, the key and only important factor in this is that the individual is convicted of rape – the individual is a rapist – and that is the factor that should be the deciding one about the decisions about how that prisoner is now treated.

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Sturgeon said it was important to consider the issues raised by the Bryson case, but she added two caveats.

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Firstly, as I’ve said, that we do not further stigmatise trans people generally – I think that is important – but secondly that we don’t cause undue concern amongst the public.

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Isla Bryson ‘almost certainly’ not truly transgender, Sturgeon tells MSPs","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Thu 2 Feb 2023 16.05 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Thu 2 Feb 2023 09.17 GMT"},{"id":"63dbcf568f08422c6ba09f17","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Brexit is damaging UK growth more quickly than expected, the deputy governor of the Bank of England said today.

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At a news conference to explain today’s interest rate decision, Ben Broadbent said it was still not clear whether the effects of EU withdrawal were a reason why the UK is forecast to do worse than other major economies this year.

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He said the Bank has not changed its overall assessment about Brexit having a negative effect on growth. But he said it had not expected to see the impact come through so quickly. He explained:

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Brexit … has been something that has pulled on our potential output in our country and that’s been our assessment for many years.

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We’ve not changed our estimate of the long-running effects, but we’ve brought some of them forward and we think they’re probably coming in faster than we first expected ….

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Yes, it [Brexit] is having some effect on growth, although ultimately no bigger effect than we assessed some years ago.

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Based on the numbers for trade and, to some degree, for the numbers on investment, we think these effects are coming through faster than initially envisaged.

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Overall, as PA Media reports, the Bank said that while it believed the UK was still heading for a recession, the downturn may be shorter and shallower than previously expected.

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In its monetary policy report today the Bank says:

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The effects of Brexit on trade are now estimated to be emerging more quickly than previously assumed, and that lowers productivity somewhat.

\n

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Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank, said at the press conference that Brexit was one of a series of “significant economic shocks” to have affected the economy, along with Covid and the war in Ukraine. He went on:

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These shocks have held back both productivity and labour supply.

\n

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The Northern Ireland Office has published further details of the statutory inquiry it is setting up in to the Omagh bombing. The inquiry is going ahead in response to a court judgment ruling that, under the European convention on human rights, some form of investigation was needed. The legal case was brought by Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden died in the bombing.

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The NIO said in a news release:

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The Real IRA claimed responsibility for the Omagh Bombing in 1998, and four members of the Real IRA were subsequently found liable for the bombing in civil proceedings held in Northern Ireland. This inquiry does nothing to counter these findings, which are clear in who was responsible for this awful atrocity.

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The independent statutory inquiry will examine the four issues identified by the high court; the handling and sharing of intelligence, the use of cell phone analysis, whether there was advance knowledge or reasonable means of knowledge of the bomb, and whether disruption operations could or should have been mounted, which may have helped prevent the Real IRA’s attack.

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Yesterday Boris Johnson, the former PM, implicitly criticised the UK government for not supplying Ukraine with military jets. No 10 has argued it would take too long to train the pilots, but Johnson told the Atlantic Council thinktank:

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I hear that an objection to their having sophisticated western planes to fly is that they wouldn’t know how to use them.

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I have to say, I take that argument with a bit of a pinch of salt.

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I don’t think it’ll take the Ukrainians very long to work out how to use F-16s or Typhoons or whatever we have to give them.

\n

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Asked about Johnson’s comments, the PM’s spokesperson told journalists at the lobby briefing that the fastest training programme for a jet pilot took around three years, and that five years was normal. He said:

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We will continue listening to the Ukrainians and consider what is right for the long term.

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But it’s helpful to understand the situation, that the fastest training programme for a new pilot is approximately 35 months.

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The current UK fast jet training programme takes five years.

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Downing Street refused to comment on Dave Penman’s claim that some officials who worked for Dominic Raab suffered mental health crises. (See 10.01am.) Asked about what the FDA general secretary said, the PM’s spokesperson said:

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The prime minister felt that once formal complaints were raised, it was right to have an independent person, a respected KC, to look into it. That’s what’s happening now.

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I’m not going to comment on the reports, seeing as that process is taking place.

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At the lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson said the Times revelations about British Gas forcing customers to have prepayment meters (see 9.17am) were “deeply shocking and concerning”. He went on:

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Vulnerable families should not be treated so poorly.

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The findings suggest British Gas has failed to use every possible avenue to support those struggling with their energy bills, as they rightly deserve and are entitled to.

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Graham Stuart, the energy minister, is due to meet executives from British Gas to discuss the situation this afternoon.

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It is understood that Stuart called the Ofgem chief executive, Jonathan Brearley, early this morning to discuss the revelations. Sources at the business department said Stuart demanded Ofgem explain their role in this and ensure they take urgent remedial action. They said ministers were particularly keen to ensure the regulator asked “more searching questions” of the energy companies during their future investigations.

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At the Downing Street lobby briefing the prime minister’s spokesperson defended the current scope of the windfall tax on energy companies. Labour says the profits declared by Shell today show why it should be higher, or more extensive. (See 9.17am.) Asked about this issue, the PM’s spokesperson said:

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We recognise that the public will think these are extraordinary profits, clearly. That’s why once it was clear that there would be a windfall because of various factors including the war in Ukraine, we put in place the energy profits levy.

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The new headline 75% tax rate is comparable with other North Sea tax regimes including Norway, and we think that strikes a balance between funding cost of living support while encouraging investment in order to bolster the UK energy security.

\n

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The spokesperson also said there were no plans to increase the windfall tax.

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The Department for Education has today unveiled plans to reform the social care system for children in England. My colleague Patrick Butler wrote a preview of the plans here.

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Here is the DfE’s news release. And here is the ‘Stable homes, built on love’ strategy and consultation document.

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Responding to a Commons statement about the plan, Helen Hayes, the shadow children’s minister, said this did not amount to the “radical reset” that was needed. She said:

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While some additional funding is welcome, this is not the radical reset the review demanded and which we need.

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There is no vision for the direction of children’s social care, there is no ambition for our most vulnerable children, there is no cross-cutting commitment from the top of government to deliver better for every child and every care-experienced person in every part of our country.

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This government has spent months legislating to restrict the fundamental rights to protest and to strike but has chosen not to make time to legislate to strengthen protections for children.

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In response, Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, said the plans were the “start of the journey” and the government needed to consider what worked and what didn’t.

","elementId":"09c443e7-b799-4640-abd9-8c937843120c"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1675343491000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"13.11 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1675344670000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"13.31 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1675344251000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"13.24 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"13.24","title":"Labour says plan to reform social care system for children does not amount to ‘radical reset’ needed","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Thu 2 Feb 2023 16.05 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Thu 2 Feb 2023 09.17 GMT"},{"id":"63dbb4e58f08422c6ba09dd0","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, has told MPs in a statement that the government will establish an independent statutory inquiry into the Omagh bombing in 1998, which killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins.

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Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, claims today’s interest rate hike (see 12.18pm) amounts to a “Tory mortgage penalty”. In a statement she says:

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With households already paying a Tory mortgage penalty, families across the country will be worried about what rising interest rates today mean for them.

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The reality is that under the Tories, growth is on the floor, families are worse off and we are stuck in the global slow lane.

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We do not have to continue on this path of managed decline when Britain has so much potential to grow and thrive.

\n

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Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, has issued a statement backing the Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates by 0.5 percentage points, to 4%. He said this would help the government achieve its aim of halving inflation this year. He said:

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Inflation is a stealth tax that is the biggest threat to living standards in a generation, so we support the Bank’s action today so we succeed in halving inflation this year.

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We will play our part by making sure government decisions are in lockstep with the Bank’s approach, including by resisting the urge right now to fund additional spending or tax cuts through borrowing, which will only add fuel to the inflation fire and prolong the pain for everyone.

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My colleague Graeme Wearden has more on his business live blog.

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The Times has commissioned polling to mark Rishi Sunak’s 100 days in office, and, if anything, it will make even gloomier reading for Downing Street than the Guardian write-through. (See 11.41pm.) The Times reports:

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Seven in ten (72 per cent) believe he will not be prime minister after the next election, while just 27 per cent think he has done well so far. However, the YouGov polling also found that by a margin of 14 points voters think Sunak has been a better prime minister than Johnson.

\n

","elementId":"c94e5dab-37c1-4c51-9b1b-ec527ec6252b"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Here is the Times graphic showing whether voters think Sunak is doing well or badly on five key issues.

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Almost two thirds of people think Sunak is a better prime minister than Liz Truss, the poll suggests. But only a third believe that he is better than Boris Johnson. (By the time he left office, Johnson was mired in scandal, and his ratings were dire, and if a majority of people think Sunak is no better, then he is in real trouble. But perhaps people responding to this question are thinking of the Johnson premiership in its totality, and giving him credit for things like the vaccine programme.)

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third of voters think Sunak has been better PM than Boris Johnson, poll suggests","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Thu 2 Feb 2023 16.05 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Thu 2 Feb 2023 09.17 GMT"},{"id":"63db9d138f088fc478bd8240","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

To mark the fact he has now reached 100 days in office, Rishi Sunak has written an article for the Sun about his priorities. It is largely about his five promises, and Sunak says the legislation he has promised to stop people claiming asylum in the UK if they have arrived in the country illegally will be published “in the coming weeks”.

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He describes it as the “stop the boats” bill (which will almost certainly not be its official name – the Commons clerks insist on bills having neutral titles). Sunak says:

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In the coming weeks, our new stop the boats bill will change the law to send a message loud and clear.

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If you come here illegally, you will be detained and removed.

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In December Sunak said the bill would be published “early” in the new year, but this article implies it is not imminent. There is some evidence that ministers are still divided over how far it should go in allowing the UK to ignore the obligations it has to asylum seekers under exisiting international law.

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Ofgem, the energy regulator, has launched an investigation into British Gas after a Times investigation revealed that agents working on its behalf ignored customers’ vulnerabilities, my colleague Alex Lawson reports.

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NHS England has published some new performance figures this morning. They show some evidence that pressures on hospitals are easing very slightly. PA Media has the details

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• Ambulance handover delays outside hospitals in England are continuing to improve and have fallen to a new low for this winter, PA says. It reports:

\n

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A total of 18% of ambulance patients waited at least 30 minutes last week to be handed to A&amp;E teams, down from 20% the previous week.

\n

The figure hit a record 44% in the week to 1 January.

\n

about 6% of patients waited more than an hour last week to be handed over to A&amp;E teams – again, the lowest so far this winter, and down week on week from 7%.

\n

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• Nearly 14,000 hospital beds in England last week were filled with people who were fit to leave, close to recent record levels, PA says. It reports:

\n

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An average of 13,983 beds were taken up with medically fit patients in the seven days to 29 January, up from 13,566 the previous week and just short of the all-time high of 14,069 in the week to 8 January.

\n

At this point last year the number stood at 12,257.

\n

The proportion of patients ready to leave hospital last week but who remained in their beds stood at 59%.

\n

This is down from a record 63% in the week to 1 January.

\n

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• The number of flu patients in hospitals in England has dropped for the fourth week in a row, PA says. It reports:

\n

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An average of 1,291 patients with flu were in hospital beds each day last week, down 37% from 2,034 in the week to 22 January, according to NHS England data.

\n

It is the fourth week in a row the number of flu patients in hospital has dropped, down 76% from a peak of 5,441 in the week to 1 January.

\n

","elementId":"3bac6c47-1c35-4463-8336-5ced6a094993"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1675333836000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"10.30 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1675337799000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"11.36 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1675334280000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"10.38 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"10.38","title":"NHS England figures show small improvement in ambulance handover delays","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Thu 2 Feb 2023 16.05 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Thu 2 Feb 2023 09.17 GMT"},{"id":"63db83778f088fc478bd814e","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

As the headline on our overnight story about Dominic Raab puts it rather well, the justice secretary and deputy prime ministers remains “in peril” because of the inquiry into allegations he bullied officials.

","elementId":"3e48ab8b-57dc-48b1-9d28-7b386e4e2ad3"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/feb/01/pmqs-keir-starmer-tories-rishi-sunak-nadhim-zahawi-dominic-raab","text":"Dominic Raab in peril as No 10 refuses to say if Sunak knew of complaints","prefix":"Related: ","role":"thumbnail","elementId":"891131df-8a84-4d1a-9794-e1b385188df9"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

In the papers today there is evidence that Raab, or his allies, are fighting back.

","elementId":"897f76bc-c94c-48e7-bd1c-cd06cd5c7354"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

In a story in the Daily Mail Jason Grove says that at least two senior officials giving evidence to the bullying inquiry have spoken in defence of Raab. And Grove reports:

","elementId":"daac13ea-27e0-4c4c-90ba-86baebb18bd6"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"

\n

A former colleague said: ‘There is a clear attempt by a group of politically motivated mandarins to get him – it looks like a coordinated attempt by a number of senior civil servants.

\n

‘In one case it looks like revenge as the individual was effectively forced out by the government.’

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Several of Mr Raab’s former staff yesterday said they had not witnessed unreasonable conduct.

\n

One said he was ‘demanding, sometimes difficult and a bit curt – but not a bully’.

\n

","elementId":"d70efa7b-87da-41d8-9e3a-9c33e961d039"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

And Matt Dathan and Chris Smyth in the Times report that “Raab has declared he has never sworn or shouted in a meeting after it was claimed he roared ‘bullshit’ in response to a senior official’s briefing he disagreed with”. They quote a spokeperson for Raab saying:

","elementId":"33556892-ca0f-4b3c-b75c-5ec5db857aa2"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"

\n

The deputy prime minister has never sworn or shouted in a meeting. He sets targets across the department to focus relentlessly on delivery in the way that the British people would expect.

\n

","elementId":"a9709c6c-74ea-4eea-b391-8b592f10264f"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

In response to the Daily Mail report, Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA, the union representing senior civil servants, rejected claims that the complaints against Raab were politically motivated. He told Sky News:

","elementId":"54a4edf8-0ae1-4b17-97b7-508f0e66a3d5"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"

\n

That’s extraordinary and it couldn’t be further from the truth. Are we really seeing two dozen civil servants in three different government departments over a period of four years have got together in some massive conspiracy? That just doesn’t sound credible.

\n

","elementId":"cf5846ca-8045-4967-ac49-842feec5f136"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Penman said he knew that some people who worked for Raab had suffered mental health crises. He said:

","elementId":"f451ce77-0153-491e-ab73-378533b61574"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"

\n

I’ve spoken to people who are civil servants working, and have worked, for Dominic Raab, who have suffered mental health crises, have lost their careers essentially because they’ve had to move and change jobs.

\n

","elementId":"a00b9c09-fa55-432c-8b8d-09dd345082a9"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Referring to Jacob Rees-Mogg’s claim that people should not be too “snowflakey” about these allegations, Penman said:

","elementId":"cd4a3551-6310-47d0-9322-9895352d71e4"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"

\n

This sort of behaviour destroys lives. I mean it’s not just about careers, people’s lives and their mental health are at risk when they are subject to systematic bullying, and to belittle it in that way is absolutely outrageous from a former leader of the house and cabinet minister.

\n

","elementId":"aec1ede2-9450-4a8e-a0da-6f9d35cb7850"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Penman also repeated his call for Raab to be suspended until the inquiry concludes, and he said Rishi Sunak should “come clean” and reveal whether he was informally warned about Raab’s conduct before he appointed him to his cabinet.

","elementId":"792b3b0f-dad5-48ad-9f72-77f5011e7713"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Raab has repeatedly denied bullying staff and insisted that he “behaved professionally at all times”.

","elementId":"fad679f2-d202-4965-9de9-590b0d13648f"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TweetBlockElement","html":"

&quot;The Prime Minister needs to come clean&quot;

Gen Sec of the FDA Dave Penman says there are reports that the PM was briefed on bullying allegations however Rishi Sunak &quot;refuses to say whether he was told there were informal complaints about Dominic Raab&quot;https://t.co/WUnquWvHqf pic.twitter.com/BbSNHoBgTN

&mdash; Sky News (@SkyNews) February 2, 2023

\n","url":"https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1621051279039467524","id":"1621051279039467524","hasMedia":false,"role":"inline","isThirdPartyTracking":false,"source":"Twitter","elementId":"3c85d34e-19f9-49ca-94ce-fa1eb1af81fe"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1675330423000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"09.33 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1675332623000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"10.10 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1675332109000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"10.01 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"10.01","title":"Working for Raab led some officials to have mental health crises, says leader of civil servants’ union","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Thu 2 Feb 2023 16.05 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Thu 2 Feb 2023 09.17 GMT"},{"id":"63db82e68f08422c6ba09b7f","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

The failure of successive Conservative governments to recognise the negative impact of public spending cuts on the wider economy has meant Britain missed out on £400bn of growth since 2010, according to a report by the TUC. My colleague Phillip Inman has the story here.

","elementId":"6ebde177-c47f-4bb5-bfba-e7194d7acb9a"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/feb/02/britain-growth-doom-loop-2010-tuc","text":"Britain has missed out on £400bn of growth since 2010, says TUC","prefix":"Related: ","role":"thumbnail","elementId":"55d94657-95a2-45d7-b131-3003a92d4b10"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1675330278000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"09.31 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1675330341000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"09.32 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1675330342000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"09.32 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"09.32","title":"Britain has missed out on £400bn of growth since 2010, says TUC","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Thu 2 Feb 2023 16.05 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Thu 2 Feb 2023 09.17 GMT"},{"id":"63db81368f08422c6ba09b69","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Here is a statement from Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of Centrica, which owns British Gas, on the Times report about a contractor working for the company forcing vulnerable customers to move to prepayment meters, including by breaking in to homes to execute a court warrant (See 9.17am.)

","elementId":"eb6e1821-0eac-49af-9ebd-350202d18c11"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"

\n

The allegations around our third-party contractor Arvato are unacceptable and we immediately suspended their warrant activity.

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Having recently reviewed our internal processes to support our prepayment customers, as well as creating a new £10m fund to support those prepayment customers who need help the most, I am extremely disappointed that this has occurred.

\n

As a result, on Wednesday morning, we took a further decision to suspend all our prepayment warrant activity at least until the end of the winter.

\n

More broadly, there are clearly significant challenges around affordability and unfortunately, we don’t see that changing any time soon.

\n

We need to strike a balance between managing spiralling bad debt and being aware that there are those who refuse to pay and those who cannot pay. We think government, industry and the regulator need to come together to agree a long-term plan to address this and ultimately create an energy market that is sustainable.

\n

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Good morning. There are two big stories involving energy companies out this morning. Both of them have important political ramifications, and Ed Miliband, the shadow secretary for climate change and net zero, has been speaking out forcefully on both issues. As for the government – it has been rather quieter.

","elementId":"65c342db-770e-4ca0-b947-ae01c0ae9d13"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

First, Shell has announced its profits for the final quarter of 2022, $9.81bn, taking its profits for the whole year to almost $40bn (£32.2bn). My colleague Alex Lawson has the story here.

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In response, Miliband said this showed why the windfall tax on energy companies should be increased. He said:

","elementId":"ca2bc170-654f-4bda-9aef-ab38fec22c2c"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"

\n

As the British people face an energy price hike of 40% in April, the government is letting the fossil fuel companies making bumper profits off the hook with their refusal to implement a proper windfall tax.

\n

Labour would stop the energy price cap going up in April, because it is only right that the companies making unexpected windfall profits from the proceeds of war pay their fair share.

\n

","elementId":"f55a2988-cd64-47fb-b002-9085c0cf4e93"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, announced an extension to the windfall tax in the autumn statement, but as my colleage Nils Pratley argued at the time, it could have gone a lot further. And the BBC has a good account of some of the loopholes in it here.

","elementId":"32f54d0f-8c19-4ca7-9611-6ec60ecdd9ad"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Second, the Times has this morning splashed on the findings of a powerful investigation revealing that “British Gas routinely sends debt collectors to break into customers’ homes and force-fit pay-as-you-go meters, even when they are known to have extreme vulnerabilities”. It says:

","elementId":"3770db51-1390-42b4-969f-ec589180913e"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"

\n

An undercover reporter worked for Arvato, a company used by British Gas to pursue debts, amid rocketing energy prices and more customers falling behind with their bills.

\n

The reporter accompanied debt agents in below-freezing conditions as they worked with a locksmith to break into the home of a single father of three young children and switch it to a prepayment meter. If families with these gas meters cannot afford to top up, their heating is cut off.

\n

On another occasion agents were sent by British Gas with a court warrant to force-fit a meter at the home of a young mother with a four-week-old baby. Her bills have risen sevenfold during the cost of living crisis.

\n

According to job notes seen by The Times, other British Gas customers who have had prepayment meters fitted by force in recent weeks include a woman in her fifties described as “severe mental health bipolar”, a woman who “suffers with mobility problems and is partially sighted” and a mother whose “daughter is disabled and has a hoist and [an] electric wheelchair”.

\n

","elementId":"37979186-7937-4923-8c5c-3717d1b32963"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TweetBlockElement","html":"

Thursday's Times: British Gas breaking into homes of the vulnerable #TomorrowsPapersToday #TheTimes #Times pic.twitter.com/dTT3cEI1aH

&mdash; Tomorrows Papers Today (@TmorrowsPapers) February 1, 2023

\n","url":"https://twitter.com/TmorrowsPapers/status/1620918044552826880","id":"1620918044552826880","hasMedia":false,"role":"inline","isThirdPartyTracking":false,"source":"Twitter","elementId":"42711787-fcad-43c6-a3a9-989bb45d851b"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

On the Today programme this morning Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of Centrica, British Gas’s parent company, said he was appalled by the paper’s revelations. “There is nothing that I can say that can express the horror I had when I heard this. It is completely unacceptable,” he said.

","elementId":"78de7f04-5fcd-47c6-b627-2bc13fdac96c"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

O’Shea said the contractor used by British Gas had let them down, and he said the forced introduction of prepayment meters had been suspended, at least until the end of the winter.

","elementId":"0bc1e237-c595-4ce4-8cef-0339fe6f37e3"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Labour has been calling for a moratorium on customers being forced on to pre-payment meters and this morning Miliband – who tabled an urgent question on this topic only last week – told the Today programme this morning it was “shameful” that this was happening. He said:

","elementId":"c11055e4-f81d-41cc-93c6-cfb7e5121fa8"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"

\n

It’s shameful that we are in Britain in 2023 and this is happening.

\n

That is why for weeks now we have been calling for a moratorium, a ban, on the forced installation of prepayment meters, not just to British Gas, but right across the board, because this is a system that stinks and is in disrepute.

\n

There’s no proper definition of vulnerability. There’s no proper checks on when these prepayment meters are being forced into people’s homes. There’s no proper system for when this so-called last resort happens. This is a system that is in desperate need of reform.

\n

People are being put through appalling hardship and appalling circumstances and the government must act, as I have been urging for weeks now, to stop this practice happening right across the board.

\n

","elementId":"63a317b9-9125-48ea-97f3-9cac561e4889"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Last month Grant Shapps, the business secretary, said he was asking energy companies to voluntarily stop forcing customers to use prepayment meters. He told the Times he was “horrified” by its revelations.

","elementId":"f36249cf-43d5-48bb-b199-7af6f8fbccee"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Here is the agenda for the day.

","elementId":"9ee186ea-b3fe-46ba-92bb-cc21ef4504a4"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Morning: Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, is expected to make a statement to MPs about whether there will be a public inquiry into the Omagh bombing.

","elementId":"69f594c6-ca23-4569-a174-eb6ecdcd6a06"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

","elementId":"dd6309f1-3be7-4fc8-ae6b-f553426afcc2"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

11.30am: The Welsh government holds a briefing ahead of the strikes planned for 7 February.

","elementId":"6731f62a-b6df-4dde-93c2-e9b746795bc7"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

12pm: The Bank of England announces its decision on interest rates. My colleague Graeme Wearden will be covering this on his business live blog.

","elementId":"ce128287-9062-48fb-8e6e-2654e355f912"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

12pm: Nicola Sturgeon takes first minister’s questions in the Scottish parliament.

","elementId":"3230b2f2-d2cd-4e62-8d7b-bad5fe933767"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Afternoon: James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, and Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, hold a press conference after talks with their Australian counterparts.

","elementId":"c78023fb-ba82-4163-8346-d4ebd89998b6"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

I’ll try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.

","elementId":"f3920675-cfaa-478c-b18f-d6a0fdf04579"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

","elementId":"ab104251-ba40-4217-8386-63028c505194"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com

","elementId":"c5a4ebff-f087-4d20-b76c-cf199bb98d45"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1675329475000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"09.17 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1675332280000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"10.04 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1675329475000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"09.17 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"09.17","title":"Labour renews call for ‘proper’ windfall tax as Shell declares record £32.2bn profit","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Thu 2 Feb 2023 16.05 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Thu 2 Feb 2023 09.17 GMT"}],"filterKeyEvents":false,"format":{"display":0,"theme":0,"design":10},"id":"key-events-carousel-mobile"}”>

Key events

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Accusations that Isla Bryson is not truly transgender are “almost certainly the case”, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

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As PA Media reports, at first minister’s questions in Holyrood today Sturgeon was pressed on whether she thinks Bryson – who was convicted of raping two women while she was a man called Adam Graham – is a woman.

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Bryson was initially taken to Cornton Vale prison near Stirling – Scotland’s only all-female jail – after being convicted, before being moved to the male estate following a public outcry.

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After Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, said the case, Sturgeon said she did not know if Bryson was lying about her gender. She said:

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\n

This individual claims to be a woman – what I said was that I don’t have information about whether those claims have validity or not.

\n

But I don’t think Douglas Ross and I are disagreeing here, because what I think is relevant in this case is not whether the individual is a man or claims to be a woman or is trans, what is relevant is that the individual is a rapist.

\n

That is how the individual should be described, and it is that that should be the main consideration in deciding how the individual is dealt with – that is why the individual is in a male prison, not in the female prison, these are the issues that matter.

\n

","elementId":"a493c37c-af6a-496c-951b-bf5318f364bf"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Ross read a quote from one of Bryson’s victims, who said: “I don’t believe he’s truly transgender. I feel as if he’s made a mockery out of them using it. As far as I’m concerned, that was to make things easier for himself.”

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In response, Sturgeon said:

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\n

The quote that Douglas Ross narrated there, my feeling is that is almost certainly the case, which is why the key factor in this case is not the individual’s claim to be a woman, the key and only important factor in this is that the individual is convicted of rape – the individual is a rapist – and that is the factor that should be the deciding one about the decisions about how that prisoner is now treated.

\n

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Sturgeon said it was important to consider the issues raised by the Bryson case, but she added two caveats.

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\n

Firstly, as I’ve said, that we do not further stigmatise trans people generally – I think that is important – but secondly that we don’t cause undue concern amongst the public.

\n

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Isla Bryson ‘almost certainly’ not truly transgender, Sturgeon tells MSPs","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Thu 2 Feb 2023 16.05 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Thu 2 Feb 2023 09.17 GMT"},{"id":"63dbcf568f08422c6ba09f17","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Brexit is damaging UK growth more quickly than expected, the deputy governor of the Bank of England said today.

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At a news conference to explain today’s interest rate decision, Ben Broadbent said it was still not clear whether the effects of EU withdrawal were a reason why the UK is forecast to do worse than other major economies this year.

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He said the Bank has not changed its overall assessment about Brexit having a negative effect on growth. But he said it had not expected to see the impact come through so quickly. He explained:

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Brexit … has been something that has pulled on our potential output in our country and that’s been our assessment for many years.

\n

We’ve not changed our estimate of the long-running effects, but we’ve brought some of them forward and we think they’re probably coming in faster than we first expected ….

\n

Yes, it [Brexit] is having some effect on growth, although ultimately no bigger effect than we assessed some years ago.

\n

Based on the numbers for trade and, to some degree, for the numbers on investment, we think these effects are coming through faster than initially envisaged.

\n

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Overall, as PA Media reports, the Bank said that while it believed the UK was still heading for a recession, the downturn may be shorter and shallower than previously expected.

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In its monetary policy report today the Bank says:

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The effects of Brexit on trade are now estimated to be emerging more quickly than previously assumed, and that lowers productivity somewhat.

\n

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Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank, said at the press conference that Brexit was one of a series of “significant economic shocks” to have affected the economy, along with Covid and the war in Ukraine. He went on:

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\n

These shocks have held back both productivity and labour supply.

\n

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The Northern Ireland Office has published further details of the statutory inquiry it is setting up in to the Omagh bombing. The inquiry is going ahead in response to a court judgment ruling that, under the European convention on human rights, some form of investigation was needed. The legal case was brought by Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden died in the bombing.

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The NIO said in a news release:

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The Real IRA claimed responsibility for the Omagh Bombing in 1998, and four members of the Real IRA were subsequently found liable for the bombing in civil proceedings held in Northern Ireland. This inquiry does nothing to counter these findings, which are clear in who was responsible for this awful atrocity.

\n

The independent statutory inquiry will examine the four issues identified by the high court; the handling and sharing of intelligence, the use of cell phone analysis, whether there was advance knowledge or reasonable means of knowledge of the bomb, and whether disruption operations could or should have been mounted, which may have helped prevent the Real IRA’s attack.

\n

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Yesterday Boris Johnson, the former PM, implicitly criticised the UK government for not supplying Ukraine with military jets. No 10 has argued it would take too long to train the pilots, but Johnson told the Atlantic Council thinktank:

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I hear that an objection to their having sophisticated western planes to fly is that they wouldn’t know how to use them.

\n

I have to say, I take that argument with a bit of a pinch of salt.

\n

I don’t think it’ll take the Ukrainians very long to work out how to use F-16s or Typhoons or whatever we have to give them.

\n

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Asked about Johnson’s comments, the PM’s spokesperson told journalists at the lobby briefing that the fastest training programme for a jet pilot took around three years, and that five years was normal. He said:

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\n

We will continue listening to the Ukrainians and consider what is right for the long term.

\n

But it’s helpful to understand the situation, that the fastest training programme for a new pilot is approximately 35 months.

\n

The current UK fast jet training programme takes five years.

\n

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Downing Street refused to comment on Dave Penman’s claim that some officials who worked for Dominic Raab suffered mental health crises. (See 10.01am.) Asked about what the FDA general secretary said, the PM’s spokesperson said:

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\n

The prime minister felt that once formal complaints were raised, it was right to have an independent person, a respected KC, to look into it. That’s what’s happening now.

\n

I’m not going to comment on the reports, seeing as that process is taking place.

\n

","elementId":"90f99bf8-ee57-46fc-809a-00a4a370c515"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1675344980000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"13.36 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1675347037000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"14.10 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1675346908000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"14.08 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"14.08","title":"Downing Street refuses to comment on claims Raab officials had mental health crises","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Thu 2 Feb 2023 16.05 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Thu 2 Feb 2023 09.17 GMT"},{"id":"63dbbc128f08422c6ba09e2b","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

At the lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson said the Times revelations about British Gas forcing customers to have prepayment meters (see 9.17am) were “deeply shocking and concerning”. He went on:

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\n

Vulnerable families should not be treated so poorly.

\n

The findings suggest British Gas has failed to use every possible avenue to support those struggling with their energy bills, as they rightly deserve and are entitled to.

\n

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Graham Stuart, the energy minister, is due to meet executives from British Gas to discuss the situation this afternoon.

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It is understood that Stuart called the Ofgem chief executive, Jonathan Brearley, early this morning to discuss the revelations. Sources at the business department said Stuart demanded Ofgem explain their role in this and ensure they take urgent remedial action. They said ministers were particularly keen to ensure the regulator asked “more searching questions” of the energy companies during their future investigations.

","elementId":"528f2b3e-8f76-4987-ae58-19495b4dfd25"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1675344914000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"13.35 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1675349398000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"14.49 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1675346744000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"14.05 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"14.05","title":"No 10 says revelations about British Gas forcing vulunerable customers on to prepayment meters ‘deeply shocking’","contributors":[{"name":"Jessica Elgot","imageUrl":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/contributor/2015/6/26/1435313697913/Jessica-Elgot.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=3c7102f1de86e006a0414f699d81342f","largeImageUrl":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2017/10/06/Jessica-Elgot,-R.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=7e8406fd3cd1d31c8bfc658c9bc7abbb"}],"primaryDateLine":"Thu 2 Feb 2023 16.05 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Thu 2 Feb 2023 09.17 GMT"},{"id":"63dbbc9f8f08ba2ef0b6fa60","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

At the Downing Street lobby briefing the prime minister’s spokesperson defended the current scope of the windfall tax on energy companies. Labour says the profits declared by Shell today show why it should be higher, or more extensive. (See 9.17am.) Asked about this issue, the PM’s spokesperson said:

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\n

We recognise that the public will think these are extraordinary profits, clearly. That’s why once it was clear that there would be a windfall because of various factors including the war in Ukraine, we put in place the energy profits levy.

\n

The new headline 75% tax rate is comparable with other North Sea tax regimes including Norway, and we think that strikes a balance between funding cost of living support while encouraging investment in order to bolster the UK energy security.

\n

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The spokesperson also said there were no plans to increase the windfall tax.

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The Department for Education has today unveiled plans to reform the social care system for children in England. My colleague Patrick Butler wrote a preview of the plans here.

","elementId":"7dc62f37-5663-4e5c-a4c7-72978e0453d5"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/feb/02/children-to-be-housed-closer-to-family-in-overhaul-of-englands-social-care-system","text":"Children to be housed closer to family in overhaul of England’s social care system","prefix":"Related: ","role":"thumbnail","elementId":"d5f3e4a7-ecc7-415b-8b2f-92020e94c8f1"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Here is the DfE’s news release. And here is the ‘Stable homes, built on love’ strategy and consultation document.

","elementId":"8bd338fe-845c-4ad9-a75a-7d882935a764"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Responding to a Commons statement about the plan, Helen Hayes, the shadow children’s minister, said this did not amount to the “radical reset” that was needed. She said:

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\n

While some additional funding is welcome, this is not the radical reset the review demanded and which we need.

\n

There is no vision for the direction of children’s social care, there is no ambition for our most vulnerable children, there is no cross-cutting commitment from the top of government to deliver better for every child and every care-experienced person in every part of our country.

\n

This government has spent months legislating to restrict the fundamental rights to protest and to strike but has chosen not to make time to legislate to strengthen protections for children.

\n

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In response, Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, said the plans were the “start of the journey” and the government needed to consider what worked and what didn’t.

","elementId":"09c443e7-b799-4640-abd9-8c937843120c"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1675343491000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"13.11 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1675344670000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"13.31 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1675344251000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"13.24 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"13.24","title":"Labour says plan to reform social care system for children does not amount to ‘radical reset’ needed","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Thu 2 Feb 2023 16.05 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Thu 2 Feb 2023 09.17 GMT"},{"id":"63dbb4e58f08422c6ba09dd0","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, has told MPs in a statement that the government will establish an independent statutory inquiry into the Omagh bombing in 1998, which killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins.

","elementId":"c1c6d617-bed6-4e52-96da-cc38146b32af"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1675343077000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"13.04 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1675343273000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"13.07 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1675343273000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"13.07 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"13.07","title":"Northern Ireland secretary announces statutory inquiry into Omagh bombing","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Thu 2 Feb 2023 16.05 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Thu 2 Feb 2023 09.17 GMT"},{"id":"63dbade48f08422c6ba09d64","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, claims today’s interest rate hike (see 12.18pm) amounts to a “Tory mortgage penalty”. In a statement she says:

","elementId":"9cabfd37-712d-4204-a9e3-ca8e176f7973"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"

\n

With households already paying a Tory mortgage penalty, families across the country will be worried about what rising interest rates today mean for them.

\n

The reality is that under the Tories, growth is on the floor, families are worse off and we are stuck in the global slow lane.

\n

We do not have to continue on this path of managed decline when Britain has so much potential to grow and thrive.

\n

","elementId":"dfa12ae4-187f-4c00-9a61-f65daa9c78d1"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1675341284000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"12.34 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1675341466000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"12.37 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1675341466000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"12.37 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"12.37","title":"Rachel Reeves says interest rate hike amounts to ‘Tory mortgage penalty’","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Thu 2 Feb 2023 16.05 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Thu 2 Feb 2023 09.17 GMT"},{"id":"63dba88c8f08422c6ba09d17","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, has issued a statement backing the Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates by 0.5 percentage points, to 4%. He said this would help the government achieve its aim of halving inflation this year. He said:

","elementId":"a0ad3c8c-b98b-4977-ae93-6f586f22798a"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"

\n

Inflation is a stealth tax that is the biggest threat to living standards in a generation, so we support the Bank’s action today so we succeed in halving inflation this year.

\n

We will play our part by making sure government decisions are in lockstep with the Bank’s approach, including by resisting the urge right now to fund additional spending or tax cuts through borrowing, which will only add fuel to the inflation fire and prolong the pain for everyone.

\n

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My colleague Graeme Wearden has more on his business live blog.

","elementId":"8414a05f-13a2-4084-a6cd-4836c3efd9d2"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2023/feb/02/bank-of-england-interest-rates-inflation-recession-growth-business-live","text":"Bank of England says inflation likely to have peaked amid split over interest rate rise to 4% – business live","prefix":"Related: ","role":"thumbnail","elementId":"d70e8c19-2537-48fa-897d-0a4c01de9abb"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1675339916000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"12.11 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1675340283000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"12.18 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1675340283000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"12.18 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"12.18","title":"Hunt welcomes Bank’s decision to raise interest rates to 4%, saying it will help government to halve inflation","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Thu 2 Feb 2023 16.05 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Thu 2 Feb 2023 09.17 GMT"},{"id":"63dba1be8f088fc478bd828e","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

The Times has commissioned polling to mark Rishi Sunak’s 100 days in office, and, if anything, it will make even gloomier reading for Downing Street than the Guardian write-through. (See 11.41pm.) The Times reports:

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\n

Seven in ten (72 per cent) believe he will not be prime minister after the next election, while just 27 per cent think he has done well so far. However, the YouGov polling also found that by a margin of 14 points voters think Sunak has been a better prime minister than Johnson.

\n

","elementId":"c94e5dab-37c1-4c51-9b1b-ec527ec6252b"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Here is the Times graphic showing whether voters think Sunak is doing well or badly on five key issues.

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Almost two thirds of people think Sunak is a better prime minister than Liz Truss, the poll suggests. But only a third believe that he is better than Boris Johnson. (By the time he left office, Johnson was mired in scandal, and his ratings were dire, and if a majority of people think Sunak is no better, then he is in real trouble. But perhaps people responding to this question are thinking of the Johnson premiership in its totality, and giving him credit for things like the vaccine programme.)

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third of voters think Sunak has been better PM than Boris Johnson, poll suggests","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Thu 2 Feb 2023 16.05 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Thu 2 Feb 2023 09.17 GMT"},{"id":"63db9d138f088fc478bd8240","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

To mark the fact he has now reached 100 days in office, Rishi Sunak has written an article for the Sun about his priorities. It is largely about his five promises, and Sunak says the legislation he has promised to stop people claiming asylum in the UK if they have arrived in the country illegally will be published “in the coming weeks”.

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He describes it as the “stop the boats” bill (which will almost certainly not be its official name – the Commons clerks insist on bills having neutral titles). Sunak says:

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In the coming weeks, our new stop the boats bill will change the law to send a message loud and clear.

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If you come here illegally, you will be detained and removed.

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In December Sunak said the bill would be published “early” in the new year, but this article implies it is not imminent. There is some evidence that ministers are still divided over how far it should go in allowing the UK to ignore the obligations it has to asylum seekers under exisiting international law.

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Ofgem, the energy regulator, has launched an investigation into British Gas after a Times investigation revealed that agents working on its behalf ignored customers’ vulnerabilities, my colleague Alex Lawson reports.

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NHS England has published some new performance figures this morning. They show some evidence that pressures on hospitals are easing very slightly. PA Media has the details

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• Ambulance handover delays outside hospitals in England are continuing to improve and have fallen to a new low for this winter, PA says. It reports:

\n

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A total of 18% of ambulance patients waited at least 30 minutes last week to be handed to A&amp;E teams, down from 20% the previous week.

\n

The figure hit a record 44% in the week to 1 January.

\n

about 6% of patients waited more than an hour last week to be handed over to A&amp;E teams – again, the lowest so far this winter, and down week on week from 7%.

\n

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• Nearly 14,000 hospital beds in England last week were filled with people who were fit to leave, close to recent record levels, PA says. It reports:

\n

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An average of 13,983 beds were taken up with medically fit patients in the seven days to 29 January, up from 13,566 the previous week and just short of the all-time high of 14,069 in the week to 8 January.

\n

At this point last year the number stood at 12,257.

\n

The proportion of patients ready to leave hospital last week but who remained in their beds stood at 59%.

\n

This is down from a record 63% in the week to 1 January.

\n

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• The number of flu patients in hospitals in England has dropped for the fourth week in a row, PA says. It reports:

\n

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An average of 1,291 patients with flu were in hospital beds each day last week, down 37% from 2,034 in the week to 22 January, according to NHS England data.

\n

It is the fourth week in a row the number of flu patients in hospital has dropped, down 76% from a peak of 5,441 in the week to 1 January.

\n

","elementId":"3bac6c47-1c35-4463-8336-5ced6a094993"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1675333836000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"10.30 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1675337799000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"11.36 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1675334280000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"10.38 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"10.38","title":"NHS England figures show small improvement in ambulance handover delays","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Thu 2 Feb 2023 16.05 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Thu 2 Feb 2023 09.17 GMT"},{"id":"63db83778f088fc478bd814e","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

As the headline on our overnight story about Dominic Raab puts it rather well, the justice secretary and deputy prime ministers remains “in peril” because of the inquiry into allegations he bullied officials.

","elementId":"3e48ab8b-57dc-48b1-9d28-7b386e4e2ad3"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/feb/01/pmqs-keir-starmer-tories-rishi-sunak-nadhim-zahawi-dominic-raab","text":"Dominic Raab in peril as No 10 refuses to say if Sunak knew of complaints","prefix":"Related: ","role":"thumbnail","elementId":"891131df-8a84-4d1a-9794-e1b385188df9"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

In the papers today there is evidence that Raab, or his allies, are fighting back.

","elementId":"897f76bc-c94c-48e7-bd1c-cd06cd5c7354"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

In a story in the Daily Mail Jason Grove says that at least two senior officials giving evidence to the bullying inquiry have spoken in defence of Raab. And Grove reports:

","elementId":"daac13ea-27e0-4c4c-90ba-86baebb18bd6"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"

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A former colleague said: ‘There is a clear attempt by a group of politically motivated mandarins to get him – it looks like a coordinated attempt by a number of senior civil servants.

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‘In one case it looks like revenge as the individual was effectively forced out by the government.’

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Several of Mr Raab’s former staff yesterday said they had not witnessed unreasonable conduct.

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One said he was ‘demanding, sometimes difficult and a bit curt – but not a bully’.

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","elementId":"d70efa7b-87da-41d8-9e3a-9c33e961d039"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

And Matt Dathan and Chris Smyth in the Times report that “Raab has declared he has never sworn or shouted in a meeting after it was claimed he roared ‘bullshit’ in response to a senior official’s briefing he disagreed with”. They quote a spokeperson for Raab saying:

","elementId":"33556892-ca0f-4b3c-b75c-5ec5db857aa2"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"

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The deputy prime minister has never sworn or shouted in a meeting. He sets targets across the department to focus relentlessly on delivery in the way that the British people would expect.

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","elementId":"a9709c6c-74ea-4eea-b391-8b592f10264f"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

In response to the Daily Mail report, Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA, the union representing senior civil servants, rejected claims that the complaints against Raab were politically motivated. He told Sky News:

","elementId":"54a4edf8-0ae1-4b17-97b7-508f0e66a3d5"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"

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That’s extraordinary and it couldn’t be further from the truth. Are we really seeing two dozen civil servants in three different government departments over a period of four years have got together in some massive conspiracy? That just doesn’t sound credible.

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","elementId":"cf5846ca-8045-4967-ac49-842feec5f136"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Penman said he knew that some people who worked for Raab had suffered mental health crises. He said:

","elementId":"f451ce77-0153-491e-ab73-378533b61574"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"

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I’ve spoken to people who are civil servants working, and have worked, for Dominic Raab, who have suffered mental health crises, have lost their careers essentially because they’ve had to move and change jobs.

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Referring to Jacob Rees-Mogg’s claim that people should not be too “snowflakey” about these allegations, Penman said:

","elementId":"cd4a3551-6310-47d0-9322-9895352d71e4"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"

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This sort of behaviour destroys lives. I mean it’s not just about careers, people’s lives and their mental health are at risk when they are subject to systematic bullying, and to belittle it in that way is absolutely outrageous from a former leader of the house and cabinet minister.

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","elementId":"aec1ede2-9450-4a8e-a0da-6f9d35cb7850"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Penman also repeated his call for Raab to be suspended until the inquiry concludes, and he said Rishi Sunak should “come clean” and reveal whether he was informally warned about Raab’s conduct before he appointed him to his cabinet.

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Raab has repeatedly denied bullying staff and insisted that he “behaved professionally at all times”.

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&quot;The Prime Minister needs to come clean&quot;

Gen Sec of the FDA Dave Penman says there are reports that the PM was briefed on bullying allegations however Rishi Sunak &quot;refuses to say whether he was told there were informal complaints about Dominic Raab&quot;https://t.co/WUnquWvHqf pic.twitter.com/BbSNHoBgTN

&mdash; Sky News (@SkyNews) February 2, 2023

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The failure of successive Conservative governments to recognise the negative impact of public spending cuts on the wider economy has meant Britain missed out on £400bn of growth since 2010, according to a report by the TUC. My colleague Phillip Inman has the story here.

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Here is a statement from Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of Centrica, which owns British Gas, on the Times report about a contractor working for the company forcing vulnerable customers to move to prepayment meters, including by breaking in to homes to execute a court warrant (See 9.17am.)

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The allegations around our third-party contractor Arvato are unacceptable and we immediately suspended their warrant activity.

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Having recently reviewed our internal processes to support our prepayment customers, as well as creating a new £10m fund to support those prepayment customers who need help the most, I am extremely disappointed that this has occurred.

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As a result, on Wednesday morning, we took a further decision to suspend all our prepayment warrant activity at least until the end of the winter.

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More broadly, there are clearly significant challenges around affordability and unfortunately, we don’t see that changing any time soon.

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We need to strike a balance between managing spiralling bad debt and being aware that there are those who refuse to pay and those who cannot pay. We think government, industry and the regulator need to come together to agree a long-term plan to address this and ultimately create an energy market that is sustainable.

\n

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Good morning. There are two big stories involving energy companies out this morning. Both of them have important political ramifications, and Ed Miliband, the shadow secretary for climate change and net zero, has been speaking out forcefully on both issues. As for the government – it has been rather quieter.

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First, Shell has announced its profits for the final quarter of 2022, $9.81bn, taking its profits for the whole year to almost $40bn (£32.2bn). My colleague Alex Lawson has the story here.

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In response, Miliband said this showed why the windfall tax on energy companies should be increased. He said:

","elementId":"ca2bc170-654f-4bda-9aef-ab38fec22c2c"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"

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As the British people face an energy price hike of 40% in April, the government is letting the fossil fuel companies making bumper profits off the hook with their refusal to implement a proper windfall tax.

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Labour would stop the energy price cap going up in April, because it is only right that the companies making unexpected windfall profits from the proceeds of war pay their fair share.

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","elementId":"f55a2988-cd64-47fb-b002-9085c0cf4e93"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, announced an extension to the windfall tax in the autumn statement, but as my colleage Nils Pratley argued at the time, it could have gone a lot further. And the BBC has a good account of some of the loopholes in it here.

","elementId":"32f54d0f-8c19-4ca7-9611-6ec60ecdd9ad"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Second, the Times has this morning splashed on the findings of a powerful investigation revealing that “British Gas routinely sends debt collectors to break into customers’ homes and force-fit pay-as-you-go meters, even when they are known to have extreme vulnerabilities”. It says:

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An undercover reporter worked for Arvato, a company used by British Gas to pursue debts, amid rocketing energy prices and more customers falling behind with their bills.

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The reporter accompanied debt agents in below-freezing conditions as they worked with a locksmith to break into the home of a single father of three young children and switch it to a prepayment meter. If families with these gas meters cannot afford to top up, their heating is cut off.

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On another occasion agents were sent by British Gas with a court warrant to force-fit a meter at the home of a young mother with a four-week-old baby. Her bills have risen sevenfold during the cost of living crisis.

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According to job notes seen by The Times, other British Gas customers who have had prepayment meters fitted by force in recent weeks include a woman in her fifties described as “severe mental health bipolar”, a woman who “suffers with mobility problems and is partially sighted” and a mother whose “daughter is disabled and has a hoist and [an] electric wheelchair”.

\n

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Thursday's Times: British Gas breaking into homes of the vulnerable #TomorrowsPapersToday #TheTimes #Times pic.twitter.com/dTT3cEI1aH

&mdash; Tomorrows Papers Today (@TmorrowsPapers) February 1, 2023

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On the Today programme this morning Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of Centrica, British Gas’s parent company, said he was appalled by the paper’s revelations. “There is nothing that I can say that can express the horror I had when I heard this. It is completely unacceptable,” he said.

","elementId":"78de7f04-5fcd-47c6-b627-2bc13fdac96c"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

O’Shea said the contractor used by British Gas had let them down, and he said the forced introduction of prepayment meters had been suspended, at least until the end of the winter.

","elementId":"0bc1e237-c595-4ce4-8cef-0339fe6f37e3"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Labour has been calling for a moratorium on customers being forced on to pre-payment meters and this morning Miliband – who tabled an urgent question on this topic only last week – told the Today programme this morning it was “shameful” that this was happening. He said:

","elementId":"c11055e4-f81d-41cc-93c6-cfb7e5121fa8"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"

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It’s shameful that we are in Britain in 2023 and this is happening.

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That is why for weeks now we have been calling for a moratorium, a ban, on the forced installation of prepayment meters, not just to British Gas, but right across the board, because this is a system that stinks and is in disrepute.

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There’s no proper definition of vulnerability. There’s no proper checks on when these prepayment meters are being forced into people’s homes. There’s no proper system for when this so-called last resort happens. This is a system that is in desperate need of reform.

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People are being put through appalling hardship and appalling circumstances and the government must act, as I have been urging for weeks now, to stop this practice happening right across the board.

\n

","elementId":"63a317b9-9125-48ea-97f3-9cac561e4889"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Last month Grant Shapps, the business secretary, said he was asking energy companies to voluntarily stop forcing customers to use prepayment meters. He told the Times he was “horrified” by its revelations.

","elementId":"f36249cf-43d5-48bb-b199-7af6f8fbccee"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Here is the agenda for the day.

","elementId":"9ee186ea-b3fe-46ba-92bb-cc21ef4504a4"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Morning: Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, is expected to make a statement to MPs about whether there will be a public inquiry into the Omagh bombing.

","elementId":"69f594c6-ca23-4569-a174-eb6ecdcd6a06"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

","elementId":"dd6309f1-3be7-4fc8-ae6b-f553426afcc2"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

11.30am: The Welsh government holds a briefing ahead of the strikes planned for 7 February.

","elementId":"6731f62a-b6df-4dde-93c2-e9b746795bc7"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

12pm: The Bank of England announces its decision on interest rates. My colleague Graeme Wearden will be covering this on his business live blog.

","elementId":"ce128287-9062-48fb-8e6e-2654e355f912"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

12pm: Nicola Sturgeon takes first minister’s questions in the Scottish parliament.

","elementId":"3230b2f2-d2cd-4e62-8d7b-bad5fe933767"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Afternoon: James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, and Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, hold a press conference after talks with their Australian counterparts.

","elementId":"c78023fb-ba82-4163-8346-d4ebd89998b6"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

I’ll try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.

","elementId":"f3920675-cfaa-478c-b18f-d6a0fdf04579"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

","elementId":"ab104251-ba40-4217-8386-63028c505194"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com

","elementId":"c5a4ebff-f087-4d20-b76c-cf199bb98d45"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1675329475000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"09.17 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1675332280000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"10.04 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1675329475000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"09.17 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"09.17","title":"Labour renews call for ‘proper’ windfall tax as Shell declares record £32.2bn profit","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Thu 2 Feb 2023 16.05 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Thu 2 Feb 2023 09.17 GMT"}],"filterKeyEvents":false,"id":"key-events-carousel-mobile"}” readability=”1″>

Rapist Isla Bryson ‘almost certainly’ not truly transgender, Sturgeon tells MSPs

Accusations that Isla Bryson is not truly transgender are “almost certainly the case”, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

As PA Media reports, at first minister’s questions in Holyrood today Sturgeon was pressed on whether she thinks Bryson – who was convicted of raping two women while she was a man called Adam Graham – is a woman.

Bryson was initially taken to Cornton Vale prison near Stirling – Scotland’s only all-female jail – after being convicted, before being moved to the male estate following a public outcry.

After Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, said the case, Sturgeon said she did not know if Bryson was lying about her gender. She said:

This individual claims to be a woman – what I said was that I don’t have information about whether those claims have validity or not.

But I don’t think Douglas Ross and I are disagreeing here, because what I think is relevant in this case is not whether the individual is a man or claims to be a woman or is trans, what is relevant is that the individual is a rapist.

That is how the individual should be described, and it is that that should be the main consideration in deciding how the individual is dealt with – that is why the individual is in a male prison, not in the female prison, these are the issues that matter.

Ross read a quote from one of Bryson’s victims, who said: “I don’t believe he’s truly transgender. I feel as if he’s made a mockery out of them using it. As far as I’m concerned, that was to make things easier for himself.”

In response, Sturgeon said:

The quote that Douglas Ross narrated there, my feeling is that is almost certainly the case, which is why the key factor in this case is not the individual’s claim to be a woman, the key and only important factor in this is that the individual is convicted of rape – the individual is a rapist – and that is the factor that should be the deciding one about the decisions about how that prisoner is now treated.

Sturgeon said it was important to consider the issues raised by the Bryson case, but she added two caveats.

Firstly, as I’ve said, that we do not further stigmatise trans people generally – I think that is important – but secondly that we don’t cause undue concern amongst the public.

Brexit damaging UK growth more quickly than expected, says Bank of England

Brexit is damaging UK growth more quickly than expected, the deputy governor of the Bank of England said today.

At a news conference to explain today’s interest rate decision, Ben Broadbent said it was still not clear whether the effects of EU withdrawal were a reason why the UK is forecast to do worse than other major economies this year.

He said the Bank has not changed its overall assessment about Brexit having a negative effect on growth. But he said it had not expected to see the impact come through so quickly. He explained:

Brexit … has been something that has pulled on our potential output in our country and that’s been our assessment for many years.

We’ve not changed our estimate of the long-running effects, but we’ve brought some of them forward and we think they’re probably coming in faster than we first expected ….

Yes, it [Brexit] is having some effect on growth, although ultimately no bigger effect than we assessed some years ago.

Based on the numbers for trade and, to some degree, for the numbers on investment, we think these effects are coming through faster than initially envisaged.

Overall, as PA Media reports, the Bank said that while it believed the UK was still heading for a recession, the downturn may be shorter and shallower than previously expected.

In its monetary policy report today the Bank says:

The effects of Brexit on trade are now estimated to be emerging more quickly than previously assumed, and that lowers productivity somewhat.

Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank, said at the press conference that Brexit was one of a series of “significant economic shocks” to have affected the economy, along with Covid and the war in Ukraine. He went on:

These shocks have held back both productivity and labour supply.

Here is a Guardian video of Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, announcing the inquiry into the Omagh bombing in the Commons earlier.

NIO sets out four issues to be covered by new inquiry into Omagh bombing

The Northern Ireland Office has published further details of the statutory inquiry it is setting up in to the Omagh bombing. The inquiry is going ahead in response to a court judgment ruling that, under the European convention on human rights, some form of investigation was needed. The legal case was brought by Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden died in the bombing.

The NIO said in a news release:

The Real IRA claimed responsibility for the Omagh Bombing in 1998, and four members of the Real IRA were subsequently found liable for the bombing in civil proceedings held in Northern Ireland. This inquiry does nothing to counter these findings, which are clear in who was responsible for this awful atrocity.

The independent statutory inquiry will examine the four issues identified by the high court; the handling and sharing of intelligence, the use of cell phone analysis, whether there was advance knowledge or reasonable means of knowledge of the bomb, and whether disruption operations could or should have been mounted, which may have helped prevent the Real IRA’s attack.

No 10 dismisses Boris Johnson’s claim Ukrainian pilots could quickly learn to fly western fighter jets

Yesterday Boris Johnson, the former PM, implicitly criticised the UK government for not supplying Ukraine with military jets. No 10 has argued it would take too long to train the pilots, but Johnson told the Atlantic Council thinktank:

I hear that an objection to their having sophisticated western planes to fly is that they wouldn’t know how to use them.

I have to say, I take that argument with a bit of a pinch of salt.

I don’t think it’ll take the Ukrainians very long to work out how to use F-16s or Typhoons or whatever we have to give them.

Asked about Johnson’s comments, the PM’s spokesperson told journalists at the lobby briefing that the fastest training programme for a jet pilot took around three years, and that five years was normal. He said:

We will continue listening to the Ukrainians and consider what is right for the long term.

But it’s helpful to understand the situation, that the fastest training programme for a new pilot is approximately 35 months.

The current UK fast jet training programme takes five years.

Downing Street refuses to comment on claims Raab officials had mental health crises

Downing Street refused to comment on Dave Penman’s claim that some officials who worked for Dominic Raab suffered mental health crises. (See 10.01am.) Asked about what the FDA general secretary said, the PM’s spokesperson said:

The prime minister felt that once formal complaints were raised, it was right to have an independent person, a respected KC, to look into it. That’s what’s happening now.

I’m not going to comment on the reports, seeing as that process is taking place.

No 10 says revelations about British Gas forcing vulunerable customers on to prepayment meters ‘deeply shocking’

Jessica Elgot

At the lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson said the Times revelations about British Gas forcing customers to have prepayment meters (see 9.17am) were “deeply shocking and concerning”. He went on:

Vulnerable families should not be treated so poorly.

The findings suggest British Gas has failed to use every possible avenue to support those struggling with their energy bills, as they rightly deserve and are entitled to.

Graham Stuart, the energy minister, is due to meet executives from British Gas to discuss the situation this afternoon.

It is understood that Stuart called the Ofgem chief executive, Jonathan Brearley, early this morning to discuss the revelations. Sources at the business department said Stuart demanded Ofgem explain their role in this and ensure they take urgent remedial action. They said ministers were particularly keen to ensure the regulator asked “more searching questions” of the energy companies during their future investigations.

No 10 defends current level of windfall tax after Labour says it should be higher

At the Downing Street lobby briefing the prime minister’s spokesperson defended the current scope of the windfall tax on energy companies. Labour says the profits declared by Shell today show why it should be higher, or more extensive. (See 9.17am.) Asked about this issue, the PM’s spokesperson said:

We recognise that the public will think these are extraordinary profits, clearly. That’s why once it was clear that there would be a windfall because of various factors including the war in Ukraine, we put in place the energy profits levy.

The new headline 75% tax rate is comparable with other North Sea tax regimes including Norway, and we think that strikes a balance between funding cost of living support while encouraging investment in order to bolster the UK energy security.

The spokesperson also said there were no plans to increase the windfall tax.

Labour says plan to reform social care system for children does not amount to ‘radical reset’ needed

The Department for Education has today unveiled plans to reform the social care system for children in England. My colleague Patrick Butler wrote a preview of the plans here.

Here is the DfE’s news release. And here is the ‘Stable homes, built on love’ strategy and consultation document.

Responding to a Commons statement about the plan, Helen Hayes, the shadow children’s minister, said this did not amount to the “radical reset” that was needed. She said:

While some additional funding is welcome, this is not the radical reset the review demanded and which we need.

There is no vision for the direction of children’s social care, there is no ambition for our most vulnerable children, there is no cross-cutting commitment from the top of government to deliver better for every child and every care-experienced person in every part of our country.

This government has spent months legislating to restrict the fundamental rights to protest and to strike but has chosen not to make time to legislate to strengthen protections for children.

In response, Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, said the plans were the “start of the journey” and the government needed to consider what worked and what didn’t.

Northern Ireland secretary announces statutory inquiry into Omagh bombing

Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, has told MPs in a statement that the government will establish an independent statutory inquiry into the Omagh bombing in 1998, which killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins.

Lisa Nandy, the shadow levelling up secretary, says that a year ago today, when the government published its levelling up white paper, Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, promised an annual report setting out the progress made towards the goals set out in the document.

She has written to Gove asking why we haven’t had it yet, saying this is “the latest in a long line of broken promises on levelling up”.

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Today marks one year since the Levelling Up White Paper, the government’s big plan for its flagship agenda.

It promised an annual report on the government’s progress, but no report has been forthcoming.

✍️ I’ve written to Michael Gove asking where it is. pic.twitter.com/4ILuP5ZcSB

&mdash; Lisa Nandy (@lisanandy) February 2, 2023

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Today marks one year since the Levelling Up White Paper, the government’s big plan for its flagship agenda.

It promised an annual report on the government’s progress, but no report has been forthcoming.

✍️ I’ve written to Michael Gove asking where it is. pic.twitter.com/4ILuP5ZcSB

— Lisa Nandy (@lisanandy) February 2, 2023

Rachel Reeves says interest rate hike amounts to ‘Tory mortgage penalty’

Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, claims today’s interest rate hike (see 12.18pm) amounts to a “Tory mortgage penalty”. In a statement she says:

With households already paying a Tory mortgage penalty, families across the country will be worried about what rising interest rates today mean for them.

The reality is that under the Tories, growth is on the floor, families are worse off and we are stuck in the global slow lane.

We do not have to continue on this path of managed decline when Britain has so much potential to grow and thrive.

Hunt welcomes Bank’s decision to raise interest rates to 4%, saying it will help government to halve inflation

Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, has issued a statement backing the Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates by 0.5 percentage points, to 4%. He said this would help the government achieve its aim of halving inflation this year. He said:

Inflation is a stealth tax that is the biggest threat to living standards in a generation, so we support the Bank’s action today so we succeed in halving inflation this year.

We will play our part by making sure government decisions are in lockstep with the Bank’s approach, including by resisting the urge right now to fund additional spending or tax cuts through borrowing, which will only add fuel to the inflation fire and prolong the pain for everyone.

My colleague Graeme Wearden has more on his business live blog.

Only third of voters think Sunak has been better PM than Boris Johnson, poll suggests

The Times has commissioned polling to mark Rishi Sunak’s 100 days in office, and, if anything, it will make even gloomier reading for Downing Street than the Guardian write-through. (See 11.41pm.) The Times reports:

Seven in ten (72 per cent) believe he will not be prime minister after the next election, while just 27 per cent think he has done well so far. However, the YouGov polling also found that by a margin of 14 points voters think Sunak has been a better prime minister than Johnson.

Here is the Times graphic showing whether voters think Sunak is doing well or badly on five key issues.

Almost two thirds of people think Sunak is a better prime minister than Liz Truss, the poll suggests. But only a third believe that he is better than Boris Johnson. (By the time he left office, Johnson was mired in scandal, and his ratings were dire, and if a majority of people think Sunak is no better, then he is in real trouble. But perhaps people responding to this question are thinking of the Johnson premiership in its totality, and giving him credit for things like the vaccine programme.)

The Guardian