Richard Hermer has claimed that leaving the ECHR would make any deals on immigration an impossibility. Speaking to the Lords Constitution Committee this morning, Hemer said:
“The Prime Minister made very plain our commitment to the European Convention. We have reached agreements that have real practical impact and will increasingly have real practical impact in addressing small boat crossings… Germany has agreed to amend its own domestic law to deal with the problem of the transport of boat materials through Germany to the beaches on France.”
Somehow Hermer manages to credit the European Convention for this:
“Now, it is inconceivable that our partners would have entered into those agreements if we were not members of the Council of Europe, if we were not signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights. We are back and it is having practical impact.”
The UK never left…
Hermer hit back at major Labour figures like Blunkett and Straw who have urged Starmer to derogate or leave the ECHR:
“As some people are now advocating, to leave, would be entirely counterproductive if what we are seeking is not rhetorical answers but real practical answers. If we leave, those deals go. No one’s going to enter agreements to us if we’re not complying with the same standards across the im immigration and asylum system. It would be contrary to the national interest. It would be impractical and of course it would do, I think, great damage to this country’s long fought for reputation as a leader in international law.”
It’s that last point which matters to the socialist legal class. Leading the charge in suicide by international court…
As Londoners struggle through a week of travel chaos with tube drivers on £55,000 walking out for fewer hours and juicier perks, Sadiq Khan’s TfL is hiring a new spin doctor to handle the fallout. On a whopping £51,550 salary…
On Monday, TfL quietly advertised for a “Government Relations Adviser” tasked with “safeguarding TfL’s reputation through the effective resolution and coordination of TfL responses to political correspondence” and “managing successful relationships” with MPs and ministers. The hire – who must have “strong political judgement” – will also get free TfL travel, 75% off National Rail, retail and leisure discounts, cut-price private healthcare, alongside hybrid working. Nice work if you can get it…
Shadow Minister for London Gareth Bacon told Guido:
“Sadiq Khan and TfL clearly can’t manage basic relations with Government, so now they’re splashing £50k on an adviser with gold-plated perks to butter up ministers and paper over Khan’s spiralling mess. It’s another job for spin doctors while Londoners are trapped in strikes, crammed on buses and missing work. Instead of fixing the Tube, Khan is allowing TfL to fix themselves a cushy deal. Londoners deserve much better than this.”
Khan promised “zero days of strikes” when he was elected in 2016. Since then there have been 149 strikes. Meanwhile the London Mayor is nowhere to be seen…
Resolution Foundation pawns are now co-chairing Starmer’s potemkin ‘Budget board’. Minouche Shafik and Torsten Bell will lead the new group which is tasked with somehow boosting growth and smoothing relations with businesses as Reeves prepares to hike taxes even further at the upcoming Winter Budget. Don’t say Guido didn’t warn you…
As Guido reported, Shafik and Bell both worked on the Resolution Foundation’s high-tax economics manual in 2023, which recommended a slew of hikes which would make any entrepreneur’s blood run cold. These two are now supposed to chair a group which convinces businesses not to panic too much when Reeves stands at the despatch box…
Also on the board is new Number 10 comms chief Tim Allan, business adviser Varun Chandra, ‘Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister’ Darren Jones, and of course Morgan McSweeney. After Reeves’ shambolic first budget, this board will try to mark her homework and ensure a softer landing for the second attempt. Not spotted: any credible business people, just a bloated squad of government officials…
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley had a bruising encounter with the BBC’s Emma Barnett on the Today Programme this morning over the arrest of comedian Graham Linehan. Rowley refused to say the arrest was a mistake, instead blaming “national policies” and Home Office rules. Rowley said he wouldn’t “pore over one case”:
“I’m not going to criticise officers for following national Home Office policies, Home Office counting rules, Home Office incident recording standards… All of the inspections of policing are about following those policies to the letter. That drives this behaviour.”
Barnett went on to ask whether the officers were “scared” not to arrest Linehan, to which Rowley said:
“I don’t think scared is the right word… officers are making judgments in thousands of cases. The national guidance is very clear about following through on what the victim alleges, taking that at face value.”
Revealing…
Last night, HM Inspector of Constabulary Sir Andy Cooke called for non-crime hate incidents to be scrapped, saying officers must use “common sense” and discretion instead. Pressure piling on Labour over this…
Starmer said to Robert Peston this afternoon:
“I’m fed up with the fact that families across the country see their bills go up and down on energy businesses bills go up and down on energy because of the actions of Putin or Trump across the world.”