Author: News Desk

General Election announcement: Rishi Sunak calls 4 July election Rishi Sunak has fired the starting gun for a 4 July general election – but his opening speech was marred after journalists were forcibly ejected from his event by security. The political correspondent Darren McCaffrey said they had not been allowed in because broadcast arrangements had been “pooled” – so other broadcasters there were obliged to share footage with others. It came after the prime minister addressed the nation in the pouring rain, as he battled against the deafening sound of Things Can Only Get Better playing in the background –…

General election: What are Labour and the Conservatives key manifesto policies? There is no bias in the title provided. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailAfter a day of fervent speculation, Rishi Sunak has finally called a snap general election on July 4.Mr Sunak confirmed the news in a speech outside No 10. Almost upstaged by the rain – and pranksters loudly playing D:Ream’s ‘Things Can Only Get Better’, closely associated with Tony Blair’s 1997 Labour victory – the prime minister reminisced on his time in…

Watch: Aerials of central London as Sunak calls snap general election Watch aerials of central London after Rishi Sunak announced a general election for Thursday 4 July. The Prime Minister made a statement outside No 10 shortly after 5pm on Wednesday 22 May, naming the summer polling date. He has gambled that improved inflation figures and a recovering economy will help him overturn Labour’s 20-point opinion poll lead. In a sign that security and the economy will be key battlegrounds, Mr Sunak said: “This election will take place at a time when the world is more dangerous than it has…

Covid inquiry: the questions cabinet secretary Simon Case will be asked The most senior civil servant in the UK is to give his testimony, delayed for months, with no shortage of queries to address The Covid inquiry makes a brief return on Thursday to considering how Westminster and Whitehall responded to the pandemic, as the cabinet secretary, Simon Case, gives evidence delayed for months because of illness. Case had been due to appear before the inquiry in the autumn, when a series of other top officials appeared, as did politicians who were in leading roles during the time of the…

Watch: Paula Vennells gives evidence at Post Office Horizon IT inquiry Watch as Paula Vennells gave evidence at the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry on Wednesday (22 May). The disgraced former Post Office boss did not answer any questions as she entered Aldwych House in London on Wednesday. She began her three days of evidence amid claims she covered-up the Post Office’s knowledge of bugs in the faulty accounting software. Hundreds of subpostmasters were prosecuted by the business between 1999 and 2015 after Horizon, owned by Japanese company Fujitsu, made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.…

Labour MP reveals general election falls on wedding anniversary A Labour shadow minister has revealed he’ll be spending his wedding anniversary campaigning – as it falls on the date Rishi Sunak announced as the general election. The prime minister announced that the public will go to the polls on 4 July after months of speculation. Many in Westminster had expected the election to be held in October or November. Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday, 22 May, shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “I wasn’t planning to be in Dukinfield town hall getting my election count on that day.” https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/general-election-date-labour-wedding-b2549879.html

Tech tycoon Mike Lynch, accused of ‘massive’ fraud, set to testify at US trial Lawyers for founder of software firm Autonomy, charged over $11bn Hewlett-Packard deal, suggest they may move for mistrial The British entrepreneur Mike Lynch is expected to take the stand in a San Francisco federal courthouse on Thursday as a key witness in his own criminal fraud trial, which began in March. US authorities have charged the former software tycoon with 16 counts of wire fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy relating to his company’s acquisition deal with Hewlett-Packard in 2011. If convicted, Lynch faces up to 25…

Swinney: Election during Scottish school holidays shows ‘disrespect’ | News Rishi Sunak calling a general election during Scotland’s summer school holidays shows “disrespect,” John Swinney has said. On Wednesday (22 May), the prime minister confirmed the date the public will go to the polls is 4 July. Schools in all but two of the 32 Scottish local authorities will be closed for the summer on that day, meaning it is likely some voters will be on holiday when the general election is held. “This is perhaps the latest act of disrespect from a Conservative government, to call an election during…

Bear hugs, security ejections and umbrellas just in case: Inside Rishi Sunak’s general election Conservative Party rally It is officially the start of Rishi Sunak’s general election campaign. I watch as exhausted security guards wave in Tory members filing towards the Excel Centre in the shadow of derelict shipping buildings and super yachts. Past the sniffer dogs and blacked-out Range Rovers, I am greeted by a cheery Conservative press officer equipped with an umbrella – clearly learning his lesson from the big boss’s washout outside Downing Street. Mr Sunak’s campaign rally has clearly been organised at late notice – with…

Reporter ‘forcibly removed’ from Sunak election event live on air | News A Sky News reporter appeared to be kicked out of from Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party general election campaign launch event on Wednesday, 22 May. Footage broadcast live on the channel showed political correspondent Darren McCaffrey being led away by security staff. “We were told because there were pool arrangements in place, we’re not allowed to be here,” the journalist explained. Mr Sunak was holding a rally in London’s ExCel Centre after confirming 4 July as the election date. The Independent has contacted Mr Sunak’s office for comment. https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/general-election-sunak-sky-news-b2549834.html