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Members of a coronavirus campaign group will be able to attend the Conservative Party conference after initially having their application rejected.

COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, made up of 4,000 people who have lost a loved one to the virus, hit out after being told its members would not be allowed into next month’s event in Manchester.

But Sky News understands from a Conservative Party source that the group has been told it can in fact go and that the initial rejection was an error that was changed once it was reviewed.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivers his speech during the Conservative Party Conference at the Manchester Convention Centre.
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Boris Johnson, pictured in 2019, and the Tories will return to Manchester for their party conference next month

Reacting to the news, Lobby Akinnola, a spokesperson for the group, said: “The Conservative Party has just U-turned and decided that we can in fact attend their party conference.

“Their initial decision to disallow bereaved families from attending was disgraceful, and we hope that there is a genuine acknowledgement of that and that they are prepared to work with us.

“Laughably, they’ve claimed the initial decision was ‘an error’. Funny that the error wasn’t spotted when we initially asked for an explanation for the decision, and only when the news broke in the media.

“Unfortunately it seems that we keep having to correct government ‘errors’, which is exactly why they need to start engaging with bereaved families and stop trying to avoid us.”

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Ms Akinnola said earlier that the initial rejection was “deeply upsetting for families who are already in grief”.

The group said it wanted to attend the Tory conference in Manchester so party members, MPs and ministers could “hear our stories and work with us to learn lessons and stop more families from experiencing the same tragedies that we have”.

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It said that when it had first sought an explanation from the Tories the party said it does not comment on the “reasons behind an individual’s or group’s unsuccessful conference application”.

COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, which has been calling for a planned public inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic to begin sooner, said “not a single” minister has met with the group so far.

The campaign group will be attending the Labour Party’s conference in Brighton, which begins this Sunday.

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Unite boss Sharon Graham threatens to break link with Labour on eve of conference

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Unite boss Sharon Graham threatens to break link with Labour on eve of conference

The boss of Unite, Labour’s biggest union funder, has threatened to break its link with the party unless it changes direction.

Sharon Graham, general secretary of the union, told Sky News that, on the eve of a crucial party conference for the prime minister, Unite‘s support for Labour was hanging in the balance.

She told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “My members, whether it’s public sector workers all the way through to defence, are asking, ‘What is happening here?’

Sharon Graham has been a long-time critic of Sir Keir Starmer. Pic: PA
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Sharon Graham has been a long-time critic of Sir Keir Starmer. Pic: PA

“Now when that question cannot be answered, when we’re effectively saying, ‘Look, actually we cannot answer why we’re still affiliated’, then absolutely I think our members will choose to disaffiliate and that time is getting close.”

Asked when that decision might be made, she cited the budget, on 26 November, as “an absolutely critical point of us knowing whether direction is going to change”.

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Ms Graham, who became leader in 2021, has been a long-time critic of Sir Keir Starmer‘s agenda, accusing him of lacking vision.

The union has campaigned against his decision to cut winter fuel allowance for pensioners – which was later reversed – and has called for more taxes on the wealthy.

But the firm threat to disaffiliate, and a timetable, highlights the acute trouble Sir Keir faces on multiple fronts, after a rocky few months which have seen his popularity plummet in the polls and his administration hit by resignations and scandals.

There is now open discussion about his leadership, with Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, claiming he’s been urged by MPs to mount a challenge.

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Burnham: Labour leadership ‘not up to me’

Unite has more than a million members, the second-largest union affiliated to Labour. It donates £1.5m a year from its membership fees to the party.

The union did not make an additional donation to Labour at the last election – as it has done previously – but was the biggest donor to its individual MPs and candidates. It has donated millions to the party in the past.

Any decision to disaffiliate would need to be made at a Unite rules conference; of which the next is scheduled for 2027, but there is the option to convene emergency conferences earlier.

Just 15 months into Sir Keir’s premiership, in which he has promised to champion workers’ rights, Ms Graham’s comments are likely to anger the Labour leadership.

Sir Keir Starmer has seen his popularity plummet in the polls in recent months. Pic: AP
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Sir Keir Starmer has seen his popularity plummet in the polls in recent months. Pic: AP

Read more: Now is moment of ‘maximum danger’ for Starmer, Harriet Harman warns

Unite, earlier this year, voted to suspend former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner of her union membership because of the government’s handling of a long-running bin strike in Birmingham.

Ms Graham has described the left-wing party being launched by Jeremy Corbyn as a “sideshow” and has brushed off speculation of a leadership challenge by Mr Burnham.

This summer, she said if Unite dropped support from Labour it would “focus on building a strong, independent workers’ union that was the true, authentic voice for workers”.

The annual Labour Party conference kicks off in Liverpool from Sunday.

As a union affiliated with Labour, Unite has seats on the party’s ruling national executive committee and can send delegates to its annual conference.

Watch the full interview with Sharon Graham on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips from 8.30am on Sky News

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The UK needs regulatory clarity that matches ambition

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The UK needs regulatory clarity that matches ambition

The UK needs regulatory clarity that matches ambition

The UK government talks about becoming a “leading global crypto hub,” but slow policy development and fragmented regulation risk losing ground to competitors.

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Vitalik slams EU’s Chat Control: ‘We all deserve privacy and security’

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Vitalik slams EU’s Chat Control: ‘We all deserve privacy and security’

Vitalik slams EU’s Chat Control: ‘We all deserve privacy and security’

Vitalik Buterin has opposed the EU’s proposed Chat Control law, warning it undermines digital privacy and creates surveillance backdoors.

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