Starmer focuses on Online Harms Bill and violent extremism in first PMQs since Sir David Amess’ killing
Boris Johnson has committed to bringing the Online Harms Bill back to the Commons “before Christmas” in the first PMQs following the killing of Conservative MP Sir David Amess.
Sir Keir Starmer called on Boris Johnson to bring forward the second reading of the Online Harms Bill by the end of the calendar year in the first PMQs since Sir David’s death last Friday.
In the first meeting of the two party leaders in three weeks, Sir Keir warned: “It is three years since the government promised an Online Safety Bill but it is not yet before the House – meanwhile the damage caused by harmful content online is worse than ever.”
Boris Johnson said the Online Harms Bill will come before Parliament before Christmas
The Labour leader said if the legislation is put in front of MPs before the end of 2021, his party will support it.
The PM thanked Sir Keir for his support and confirmed the Bill will return and “complete its stages” before the end of December.
It had been expected that the Bill – which particularly focuses on how to protect young people online, but also contains plans on how to address terrorism and disinformation – would not return to the Commons until the New Year.
“The safety of MPs, indeed of all public servants, everybody who engages with the public is of vital importance,” Mr Johnson said.
“The Online Safety Bill is of huge importance, it is one of the most important tools in our armoury.”
The PM also insisted new internet safety laws will impose “criminal sanctions with tough sentences” on those responsible for allowing “foul content” on their platforms.
The exchange came less than a week after Tory MP Sir David was stabbed to death in his constituency.
Sir David Amess was killed in his constituency in Essex on Friday
Sir David, who represented Southend West in Essex, was holding a constituency surgery at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea when he was stabbed multiple times.
Ali Harbi Ali, who is 25-years-old, has been arrested on suspicion of his murder.
The PM told MPs his government are “ensuring that we crack down on companies that promote illegal and dangerous content”, adding: “We’ll be toughening up those provisions.”
Sir Keir called for “tough and effective sanctions” for those responsible for harmful online posts.
“It is frankly beyond belief that as the Mirror reported yesterday, 40 hours of hateful content from Anjem Choudary could be easily accessed online,” the Labour leader said.
Sir Keir urged the PM to bring an end to this “by making it clear that directors of companies are criminally liable for failing to tackle this type of material on their sites”.
He added that there is “a clear need for action”.
Mr Johnson replied that the government is working “with all parties” to tackle violent extremism and said UK has “one of the strongest counter terrorism and counter extremism systems in the world”.
Sir Keir Starmer called on MPs to work together to combat violent extremism
The PM said he is “willing to look at anything to strengthen the legislation”, adding: “We will have criminal sanctions with tough sentences for those who are responsible for allowing this foul content to permeate the internet.”
The debate follows almost a week of MPs raising safety concerns in the wake of Sir David’s death.
A wider discussion has developed over the way politicians are targeted online.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Home Secretary Priti Patel said MPs could be given police protection while they carry out constituency surgeries.
Ms Patel said “immediate” security changes are being offered to MPs after the killing and they are being asked to share their whereabouts with police, but she said she did not think it should change the nature of the relationship between MPs and constituencies.
There was a calm mood in the Commons for the majority of the first PMQs since Sir David Amess’ killing
And Ms Patel did not rule out banning anonymity on social media in a bid to tackle “relentless” online abuse, declaring: “We can’t carry on like this.”
At the beginning of the session, Sir Keir called on all members of the House to work “together” to tackle issues relating to violent extremism.
The calm tone remained for the majority of PMQs, with the PM saying he is “delighted to join forces” on the matter.
Despite the rising COVID cases, there was no mention of the pandemic in the 30-minute questioning.
Tulip Siddiq has told Sky News her “lawyers are ready” to handle any formal questions about allegations she is involved in corruption in Bangladesh.
Asked whether she regrets apparent links with the Bangladeshi Awami League political party, Ms Siddiq said “why don’t you look at my legal letter and see if I have any questions to answer… [the Bangladeshi authorities] have not once contacted me and I’m waiting to hear from them”.
The London MP resigned as a Treasury minister in January after being named in several corruption inquiries in Bangladesh.
In her first public comments since leaving government, Ms Siddiq said “there’s been allegations for months on end and no one has contacted me”.
Last month, the interim leader of Bangladesh told Sky News the MP had “wealth left behind” in the country “and should be made responsible”.
Lawyers acting for Ms Siddiq wrote to the Bangladeshi Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) several weeks ago saying the allegations were “false and vexatious”.
The letter said the ACC must put questions to Ms Siddiq “by no later than 25 March 2025” or “we shall presume that there are no legitimate questions to answer”.
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Staff from the NCA visited Bangladesh as part of initial work to support the interim government in the country.
In a post online today, the former minister said the deadline had expired and the authorities had not replied.
Sky News has approached the Bangladeshi government for comment.
The allegations against Ms Siddiq are focused on links to her aunt Sheikh Hasina – who served as the prime minister of Bangladesh for 20 years.
Ms Hasina was forced to flee the country in August following weeks of deadly protests.
She is accused of becoming an autocrat, with politically-motivated arrests, extra-judicial killings and other abuses allegedly happening on her watch. Hasina claims it’s all a political witch hunt.
Electrocuted on their genitals and mouths sewn up: Inside Bangladesh’s ‘death squad’ jails
Ms Siddiq was found to have lived in several London properties that had links back to the Awami League political party that her aunt still leads.
She referred herself to the prime minister’s standards adviser Sir Laurie Magnus who said he had “not identified evidence of improprieties” but added it was “regrettable” Ms Siddiq had not been more alert to the “potential reputational risks” of the ties to her aunt.
Ms Siddiq said continuing in her role would be “a distraction” for the government but insisted she had done nothing wrong.
Cryptocurrency exchange OKX reportedly hired former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to advise it over the federal probe that resulted in the firm pleading guilty to several violations and agreeing to pay $505 million in fines and penalties.
Cuomo, a New York-registered attorney, advised OKX on legal issues stemming from the probe sometime after August 2021 when he resigned as New York overnor, Bloomberg reported on April 2, citing people familiar with the matter.
“He spoke with company executives regularly and counseled them on how to respond to the criminal investigation,” Bloomberg said.
The Seychelles-based firm pled guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in violation of US Anti-Money Laundering laws on Feb. 24 and agreed to pay $84 million worth of penalties while forfeiting $421 million worth of fees earned from mostly institutional clients.
The breaches occurred from 2018 to 2024 despite OKX having an official policy preventing US persons from transacting on its crypto exchange since 2017, the Department of Justice noted at the time.
A spokesperson for Cuomo, Rich Azzopardi, told Bloomberg that Cuomo has been providing private legal services representing individuals and corporations on a variety of matters since resigning as New York governor.
“He has not represented clients before a New York city or state agency and routinely recommends former colleagues for positions,” Azzopardi added.
OKX reportedly wasn’t willing to comment on its relationships with outside firms.
Cuomo also influenced OKX to make executive appointments: Bloomberg
Cuomo, who is now running for mayor of New York City, also advised OKX to appoint his friend US Attorney Linda Lacewell to OKX’s board of directors, Bloomberg said.
Lacewell, a former superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, was added to the board in 2024 and was named OKX’s new chief legal officer on April 1, according to a recent company statement.
Source: Linda Lacewell
Related: New York bill aims to protect crypto investors from memecoin rug pulls
After the investigation concluded, OKX said it would seek out a compliance consultant to remedy the issues stemming from the federal probe and bolster its regulatory compliance program.
“Our vision is to make OKX the gold standard of global compliance at scale across different markets and their respective regulatory bodies,” OKX CEO Star Xu said in a Feb. 24 X post.
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United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners and a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries.
The reciprocal levies on will be approximately half of what trading partners charge for US imports, Trump said. For example, China currently has a tariff of 67% on US imports, so US reciprocal tariffs on Chinese goods will be 34%. Trump also announced a standard 25% tariff on all automobile imports.
Trump told the media that tariffs would return the country to economic prosperity seen in previous centuries:
“From 1789 to 1913, we were a tariff-backed nation. The United States was proportionately the wealthiest it has ever been. So wealthy, in fact, that in the 1880s, they established a commission to decide what they were going to do with the vast sums of money they were collecting.”
“Then, in 1913, for reasons unknown to mankind, they established the income tax so that citizens, rather than foreign countries, would start paying,” Trump said.
Full breakdown of reciprocal tariffs by country. Source: Cointelegraph
Trump presented the tariffs through the lens of economic protectionism and hinted at returning to the economic policies of the 19th century by using them to replace the income tax.
Related: Bitcoin rally to $88.5K obliterates bears as spot volumes soar — Will a tariff war stop the party?
Trump proposes eliminating federal income tax and replacing it with tariff revenue
Trump proposed the idea of abolishing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and funding the federal government exclusively through trade tariffs while still on the campaign trail in October 2024.
According to accounting automation company Dancing Numbers, Trump’s plan could save each American taxpayer $134,809-$325,561 in taxes throughout their lives.
US President Donald Trump addresses the media about reciprocal trade tariffs at the April 2 press event. Source: Fox 4 Dallas
The higher range of the tax savings estimate will only occur if other wage-based taxes are eliminated at the state and municipal levels.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who assumed office in February, also voiced support for replacing the IRS with the “External Revenue Service.”
Lutnick said that the US government cannot balance a budget yet consistently demands more from its citizens every year. Tariffs will also protect American workers and strengthen the US economy, he said.
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