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Priti Patel has suggested “market forces” could make a government U-turn on corporation tax cuts unavoidable.

Speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby, the former home secretary said the need for financial stability “will probably dictate some of these changes now”.

Her comment came as Downing Street today insisted the prime minister and the chancellor “remain committed” to the growth plan set out in last month’s mini-budget, which prompted economic turmoil.

Asked if a U-turn on cutting corporation tax would be sensible, Ms Patel told the Beth Rigby Interviews… programme: “The market is going to dictate this primarily because we want to see stability, stability is absolutely crucial for everyone to carry on with their lives.

“I genuinely think from what we’re seeing that the markets will dictate it.”

Ms Patel, now on the backbenches after new prime minister Liz Truss did not give her a job, also reflected on her nearly three years as home secretary as she spoke about the murder of Sarah Everard, facing death threats and racism.

She said she was “dismayed” by the Metropolitan Police’s reaction to women attending a vigil for Ms Everard, who was kidnapped and murdered by a serving police officer during one of the COVID lockdowns.

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Asked if the vigil, where women were manhandled and arrested, was the beginning of the end for the then-Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick, Ms Patel said: “It was a range of things, it wasn’t just the one incident, appalling though it was.

“It was a range of things that we went on to see, the conduct, the culture of misogyny.”

She said she did not fire Dame Cressida straight away after that as she felt it was the whole Met Police leadership team that was failing women – and she brought them in to find out what was happening.

The MP for Witham, 50, added: “Let’s be honest, since then we’ve learnt so much about the Metropolitan Police about conduct, attitudes.”

Justice system has to raise its game

Focusing on violence against women and girls, Ms Patel said she was proud to have successfully overseen the Domestic Abuse Bill through parliament so it is now law.

She said under Boris Johnson’s government, they did “much more to shine a light” on how domestic abuse can affect anybody at any time, and said they gave victims the confidence to come forward.

However she said: “But to give them confidence to come forward also means that the institutions, the organisations, the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, the criminal justice system has to raise its game and that is also where we’ve been working.”

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Priti Patel resigns as home secretary

Death threats and racism

Ms Patel also spoke about receiving “consistent levels of harassment and abuse” over the 12 years she has been an MP.

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She said that has ranged from intimidation and unkind things to people following her home and death threats.

“I’ve had a lot of death threats, cases have gone to court,” she added.

“It provides pause for thought, there’s no doubt about that but I came into politics because I believe in public service – I’m very old fashioned in that sense that I do believe in public service.”

Ms Patel said there has also been abuse within parliament, with MPs saying she has “no right to speak out on certain issues because of the colour of my skin” – which she said was “unacceptable”.

In 2020, a Guardian cartoon depicted her as a fat cow with a nose ring.

“People know that I’m a Hindu and of Indian origin, that was completely unacceptable but yet a national newspaper felt they could do that and it was in the public interest,” she added.

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Man, 76, arrested on suspicion of administering poison at summer camp after eight children taken to hospital

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Man, 76, arrested on suspicion of administering poison at summer camp after eight children taken to hospital

A 76-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of administering poison at a summer camp which led to eight children being taken to hospital, police said.

Police received reports of children feeling unwell at a summer camp in Canal Lane, Stathern, Leicestershire, on Monday.

Paramedics assessed eight children, who were taken to hospital as a precaution and have all now been discharged.

The suspect was arrested at the camp and remains in custody on suspicion of administering poison with intent to injure/aggrieve/annoy.

Detective Inspector Neil Holden said: “We understand the concern this incident will have caused to parents, guardians and the surrounding community.

“We are in contact with the parents and guardians of all children concerned.

“Please be reassured that we have several dedicated resources deployed and are working with partner agencies including children’s services to ensure full safeguarding is provided to the children involved.

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“We also remain at the scene to carry out enquiries into the circumstances of what has happened and to continue to provide advice and support in the area.

“This is a complex and sensitive investigation and we will continue to provide updates to both parents and guardians and the public as and when we can.”

The force said it has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over what it said was the “circumstances of the initial police response”.

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‘No evidence’ malign activity caused Wednesday’s air traffic disruption, says transport secretary

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'No evidence' malign activity caused Wednesday's air traffic disruption, says transport secretary

There is no evidence that malign activity was responsible for yesterday’s outage of air traffic control systems, the transport secretary has said.

Heidi Alexander said she has spoken with the chief executive of National Air Traffic Service (NATS), Martin Rolfe, and added that what happened was an isolated incident.

NATS has apologised for the IT problems after thousands of passengers suffered extensive travel disruption during one of the busiest times of the year.

The technical glitch led to more than 150 flight cancellations, leaving airlines reacting furiously.

alexander
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Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander

Ms Alexander wrote on X: “I have spoken with NATS CEO Martin Rolfe who provided further detail on yesterday’s technical fault.

“This was an isolated event and there is no evidence of malign activity.

“I know that any disruption is frustrating for passengers.

“Flights are now resumed and I am grateful to airlines who are working hard to get people to where they need to be.

“I will continue to receive regular updates. Passengers should check with airlines before travelling.”

Read more: Flight delayed or cancelled? These are your rights

Officials said a “radar-related issue” caused the air traffic control failure.

A spokesperson for NATS said: “This was a radar-related issue which was resolved by quickly switching to the back-up system during which time we reduced traffic to ensure safety.

“There is no evidence that this was cyber related.”

The problem occurred at NATS’ control centre in Swanwick, Hampshire, and affected the vast majority of England and Wales.

Aviation analytics company Cirium said 84 departures and 71 arrivals were cancelled to or from UK airports up to 10pm on Wednesday, with several flights diverted to other European airports.

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Travel expert Paul Charles: This is a major outage

There was limited disruption on Thursday, with a handful of British Airways flights cancelled because aircraft and crew were out of position.

Heathrow and Gatwick airports said they had resumed normal operations.

Affected passengers are unlikely to be entitled to compensation as the disruption was outside of airlines’ control, but they will be able to claim expenses for a reasonable amount of food and drink, a means to communicate and overnight accommodation if required.

Martin Rolfe in 2023. Pic: PA
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Martin Rolfe in 2023. Pic: PA

Ryanair has called on Mr Rolfe to resign, claiming “no lessons have been learnt” since a similar systems outage in August 2023.

The airline’s chief operating officer Neal McMahon said: “It is outrageous that passengers are once again being hit with delays and disruption due to Martin Rolfe’s continued mismanagement of Nats.”

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‘No lessons have been learned’: Airlines furious after another technical glitch cancels flights

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'No lessons have been learned': Airlines furious after another technical glitch cancels flights

Airlines have reacted furiously after a technical glitch in air traffic control systems led to more than 150 flight cancellations.

The National Air Traffic Service (NATS) has apologised for the IT problems – and said systems were back up and running 20 minutes after the “radar-related issue” was detected at 4.05pm.

But with thousands of passengers suffering extensive travel disruption, during one of the busiest times of the year, airline executives have warned this isn’t good enough.

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Departures resume after ATC problem

Ryanair’s chief operating officer Neal McMahon has called for NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign – and claimed Wednesday’s incident was “utterly unacceptable”.

He said: “It is outrageous that passengers are once again being hit with delays and disruption due to Martin Rolfe’s continued mismanagement of NATS.

“It is clear that no lessons have been learnt since the August 2023 NATS system outage, and passengers continue to suffer as a result of Martin Rolfe’s incompetence.”

Mr McMahon was referring to a glitch that affected more than 700,000 passengers two years ago – and said that, if Mr Rolfe refuses to step down, the government should intervene.

“Heidi Alexander must act without delay to remove Martin Rolfe and deliver urgent reform of NATS’ shambolic ATC service, so that airlines and passengers are no longer forced to endure these preventable delays caused by persistent NATS failures,” he added.

The Department for Transport says Ms Alexander does not have any direct control over NATS – and no powers over staffing decisions at the service.

Martin Rolfe in 2023. Pic: PA
Image:
Martin Rolfe in 2023. Pic: PA

EasyJet’s chief operating officer David Morgan added: “It’s extremely disappointing to see an ATC failure once again causing disruption to our customers at this busy and important time of year for travel.

“While our priority today is supporting our customers, we will want to understand from NATS what steps they are taking to ensure issues don’t continue.”

NATS is yet to comment on the calls for Mr Rolfe’s resignation – but has stressed that the glitch is not believed to be “cyber related”.

“This was a radar-related issue which was resolved by quickly switching to the back-up system during which time we reduced traffic to ensure safety,” a spokesperson had said.

Departures at airports across the country have now resumed – but passengers are being urged to check with their airline before heading to terminals.

Read more from Sky News:
Ozzy Osbourne gets final tour of Birmingham
US Federal Reserve defies calls to cut interest rates

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Travel expert: This is a major outage

John Carr, from Stourbridge, was on his way from Heathrow to Norway to help arrange his brother’s wedding when he discovered his flight was cancelled after checking in.

“I’m pretty gutted,” he said. “We’ve got loads of stuff in the suitcases to set up the venue, because we’re obviously flying to Norway. We’ve got the wedding rehearsal to do. It’s quite stressful.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for an urgent investigation and also referred to the “utterly unacceptable” disruption two years earlier.

“With thousands of families preparing to go on a well-earned break, this just isn’t good enough. The public deserve to have full confidence in such a vital piece of national infrastructure.”

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Flights departing or arriving at a UK airport, or aircraft operated by a UK airline arriving in the EU, are subject to rules concerning delays or cancellations.

Airlines may have to provide compensation, although there are exemptions for “extraordinary circumstances”, according to the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority.

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