Rishi Sunak’s ministerial interests published following launch of Commons probe

Published

2 years ago

April 19, 2023

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Rishi Sunak’s list of ministerial interests has been published following a row over whether he was transparent enough in declaring shares his wife holds in a childcare agency.

The register, compiled by the prime minister’s independent ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus, was released on Wednesday after opposition parties piled on the pressure.

The calls for greater transparency came after an investigation was launched into Mr Sunak by parliament’s standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg.

Downing Street confirmed that the investigation related to shares held by Akshata Murty, Mr Sunak’s wife, in a childcare agency that is set to benefit from last month’s budget.

Mr Sunak subsequently wrote to MPs to confirm that he had lodged the interest in the then-unpublished ministerial register as is required – but he stands accused of failing to declare it when he was first asked by MPs on the liaison committee last month.

In the register – which was published just moments before prime minister’s questions on Wednesday – a footnote confirmed that his wife holds shares in Koru Kids, one of the six childcare agencies listed on the government’s website that welcomed Jeremy Hunt’s announcement to offer cash incentives to childminders.

Sunak gets investigation free pass for PMQs from Speaker – politics latest

The footnote read: “As the prime minister set out in his letter to the chair of the liaison committee on 4 April 2023, this includes the minority shareholding that his wife has in relation to the company, Koru Kids.

“The guide to the categories of interest… sets out the independent adviser’s approach to the inclusion of interests declared in relation to spouses, partners and close family members within the list.”

The list of ministerial interests was last updated in May 2022 – 11 months ago. The register is supposed to be published every six months for reasons of transparency.

Rules governing the register of ministerial interests say that MPs who are ministers should state any relevant interests connected to spouses, partners or close family members.

However, Sir Laurie’s document did not contain an exhaustive list of Ms Murty’s interests, arguing that a balance needed to be struck between any potential conflict of interests and the right to privacy.

“While there may be interests of close family of a minister that might be thought to give rise to a conflict with their ministerial responsibilities, it is also important to consider their right to a degree of privacy over their affairs,” Sir Laurie said.

“Accordingly, interests which are not directly relevant or on consideration do not in fact give rise to a conflict, but may give rise to public comment, are not within the scope of the list.”

He added: “The list is not a register of interests and does not therefore include every interest that a minister has declared in relation to themselves and their family members.

“To do so would represent an excessive degree of intrusion into the private affairs of ministers that would be unreasonable, particularly in respect of their family members.”

Yesterday Sir Keir Starmer urged Mr Sunak to publish his and his wife’s details, telling him not to “hide behind the process” and “come clean”.

While the standards commissioner did not go into specifics when he opened his investigation, he did cite paragraph 6 of the MPs’ code of conduct, which states that members “must always be open and frank in declaring any relevant interest in any proceeding of the House or its committees, and in any communications with ministers, members, public officials or public office holders”.

The allegation against Mr Sunak is that while he may have declared the interest in the now-published ministerial interests list, he did not flag it when first quizzed by MPs.

During the session, Labour MP Catherine McKinnell pointed out that six private childcare agencies were set to benefit from the budget, which confirmed a pilot of incentive payments of £600 for childminders joining the profession – a sum that doubles to £1,200 if they sign up through an agency.

Ms McKinnell asked Mr Sunak what the logic was in making the bonus twice as much for childminders who sign up through private agencies pressed him on whether he had any interests to declare.

Mr Sunak replied: “No, all my disclosures are declared in the normal way.”

Mr Greenberg is currently investigating seven MPs for possible breaches of Commons rules, of which Mr Sunak is one.

World

Gaza ceasefire deal is ‘on the brink’, Biden says in final foreign policy address

Published

10 hours ago

January 14, 2025

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Gaza ceasefire deal is 'on the brink', Biden says in final foreign policy address

A Gaza deal is “on the brink”, President Joe Biden has said in his final foreign policy address.

The outgoing US leader said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians.

“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve
peace,” he said.

“The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”

The US president also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024.

“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” he said.

Mr Biden was delivering his final foreign policy address before he leaves office next week.

Monday’s address will be the penultimate time he speaks to the country before the end of his presidency. He is due to give a farewell address on Wednesday.

US and Arab mediators made significant progress overnight toward brokering a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and the release of scores of hostages held in the Gaza Strip – but a deal has not been reached yet, officials said.

A round of ceasefire talks will be held in Doha on Tuesday to finalise remaining details related to a ceasefire deal in Gaza – including over the release of up to 33 hostages – officials added.

Mr Biden went on to claim America’s adversaries were weaker than when he took office four years ago and that the US was “winning the worldwide competition”.

“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are
weaker,” he said.

“We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”

World

IDF admits ‘serious offence’ after using vehicle marked ambulance in raid in which a grandmother was killed

Published

16 hours ago

January 13, 2025

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IDF admits 'serious offence' after using vehicle marked ambulance in raid in which a grandmother was killed

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has admitted to a “serious offence” after a Sky News investigation analysed CCTV footage showing the moment an 80-year-old Palestinian grandmother was shot in the West Bank.

Halima Abu Leil was shot during a raid in Nablus. The grandmother died soon after.

During the course of the investigation, we noted that a blue vehicle marked as an ambulance and with a red light on its roof was used by IDF troops to enter the West Bank.

Our investigation stated: “Figures who appear to be Israeli military forces exit the ambulance in the foreground. They are equipped with helmets, backpacks, rifles, and other gear.”

The use of a marked medical vehicle for a security operation could be a contravention of the Geneva Convention and a war crime – as well as Halima’s killing.

The IDF has subsequently told Sky News: “On December 19, 2024, soldiers from the ‘Duvdevan’ unit took part in an operational mission to detain terrorists in Nablus.

“During the operation, an ambulance-like vehicle was used for operational purposes, without authorisation and without the relevant commanders’ approval.”

It added: “The use of the ambulance-like vehicle during the operation was a serious offence, exceeding authority, and a violation of existing orders and procedures.”

It also said the commander of the ‘Duvdevan’ unit was “reprimanded”.

However, it gave no update into the death of Halima, saying “the circumstances of the incident are being examined”.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on occupied Palestinian territory Francesca Albanese watched the CCTV video and told Sky News her death could be a “war crime”.

She said: “When I look at the footage, what emerges prima facie is that there were no precautions taken – within these operations whose legality is debatable – to avoid or spare civilian life.

“No principle of proportionality because there was wildfire directed at the identified target and ultimately no respect for the principle of distinction.

“So this was a murder in cold blood and could be a war crime as an extrajudicial killing.”

According to the United Nations Office Of Human Rights in occupied Palestinian territory, Israeli security forces and settlers have killed at least 813 mostly unarmed Palestinians, including 15 women and 177 children, since 7 October 2023.

World

Volodymyr Zelenskyy offers captured North Korean soldiers for Ukrainians held by Russia

Published

1 day ago

January 13, 2025

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy offers captured North Korean soldiers for Ukrainians held by Russia

Ukraine’s president is offering a prisoner swap with North Korean soldiers it has captured, in exchange for Ukrainians held by Russia.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made a direct appeal to leader Kim Jong Un after seizing two North Koreans in Russia’s Kursk region.

“In addition to the first captured soldiers from North Korea, there will undoubtedly be more. It’s only a matter of time before our troops manage to capture others,” he said in a video posted on X.

His video also included an offer of help to officials in California fighting the ongoing fires there.

It is the first time Ukraine has announced the capture of North Korean soldiers since their entry into the nearly three-year-old war last autumn.

Ukrainian and Western assessments say that some 11,000 troops from Russia‘s ally North Korea have been deployed in the Kursk region to support Moscow’s forces, although Russia has neither confirmed nor denied their presence.

Mr Zelenskyy has said Russian and North Korean forces had suffered heavy losses.

“Ukraine is ready to hand over Kim Jong Un’s soldiers to him if he can organise their exchange for our warriors who are being held captive in Russia,” Mr Zelenskyy added.

He posted a short video showing the interrogation of two men, presented as North Korean soldiers.

One of them is lying on a bed with bandaged hands, the other is sitting with a bandage on his jaw.

One of the men said through an interpreter that he did not know he was fighting against Ukraine and had been told he was on a training exercise. He said he hid in a shelter during the offensive and was found a couple of days later.

He said that if he was ordered to return to North Korea, he would, but he was ready to stay in Ukraine if given the chance.

Sky News has not been able to verify the video.

“One of them (soldiers) expressed a desire to stay in Ukraine, the other to return to Korea,” said Mr Zelenskyy, adding that for North Korean soldiers who did not wish to return home, there may be other options available.