Sunak accused of making ‘false argument’ on net zero as plans spark industry backlash
Rishi Sunak has come under fire from environmentalists, business leaders, international allies and his own MPs after watering down several key climate pledges.
Former US vice president Al Gore and the car giant Ford were among the biggest critics of the prime minister’s new “pragmatic” approach to cutting emissions in a day of high political drama.
Mr Sunak insisted he was standing by the legally binding goal of hitting net zero by 2050 despite making changes including:
- Delaying the ban on new cars and vans running solely on petrol and diesel from 2030 to 2035
- Weakening the plan to phase out gas boilers from 2035 so households that will struggle the most to switch to heat pumps will not have to make the change
- Putting back the ban on boilers relying on heating oil in off-grid homes from 2026 to 2035
- Scrapping the requirement of energy efficiency upgrades to homes, which a landlords’ organisation welcomed as meaning they will no longer need to spend “substantial sums of money”.
Politics Live: Reaction as PM reveals major net zero changes
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Motorists on petrol vehicle ban delay
Mr Sunak insisted he was taking a “more pragmatic, proportionate and realistic approach that eases the burdens on families” and claimed other politicians were not being honest about the cost of green policies on individuals.
However, he was accused of peddling a “false argument” with critics saying clean energy will make bills cheaper and boost jobs and investment.
Chris Norbury, the chief executive of the E.ON energy firm, said “there is no ‘green vs cheap’ debate” and Mr Sunak’s U-turns will “delay the vital work of transforming our economy”.
He said companies wanting to invest in the UK need “long-term certainty” while communities now risk being condemned to “many more years of living in cold and draughty homes that are expensive to heat”.
Car company Ford led the business backlash over the delay to the diesel and petrol ban.
Its chief executive Lisa Brankin said: “Our business needs three things from the UK government: ambition, commitment and consistency. A relaxation of 2030 would undermine all three.”
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Ian Plummer, commercial director at Auto Trader, added that both industry and drivers have been left “high and dry” by “sacrificing the 2030 target on the altar of political advantage”.
He said research shows only half of people could see how an electric vehicle (EV) could fit into their lifestyle and “we should be positively addressing concerns over affordability and charging rather than planting seeds of doubt”.
PM ‘sided with landlords’
Landlords welcomed not having to spend more on energy efficiency improvements to homes – a move Mr Sunak said would protect renters who may have faced the costs passed on to them.
But the National Housing Federation, which represents housing associations in England, warned scrapping targets “could lead to people facing higher bills for years to come”.
According to their research, retrofitting homes would save social housing residents on average 40% on heating bills.
A similar warning came from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) which estimated cancelling energy efficiency regulations for the private rental sector could cost households almost £8bn in higher bills over the next decade.
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ECIU energy analyst Jess Ralston said: “The PM has sided with landlords over renters, putting their energy bills and cost of living up by ducking the improvement of rules on energy efficiency.
“That doesn’t make any sense when excess cold in homes costs the NHS £1.2bn per year and renters are amongst those with the lowest incomes.”
The changes have also sparked a political row with senior Tories lining up to criticise the prime minister.
Tory row erupts
Sir Alok Sharma, who was the president of the COP26 climate summit, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think it’d be incredibly damaging for business confidence, for inward investment, if the political consensus that we have forged in our country on the environment and climate action is fractured.
“And, frankly, I really do not believe that it’s going to help any political party electorally which chooses to go down this path.”
Boris Johnson and Conservative peer and environmentalist Zac Goldsmith also urged Mr Sunak to think again, with the latter even demanding a general election over the “economically and ecologically illiterate decision”.
However, the plans were supported by the likes of Liz Truss and Jacob Rees-Mogg.
Although Mr Sunak insisted the changes were “not about” politics, the shift on green policies is being interpreted as a bid to create dividing lines with Labour ahead of a likely general election next year.
Some Conservatives believe rowing back on green policies could be a vote winner given their narrow success in the summer’s Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election, which was won largely through a campaign against the expansion of the ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) charge in London.
Labour ‘relishing’ chance to go ‘toe to toe’ on net zero
Labour said it was “relishing” the challenge of going “toe to toe” with the Tories over net zero at the next election as it promised to reverse the most incendiary of all the prime minister’s promises – to move back the date to ban new petrol cars.
Ed Miliband, the shadow net zero secretary, also said the party did not support watering down obligations on landlords to improve the energy efficiency of rental homes, though he refused to lay out a position on phasing out gas boilers – saying that will be set out in due course.
Mr Miliband, asked at a Politico Q&A event whether the next election could become a de facto referendum on net zero, said: “I relish the prospect of going toe to toe with this government on saying who can make this transition work economically for the British people.
“Because the idea that Rishi Sunak – who is seen as out of touch, has delivered the biggest cost of living crisis in a generation – is the answer to the question of who is going to implement the green transition in a fair way, I mean, come off it frankly.”
Three brothers have been jailed after underage girls in Leeds and Barrow-in-Furness were sexually abused and raped over a number of years.
The trio were convicted in October last year, with the abuse taking place between 1996 and 2010.
Shaha Amran Miah, 49, known as Jai; Shaha Alman Miah, 47, known as Ali; and Shah Joman Miah, 38, known as Sarj all pleaded not guilty.
Sarj has since admitted his crimes. However, the judge said it could be a cynical attempt for leniency and did not give him any credit.
Shaha Amran Miah, Shaha Joman Miah and Shaha Alman Miah. Pic: Cumbria Police
They were sentenced on Friday to the following:
Shaha Amran Miah – life with a minimum term of 20 years and 338 days.
Shaha Alman Miah – 10 years in prison and four years on licence.
Shah Joman Miah – life with a minimum term of 21 years and 232 days.
Preston Crown Court heard Sarj and Jai regularly sexually abused two children at a Leeds mosque over many years, beginning when the victims were seven.
The three also preyed on vulnerable and underage girls at a flat above their family’s takeaway in Barrow, Cumbria, between 2008 and 2010.
They gave them cigarettes, alcohol, food and even hair extensions in what barrister Tim Evans KC called a “classic grooming technique”.
He said the brothers worked as a team and “created an environment in Barrow in which each of them could abuse young girls”.
Judge Unsworth KC said they had shattered the lives of their victims and hid in plain sight in the Cumbria town.
Multiple schoolgirls in their uniforms were regularly seen at the takeaway, the judge said, with Jai acting ruthlessly to stop them going to the police.
The court heard Sarj would take one of the girls to a hotel for sex about twice a month and became increasingly controlling – to the point she remains on medication and is terrified of seeing him in the street.
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A witness told Sky News the men abused their victims in a dingy room above the takeaway that “looked like a crackhouse” and had mattresses on the floor and sheets covering the windows.
“They knew exactly how young they were,” she said. “They didn’t only have one girlfriend each… they had multiple.”
Shaha Amran Miah was found guilty of 16 sexual offences against three girls, including rape, as well as two charges of intimidation and one of kidnap.
Shaha Alman Miah was found guilty of three counts of sexual activity with a child.
Shah Joman Miah was convicted of sexually abusing three children. There were nine counts of rape of a child among his 40 offences.
Apple will no longer offer customers in the UK its most advanced, end-to-end security encryption feature for cloud data – following a security row with the government.
The Advanced Data Protection (ADP) tool is an optional feature which means only account holders can see things like photos or documents that they have stored online. Apple itself does not have access to the data.
However, the UK government reportedly requested the right to see the data earlier this month.
In response, Apple has removed the tool from use in the UK.
The company is switching it off as an option for those not already using it, and will introduce a process to move existing users away from it.
Security officials argue that encryption hinders criminal investigations, while tech firms defend it as essential to user privacy.
The loss of end-to-end encryption for iCloud backup means Apple would be able in some instances to read user data such as iMessages that would otherwise be protected and pass it on to authorities if legally compelled.
However, if a user has end-to-end encryption, Apple cannot read the data under any circumstances.
An Apple store in New York. Pic: iStock
What has Apple said?
“We are gravely disappointed that the protections provided by ADP will not be available to our customers in the UK given the continuing rise of data breaches and other threats to customer privacy,” Apple said in a statement.
“Enhancing the security of cloud storage with end-to-end encryption is more urgent than ever before.
“Apple remains committed to offering our users the highest level of security for their personal data and are hopeful that we will be able to do so in the future in the United Kingdom.”
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Apple customers who already had the data protection tool turned on “will eventually need to disable this security feature”, said the company.
It is already unavailable for customers who weren’t using the feature, who now see a message reading: “Apple can no longer offer Advanced Data Protection (ADP) in the United Kingdom to new users.”
What has the UK government said?
The government said it will not confirm or deny whether it requested a Technical Capability Notice (TCN), which is what would give it the right to see the encrypted data.
“We do not comment on operational matters, including for example confirming or denying the existence of any such notices,” a Home Office spokesperson told Sky News.
According to a Home Office source, however, even if a TCN was issued, it wouldn’t give the government blanket access to people’s data.
Separate authorisations or warrants would still be required.
What’s the reaction from the tech industry?
Many in the tech industry are shocked by Apple’s move, with Graeme Stewart from cybersecurity company Check Point saying it “is effectively smashing open Pandora’s box and hoping the chaos stays neatly inside”.
“At its heart, encryption isn’t just for criminals; it’s a shield for millions of law-abiding citizens, businesses, and critical infrastructure,” he said.
“Now we are prying open that door to our digital Fort Knox, there’s no telling what else might slip through.”
Apple was also described as “calling the government’s bluff” by Robert Peake who is the technology partner at Keystone Law, for refusing to create a backdoor into its protected data.
“The Government will face increasing pressure to back down on this, as it seriously undermines its recent attempts to portray the UK as a pro-innovation place to operate,” he said.
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