David Cameron to return to cabinet table as Rishi Sunak meets with new top team

Published

10 months ago

November 14, 2023

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Rishi Sunak will meet with his new cabinet today after a dramatic shakeup of his top team saw David Cameron make an unexpected return to frontline politics.

In a major gamble to revive his faltering premiership, the prime minister gave the former Tory leader a peerage in order to make him foreign secretary.

It means the now Lord Cameron will be back around the Cabinet table on Tuesday for the first time since he stood down as prime minister and quit as an MP after losing the Brexit referendum in 2016.

The reshuffle has risked inflaming Conservative divisions as it included the sacking of controversial home secretary Suella Braverman – a popular figure on the right of the party.

Ms Braverman was purged after she accused the Metropolitan Police of left-wing bias in its handling of protests in an article for The Times which was not fully authorised by Number 10. She had also come under criticism in previous weeks for saying that homeless people living in tents was a “lifestyle choice”.

Former minister Andrea Jenkyns submitted a furious letter of no confidence in Mr Sunak to the Tory backbench 1922 Committee in the wake of the decision.

She argued that Ms Braverman “was the only person in the cabinet with the balls to speak the truth of the appalling state of our streets and a two-tier policing system that leaves Jewish community in fear for their lives and safety”.

“If it wasn’t bad enough that we have a party leader that the party members rejected, the polls demonstrate that the public reject him, and I am in full agreement. It is time for Rishi Sunak to go,” the MP added.

The letter does not in itself threaten to provoke a vote of no confidence in the Conservative leader, as the threshold stands at 15% of sitting Tory MPs.

But Number 10 may be wary of more to come after a group of hardline Tory MPs held a meeting in parliament on Monday where concerns were shared about the reshuffle.

Around 12 MPs, including Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson and former cabinet minister Simon Clarke attended in person at the New Conservatives grouping led by Danny Kruger and Miriam Cates.

Other MPs to criticise Ms Braverman’s removal include Sir Jacob Rees Mogg, who warned that the Conservatives “are in danger” of losing votes to the right-wing Reform party.

The former Brexit minister said while Ms Braverman was prepared to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (EHRC) to enact the controversial Rwanda deportation plan, currently held up in the courts, her successor James Cleverly has signalled he does not want to do this.

“There is a distinct watering down on the migration policy,” he told BBC Newsnight.

Ms Braverman has said little about her departure so far but in a potentially ominous warning to Mr Sunak, said she would have more to say “in due course”.

Meanwhile former cabinet secretary Therese Villiers told the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge she would be a “force to be reckoned with” on the backbenches.

Mr Cleverly, the former foreign secretary, has insisted he will be just as committed to the government’s “stop the boats pledge” in his new role.

His appointment is likely to face more scrutiny in the coming days, with a Supreme Court judgement due on Wednesday on whether the much-delayed Rwanda plan is lawful.

But for the moment it has largely been overshadowed by the political comeback of Lord Cameron.

Cameron comeback massive shock

The appointment was a massive shock in Westminster, not just because of the return of a former prime minister to government – the first since Alec Douglas-Home in the 1970s – but also because of his views on China.

During the Cameron administration there was a “golden era” of UK-China co-operation, something Mr Sunak described as “naive” last year following growing tensions with Beijing.

Lord Cameron has also been critical of Mr Sunak’s decision to scrap the northern leg of HS2, while the prime minister used his Tory conference speech to distance himself from the legacy of his predecessors.

But the former prime minister made it clear he backs Mr Sunak and will work with him to help the Tories win the general election, which is expected next year.

The new foreign secretary said: “Though I may have disagreed with some individual decisions, it is clear to me that Rishi Sunak is a strong and capable prime minister, who is showing exemplary leadership at a difficult time.”

The appointment has raised questions about how he will be held to account if he can’t answer to MPs in the Commons.

He also faces questions over the Greensill affair, in which he privately lobbied ministers in an attempt to win Greensill Capital access to an emergency coronavirus loan scheme.

This was seized on by opposition MPs who criticised the “clown show” reshuffle, which also saw Steve Barclay take Therese Coffey’s job as environment secretary, while Victoria Atkins became health secretary.

In another key appointment, GB News presenter and former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey was brought back into government as a minister without portfolio, reportedly to “speak common sense” on behalf of the government and push forward its “anti-woke” agenda, in a conciliatory move to the Tory right.

However many of the party’s One Nation MPs – closer to the centre of politics – may welcome the return of Lord Cameron, who secured them two victories at general elections and is well known internationally.

Former health secretary Matt Hancock said of the reshuffle: “Excellent for the Conservatives, showing Rishi Sunak will fight the election on the centre ground.”

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Mohamed al Fayed ‘carried Viagra’ and ‘cherry picked’ women from Harrods shop floor, ex-employee claims

Published

3 hours ago

September 20, 2024

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Mohamed al Fayed 'carried Viagra' and 'cherry picked' women from Harrods shop floor, ex-employee claims

A former member of the Harrods management team has told how Mohamed al Fayed would “cherry pick” women from the shop floor.

Speaking to Sky News anonymously, the woman described the billionaire, who died last year aged 94, as “demonic” and said he “controlled everything with fear”.

Lawyers representing 37 alleged victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Fayed branded him a “monster” who was “enabled by a system that pervaded Harrods” at a news conference on Friday.

The former employee of the luxury department store, which the Egyptian businessman took control of in 1985, worked at Harrods at the height of his power.

“We were all told Harrods is the greatest place on Earth – but he controlled everything with fear,” she said.

“The power dynamic was so strong, in the blink of an eye you would lose your career and they would try and destroy you. It was this dark psychological trap and everybody was caught.”

She said she heard stories Fayed, known to staff as “the chairman”, would grope people although she was never a victim herself.

“The chairman would walk around the store and he would cherry pick people from the shop floor, if you had blond hair and brown eyes you were favoured,” she said.

“He used to say, ‘I want that one up in my office now’. He used to carry Viagra around in his pocket, and people were so scared of his ‘floor walks’ – if you weren’t smiling enough you were in the shit, if you smiled too much you were also in the shit.”

The ex-employee, who worked at Harrods in her first job after leaving university, said when women were called to Fayed’s office they “couldn’t say no”.

“I would sit her down and I would say I need to let you know what you are walking into,” she said.

“It’s suddenly a pay rise, and you’ll be invited to expensive events and lavished with expensive gifts but really you need to be aware of something.

“I said you will get invited to Park Lane, and parties where there will be lots of rich men, and you would be invited to sleep with people.”

She said she was once asked to see Fayed in his lounge-like office where he was wearing his slippers and said: “When are you going to come up and work for me here?”

The woman said she told him she did not want to work there and went back to her normal job.

“Afterwards he would smile at me and was courteous but then I started getting extra money in my pay packet. I went to the pay office and they said it’s a bonus for what you are doing. It didn’t last long but it happened just after he’d asked to meet him.”

The woman said she now feels “really conflicted” as she was “vulnerable too”.

“It was my first job leaving university. It leaves me feeling angry that we put up with things in that generation, that was our norm,” she added.

Harrods has said in a statement it is “utterly appalled” by the allegations of abuse and apologised to Fayed’s alleged victims.

The department store has also set up a page on its website inviting former employees to come forward if they have allegations.

UK

Katherine Watson: Body found in search for missing TV chaplain

Published

3 hours ago

September 20, 2024

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Katherine Watson: Body found in search for missing TV chaplain

A body has been found in the search for a missing hospital chaplain who starred in a Channel 4 documentary.

Katherine Watson, 50, was last seen in the Heaton Road area of Newcastle, at about 1pm on Thursday and Northumbria Police had become “increasingly concerned” for her welfare.

But after “extensive searches”, the force said a body had been found in the Jesmond Dene area of the city. Although formal identification has yet to take place, “it is believed to be Katherine”, they added.

“Her next of kin have been made aware and are being supported by specially-trained officers,” it said.

“This is an incredibly sad outcome and our thoughts are with Katherine’s loved ones at this difficult time. We will continue to support them in any way we can and we ask that their privacy is respected.”

Also known as Reverend Captain Katie Watson, she joined the army in her late teens, serving in Bosnia in the 1990s and as part of the Royal Military Police.

“Once you have seen genocide first-hand on the streets of a European country, there is nothing left in the world that can faze you after that,” she told the Church Times in 2022, as the Geordie Hospital documentary was first aired on Channel 4.

“I have seen the worst of humanity and I have seen, and continue to see, the very best of it.”

Ms Watson worked at the Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for more than 16 years and was made head of chaplaincy in 2020.

Channel 4’s documentary Geordie Hospital was a six-part series that filmed hospital staff through a shift, featuring a cast including porters, surgeons, dental nurses and chaplains.

Speaking about her role in the show, Ms Watson said: “We only have two things to offer, the gifts of time and presence, but we give them whole-heartedly.”

There was an outpouring of support online for Ms Watson following the news she was missing.

“She baptised our baby boy when he passed away at birth and presided over his funeral,” one person wrote on X. “She’s such a wonderful person who gave us unwavering support through our darkest hours.”

Another said: “The compassion and care you gave me and my family when our mum passed last year was a tremendous blessing and support.”

UK

Starmer to no longer accept donations to pay for clothes, Sky News understands

Published

5 hours ago

September 20, 2024

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Starmer to no longer accept donations to pay for clothes, Sky News understands

Sir Keir Starmer will no longer accept donations in the future to pay for clothes, Sky News understands.

Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner also announced they would take the same approach moving forward.

The decision by the prime minister, chancellor and deputy prime minister follows scrutiny of Sir Keir Starmer and his wife for accepting donations.

The prime minister has accepted work clothing donations worth £16,200, and multiple pairs of glasses, to the value of £2,485.

According to the MP register of interests, Ms Rayner has accepted clothing donations too, to the value of £2,230.

Sky News understands that in June, the deputy prime minister also received a donation by Lord Waheed Alli, a television executive who has donated to Labour over the last 20 years, of £3,550.

The donation was registered but its nature, now understood to be work clothing, was not published.

Sky News understands that since the backlash over the freebies, the registrar was contacted to ensure the donation was published with all the necessary details.

The chancellor has not accepted any such donations, according to the MPs’ register of interests.

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It’s a strategic move from the newbie government

The amount of political chatter over freebies and hospitality for the Prime Minister was starting to look both indulgent and frivolous and it appears as if Number 10 have finally had enough.

I was told Sir Keir Starmer will no longer accept donations in the future to pay for clothes, and neither will Rachel Reeves or Angela Rayner in an apparent attempt to stop this story spiraling through this week and into the Labour conference this weekend.

It’s a strategic move from the newbie government, who had let the story run on perhaps longer than even colleagues in their own party had wanted.

Baroness Harriet Harman spoke out about number 10 trying to justify these free gifts, stating it was just making things worse.

Ministers had also been defending the Prime Minister’s decision to accept donations for days – the latest was Jess Philips, saying accepting Arsenal season tickets was ‘not important.’

Seven hours later though, it appears they’ve decided some of it is important – and have declared a commitment to not accept any more clothing in the future.

Questions still remain over the other hospitality gifts and it’s not entirely clear yet whether this will stem the bleed of bad news before conference weekend, or whether this tacit admittance of a misstep opens another can of worms.

Sky News revealed the scale of Sir Keir’s donations this week as part of our Westminster Accounts investigation.

Sir Keir was found to have received substantially more gifts and freebies than any other MP as his total in gifts, benefits, and hospitality topped £100,000 since December 2019.

This had all been declared as per the rules but backbench MPs had been expressing concern that the government’s rhetoric of tough decisions on the economy jars with the image of a prime minister accepting freebies.

The row started over the weekend with controversy over Sir Keir’s wife’s clothes.

Jess Phillips, minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said earlier today she is “satisfied” with the prime minister’s explanation of why he has taken the freebies.

She said if he “wasn’t doing a good job in our country” then she “would be more concerned”.

Ms Phillips went on to say it’s not that she doesn’t think it’s important, but added: “I haven’t had a single email about it.

“I have had lots of emails about people not being able to get on a housing list.”

Challenged on the fact that it looks bad having just taken away the winter fuel allowance from pensioners, Ms Phillips said these are “completely separate things”.

“And had he never been to watch the Arsenal, there would still be a £22bn black hole that had to be paid for,” she added.

She said: “All I can say is I’m absolutely knackered trying to make things better.”

What has the PM said in response to criticism?

Speaking to journalists this week, the prime minister said “all MPs get gifts” and he thinks the need to declare them is “a good framework”.

“Wherever there are gifts from anyone, I’m going to comply with the rules,” he said.

“It’s very important to me that the rules are followed. I’ve always said that. I said that before the election. I reinforced it after the election.”

On his acceptance of Arsenal tickets, he added: “I’m a massive Arsenal fan. I can’t go into the stands because of security reasons. Therefore, if I don’t accept a gift of hospitality, I can’t go to a game. You could say: ‘Well, bad luck.’

“That’s why gifts have to be registered. But… never going to an Arsenal game again because I can’t accept hospitality is pushing it a bit far.”