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A government minister has hit out at a BBC satirical show for being “completely biased” in the latest allegation from the Conservatives about the corporation’s impartiality.

Huw Merriman also appears to have mixed up Art Attack presenter Neil Buchanan with BBC social affairs correspondent Michael Buchanan when challenged to give examples of unbalanced reporting.

The transport minister’s comments came after Downing Street was forced to deny it is pursuing an agenda against the BBC, following a “culture wars” row over its impartiality reforms.

On Monday, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer told Sky News the BBC has “on occasion been biased”, but then struggled to give examples.

Mr Merriman, asked if he agreed with his colleague, told Sky News that an episode of BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz last Friday had struck him as “completely biased”.

Transport minister Huw Merriman

“I was driving from my constituency office to home for 10 minutes and all I heard – and it wasn’t satirical – was just diatribe against the Conservatives, not the government,” he said.

“I did listen to it and think, for goodness sake, where is the balance in that?

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“So, yes, I’m afraid to say, despite the fact I’ve always been a big supporter of the BBC, that struck me as completely biased.”

When it was put to him that this is a comedy show, Mr Merriman said it did not strike him as particularly satirical and challenged any viewer to listen to it and make up their own mind.

He went on to criticise the BBC’s coverage of universal credit, which he worked on during his time at the Department for Work and Pensions.

“There was an individual there who would report on it, Neil Buchanan, who I always felt gave one side of the story and not the other side, which was the government side.”

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Minister challenged over ‘BBC bias’ claim

Neil Buchanan hosted the children’s TV show Art Attack between 1990 and 2007.

Mr Merriman may have been mixing him up with Michael Buchanan, a social affairs correspondent at the BBC.

The National Union of Journalists accused him of “scraping the barrel” and said it was “shameful” to single out individual journalists for criticism.

The debate on BBC impartiality has been brought to the fore by a series of reforms the government wants it to adopt.

As part of mid-term review into the corporation’s Royal Charter, ministers want to give Ofcom, the media watchdog, more powers to investigate the BBC and a new legal responsibility to review more of the BBC’s complaints decisions.

Ms Frazer said the BBC “needs to adapt” to the reforms or risk “losing the trust of the audience it relies on”.

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But when challenged to give an example of bias she was unable to provide one beyond the BBC reporting of an attack on a hospital in Gaza which was initially attributed to Israel but which Western intelligence later concluded was the result of a misfiring Hamas rocket.

When it was put to her that a mistake is not the same as bias, she went on to say there is a “perception among the public the BBC is biased” and “perceptions are important”.

The BBC said “no other organisation takes its commitment to impartiality more seriously”.

Labour branded her the “latest secretary of state for culture wars” and accused her of using the BBC “as a punching bag”.

Number 10 was later forced to deny it was pursuing an agenda against the BBC.

Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman, asked if this was the case, responded: “No. This is rightly about ensuring the BBC is able to continue to thrive long into the future.”

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Building societies step up protest against Reeves’s cash ISA reforms

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Building societies step up protest against Reeves's cash ISA reforms

Building society chiefs will this week intensify their protests against the chancellor’s plans to cut cash ISA limits by warning that it will push up borrowing costs for homeowners and businesses.

Sky News has obtained the draft of a letter being circulated by the Building Societies Association (BSA) among its members which will demand that Rachel Reeves abandons a proposed move to slash savers’ annual cash ISA allowance from the existing £20,000 threshold.

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The draft letter, which is expected to be published this week, warns the chancellor that her decision would deter savers, disrupt Labour’s housebuilding ambitions and potentially present an obstacle to economic growth by triggering higher funding costs.

“Cash ISAs are a cornerstone of personal savings for millions across the UK, helping people from all walks of life to build financial resilience and achieve their savings goals,” the draft letter said.

“Beyond their personal benefits, Cash ISAs play a vital role in the broader economy.

“The funds deposited in these accounts support lending, helping to keep mortgages and loans affordable and accessible.

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“Cutting Cash ISA limits would make this funding more scarce which would have the knock-on effect of making loans to households and businesses more expensive and harder to come by.

“This would undermine efforts to stimulate economic growth, including the government’s commitment to delivering 1.5 million new homes.

“Cutting the Cash ISA limit would send a discouraging message to savers, who are sensibly trying to plan for the future and undermine a product that has stood the test of time.”

The chancellor is reportedly preparing to announce a review of cash ISA limits as part of her Mansion House speech next week.

While individual building society bosses have come out publicly to express their opposition to the move, the BSA letter is likely to be viewed with concern by Treasury officials.

The Nationwide is by far Britain’s biggest building society, with the likes of the Coventry, Yorkshire and Skipton also ranking among the sector’s largest players.

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In the draft letter, which is likely to be signed by dozens of building society bosses, the BSA said the chancellor’s proposals “would make the whole ISA regime more complex and make it harder for people to transfer money between cash and investments”.

“Restricting Cash ISAs won’t encourage people to invest, as it won’t suddenly change their appetite to take on risk,” it said.

“We know that barriers to investing are primarily behavioural, therefore building confidence and awareness are far more important.”

The BSA called on Ms Reeves to back “a long-term consumer awareness and information campaign to educate people about the benefits of investing, alongside maintaining strong support for saving”.

“We therefore urge you to affirm your support for Cash ISAs by maintaining the current £20,000 limit.

“Preserving this threshold will enable households to continue building financial security while supporting broader economic stability and growth.”

The BSA declined to comment on Monday on the leaked letter, although one source said the final version was subject to revision.

The Treasury has so far refused to comment on its plans.

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Govt declines to rule out wealth tax after ex-Labour leader Lord Kinnock calls for wealth tax

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Govt declines to rule out wealth tax after ex-Labour leader Lord Kinnock calls for wealth tax

The government has declined to rule out a “wealth tax” after former Labour leader Neil Kinnock called for one to help the UK’s dwindling finances.

Lord Kinnock, who was leader from 1983 to 1992, told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that imposing a 2% tax on assets valued above £10 million would bring in up to £11 billion a year.

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On Monday, Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesperson would not say if the government will or will not bring in a specific tax for the wealthiest.

Asked multiple times if the government will do so, he said: “The government is committed to the wealthiest in society paying their share in tax.

“The prime minister has repeatedly said those with the broadest shoulders should carry the largest burden.”

He added the government has closed loopholes for non-doms, placed taxes on private jets and said the 1% wealthiest people in the UK pay one third of taxes.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves earlier this year insisted she would not impose a wealth tax in her autumn budget, something she also said in 2023 ahead of Labour winning the election last year.

Asked if her position has changed, Sir Keir’s spokesman referred back to her previous comments and said: “The government position is what I have said it is.”

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The previous day, Lord Kinnock told Sky News: “It’s not going to pay the bills, but that kind of levy does two things.

“One is to secure resources, which is very important in revenues.

“But the second thing it does is to say to the country, ‘we are the government of equity’.

“This is a country which is very substantially fed up with the fact that whatever happens in the world, whatever happens in the UK, the same interests come out on top unscathed all the time while everybody else is paying more for getting services.

“Now, I think that a gesture or a substantial gesture in the direction of equity fairness would make a big difference.”

The son of a coal miner, who became a member of the House of Lords in 2005, the Labour peer said asset values have “gone through the roof” in the past 20 years while economies and incomes have stagnated in real terms.

In reference to Chancellor Rachel Reeves refusing to change her fiscal rules, he said the government is giving the appearance it is “bogged down by their own imposed limitations”, which he said is “not actually the accurate picture”.

A wealth tax would help the government get out of that situation and would be backed by the “great majority of the general public”, he added.

His comments came after a bruising week for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who had to heavily water down a welfare bill meant to save £5.5bn after dozens of Labour MPs threatened to vote against it.

With those savings lost – and a previous U-turn on cutting winter fuel payments also reducing savings – the chancellor’s £9.9bn fiscal headroom has quickly dwindled.

In a hint of what could come, government minister Stephen Morgan told Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast: “I hold dear the Labour values of making sure those that have the broadest shoulders pay, pay more tax.

“I think that’s absolutely right.”

He added that the government has already put a tax on private jets and on the profits of energy companies.

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UK sentences 2 men to prison over $2M cold-calling crypto scam

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UK sentences 2 men to prison over M cold-calling crypto scam

UK sentences 2 men to prison over M cold-calling crypto scam

Two men who admitted to running a crypto scheme that defrauded 65 investors have both been sentenced to over five years in prison.

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