Police tell farmers not to bring tractors to Cardiff protest
Protesting farmers have been told not to bring their tractors to Cardiff.
South Wales Police said it was aware of a protest planned to take place in Cardiff Bay on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the force said it was scheduled to begin at 12.30pm and expected to attract large numbers.
Officers say they are “monitoring this situation closely” as road users are told they could experience delays.
The protest may include slow-moving traffic in the Cardiff Bay area and in the wider South Wales area, police say.
But the force says it will be “proactive in minimising disruption to the public”.
There are currently no planned road closures, but access to some roads around the Senedd will be controlled.
The Senedd. Pic: PA
Farmers have expressed their unhappiness at new plans from the Welsh government which would see changes to how farms receive government funding.
A new scheme is being introduced in Wales after the UK voted to leave the European Union.
The Welsh government’s proposals would see farms getting public money if they meet a series of environmental targets.
This includes making sure that 10% of farmers’ land is covered with trees.
Farming unions have warned about the impact the requirement could have on the future of the industry.
The Welsh government has emphasised the proposals are subject to an ongoing consultation.
It has been meeting with representatives of the farming industry in Wales in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, the government announced a number of steps it was taking to address some of the concerns Welsh farmers have.
In a joint written statement, First Minister Mark Drakeford and rural affairs minister Lesley Griffiths said the government was today appointing a bovine TB technical advisory group, as had been previously announced.
That group will look at alternatives to the on-farm slaughter of cattle who have tested positive for bovine tuberculosis and will advise those ministers “as a matter of urgency”.
On water regulations, the government said it would make £20m of extra funding available to help farmers comply with the rules.
It said it would also appoint an independent chair to oversee the first effectiveness review of those regulations.
Mr Drakeford and Ms Griffiths also said the government will ensure woodland and habitat requirements “do not make farms unviable” when forming the final proposals for the sustainable farming scheme.
“Regular review points” will be set up between the Welsh government and farming representatives, before final proposals are drawn up.
Superintendent Esyr Jones said the force “respects the right to peaceful protest”.
“We are in discussions with the organisers to ensure that the protest takes place safely, lawfully with minimum disruption to the wider public,” he added.
“While there is an agreement to facilitate protest activity outside the Senedd, I would urge protesters not to bring tractors or other agricultural vehicles to the protest.
“There are concerns that they pose a risk to the safety of other road users and restrict the movement of emergency services in a busy city environment.”
The public have been advised by police to plan their journey accordingly amid expected delays.
Migrants travelling to Ireland after arriving in the UK on small boats is a sign the Rwanda scheme is already working as a deterrent, Rishi Sunak has said.
Sky News’s Trevor Phillips asked the prime minister if migrants finding their way to Ireland was a sign the UK was “exporting the problem”.
Ireland’s deputy prime minister Micheal Martin said on Friday the threat of being deported to Rwanda had caused an influx of migrants to cross the border from Northern Ireland into the Republic.
In his interview – which will air in full on Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips show tomorrow at 8.30am – Mr Sunak was asked about the comments, saying they illustrated “the deterrent is… already having an impact”.
“People are worried about coming here and that demonstrates exactly what I’m saying,” he said. “If people come to our country illegally, but know that they won’t be able to stay there, they are much less likely to come, and that’s why the Rwanda scheme is so important.”
Downing Street on Friday rebuffed claims the Rwanda plan was already influencing movements into Ireland, saying it was too early to jump to conclusions on its impact.
Mr Sunak said the comments also illustrate “that illegal migration is a global challenge”.
“[That] is why you’re seeing multiple countries talk about doing third country partnerships, looking at novel ways to solve this problem, and I believe will follow where the UK has led,” he said.
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Mr Martin told The Daily Telegraph that the policy was already affecting Ireland, as people were “fearful” of staying in the UK.
Ireland’s deputy prime minister said: “Maybe that’s the impact it was designed to have.”
Mr Martin, who is also Ireland’s foreign minister, said asylum seekers were looking “to get sanctuary here and within the European Union as opposed to the potential of being deported to Rwanda”.
Read more:
Anti-immigrant camp in Dublin ‘not about racism’, residents say
Danger for Sunak if new Act does not stop boats
On the Safety of Rwanda Bill, which finally became law this week after so-called “ping pong” between the Commons and the House of Lords, Mr Sunak said a deterrent was the only way to stop the boats.
“We did just have an important moment this week that in spite of all the opposition from the Labour Party we have passed the Rwanda bill through Parliament in the face of enormous opposition,” he told Sir Trevor.
“That’s important because the only way to fully solve this problem is to have a deterrent, so that if people come to a country illegally, they’re not able to stay, and we can return them.”
Refugee groups in Ireland admit that the threat of being deported to Rwanda is, as the Irish government claims, driving migrants across the border from Northern Ireland into the Republic.
Nick Henderson of the Irish Refugee Council told Sky News: “As long as there is a Rwanda policy and the Illegal Migration Act which states that somebody can’t lodge an application for asylum in the UK and have it considered if they enter in an irregular way, it’s going to have knock-on effects on Ireland, that’s plain to see.”
Now that the Rwanda legislation has finally become law, Tory MPs believe the PM can no longer blame his political opponents in parliament, in the Commons and the Lords, if it fails to stop the boats.
The danger for Mr Sunak, even his supporters concede, is that even if planes do take off for Rwanda this summer and some migrants head for Ireland, it may not stop the tide of more illegal migrants crossing the channel.
His comments came after Ireland’s justice minister told a committee of the Irish Parliament she estimates more than 80% of migrants in the Republic had crossed from Northern Ireland.
The UK’s prime minister told Trevor Phillips his focus “is on the United Kingdom and securing our border”.
Read more:
What impact will bill have on immigration?
Sunak staking premiership on Rwanda flights plan
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The Safety of Rwanda Bill became an Act on Thursday, with Number 10 announcing the same day that the first deportation plane had been booked.
After a number of setbacks and delays, the bill passed in parliament earlier this week and then received royal assent, with Home Secretary James Cleverly hailing the approval as a “landmark moment in our plan to stop the boats”.
Anticipating the bill’s passage, the prime minister earlier this week promised the first flights would take off in 10 to 12 weeks – “come what may”.
Watch the full interview on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips at 8.30am
According to the prosecutors, the increased scale of the losses justifies the sentence recommendation.
Politics
Humza Yousaf: Scotland’s first minister claims Holyrood election could be called – as vote of no confidence looms
Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf claims a Holyrood election could be called as he refuses to say if he will resign if he loses a looming vote of no confidence.
Speaking exclusively to Sky News in Fife on Saturday, the SNP leader said it was “really disappointing” to learn the Greens will refuse to enter further talks to change their minds on voting against him in a ballot which could prove fatal for his leadership.
Mr Yousaf has today written to all the opposition parties, including Alex Salmond’s Alba party, at Holyrood urging them to rethink their plot to oust him.
Humza Yousaf
The SNP leader said on Saturday that he was leaving it to his rivals to determine his fate.
A Green Party source said the only letter they will accept from the first minister is his resignation.
Mr Yousaf told Sky News: “Well let me say again, that would be really disappointing if that is the Greens’ position.
“As I say, I’ve reached out to them, they are saying publicly that they’re going to support a Conservative motion against independence, first minister and independence government.
“That would be, I think, a poor choice to make.”
Asked if there might be a Scottish election if he doesn’t win the vote, Mr Yousaf replied: “Can’t rule it out.”
Ash Regan. Pic: PA
The casting vote now looks likely to be Alba MSP Ash Regan who sensationally defected from the SNP in the wake of her defeat in the race to replace Nicola Sturgeon last year.
Sky News understands Alba is holding an emergency meeting this weekend to determine how it will cast the key vote.
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Yousaf to ‘fight’ no confidence vote
When asked how SNP members would feel about being “propped up” by Mr Salmond, Mr Yousaf said: “Let me make it really, really clear, I’ll be sending out to anybody I meet with, whoever comes round that table, that these are the priorities of the SNP minority government.
“This is what we’ll be pursuing, this is what we’ll be pushing. It’ll then be up to be it Ash Regan, be it Lorna Slater, be it Patrick Harvie or any of them, to decide what button they push when it comes to the vote of no confidence.”
Read more:
How did we get here – and what happens next?
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The first minister was asked twice whether he would resign if he failed to win the confidence of parliament.
He responded: “Again, I’m not planning to lose the vote of no confidence, I’m planning to win that vote of no confidence.”
Asked if his position would be untenable, he said “Planning to win.”
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