From bodyguards to death threats – the real impact of chaos in the Commons

Published

3 months ago

February 23, 2024

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The first real crisis of Sir Lindsay Hoyle’s time as Speaker was on full display as he was forced to apologise for how a debate on Gaza descended into chaos.

While he expressed regret for how his decision to allow a Labour amendment on the SNP’s ceasefire motion had angered MPs, he made clear it was motivated by a regard for their safety – an issue that’s become more pressing since the Israel-Hamas war broke out.

Politics latest: Starmer denies threatening Speaker

Sky News has spent the day talking to MPs and their staff about their experiences – ranging from thousands of aggressive emails landing in their inboxes, to protests outside constituency offices that have left some so afraid that they have to work from home.

Ever since tensions over Brexit, MPs have been entitled to panic alarms in their constituency offices to notify the local police force if they are in danger.

And as part of Operation Bridger – activated following the murder of Tory backbencher Sir David Amess – police email staff every Monday to get an itinerary from each MP so they know their whereabouts and of any public-facing events.

‘It’s starting to get him down’

One Labour staffer told us how they now felt like they acted as a “bodyguard” for their MP.

“I’ve started to walk him home, so I’m there to protect him,” they said.

“I walk five steps in front, and you do act as a bit of a bodyguard. I see it as part of the job now.”

The same staffer said the MP they worked for had now started to report tweets that labelled him a “fascist” with “blood on his hands”.

“I think it’s starting to get him down,” they said.

“Before the vote he warned us all on WhatsApp that social media and the parliamentary inbox would be ridiculous for the next 48 hours.”

Death threats have ‘become normal’

Before the chaos in parliament unfolded yesterday, one MP told Sky News they had already received a death threat.

“We are all getting this – it’s become normal for most controversial votes now,” they said.

Last November, when Sir Keir Starmer suffered the resignation of eight shadow ministers who voted for an SNP motion calling for an immediate ceasefire, a protest was held outside the constituency office of one MP and the effigy of a body, along with body bags, was left outside.

At another constituency office, protesters have taken pictures and filmed staff entering and leaving the premises while directing verbal abuse at them.

The situation has become so serious that Labour staff members have been encouraged to apply for a safe gadget, also known as a lone worker gadget, which allows the user to notify police when they feel threatened.

‘The fears of MPs are real’

Former minister and Tory MP Paul Scully said the “security fears of MPs were real” on Wednesday night, and as things grew more “febrile” in the Commons, there was “genuine anger” about what the consequences could be.

“I was pretty anxious when I left parliament last night,” he told Sky News.

“Last time there was a vote on a ceasefire, one of my colleagues in the Lords got really triggered by antisemitic abuse and three cameras being shoved in his face on a tube platform.

“The protests and abuse has just escalated.

“When things like last night happen in the Commons, it is just a tinderbox.”

‘Security has had to be increased’

Senior Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge told Sky News that Muslim MPs in her party were having a “terrible, terrible time” in particular, as rows over whether to back a ceasefire raged on – and voters wanted them to take a stand.

“Security has had to be increased and people have been more guarded,” she added.

But Dame Margaret backed Sir Lindsay’s attempts to widen the debate and his drive to make MPs’ safety a “priority”.

The Jewish MP said he “talked about it a lot in the early days” when he was deputy speaker, and he was “always the person to go to” when she faced antisemitic abuse during Jeremy Corbyn’s tenure leading the Labour Party.

“If you are going to have debate, shouldn’t you put it in context and let democracy prevail?” she added.

‘He has given the impression of giving in to the mob’

However, former defence minister and Tory MP, Sir Alec Shelbrooke, said the Speaker’s actions should not be dictated by external forces.

“In my opinion, he has given in – or has given the impression that he has given in – to the rule of the mob,” he told Sky News.

“I believe he has made the lives of MPs less safe, which I categorically know was not his intention.”

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, whose mother is Palestinian, said she was subject to some racist comments after last night’s parliamentary display.

But she showed some sympathy for Sir Lindsay, telling Sky News he was “put in an impossible position by a purposefully divisive motion from the SNP”.

The MP said the “core issue” was “the lack of any co-ordination between opposition parties before the debate”, adding: “We tried to coordinate with the SNP, but they didn’t listen to us.

“We didn’t have any idea what Labour were going to do.

“And meanwhile we managed to make something so serious that affects not just Palestinians and Israelis but our streets as well into something about us.”

Politics

Rishi Sunak warns of ‘nuclear escalation’ threat – as he refuses to set general election date

Published

6 mins ago

May 13, 2024

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Rishi Sunak warns of 'nuclear escalation' threat - as he refuses to set general election date

Rishi Sunak has said the next five years will be “some of the most dangerous… our country has ever known” – but refused to set a date for a general election.

The prime minister said voters would face a choice between “the future and the past” at the general election and insisted he was “confident” the Tories could defeat Labour.

“It is only us, it is only me, that has the bold ideas and the clear plan that will deliver a secure future for the country,” he told Sky News following a speech in London.

But he refused to say when he would call an election, instead saying it would be “at some point in the second half of this year”.

Politics latest: Rwanda deportation law disapplied by court in Northern Ireland

In a wide-ranging speech that appeared to be a soft launch of his election campaign, Mr Sunak sought to position himself as the best option to navigate a dangerous period, adding that the war in Ukraine “has taken us closer to a dangerous nuclear escalation than at any point since the Cuban missile crisis”.

The PM claimed Sir Keir Starmer could not keep the country safe because he once supported Jeremy Corbyn to be Labour leader and Sir Keir had not committed to increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.

Mr Sunak said he remained “confident” his party could win the general election despite polls continuing to suggest the Tories are on course to lose.

He admitted “we haven’t got everything right” over the past 14 years his party has been in power but said Labour “have almost nothing to say” about what they would do on most issues.

“No plans for our border, no plans for our energy security, no plans for our economy either,” he said.

Mr Sunak said Sir Keir had “no principles either” and had gone from “embracing Jeremy Corbyn to Natalie Elphicke” – the Tory MP who defected to Labour – “all in the cynical pursuit of power. At any price”.

He claimed Labour “have no ideas” and act “like a pressure group, not of would-be government”.

Asked if he believed the country would be less safe under a Starmer leadership, and if this was the beginning of an argument that says “be careful what you wish for. Better the devil you know”, Mr Sunak replied: “In a word, yes.”

The PM said he could be relied on to make difficult decisions on the economy and defence, and he would make the UK a world leader in AI and technological advances.

Focusing on defence and technology, he said: “I feel a profound sense of urgency because more will change in the next five years than in the last 30.

“I’m convinced that the next few years will be some of the most dangerous, yet the most transformational, that our country has ever known.”

Mr Sunak said the UK needs to be “prepared strategically, economically, with robust plans and greater national resilience”.

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Sir Keir Starmer hit out at Mr Sunak’s accusations the UK would be less safe under Labour.

“We would not be less safe under a Labour government,” he said.

“A Labour government has always understood, and I understand very well, having worked on national security, in my previous role when I was Director of Public Prosecutions, I know first hand the importance of national security, which is why I’ve made such a commitment to the national security of our country.

“But in order to make that happen, you need a credible plan for the future.

“This government talks about national security. But what’s its record?

“It’s hollowed out our armed forces. It’s wasted billions of pounds on procurement and doesn’t have a credible plan for the future.

“We are much more serious than that. And that is because we’re a changed Labour Party that puts our country first and our participants.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said Mr Sunak should call a general election.

He said: “Families are sick of the Conservatives failing our NHS, allowing water companies to pump their sewage into our rivers and refusing to help families through the cost of living crisis.

“This Conservative government is out of touch and out of time and Rishi Sunak must do the right thing and give the people a general election.”

Politics

Law allowing asylum seekers to be sent to Rwanda disapplied by court in Northern Ireland – but UK govt to appeal

Published

3 hours ago

May 13, 2024

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Law allowing asylum seekers to be sent to Rwanda disapplied by court in Northern Ireland - but UK govt to appeal

Rishi Sunak has said the government will appeal against a court ruling that provisions of the UK’s Illegal Migration Act – which created powers to send asylum seekers to Rwanda – should be disapplied in Northern Ireland.

The High Court in Belfast on Monday morning ordered the “disapplication” of sections of the act as they undermine human rights protections guaranteed in the region under post-Brexit arrangements.

The Illegal Migration Act provides new powers for the government to detain and remove asylum seekers it deems to have arrived illegally in the UK. Central to the new laws is the scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Mr Justice Humphreys said aspects of the Illegal Migration Act were also incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which the UK remains signed up to.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the government would appeal against the ruling and the judgment “changes nothing about our operational plans to send illegal migrants to Rwanda this July or the lawfulness of our Safety of Rwanda Act”.

Following Brexit, the UK and the EU agreed the Windsor Framework, which stipulates there can be no diminution of the rights provisions contained within the Good Friday peace agreement of 1998, even if they differ from the rest of the UK.

The judge found several elements of the Illegal Immigration Act cause a “significant” reduction of the rights enjoyed by asylum seekers in Northern Ireland under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

“I have found that there is a relevant diminution of right in each of the areas relied upon by the applicants,” he said.

He added: “The applicants’ primary submission therefore succeeds. Each of the statutory provisions under consideration infringes the protection afforded to RSE (Rights, Safeguards and Equality of Opportunity) in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.”

The judge ruled that the sections of the Act that were the subject of the legal challenges should be “disapplied” in Northern Ireland.

The ruling will fuel a row between Ireland and the UK in recent weeks following the Dublin government introducing plans to return asylum seekers to the UK who cross the border from Northern Ireland into the Republic.

The plans were introduced after the Safety of Rwanda Bill became law at the end of April. The law declares the African nation a safe place to deport asylum seekers to.

Irish justice minister Helen McEntee told a parliamentary committee more than 80% of recent arrivals in Ireland came via the land border with Northern Ireland.

Moday’s cases were brought to Belfast’s High Court by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and a 16-year-old asylum seeker from Iran who arrived in the UK as an unaccompanied child on a small boat from France last summer.

He is currently living in Northern Ireland where his application has not yet been determined but said he would be killed or sent to prison if returned to Iran.

Mr Justice Humphreys agreed to place a temporary stay on the disapplication ruling until another hearing at the end of May, when the applicants will be able to respond to the judgment.

Lawyer Sinead Marmion, who represented the teenager, said the judgment was “hugely significant”.

She said it would prevent the Rwanda scheme applying in Northern Ireland.

“This is a huge thorn in the government’s side and it has completely put a spanner in the works,” she said.

The prime minister said: “This judgment changes nothing about our operational plans to send illegal migrants to Rwanda this July or the lawfulness of our Safety of Rwanda Act.

“I have been consistently clear that the commitments in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement should be interpreted as they were always intended, and not expanded to cover issues like illegal migration.

“We will take all steps to defend that position, including through appeal.”

Gavin Robinson, leader of Northern Ireland’s DUP, called on the government to prevent a fracture in immigration policy between the UK’s nations.

He said if nations have different policies it would make Northern Ireland a “magnet for asylum seekers seeking to escape enforcement”.

Politics

Health minister apologises as birth trauma report finds ‘shockingly poor quality’ maternity care

Published

3 hours ago

May 13, 2024

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Health minister apologises as birth trauma report finds 'shockingly poor quality' maternity care

A health minister has apologised after a new report concluded that poor care in maternity services is “frequently tolerated as normal”.

The parliamentary inquiry found there was “shockingly poor quality” in maternity services, which resulted in care that lacked compassion and a system where “poor care is all too frequently tolerated as normal”.

Led by Conservative MP Theo Clarke and Labour MP Rosie Duffield, the Birth Trauma Inquiry considered evidence given by more than 1,300 women and has called for a national plan to improve maternity care.

It found that poor quality postnatal care was an “almost-universal theme”.

“Women shared stories of being left in blood-stained sheets or of ringing the bell for help but no one coming,” the report said.

It has made 12 recommendations, including that the government implement a maternity commissioner who would report directly to the prime minister.

A long-lasting problem

Health minister Maria Caulfield told Sky News maternity services had not been where they should be and apologised to mothers who had been affected.

“I recognise that maternity services have not been where we want them to be, but there is lots of work happening in this space,” Ms Caulfield said.

“This has been a problem for a long time, and it is why maternity is a priority area in the women’s health strategy.”

She said the inquiry aims to get expectant mothers better care during their pregnancy, rather than wait until they are just about to give birth.

Some £1.1bn – more than a third of the NHS’ total maternity and neonatal budget – was spent on cash payments relating to clinical negligence in 2022/23, a Department of Health and Social Care report showed.

Recommendations put forward by the Birth Trauma Inquiry include retraining and recruiting more midwives, offering a separate six-week check post-delivery with a GP for all mothers, provide support for fathers or nominated birth partners and better educate women on birth choices.

It also recommends extending the time limit for medical negligence litigation relating to childbirth from three years
to five years.

Recommendations made by the Birth Trauma Inquiry

The Birth Trauma Inquiry aims to look at the realities of giving birth and how the UK can practically improve maternity services.

One of the key conclusions of the report is to implement a National Maternity Improvement Strategy, led by a maternity commissioner, who will report directly to the prime minister.

This improvement strategy will outline the following 12 recommendations with the aim of introducing a base standard in maternity services across the UK:

1. Recruit, train and retain more midwives, obstetricians and anaesthetists and provide mandatory training on trauma-informed care.

2. Provide universal access to specialist maternal mental health services across the UK to end
the “postcode lottery”.

3. Offer a separate six-week check post-delivery with a GP for all mothers, which includes questions about the mother’s physical and mental health.

4. Roll out and implement the OASI (obstetric and anal sphincter injury) care bundle to all hospital trusts to reduce risk of injuries in childbirth.

5. Oversee the national rollout of standardised post-birth services to give all mothers a safe space to speak about their experiences in childbirth.

6. Ensure better education for women on birth choices. All NHS trusts should offer antenatal
classes.

7. Respect mothers’ choices about giving birth and access to pain relief and keep mothers
together with their baby as much as possible.

8. Provide support for fathers and ensure nominated birth partner is continuously informed
and updated during labour and post-delivery.

9. Provide better continuity of care and digitise mother’s health records to improve
communication between primary and secondary health care pathways.

10. Extend the time limit for medical negligence litigation relating to childbirth from three years
to five years.

11. Commit to tackling inequalities in maternity care among ethnic minorities, particularly black
and Asian women.

12. Research to be commissioned on the economic impact of birth trauma and injuries, including factors such as women delaying returning to work.

Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said she was “determined to improve the quality and consistency of care for women throughout pregnancy, birth and the critical months that follow”.

Wes Streeting, shadow health secretary, called the report “groundbreaking” and said the Labour Party would work in the same bipartisan spirit to deliver results.

‘A lot more work to be done’

After her own experience of a traumatic birth, Sandra Igwe set up The Motherhood Group and has spent the past eight years campaigning. When she gave birth earlier this year for the third time, she expected the outcome would be different.

“Sadly, the third time around, again, my concerns were dismissed and I was made to wait several days to give birth after being induced, and that added to my anxiety,” she told Sky News correspondent Shamaan Freeman-Powell.

“It has shown me there is a lot more work to be done.”

She is now working with Councillor Evelyn Akoto, cabinet member for health and wellbeing at Southwark Council, to get the experiences of women from diverse backgrounds in a maternity commission.

Cllr Akoto, who also had her own experience of being dismissed and ignored during labour, said the statistics black and ethnic minority women face are “horrifying”.

“I see myself and other black women as walking statistics,” she said. “I see our lives in danger all the time.”

The councillor said that in order for the quality of care to be improved across maternity services, inequalities need to be addressed.

“If we get it right for those who are being negatively impacted, we get it right for everyone,” she added. “So it’s important we all come together and resolve this.”