People will not face higher taxes on their payslips after budget, education secretary says
People will not face higher taxes on their payslips after the budget, a cabinet minister said, as she refused to be drawn on what measures could be in the £40bn revenue raiser.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson repeatedly said she could not speculate on how Chancellor Rachel Reeves intends to fill the black hole in the nation’s finances, which is understood to be more than double it was previously thought.
Politics Live: Budget a ‘choice between investment or decline’
Labour said in its manifesto that it will not raise national insurance, income tax or VAT on “working people” – but it is not clear exactly who that means.
Ms Phillipson told Sky News it is someone “whose main income arises from the fact that they go out to work every day”.
However, she refused to say whether it meant someone who does this and also has savings, telling Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “You’re once again asking me to speculate on matters that are for the chancellor.”
She added: “We set out in our manifesto that we would not be increasing VAT, national insurance or income tax on working people. We will hold to that. And in the payslips that they see after the budget, they will not face higher taxes.”
Government sources were later forced to clarify that the promise was valid right up to the next election, after the education secretary appeared to fumble her lines on the matter.
There was further confusion over remarks she gave to the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, when she declined to say whether a small business owner with an average net profit of around £13,000 is considered a “working person” by the government.
She acknowledged it is “frustrating” she can’t talk about the budget, but said “that’s not my job – that’s for the chancellor”.
While ministers have remained tight-lipped about the fiscal event next week, it is thought capital gains tax, fuel duty and inheritance tax are some of the levers Ms Reeves could pull.
In recent weeks, ministers have said their commitment not to raise national insurance only applied to the worker element, fuelling speculation that the employer part of this levy could also go up.
It has emerged the government is looking to fill a £40bn shortfall, more than double the £22bn black hole they had previously warned about and used to justify the cut to winter fuel payments.
Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, told Sky News if that is the case Wednesday’s fiscal event will be “certainly one of the biggest tax rising budgets in history”.
The Conservatives have accused Labour of misleading the public during the election campaign with their economic plans.
Gareth Davies, the shadow exchequer secretary, said: “Labour are not keeping their word. They’re attempting to pull the wool over the public’s eyes – but it won’t work.”
He accused Labour of breaking their manifesto promises not only by raising taxes but also by “fiddling the figures to whack up borrowing” despite vowing not to change their fiscal rules.
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UK’s black hole is ‘genuinely big’
Read more:
‘Working people’ and Labour’s muddle with messaging
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It comes after Ms Reeves confirmed that she will change her definition of debt to allow her to borrow more to invest.
Speaking to Sky News earlier this week, she said the self-imposed fiscal rule under which borrowing must be falling by the fifth year of economic forecasts will be redefined from the current measure of public sector net debt.
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Former Bank of England governor looks ahead to budget
Former Bank of England governor Mervyn King warned the move could lead to people’s grandchildren shouldering the burden of national debt in the years to come, and Ms Reeves should “demonstrate how that higher borrowing in the short term is going to be constrained in the future”, such as through higher taxes.
He advised Ms Reeves to be “open and honest” about what the higher borrowing will deliver because “it’s the merits of the spending that will determine whether or not people are willing to accept higher taxes in order to see the benefits”.
Police have made a direct appeal to those involved in the murder of a teenager to finally bring her family closure, exactly 30 years after she disappeared.
Lindsay Rimer, 13, went out to buy a box of Corn Flakes late in the evening on 7 November 1994 and never returned home. Her body was found in a canal close to her home six months later.
Lindsay’s family have also marked this year’s anniversary with a renewed appeal for information from the public, particularly in the town of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire where Lindsay lived and died.
“This person should be in prison, not us because that’s where we feel we’ve been for the last 30 years,” her sister Kate Rimer told Sky News.
Juliet Rimer was just one when her sister was killed but has recently been reading letters and diaries to gain a better understanding of a life cut short.
“It’s just, it’s a bit of a horror film that we have to do this,” she said. “The fact that I had a sister that I never knew who was murdered, I just can’t wrap my head around that. It’s had a massive impact on me.”
Lindsay months before her death
Kate, who played the part of her sister in a police reconstruction a year after her disappearance, says the family believes someone has information that could lead to her killer’s arrest.
“It’s usually been my mum who does this but the emotional toll it’s taken on my parents means that they just can’t do this anymore.
“It’s incredibly emotional, it opens everything up, and it reflects back over 30 years ago and everything that we lived through then. And just the horror of a loved family member, a child being murdered, is a really bizarre situation. You live your normal life around that and then we’re opening up again to bring murder and death back into our family.”
In the years since Lindsay’s disappearance, police have spoken to more than 5,000 people and examined 1,200 vehicles. Two men were arrested and later released.
A new sighting of Lindsay after she left the convenience shop on the night she disappeared has been confirmed and police believe those in the community have vital information.
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Juliet, left, and Kate Rimer speak to Sky News this month
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Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle of West Yorkshire Police made a direct appeal to those who were involved in killing and disposing of her body.
“Has this been on your conscience for thirty years?” he said.
“It’s perfectly possible there’s more than one person involved, its perfectly possible there’s a vehicle involved. Maybe you didn’t murder Lindsay but you know exactly who did because you were there and that’s sat on your conscience for 30 years.
“Now is the time to come and talk to us, now is the time to draw a line under this and bring that closure for Lindsay’s family.”
New posters featuring Lindsay’s picture have gone up around Hebden Bridge as part of the appeal for information and an increased police presence will be in the town.
Juliet said: “It has been 30 years but Lindsey didn’t deserve this and we owe it to her as her family to keep doing this.”
Lucy Letby suggested she could give “tips” to a colleague on how to get away with murder, a public inquiry has heard.
The child serial killer exchanged WhatsApp messages in 2017 with union rep Hayley Griffiths about the US legal drama How To Get Away With Murder.
The discussion took place a year after the neonatal nurse was moved to clerical duties at the Countess of Chester Hospital following concerns she may have been deliberately harming babies.
In a message to Letby, Ms Griffiths wrote: “I’m currently watching a programme called how to get away with murder. I’m learning some good tips.”
Letby replied: “I could have given you some tips x”
Ms Griffiths said: “I need someone to practice on to see if I can get away with it.”
Letby wrote: “I can think of two people you could practice on and will help you cover it up x”
Ms Griffiths replied: “Deal. I will get thinking of a plan. Get the cruise booked as our getaway.”
The pair were working in the hospital’s risk and patient safety department a year before Letby was arrested on suspicion of multiple murders by Cheshire Police.
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How the police caught Lucy Letby
Ms Griffiths said she was aware of the concerns of foul play and the connection to Letby by September 2016.
Shahram Sharghy, representing some of the families of Letby’s victims, asked: “Given the severity of the allegations that were made, and would you agree they are possibly the most serious allegations that anybody could make against a healthcare professional, were you making light of those allegations when you were referring to potentially committing a crime?”
Ms Griffiths answered: “No.”
Mr Sharghy asked: “Can you even begin to imagine and put yourself in the position of the families of the babies who were harmed when they see those messages?”
Ms Griffiths said: “I know… I am so remorseful. As soon as I saw them myself I was upset and I can’t begin to imagine… I can only apologise and say I have learned. I can’t go back in time but I have reflected absolutely on it.”
Read more from the inquiry:
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Earlier, Ms Griffiths told counsel to the inquiry Rachel Langdale KC: “It was nothing more than a conversation. However, I truly and deeply regret having started that conservation… this is completely unprofessional, poor judgement on my behalf and completely insensitive. And for that, I can only apologise from the bottom of my heart.”
Letby, 34, from Hereford, is currently serving 15 whole-life orders.
She was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder six others between June 2015 and June 2016.
The Thirlwall Inquiry into the events surrounding her crimes is expected to sit until early 2015. The findings are expected by late autumn that year.
UK
Newcastle: Three men arrested in connection with deadly house explosion and on suspicion of cannabis production
Three men have been arrested in connection with a deadly house explosion in Newcastle.
Seven-year-old Archie York and Jason Laws, who was in his 30s, were killed following the blast in Violet Close, in the Benwell and Elswick area of the city in October.
Police said at the time that six others were taken to hospital “with varying injuries” after the blast and subsequent fire.
Three men – two in their 30s and one in his 50s – have been arrested on suspicion of two counts of manslaughter, and the production of a Class B drug, namely cannabis, Northumbria Police said.
They all remain in police custody.
Detective Chief Inspector Katie Smith said: “This has been a truly tragic incident which resulted in the loss of two lives.
“As a result of our ongoing enquiries, three men have today been arrested in connection with the explosion.
“Our investigation will remain ongoing as we seek to provide answers to what has happened.
“We would continue to ask people to avoid speculation surrounding this incident both online and in the community.”
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From October: Deadly blast destroys Newcastle house
The blast tore through a row of six properties divided into two flats each.
Drone footage showed how six flats in the middle of the building appeared to have been completely destroyed by the explosion and fire, while piles of debris could be seen in the street outside.
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Superintendent Darren Adams, from Northumbria Police, said on the day of the fire: “As a result of the incident in the early hours of this morning, a seven-year-old boy has sadly passed away.
“Despite the efforts of the emergency services, he tragically died at the scene.
“This is a truly devastating outcome.”
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