Starmer demands PM apologise to the nation over sleaze row ahead of emergency debate

Published

4 years ago

November 7, 2021

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson must apologise to the country for his handling of the Owen Paterson sleaze row, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The Labour leader said Mr Johnson must also confirm that Mr Paterson, a former cabinet minister, will not be nominated for a peerage.

Ahead of an emergency Commons debate on standards at Westminster, Sir Keir said Mr Johnson needed to act to clean up politics.

It comes as former Tory deputy PM Michael Heseltine told Sky News he cannot “disagree” with Sir John Major’s assessment that recent behaviour of Mr Johnson’s government could be considered “politically corrupt”.

Sir Keir has also called for action against disgraced MP Rob Roberts, who was readmitted to the Conservative Party despite breaking parliament’s sexual misconduct policy.

Although he is back in the party, the Delyn MP sits as an independent in the Commons as the Conservative whip remains suspended.

A Commons debate last Monday was granted by Speaker Lindsay Hoyle following Tory attempts to block an immediate 30-day suspension for Mr Paterson over an “egregious” breach of lobbying rules.

Conservative MPs were ordered to back the creation of a Tory-led committee to look again at Mr Paterson’s case and the whole standards system.

But after a backlash over the plan, the government performed a U-turn and Mr Paterson subsequently quit as an MP, leaving what he called the “cruel world of politics”.

After one of his shadow cabinet called on the PM to consider his position, Sir Keir said: “Boris Johnson needs to attend this debate, answer for his mistakes, apologise to the country and take action to undo the damage he has done.

“The country is yet to hear a word of contrition over his attempts to create one rule for him and his friends and another for everyone else. He must now come to the House and say sorry.

“And he needs to go beyond just words. Today, the prime minister must begin to clean out the filthy Augean stable he has created.”

The reference to cleaning the Augean stable will be familiar to the classics-loving prime minister, as it was one of the labours of Hercules.

Sir Keir, who will lead Labour’s response in the Commons debate, said Mr Johnson should confirm he will not nominate Mr Paterson “or any other MPs who have been handed suspensions from parliament” for a peerage.

He also urged Mr Johnson to work together on plans to throw Mr Roberts out of the Commons – a loophole meant the Delyn MP’s six-week suspension could not trigger the recall process which leads to a by-election.

Mr Roberts voted with Tory MPs for the plan to spare Mr Paterson an immediate suspension.

Sir Keir said: “It is disgraceful that Mr Roberts has been welcomed back as both a member of parliament and the Conservative Party despite having been found to have sexually harassed a junior member of staff.

“That he was able to aid and abet the prime minister in his attempts to corrupt British politics last week should be a source of shame to the Tories.

“The prime minister was prepared to rip up the system to save one of his disgraced MPs – why will he not take action to protect others from this one?”

Sir Keir also demanded a “full, transparent investigation” into how Randox – one of the firms that paid Mr Paterson – came to win COVID-19 testing contracts.

He said it was “vital the public has confidence that Owen Paterson’s paid advocacy did not influence these decisions”.

The parliamentary commissioner for standards’ investigation into Mr Paterson’s activities covered from October 2016 and February 2020, before the pandemic struck.

Conservative heavyweights have also attacked Mr Johnson’s government over the lobbying row.

Asked about ex-Tory PM Sir John’s comments that the current government is “corrupt”, Mr Heseltine told Sky News: “I don’t think you can disagree with that.”

He added: “The background is extremely uncomfortable because we’re going into a very difficult period.

“We’ve got the disaster of Brexit, we’ve got the environmental conference hanging by a thread in Glasgow, we’ve got the COVID situation, and there’s no doubt at all that people’s living standards by this time next year are going to look very, very different to those they enjoy today.

“This is a bad moment for the government by any standards.”

The Liberal Democrats, who secured the emergency debate, have called for an independent statutory public inquiry into sleaze and corruption allegations.

The inquiry, which would have the power to summon witnesses and take evidence under oath, would examine not only the Paterson row but also the awarding of coronavirus contracts, whether Mr Johnson’s holidays were properly declared, and the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat.

The party also said that any MPs being investigated by the parliamentary commissioner for standards should not be able to vote or propose amendments to motions related to disciplinary issues.

Politics

Ex-Labour MP Zarah Sultana at centre of new party row over £800k in donations

Published

1 hour ago

November 10, 2025

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Ex-Labour MP Zarah Sultana at centre of new party row over £800k in donations

Donations being held by Zarah Sultana will be transferred over to Your Party in tranches from this week, Sky News has been told, but the party stand-off remains.

Ms Sultana has sole control of over £800,000 of Your Party donations following an internal fallout.

Her spokesperson told Sky News £600k would be transferred over in three tranches starting with £200k from Wednesday, and the rest “once the company’s costs, expenses and liabilities are settled in full”.

But a Your Party source told Sky News she should transfer the full £800k worth of donations now.

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It follows a major row over finances behind the scenes of the new left-wing party, which Ms Sultana co-launched with Jeremy Corbyn in July.

At the time, a company called MOU Operations was used to collect donations, with the idea this would be transferred over to Your Party once it was formally registered with the Electoral Commission.

The registration happened on 30 September, but no transfer of funds has been made – despite Ms Sultana stepping in to take ownership of MOU last month after its previous three directors quit.

MOU is holding around £800k of donations in total, as well as around £500k in fees collected as part of Ms Sultana’s unauthorised membership launch, Sky News understands.

Ms Sultana’s spokesperson said £600k would be transferred over in three tranches, and the rest “once the company’s costs, expenses and liabilities are settled in full”.

The Your Party source told Sky News that Ms Sultana has been told Your Party can’t accept the money related to her membership launch due to legal risks and accused her of trying to “offload” it.

Ms Sultana agreed to take over MOU to break a standoff between Your Party and the company’s previous three directors – former Labour MP Beth Winter, former Labour mayor Jamie Driscoll and former South African politician Andrew Feinstein.

The trio set up MOU in April to assist with a new left-wing party centred around Mr Corbyn but resigned on 29 October, claiming the role of holding donations had been “thrust upon” them and raising concerns about a “lack of appropriate governance” within Your Party.

The statement said they hadn’t transferred over the funds because they were worried about legal liabilities and wanted Your Party to take over the company instead – but five of the six founding MPs refused.

Ms Sultana said her stepping in would “bring the chapter to a close” and “these resources will now be used for Your Party, as was always intended”.

However that angered some within Your Party who say this is a mess of her own making because of the membership fiasco, which is still being investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

‘Low trust environment’

While Mr Corbyn and Ms Sultana have since patched things up, one Your Party source described operating in a “low trust environment”.

Senior Your Party figures have accused Ms Sultana of deliberately withholding MOU’s funds for political leverage despite privately and publicly committing to the transfer. Organisers expressed frustration at operating on a “shoestring” ahead of the founding conference at the end of this month.

However, allies close to the Coventry South MP have dismissed the “hostile briefings” and insist she has been conducting “due diligence” before sending the money over.

Sky News understands Ms Sultana has been seeking Your Party’s constitution and financial scheme as registered with the Electoral Commission, to help her understand the party’s governing structures.

A source close to her claims there has been an unwillingness to share the documents from within Your Party, so she has requested them from the elections watchdog directly.

It is not clear who wrote the documents and who is controlling access to them – or why one of the party’s founders should not be able to see them.

A spokesperson for Ms Sultana said: “Zarah did not choose to become the sole director of MOU Operations Limited, but was prepared to take on this responsibility to ensure funds are transferred as quickly as possible and preparations for the founding conference can progress.

“As sole director, she is legally responsible for ensuring the company’s costs, liabilities and expenses are settled, and this process may take some time. To ensure funds are available for the founding conference, she will transfer £600k in tranches over the next couple of weeks. The first £200k is scheduled to be sent 12 November.

“All remaining funds will be transferred once the company’s costs, expenses and liabilities are settled in full.”

A Your Party spokesperson said: “We are completely focused on putting together a successful founding conference for our members, so they can democratically decide Your Party’s structures and programme, and Britain can get the socialist alternative it so badly needs. Hundreds of volunteers are working tirelessly on a shoestring budget to make this a reality, a testament to the grassroots power of our mass movement.”

Politics

XRP rallies on US shutdown nearing end, ETF tickers landing on DTCC

Published

5 hours ago

November 10, 2025

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XRP rallies on US shutdown nearing end, ETF tickers landing on DTCC

Excitement in the crypto community is growing over the potential launch of XRP funds, as the US Senate advances a deal aimed at ending the longest-ever government shutdown.

The Senate reportedly reached a deal on a budget bill to end the government shutdown on Sunday, sending a bullish signal to numerous markets, including crypto.

The XRP (XRP) community is anticipating multiple XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to launch shortly, with several already appearing on the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) website ahead of a possible launch this month.

The price of XRP has rallied more than 12% on the bullish news over the past 24 hours, with the token trading at $2.56 at the time of publication, according to CoinGecko.

11 XRP products listed on DTCC

As of Monday, the DTCC website featured 11 XRP ETF products on its “active and pre-launch” listing, including those by 21Shares, ProShares, Bitwise, Canary Capital, Volatility Shares, REX-Osprey, CoinShares, Amplify and Franklin Templeton.

Although a DTCC listing does not equal actual launch and does not guarantee regulatory approval, it signals that the ETF infrastructure is ready to be traded on US markets.

*The list of XRP products listed on the DTCC as of Monday. Source: DTCC*

It’s worth noting that Grayscale’s XRP Trust (GXRP) has not yet appeared on the DTCC website, and the list also does not currently include an XRP fund from WisdomTree.

“Government shutdown ending = spot crypto ETF floodgates opening,” ETF expert Nate Geraci wrote in an X post on Sunday, adding: “In the meantime, could see first ‘33 Act spot xrp ETF launch this week.”

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas also posted on X on Sunday, noting that the “shutdown is over” and highlighting a subsequent uptick in US equity futures.

“The SEC had open litigation against Ripple for the past five years, up until three months ago. IMO, the launch of spot XRP ETFs represents the final nail in the coffin for the previous wave of anti-crypto regulators,” he wrote in an X post on Nov. 2.

Ripple, SEC, XRP, ETF, Policy — *Source:* *Nate Geraci*

He also highlighted a post from Canary Capital, which claimed last Friday that its XRP ETF is “coming soon,” speculating that the product could go live by the end of this week.