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Police Scotland has confirmed it is taking “no action” against Rishi Sunak after he was reported to the force over comments he made about Nicola Sturgeon in his Tory Party conference speech.

Chris McEleny, the general secretary of the Alba Party, told Sky News he had filed a complaint and asked for an investigation into whether Mr Sunak may have committed contempt of court by mentioning Scotland’s former first minister, who is subject to a live police investigation.

The prime minister made a joke about Ms Sturgeon in his speech to Tory Party members at their annual conference in Manchester on Wednesday.

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Ms Sturgeon, who stood down as first minister in February, was arrested and questioned in June as part of Police Scotland’s investigation into the SNP’s finances but was later released without charge.

She has strenuously denied any wrongdoing.

Mr McEleny’s complaint read: “The prime minister is commenting on, and making an assumption about a live Police Scotland investigation.

“Operation Branchform is investigating serious matters of the upmost importance to the people of Scotland.

“It is too important a matter to allow interference from the prime minister in this act of contempt when many people await the facts of Police Scotland’s investigation.

“Operation Branchform should be free to pursue its investigation fearlessly without interference from Rishi Sunak.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson told Sky News: “We have received a complaint and, following consultation with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, no police action is being taken at this time.”

File photo dated 20/06/23 of former first minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon who is writing a "deeply personal and revealing" memoir which she will dedicate to her journalist uncle.

Police Scotland launched Operation Branchform to investigate the whereabouts of £600,000 of funding that had been earmarked for a second independence vote.

It is understood there have been complaints the ring-fenced cash may have been used improperly by being spent elsewhere.

Ms Sturgeon’s arrest came on the back of the detentions of party treasurer Colin Beattie and former party chief executive Peter Murrell – also Ms Sturgeon’s husband – who were both subsequently released without charge.

Police previously searched the SNP headquarters and the home of Ms Sturgeon and Mr Murrell as part of the investigation.

Sky News has approached Downing Street for comment.

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Why Boris’s best mate is off to Reform

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Why Boris's best mate is off to Reform

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈       

Former Conservative chairman and friend of Boris Johnson – Sir Jake Berry – is defecting to Reform UK, causing more problems for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

On today’s episode, Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy discuss if his defection will divide parts of Reform policy.

Elsewhere, the Anglo-French summit gets under way, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hoping to announce a migration deal with French President Emmanuel Macron to deter small boat crossings.

Plus, chatter around Whitehall that No10 are considering a pre-summer reshuffle, but will it have any value?

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Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

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Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

The trial is part of Project Acacia, an initiative from the RBA exploring how digital money and tokenization could support financial markets in Australia.

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Starmer and Macron agree need for ‘new deterrent’ to stop small boat crossings

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Starmer and Macron agree need for 'new deterrent' to stop small boat crossings

Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have agreed the need for a “new deterrent” to deter small boats crossings in the Channel, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister met Mr Macron this afternoon as part of the French president’s state visit to the UK, which began on Tuesday.

High up the agenda for the two leaders is the need to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel, which Mr Macron said yesterday was a “burden” for both the UK and France.

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The small boats crisis is a pressing issue for the prime minister, given that more than 20,000 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in the first six months of this year – a rise of almost 50% on the number crossing in 2024.

Sir Keir is hoping he can reach a deal for a one-in one-out return treaty with France, ahead of the UK-France summit on Thursday, which will involve ministerial teams from both nations.

The deal would see those crossing the Channel illegally sent back to France in exchange for Britain taking in any asylum seeker with a family connection in the UK.

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However, it is understood the deal is still in the balance, with some EU countries unhappy about France and the UK agreeing on a bilateral deal.

French newspaper Le Monde reports that up to 50 small boat migrants could be sent back to France each week, starting from August, as part of an agreement between Sir Keir and Mr Macron.

A statement from Downing Street said: “The prime minister met the French President Emmanuel Macron in Downing Street this afternoon.

“They reflected on the state visit of the president so far, agreeing that it had been an important representation of the deep ties between our two countries.

“Moving on to discuss joint working, they shared their desire to deepen our partnership further – from joint leadership in support of Ukraine to strengthening our defence collaboration and increasing bilateral trade and investment.”

It added: “The leaders agreed tackling the threat of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions.

“The prime minister spoke of his government’s toughening of the system in the past year to ensure rules are respected and enforced, including a massive surge in illegal working arrests to end the false promise of jobs that are used to sell spaces on boats.

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“The two leaders agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of these gangs.”

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, seized on the statement to criticise Labour for scrapping the Conservatives’ Rwanda plan, which the Tories claim would have sent asylum seekers “entering the UK illegally” to Rwanda.

He said in an online post: “We had a deterrent ready to go, where every single illegal immigrant arriving over the Channel would be sent to Rwanda.

“But Starmer cancelled this before it had a chance to start.

“Now, a year later, he’s realised he made a massive mistake. That’s why numbers have surged and this year so far has been the worst in history for illegal channel crossings.

“Starmer is weak and incompetent and he’s lost control of our borders.”

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