Failures "across multiple agencies" contributed to the murder of Zara Aleena, an inquest has found.
The 35-year-old law graduate was killed as she walked home from a night out in east London.
Her killer Jordan McSweeney was freed from prison nine days before he attacked Ms Aleena as she walked home in Ilford on 26 June 2022.
Ms Aleena died in hospital from a blunt force head injury and neck compression, the jury said.
Image:Jordan McSweeney. Pic: PA
On Wednesday, it found "Zara's death was contributed to by the failure of multiple state agencies to act in accordance to policies and procedures - to share intelligence, accurately assess risk of serious harm, [and] act and plan in response to the risk in a sufficient, timely and coordinated way".
There were "significant failures to appropriately assess risk" by the prison and probation service, with McSweeney not being rated high risk.
It added there was "failure to define, understand and execute roles and responsibilities across multiple agencies to manage the offender effectively".
"Attempts [by the Metropolitan Police] to arrest the offender post-recall were impeded by a number of factors, including inaccurate data on the recall and a lack of professional curiosity and follow-ups on Saturday 25 June," the jury said.
Ms Aleena's aunt Farah Naz said in a statement: "Today is a difficult day for my family. It marks the two-year anniversary of the brutal murder of our precious Zara, coinciding with the conclusion of the inquest into her death and the jury's final verdict.
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"We welcome the jury's conclusions under the coroner's guidance. The inquest has highlighted numerous devastating and unnecessary failings and mistakes made within and by our under-resourced justice system."
McSweeney was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 38 years at the Old Bailey in December 2022 after admitting Ms Aleena's murder and sexual assault.
In November 2023, he won a Court of Appeal bid to reduce the minimum term of his life sentence to 33 years.
Area coroner Nadia Persaud had asked jurors to consider whether any failings by the prison and probation services or Metropolitan Police contributed to Ms Aleena's death.
He missed his probation appointment on the day he was let out, with his mother telling staff he had passed out drunk at her house. Although it was rescheduled twice, McSweeney did not attend either appointment and his mother said she did not know where he was.
Despite the lack of contact, his recall was not initiated until 22 June and the recall report was signed on 24 June 2022.
Police were given powers to arrest McSweeney at 4.10pm the same day. In the early hours of 26 June McSweeney murdered Ms Aleena.
Probation officer: McSweeney should have been graded high risk
His recently qualified probation officer Austin Uwaifo said McSweeney should have been graded high risk and, if he had been, he would have pushed for him to have been recalled to prison earlier.
Mr Uwaifo said: "At the time, the thinking was that because he came out on the Friday, my thinking was to give him the opportunity to return - possibly he came out and decided to, for whatever reason, decided to go out and get drunk."
Mr Uwaifo said the probation office was not staffed over the weekend but he would have requested a faster out-of-hours emergency recall if McSweeney had been graded high risk.
Initial inquiries closed prematurely
The police officer who actioned McSweeney's recall said initial inquiries into his whereabouts were closed prematurely and more checks should have been carried out.
Metropolitan Police operations sergeant Ian Batten said he did not foresee McSweeney being a risk to the public after receiving a recall to prison notice for him on 24 June 2022.
Mr Batten also said he did not know initial inquiries into McSweeney's whereabouts were closed before the end of his shift.
Chief probation officer Kim Thornden-Edwards said: "We have taken significant steps to address the failings previously identified since 2022, including mandatory training to improve risk assessments and implementing new processes to ensure the swift recall of offenders, and will look at any further action now required."
Six key takeaways from Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer's final TV debate before the election
The gloves were off as Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer went head-to-head in the final TV debate of the election between the leaders.
With just over a week to go before 4 July polling day, this was an opportunity for prime minister Rishi Sunak's to make an impact on the polls, with the Conservative Party trailing Labour by 20 points.
Here are some of the best verbal tussles from the 75 minutes of the BBC's debate.
Attack, attack, attack
Mr Sunak learnt from his previous debate appearances and went on the attack from the get-go.
He repeatedly interrupted the Labour leader to dominate some early sections of the debate, notably on immigration.
The prime minister also turned interrogator, demanding to know Labour's plan to deal with small boats and insisting Sir Keir was "not being straight with people".
The Labour leader tried to rise above the hectoring, sighing and giving exasperated responses, but his frustration was evident.
Pointing out that immigration numbers "have gone through the roof" under Mr Sunak's premiership, Sir Keir also talked about prosecuting criminal gangs and terrorists as the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Sir Keir got the first applause of the night for his own comeback when Mr Sunak again interrupted, suggesting "if you listened to people in the audience, across the country, you might not be so out of touch."
Protesters disrupt the start of the debate
As the debate started, shouts could be heard in the background throughout the first 20 minutes or so of the debate - and a few loud bangs as well.
This was from a group of pro-Palestinian protesters standing outside Nottingham Trent University.
Debate chair Mishal Husain acknowledged the disruption part-way through, flagging that protest is a valid part of UK democracy.
Taxing times for the leaders
There had been criticism of Sir Keir's performance during the first debate for failing to shut down Mr Sunak's attacks on taxes.
The time, Mr Sunak had a new attack line, claiming a Labour shadow minister had said that public spending could reach hundreds of billions of pounds on green energy, leading to higher taxes.
Mr Sunak was also punchy over a string of council bankruptcies, including in Labour-run Nottingham, where the debate was being held, claiming they were a "snapshot" of what would happen under a Labour government.
Despite Labour committing to keep the pensions triple lock (which means the state pension is increased by whichever is highest of average earnings growth, inflation, or 2.5%), Mr Sunak claimed the party wanted to introduce a "retirement tax".
Sir Keir hit back, branding that "a falsehood" and adding: "He has raised tax 26 times - nobody has raised more tax than this Prime Minister."
Don't surrender...
Mr Sunak ended his response to many questions with a plea to voters not to "surrender" to Labour - whether on borders, finances or council taxes.
But Sir Keir was quick to jump on how Mr Sunak handled the election bets saga, which he said showed the PM had failed to "lead from the front" on standards in politics more generally, and also raised Mr Sunak's Partygate police fine.
Even the audience got personal
The two leaders were more frank with each other than ever during this debate.
Even audience members didn't pull their punches, with one accusing Mr Sunak of being "a pretty mediocre prime minister" before rounding on Sir Keir and claiming his "strings are being pulled" by senior Labour members.
"Are you two really the best we've got to be the next prime minister of our great country?" he asked, to loud applause.
Notably, although Sir Keir and Mr Sunak both shook Ms Husain's hand at the end of the debate, they appeared to avoid doing the same to each other.
What does it mean to be a woman?
There was a question from the audience on women's rights and trans rights in single sex spaces.
Mr Sunak was quick to assert his belief that protecting women's spaces was vital.
Sir Keir jabbed at Mr Sunak for a lack of compassion, saying he had joked about trans issues in front of grieving mother of Brianna Ghey, a trans teenager who was murdered.
He urged the PM to "stop always trying to divide everybody" by using human beings as a "political football" to loud whoops of approval from some in the crowd.
Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon have been found guilty at the Old Bailey of concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice, it can now be reported.
There will be a retrial on other charges they were facing, which is likely to be held in March next year.
Marten, 37, who is from a wealthy family, and Gordon, 50, were charged following the death of their newborn baby daughter Victoria.
A nationwide search for Marten and Gordon was launched after a placenta was found in the couple's burnt-out car on a motorway in Bolton, Greater Manchester, in January 2023.
The couple were arrested in Brighton last February, with the child's body found days later.
That trial began at the Old Bailey in London on 25 January.
A jury of eleven were given a majority direction and, after deliberating for some 60 hours, they found Marten and Gordon guilty of concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.
They were discharged after a total of more than 72 hours of deliberation, having been unable to reach a verdict on the other charges.
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From the winding main road which links the villages of Masca and Las Portelas, close to where 19-year-old Jay Slater disappeared, four white police cars can be spotted, parked down a deep ravine.
Police officers combing the Masca Valley in search of clues (Reuters)
His disappearance has attracted search parties of friends and family, as well as an army of internet sleuths and conspiracy theorists. Yet by Tuesday afternoon, only a group of officers were visible, with no trace of the apprentice bricklayer to offer any clues.
Speaking to The Independent, a young waiter at a cafe in Masca expressed his surprise at the media attention. “This happens a lot,” he said. “People walk, go missing and sometimes they get found, sometimes it takes a while.”
Conditions in the Masca Valley are brutal – the hillsides are covered in wild shrubbery and cacti, with narrow paths suddenly leading to dramatic drops on either side. By retracing his final known footsteps, it is easy to see how someone could become lost if they ventured off the main road or any of the well-trodden paths.
A map of Jay Slater’s last known whereabouts in Tenerife (PA)
While the beachside resorts of Tenerife enjoy 26C-degree heat, the weather can change dramatically in the mountains, with wind and mist appearing in a matter of minutes.
One elderly Spanish couple, whose holiday home is on a hidden dirt track embedded in the mountainside, watched the police search from their back garden.
In difficult terrain, police officers can be seen combing through the bushes and climbing down the ravine in search of clues. When asked about the search, they dismissed the idea that authorities had eased off their efforts and said they had seen helicopters, drones and dogs in the surrounding area over the last four days, but without any result.
Meanwhile, Spanish police are investigating a possible sighting of the teenager in the town of Santiago del Tiede, after a grainy CCTV image showed a young man crossing the road last Monday evening.
The town of Santiago del Teide has also become a focus point for the search (Holly Evans/The Independent)
Less than a mile from Masca, the walk takes hours due to the winding steep roads and dangerous hillsides. Around the town square, which has been decorated with colourful bunting ahead of an upcoming festival, a few posters of Mr Slater have been pinned to noticeboards and bus stops.
“I just want him to be found. I just want my son back, end of,” he told The Sun.
“What more is there? It’s been a week now, a week of nothing. So somebody somewhere must’ve found out something. Somebody.
“It is a living hell. Unless you’re going through it, you cannot explain. Please, please please, if anybody knows anything, just come forward and help us.”
Specialist sniffer dogs have been brough in from Madrid (Reuters)
Speaking outside a small cafe, one local woman, Anita, said: “We often have hikers go missing, every summer it is the same.
“Police come for a week and search and then they go – sometimes it can take months for a body to be found as the mountains are too difficult to search.
“People have said there was a sighting of him here, but no one knows anything – his family came here but there’s nothing to show he is here, as far as I know no shop or cafe has seen him.”
Others shrug their shoulders when asked, perplexed by the level of media interest in the area, while local mayor Emilio Navarro said that “all our resources and means” are being used to find him.
Questions continue to swirl around the nature of Mr Slater’s disappearance, after he phoned his friend Lucy Law at around 8.15am last Monday, to say that he was lost, dehydrated and only had 1 per cent battery on his phone.
Posters with his details have been placed around the town (Holly Evans)
He had been enjoying a holiday with friends in Tenerife, joining other revellers at the New Rave Generation (NRG) festival at Papagayo Beach Club last Sunday in the tourist area of Playa de Las Americas.
Yet during the early hours of Monday morning, he travelled 23 miles away to the remote village of Masca, a mountainous area popular with hikers. He had met two British men during the festival, and accompanied them back to their Airbnb before setting off at around 7.30am on his own.
Little else is known about his whereabouts, except for an eyewitness reporting that he had asked for bus timings, before walking in the opposite direction.
Among those to join reporters at the search site were a couple who said they enjoyed “dark tourism”, and who had spent the last few days observing the operation. They are among several internet sleuths and conspiracy theorists who have travelled to Masca in recent days, with many posting their findings on social media platforms such as TikTok.
In response to wild rumours, his mother Debbie Duncan said: “I really hope I am not taking my son home in a body bag. I really cannot believe the British public are not supporting me in trying to find Jay. This may happen to any of you one day.”
A man has been arrested in connection with the Westminster "honeytrap" scandal.
Police arrested a man on suspicion of harassment and offences under the Online Safety Act in London on Wednesday.
Multiple victims were informed by the Metropolitan Police shortly afterwards.
Earlier this year a string of men, mostly working in politics, revealed that they had received unsolicited, flirtatious WhatsApp messages from people calling themselves "Charlie" or "Abi". In some cases explicit images were exchanged.
William Wragg, then an MP, resigned the Conservative whip after saying that he gave the phone numbers of fellow MPs to a man he met on a dating app because he was "scared".
Others targeted included the then-Conservative MP for Bosworth, Luke Evans, who said he had contacted the police after becoming "a victim of cyber-flashing and malicious communications".
In April the Met announced it was investigating reports of unsolicited messages being sent to MPs and others.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “On Wednesday, 26 June, police executed a warrant at an address in Islington.
"A man was arrested on suspicion of harassment and committing offences under the Online Safety Act. He was taken into custody where he remains.
"The arrest relates to an investigation being carried out by the Met’s Parliamentary Liaison and Investigation Team following reports of unsolicited messages sent to MPs and others.
The investigation remains ongoing.”
Police had first been made aware of the messages late in 2023, but news of them began to emerge publicly in April.
Following initial reports about the messages, Mr Wragg told The Times he had been chatting with someone on an app who subsequently asked him for the numbers of others.
"They had compromising things on me. They wouldn't leave me alone... I gave them some numbers, not all of them."
He apologised for “my weakness” which he said had “caused other people hurt”.
Subsequently other politicians and political journalists spoke of their own experiences of receiving unwanted messages
The following week, Luke Evans, then Conservative MP for Bosworth, said he had been a “victim of cyber-flashing”.
As many as 20 people in political circles were thought to have received unsolicited messages.
Good morning and welcome to today’s live UK politics news with me, Helen Sullivan.
Alister Jack, the Scottish secretary and a Tory cabinet minister, revealed on Tuesday evening that he had placed three bets on the date of the general election, one of which was successful, but said that he wanted to make “absolutely clear I have not breached any gambling rules”.
“I had no knowledge of the date of the election until the day it was called. As I have said previously, I placed no bets in May and am not under investigation by the Gambling Commission,” he said.
The news comes as a Conservative politician has become the fifth party figure to be investigated by the gambling watchdog for allegedly placing a suspicious bet on the general election date, as the developing scandal continued to overshadow Rishi Sunak’s campaign.
The Gambling Commission has informed Russell George, a Tory member of the Welsh parliament who represents the same constituency as Sunak’s closest parliamentary aide Craig Williams, that he is part of its inquiry.
In a statement to the Guardian, George said:
Whilst I will cooperate fully with the Gambling Commission, it would not be appropriate to comment on this independent and confidential process.
Doing so would only jeopardise and undermine the investigation. It is the Gambling Commission, not the media, that has the responsibility, powers and resources to properly investigate these matters and determine what, if any, action should be taken.
I have stepped back from the shadow cabinet while the investigation is ongoing. I have done this as I do not wish to be an unnecessary distraction to their work.”
More on this and other developments shortly.
Here is what is coming up today:
9.30am: Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting on campaign visit in the East Midlands. They will visit a GP practiceas Labour sets out plans to end the 8am scramble for GP appointments and bring back the family doctor.
10.00am: Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole Hamilton and Edinburgh West candidate Christine Jardine to visit Edinburgh Zoo. They will feed the sloths and tour the soon-to-be completed solar meadow which will help power the zoo.
10.30am: SNP Westminster Leader Stephen Flynn will join the SNP candidate for Gordon and Buchan, Richard Thomson, on the campaign trail in Inverurie.
12:00: Scottish Greens general election media call with co-leader Lorna Slater in Inverkeithing.
1pm: Reform chairman Richard Tice to give a press conference in Grangemouth.
3.20pm: first minister John Swinney on the campaign trail in Glasgow. He will be with SNP candidate Carol Monaghan.
8.15pm: Head-to-head debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer to air on BBC One, hosted by Mishal Husain.
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There is a “glaring contrast” between the way Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer have dealt with a gambling row, Ed Miliband has said, according to the PA news agency.
On a visit to a housing development in Staffordshire on Wednesday, the shadow secretary of state of climate change and net zero said Starmer was right to suspend Labour candidate Kevin Craig and that it was a clear indication of a “changed” Labour party.
Speaking to reporters at the Bellway Homes Victoria Gate development in Stafford on Wednesday, he said:
Rishi Sunak had to be dragged kicking and screaming a week after the revelations and goodness knows how long after the Conservative party knew about them to withdraw his support from two candidates.
As soon as Keir Starmer and the Labour party knew there was an inquiry going on by the Gambling Commission, we suspended our support for our candidate, and I think that was the right thing to do.
I think it is exactly what the British people want to see, a leader who will put the country first, not their party.”
Miliband said the decision to withdraw support for Craig shows that the Labour leader “will rightly demand high standards of integrity”.
Miliband added:
I think the journey the Labour party has been on over the last four years is obvious to anyone and this election matters so much because after 14 years of the Conservative party and the Conservative government, which frankly you can see from the recent revelations on the betting on the election, this is just one more symptom of what has happened to the Conservative party and this is the chance for change.”
The PA news agency reports that the conservation charity WWF has accused politicians of going “awol” on the environment.
The charity warned the next five years will be “absolutely vital” in bringing nature back from the brink in the UK and abroad, with native wildlife from puffins to bluebells and mountain hares at risk from climate change, pollution and habitat loss. It is urging all parties to commit to action on nature and climate as the election campaign enters the final straight.
Polling by More in Common for WWF found four in five people (80%) say they care about issues relating to climate, nature and the environment, but only 45% feel politicians share their level of concern.
Nearly as many people are worried about pollution and damage to the countryside and nature (82%) as those concerned about conflict and war (84%), the survey of 2,369 people shows.
There are high levels of support for making big businesses that pollute the environment pay into a fund for restoring nature, with 80% backing such a move, and for tackling high energy bills through investment in renewables, supported by 78% of those quizzed.
Two-thirds (66%) back implementing legislation to end the UK’s contribution to global deforestation and land degradation, and 72% of those polled are in favour of supporting farmers to cut their emissions and restore nature.
The call from WWF comes after tens of thousands of people marched through London at the weekend, calling for political action to restore nature.
Tanya Steele, the charity’s chief executive, said:
Our polling shows the environment is clearly a key issue for the public and they deserve to hear what the next government plans to do to restore nature and meet our climate targets.
Unfortunately, politicians have largely gone awol on the environment during this campaign but the next five years will be absolutely vital in bringing nature back from the brink, both at home and around the world.
As the campaign enters the final straight, we’re calling on all parties to commit to action on nature and climate that’s hugely popular with the public.”
Rachel Reeves talks to business executives. She met some in December, after a £150,000 donation to Labour from a financial services firm. She met more in January, at capitalism’s annual jamboree in Davos. And just this week she told a meeting of City bankers their “fingerprints are all over” Labour’s manifesto.
But she does not talk so much to young people worried about the climate emergency. Or so 23-year-old Zak found when he tracked Reeves down to a cafe where she was campaigning on Wednesday morning. “I’m a young person with Green New Deal Rising,” he said, approaching her.
She peered at him, warily. “We’re literally just about to go,” she said, then picked up her handbag and walked away.
Green New Deal Rising (GNDR) does not block roads, smash windows or douse paintings with soup. Instead the youth-focused climate campaign tries to engage politicians and work the political system. It has a plan to short-circuit electoral politics by endorsing a cross-party slate of candidates it hopes will push progressive action on the environment on to the agenda.
“Rachel, please, you barely speak to young people, you barely talk to us,” Zak, who asked for his surname not to be published, shouted after the shadow chancellor, dodging besuited lackeys to pursue her into the streets of Swindon.
“Rachel, young people are desperate. Climate scientists are saying it’s a code red for humanity, but you’ve backed away from £28bn of climate investment, you refuse to tax the super-rich, you’re refusing to invest in our communities.”
Shortly after, the scene was broadcast on TikTok, Instagram and X, showing Reeves’s refusal to reply thousands of the campaign’s followers.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has told the BBC that he placed a bet on the outcome of the 2010 election.
According to the BBC reporter, Jenny Hill, who is travelling on the Lib Dem campaign bus, Davey said he “had a flutter” on how well his party would do but lost the bet.
Hill says that Davey drew a distinction between “having a flutter” and those accused of having inside knowledge before placing bets.
Campaigning in Essex on Wednesday, Davey said there should be an urgent review into the regulations around politics and gambling. According to Hill, Davey also said he was “as shocked as anyone else” by recent developments.
The BBC’s Newsnight programme has said that up to 15 Conservative candidates and officials are being looked at by the Gambling Commission over alleged betting on the timing of the general election.
In its report, the BBC say it understands that the gambling regulator will conduct interviews this week.
The Conservative party told Newsnight they were cooperating with the Gambling Commission and that they “could not confirm how many of their officials or candidates might be facing scrutiny”.
A spokesperson for the Gambling Commission told the BBC: “Currently the Commission is investigating the possibility of offences concerning the date of the election.
“This is an ongoing investigation, and the Commission cannot provide any further details at this time. We are not confirming or denying the identity of any individuals involved in this investigation.”
There are some key general election voting application deadlines today worth keeping in mind:
The deadline for applying for a proxy vote for the general election on 4 July, for those in England, Scotland and Wales is 5pm BST today. You can apply via the gov.uk website.
While the proxy vote deadline in Northern Ireland has passed, you may be able to apply for an emergency postal or proxy vote on eoni.org.uk. The deadline for emergency postal or proxy vote applications is 5pm today.
The deadline for applying for a voter authority certificate in England, Scotland and Wales is 5pm today. You can find out more about that on the Electoral Commission.
And in Northern Ireland, get your applications in for an electoral identity card if you need one by 11.59pm tonight. You must be listed on the electoral register to get a card – you can then apply via this contact form.
Here is a bit more info on voter ID, courtesy of a handy explainer on voter registration by David Batty:
Do I need to show ID?
Yes. Voters across the UK now need to show photo ID to vote at polling stations in some elections, including a general election. Here is the list of acceptable forms of photo ID, which includes:
If you are registered to vote but don’t have the correct photo ID, or you no longer look like your photo, you can apply for a free document called a voter authority certificate.You can apply by post or online, using this form, and the deadline is 5pm on 26 June.
After this deadline, you can apply for an emergency proxy voteuntil 5pm on polling day, but only if your ID has been lost, stolen or damaged, or if you have a medical emergency or are away for work.
The BBC’s Mishal Husain has shared some details of how the Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer debate tonight will look.
Where the two leaders will stand and the order in which they’ll deliver their closing speeches will be decided by a coin toss, says Husain.
A live audience chosen by Savanta will include Tory and Labour supporters, plus undecided voters.
Husain adds: “Once we’re into the flow, the debate will run straight through, for an hour and a quarter. Where necessary, I will be nudging the two men back to what was in the question, clarifying points, and yes, probably having to call a halt from time to time.”
Nigel Farage is outperforming all other parties and candidates on TikTokthroughout the general election campaign, analysis shows, eclipsing politicians considered most popular among young people.
Since the election was called, videos posted to the Reform leader’s personal account had more engagement and views on average than any other candidate – as well as the main channels of other parties.
Reform has recently decided to target younger voters as part of its campaign, with Farage appearing on podcasts aimed at young men and creating videos showing him mouthing Eminem lyrics. His posts have garnered more interactions per video than Jeremy Corbyn, Labour’s Zarah Sultana and the Greens’ Carla Denyer put together.
The switch in support for Reform is strongest among older voters – especially disillusioned 2019 Tories – but recent polling shows that Farage’s party is attracting more younger supporters than the Tories. A YouGov survey from 18 June has Reform on 11% among 18- to 24-year-olds and the Conservatives on 5% for the same group.
Across the four weeks of the campaign, the Labour party’s official account has posted more videos than the Reform leader, garnering the most overall engagement – measured as the number of likes, shares and comments – as well as views.
But Farage’s TikTok account posts the highest-performing content and easily beats Labour on a per-video basis by 30% – and the Tories by more than double – in the period between 22 May and 17 June by engagement.
The PA news agency have a bit more detail on the comments from David Tennant and Kemi Badenoch.
Tennant won a prize for being a “celebrity ally” at the British LGBT awards last week and used his speech to target the equalities minister. Badenoch has faced criticism over her approach to trans rights.
Tennant said in his acceptance speech:
If I’m honest I’m a little depressed by the fact that acknowledging that everyone has the right to be who they want to be and live their life how they want to live it as long as they’re not hurting anyone else should merit any kind of special award or special mention, because it’s common sense, isn’t it?
It is human decency. We shouldn’t live in a world where that is worth remarking on.
However, until we wake up and Kemi Badenoch doesn’t exist any more – I don’t wish ill of her, I just wish her to shut up – whilst we do live in this world, I am honoured to receive this.”
In response to Tennant’s comments, Badenoch said:
I will not shut up. I will not be silenced by men who prioritise applause from Stonewall over the safety of women and girls.
A rich, lefty, white male celebrity so blinded by ideology he can’t see the optics of attacking the only black woman in government by calling publicly for my existence to end.
Tennant is one of Labour’s celebrity supporters. This is an early example of what life will be like if they win.
Keir Starmer stood by while Rosie Duffield was hounded. He and his supporters will do the same with the country. Do not let the bigots and bullies win.”
It’s another busy day on the general election campaign trail. Here are some of the events lined up for this Wednesday:
Labour leader Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting will be visiting a GP practice in the East Midlands this morning as Labour sets out plans to end the 8am scramble for GP appointments and bring back the family doctor.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak and Starmer will take part in a BBC debate in Nottingham this evening. It’s scheduled for 8.15pm.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey is visiting a park in Chelmsford now and then will make a trip to a hotel in Oxfordshire this afternoon.
Home secretary James Cleverly will visit a business in the Sherwood Forest constituency later today. Cleverly will then drop in on another business in the same constituency.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole Hamilton is to visit Edinburgh Zoo with Edinburgh West candidate Christine Jardine this morning.
Ed Miliband, shadow secretary for climate change and net zero, will visit a ‘Zero Bills’ home in Stafford with Octopus Energy.
Reform UK chairman Richard Tice is scheduled to hold a press conference on net zero and the Scottish economy in Grangemouth.
The Ulster Unionist party will launch their manifesto at the Stormont hotel in east Belfast and the SDLP will launch its general election manifesto at the Verbal Arts Centre in Derry.
Rishi Sunak has intervened in the spat between Kemi Badenoch and actor David Tennant, suggesting the Doctor Who star is “the problem”.
Equalities minister, Badenoch, previously said she “will not shut up” after Tennant suggested he wanted a world where she “doesn’t exist any more” during a speech at an awards show.
Sunak said: “Freedom of speech is the most powerful feature of our democracy. If you’re calling for women to shut up and wishing they didn’t exist, you are the problem.”
Tens of thousand of people with sight loss will be denied their right to a secret ballot at next week’s general election, campaigners have warned, prompting calls to make it the last inaccessible election.
The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is calling on all political parties to commit to remove barriers that prevent blind people voting on their own and without help in future elections.
It estimates that 160,000 people in the UK of voting age with severe sight loss will struggle to vote independently because of the lack adjustments made at polling stations.
In a 2019 court judgment, the voting arrangements for blind and partially sighted people were declared unlawful and a “parody of the electoral process”.
In polling stations, blind and partially sighted people are still only legally entitled to a selector – a plastic overlay on voting papers featuring braille numbers to help identify candidates. It involves being accompanied into the voting booth and having voting choices read out.
More sophisticated audio readers, which do allow secret voting, are available only to those who request them in advance.
Good morning. I’m Amy Sedghi and will be taking over the blog from Martin Belam now.
Cabinet minister Mel Stride said he did not know how many Tories would end up being dragged into the Gambling Commission investigation into the possible misuse of inside information on the election date.
The BBC reported that 15 Conservative candidates or officials were being looked at by the watchdog.
According to the PA news agency, Stride told LBC Radio:
I don’t know what the number is, what the number may or may not end up as, or indeed which parties may be involved, because we have obviously just heard that a Labour candidate has apparently betted against himself in the constituency in which he is standing and has been suspended as a consequence.
So I don’t know where all of this will lead, it could be that there will be others across different political parties going forward.
But what I do know is that in the case of those Conservative candidates, who are being investigated by the Gambling Commission, they have been suspended. They are not supported as Conservative candidates in this election.
Indeed, the prime minister has been very clear that in the event that they are found to have broken the rules by the Gambling Commission, they will be expelled from the Conservative party.”
Work and pensions secretary Mel Stride has told Sky News viewers that the country appears to be heading towards “a massive majority” for Labour, with “very little opposition in parliament” and suggested they might be on course for at least two terms of government.
Stride, who was last elected in 2019 as part of a Conservative party general election victory that delivered an 80-seat majority in the House of Commons for Boris Johnson, told viewers:
We have a decision in a few days time. Well, the country has a decision. A big, big decision about what our country is going to look like over the next five, maybe ten years.
And we have a Conservative party that has got growth going, has got inflation back down to targets, got real wages increasing for each of the last 11 months, and we can get taxes down still further than we announced back in the autumn.
And the Labour party are not being clean with the British people. They have a clear agenda to raise taxes. They’ve ruled some out, but they have not ruled many things out like council tax, taxes on pensions, on your car, on your family home, on your business, on your job.
These are things that we need to be talking about, because I’m extremely worried for the future, if we have a Labour government, particularly if we have one that is totally unrestrained because it has a massive majority which is what we appear to be heading towards, with very little opposition in parliament.
And I would just say to people on that score that I think it’s really important that we think very carefully about holding Labour to account if they are to win this coming general election. And that we do have, you know, people do vote Conservative so that we do have a decent opposition at least to an overweening Labour party.
Stride entered parliament in 2010. He is standing as a candidate in Central Devon.
Liz Kendall, shadow secretary of state for work and pensions, is also doing the morning round, and has just had quite a tough time on Good Morning Britain on ITV, with three specific areas of questioning.
First off on the election gambling scandal, she repeatedly said that the Labour party had only been informed by the Gambling Commission of one case involving a Labour candidate, and she defended Keir Starmer handling it swiftly, saying he showed leadership. However, questioned about whether the Labour party would be proactively questioning candidates and holding its own inquiries, she would not confirm it would.
Next she was asked about any possible rebanding of council tax values, and a slightly exasperated Martin Lewis eventually concluded that what she was saying boiled down to “If I understand it correctly, what you are saying is it is unfair, but you won’t be doing anything about it” after she ruled out making changes to the system.
Finally Lewis had a specific question based on viewer’s call who was concerned about possible changes to tax-free allowances on pensions. Kendall was insistent that “there is nothing in our manifesto that requires us to make any other changes” to the tax system. Lewis pointed out that saying something isn’t in the manifesto, and categorically ruling it out are very different things.
Appearing on Sky News, work and pensions secretary Mel Stride has defended the prime minister’s handling of the Conservative party election betting scandal, saying Rishi Sunak “has done exactly the right thing”.
Four politicians and officials in the Conservative party are alleged to have been involved in the placing of bets and are being investigated by the Gambling Commission.
Stride said that if the Gambling Commission “concludes that rules have been broken” then they will be expelled from the party.
“I think the process has worked,” Stride said. Yesterday in the morning media round ministers were defending the decision not to withdraw support from the candidates under suspicion, until there was a later a major U-turn.
Criticising the Labour party, who acted almost immediately to suspend Kevin Craig after his involvement in election betting emerged, Stride said he thought he was being “even-handed” and that “it is fair to say that it is affecting other parties.”
He said “In the case of one Labour candidate he’s actually gambled against himself in an election in which he is standing, and I don’t think that meets the sort of requisite test either. So I don’t think this is just solely about one particular party.”
Tonight’s debate between Sunak and Starmer is seen as the two leaders’ closing arguments to the nation. It is their final debate before polling day next week.
The scandal over candidates and officials betting on the timing of the election will loom large over Wednesday’s clash. You can read our latest story here:
When the Conservatives launched their election campaign five weeks ago, 20 points behind in the polls and on their fourth prime minister in five years, it was unclear how things could get any worse.
The gambling scandal that has engulfed the party has answered that question. The extraordinary row began when the Guardian revealed on 12 June that Craig Williams, Rishi Sunak’s closest parliamentary aide, was under investigation by the Gambling Commission for betting on a July election three days before one was called.
Since then, it has emerged that the investigation extends to at least four more Tories, six police officers and one Labour candidate.
Tory and Labour campaigners alike say the scandal is damaging to the government for two reasons. First, it is easy to understand – using insider information to gain advantage when placing a bet is wrong and potentially illegal.
Second, it reinforces the idea that there is one rule for politicians and another for the public. In that sense, it has echoes of the Partygate scandal that rocked Boris Johnson’s government and set in motion a series of events that led to its collapse.
David Larkin (51), who now lives in Scotland, was found by search crews scouring a park in Spain’s Canary Islands close to where the teenager was last seen.
Jay Slater, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, disappeared following an attempt to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus. The search for the 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer is now in its second week.
But Mr Larkin told the Daily Mail he is an "experienced" hiker and said he knew what he was doing.
"I can tell you now; I wasn’t tired and I wasn’t disoriented, and I didn’t need rescuing.
"I think there was a lot lost in translation when they saw him and I explained to them I had water, I was wearing layers, I had my rucksack with food and I’m an experienced hiker.
"I think they want to show how good they are, but I certainly didn’t need saving.
"I feel so sorry for the boy’s family and hope he’s found soon."
Mr Larkin said he knows the trails well and did not need help, saying he was "embarrassed" rescuers thought he did. He arrived on the island at the start of June and has been staying at a remote one-bedroom hut on the edge of a cliff.
He added: "I went into the canyon and I saw the helicopters looking and thought they were looking for the lad but I didn’t for one minute think they would end up picking me up.
"I don’t want to appear ungrateful, and I thanked them for their concern but I was fine."
Missing Jay Slater (social media)
Mr Slater had attended the NRG music festival on the island with two friends before his disappearance and was last heard from on Monday last week.
The walk from Mr Slater's last known location, Rural de Teno Park in the north of the island, to his accommodation would have taken about 11 hours on foot.
A fundraiser set up by the last person to speak to Mr Slater hit its target of £30,000 on Sunday.
The GoFundMe created by Lucy Law to "get Jay Slater home" had received £33,000 in donations by Monday morning.
Ms Law said her friend told her in a frantic phone call last Monday at 8.30am that he was "lost in the mountains, he wasn't aware of his surroundings, he desperately needed a drink and his phone was on 1%".
Mr Slater was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with shorts and trainers, and carrying a black bag.
A search team near the last known location of Jay Slater, near to the village of Masca, Tenerife (James Manning/PA)
