Babak Belurs

Selasa, 30 April 2024

Hainault station: Police declare ‘critical incident’ amid reports of stabbing in east London - The Independent

Police have arrested a man with a sword who attacked members of the public and two police officers close to a Tube station in east London.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed emergency services are responding to a serious incident in Hainault, east London, after a man drove into a house and reportedly attacked others with a sword.

Details of who was injured are not yet clear and police said they are awaiting an update on the condition of those who were hurt in the incident, which began shortly before 7am.

A 36-year-old man was arrested at the scene and he is in custody, police said. The incident is not being treated as terror related.

Follow our live updates on this breaking incident here.

Police at the scene in Hainault after a man attacked members of the public (Peter Kingdom/PA Wire)

Shocking footage posted on social media following the incident shows a man wearing a yellow jumper and dark trousers, carrying what appears to be a samurai sword.

A witness told The Independent: “I was woken up by loud shouting outside and then I saw someone stab another kid.

“Then police arrived like crazy. The young man made his way towards the station and I’m not sure what happened there.

“I couldn’t really hear what was being said to be honest. He had a big sword though and was right outside my door.

“I’m just lucky my mums okay. She was about to leave for work.”

The attacker in Hainault this morning (@ell_pht/Twitter)

On one of the alleged victims, he added: “It was young man. He lives around the corner and was probably off to school.”

One neighbour said he was woken up when a van “ploughed into the house” opposite him.

“I jumped out of bed and have seen the van reverse out of the house. It drove up the road, where I believe he attacked someone else. It’s really bad.”

Wes Streeting, Labour MP for Ilford North, posted on X: “A critical incident has been declared in Hainault.

“There are station and road closures in place. The Police, Ambulance Service and Fire Brigade are responding. One male detained.

“I would urge people not to speculate until details are confirmed or post footage on social media.”

The Met said in a statement that they were called to reports of a vehicle being driven into a house in Thurlow Gardens and stabbings shortly before 7am.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said: “This must have been a terrifying incident for those concerned.

“I know the wider community will be feeling shock and alarm.

“People will want to know what has happened and will we provide more information as soon as we can.”

A 36-year-old man has been arrested by the Met Police (Peter Kingdom/PA Wire)

Police said they are not looking for any more suspects and the incident does not appear to be terror-related.

The London Fire Brigade said it was called to assist the incident in Hainault.

A spokesman added: “Firefighters were mobilised to assist police and London Ambulance Service colleagues at an incident near Hainault underground station.

“Crews supported London Ambulance Service crews in the provision of immediate emergency care.

“The brigade was called at 7.35am and the incident was over for firefighters by 9.24am. Fire crews from Dagenham, Walthamstow, Ilford, Romford, Hainault, East Ham and surrounding fire stations attended the scene.”

Sadiq Khan said he was ‘absolutely devastated’ by the news (X)

Taking to social media, London’s mayor Sadiq Khan said: “I am absolutely devastated by the news from Hainault this morning.“I remain in constant contact with the Commissioner. A man has been arrested and the area secured.

“The police are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident. There will be additional reassurance patrols in the area.

“The police officers and emergency services showed the best of our city - running towards danger to protect others and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.”

This is a breaking news story... More to follow.

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2024-04-30 09:20:57Z
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What happens now after Humza Yousaf's resignation? - BBC

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By Angus Cochrane

BBC Scotland News

The contest to become Scotland's seventh first minister is beginning after Humza Yousaf announced he is to resign.

The embattled SNP leader, under threat from two motions of no confidence in the Scottish Parliament, confirmed his decision in a statement at Bute House.

It followed the collapse of a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens.

Mr Yousaf said he intended to remain as first minister until a new SNP leader is chosen, as was the case when his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon stepped down last year.

How will the SNP choose a new leader?

It is expected that the process will be similar to the one which followed Ms Sturgeon's resignation.

Candidates were required to get 100 nominations from at least 20 local party branches.

If more than one candidate meets that test, there will be a leadership contest.

SNP national secretary Lorna Finn confirmed nominations opened on Monday at 23:59 and would close next Monday at noon.

The next stage is expected to be a ballot by members using a single transferable vote system. Last time round the contest took about a month to complete, before parliament confirmed Mr Yousaf as the nomination to become first minister.

The next SNP leader would then need to seek parliamentary approval to succeed Mr Yousaf as first minister.

How is a new first minister selected?

The parliament has 28 days to nominate a replacement for Mr Yousaf once his resignation has been accepted by the King.

As Mr Yousaf has decided to continue as first minister until a new party leader is selected, the clock will not start until his successor is appointed by the SNP.

If there was only one candidate for the parliamentary nomination, they would only need a simple majority of votes in favour to secure the nomination.

The leaders from other political parties can also put themselves forward. If that happens, as was the case when Mr Yousaf was confirmed as first minister last year, any candidate that secured more than half of all votes would win the nomination.

If no-one reached that threshold, the candidate with the fewest votes would be eliminated. This process would be repeated until the field was whittled down to two.

At that point, a candidate would only require a simple majority to win the nomination, meaning they only have to gain more votes than their opponent.

Any MSP can nominate a candidate, although it must be seconded by another member. Opposition parties usually field their own leaders as alternative candidates to be first minister, though they do not expect their person to win.

Whoever wins the vote is then formally appointed by the King.

However, should the parliament fail to agree a nomination for first minister within 28 days, the presiding officer would be required to propose a date for an "extraordinary general election".

Could the whole government resign?

Mr Yousaf had been facing two motions of no confidence this week, one tabled by the Scottish Conservatives in his own leadership as first minister and another from Scottish Labour on the government as a whole.

The timing of the votes had not yet been announced by parliament.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross told BBC News that Mr Yousaf should have quit with immediate effect and that his party's motion of no confidence could still go ahead despite his Bute House announcement.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said his party would push ahead with its motion of no confidence in the government.

If it passed, government ministers would be obliged to stand down. Only a simple majority would be required, meaning the number of members voting for would have to be greater than those opposed.

The parliament would then have 28 days to choose a nominee for first minister. If it was unable to do so, the parliament would be dissolved for an election.

The SNP currently have 63 MSPs, meaning they could be defeated if all MSPs from other parties voted against them.

However, BBC News understands that the Greens, who have seven seats, will not support either of the no-confidence motions following Mr Yousaf's statement.

Green co-leader Patrick Harvie said: "The Scottish Greens have a long track record of working constructively from opposition and will do so with any first minister who shares our progressive values and who can secure our confidence."

When it was put to Mr Sarwar that Labour's no-confidence motion in the government was likely to fail without Green support, he told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland: "It's of course for other political parties to decide how they vote in that motion, but I think the principle still applies in our motion and that's why we're pushing ahead."

Senin, 29 April 2024

UK will not accept return of asylum seekers from Ireland, Rishi Sunak says - The Guardian

Rishi Sunak has said the UK will not accept the return of asylum seekers from Ireland and dismissed the prospect of a deal with Dublin.

The prime minister doubled down on his Rwanda deportation plan and appeared to reject any deal with the Irish government, which is alarmed at asylum seekers entering the republic from Northern Ireland.

The comments on Monday, three days before the Conservatives face voters in local elections, undercut an attempt to de-escalate what has emerged as the biggest threat to British-Irish relations since Brexit.

Asked if the UK could agree a returns scheme with Ireland, Sunak told ITV: “We’re not. I’m not interested in that. We’re not going to accept returns from the EU via Ireland when the EU doesn’t accept returns back to France where illegal migrants are coming from. Of course we’re not gonna do that. I’m determined to get our Rwanda scheme up and running because I want a deterrent.”

Asked if there were negotiations with the EU on returns, the prime minister said: “No. I’m focused squarely on getting our Rwanda scheme up and running.”

Downing Street hopes the Safety of Rwanda Act, a centrepiece of the Tory electoral campaign which received royal assent last week, will help stop people crossing on small boats from France.

A document quietly published by the Home Office on Monday night stated that Rwanda had agreed in principle to take 5,700 people, of whom 2,143 “continue to report … and can be located for detention”.

The Irish government says the threat of deportation to the east African country has partly fuelled a surge in arrivals entering Ireland via the land border with Northern Ireland, a route that it says now accounts for more than 80% of asylum seekers in the republic. The Irish Refugee Council and other advocacy groups questioned the figure.

On Tuesday the Irish cabinet will consider emergency legislation to facilitate returning asylum seekers to the UK – a legal fix required to reverse an Irish high court ruling last month that the UK was no longer a “safe third country” for returning asylum seekers because of the Rwanda plan.

Sunak’s dismissal of any deal with Dublin followed a joint press conference in which the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, and Ireland’s foreign minister, Micheál Martin, spoke of cooperation.

The Rwanda plan was already working as a deterrent and that would increase once flights started, said Heaton-Harris. “We will obviously monitor all this very closely and continue to work with the Irish government on these matters,” he said, adding there was “no way that we would want to upset our relationship with Ireland”.

Martin said the meeting of the British-Irish intergovernmental conference, a forum set up under the Good Friday agreement, was “constructive” and “warm”. Any agreements on returns would have to be “mutual” and “reciprocal”, Martin added. A joint communique said both governments “noted the importance of continuing to work together” on irregular migration.

The two sides were eager to downplay a decision by the UK Foreign Office to postpone a meeting between the home secretary, James Cleverly, and his Irish counterpart, Helen McEntee, which prompted McEntee to skip other meetings with British officials.

Heaton-Harris said he was “comfortable” with the Irish government’s proposed legislation, which he said would reset the legal position to what it was before the court ruling.

However, the prime minister’s subsequent declaration that the UK would not accept returns from Ireland raised the prospect of an escalating crisis. The Irish government has yet to make public the terms of the proposed legislative fix, or what would happen if the UK did not cooperate.

The diplomacy unfolded against a backdrop of rising anxiety about deportations. Rivka Shaw, a policy officer at Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit, a legal advice centre, said thousands of people feared being “bundled into a van” and placed in detention.

“We’ve heard from people who are absolutely terrified,” she said. “That includes unaccompanied children who are in the asylum system [and] we’re talking about people who might have been here for two years already, living in our communities, going to our schools, possibly adults in education, volunteering, while waiting in this limbo of an asylum system.”

The imminent threat of detention would cause people to “disappear” from accommodation and skip appointments, exposing them to greater risk of exploitation in the “shadow economy”, said Shaw.

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Jonathan Dimbleby urges MPs to ‘get off the fence’ on assisted dying - The Guardian

Jonathan Dimbleby has urged MPs to “get off the fence” on the issue of assisted dying and said public opinion is “overwhelmingly in favour of change”.

After his younger brother, Nicholas, died with debilitating motor neurone disease earlier this year, Dimbleby said the current law was “anachronistically cruel”.

Speaking outside parliament on Monday as MPs began a three-hour debate on the law, he said politicians must “get off the fence, don’t sit on your hands, have a proper full debate about all the implications, and at the end of that I am sure they will introduce legislation”.

The debate, which did not include a vote, was held after more than 200,000 people backed a petition calling on the government to change the law. The issue was last voted on in the Commons in 2015, when a motion on legalisation was defeated at second reading stage by 330 votes to 118.

Since then there has been a significant shift in opinion among MPs, and many of those speaking in Monday’s debate favoured change while stressing the need for stringent safeguards. Opinion polls have shown 75% of the public back legalisation on assisted dying.

Several MPs said assisted dying for terminally ill people was already available to those who had financial means. The Dignitas clinic in Zurich offers assisted dying to non-Swiss residents at a cost of about £15,000.

Many described extreme pain experienced in the last days of their relatives’ lives and those of constituents and their family members. The Conservative MP David Davis recalled his mother’s “miserable” death from brain and lung cancer, in contrast to a constituent’s father who had a “beautiful death” at Dignitas.

He said: “I have come to the conclusion that as long as extremely strict controls are put in place, so that no one feels pressurised to end their life, I am supportive of the legalisation of assisted dying.”

The Labour MP Rachel Hopkins said: “Only those with financial means have access to choice.” She said dying people were being forced to take “horrible, lonely decisions” because there was no legal option.

Opening the debate, Labour’s Tonia Antoniazzi said: “Whatever our own views, we must recognise that public opinion on assisted dying has shifted in one direction.”

She said membership of Dignitas held by UK citizens increased by 23% in 2023.

Labour’s Rachael Maskell said her concern lay with those who may feel put under pressure to choose assisted dying. “I’m worried about the person who says ‘I’m just getting in the way, my children themselves will have a better future without me, perhaps those savings I have put aside could be better spent by them than on me’.”

The former Conservative minister Kit Malthouse said the public did not recognise a picture painted by those opposed to assisted dying, of a country “teeming with granny-killers, all of us waiting just to bump off a wealthy relative so we can pocket the cash … The vast majority of the British people love their parents, love their grandparents, they want the best for them.”

Another former minister, Thérèse Coffey, said she would not support changing the law. “No one should feel such a burden on their family, their friends and society that they should end their lives early.”

Several MPs said the issue is of such importance that the government should propose legislation, rather than leaving the matter to a private member’s bill. A government bill would have proper scrutiny through committee stages, they said.

The petition that triggered the debate was backed by Esther Rantzen, who reignited debate on assisted dying when she disclosed in December that she was considering travelling to Dignitas in Zurich in the face of a stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis.

Rantzen was unable to attend the rally and debate due to health issues, but said: “I know palliative care can be wonderful in this country, but it cannot guarantee the dignified, pain-free death we terminally ill patients all hope for. The current law means my family could be prosecuted for supporting me if I go to Switzerland. This is not right, it is not ethical, and as it is my life, I, like the majority of the public, believe it should be my choice.”

Outside parliament, Rabbi Jonathan Romain, the chair of Dignity in Dying, said religion had no place in the debate. “When we see somebody fall to the ground, thrashing around, we don’t say ‘oh that’s God’s will’ and step over them. We rush to get a defibrillator … It’s not about shortening life, it’s about shortening death.”

Gordon Macdonald, the chief executive of Care Not Killing, said the debate was a missed opportunity to talk about fixing the UK’s palliative and social care system. “Instead of discussing this dangerous and ideological policy, we should be talking about how to fix the UK’s broken and patchy palliative care system so everyone can have a dignified death,” he said.

Before the debate, the thinktank Centre released a paper addressing two main concerns around the legalisation of assisted dying: that a law may be open to abuse, and that it may lead to reduced funding for an already under-resourced palliative care system.

Its report, The Case for Dignity, looked at data from the US states of Oregon, California and Washington and the Australian states of Victoria and Western Australia. It concluded that there had been “no reported instances of abuse and no evidence of undue coercion or a ‘slippery slope’ effect targeting specific groups” since laws were introduced.

The study found “strong structures in place during the process itself, such as rigorous eligibility assessments, the ability for participants to withdraw and reapply at any stage, and strong oversight mechanisms, to prevent the harm of vulnerable groups and ensure patient autonomy”.

It also found that governments “generally increased funding for palliative care following the introduction of assisted death legislation”.

Assisted dying legislation led to “increased awareness of the importance of offering patients a variety of choices to best suit their personal preferences and give them the most dignity in death,” it said.

Torrin Wilkins, the thinktank’s director, said: “Assisted dying laws such as these are safe and they put choice and compassion at the heart of the system.”

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2024-04-29 19:31:00Z
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PIP: Disabled people face end to monthly benefits cash - BBC.com

Disabled people face end to regular PIP benefits

Paul Harris had to stop working when his anxiety got so bad he would lock himself in the toilets at work

More than three million disabled people face losing monthly benefits payments, under plans set to be unveiled by the government.

Reforms to personal independence payments (PIP) could include stopping regular cash payments, and instead offering claimants one-off grants for things like home adaptations.

The government says the benefits bill is rising at an "unsustainable rate", as the number of people claiming for mental health conditions has soared.

The disability charity Scope described the plans as a "reckless assault on disabled people".

How much is PIP? Who can claim it?

PIP was introduced in 2013 to replace Disability Living Allowance for people of working age to help with extra living costs caused by long-term disabilities or ill health.

How much people are given depends on how difficult they find everyday tasks and getting around. The maximum weekly payment is £184.30.

You can claim PIP whether you have a job or not.

The most recent statistics say more than 3.3 million people in Britain receive PIP to help with the extra cost of living with a health condition or disability. Some claimants are of retirement age but are eligible because they received support when they were of working age.

The cash can be used for things like special diets, additional laundry, accessible transport and higher insurance costs.

The government has said spending on PIP was expected to grow by 52% from 2023/24 to £32.8bn by 2027/28.

The number of monthly new claimants in England and Wales, where the main condition was anxiety and depression, has soared from an average of 2,200 a month in 2019 to 5,300 a month last year.

In Scotland, PIP is being replaced with Adult Disability Payment.

Paul Harris, from Barnard Castle, gets £72.65 a week in PIP payments to help with extra costs associated with his anxiety and depression - such as for specialist therapy apps and counselling.

Paul and, his wife Kim Masters and their dog, Leo — Mr Harris and his wife Kim moved to County Durham from Bedfordshire when he stopped working and began claiming personal independent payments

He stopped his job as a property manager in 2016 after developing panic attacks that got so bad he would burst into tears in the office and lock himself in the toilet.

He has not been able to work since then and says PIP is the "last stronghold" of benefits that can support him.

Mr Harris said: "I used to call myself zero, because I had zero money coming in. I had no job... so in a weird way, just a little bit of money coming in just sort of changed those thoughts."

He does receive employment and support allowance, but cannot claim job seekers' allowance because he says his mental health is a barrier to applying for jobs, despite previously seeking support from the Jobcentre.

He said the money he receives "does not solve the problems", adding: "It's not a miracle cure - it doesn't mean we can go off on holidays and live this frivolous lifestyle."

Mr Harris does not believe there is enough long-term support available for those with mental health issues.

The proposals - which come in the form of a 12-week consultation - include making changes to the eligibility criteria for PIP.

It would consider whether current descriptors - such as the need for aids and appliances - are good indicators of extra costs.

Other options include one-off grants for significant costs such as home adaptations or expensive equipment, and reimbursing claimants who provide receipts for purchases of aids, appliances or services.

They are also considering whether people with long-term conditions and disabilities would need to be assessed at all.

James Taylor, executive director of strategy at disability equality charity Scope, said the plans do not fix the underlying issues faced by disabled people.

He said: "It’s hard to have any faith that this consultation is about anything other than cutting the benefits bill, no matter the impact."

Previous research from Scope suggests households with at least one disabled adult or child face an estimated average extra cost of £975 a month to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households.

Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said: “We’re making the biggest welfare reforms in a generation – protecting those most in need while supporting thousands into work as we modernise our benefit system to reflect the changing health landscape."

The proposals come after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to strip GPs of their power to sign people off work as part of a plan to tackle what he calls the UK's "sick note culture".

Labour’s acting shadow work and pensions secretary, Alison McGovern, said the consultation showed the government was “out of ideas and out of time".

"We want to see a system that allows disabled people to live independently and enable as many as possible to work," she said.

A spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats said: "This is yet another desperate pre-election gimmick. If this Conservative government was serious about helping people back into work they'd focus on fixing the NHS and ensuring you can see a GP when you need to."

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2024-04-29 10:07:10Z
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Police searches after more human remains are uncovered across Greater Manchester - Manchester Evening News

Two men have been charged with murder after human remains were uncovered in Salford.

A major murder probe was launched by Greater Manchester Police after remains were found at Kersal Dale on April 4. Since then, remains have also been uncovered at Blackleach Country Park in Walkden and Colliery Wood.

This morning, more remains were then found in an alleyway off Worsley Road in Winton. Michal Jaroslaw Polchowski, 68, and Marcin Majerkiewicz, 42, both of Worsley Road, Eccles, have now been charged with murder.

They are due to appear in court this afternoon. Police revealed that the victim is thought to be a man aged in his 60s from Salford.

In an update issued this afternoon, ACC Sarah Jackson said: "We have had large numbers of officers, staff and specialists working diligently on this investigation over the last three weeks. It has been very much a large, collective effort, with the victim and family at the heart of it from the outset.

"We have specially trained officers deployed to support the family as they come to terms with this tragic news. They are aware of this morning’s further discovery and will continue to be kept up to date with how we are progressing.

"Despite the charges brought today, our work is far from over. The scenes we already have established in Bury and Salford will remain in place for much of this week whilst our searches and enquiries continue.

Four scenes were in place across the weekend

"Local officers will continue to patrol the impacted areas to provide reassurance. We will continue following every line of enquiry to recover and reunite the victim with his family, bringing a dignified end to this terrible scenario.

"I’d like to thank the communities of Salford and beyond for their cooperation throughout this investigation. I know this incident has come as a shock, and the support we’ve had from those in the area is very much appreciated."

A number of police scenes remain in place and searches are continuing in Salford.

Follow our live blog below for the latest developments on this investigation throughout the day.

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2024-04-29 09:00:00Z
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Humza Yousaf considering 'calling it quits' as Scotland's first minister today - Sky News

Humza Yousaf is considering resigning as Scotland's first minister as early as today, Sky News understands.

Update: Yousaf quits - click here for latest version of this story

A senior source has said the embattled SNP leader could "call it quits" today ahead of a key vote of no confidence later this week.

Mr Yousaf is set to hold a news conference at midday to make an announcement about his future.

He is facing two no-confidence votes at Holyrood in the coming days after the collapse of his power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens on Thursday.

The 39-year-old, who now runs a minority administration in Edinburgh, sacked the Greens on Thursday and they have joined the opposition in confirming they will vote to oust him.

Talks had been planned with the Alba party, which is led by now-bitter rival Alex Salmond. Its only MSP, Ash Regan - who defected from the SNP last October - was set to cast the deciding vote and determine Mr Yousaf's future.

The pair had been due to meet this week, with Ms Regan bringing a set of demands as her price of agreement.

But, some senior figures within the SNP had said publicly and privately that would be an electoral disaster and seriously harm the nationalist cause.

One MP said it would go down like a "cup of cold sick".

A source told Sky News on Monday morning Mr Yousaf said Mr Salmond pulling the strings behind the scenes would be "doing a deal with the devil".

Mr Yousaf is facing a no-confidence vote on his leadership of Scotland, and a separate motion of no confidence in the entire Scottish government has also been tabled.

Sky News understands Mr Yousaf could now walk on Monday ahead of the vote.

His tune appears to have changed after he insisted during a walkabout in Fife on Saturday he had no intention of resigning.

Former deputy first minister John Swinney is tipped to take over from Mr Yousaf as a caretaker first minister.

"There's a lot to happen today, and we'll wait to hear what the first minister's got to say later on today," Mr Swinney said without commenting on whether Mr Yousaf will be resigning or not.

Humza Yousaf's choices are rapidly evaporating

This could be it. This could be the moment it all comes crashing down for Humza Yousaf despite repeatedly telling Sky News at the weekend he wasn't going anywhere.

The reality is his choices are evaporating.

I had an early morning call with a senior source close to the first minister and they said resignation is now on the table as early as today.

That is a dramatic change in his position after figures were absolutely rejecting any suggestion of walking away on Friday.

"He is coming out fighting," one told me.

The writing has been on the wall though as Alba Party boss Alex Salmond gleefully went on the Sunday TV rounds.

Let's remember the SNP has a long-running bitter feud with its former leader. Salmond and Yousaf do not speak.

There are questions about whether Salmond has overplayed his hand.

Publicly, the first minister is inviting the Alba's only MSP Ash Regan for talks to win their support in the looming confidence votes. She has a list of demands.

Privately, this morning a source said: "It is unlikely to happen. It is like doing a deal with the devil."

The other option could be to stare Alba down when it comes to the crunch vote. Call their bluff and let Alba be a pro-independence party which takes down an independence-led government.

There is serious game playing going on.

But those close to the first minister are talking about calling it quits today.

This could be a major day for UK politics.

Scottish Green Party co-leader Lorna Slater told Sky News Mr Yousaf only has himself to blame if he loses his job, adding that he showed "very poor judgement" in ending their powersharing deal.

The Alba Party's Westminster leader, MP Neale Hanvey, told Sky News he thinks Mr Yousaf's "hand is being forced from within the SNP".

"It seems that the internal manoeuvrings within the SNP have made it impossible for the first minister to continue," he said.

"I don't think he would be even considering resigning if he had the support of his parliamentary group and I think reading between the lines, that's not something that he can depend on now and that's possibly why he's been forced to seriously consider resigning."

In Westminster, Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride told Sky News: "It does seem an extraordinary mess that he's managed to get him and the SNP into. That they are now potentially going to be beholden to Alba.

"If you look at the SNP's record, their obsession with independence, I'm afraid, has led to very poor outcomes when it comes to health, when it comes to education and a number of other areas."

Senior Labour MP Ellie Reeves told Sky News there should be an election in Scotland amid the "chaos in the SNP".

The SNP had been in a power-sharing agreement with the Greens since 2021 which gave the SNP a majority at Holyrood, as without it the party - then led by Nicola Sturgeon - would have had to operate as a minority administration.

But there had been mounting tensions between the two parties, which ended when the government decided to ditch its flagship target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030 after accepting it is now "out of reach".

Before that there had been friction over the decision to pause the prescription of new puberty blockers to under-18s at Scotland's only gender clinic, resulting in the Greens announcing they would have a vote on the future of the power-sharing deal.

TIMELINE OF THE FALLOUT

• Thursday 18 April: The Scottish government ditches its flagship target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030 after accepting it is now "out of reach". Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie says he is "angry and disappointed". Earlier in the day, two Scottish health boards announce they are pausing the prescription of puberty blockers to young people in response to the Cass Review. The Rainbow Greens, the party's LGBT wing, brand the pausing of puberty blockers a "betrayal" of trans youngsters and launch a petition on the future of the Bute House Agreement.
• Friday 19 April: The Scottish Greens confirm an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) will be held in the coming weeks to discuss the Bute House Agreement, the power-sharing deal between the Greens and the SNP.
• Tuesday 23 April: The Alba Party announces its Holyrood leader Ash Regan intends to submit a motion of no confidence in Mr Harvie following his failure to accept the findings of the Cass Review. Mr Harvie dismisses the motion as "sordid political game-playing". He also confirms he would quit as Scottish Greens co-leader if party members vote to leave the Bute House Agreement.
• Thursday 25 April: First Minister Humza Yousaf announces he is terminating the Bute House Agreement with immediate effect. Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater accuses the SNP of "political cowardice". The Scottish Conservatives announce they intend to lodge a vote of no confidence in the first minister. The Scottish Greens confirm they will support the motion.
• Friday 26 April: Scottish Labour announce they intend to lodge a vote of no confidence in the Scottish government. If it passes, Mr Yousaf would be legally bound to resign as first minister. Speaking to Sky News, Mr Yousaf says he intends to fight the vote of no confidence.
• Saturday 27 April: Mr Yousaf tells Sky News he has written to all of the opposition parties, urging them to rethink their plot to oust him. He admits he cannot rule out a Scottish election if he fails to win the vote.
• Sunday 28 April: It is reported that Mr Yousaf will refuse to enter an electoral pact with Alex Salmond's Alba Party in an effort to win Ms Regan's support in the Scottish parliament.
• Monday 29 April: A senior source confirms to Sky News Mr Yousaf could "call it quits" on Monday ahead of the vote of no confidence expected later this week.

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2024-04-29 10:41:15Z
CBMie2h0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2h1bXphLXlvdXNhZi1jb25zaWRlcmluZy1jYWxsaW5nLWl0LXF1aXRzLWFzLXNjb3RsYW5kcy1maXJzdC1taW5pc3Rlci1hcy1lYXJseS1hcy10b2RheS0xMzEyNTU1M9IBf2h0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2FtcC9odW16YS15b3VzYWYtY29uc2lkZXJpbmctY2FsbGluZy1pdC1xdWl0cy1hcy1zY290bGFuZHMtZmlyc3QtbWluaXN0ZXItYXMtZWFybHktYXMtdG9kYXktMTMxMjU1NTM

Selasa, 30 April 2024

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