Boris Johnson news: PM condemned over ‘cruel and callous’ deportations to Jamaica, as Labour leadership candidate sparks transphobia row
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Your support makes all the difference.Jeremy Corbyn has accused Boris Johnson of “cruel and callous” behaviour over the recent Jamaica deportation flight in a heated PMQs clash – as the Labour leader suggested the government was applying different rules to black people.
No 10 is urgently appealing against a Court of Appeal ruling which prevented 25 people boarding the deportation flight, and is said to want to “accelerate” moves to change the review process.
Meanwhile, ministers rushed legislation to stop automatic early release of terror offenders through the Commons, and Labour leadership hopeful Rebecca Long-Bailey sparks a row after backing a pledge to expel members who express “transphobic” views.
To follow events as they unfolded, see our live coverage below
Corbyn condemns Boris Johnson hypocrisy over Jamaica deportation flights
Jeremy Corbyn has attacked Boris Johnson in the House of Commons over deportations to Jamaica, suggesting that the government is applying different rules to black and white people.
More here:
Johnson brands decision to hike allowance for peers ‘odd’
SNP MP Kirsten Oswald asks the PM why the daily allowance for peers is due to rise to £323 when a single person on universal credit is on less. Is this the levelling up the PM has been talking about.
Johnson says he “hates agreeing with these people” but accepts her point, adding: “I do find it odd that the House of Lords has chosen to do that but it is a decision for them.”
PM pressed on long-delayed Russia report
The SNP’s Richard Thomson asks when the intelligence and security committee report into Russian interference in elections will be published. It has been in the pipeline for months.
Johnson says it will be published when the ISC is reconvened but “those of a suspicious frame of mind will be disappointed”.
That's it for PMQs for the day
Watch the snap analysis from The Independent's Andy Grice and John Rentoul.
UK could ban sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles as early as 2032
The government’s planned ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans in the UK could come as early as 2032, transport secretary Grant Shapps has said.
Boris Johnson last week announced the planned ban would be brought forward by five years from 2040 to 2035 and would be extended to include hybrid vehicles, as part of the government’s target of making the UK carbon neutral by 2050.
Now Mr Shapps has suggested it could be accelerated by a further three years, telling BBC Radio 5 Live that the ban will take effect in 2035, "or even 2032".
Corbyn ‘drawing attention to PM’s record’ with Class A drugs comment
Jeremy Corbyn’s official spokesman has been asked about the Labour leader’s remarks on the Jamaica deportation flight and his accusations of government hypocrisy.
“He was raising a point about the treatment of Caribbean-born people who have been living in Britain since childhood and as Jeremy made clear a number of those who have been earmarked for deportation have not committed the kind of offences the government has highlighted i.e the most serious offences.
“He highlighted the case of a Caribbean-born person who has committed a drugs offence and fell under the deportation rule because they’ve been convicted of an offence for more than a year’s sentence.
“Jeremy was drawing a parallel, a contrast with people who were born in other countries that might have say dabbled in Class A drugs, might have for example discussed the beating up of journalists, but are subject to no such sanction.”
When asked who he had in mind, the spokesman replied: “I think he was quite clearly drawing attention to the prime minister’s record.”
London venue lined up as possible replacement host for COP26 summit
A venue in London is being lined up to replace Glasgow as the host of the COP26 climate change summit if necessary, amid rows with the Scottish government over costs and preparations for the troubled UN event.
Talks have opened with the ExCeL convention centre in the capital, a government source told The Independent – while insisting it was only “contingency planning”.
Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has all the details:
Corbyn praises Assange and calls for extradition to US to be halted
Jeremy Corbyn defended the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in the Commons earlier – praising him for exposing US “war crimes”.
The Labour leader asked: “Will the prime minister agree with the parliamentary report that’s going to the Council of Europe that this extradition should be opposed and the rights of journalists and whistle-blowers upheld for the good of all of us.”
Boris Johnson refused to comment on the Assange extradition case, set to begin this month – but did agree the extradition treaty with the US was “unbalanced”.
‘He work me up with a coffee … a perfect gentleman,’ says Rory Stewart sleepover host
A charity worker has revealed what it’s like having the former Tory cabinet minister over to stay the night.
Stewart has asked Londoners if he can camp out at their homes with a sleeping bag to “get to know the city” during his independent bid to become mayor.
Lorraine Tabone, 50, who runs Lola’s Homeless in east-London, hosted Stewart at her one-bedroom flat in Canning Town, after showing him around the local area.
“He slept on the floor because I have no furniture at the moment,” she said. “He woke me up with a coffee about 7am and we spoke about issues – homelessness, knife crime, everything.
“Because it was all spontaneous and my oven was broken I couldn’t cook breakfast. I just gave him a couple of Alpine bars for his travels.
“He was the perfect guest, a perfect gentleman.”
Former Tory MP Rory Stewart (PA)
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