THE CONSERVATIVE Party has been urged to expel a Blackburn with Darwen election candidate over social media posts appearing to endorse Tommy Robinson. The comments, posted in 2018 by Conservative candidate for Darwen South Andrew Walker, appear to show support for far-right EDL founder and convicted criminal Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known by his alias Tommy Robinson , while another jokes that stabbing former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn should get you knighted. The posts have now been condemned by Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner and by anti-fascist charity Hope Not Hate, with Ms Rayner saying that the Conservatives must explain why Mr Walker was readmitted to the party and selected as a council candidate after reportedly resigning in 2018, when the posts were first raised with the party’s central office.
Labour MP Tan Dhesi in the Commons
Labour shadow minister Tan Dhesi has been warned to “pay people what they are worth” after trying to recruit unpaid volunteers to carry out “long term” work in his office.
A job advert on Working For An MP asked for “committed” people “passionate about helping others” and who “take satisfaction from getting stuff done” to volunteer for the Slough MP for no pay.
Tasks for the role included answering the phone, opening post, updating Dhesi’s website, writing to constituents, monitoring media coverage and other basic admin.
Most are jobs which would normally be carried out by a caseworker or parliamentary assistant, positions which would attract a salary of around £30,000.
Updated 4 hours ago
They Couldn t Breathe: Families Of British Men Who Died In Police Custody Speak Out
1,784 people have died in England and Wales after contact with the police since 1990 – yet no officer has been held to account
Illustration: Damon Dahlen/HuffPost; Photos: Getty/Handout
British men who have died in police custody. Pictured (from left) Lloyd Butler, Sean Rigg, Christopher Alder in baseball cap and his paratrooper s uniform, and Mikey Powell
The CCTV footage shows a man face down on the floor of a police station, handcuffed and unresponsive, as he gasps for breath.
Officers are heard laughing and joking while making monkey and chimpanzee noises, apparently unmoved by the desperate plight of the man in front of them.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan by the National Covid Memorial Wall on the Embankment in London.
Matt Fowler, co-founder of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, said he had been asking the prime minister to visit the wall “for weeks” and to meet families.
“He’s refused to even acknowledge our request,” he said.
“Then, the day after it’s revealed he said he’d let ‘bodies pile high’ he makes a late evening visit under cover of darkness, just so that he can dodge meeting bereaved families.
“This is a cynical and insincere move that is deeply hurtful. Our invitation for him to walk the wall with families who’ve lost loved ones is still open, and we await a response.”
Cladding Culprits Are Getting £450m From The Taxpayer. They Haven t Repaid A Penny
Ministry of housing said taxpayers money would be clawed back from those at fault. That appears easier said than done.
The government has failed to recover a penny of the £450m it is giving landlords to fix unsafe cladding – despite promising to get tough with those responsible for installing the highly dangerous material.
Last year, in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people, ministers began “naming and shaming” those who still hadn’t removed the flammable coverings on hundreds of high-rise buildings.
The government department in charge of housing approved nearly £450m of handouts to those same landlords to speed the work along – but there were strings attached.