James Cleverly says politicians should not make decisions based on âfear or favourâ â UK politics live | Conservatives
Cleverly says politicians should not make decisions based on ‘fear or favour’
Good morning and welcome to the UK politics live blog. We start with news that the home secretary has said he would not âimpinge on operational decisionsâ by the police when asked whether officers should have stopped a controversial pro-Palestinian message being projected onto Parliament.
The phrase âfrom the river to the seaâ was reportedly beamed onto the building on Wednesday as Gaza protesters descended on Westminster.
James Cleverly told BBC Radio 4âs Today programme:
Itâs very difficult for me to second-guess the operational nature of this.
I donât know where those images were projected from. I donât know how easy it would have been for the police officers to get there.
But the fact is they are deeply, deeply offensive words… The implication is the eradication of the state of Israel. And both personally and as a government, we completely reject that.
He said the operational nature of policing was a matter for chief constables, the police commissioner Mark Rowley and mayor of London Sadiq Khan.
Cleverly also said that politicians should not make decisions based on âfear or favourâ.
He told Sky News:
Iâve not had any specific threats brought to me, but we will stay constantly vigilant.
But the point I would make is ultimately members of parliament and indeed elected officials through all layers of government have got to act without fear or favour.
They need to be defended and weâre absolutely determined to do that.
Key events
Meanwhile, Nigel Farage has urged a potential incoming Labour government to make him ambassador to the US in the ânational interestâ.
He says he is âhalf-jokingâ but also said he would be âidealâ for the role in a future Keir Starmer government.
He told The Sun:
Labour must think very, very hard in the national interest about what they are going to do with an incoming Trump administration. And right at the moment, I think they are ignoring it.
Youâve got to have someone who can actually walk into the Oval Office and talk face to face with an incoming President Trump.
So, half jokingly I could say me, but I canât see them ever appointing me.
But, I would be ideal for it. I would be, I am being serious, I would be. But they need to think very hard.
It is âunacceptableâ for intimidation to threaten democracy, Rishi Sunak has said.
Speaking during a tour of North Wales on Friday, the prime minister was asked about protests outside MPsâ homes.
He told reporters:
I think MPsâ safety is incredibly important. And itâs right that in our society, democracy needs to be able to function smoothly. People need to be able to raise their views and debate things without the fear of being intimidated or indeed attacked.
And thatâs why weâre giving police more powers to clamp down on protests.
Itâs simply unacceptable for intimidation or aggressive behaviour to threaten our parliamentary democracy and our freedom of expression.
And some of the scenes weâve been seeing in recent months, particularly antisemitic behaviour, are appalling and unacceptable. Thatâs why weâre giving the police more powers and I expect them to use them to make sure we clamp down on all of this.
The government will not be âdistracted or deterredâ from providing compensation to sub-postmasters wronged in the Horizon scandal, James Cleverly has said.
The home secretary was asked about a letter from the Post Office chief executive Nick Read last month telling the government the organisation would stand by the prosecution of more than half the cases of those convicted of fraud.
Cleverly told Sky News:
That letter is not going to divert us from what we know to be the right course of action, which is do the right thing by hard-working people who found themselves, through no fault of their own, being targeted for criminal actions.
So we are relentlessly focused on that, and that exchange wonât change that at all.
Home secretary backs speaker following Gaza ceasefire debate row
Home secretary James Cleverly firmly backed Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle amid criticism of his handling of the Gaza ceasefire debate.
The senior Cabinet minister told Sky News on Friday:
I think the speaker has done a fantastic job. I think heâs been a breath of fresh air compared with his predecessor.
He made a mistake. Heâs apologised for the mistake. My view is that Iâm supportive of him.
Cleverly said it was his personal view because the selection of the speaker is âhouse businessâ rather than for government ministers to decide.
Cleverly says politicians should not make decisions based on ‘fear or favour’
Good morning and welcome to the UK politics live blog. We start with news that the home secretary has said he would not âimpinge on operational decisionsâ by the police when asked whether officers should have stopped a controversial pro-Palestinian message being projected onto Parliament.
The phrase âfrom the river to the seaâ was reportedly beamed onto the building on Wednesday as Gaza protesters descended on Westminster.
James Cleverly told BBC Radio 4âs Today programme:
Itâs very difficult for me to second-guess the operational nature of this.
I donât know where those images were projected from. I donât know how easy it would have been for the police officers to get there.
But the fact is they are deeply, deeply offensive words… The implication is the eradication of the state of Israel. And both personally and as a government, we completely reject that.
He said the operational nature of policing was a matter for chief constables, the police commissioner Mark Rowley and mayor of London Sadiq Khan.
Cleverly also said that politicians should not make decisions based on âfear or favourâ.
He told Sky News:
Iâve not had any specific threats brought to me, but we will stay constantly vigilant.
But the point I would make is ultimately members of parliament and indeed elected officials through all layers of government have got to act without fear or favour.
They need to be defended and weâre absolutely determined to do that.
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