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“Despicable” Illegal Migration Bill
The most controversial news of the week was the announcement of the UK Government’s Illegal Migration Bill.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman revealed plans to stop anyone who comes to the UK by illegal means from staying in the country. They would only be eligible for asylum in a “safe” third country, such as Rwanda.
Furthermore, they would receive a lifetime ban on citizenship or re-entry to the UK.
The plans were immediately denounced by politicians within and outside the UK. The UN’s refugee agency claimed it amounts to an effective “asylum ban”.
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One of the biggest names to criticise the bill was ex-England footballer Gary Lineker who compared the move to that of Nazi Germany before the BBC said it would have a “frank conversation” with the Match of the Day host over his comments.
Nicola Sturgeon said the Scottish Government would “never support” such an “appalling” piece of legislation. In a comment piece for The National, the SNP’s Alison Thewliss said it was one of the most despicable bills that had been brought to Parliament.
UK diplomats to shadow SNP trips
Reports emerged on Friday that British diplomats will be ordered to keep an eye on SNP ministers when they take trips overseas to stop them talking about Scottish independence, reports have claimed.
Westminster is thought to be becoming increasingly concerned about Scottish ministers meddling in reserved matters, including the constitution.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is now allegedly preparing to write to ambassadors around the world to highlight these fears and will ask them to make sure SNP ministers are always accompanied by UK diplomats on overseas trips.
Scotland Office minister and Tory peer Malcolm Offord told the Daily Mail: "The Scotland Act is clear that foreign affairs is outside the competence of the Scottish Government and therefore they cannot and should not encroach into matters such as separatism or the constitution.
"We have been aware they have been doing that in recent times ... and that will be very closely monitored in future.”
Boris Johnson nominates dad for knighthood
There were a few cases of Boris Johnson hitting the headlines this week, with the former PM reportedly nominating his dad Stanley for a knighthood as part of his resignation honours list.
The Times has reported that Johnson’s nominations included up to 100 names and that it was “considerably longer” than that of his predecessors Theresa May and David Cameron with the list currently making its way through Cabinet Office vetting.
Responding to the reports, SNP MP Tommy Sheppard said Johnson was “making a mockery” of the system.
It was previously been reported that Johnson was looking to name four sitting Conservative MPs for a peerage, including Scottish Secretary Alister Jack.
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Sky News also revealed this week that Johnson earned 85% of all the outside pay generated by MPs this year. He has declared earnings of £4.8 million, mostly since stepping down from Downing Street, in speeches and book deals.
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- HMRC has been hit with a committee report which shows the impacts of the furlough scheme as it failed to recover billions in fraudulent claims.
MPs sitting on the Public Accounts Committee found that between £2 billion and £5.1bn from the schemes will not be recovered by 2023-24 by HMRC. The committee described this as “unacceptable”.
- Meanwhile, LibDem leader Ed Davey said infighting within the SNP leadership contest gave his party the opportunity to “resonate” with Scots on important issues.
Speaking as he visited the “knife-edge” marginal seat of East Dunbartonshire on Thursday, he said: “We’re fighting the Conservatives in many parts of England and here in Scotland it’s the SNP. I think we’ve got a message which is resonating with voters in the way that the SNP are forgetting them.”
- And continuing the theme of including Lee Anderson in every newsletter, the deputy Tory party chairman is set to join GB News as a regular host and contributor.
“GB News is the true voice of the Great British silent majority,” said the MP as the news emerged.
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