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Minister says some agitators were ‘intimidating and thuggish’
Some protestors showed “intimidating and thuggish behaviour” this weekend, Sarah Jones, the policing minister said.
But she added she did not seek to “minimise” legitimate concerns people had about small boat crossings.
“This government has taken action to fix the broken system we inherited and crack down on the people smugglers,” Jones said, pointing out that system-wide arrests were up 70%.
Key events
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Here is a summary of today’s news
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Minister says some agitators were ‘intimidating and thuggish’
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Council leaders say reorganisation U-turn will create ‘significant uncertainty’ for staff
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Lib Dems claim local government reorganisation could put ‘essential services and vulnerable people at risk’
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Farage claims Reform UK triggered council reorganisation U-turn by using judicial review court challenges
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List of counties and areas in England where local government reorganisation plans have been cancelled or shelved
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No 10 refuses to deny report saying the Sun won’t be getting any favours from Burnham while he’s PM
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Labour moves writ for Holborn and St Pancras byelection to be held on Thursday 8 October
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Rayner cancels some local government reorganisation plans for England, and delays others, after Burnham requested rethink
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MP calls for circumcisions by non-health professionals to be banned, as Commons debates amendments to health bill
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Polanski faces challenge to be Greens’ candidate for Holborn and St Pancras, as most Greens on local council back rival
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Policing minister Sarah Jones to make statement to MPs on Portsmouth anti-migrant disruption
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No 10 hits back at US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, after he accuses UK government of ‘Jew hate’
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Opposition parties accuse Healey of offering ‘more of the same’ in his first major speech as chancellor
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Healey’s speech – snap verdict
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Ministers told to axe many consultations, and tolerate more legal risk, so they can drive through change more quickly
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Healey says he cannot comment on budget be because responding to speculation will ‘only fuel more speculation’
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Healey declines to rule out tax rises in budget
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Healey says he wants to cut burden of business regulation by 25%
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Healey says changes to Treasury’s green book rules will ‘skew investment to projects with more long-term potential’
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Healey allocates £150m from British Business Bank for start-ups in north of England
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Healey says he will set out ‘roadmap to fiscal devolution’ in budget
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Healey says he wants to ‘draw the line’ under ever-rising costs for business
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Healey says making ‘Great Britain growth Britain again’ is ‘central’ to his mission as chancellor
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Healey says there’s ‘nothing progressive’ about paying debt interest, and being ‘true to our values’ means controlling spending
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‘Even Reeves had more vision’ – opposition parties not impressed by advance briefing on Healey’s speech
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Healey says he wants growth story ‘written in more places’
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Minister condemns ‘thuggish’ far-right, anti-migrant protesters in Portsmouth
Here is a summary of today’s news
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Some protesters showed “intimidating and thuggish behaviour” this weekend, Sarah Jones, the policing minister said. She said on Sunday a boat carrying approximately 120 people reached British shores “significantly further west” than most previous boat crossings. At 8pm, Jones said, a group of more than 200 protesters reached the harbour, seeking to block the coaches from leaving.
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The Tories have described the government’s local government reorganisation U-turn as a “total humiliation”. In her statement, Zöe Franklin, the Lib Dem local government spokesperson, says services are at risk.
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John Healey gave a statement in the Commons where he declined to rule out tax rises and said he cannot comment on the budget be because responding to speculation will ‘only fuel more speculation’.
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Opposition parties criticised Healey for sounding too much like Rachel Reeves in his speech on his economy. Andrew Griffith, the new shadow chancellor said Healey “sounds increasingly like continuity Rachel Reeves”.
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Zack Polanski is facing unexpected internal opposition in his bid to fight the Holborn and St Pancras byelection for the Greens, with a local councillor saying he is also seeking the nomination and that the seat needs a local MP, not “a politician you’ll only see on a leaflet”.
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Downing Street had refused to deny an Observer story saying that Andy Burnham intends to ensure that the Sun newspaper does not get any special editorial favours from him as PM.
Police officers were pushed off motorbikes and had stones and bricks thrown at them as they “became the target” for anti-migrant protesters in Portsmouth, a federation chief has said.
Spencer Wragg, chairman of Hampshire Police Federation, said one of the officers injured was a rookie who had only finished training school three days earlier.
The force has said it is investigating potential assaults as well as criminal damage after official vehicles were smashed during a stand-off as demonstrators tried to stop migrants being driven away to Kent.
“It appears that the police last night became the target for some of the protest,” Wragg said. “Thankfully there are no serious injuries to officers, but the professionalism they showed in the face of provocation and immense pressure was admirable.”
Far-right activists gathered in two disruptive demonstrations in Dover and Portsmouth over the weekend, attempting to obstruct asylum seekers arriving on small boats from France. Many wore all black and balaclavas.
The action was seemingly organised by Daniel Thomas, an agitator better known as Danny Tommo, who has close ties with the far-right extremist Tommy Robinson. Thomas was recorded on the ground saying Portsmouth was now ‘ground zero’ for small boat crossings, and has threatened further action.
Lucy Hough speaks to political correspondent Ben Quinn:
Policing minister Sarah Jones claimed the Conservatives are behind “the frustration we see in our communities today”, as she spoke to MPs following protests in Dover and Portsmouth.
Referring to previous Conservative governments, the Labour minister continued: “Let us never forget that the frustration we see in our communities today is a product of chaos and crisis in the years that preceded the general election of 2024.”
Sarah Jones, the policing minister, told the Commons that the government “remain alert” for small boat crossings on lesser used stretches of the Channel.
“The gangs are never going to go quietly”, Jones said. “They are responding to the impact our work is having and we will adapt in turn.”
Minister says some agitators were ‘intimidating and thuggish’
Some protestors showed “intimidating and thuggish behaviour” this weekend, Sarah Jones, the policing minister said.
But she added she did not seek to “minimise” legitimate concerns people had about small boat crossings.
“This government has taken action to fix the broken system we inherited and crack down on the people smugglers,” Jones said, pointing out that system-wide arrests were up 70%.
Sarah Jones added that “work is ongoing to establish any lessons and to ensure that intelligence is shared at pace” across law enforcement systems.
Jones said the protestors had began to disperse at 4am and no arrests were made on the night.
“There can be no excuse for threatening behaviour or serious disruption,” Jones said. “Disorder of any kind will never be tolerated.”
Sarah Jones, the policing minister, said “investigations are ongoing” into the disorder in Portsmouth.
“Where criminality is identified, those responsible should expect to face the consequences”, Jones added.
She said on Sunday a boat carrying approximately 120 people reached British shores “significantly further west” than most boat crossings.
At 8pm, Jones said, a group of more than 200 protestors reached the harbour, seeking to block the coaches from leaving.
Andrew Sparrow
In the Commons Sarah Jones, the policing minister, is making a statement about the anti-migrant disruption in Dover and Portsmouth. I am finishing now, but Charlie Maloney is taking over to cover the statement.
Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson, has been in Portsmouth today. In a statement on social media, he claimed Andy Burnham was to blame for the disorder in the city because people were responding to the consequences of the government’s asylum policy.
While he was there, Yusuf was confronted by Daniel Thomas, a far-right agitator closely linked to Tommy Robinson. Thomas helped to organise the protests and he told Yusuf that he was not happy about Nigel Farage condemning the protesters for wearing balaclavas. Sky News has video of the encounter.
As Sky reports, Thomas told Yusuf:
You have to tell Nigel [Farage], he cannot – he did this before, when we had a million people on the streets of London … he called us knuckledraggers … Nigel needs to be very careful with his words.
From my colleague Jessica Elgot
New – Marc Stears, the director of UCL Policy Lab, is joining Number 10 as a special advisor to Andy Burnham.
Close to Ed Miliband, Stears has done a lot of work and research recently on the splintering progressive vote, especially stressing the importance of climate.
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