Jenrick accused of being ‘anti-British’ after saying he would ‘probably’ ban burqa – as it happened

Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, has said that he would probably support banning women wearing burqas in public.In making the comment, in a phone-in on Talk, Jenrick contradicted the position taken by his party leader, Kemi Badenoch.Asked if he would ban the burqa, Jenrick replied: “I probably would ban the burqa.”Jenrick dismissed suggestions that this was an extreme position, saying that in Italy the prime minister Giorgia Meloni is introducing a burqa ban. He went on:I think there’s definitely a strong argument for it

Why is there a national inquiry into grooming gangs and how is it going?

A national inquiry into grooming gangs was announced by Keir Starmer in June but it is yet to get under way.So far, a suitable judge has not been identified, one of two named candidates to become its chair has said she will not stand and three survivors have stepped down from the panel overseeing the recruitment.It followed disclosures over many years that thousands of girls and women across UK towns and cities were groomed and raped by street-based groups.In a majority of these gangs, there appeared to be a pattern of men, often of Asian and Pakistani origin, grooming vulnerable girls.Nearly all of the cases were historical and date back to the 90s and 00s

How Rachel Reeves could balance Britain’s books and lower inequality | Letters

Rachel Reeves has said that higher taxes on the wealthy will be a part of the story at the autumn budget (Report, 15 October). The government must use this moment to ensure that the super-rich contribute their fair share rather than cutting services that impact the poorest and most marginalised.We all want the same things: thriving communities, good jobs and a future that we can look to with hope. But the rules have been rigged by the super-rich and powerful, allowing them to hoard wealth while the rest of us scrape by. This is fuelling division at a time when people desperately need meaningful change

Will no one think about poor Boris? Former PM smirks and sighs through Covid inquiry | John Crace

Bliss it was in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven. Just not if you happened to be a schoolkid during the pandemic. Then you were being asked to make the biggest sacrifices to protect elderly people, even though you were the least at risk. Still, I suppose there was a lesson in there somewhere. Almost everyone who comes into contact – however indirectly – with Boris Johnson generally finds they have been done over at some point

Reeves says economic damage caused by Brexit forcing her to take action in budget

Rachel Reeves has blamed a heavier than anticipated blow from Brexit and austerity for forcing her to take action to balance the books at next month’s budget.In her clearest attempt to draw Brexit into the framing of her imminent tax and spending decisions, the chancellor said leaving the EU was turning out to have caused more damage than official forecasters had previously outlined.The chancellor hinted she was braced for a sharp downgrade in growth forecasts from the Treasury’s independent watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), alongside what is shaping up to be a crucial budget.“The OBR, I think, are going to be pretty frank about this – that things like austerity, the cuts to capital spending and Brexit have had a bigger impact on our economy than was even projected back then,” she said at an investment event in Birmingham.“That is why we are unashamedly rebuilding our relations with the EU to reduce some of those costs, that in my view were needlessly added to businesses since 2016 and since we formally left a few years ago

Rachel Reeves set to launch ‘blitz on business bureaucracy’ to save firms £6bn

Chancellor to tell business leaders at government’s first regional investment summit she plans to ‘cut pointless admin’The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is poised to launch a renewed “blitz on business bureaucracy” ahead of next month’s budget to target savings for companies worth £6bn.With Labour under pressure to reboot the economy, Reeves is expected to tell business leaders in Birmingham for the government’s first regional investment summit that she plans to “cut pointless admin”.Measures include scrapping a rule for directors of small firms to file a directors’ report with Companies House, in the government’s latest push to demonstrate that it is listening to business concerns.More than 100,000 small business are expected to benefit, according to the Treasury, including microbreweries and family-run cafes, as part of a wider drive to slash red tape and regulations.It comes as the chancellor faces intensive lobbying from bosses amid growing boardroom unease over the prospects for a tax-raising budget on 26 November that would target companies and the wealthy