Shabana Mahmood swears at ‘white liberal’ hecklers over Reform remarks
Shabana Mahmood told “white liberal” hecklers to “fuck right off” after being accused at an on-stage event of copying the policies of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.The home secretary was barracked by a man who said he wanted to “personally thank you for out-Reforming Reform” during a live interview in central London on Monday.Two other audience members shouted “refugees welcome” as the man was removed by security.Speaking to the comedian Matt Forde, Mahmood said she would not be put “in her box” and accused the protesters of trying to “delegitimise” the “perfectly valid” concerns many people have with high levels of immigration.The clash took place as Mahmood faces pressure from Labour MPs and cabinet colleagues to water down hardline plans for asylum and immigration.
Mahmood told Forde’s Political Party podcast at the Duchess theatre, London, that claims she was chasing Reform votes were “just a way of delegitimising the point of view that I bring to the table”.“It’s also a way of delegitimising the perfectly valid, legitimate views of millions of people in this country, including ethnic minorities in this country.And it’s not acceptable, right? And also, you’re trying to put me in a box, which includes a lot of people who think I don’t even belong in my own country.“That’s why I said this individual can just fuck right off, because I know I belong in my own country.You’re not going to be able to do that to me,” she said.
She said there was an aspect of racism to the claims.“I do think there is that element of it, which is: ‘How dare you, a brown woman, say a thing that we white liberals think you’re not allowed to say?’ Well I’m saying it.”She also told Forde that she was frustrated at Labour’s lack of progress in government.“We ourselves in the Labour party are getting in our own way.”A campaign group that said it coordinated the protest against Mahmood disputed her accusation that they are “white liberals”.
Green New Deal Rising said the man who began the disruption is a 32-year-old called Joe who is a person of colour and of a migrant background.“As someone who migrated here when I was four and grown up here, I know the value migrants bring to our country,” Joe said in the statement.Mahmood plans to end permanent protection for refugees, who will instead have their asylum grants reviewed every 30 months and forced to return home once it is safe to do so.Refugees will not be able to bring their family to the UK until they can afford to live self-sustainably, and refugees will only start to qualify for permanent settlement after 20 years.Mahmood plans to double the time it takes for most overseas workers to gain permanent settlement in the UK from five to 10 years.
She has recently come under attack for claiming that the overhaul of settlement rules will save £10bn,The IPPR thinktank pointed out that estimates from the government’s own Migration Advisory Committee show dependents making net positive financial contributions until they stop working, claim the state pension and start having higher health costs,
Yes, retail investment needs a boost – but the squirrel looks too tame | Nils Pratley
Red squirrel characters have a history in the public information game. Older UK readers may recall Tufty, who taught children about road safety in the 1970s. His chum, Willy Weasel, regularly got knocked down by passing cars but clever Tufty always remembered to look both ways.Now comes Savvy Squirrel, who, with backing from the chancellor and a multi-year lump of advertising spend from the financial services industry, will try “to drive a step-change in how investing is understood, discussed and adopted”, as the blurb puts it. In translation: don’t squirrel everything away in a boring cash Isa but try taking an investment risk or two if you value your long-term financial health
Capital gains tax changes are on the table, and yet Armageddon has not arrived. Has the tide on housing turned at last? | Greg Jericho
A funny thing happened on the way to the budget: changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing, which had for years been a no-go zone, are now looking likely.One of the first times I wrote about negative gearing was in 2015 when I covered the then treasurer Joe Hockey appearing on Q+A. He said negative gearing was needed because when the Hawke government scrapped it in the 1980s rental prices rose.He was wrong (and to be honest, this was not unusual – a lot of my columns back then involved arguing Joe Hockey was wrong). While rental price growth went up in Sydney and Perth, it didn’t in Melbourne, Brisbane or Adelaide
Tesla reports mixed financial results as Musk pivots automaker to AI and robots
Tesla reported its first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, disclosing some better-than-expected results but faltering in some key areas. The report failed to significantly buoy Tesla’s stock, which has limped along this year while its CEO, Elon Musk, has tried to sell the company’s new vision of humanoid robots and self-driving robotaxis. Its core car business has struggled in the face of competition from Chinese counterparts and backlash against his close involvement with the Trump administration.“There remains significant effort and hard work to realize our mission of Amazing Abundance,” Tesla said in its report, while claiming that demand for its vehicles was rebounding.Tesla revealed earnings of 41 cents a share on Wednesday after market close, more than the 37 cents per share that Wall Street expected
What is Mythos AI and why could it be a threat to global cybersecurity?
Anthropic has ruled out releasing its latest AI model, Mythos, to the public because of the threat it poses to global cybersecurity.However, the US tech startup behind the Claude chatbot confirmed on Wednesday it was investigating a report that a group of people had gained unauthorised access to Mythos. The alleged incident has raised concerns over the pace of development and the ability of tech companies to keep their riskiest products out of the public domain. Here, we examine Mythos and its potential impact.Mythos is an AI model – the underlying technology that powers tools such as chatbots – that, according to Anthropic, represents a serious potential threat to any organisation’s cybersecurity
Carlton coach Michael Voss accuses media of bullying after Elijah Hollands incident
Embattled Carlton coach Michael Voss has defended his staff and accused the media of bullying as the spotlight intensifies on the club for allowing Elijah Hollands to play last week during a mental health episode.Hollands behaved erratically in the match against Collingwood and is now in hospital, and speculation has focused on how Voss’s staff had allowed the young player to take the field given his struggles were obvious even from the stands.Fronting a large press pack on Thursday at Princes Park ahead of Saturday’s match against Fremantle, Voss said he wanted to respect the AFL’s investigation into the club’s actions on the night and “we accept that we need to look at process”.But he said that in a “complex situation that has history and background” his staff deserve praise.“I’m proud of my people, and the process itself will take care of itself, and we need to put our support behind that,” he said
Bournemouth 2-2 Leeds, Charlton 1-2 Ipswich: football clockwatch – as it happened
Time to sign off; I’ll leave you with Sam Cunningham’s match report from the Vitality Stadium. Thanks for joining me.Jamie Jackson watched as Manchester City won at Burnley to go top of the league …Ed Aarons was at the Valley to see Ipswich dig out a vital win:Championship table: Ipswich edge back into second place but Millwall, Southampton and Middlesbrough can all still claim automatic promotion. Oxford are not quite down after Charlton failed to take a point from their game tonight.Premier League table: Manchester City are top on goals scored, Bournemouth climb above Chelsea, and Burnley are relegated
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