Karl Turner has Labour whip suspended after criticism of Starmer and No 10
The MP Karl Turner has lost the Labour whip after making a series of interventions criticising Keir Starmer and No 10, especially on changes to jury trials.A Labour source said Turner had been informed by the chief whip, Jonathan Reynolds, that he had had the whip suspended because of his conduct.Turner denied he had been informed by the whips and said he had learned about his suspension from journalists.The decision is understood to have been prompted in part by an interview given by Turner, the MP for Hull East, to Jody McIntyre, a campaigner who stood at the 2024 elections against Labour’s Jess Phillips.Turner wrote on X: “I am being told that I have had the whip suspended but I have not had any notification from the whips about this.
It seems journalists have been told but I have not.”A Labour source denied that the suspension was due to Turner’s opposition to the judicial changes and said there had been complaints about his conduct online as well as in parliament from other MPs.Turner, who had been shadow solicitor general but was not given a government role, was opposed to plans from the Ministry of Justice to cut the number of jury trials and introduce new judge-only courts.Turner said the changes were deeply misguided and said he had at least 60 MPs prepared to vote against them, though he abstained at the second reading of the bill in the hope of prompting amendments during the parliamentary process.He cited his own experience of the criminal justice system, having been charged with handling stolen goods, a case that was thrown out due to lack of evidence.
Turner has previously said he was on a “conduct warning” from the whips and suggested he would be minded to spark a byelection if he was suspended.He has been explicitly critical of No 10 in recent months, claiming it was briefing against him, especially former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney.He called McSweeney “McSwindle” online and suggested he staged the theft of a mobile phone.In the interview with McIntyre, Turner said McSweeney was “still running the job” in the background and that several MPs were “very angry” about the situation.McIntyre stood against Phillips in Birmingham Yardley on a platform criticising Labour’s approach to Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Phillips won by 700 votes.On the night of the election, Phillips criticised the conduct of her opponent after heckles during her victory speech, and alleged that one Labour campaigner had her tyres slashed on election day.As the heckling continued, she said: “I see we’re going to continue with the class we had during the campaign … I didn’t bring my children here tonight because I knew this would happen and they deserve better.”Turner said he did not know McIntyre had stood against Phillips when he gave him an interview and that he had contacted McIntyre to correct some of the posts on X he had made subsequently.“I was asked to give an interview with a guy who said he was an independent journalist.
I had no idea he stood against Jess Phillips and I’d never have given an interview to him if I’d have known who he was,” he said.“I apologised to Jess about it as I know that in that campaign she had a terrible time.I don’t regret what I said about McSweeney but I didn’t know that the guy I was speaking to was the candidate who stood against her.”A number of Conservative MPs criticised the suspension and said Turner was being targeted for his opposition to the jury trial reforms.The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, posted on X: “This Labour Government is SO authoritarian.
”The Tory MP Neil Shastri-Hurst said: “If true, it is sad to see the government punish an MP for standing up for jury trials – a fundamental safeguard in our justice system.Karl’s vocal support of juries shows real conviction, something our politics should reward.”A Labour source said Turner had been informed of his suspension by email and denied that journalists had been told the news before the MP.The Jewish Labour Movement issued a statement backing the suspension, saying the interview with McIntyre was “crossing a red line.”
Chancellor meets UK supermarket bosses to discuss cost of living
The bosses of the UK’s biggest supermarkets are to meet the chancellor on Wednesday as the government seeks to gauge the extent of potential price rises and shortages of household essentials amid a surge in energy, fuel and fertiliser costs.Rachel Reeves is meeting the bosses of Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons as concerns rise about the potential impact on the cost of living – including higher food prices – as a result of the Middle East conflict.A Treasury source said the intention was to work with the supermarkets to identify any potential supply squeezes caused by the conflict, and to understand the likely impact on the cost of living in the coming months.“It’s very much a fact-finding, open discussion,” they said.Allan Leighton, Asda’s executive chair, is not expected to attend but has called on the government to “stand up and start doing stuff” to support farmers and ease the price of fuel, warning that food prices would inevitably rise as a result of the conflict
Two-thirds of UK hospitality businesses plan to cut jobs and one in seven will close, survey finds
Two-thirds of hospitality businesses are planning to cut jobs as a result of “suffocating” costs imposed by government, as new business rates and higher wage bills come into force.Many pubs, restaurants and hotel companies will see their costs increase significantly from 1 April after Rachel Reeves’s changes to business rates and an increase in minimum wage thresholds announced at the chancellor’s November budget.An industry-wide survey of 20,000 hospitality businesses has found that as a direct result of the cost increases, 64% of firms plan to cut jobs, 42% intend to reduce trading hours and one in seven will be forced to close.“Hospitality businesses enter April facing billions of pounds in additional costs, which will force many to make heartbreaking decisions,” said bodies including UKHospitality and the British Beer and Pub Association, in a joint statement. “Hospitality’s tax burden – the highest in the economy – is suffocating the sector
US average fuel price passes $4 a gallon for first time in four years amid Iran war
Average US fuel prices have exceeded $4 a gallon for the first time in four years, piling pressure on drivers as Donald Trump’s war on Iran continues to boost oil markets.The nationwide average climbed to almost $4.02 on Tuesday, according to AAA data, capping an extraordinary rise from $2.98 just a month ago. The fuel price last reached this high in August 2022
Investors tell Thames Water to ‘eat humble pie’ over failed takeover and open bids
Thames Water’s bosses should eat “humble pie” over a failed takeover process last year and let other firms bid for it, according to a Hong Kong investment group angling to buy the troubled water company.CK Infrastructure (CKI), which is owned by Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, has already acquired Northumbrian Water and has been trying to launch a bid for Thames since February last year.Andrew Hunter, CKI’s co-managing director, told the Guardian he was “frustrated” at being shut out of the process to save the debt-laden water company, which has now been locked in talks with its own lenders since last summer. “My goodness, it’s been going on forever,” he said.Thames has been trying to stave off financial collapse for more than two years as it struggles under the weight of £17
Unilever’s food mashup is hardly a delectable prospect for shareholders
If Unilever shareholders thought the era of management-speak twaddle ended a few chief executives ago, say hello to their new partner in the food game. Brendan Foley, the boss of US spice and condiments firm McCormick, ran through the menu as he presented his big grab for Unilever’s Hellmann’s-to-Knorr-to-Marmite food division. The logic, he explained, is all about “maximal adjacency”, “actionable growth levers” and “end-to-end flavour experiences”.From the point of view of Unilever’s investors, the guff wouldn’t matter if McCormick were paying a fat price in a cash deal. But this $44
Marmite maker Unilever agrees $44.8bn deal to combine food arm with McCormick
Unilever has agreed to combine its food business with US-based McCormick in a $44.8bn deal that will give the Marmite-to-Hellmann’s mayonnaise owner majority control of a food empire.The Anglo-Dutch company will control 65% of the new spin-off, which will combine brands such as Knorr and Pot Noodle with McCormick’s condiments and spices including French’s mustard, Old Bay seasoning and Cholula hot sauce.However, the combined company will be called McCormick and led by its executives, with senior management representation from the ranks of Unilever’s food business.Under the agreement, McCormick will pay London-listed Unilever $15
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