Downing Street has said that discussions are happening “at pace, across government” to resolve the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending the Europa League match in Birmingham.At the morning lobby briefing, a No 10 spokesperson told reporters:Conversations began on this last night.You will have seen the West Midlands police and crime commissioner has asked police and Birmingham’s safety advisory group to immediately review the decision.Culture secretary Lisa Nandy is meeting officials to discuss what more can be done to try and find a way through to resolve this, and what more can be done to allow fans to attend the game safely.The secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, Steve Reed, spoke to the local council this morning, and the Home Office is urgently working to support police to try and find a way through this.

You can expect to hear further updates today.I won’t pre-empt the conversations, but these are happening at pace, across government, with all the relevant groups to find a way to resolve this.Pressure is mounting on West Midlands police over their ban on fans of the Israeli football team Maccabi Tel Aviv from a match at Villa Park next month, as the area’s crime commissioner demanded a review of the decision.All the main political parties have condemned the ban.But a YouGov poll suggests a plurality of voters are in favour.

A legal challenge to the ban on Palestine Action can go ahead next month after the court of appeal rejected the Home Office’s attempt to block the case.The Conservatives have welcomed a Times report saying Rachel Reeves plans to save around £1bn by making the Motability scheme, that subsidises cars for disabled people, less generous.In their story, Chris Smyth and Aubrey Allegretti say:Tax breaks worth about £1 billion a year are set to be scrapped in the budget, dramatically reducing an exemption by which cars leased under the scheme do not have to pay VAT or insurance premium tax.In another change being considered, BMWs, Mercedes and other luxury cars could be removed from a scheme that provides such premium brands to more than 40,000 benefits claimants.In response, Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said:The chancellor has followed our lead and said she’ll do something about Motability.

I’m glad she’s been keeping an eye on our welfare announcements, but the government should be doing much more to fix welfare and reform the Motability scheme.This week the BBC’s More or Less programme said some of the Tory claims about Motability have been misleading, or just wrong.Mark Sedwill has emerged as the frontrunner to become the UK’s ambassador to the US, according to senior government figures.For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, told Sky News that his organisation is due to take part in a “very large” protest about the Maccabi Tel Aviv match against Aston Villa going ahead.

He said the PSC did not believe Israeli teams should be allowed in international competitions.He explained:Why? Because of the widespread violations of international law, for two years, participation in what a UN commission of inquiry has judged to be a genocide, for 58 years overseeing an illegal military occupation, and what has been judged by numerous human rights bodies as apartheid.There’s a precedent for this.Russia has been removed from sporting competitions because of its illegal occupation of Ukraine.And people with longer memories will remember the ban on South Africa participating in sport because of apartheid …A further important point is that the Israeli Football Association is in direct violation of Fifa’s own statutes.

There is a statute that says you cannot, effectively, have teams that belong to your football association conducting matches in another football association’s territory.The Israeli Football Association has six teams that play on illegally occupied Palestinian land.It’s a straightforward violation of Fifa’s own rules.Jamal also said there was a particular problem with Maccabi fans too.He went on:Their friends have a notorious history of racist violence and racist chanting.

Most notoriousl, but they’ve done this for decades, they participated in a match in Amsterdam in which they rampaged through the city chanting grotesque, anti-Palestinian, racist slogans, including a slogan that said there are no schools in Gaza because we have to kill all of the children, attacked Muslim residents of the city,On social media it is being pointed out that Keir Starmer himself spoke at a meeting in 2015 in front of a banner saying “Kick Israeli racism out of Fifa”,But when the Mail on Sunday ran a story about this a few years later, Labour said Starmer had never supported a sports boycott of Israel, or expelling the country from Fifa,Carline Dinenage, chair of the Commons culture committee, has released the text of a letter she has sent to the chief constable of West Midlands police asking for an explanation as to why it favours banning Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the Aston Villa match,Dinenage said:The move to prevent away fans from attending next month’s match at Villa Park is extremely concerning and is at odds with the principle that football in this country is for everyone.

The police need to be open about how and why they reached the decision that a ban was the only way of guaranteeing public safety, and whether there is a route to reversing what is a deeply regrettable situation.West Midlands police has already issued a statement saying its decision was based on “current intelligence and previous incidents, including violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 UEFA Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel-Aviv in Amsterdam”.But this statement does not explain whether the police view the main risk as being posed by the Maccabi fans themselves, or by those opposed to them being in the city, or whether it has simply concluded that clashes would be inevitable.And the statement does not explain why the police could not adopt measures to manage the risk.In a post on Bluesky, Sunder Katwala, director of the British Future thinktank, suggested some possible mitigation strategies.

I would not sell tickets, invite the club to bring 250 invited supporters, have significant restrictions on travel, police escorts for their safety and their conduct.(Eg “bubble” policing for Wrexham v Chester)Have clear zones for legit anti-Israel politucs protest & police conduct at itThat is a more permissive approach than playing Besitkas v Maccabi in a closed stadium in Hungary, or banning the away fans of both Albania and Serbia.But it recognises the public order riskKemi Badenoch’s popularity with Conservative party members has soared following the party’s conference, according to a survey by ConservativeHome.In its write-up, ConservativeHome, whose regular shadow cabinet league is seen as a reliable guide to how leading Tories are rated by members, says:[Badenoch] has gone from fourth place at +28.3 [net satisfaction] before conference to a very close second place after a strong conference performance at + 60.

0 – just behind shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick who tops both pre and post-conference tables, but only by +0,2 after the Tories’ time in Manchester,Only five months ago Badenoch’s net satisfaction (those saying they are satisifed with her performance, minus those saying they aren’t) was zero,Badenoch’s confident end-of-conference speech was much praised in Tory circles, but Badenoch also pleased party members with distinctive policy proposals such as leaving the European convention on human rights, slashing spending by £47bn a year, and abolishing stamp duty,Badenoch’s approval resurrection with party members may kill off the prospect of a leadership challenge, at least until after next year’s local elections, and perhaps beyond that.

Until recently it was widely assumed at Westminster that she was all but certain to be replaced.Ayoub Khan, independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, the constituency where the Europe League match will be taking place, has said that Keir Starmer was wrong to imply that West Midlands police were being antisemitic when they came out in favour of banning Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the game.Speaking to Times Radio, he said:The argument must be deciphered.In terms of safety; football, hooligan and safety are the key points here, not faith.And we have this conflation, even by the prime minister, which is quite shocking, to conflate what the safety advisory committee decided along with West Midlands police.

They’ve got serious concerns.And to label West Midlands police and this independent, impartial body as antisemitic is disgraceful.Anyone watching the scenes out of Amsterdam in November of last year would have seen a vile racist chanting by Maccabi fans.And let’s not conflate this.It’s not about faith.

It’s about those fans that have caused disorder.Amsterdam Council has ruled that Maccabi team is, and fans are not, allowed to come into that city.Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, says the home secretary should use powers in the Police Act to order West Midlands police to ensure Maccabi Tel Aviv fans can attend the Europa League match.He has posted this on social media.The Home Secretary shoud use powers in s40 of the Police Act 1996 to direct West Mids Police to protect Tel Aviv fans from any threat and allow them to attend the Aston Villa gameIt is unacceptable to allow the threat of antisemitic mob violence to dictate who can or can’t attend a football matchThat is unacceptable in any civilised country.

Giving in to the threat of mob violence just encourages it further.Appeasement never works.And he has posted this about section 40 of the Police Act.Yesterday there were 10 local council byelections, which is more than usual.And the Liberal Democrats are celebrating because they won seven of them.

Lib Dem holdsFour of the elections were in seats the Lib Dems were defending, and they held three of them.The Election Maps UK account has the results.Whyteleafe (Tandridge) Council By-Election Result:🔶 LDM: 44.9% (+14.2)➡️ RFM: 26.

7% (New)🌳 CON: 9.9% (+0.4)🌹 LAB: 9.7% (-1.7)🌍 GRN: 8.

8% (+3.6)No Localist (-43.2) as previous.Liberal Democrat HOLD.Changes w/ 2024.

Caterham Valley (Surrey) Council By-Election Result:🔶 LDM: 48,1% (+0,6)➡️ RFM: 24,5% (New)🌳 CON: 13,0% (-23.

5)🌍 GRN: 5.5% (New)🏘️ CR: 5.3% (New)🌹 LAB: 3.6% (-6.9)No Ind (-5.

5) as previous.Liberal Democrat HOLD.Changes w/ 2021.Meadvale & St John's (Reigate & Banstead) Council By-Election Result:🔶 LDM: 48.3% (+11.

7)🌍 GRN: 17,6% (-0,5)🌳 CON: 12,0% (-16,9)➡️ RFM: 11.

6% (New)🙋 Ind: 10.4% (New)No LAB (-16.3) as previous.Liberal Democrat HOLD.Changes w/ 2024.

Lib Dem gainsBut the Lib Dems also gained four seats.-one from LabourAshton (Preston) Council By-Election Result:🔶 LDM: 37.3% (+15.8)➡️ RFM: 25.9% (New)🌹 LAB: 24.

3% (-34.6)🙋 Ind: 5.7% (New)🌳 CON: 3.5% (-16.3)🙋 Ind: 3