Mandelson complains arrest followed ‘baseless suggestion’ he was about to flee the country – UK politics as it happened

Peter Mandelson has complained about the decision by the police to arrest him yesterday. In a statement issued by his lawyers, he has said that he had already agreed to attend a police interview last month but that he was arrested on the basis of a “baseless suggestion” he was about to flee the country.The statement, issued by the firm Mishcon de Reya, says:double quotation markPeter Mandelson was arrested yesterday despite an agreement with the police that he would attend an interview next month on a voluntary basis. The arrest was prompted by a baseless suggestion that he was planning to leave the country and take up permanent residence abroad. There is absolutely no truth whatsoever in any such suggestion

Ministers urged to impose temporary ban on crypto political donations

Political donations in cryptocurrency should be subject to an urgent temporary ban to stop foreign interference in British elections, the chair of the national security committee has said.Matt Western, who leads the committee of MPs and peers, said a moratorium was needed until the risks of donations in cryptocurrency have been dealt with – including adequate checks on the source of the money.The committee also called for a review of sentences for electoral offences, suggesting more of a deterrence was needed, with police highlighting that many covert surveillance measures can only be used for crimes that would lead to jail time of at least three years.He wrote to Steve Reed, the cabinet minister in charge of electoral finance, asking him to take immediate action, after the new elections bill did not contain measures to restrict donations in cryptocurrency.The government is considering its policy on donations in crypto after Reform UK became the first party to say it would accept contributions in digital currency earlier this year

Reform UK promises to scrap flagship Labour worker and renters’ protections

Unions and renters’ groups have criticised Reform UK after the party’s business spokesperson, Richard Tice, pledged to introduce a “great repeal act” that would abolish Labour legislation on workers’ rights and protection for tenants.In his first speech since being appointed by Nigel Farage to a portfolio covering business, trade and energy, Tice promised a bonfire of regulations, including an end to net zero targets and a new push for home-produced shale gas using fracking.Hitting out at what he called “daft” regulations, Tice said a Reform government would repeal the Employment Rights Act and the Renters’ Rights Act, two of the flagship pieces of legislation passed by Keir Starmer’s government.“We will repeal things that are unnecessary or against the strategic national interest,” he told an event in Birmingham, saying some of this involved “well-intentioned legislation that is having exactly the opposite effect”.The Employment Rights Act, passed in December, offers significant new rights connected to sick pay, parental leave and zero-hours contracts, including rights to guaranteed hours and payment for short-notice cancellation of shifts, and a ban on most fire-and-rehire practices

Populism is plain to see all around us | Letters

Oliver Eagleton wonders whether we can any longer discern common strands within populism (‘Populism’: we used to know what it meant. Now the defining word of our era has lost its meaning, 18 February). While the left has deep roots in common endeavour and collective struggle, it has tended to act through structures concerned with improving the lives of working people. In contrast, populism is inherently about promoting cultural division and then suborning state institutions for the use of a great leader who alone can hold the nation together.Putting it in far less erudite terms than Eagleton’s article, the common characteristics of populism include self-aggrandising and self-interested demagoguery by pseuds and charlatans, often with a side helping of corruption, a colourful past involving many brushes with the law, strong attachments to some of the world’s worst authoritarian regimes, including the one based in the Kremlin, plus a deep reluctance to be transparent about the sources of their funding, a definition of common sense drawn solely from the wit and wisdom of the pub boor, all coupled with outright racism and membership of a far-right international (often labelled national conservatism) which provides a playbook and funding for their endeavours

Reform UK councillor shared Facebook post saying Labour MP ‘should be shot’

A Labour MP has said politicians should not expect to face “death threats as standard” after a Reform UK councillor shared a Facebook post which said she “should be shot”.The picture of Natalie Fleet, who has spoken previously about being groomed and raped as a teenager, was accompanied by a fake quote misattributed to her, which read: “I voted against the grooming gang enquiry.”The Facebook post was shared by Simon Evans, the deputy leader of Lancashire council and cabinet member for children and families. He also reshared text accompanying the picture, which said: “You dozy cow, you should be shot.”Fleet, who is MP for Bolsover in Derbyshire, said: “Posts like this are so common I don’t bat an eyelid

Reform’s Danny Kruger criticises UK’s ‘totally unregulated sexual economy’

The UK is “suffering from having a totally unregulated sexual economy”, the Reform MP Danny Kruger has said, and he indicated he expected the party to have a “limited but important role” in resetting sexual culture.Kruger said Reform UK had a “pronatalist ambition” and would seek policies to encourage people to have more children, including exploring changes to the tax system to make payments based on households rather than individuals.In an interview with the House magazine, the MP, who recently defected from the Conservatives, said he would personally support reversing changes that allowed no-fault divorce.Asked what role a political party could have in undoing the sexual revolution, Kruger said: “A limited but important one.” He said policy would be “critically important to the way families form” and he suggested changes could come via the tax system to mean that partners compile a household tax return rather than individually