Hillsborough campaigners accuse Starmer of ‘insult’ after failing to introduce promised law
Families whose relatives were killed in disasters and who have suffered state injustice have written to Keir Starmer, accusing the government of an “insult” for failing to introduce the promised Hillsborough law in this session of parliament.Labour has promised for almost a decade to implement the law, which will impose a “duty of candour” on the police and public authorities, but the government pulled the bill in January during its passage through parliament.Families, including those whose relatives were killed in the 2017 terrorist bombing at the Manchester arena, insist the duty of candour must apply in full to the security services, MI5 and MI6.Starmer publicly promised again at the Labour party conference in September to introduce the law, but the government has resisted that and sought carve-outs, citing concerns about national security.The families and their lawyers have consistently acknowledged that the security services need to keep information confidential to protect national security, but argue in cases where security services are involved, the judge or chair of the inquiry should be given all the relevant information, then determine what can safely be made public.
Starmer and other ministers held a series of meetings with families earlier this year, but without resolving this impasse over the security services.The coalition of people campaigning for the Hillsborough law, who have signed the letter to Starmer, includes families whose relatives were killed in the arena bombing, the 1989 Hillsborough disaster and the Covid pandemic, and victims of historic injustice, including the Post Office and Windrush scandals.In the letter they said: “Above all, we hope to ensure that families in the future do not experience the cultures of denial and defensiveness and cover-ups which we all have.The fact that Hillsborough law has still not been reintroduced to parliament is an insult to all of us who have been working so hard to get to this point.“It has undermined our trust in this government to do what they said they would and make this legacy project a reality.
We hope that, going forward, you, the prime minister and your government will listen to the people Hillsborough law is meant to protect and not those it is meant to protect us from.We have suffered enough.”The families called on Starmer to “urge the Home Office to abandon its opposition on this issue and to meet with us urgently”.A government source said concerns about the bill remained widespread in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Ministry of Defence, as well as the Home Office.Margaret Aspinall, whose son James, 18, was one of the 97 people killed in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, introduced Starmer at the party conference, but she has signed the letter in which families said they are “very disappointed” with the government.
Government sources said they were working on a new amendment to the bill that would ensure the duty of candour was applied to individuals working for the security services, saying it would go further than what was offered to the families in January.Officials said different scenarios were being “stress tested” and consulted on within government, and they hoped an agreement could be reached with the families during the next parliamentary session in order to pass the bill.“This is a law that will change the way the country works top to bottom, we’ve got to get it right,” one official said.A No 10 spokesperson said the prime minister held “above all other duties” his duty to keep the country safe and secure.“We’re committed to getting this bill through parliament, we know that families have waited too long, but we have said repeatedly that we must take the time to get it right,” the spokeperson said.
“Making sure that the bill is as strong as possible is a testament to their decades campaigning for justice, while never compromising national security.”
Starmer says ‘every lever’ will be explored to ease rising costs of living from Iran conflict
Keir Starmer has promised to look at using “every lever that’s available to the government” to help people cope with the impact on the cost of living of the US-Israel war against Iran, as he prepares for an emergency meeting with senior ministers.The prime minister will chair a meeting of the Cobra committee to discuss possible contingency measures on Monday afternoon, joining Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, and Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary.Speaking to reporters during a visit to a school in London, Starmer said he wanted to reassure Britons that everything was being done to mitigate the economic effects of the conflict, which has resulted in energy prices soaring and the cost of government borrowing also rising.“Cobra is the opportunity at the highest level to bring people together on matters of real, significant national importance,” Starmer said.“Obviously, Cobras are usually used for military considerations, consular considerations, but I think with the Iran war, most people are very concerned now, not only what they’re seeing on their screens in relation to the conflict itself, but also that question of ‘How is it going to affect me and my family?’“And so today we’re looking at the economic impact, and I am asking for every lever that’s available to the government to deal with the cost of living to be discussed at Cobra
Idris Elba-backed firm Huel bought by Danone in €1bn deal
Huel, the protein shake maker which counts the actor Idris Elba among its investors, has agreed to be acquired by the French consumer goods group Danone in a deal worth about €1bn (£870m).The British company, which makes food powders, snack bars and meals from a blend of plant-based ingredients and fortified with vitamins, started out selling its powders online. It is now available in more than 25,000 stores around the world.The Huel co-founder Julian Hearn will make about £400m from the deal, according to filings at Companies House.He started the business in 2015 with the nutrition specialist James Collier, and remains one of the biggest shareholders in the business
Australia’s generation Alpha faces $185k bill over lifetime without urgent action on climate crisis, report finds
The next generation of Australian workers will cop a $185,000 bill over their lifetimes if the country does not act more urgently to address the climate crisis, according to new modelling by a team of young economists at Deloitte.The new report finds that global heating consistent with the current projections would cost the average millennial about $130,000 over the rest of their lives, increasing to $165,000 for gen Z.A gen Z Australian’s lifetime income could be $165,000 lower by 2070 without further global action.For generation Alpha, the eldest of whom turn 16 this year, the bill stretches to $185,000 a person by 2070.The report estimates the damage to worker productivity, infrastructure and property, as well as increased health risks and healthcare costs
UK mortgage interest rates expected to rise despite Trump’s Iran pause
Homeowners’ choice of mortgage deals has shrunk and interest rates on home loans are expected to rise this week despite financial markets reacting positively to Donald Trump’s pause on his threat to attack Iranian power plants.Early on Monday, as the end of a two-day deadline set by Trump for a deal with Iran grew closer, financial market data implied that investors believed the Bank of England would attempt to tackle rising prices with four quarter-point increases in rates before the end of December.After Trump instructed US defence officials to postpone airstrikes against Iranian energy infrastructure for five days, investors reduced the number of rate rises they expect to two quarter-point increases, from 3.75% to 4.25% this year
Workers who fall for ‘corporate bullshit’ may be worse at their jobs, study finds
Ever sat in a meeting where someone declares that your company is “growth-hacking” and “working at the intersection of cross-collateralization and blue-sky thinking” and called bullshit? Turns out you were right.A new study out of Cornell University published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences found workers most excited and impressed by corporate speak may be the least equipped to make effective, practical business decisions, and it can leave companies with dysfunctional leaders.Academically, “bullshit” is broadly defined as “a type of semantically, logically or epistemically dubious information that is misleadingly impressive, important, informative or otherwise engaging”, according to the study.“Corporate bullshit” is a specific type of bullshit that uses puzzling corporate buzzwords and jargon and is ultimately “semantically empty and often confusing”, according to the research. It is often used by management to persuade and impress, sometimes to inflate perceptions of the company to workers and investors
World’s broadcasters urge EU to tighten rules for big tech in smart TV battle
The world’s largest broadcasters have pushed for the EU to enforce its toughest regulations against virtual TVs and smart assistants built by Google, Amazon, Apple and Samsung.The call came in a letter from the Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe (ACT), whose members include Canal+, RTL, Mediaset, ITV, Paramount+, NBCUniversal, Walt Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, Sky and TF1 Groupe.The letter argues that big tech companies have growing control over the operating systems of smart TVs and voice assistants, allowing them to act as “gatekeepers” funnelling users towards some content and away from others.Services such as Amazon’s Fire TV and Google TV have recommendation systems, as well as search functions, that may prioritise some content over others. These systems, built into many smart TVs, stand to shape how millions of users consume television
iPhone 17e review: Apple upgrades its cheapest new smartphone
Palantir extends reach into British state as it gets access to sensitive FCA data
Campaign groups rail against Palantir, but the UK contracts keep coming
New crypto regulations likely to be big favor to the Trump family, industry insiders say
‘Thank God they’re still alive’: Kaiser therapists claim its new screening system puts patients at higher risk by delaying their care
US man pleads guilty to defrauding music streamers out of millions using AI