6:43 am, June 5, 2023
Sunak to give update on promise to ‘stop the boats’ and tackle asylum backlog
Rishi Sunak will address the nation on his promises to end small boat crossings of the Channel and tackle the asylum backlog as he comes under pressure over Conservative migration pledges.
In a speech in Kent on Monday, the prime minister will give an update on the progress made in the six months since he introduced the Illegal Migration Bill under his plans to ‘stop the boats’.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said the asylum system is ‘riddled with abuse’ and needs fundamental change as he defended making adult asylum seekers share rooms to reduce the reliance on hotels as ‘completely fair and reasonable’. He said, however, that the backlog in processing asylum cases that Sunak promised to abolish this year stands at more than 150,000 cases after hitting a new high.
Public thinks government doing a bad job on Sunak’s priorities
The British public tends to think Rishi Sunak is doing a bad job in delivering on his five priorities, and believes Sir Keir Starmer would do better, a new poll has found.
The PM set out five priorities at the start of the year, including halving inflation, growing the economy, cutting NHS waiting lists, reducing the national debt and stopping small boat crossings. But almost halfway through the year, a poll by Ipsos UK found more than 50 per cent of people think the government is doing a bad job on almost all those priorities.
The public’s top priority, according to the poll, was easing the cost of living, with 59 per cent listing it as important, followed by ensuring people can get NHS treatment more quickly on 54 per cent and reducing NHS waiting lists on 51 per cent. But 60 per cent said the government was doing a bad job on easing the cost of living, with only 18 per cent saying it was doing a good job, and 62 per cent thought it was not delivering on reducing NHS waiting times.
Police keeping ‘open mind’ about what led to Bournemouth beach deaths
Police are keeping an ‘open mind’ about the circumstances that led to the death of two youngsters who got into difficulty in the water off Bournemouth beach.
Joe Abbess, a 17-year-old boy from Southampton, and Sunnah Khan, a 12-year-old girl from Buckinghamshire, were rescued from the sea during the incident on Wednesday, but both died later in hospital.
Dorset Police said the beach was extremely busy at the time and they are continuing to appeal to witnesses to come forward.
Signal error led to rail crash that killed 275, says India minister
The rail crash in eastern India which killed 275 people and injured hundreds of others was caused by an error in the electronic signalling system which led to a train wrongly changing tracks, India’s railways minister said on Sunday.
‘Who has done it and what is the reason will come out of an investigation,’ Ashwini Vaishnaw said in an interview with New Delhi Television network.
The explanation came as authorities worked to clear the mangled wreckage of the two passenger trains that derailed in the Balasore district of eastern Odisha state on Friday night, in one of the country’s deadliest rail accidents in decades.
Duke of Sussex due at High Court for his claim against Mirror publisher
The Duke of Sussex is due to appear at the High Court as his case against the publisher of the Daily Mirror over alleged unlawful information gathering begins.
Harry is suing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) for damages, claiming journalists at its titles – which also include the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People – were linked to methods including phone hacking, so-called ‘blagging’ or gaining information by deception and use of private investigators for unlawful activities.
His claim is being heard alongside three other ‘representative’ claims during a trial which began last month and is due to last six to seven weeks. Harry alleges about 140 articles published between 1996 and 2010 contained information gathered using unlawful methods, and 33 of these have been selected to be considered at the trial.
Weekend Car Dealer headlines you may have missed
- Rowan Atkinson feels duped by EVs – and believes used cars are the future
- Car dealer admits to selling more than £350,000 worth of clocked cars
- Rolls-Royce begins dealer tour of new electric Spectre
- Family-run car dealer Peter Vardy gets in the saddle as official supplier for cycling world championship
- Opinion: The problem with car sales and relationships is… they just don’t mix
Man charged over Derby race protest at Epsom
Police have charged an animal rights activist who ran on to the track at the Epsom Derby.
A man was filmed jumping the fence and sprinting on to the course as the race began on Saturday. He was pursued by police as the crowd jeered, with some shouting ‘get him’, before officers tackled him and pulled him away.
Surrey Police confirmed on Sunday that Ben Newman, 32, from Hackney, east London, had been charged with causing public nuisance.
Listen to the latest Car Dealer Podcast
Cap HPI’s Derren Martin joins the team to discuss the top headlines over the past week. Listen via Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
CBI faces crunch D-Day vote on its future
The Confederation of British Industry faces a D-Day crunch vote on Tuesday as the formerly influential lobbying group tries to secure its future following a series of sexual harassment allegations.
The group was forced back to the drawing board in April to come up with a plan which it hopes can help members regain their confidence in its ability to represent them.
It was first cast into chaos in March when The Guardian newspaper published allegations of misconduct against the CBI’s then director general, Tony Danker. He apologised and said that the offence or anxiety he had caused was ‘unintentional’. He stepped aside while outside lawyers investigated the claims against him.
Weather
A sunny and warm day for many, reports BBC Weather. Cloudy in central and eastern areas will clear towards the east early on. Far north will see cloud and the odd sprinkling of rain. It’ll be warm in western areas across the country; highs of 23 degrees.
Thick cloud will build again overnight with plenty of mist and fog patches. Breezy in the south.
