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| Damian Green was sacked because he lied, says Jeremy Hunt – Politics live | Damian Green was sacked because he lied, says Jeremy Hunt – Politics live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Despite being effectively sacked, Damian Green will receive a pay-off of nearly £17,000, the Cabinet Office has confirmed. | |
| Under the legislation which governs these things, the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991, all minister who lose their jobs and don’t get a new post within three weeks – it seems pretty likely Green will not – receive three months of salary as a severance payment. | |
| Green was entitled to a ministerial salary of £69,844, but under a voluntary pay cap scheme for ministers, received £67,505. A quarter of that will net him £16,876.25. | |
| This system is in effect for all ministers, no matter whether they resign, are sacked or reshuffled. The one caveat is that they must be under 65. Green is 61, but when Michael Fallon stepped down as defence secretary he had recently turned 65, so got nothing. | |
| Elizabeth Denham, the information commissioner, has put out this statement about the Metropolitan police’s decision to refer the Green case to her. (See 12.39pm.) She said: | |
| We can confirm that we have received a referral from the Metropolitan police service that explains their belief that offences under the Data Protection Act 1998 have been committed by former MPS officers. | |
| As the UK’s data protection regulator, we’ll be looking at whether individuals acted unlawfully by retaining or disclosing personal data. | |
| These are serious allegations and we are investigating to determine whether the law has been broken and what further action is necessary including potential criminal prosecution. | |
| Under the Data Protection Act, anyone who is prosecuted and found guilty could face an unlimited fine. | |
| In Edinburgh there were emotional scenes at the final first minister’s questions of the year as Scottish Labour’s Jackie Baillie spoke about the fire at Cameron House Hotel in her constituency, which killed a young couple and injured several others earlier this week. | |
| Fighting back tears, Baillie called on the first minister to ensure that lessons are learnt once the investigation into the fire is completed, or if a need to enhance building standards regulations becomes apparent. | |
| A young couple on a winter break from London, Simon Midgley and Richard Dyson, died as the fire ravaged the Loch Lomond-side resort. | |
| Clearly also moved by the tragedy, Sturgeon conveyed her deep condolences the families of the young men who died, and asked the chamber to join with her sending their thanks to the emergency services involved. She added the investigation should be allowed to run its course but gave her assurance that any lessons would be fully applied. | |
| Elsewhere, Sturgeon praised former SNP cabinet minister Richard Lochhead’s tireless campaign against inflated delivery charges for his Highland constituents. Lochhead has recently scored some significant successes with his Rip-off Surcharge campaign, which estimates that online shoppers in Scotland pay an additional £36.3million in delivery charges than the rest of the UK every year. The regulation of parcel pricing is reserved to Westminster, and UK ministers last week agreed to review the system. Sturgeon said that she hoped that “this is the last Christmas for consumers in the north of Scotland to be so blatantly ripped off in this unacceptable way.” | |
| Damian Green has posted a tweet saying that he has been “overwhelmed” by the support he has received from friends, colleagues and constituents since he was sacked. | |
| I am overwhelmed by the number of friends, colleagues (on all sides) and constituents who have sent supportive messages this morning. My thanks to you all, and a Happy Christmas. See you in 2018. | |
| The government’s Brexit reports have been published by the Commons Brexit committee. But the committee, which has a narrow Tory/DUP majority, decided to leave out the “sector views” sections, which cover what firms and trade bodies are saying about Brexit, and it has not said much about what the reports actually say. | The government’s Brexit reports have been published by the Commons Brexit committee. But the committee, which has a narrow Tory/DUP majority, decided to leave out the “sector views” sections, which cover what firms and trade bodies are saying about Brexit, and it has not said much about what the reports actually say. |
| But the reports were also sent to the House of Lords EU committee. And that committee, which does not have a Conservative majority, has delivered a verdict of sorts on the reports. | But the reports were also sent to the House of Lords EU committee. And that committee, which does not have a Conservative majority, has delivered a verdict of sorts on the reports. |
| It comes in the form of an open letter (pdf) to David Davis, the Brexit secretary, from Lord Jay of Ewelme, the former head of the Foreign Office who is now acting chair of the committee. The letter says the committee staff have reviewed all 850 pages in their entirety and it makes the following points. | It comes in the form of an open letter (pdf) to David Davis, the Brexit secretary, from Lord Jay of Ewelme, the former head of the Foreign Office who is now acting chair of the committee. The letter says the committee staff have reviewed all 850 pages in their entirety and it makes the following points. |
| Davis should publish the reports in full, including the “sector views” sections, Jay says. Jay says there is nothing in the reports that is “negotiation sensitive” and that most of the stakeholder views material (the “sector views” stuff that has been held back by the Commons committee) is material “already in the public domain, including in committee inquiries and reports. He says: | Davis should publish the reports in full, including the “sector views” sections, Jay says. Jay says there is nothing in the reports that is “negotiation sensitive” and that most of the stakeholder views material (the “sector views” stuff that has been held back by the Commons committee) is material “already in the public domain, including in committee inquiries and reports. He says: |
| In light of these findings, we can see no reason why the sectoral analyses should not be published in full – they pose no risk to the UK’s negotiating position, and making them publicly available would, in our view, only promote an informed public debate on the options for Brexit. We understand that the House of Commons exiting the EU committee has decided to publish a redacted version of the documents. Nevertheless, we would urge you to publish them in full. | In light of these findings, we can see no reason why the sectoral analyses should not be published in full – they pose no risk to the UK’s negotiating position, and making them publicly available would, in our view, only promote an informed public debate on the options for Brexit. We understand that the House of Commons exiting the EU committee has decided to publish a redacted version of the documents. Nevertheless, we would urge you to publish them in full. |
| The reports show there is a general desire amongst industry to “minimise disruption and uncertainty”, Jay says. In other words, the reports do show there is a general desire amongst business and industry to soften Brexit, the committee’s analysis suggests. Jay says: | The reports show there is a general desire amongst industry to “minimise disruption and uncertainty”, Jay says. In other words, the reports do show there is a general desire amongst business and industry to soften Brexit, the committee’s analysis suggests. Jay says: |
| Views on particular Brexit options, such as single market membership, differ across sectors, but in most cases there is a wish to minimise disruption and uncertainty. | Views on particular Brexit options, such as single market membership, differ across sectors, but in most cases there is a wish to minimise disruption and uncertainty. |
| A number of themes recur in the views of stakeholders. These include: access to EU labour; the minimisation of tariffs and regulatory barriers to trade; data sharing; mutual recognition of qualifications; access to cross-border services; and the importance of EU R&D funding. | A number of themes recur in the views of stakeholders. These include: access to EU labour; the minimisation of tariffs and regulatory barriers to trade; data sharing; mutual recognition of qualifications; access to cross-border services; and the importance of EU R&D funding. |
| The reports are “inconsistent in approach” and their representation of stakeholder views is “patchy”, Jay says. There is also “little over-arching analysis” and “no conclusions are drawn with regard to the UK’s future relationship with the EU”. | The reports are “inconsistent in approach” and their representation of stakeholder views is “patchy”, Jay says. There is also “little over-arching analysis” and “no conclusions are drawn with regard to the UK’s future relationship with the EU”. |
| Here is more on the government Brexit reports. | Here is more on the government Brexit reports. |
| From the Labour MP Jo Stevens | From the Labour MP Jo Stevens |
| Govt’s top secret ‘sectoral reports’ have been published. Last week I had to sign a page long set of rules about secrecy & disclosure to read them in a supervised room having handed in my phone. I wasn’t allowed to have a copy of the rules I signed 1/2 https://t.co/WOAPf46RTE | Govt’s top secret ‘sectoral reports’ have been published. Last week I had to sign a page long set of rules about secrecy & disclosure to read them in a supervised room having handed in my phone. I wasn’t allowed to have a copy of the rules I signed 1/2 https://t.co/WOAPf46RTE |
| I asked for the rules to be emailed to me. I’m still waiting for them. If you can find any analysis of the impact of #Brexit in any of these repetitive, copy & paste, school homework level reports do let me know! 2/2 | I asked for the rules to be emailed to me. I’m still waiting for them. If you can find any analysis of the impact of #Brexit in any of these repetitive, copy & paste, school homework level reports do let me know! 2/2 |
| From the Labour MP Seema Malhotra | From the Labour MP Seema Malhotra |
| This has been a long campaign and it is clearly in the public interest that much as possible of the reports are published. In my view the reports fall far short of the impact analysis the government implied it was doing a year ago. #brexitstudies https://t.co/7IxsvDFTgv pic.twitter.com/XB5Pe92nxf | This has been a long campaign and it is clearly in the public interest that much as possible of the reports are published. In my view the reports fall far short of the impact analysis the government implied it was doing a year ago. #brexitstudies https://t.co/7IxsvDFTgv pic.twitter.com/XB5Pe92nxf |
| From HuffPost’s Paul Waugh | From HuffPost’s Paul Waugh |
| Today's 'secret Brexit papers' read like the padding students put in essays when they have absolutely no idea how to answer a question. Here's just one eg.: we are an island nation apparently. https://t.co/RyDfPF9bg3 pic.twitter.com/Jk3Nb4oOYk | Today's 'secret Brexit papers' read like the padding students put in essays when they have absolutely no idea how to answer a question. Here's just one eg.: we are an island nation apparently. https://t.co/RyDfPF9bg3 pic.twitter.com/Jk3Nb4oOYk |
| Here is the statement from the Metropolitan police about the decision to ask the information commissioner to investigate the release of private police information about what was found on Damian Green’s computer in a police raid. The Met said: | Here is the statement from the Metropolitan police about the decision to ask the information commissioner to investigate the release of private police information about what was found on Damian Green’s computer in a police raid. The Met said: |
| The Metropolitan police service has asked the information commissioner’s cffice (ICO) to investigate the apparent disclosure to the media of confidential material gathered during a police investigation in 2008 by two former officers. | The Metropolitan police service has asked the information commissioner’s cffice (ICO) to investigate the apparent disclosure to the media of confidential material gathered during a police investigation in 2008 by two former officers. |
| An ex-assistant commissioner and ex-detective constable have both made a number of disclosures to the media, passing on information that they were privy to as part of a police investigation. Due to the length of time that has passed since both officers left the MPS, legal advice was sought regarding the most appropriate action to take. | An ex-assistant commissioner and ex-detective constable have both made a number of disclosures to the media, passing on information that they were privy to as part of a police investigation. Due to the length of time that has passed since both officers left the MPS, legal advice was sought regarding the most appropriate action to take. |
| In this instance it was determined that the most appropriate course of action was to make a referral to the ICO to carry out a further investigation in relation to potential Data Protection Act offences. | In this instance it was determined that the most appropriate course of action was to make a referral to the ICO to carry out a further investigation in relation to potential Data Protection Act offences. |
| The MPS is clear that confidential information gathered during any police inquiry should remain confidential. That is an enduring confidentiality regardless of whether an officer leaves the service. | The MPS is clear that confidential information gathered during any police inquiry should remain confidential. That is an enduring confidentiality regardless of whether an officer leaves the service. |
| Gareth Bacon, leader of the Conservative group on the London assembly, has welcomed the news. In a statement he said: | Gareth Bacon, leader of the Conservative group on the London assembly, has welcomed the news. In a statement he said: |
| I am pleased to see the Met is taking seriously what appears to have been a gross abuse of trust from former police officers. | I am pleased to see the Met is taking seriously what appears to have been a gross abuse of trust from former police officers. |
| If the general public is to have future confidence in the force’s ability to protect sensitive information, this case must be dealt with robustly. | If the general public is to have future confidence in the force’s ability to protect sensitive information, this case must be dealt with robustly. |
| I welcome the commissioner’s strong words this morning and the referral to the IC. | I welcome the commissioner’s strong words this morning and the referral to the IC. |
| An investigation into allegations about the private life of Labour MP Keith Vaz has been suspended by the House of Commons sleaze watchdog “for medical reasons”, the Press Association reports. The halting of the probe was revealed in an update of the list of ongoing inquiries on the parliamentary commissioner for standards’ website, and her office did not give any more details. In 2016, the Leicester East MP issued a public apology to his wife and children, and quit as chairman of the Commons home affairs Committee, following reports in the Sunday Mirror that he paid two male escorts for their services. The PA story goes on: | An investigation into allegations about the private life of Labour MP Keith Vaz has been suspended by the House of Commons sleaze watchdog “for medical reasons”, the Press Association reports. The halting of the probe was revealed in an update of the list of ongoing inquiries on the parliamentary commissioner for standards’ website, and her office did not give any more details. In 2016, the Leicester East MP issued a public apology to his wife and children, and quit as chairman of the Commons home affairs Committee, following reports in the Sunday Mirror that he paid two male escorts for their services. The PA story goes on: |
| The probe by the standards commissioner Kathryn Hudson will determine whether Vaz was guilty of a conflict of interest as he headed the home affairs committee’s review of vice laws at the time of the allegations regarding male escorts. | The probe by the standards commissioner Kathryn Hudson will determine whether Vaz was guilty of a conflict of interest as he headed the home affairs committee’s review of vice laws at the time of the allegations regarding male escorts. |
| The watchdog was also looking into whether the former Europe minister has caused “significant damage” to the reputation of parliament. | The watchdog was also looking into whether the former Europe minister has caused “significant damage” to the reputation of parliament. |
| Frances O’Grady, the TUC general secretary, has also criticised the government for the lack of analysis in the Brexit reports. | Frances O’Grady, the TUC general secretary, has also criticised the government for the lack of analysis in the Brexit reports. |
| I see ministers have published their Brexit impact assessments. Looks to me like they've just printed off Wikipedia pages on bits of the economy. I know it's the end of term, but we can do better than this. | I see ministers have published their Brexit impact assessments. Looks to me like they've just printed off Wikipedia pages on bits of the economy. I know it's the end of term, but we can do better than this. |
| Here is Tom Brake, the Lib Dem Brexit spokesman, on the publication of the government’s secret Brexit reports. | Here is Tom Brake, the Lib Dem Brexit spokesman, on the publication of the government’s secret Brexit reports. |
| This is the biggest case of the dog ate my homework the world has ever seen. | This is the biggest case of the dog ate my homework the world has ever seen. |
| We’ve been given binders of old information, extracts from Wikipedia, and a few choice quotes, and yet nothing at all on how Brexit will hit each sector. | We’ve been given binders of old information, extracts from Wikipedia, and a few choice quotes, and yet nothing at all on how Brexit will hit each sector. |
| Now the government’s woeful failure to prepare for Brexit has been laid bare in front of the whole country. The mess this government are making of negotiations shows why the people must be given the opportunity to exit from Brexit. | Now the government’s woeful failure to prepare for Brexit has been laid bare in front of the whole country. The mess this government are making of negotiations shows why the people must be given the opportunity to exit from Brexit. |
| On Twitter, Brake also argued that if Damian Green deserves the sack, Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, should do too. | On Twitter, Brake also argued that if Damian Green deserves the sack, Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, should do too. |
| Damian Green went for lying over porn allegations, yet BoJo clearly breaks Ministerial code in the Telegraph, criticises Government policy, promotes private interests & reneges on cabinet responsiblity. Complete hypocrisy from May! Far more evidence that Boris should be sacked. | Damian Green went for lying over porn allegations, yet BoJo clearly breaks Ministerial code in the Telegraph, criticises Government policy, promotes private interests & reneges on cabinet responsiblity. Complete hypocrisy from May! Far more evidence that Boris should be sacked. |
| Here is some more reaction to the publication of the secret government Brexit reports. Open Britain, which is campaigning for a soft Brexit, has put out this statement from the Labour MP Pat McFadden. | Here is some more reaction to the publication of the secret government Brexit reports. Open Britain, which is campaigning for a soft Brexit, has put out this statement from the Labour MP Pat McFadden. |
| The knots the government has tied itself in over publication of these reports says more about the state of politics and the government’s paranoid state of mind than it does about Brexit. There is little or nothing in them that couldn’t be learned from the annual reports of different trade bodies yet we were asked to believe that somehow revealing how many cars were made in Britain every year was an act of national treachery. | The knots the government has tied itself in over publication of these reports says more about the state of politics and the government’s paranoid state of mind than it does about Brexit. There is little or nothing in them that couldn’t be learned from the annual reports of different trade bodies yet we were asked to believe that somehow revealing how many cars were made in Britain every year was an act of national treachery. |
| The government’s most ardent supporters on the select committee voted not to reveal the sections which showed the industry views of Brexit and what they hoped the outcome of the talks would be. You have to wonder what they have to fear. | The government’s most ardent supporters on the select committee voted not to reveal the sections which showed the industry views of Brexit and what they hoped the outcome of the talks would be. You have to wonder what they have to fear. |
| This whole saga of whether or not there were impact assessments or sectoral studies, and what the difference between them may or may not be, has revealed that breezy busking won’t cut it when people’s jobs and livelihoods are on the line. Winging it should not be a matter of principle. The best way through this is to know as much as we can and put jobs and prosperity before the ideology that has driven much of the positioning up until now. | This whole saga of whether or not there were impact assessments or sectoral studies, and what the difference between them may or may not be, has revealed that breezy busking won’t cut it when people’s jobs and livelihoods are on the line. Winging it should not be a matter of principle. The best way through this is to know as much as we can and put jobs and prosperity before the ideology that has driven much of the positioning up until now. |
| And this is from Eloise Todd, chief executive of Best for Britain, which is campaigning to keep open the option of reversing Brexit. She said: | And this is from Eloise Todd, chief executive of Best for Britain, which is campaigning to keep open the option of reversing Brexit. She said: |
| These reports are the most useless and shoddy piece of work a government department has ever produced. Even the Iraq Dodgy Dossier had some useful information in it. | These reports are the most useless and shoddy piece of work a government department has ever produced. Even the Iraq Dodgy Dossier had some useful information in it. |
| These are a shoddy mess that a sixteen year old wouldn’t be proud of. It is a masterclass in copy and paste. | These are a shoddy mess that a sixteen year old wouldn’t be proud of. It is a masterclass in copy and paste. |
| David Davis has been shown up for the charlatan he is. He needs to consider his position. | David Davis has been shown up for the charlatan he is. He needs to consider his position. |