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| General election: NHS staff lead protests as Trump visits London for Nato talks – live | General election: NHS staff lead protests as Trump visits London for Nato talks – live |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Doctors and nurses will march to Buckingham Palace, where the US president will be dining with Queen and other leaders | Doctors and nurses will march to Buckingham Palace, where the US president will be dining with Queen and other leaders |
| Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Simon Murphy. | |
| As reported earlier, in his Today interview Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, was asked by the presenter Nick Robinson about his involvement in a book that advocated privatisation of health services. (See 8.21am) Raab said he has never personally advocated NHS privatisation. | |
| Robinson was referring to After the Coalition, a book published in 2011 and written jointly by Kwasi Kwarteng, Priti Patel, Chris Skidmore, Liz Truss and Raab. At the time they were all Conservative backbenchers. Now three of them are cabinet ministers (Raab, Patel and Truss), Kwarteng attends cabinet as a minister of state and Skidmore is also a minister of state. | |
| The Mirror’s Dan Bloom has posted an extract from the book on Twitter. | |
| Some would argue that allowing private providers to supply NHS services (which happens quite extensively at the moment) does amount to “privatisation of the NHS”, which is what Raab said this morning that he opposed. But others would argue that phrase implies the wholesale sell-off of the NHS, which is something quite different. | |
| More from Dominic Raab’s interview earlier on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme as the foreign secretary also claimed the Conservatives have no plans to privatise the NHS. | More from Dominic Raab’s interview earlier on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme as the foreign secretary also claimed the Conservatives have no plans to privatise the NHS. |
| It comes after Jeremy Corbyn last week produced leaked papers detailed US trade talks which he claimed proved the NHS was “up for sale” – an allegation denied by the Tories. | It comes after Jeremy Corbyn last week produced leaked papers detailed US trade talks which he claimed proved the NHS was “up for sale” – an allegation denied by the Tories. |
| “[We’re] absolutely clear there’s going to be no privatisation of the NHS under the Conservatives’ watch or this prime minister’s watch,” Raab said. | “[We’re] absolutely clear there’s going to be no privatisation of the NHS under the Conservatives’ watch or this prime minister’s watch,” Raab said. |
| Asked about his involvement in writing a paper advocating privatisation, he said: | |
| The Labour shadow minister Laura Piddock has dodged questions on reports suggesting Russia had a role planting a leaked NHS document that Jeremy Corbyn presented last week as proof the country’s health service was on the table in US trade talks. | The Labour shadow minister Laura Piddock has dodged questions on reports suggesting Russia had a role planting a leaked NHS document that Jeremy Corbyn presented last week as proof the country’s health service was on the table in US trade talks. |
| Reuters reported last night that experts at Oxford and Cardiff universities, as well as the Atlantic Council thinktank, said the document’s release on Reddit before it was seized on by Labour “resembles a disinformation campaign uncovered this year that originated in Russia”. | Reuters reported last night that experts at Oxford and Cardiff universities, as well as the Atlantic Council thinktank, said the document’s release on Reddit before it was seized on by Labour “resembles a disinformation campaign uncovered this year that originated in Russia”. |
| “Whoever did this … was absolutely trying to keep it a secret,” Graham Brookie, the director of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, told Reuters. “It carries the spectre of foreign influence.” | “Whoever did this … was absolutely trying to keep it a secret,” Graham Brookie, the director of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, told Reuters. “It carries the spectre of foreign influence.” |
| The story, which the Daily Telegraph splashed on today, led to questioning of Piddock by Sky’s Kay Burley this morning but she dismissed it as a “massive distraction”. | The story, which the Daily Telegraph splashed on today, led to questioning of Piddock by Sky’s Kay Burley this morning but she dismissed it as a “massive distraction”. |
| Footage has emerged of Donald Trump’s motorcade apparently arriving in north London to shouts of abuse last night after he touched down on UK soil in Air Force One. | Footage has emerged of Donald Trump’s motorcade apparently arriving in north London to shouts of abuse last night after he touched down on UK soil in Air Force One. |
| The US president’s motorcade was given a frosty welcome as it passed through Camden, with yells of “get out of here” – and some ruder cries – from passersby caught on camera. | The US president’s motorcade was given a frosty welcome as it passed through Camden, with yells of “get out of here” – and some ruder cries – from passersby caught on camera. |
| The foreign secretary also said he sympathised with the father of Jack Merritt, whose son was murdered during the London Bridge terror attack on Friday, after he said the tragedy had been used to “further an agenda of hate”. | The foreign secretary also said he sympathised with the father of Jack Merritt, whose son was murdered during the London Bridge terror attack on Friday, after he said the tragedy had been used to “further an agenda of hate”. |
| Dave Merritt wrote an impassioned piece in the Guardian saying that his son would have been seething at how his death was being used. “What Jack would want from this is for all of us to walk through the door he has booted down, in his black Doc Martens,” he wrote. | Dave Merritt wrote an impassioned piece in the Guardian saying that his son would have been seething at how his death was being used. “What Jack would want from this is for all of us to walk through the door he has booted down, in his black Doc Martens,” he wrote. |
| “That door opens up a world where we do not lock up and throw away the key. Where we do not give indeterminate sentences, or convict people on joint enterprise. Where we do not slash prison budgets, and where we focus on rehabilitation not revenge.” | “That door opens up a world where we do not lock up and throw away the key. Where we do not give indeterminate sentences, or convict people on joint enterprise. Where we do not slash prison budgets, and where we focus on rehabilitation not revenge.” |
| Dominic Raab refused to accept that he had a fundamentally different worldview to that of Jack Merritt. “I sympathise with the anguish of the family and can’t imagine what they must be going through. The first duty that we’ve got as a government is to take every measure we can to make sure that we don’t see further families going through that same suffering and anguish,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. | Dominic Raab refused to accept that he had a fundamentally different worldview to that of Jack Merritt. “I sympathise with the anguish of the family and can’t imagine what they must be going through. The first duty that we’ve got as a government is to take every measure we can to make sure that we don’t see further families going through that same suffering and anguish,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. |
| He added: “And that separates us from Jeremy Corbyn, who has made clear he would be willing to see those sorts of dangerous offenders released.” | He added: “And that separates us from Jeremy Corbyn, who has made clear he would be willing to see those sorts of dangerous offenders released.” |
| The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, claims he does not know whether Boris Johnson will be meeting the US president, Donald Trump, for one-on-one talks during his visit to the UK for the Nato summit. | The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, claims he does not know whether Boris Johnson will be meeting the US president, Donald Trump, for one-on-one talks during his visit to the UK for the Nato summit. |
| Amid claims that the prime minister is dodging bilateral talks with Trump, fearing it would hamper his campaigning efforts in the general election, Raab was evasive on the issue. | Amid claims that the prime minister is dodging bilateral talks with Trump, fearing it would hamper his campaigning efforts in the general election, Raab was evasive on the issue. |
| “I don’t know the full range of bilaterals, those things are always very fluid,” Raab told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. | “I don’t know the full range of bilaterals, those things are always very fluid,” Raab told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. |
| Asked to clarify again whether he does not know whether the two leaders will be meeting, Raab said: | Asked to clarify again whether he does not know whether the two leaders will be meeting, Raab said: |
| Good morning folks, Simon Murphy here to take you through the morning’s politics news as Donald Trump visits the UK for the Nato summit. Looks like the US president still had his attention on affairs back at home when he touched down on UK soil last night: | Good morning folks, Simon Murphy here to take you through the morning’s politics news as Donald Trump visits the UK for the Nato summit. Looks like the US president still had his attention on affairs back at home when he touched down on UK soil last night: |
| From Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary | From Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary |
| Labour has promised to end what it calls the “hostile environment” for disabled people in the social security system as part of a raft of plans to tackle discrimination. | Labour has promised to end what it calls the “hostile environment” for disabled people in the social security system as part of a raft of plans to tackle discrimination. |
| The party’s disability manifesto, published on Tuesday morning, proposes a range of measures across welfare, public services, transport, housing and jobs to enable disabled people to live independently, be treated with dignity and respect, and participate fully in society. | The party’s disability manifesto, published on Tuesday morning, proposes a range of measures across welfare, public services, transport, housing and jobs to enable disabled people to live independently, be treated with dignity and respect, and participate fully in society. |
| The manifesto promises to sweep away a hostile environment of prejudice against disabled people it says was promoted by government to justify nine years of austerity cuts, and replace it with system that ends poverty and offers people security and dignity. | The manifesto promises to sweep away a hostile environment of prejudice against disabled people it says was promoted by government to justify nine years of austerity cuts, and replace it with system that ends poverty and offers people security and dignity. |
| “What British democracy needs right now is the advice of a cartoonist who doesn’t even live in your wretched country,” writes Guardian Australia’s cartoonist First Dog on the Moon. | “What British democracy needs right now is the advice of a cartoonist who doesn’t even live in your wretched country,” writes Guardian Australia’s cartoonist First Dog on the Moon. |
| The day ahead | The day ahead |
| • Boris Johnson is expected to be campaigning in south-west England. | • Boris Johnson is expected to be campaigning in south-west England. |
| • Jeremy Corbyn is due to give a speech in London on workers’ rights. | • Jeremy Corbyn is due to give a speech in London on workers’ rights. |
| • Jo Swinson is expected to visit a farm in the east of England. | • Jo Swinson is expected to visit a farm in the east of England. |
| • Nato leaders are gathering for the alliance summit over Tuesday and Wednesday. The main talks will take place on Wednesday near Watford and Johnson will break off from election campaigning to play host. | • Nato leaders are gathering for the alliance summit over Tuesday and Wednesday. The main talks will take place on Wednesday near Watford and Johnson will break off from election campaigning to play host. |
| Good morning and welcome to another day in politics. Today, Donald Trump is in town and his presence in London today for Nato meetings is causing jitters in the Conservative camp, as the Tories worry about the US president’s unpredictability and tendency to say things without necessarily thinking through the consequences. | Good morning and welcome to another day in politics. Today, Donald Trump is in town and his presence in London today for Nato meetings is causing jitters in the Conservative camp, as the Tories worry about the US president’s unpredictability and tendency to say things without necessarily thinking through the consequences. |
| Trump is being seen as a potential liability for Boris Johnson in the campaign, amid Labour’s accusations that a US-UK trade deal will lead to an NHS sell-off and higher drug prices for Britons, with the Guardian’s Rowena Mason writing that Johnson will seek to downplay his relationship with the president in light of the NHS accusations. | Trump is being seen as a potential liability for Boris Johnson in the campaign, amid Labour’s accusations that a US-UK trade deal will lead to an NHS sell-off and higher drug prices for Britons, with the Guardian’s Rowena Mason writing that Johnson will seek to downplay his relationship with the president in light of the NHS accusations. |
| Johnson has made clear that he would not welcome any input from Trump at such a sensitive time in the campaign, after the US president offered his endorsement over the summer. But Trump has a full two days in the UK and is expected to give a press conference on Wednesday. The Tories will be hopeful he says little or nothing to inflame voter fears. | Johnson has made clear that he would not welcome any input from Trump at such a sensitive time in the campaign, after the US president offered his endorsement over the summer. But Trump has a full two days in the UK and is expected to give a press conference on Wednesday. The Tories will be hopeful he says little or nothing to inflame voter fears. |
| Trump will be among world leaders attending a banquet with the Queen tonight at Buckingham Palace. NHS nurses and doctors will lead a “Hands off our NHS” protest starting at Trafalgar Square then heading down the Mall to arrive at Canada Gate, opposite the palace. | Trump will be among world leaders attending a banquet with the Queen tonight at Buckingham Palace. NHS nurses and doctors will lead a “Hands off our NHS” protest starting at Trafalgar Square then heading down the Mall to arrive at Canada Gate, opposite the palace. |
| Also protesting outside Buckingham Palace will be the family of Harry Dunn, the 19-year-old who was killed in a motorbike crash in Northamptonshire in August. Anne Sacoolas, the 42-year-old motorist allegedly responsible, claimed diplomatic immunity and was allowed to return to the US. | Also protesting outside Buckingham Palace will be the family of Harry Dunn, the 19-year-old who was killed in a motorbike crash in Northamptonshire in August. Anne Sacoolas, the 42-year-old motorist allegedly responsible, claimed diplomatic immunity and was allowed to return to the US. |
| We’ll have all the politics news for, so stay with us. I’ve got the blog for the first hour or so, you can get in touch with me on Twitter. Thanks for reading. | We’ll have all the politics news for, so stay with us. I’ve got the blog for the first hour or so, you can get in touch with me on Twitter. Thanks for reading. |