caroline wheeler
@cazjwheeler
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Political Editor of The Sunday Times. News addict, author, wife, mum of three. Views are mine and not those of my employer. caroline.wheeler @sunday -times.co.uk
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Joined September 2010
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THREAD: My friend Ade Goodyear nearly broke my heart when he told me how he was informed at school, age 15, that he had been infected with HIV.
His story is the centrepiece of my book “Death in the Blood” on the contaminated blood scandal
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BREAKING: Jeremy Hunt has been caught in a secret recording during a private meeting with Tory activists suggesting that Sunak will call a general election once inflation has fallen below three per cent - giving the strongest hint yet that a poll will be held next autumn.
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BREAKING:
Downing Street figures lobbied Sue Gray to dilute her report on the parties scandal and anonymise some of the key players.
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💥 Breaking: The wife of the MP Andrew Bridgen claims her husband has been radicalised and captured by an anti-vax cult. She claims she and her son were left homeless and living off benefits after the “sect” took him over and destroyed their marriage.
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BREAKING – Nusrat Ghani responds to Downing Street statement re Islamaphobia at top of Conservative Party.
“When I told PM in June 2020 what had been said to me in the Government Whips’ Office I urged him to take it seriously as a Government matter and instigate an inquiry… /1
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BREAKING: A British parliamentary researcher has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China in what is alleged to be one of the most damaging breaches of security involving a hostile state at Westminster. W
@HarryYorke1
@DipeshGadher
@ShippersUnbound
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THREAD on Downing Street involvement in European Super League, from multiple sources.
Man Utd boss Ed Woodward met Dan Rosenfield, No10 chief of staff, on Wed of last week. Rosenfield also MU fan. No10 claim meeting was to discuss safe return of fans and Covid certification.../1
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🎉 Personal news: I’m thrilled to have been appointed political editor at the Sunday Times
I’m grateful to
@ShippersUnbound
for all his support + congratulate him on his new role as chief political commentator
I’m delighted
@Gabriel_Pogrund
has been promoted to Whitehall editor
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EXCLUSIVE: Three cabinet ministers and two shadow cabinet ministers are among more than 50 MPs facing allegations of sexual misconduct
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The Sunday Times does not publish important stories like this unless they are impeccably sourced. As you know, the government response is often influenced by a need to manage the warring tribes of the Conservative Party.
Bit of a pile on from heart of government, and at senior level, to say there is no plan to move UK to Swiss-style relationship with EU, in response to Sunday Times splash. One Remain-voting minister: “that argument is settled”. He pointed out chancellor’s…
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Huge congratulations to
@DianaJohnsonMP
for her stunning victory tonight and thanks so much to
@RachelReevesMP
for supporting this amendment. This is a huge moment in the campaign and a big step towards justice.
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According to sources who saw draft report, changes to the text were also made, incl details of alleged “Abba night” party in PM’s flat.
A ministerial adviser said: “After Sue made clear that she wanted to print WhatsApp messages and emails, the entire machine fought her.”
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One key passage of report to be altered concerned alleged “Abba night” party in PM’s flat. An earlier draft of the report referred to music being played.
According to two sources, Stephen Barclay, Johnson’s chief of staff, tweaked it on the eve of the report’s publication…
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Breaking: Investigation by
@thesundaytimes
exposes drug culture in Parliament as cocaine discovered across the estate. Sniffer dogs could be deployed under a new crackdown. Priti Patel says: “There is no place in our society for drugs and certainly not in our parliament”.
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… in the end, half that number were named. Key omissions included Hannah Young, a No 10 private secretary whose leaving party was one of the most raucous events and ended in a brawl between two members of staff.
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“He wrote to me that he could not get involved and suggested I use the internal Conservative Party complaint process. This, as I had already pointed out, was very clearly not appropriate for something that happened on Government business…” /2
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Other changes were requested to sections of the report that referred to the prime minister’s wife, Carrie.
It is understood that up to 30 people were contacted by Gray before publication and told that she intended to name them…
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On the eve of Wednesday’s publication, three civil servants tried to persuade her not to ID some partygoers at illicit gatherings in No 10 and elsewhere in Whitehall.
Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, Samantha Jones, the permanent secretary at No 10, and…
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The damning final report laid bare a culture of rule-breaking, incl gatherings where drunk Downing Street officials vomited, sang karaoke, became involved in altercations + abused security and cleaning staff at a time when entire population was banned from seeing friends + family
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This has been denied by Downing Street.
See Sunday Times long read with
@shippersunbound
and
@HarryYorke1
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She resisted the most egregious interference, insisting that civil servants would have to formally instruct her to make changes — a process requiring a minister.
The move would have signalled to Westminster and the wider public that revisions had been made against Gray’s wishes.
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… Alex Chisholm, the permanent secretary to the Cabinet Office and chief operating officer for the civil service, are understood to have pressed Gray to water down her conclusions.
Sources said that Case’s name was among those they wanted to remove.
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“I do not even know if the words that were conveyed to me about what was said in reshuffle meetings at Downing Street were by members of the Conservative Party. Not a day has gone by without thinking about what I was told and wondering why I was in politics, while hoping…” /3
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The ex-Post Office chairman tells
@olivershah
that he was told to delay compensation for the victims of the Horizon scandal until after the election to help the Tories. I believe this what
@JohnGlenUK
had been told to do with the victims of the contaminated blood.
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“…for the Government to take this seriously. Those that have not had their identity + faith questioned cannot fully appreciate what it does to you. Now is not the time I would have chosen for this to come out and I have pursued every avenue and process I thought available…” /4
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“I have many things that I want to achieve in politics, not least my campaigns on human rights and genocide, and I am deeply disappointed that it has come to this.” /6 ENDS
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“…to me, but many people have known what happened. In my statement yesterday I was careful not to mention any names or implicate the PM. All I have ever wanted was for his Govt to take this seriously, investigate properly and ensure no other colleague has to endure this." /5
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The male suspect, who is in his late 20s, is understood to be linked to a number of senior Tory MPs, including several who are privy to classified or highly sensitive information.
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Exclusive: Suella Braverman faces fresh calls to resigns after dozens of migrants with suspected diphtheria have been moved from Manston asylum centre to hotels across Britain.
W/
@ShaunLintern
and
@HarryYorke1
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BREAKING: The first flight taking asylum seekers to Rwanda is understood to be leaving from RAF Lyneham, in Wiltshire, tomorrow, according to sources. It is not known how many refugees - if any - will be on board as the government battles a series of legal challenges.
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Hunt said: “I'm not wanting to give away anything about the date of the next election - not that I know - but the Bank of England says this time next year it will be three per cent. So I think the electorate will have a very strong sense of a party that has taken…
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Breaking: Boris Johnson’s last act in government will be to award £100k interim payments to the victims of the contaminated blood scandal. Ministers will make the announcement next week following a four decade long campaign for justice. Read more in the
@thetimes
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Rosenfield understood to have told Woodward that Downing Street wd not stand in way of SL plan. It is alleged this was done without consulting PM. No10 claim ESL not raised at the meeting - surprising given clubs preparing plans, under instruction from CEOs, from April 13... /2
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Thousands dead, 40 years of cover-up, no one has ever been held to account. It's time for justice for the infected blood victims. Delighted to announce The Sunday Times is campaigning for action. Now.
#bloodydisgrace
🔗
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(Club owners had wanted to launch SL on Thursday April 15 but this was rejected by Liverpool, who did not want do it on Hillsborough anniversary.) Woodward went back to people planning SL + effectively said the PM's chief of staff had given project the green light... /3
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Should make clear that Mark Spencer, the Tory chief whip who identified himself last night as the whip in question, has strenuously denied the allegations.
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NEW: The Chinese-owned social media app TikTok will be banned from all government electronic devices after a security review. GCHQ’s National Security Centre conducted an assessment of the platform and identified risks around the safety of sensitive data. See
@thetimes
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Positive noises from Downing Street were understood to have been communicated to those behind the ESL on the Saturday, and was apparently important in the final decision to launch. This has been denied by Ed Woodward... /4
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Sir Brian Langstaff, chair of the infected blood inquiry, published his final recommendations on compensation almost a year ago. Sir Robert Francis concluded his study on the compensation framework almost two years ago. What more is there to do or say?
Regardless of the account of the ex Chair, which I believe, it should be plainly obvious to anyone with eyes that this is true, just as it is true with the contaminated blood scandal compensation. Literally everyone knows this is what they are doing.
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The researcher is a British national who held a parliamentary pass and who has worked with MPs on international policy, including relations with Beijing, for several years.
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“A man in his 30s was arrested at an address in Oxfordshire and a man in his 20s was arrested at an address in Edinburgh. Searches were also carried out at both the residential properties, as well as at a third address in east London.
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👇This is what “working at pace” looks like. More than 80 people infected with contaminated blood have died since
@bloodinquiry
made their final recommendations on compensation a year ago!
A year ago today
@bloodinquiry
recommended that compensation be paid to people infected and affected by contaminated blood as a matter of urgency. A year on, there's no scheme and no plan. The govt is shamefully trying to pass the buck on compensation.
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When story broke on Sunday + DCMS went hard against the plans, Rosenfield is understood to have intervened to get them to tone down response. Apparently this was done in the form of emails. He also allegedly intervened the next day + tried to get Oliver Dowden... /5
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“The investigation is being carried out by officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, which has responsibility for investigations relating to allegations of Official Secrets Act and espionage-related offences. Enquiries continue.”
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They include Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, and Alicia Kearns, the chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee.
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@ABridgen
This is fascinating.
@ABridgen
never mentioned the Horizon scandal to me again after that article. However, I have spent decades uncovering an even bigger scandal - the contaminated blood scandal, which I have written about extensively and published a book - “Death in the Blood”
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He previously spent time living and working in China, where security officials fear he may have been recruited as a sleeper agent and sent back to Britain with the intention of infiltrating political networks critical of the regime in Beijing.
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.... to tone down his statement. DCMS deny this and claim they at no point did anyone try to persuade them to change their response.
Boris Johnson is always said to have been against plans, and he asked Eddie Lister to communicate that directly to some SL backers /6 ENDS
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Thread: Whisper it… but I think the governement is finally going to do the right thing. Senior governement sources have confirmed that ministers are preparing to announce a compensation package for the victims of the contaminated blood scandal that will be “northwards” of £10bn.
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Rosemary Calder, whose son Nicky died of HIV aged 25 after receiving contaminated blood products, is one of many thousands still waiting for justice. Last week
@Jeremy_Hunt
decided to prioritise tax cuts over compensating those involved in this scandal.
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@jreynoldsMP
Please ask whether they are also delaying compensation for the victims of contaminated blood for the same reason too? I can think of no other reason for the government’s baffling delays given they have had final compensation recommendations for almost a year already!
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Promised
@SazDozz
’s dad on his death bed that I would never give up fighting for justice. RIP Mike ❤️
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THREAD: This is a response to claims by
@lucyfrazermp
that the government must wait for the final report by the Infected Blood Inquiry to be published next year before setting out a compensation framework.
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👇This is what I have been saying for months and accords with everything I have been told by numerous Whitehall and Gov’t sources. The choice has always been tax cuts and an election war chest or doing the right thing. Glad people are now waking up to the horrifying reality.
#InfectedBlood
#ContaminatedBlood
Over a month ago I was told the reason for Infected Blood compensation not being paid even though
@DianaJohnsonMP
amendment passed in
@HouseofCommons
was because of
@hmtreasury
freeing up headroom for taxcuts ahead of an election. Co-incidence
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Am told by sources the meeting is still ongoing….
Meeting we mentioned earlier btw Sunak and Johnson has happened - not sure if any conclusions, or any news likely to come out of it tonight...
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EXC: Rishi Sunak faces major revolt as Tory rebels join forces with Labour to force the governement to establish a new body to administer billions in compensation to the victims of the contaminated blood scandal.
@RachelReevesMP
@DianaJohnsonMP
@RishiSunak
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Breaking: Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak back interim payments for the victims of the contaminated blood scandal. Feels like justice is finally almost within touching distance…Read more in
@thetimes
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Scotland Yard said in a statement tonight: “Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service arrested two men on March 13 on suspicion of offences under section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1911.
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“If we wait, we might have bad local election results, you then have another summer of small boat arrivals and there are 150,000 households who will have to remortgage between May and October.”
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The victims of the contaminated blood scandal have waited far too long for justice. I am so proud and humbled to throw the weight of the Sunday Times behind the brave campaigners who have fought so valiantly for so long.
#bloodydisgrace
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Thanks
@PennyMordaunt
@AndyBurnhamGM
and
@DianaJohnsonMP
for making such powerful speeches in support of the victims of the contaminated blood scandal. I’m humbled that so many people - including some of the survivors - were able to attend the launch of “Death in the Blood”
Pleased to be able to speak tonight along with
@DianaJohnsonMP
and
@AndyBurnhamGM
to support the launch of
@cazjwheeler
’s powerful new book on the infected blood scandal. Thanks to her and all who contributed and supported, especially the campaigners. Good to see
@GillianKeegan
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After ministers were shamed into action by the ITV drama Alan Bates v the Post Office, more than 100 MPs demand the gov’t show the same “determination” to help the victims of the infected blood scandal, who are dying at the rate of 1 every 4 days.
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Sadly, I don’t think it was an oversight. I understand it was a deliberate attempt to delay compensation payouts until after the election to fund tax cuts and a pre-election give away. Budget documents show this is expected to be the last fiscal event before polling day. 💔
Everyone should be aware of what could and should have been addressed in today's budget but wasn't 👇
An oversight from
@Jeremy_Hunt
who said of the blood scandal: 'The totality of this was a failure by the British state. I don't think there's any other way to describe it.'
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“Both men were taken to a south London police station, and were subsequently released on police bail until a date in early October.
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NEW: The Conservatives are heading for their worst electoral defeat in history according to a new mega-poll which predicts they will win fewer than 100 seats.
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This would never have happened without the tireless campaigning by
@CampaignTB
@DianaJohnsonMP
@AndyBurnhamGM
@JasonEvansF8
and many, many more… Let’s hope the payments are now made without further delay…
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BBC sources confirm that Robbie Gibb has ruled himself out as the BBC’s interim chairman/chairman. It comes after an extraordinary investigation by my talented colleagues
@Gabriel_Pogrund
and
@HarryYorke1
forces Richard Sharp to resign.
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While we are so delighted that
@ITV
have commissioned a drama on the infected blood scandal, we cannot wait for justice to be served while people are still dying.
@Jeremy_Hunt
should announce in the budget that he has ring-fenced the money for compensation.
And there will be a contaminated blood scandal drama hopefully but in the meantime the Government could do the right thing and pay compensation now as currently 2 victims dying every week
@MichaelLCrick
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New poll by JL Partners for Onward shows the Tories will get a significant poll bounce under new leadership via
@thetimes
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👇This is a really important interview and shows how pounds and pence mean more than people’s lives.
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In a sign that Sunak might be prepared to roll the dice and “go early” with a May election, a senior Conservative familiar with discussions in Downing Street said the Tories could jump if they were up to “seven points behind” in the polls.
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I really didn’t think this was going to go through. I spoke to a number of Tory rebels tonight in Parliament and know the governement was working hard to buy them off but they stood firm. Thank you ❤️
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The sub-postmasters waited a scandalously long time for justice (20 years plus) but the contaminated blood survivors have waited even longer - more than 40 years - and are more are dying every day the gov’t delays.
@RishiSunak
@Jeremy_Hunt
@JohnGlenUK
please act now!
🚨Over 100 Parliamentarians have called for the Government to show the same urgency on infected blood compensation as they now have on the Post Office Horizon scandal.
📢This is a cross-party call for urgent action to right this historic injustice.
👉.
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Thank you so much
@AndyBurnhamGM
for making a special trip to London to help launch “Death in the Blood” and to speak so movingly about why the victims of this scandal cannot wait any longer for justice x
A dash down to London tonight to support the brilliant
@cazjwheeler
and the launch of one of the most shocking books you will ever read.
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However, internal Treasury forecasts predict that inflation could fall to three per cent as soon as April. According to the forecasts, inflation will continue to fall between April and October, when it will reach 2.4 per cent.
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7.Infected blood survivors are not responsible for the state of the government’s finances. They should not be seen in terms of a spreadsheet, but people whose lives have been torn apart, with opportunities denied and livelihoods destroyed.
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NEW: Cross-party group of MPs and peers call on the PM to pardon a woman jailed for inducing an abortion after the legal limit. They also want all other women convicted to be exonerated and for women who chose to end their pregnancies to be “removed from criminal law.”
@thetimes
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Last we told the story of the children used as Guinea pigs to test the infectivity of contaminated blood products. Today we tell the stories of their children and the impact of losing (in some cases both) their parents.
#bloodydisgrace
Hundreds of children were orphaned by the scandal in which British haemophiliacs were given blood products contaminated with HIV and other diseases.
They have never been compensated for the tragedy that in many cases ruined their lives
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But other senior Tories are beginning to press for him to go to the polls on the same day as the local elections, which are held on 2 May 2024.
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That is the maximum strategists think they might gain during a four week election campaign.
Isaac Levido, the campaign director, has put Conservative campaign headquarters on a war footing for an election in the autumn. “The base case is still October or November,” said a source.
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Book news: I am delighted and humbled to be working with
@headlinepg
on the story of the contaminated blood campaign - the definitive account of the brave men, women and their families who have led this long fight for justice.
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Why the secrecy? Just adds to the feeling of mistrust by the community.
I am very concerned by the lack of transparency surrounding the expert group on compensation.
The Government must do better to restore trust among victims and deliver on Sir Brian Langstaff's recommendations.
My question to
@PennyMordaunt
today ⬇️
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Lindsay Hoyle said: “The accounts of drug misuse in Parliament… are deeply concerning and I will be raising them as a priority with the Metropolitan Police next week… For those who choose to flout the law and bring the institution into disrepute the sanctions are serious.”
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1.Sir Brian Langstaff, the chair of the inquiry, has already published his final recommendations on compensation. He said a compensation scheme should be established immediately and begin its work this year.
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Exclusive: Conor Burns, the former trade minister who was sacked on Friday, is set to receive a knighthood in Boris Johnson’s resignation honour’s list
Conor Burns, who is a close friend of Boris Johnson and defended him over the partygate scandal, is among a handful of loyalist MPs expected to be honoured by the former PM
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Whips have been meeting rebels tonight. Sources say Hunt keen to sort this out but doesn’t want to establish a body to make the payments. MPs trying to extract a promise that payments will be made in 2024. But that doesn’t cut it. Pls remember one victim is dying every 4 days.
Govt to whip Tory MPs against infected blood amendment tonight. Spokesman says ministers 'deeply sympathetic to the strength of feeling on this and understand the need for action' but won't 'pre-empt' final inquiry report. Tory rebels number 30-plus - could be close
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A survey of more than 15,000 people forecasts the Tories under Rishi Sunak will retain just 98 seats at the next general election and Labour will sweep to power with 468 seats and a majority of 286.
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@jessphillips
Surely there are votes in doing the right thing? The victims of the contaminated blood scandal and the Horizon scandal have already suffered so much. But it seems the gov’t will prioritise tax cuts and building an election war chest over righting a devastating historic wrong.
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Langstaff chastised the PM, telling him: “There aren’t any details. There is no timeline. There is no structure yet in place … if it troubles my conscience, I would think it would trouble the conscience of a caring government and you have said that’s what you would wish to be.”
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Patel added: “Those who have have the privilege to work at the heart of our democracy who are involved in drug use or distribution are utterly divorced from the heartless pain and suffering of the drug trade they are fuelling.”
@pritipatel
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I reported on Sunday that ministers were considering upgrading the Rwanda deal to a treaty. However a home office source said it would still be blocked by the courts. Was that assessment wrong, or is the gov’t playing for time rather than admitting the policy has failed?
Cleverly says govt wants to upgrade Rwanda deal to a treaty ASAP to deal with Court concerns. Within that will be an agreement that those who are sent to Rwanda cannot be sent onto a different county. Says it should satisfy courts in UK & Strasbourg
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Charles Walker, chair of the administration committee, said: “The House of Commons has a long history of using sniffer dogs to detect explosives. It may be that we now need to broaden the range of sniffer dogs…to include those which can detect drugs.”
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The government’s shameful treatment of the sub-postmasters - allegedly driven by financial concerns - is, sadly, nothing new. Look at this Department of Health (DHSS) memo from 1985 at height of the infected blood scandal that killed 1000s + destroyed lives of countless more
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3.The government has awarded Post Office workers, who have had wrongful convictions for theft and false accounting overturned, £600,000 each in compensation despite the fact that the public inquiry into the scandal is still ongoing.
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Thank you to Lord Kinnock, Lord O’Donnell,
@TiceRichard
@andreajenkyns
@mcashmanCBE
@LordBlunkett
,
@LordJohnMann
@LordIanAustin
@JimBethell
@RossKempsell
@Richard4Watford
@DavidAltonHL
@HelenGoodmanBA
who are among the new names to back the
#bloodydisgrace
campaign this week
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