Tory leadership candidate Rishi Sunak has claimed it was a “mistake” to empower scientists during the coronavirus pandemic. The former chancellor said he was “not allowed to talk about the offset” of lockdowns during the early stages of the Covid crisis, which he said could have been “faster” and claimed he had fought against the “narrative of fear”. which led public messages. Both he and star Liz Truss are due to take part in the penultimate hustings debate this afternoon in Norwich. Opponents have been urged to “think the unthinkable” and consider raising income tax to fund further support for those struggling with skyrocketing energy bills, with the Resolution Foundation think-tank saying a 1 per cent rise – funded largely from the richest fifth of UK households – they would collect £9.5bn a year. It came as a report found the government would need to spend more than £110bn to cover almost all of Britons’ extra energy costs next year – or £23bn to freeze the price cap in October.
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Scientists advising government on Covid edited minutes to hide dissenting views, claims Sunak
Rishi Sunak has claimed that the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage) that advised Boris Johnson’s government edited its minutes to hide opposing views. “The Sages didn’t realize for a long time that there was a Treasury person on all their calls,” the former chancellor told The Spectator. “A wonderful lady. It was great because it meant she was sitting there listening to their conversations.” Mr Sunak claimed he became “emotional” during tough meetings with ministers and top scientists. “Those meetings were literally me around that table, just fighting. It was incredibly uncomfortable every time.” “I was like, ‘Forget the economy – surely we can all agree that children not going to school is a big nightmare.’ A long silence followed. It was the first time anyone had said that. I was so furious.”
Government is wrong to ’empower scientists’ on Covid lockdowns, says Rishi Sunak
Lockdown could have been shorter, says Tory hopeful – who shares fury over ‘nightmare’ school closures Andy Gregory25 August 2022 08:44 1661412029
There will be more help with the bills, says the minister
The next prime minister will introduce an additional cost of living support package, schools minister Will Quince said. “There is no doubt in my mind, listening to the two leadership candidates … that the government is going to act and put in place a further package of support measures,” supporter Rishi Sunak told LBC. Mr Quince added: “We will have to wait a few weeks… Both candidates have been clear, there will be a budget event and more help will come.” Andy Gregory25 August 2022 08:20 1661411406
‘Active Tory party agent’ shaping BBC news coverage, says Emily Maitlis
A BBC board member who acts as the broadcaster’s impartiality arbiter is an “active agent” of the Conservative Party, according to former Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis. Ms Maitlis, who left the BBC this year for rival media group Global, appeared to refer to Theresa May’s former communications director, Sir Robbie Gibb, in a speech which was scathing about the company’s alleged closeness to No 10 . Tory party ‘agent’ shapes BBC coverage, says Emily Maitlis Our political correspondent Adam Forrest has the full report:
‘Active Tory party agent’ shaping BBC news coverage, says Emily Maitlis
Former Newsnight presenter says broadcaster ‘tried to placate’ No 10 Andy Gregory25 August 2022 08:10 1661410216
The energy company was forced to refund thousands of overcharged customers
Shell Energy will be forced to pay more than half a million pounds to charge thousands of customers more than its price cap allows. Energy regulator Ofgem said the company had overcharged 11,275 pre-paid customers by a total of £106,000 between 2019 and 2022. He will be forced to repay it, pay an extra £30,970 in goodwill payments to customers and put £400,000 into a fund managed by Ofgem. Customers are refunded an average of £9.40 each. Andy Gregory25 August 2022 07:50 1661409625
Businesses need subsidies for energy bills, the Prime Minister and Chancellor have warned
The British Chamber of Commerce called for action to “protect businesses, livelihoods and jobs” in a letter to Boris Johnson, Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and the two Tory leadership candidates. The business group urged politicians to consider Covid-style grants for small and medium-sized businesses, a temporary cut in VAT to 5 per cent and Ofgem to be given more power to strengthen regulation. “We can’t afford to see another month of the same old news,” said the group’s CEO, Shevaun Haviland. “The problems are well understood … It is now up to the government to take action to protect businesses, livelihoods and jobs.” Andy Gregory25 August 2022 07:40 1661409463
1% ‘solidarity tax’ on all earners needed to boost energy bill support, think tank says
Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have been called on to “think the unthinkable” and consider raising income tax to fund further support with the cost of living crisis. The think tank said a 1 per cent rise in income tax across all rates – with 60 per cent paid by the richest fifth of UK households – would raise £9.5 billion a year to support the health bills gas and electricity. The foundation also urged the next prime minister to work with energy companies to create a new “social tariff” to reduce bills for hard-pressed Britons on low and middle incomes. Our political correspondent Adam Forrest reports:
1% ‘solidarity tax’ needed for more support on energy bills, think tank says
Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak must ‘think the unthinkable’ and consider tax hike, Resolution Foundation says Andy Gregory25 August 2022 07:37 1661405395
Language used by ministers during Covid briefings was ‘slippery and ambiguous’, study says
The language used by the government during its Covid-19 briefings during the pandemic was “vague, slippery and ambiguous” to reduce accountability, a new study has found. Researchers from Nottingham Trent University found that ministers adopted “lexicogrammatic strategies” to share responsibility for policy decisions with the public. Read the full story here:
‘Slippery and ambiguous’ language used by ministers during Covid briefings, study says
“Government speakers used different lexico-grammatical strategies to reduce and moderate the amount of responsibility that rests solely on themselves while increasing the amount assigned to the general public” Maroosha Muzaffar25 August 2022 06:29 1661404752
Freezing energy bills won’t help people, says minister
Freezing energy bills will not help people who need the most support with the cost of living crisis, a minister has said. Defense Secretary James Hippey said the “tear-drop” amount would not be the best way to head off a winter of price rises. Speaking to Sky News, he said: “I don’t think a blanket freeze on everyone’s energy bills really helps get taxpayers’ money into the bank accounts of the people who need support the most.” Instead, he said both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak had suggested the “best solution” was “more targeted packages” of support for the less well-off. Maroosha Muzaffar25 August 2022 06:19 1661403930
The government “must do more” to help energy consumers pay their skyrocketing bills
The Government must increase the discount on energy bills by at least 150%, a consumer group has warned. Government ‘must do more’ to help energy consumers pay skyrocketing bills, consumer group Which? he warned ahead of Friday’s announcement of the energy price cap for the three months from October. The current package of government support was announced in May, but forecasts of peak prices have risen massively since then. Maroosha Muzaffar25 August 2022 06:05 1661403621
Rishi Sunak says it was a ‘mistake’ to empower scientists during the pandemic
Rishi Sunak said one of the major mistakes was empowering scientists during the Covid pandemic.I In an interview with The Spectator, he said it was a mistake to allow the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage) to have so much influence on policy. He also revealed he was banned from discussing “trade-offs” of restrictions such as missed doctor’s appointments and increasing NHS backlogs. He claimed during the interview that he became “very emotional” at times about the damage the school closures would do to children, but said his objections were met with “a lot of silence” from his colleagues. Maroosha Muzaffar25 August 2022 06:00
