tv BBC News BBC News October 4, 2022 5:00pm-6:00pm BST
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this is bbc news. the headlines: the prime minister faces growing pressure from her party after refusing to commit to increasing benefit payments in line with inflation. we haven't made a decision yet on that specific issue and all of these things depend on those circumstances. we things depend on those circumstances.- things depend on those circumstances. ~ , ., circumstances. we will be live at the conservative _ circumstances. we will be live at the conservative party _ circumstances. we will be live at l the conservative party conference circumstances. we will be live at - the conservative party conference to bring you speech from the home secretary. the uk's public inquiry into the covid pandemic begins — it's expected to last for two years. ukraine says its troops have seized back more territory in regions annexed by russia last week. calls for supermarkets to give more surplus food to those in need —
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after a drop off in donations as the cost of living crisis bites. and the british—built space rover looking for work after its mission to mars was cancelled. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the prime minister has refused to rule out a real terms cut in benefits — despite growing pressure to do so. liz truss faces a fresh battle with some conservative mps who want her to promise welfare payments will rise in line with inflation rather than earnings — a lower percentage figure that would save the government billions of pounds. there's already a cabinet split on the issue. the leader of the commons penny morduant has openly demanded that benefits do go up
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in line with prices. this morning the prime minister told the bbc she would still like to see the rate of tax paid by the highest earners to be lower, despite ditching her plan to do just that only yesterday. iain watson reports from the conservative party conference. it's tin hat time for liz truss. she and her chancellor, under pressure, reversed their abolition of the 45p tax rate. now she's facing more pressure from some of her own mps to increase benefits in line with inflation, a promise made by her predecessor, but which is now in the balance. of course, how we uprate benefits is an important issue, but that is a decision to be made later this year. my priority was dealing with the immediate issues that families face this winter, and i'm sure people can understand why we had to act on that first.
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here's what she's weighing up. reversing the national insurance rise is costing her government £18 billion. some of that, £5.5 billion, could be clawed back if most benefits were raised in line with earnings, which aren't going up as much as prices or inflation. but most ministers can't make a political or financial case for this, because no decision has been taken. how would you uprate them? i have got cabinet responsibility and collective cabinet responsibility, so i am going to let the work and pensions secretary do the work. that lack of certainty has given liz truss's mps licence to speak out. we absolutely need to make sure that we increase benefits in line with inflation. it was promised by the previous chancellor, it was promised by the previous prime minister, borisjohnson, and it's those on lowest earnings who are being hurt the most by the cost—of—living challenges that we face, so it's morally right for the government to do so. and what does this say about the prime minister's authority? it's notjust backbench mps — a former leadership rival who sits
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around her cabinet table is also speaking out. i have always supported — whether it's pensions, whether it's our welfare system — keeping pace with inflation. privately, those inside number 10 tell me there is a strong case for increasing benefits in line with earnings, but it seems that they are largely leaving it to the rank and file to make the argument. i think it has to be in line with earnings. i'm an employer. we unfortunately will not be able to increase our wage rates in line with inflation because it's impossible, and if we do, all we're going to do is... inflation will get higher and higher, it's a spiral. ever since the u—turn on tax a little more than 2a hours ago, mps and members of liz truss's own party have been trying to shift her this way and that on other issues too, but in a bbc interview, she seemed to suggest the row over the 45p rate was only something
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of a tactical retreat and that she remains committed to getting taxes down, even for higher earners. i would like to see the higher rate lower. i want us to be a competitive country, but i have listened to feedback. i want to take people with me. liz truss promised bold and decisive leadership, but at her first conference as prime minister, some of her own members seem very willing to put that to the test. iain watson, bbc news, birmingham. let's talk to our political correspondent, leila nathoo. we had that rebellion within the conservative party ranks over tax. now we seem to have won over well filled benefits as well. where does this leave the prime minister? extraordinary pace with which this new dispute has bubbled to the surface just yesterday. there were tory mps welcoming the u—turn over
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the 45p tax rate and now there seems to be confusion in the cabinet about the prime minister is refusal to rule out not raising benefits in line with inflation, having a cabinet minister come out and say when the prime minister has refused to commit that, having a cabinet minister come out in public and say this is what we need to do. there are suggestions from other cabinet ministers as well that they are sympathetic to that view. plenty of people from the work and pensions cabinet expressing concern. remember the only reason this is being considered as is because the government now has to balance the books because of all the tax—cutting measures announced in last week's mini budget. an extraordinary u—turn announced after the 45p tax rate causing problems and narrow another conversation taking place again about benefits and whether they should be raised in line with inflation. the prime minister is
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being seen to have turned around and gone with ministers on the other policy and so now every policy, even the suggestion that they might not go the suggestion that they might not 9° up the suggestion that they might not go up with inflation, even that, is “p go up with inflation, even that, is up for debate. it shows the prime minister is lacking in authority. we are about to hear from the home secretary. the home secretary has been using some extraordinary language already on that u—turn that the government was forced into over the government was forced into over the 45p top rate of income tax. she said that some conservative mps staged a coup to force the government u—turn. staged a coup to force the government u-turn. really strong lanauuae government u-turn. really strong language at _ government u-turn. really strong language at the — government u-turn. really strong language at the event _ government u-turn. really strong language at the event this - language at the event this afternoon. effectively criticising the u—turn. of course, plenty of tory backbenchers welcoming the fact the government backed down over the scrapping of the 45p tax rate, but
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the home secretary said she was disappointed and yet using that language of members staging a coup to force the prime minister to change course and interestingly, the levelling up secretary simon clark seemed to back her. two cabinet ministers saying i don't think the prime minister was right to back down and the suggestion from the prime minister herself that actually she does want to eventually reduce that tax rate. it's incredibly confusing, messy and chaotic. for people trying to keep up with events, the overall picture looks like complete disarray in the cabinet itself and the wider tory party. this seems to be tussles left, right and centre and it seems increasingly likely that every policy the prime minister starts to bit through will be up for discussion. remembershe bit through will be up for discussion. remember she didn't have a majority backing in the first place from her party so it's looking like those split from the tory party are now manifesting at every
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decision. the home secretary didn't want to talk about that today, what she wanted to talk about today is what she's going to be discussing in her speech in the next 30 minutes or so, tackling illegal immigration, she wants to talk about clamping down on workers, too many workers visas, student visas. that's what she wants to talk about today. having reopened this debate it suggests the prime minister was wrong to change her mind on that, i don't think that is going to go down well. it don't think that is going to go down well. , , , ., well. it will be very interesting to hear what the _ well. it will be very interesting to hear what the home _ well. it will be very interesting to hear what the home secretary i well. it will be very interesting to i hear what the home secretary does say in just a few minutes' time. we will bring you that live. there has been fighting in ukraine after ukrainian troops made a key breakthrough where russians have
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been occupied. some pictures coming into us were russian flags have been taken down and replaced with ukrainian flags. the russian military has admitted it has lost ground in the area. evidence has emerged of the speed with which russian troops were forced to flee from the eastern ukrainian town. 0ur correspondence enters this report. it does contain images some viewers may find it distressing. among the rooms victory can look bleak. forthe among the rooms victory can look bleak. for the income of the of g;; among is along the roadside, there is death. aleng the roadside, �*the cost defeatl bodies russia's defeat. the bodies of soldiers still lying where
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russia's defeat. the bodies of fell. iiers still lying where dead. help wgtgéhéever the dead. trying te helh the watcghiever the dead. trying te helh the remains. unknown identify the remains. unknown soldiers in vladimir putin swore. some clustered together. 0nce soldiers in vladimir putin swore. some clustered together. once they were someone's husband or someone's son. a few steps away, a soviet book for teenagers entitled adventure library. and something else russian troops left behind, deadly anti—tank mines barely visible. there is evidence here notjust a fighting, but also of the desperate attempt russian troops needed to get away. you're on the road there is discarded bedding, backpacks, russian army uniforms and boots. all of this cast aside by russian
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troops. what happened here wasn't just a defeat for president putin, it was a complete humiliation. last friday, he announced to the was lee 7 7 lee man. said lee man. 77 said it: lee man. 77 said itiwould including lee man. he said it would be forever russia's. looking around here, you get a life 1 §%: 5 :: gimp 77 topof 2551525 @ §— " "t ' e; to 20,000 3? ei§ 5: homgto 20,000 people. rain - , w , ,, once home to 20,000 people. pro—russian graffiti is daubed around town including the cyrillic letters for the soviet union. lehner and her ten—year—old son are out looking for water and hoping their ordeal is over.
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the hardest thing was surviving the bombing, she tells me. the shells were exploding. we prayed as we stayed down in the cellar. we didn't eat regularly and we couldn't even make tea. deprived of school, her son has learned lessons of war. well, war is very bad, he tells me. because people are dying, so the population is being reduced. and how do you feel now? my heart is more at peace, he says. back at the edge of ukrainian head
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their advance. we will be could slow their advance. we will be live in a couple of minutes at the conservative party conference for a speech from the home secretary. tougher rules for migrants are expected to be set out by the new home secretary suella braverman when she addresses the conservative party conference in the next few moments. more than 32,000 people have crossed the english channel in small boats so far this year. lucy williamson reports from northern france. it's 3am and this french patrol are tracking their target. two people smugglers spotted by a uk—funded drone. they're half a mile away, swiftly preparing a boat to take migrants across the channel. a uk—funded buggy gets the patrol there in minutes. the smugglers have already fled... ..but they've lost their boat, their fuel and their motor to the patrol.
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this journey tonight is over. french patrols are now stopping around half these crossings, but they're still attracting more migrants and new, more efficient smuggling networks run by albanians. translation: i don't know if it's the albanian mafia in the uk, - but there are a lot of albanian smugglers organising crossings. with prices of 3,000 to 4,000 euros per person and a0 people in a boat, do the maths. it's even more lucrative than drug trafficking and with lighter criminal charges. albanian customers have been filling cafes and hotels around the station in dunkirk. this summer, i see a lot of albanian people come here. more and more. maybe double or triple compared to last year. and year after year, there are people and people coming and coming who say there is no people in albania any more. smugglers have extended their operations along this coastline to avoid daily patrols from land, sea and air. this coastline has pulled in resources year after year —
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vehicles, technology, foot patrols. politicians change, strategies shift, and still the number of people crossing this channel rises. and here in the camps, the uk government's latest deterrent — deportation to rwanda — isn't working. this crossing is sold as the solution to insurmountable problems and that trumps any kind of risk. lucy williamson, bbc news, calais. an inquest has been opened into an unarmed black man who shot dead by police in london. he was shot through a car windscreen on the 5th of september. the met office police officer who fired the shot has since been suspended from duty. his parents, brotherand been suspended from duty. his parents, brother and cousin attended the hearing at the london inner
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south corner court earlier today. our correspondence was there. this 0ur correspondence was there. this is his report. it was a inquiry of the death of chris who was shot dead on the 5th of september. his entire family was there at the inquest. ultimately today more details were revealed as to the timeline, as to the circumstances, which led up to that shooting on the 5th of september in south london. more details have been revealed as to why his car was stopped. his car was an audi car which had been flagged as being involved in a firearms incident the day before. this car had been flagged in a metropolitan am or camera and ultimately the car that he was driving was followed on and on greek unmarked police carfor about 15 minutes. without the blue
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lights that the police use. those lights that the police use. those lights were not used. the car drove off into pursuit and ultimately was stopped in a neighbouring area of streatham about 15 minutes away where chris and his car were hemmed in by two police cars and it was here that one firearm was discharged and a single bullet went into the head of chris. he died a short time later in hospital about two hours later in hospital about two hours later and it was only two weeks later and it was only two weeks later that his father went to the hospital to identify the body. so ultimately the coroner has said that he will wait for the outcome of the independent 0ffice he will wait for the outcome of the independent office for police conduct and the homicide investigation before any inquest can take place, because ultimately, that investigation will take six up to
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nine months. 0nly investigation will take six up to nine months. only when there is enough evidence to pass it to the crown prosecution service will they decide whether or not to prosecute the officer who has since been suspended. the chair of the public inquiry into the handling of the covid pandemic, baroness hallett, has said it will examine whether the level of loss suffered by millions of people was inevitable, and whether the government could have acted differently. she was speaking at the start of a one—day preliminary hearing, which is mostly dealing with legal matters. 0ur health correspondentjim reed was at the inquiry earlier. this first preliminary session of this inquiry opened this morning, we're now breaking for lunch. the focus this morning from lady hallet has been on the relatives of people who died from covid. the thinking here at this inquiry is that the focus needs to be very much on families, on people who lost their lives as well as doctors, nurses, others who put their time, their work and effort in through that whole process.
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i've been speaking this morning to some of those families, some of those relatives who lost loved ones to the virus over the last three years. on a long wall in westminster, relatives of those who lost their lives to covid have left their marks and memories. sylvia jackson died in the first wave of the pandemic. like so many others, her daughter wants to know if the right decisions were taken at the time. so, all kinds of questions and the fact that none of them have been answered yet is precisely the reason why we need this inquiry. i don't know who is responsible for my mum's death. and i want to know. and if they behaved wrongly, i want them held to account. that's only right, that's only right. today, in this room in west london, the process of finding those answers is now under way.
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the uk covid inquiry is so wide—ranging it will have to be split into separate sections. the first, tackling preparations for the pandemic started this morning. next month sees the start of the second section on political decision—making, including the timing of lockdowns. preliminary hearings this autumn will be followed by full public hearings next year, where ministers and other decision—makers will be called to give evidence. the inquiry chair has said those who suffered the most deserve to know if more could have been done. millions of people suffered loss, including the loss of friends and family members, the loss of good health, both mental and physical, economic loss, the loss of educational opportunities and the loss of social interaction. this all matters to people like abi williams. the care home she runs lost residents in the first wave of covid.
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it is important for us, too... for lessons learnt, really. we want to know what went wrong, how can it be better handled, and we want to learn from it and to be more prepared in future. covid is still with us, of course, though the fast roll—out of vaccines across the world has cut the risk of hospitalisation and death. doctors say this inquiry is vital to better understand what happened and better protect ourselves against any future pandemic. so, here at the inquiry, there had been some concerns over the last couple of months before this started from the groups representing families of those who lost their lives about the involvement they would have in this inquiry. there was some concern they might be sidelined, that this would all be about the politicians, about the health bosses and not about the families of the victims.
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well, the chair of the inquiry, as you just heard, really tried to reassure those families today. she said, "i promise the families of the bereaved that those who suffered the most will be at the heart of this inquiry." she went on to say, "i intend to keep that promise." one good example of that is if you look at what are called dnrs — do not resuscitate orders. this was brought up in the inquiry this morning. these were orders put on people who were seriously ill during the pandemic, which basically said if they got to the stage where they needed resuscitation, then it would not be provided, they would be allowed to slowly lose their lives. some victims, many families of those victims, have said that actually those orders were placed on people far too frequently, especially in the first wave of the pandemic. there was concern that this inquiry wouldn't look in detail at subjects like that, but actually, the chair of the inquiry this morning reassured those families and said that's exactly the kind of topics around standards of care, exactly the kind of topics that would be dealt with at this inquiry over the next couple of years while it runs.
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moran has accused —— of a young woman was arrested by the morality police after failing to observe the strict dress code for women. the violence has led to the arrests of over 100 people so far including a schoolgirl. here is the latest. this was a typical shy teenager seen here singing karaoke with friends. she joined the protest and was killed a few days
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before her 17th birthday. her family told the bbc that the authorities abducted her body and buried her in a village, despite her parents�* wishes. they were worried about the possibility of her funeral fuelling further anger and unrest. schoolgirls have nowjoined anti—government protests in iran. here in the capital tehran they are marching the streets chanting, "death to the dictator." they were worried about the possibility of her funeral fuelling further anger and unrest. schoolgirls have nowjoined anti—government protests in iran. "woman, life, freedom."
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it has become symbolic for these protests. now in its third week, these protests are the longest and the most widespread protests against the islamic republic. but these young protesters say the supreme leader has only himself to blame, and that he must go. rana rahimpour, bbc news. the police chief in the indonesian region where a deadly football disaster happened on saturday has apologised for the disaster. at least 125 people were killed when fans rush for the exit after police fired tear gas at them.
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the head of east java police force said he was saddened by the stadium tragedy and was sorry for shortcomings in the security process. i'm at the kanjuruhan stadium and as you can see, people are still flocking behind me to mourn the dead. i talked to some fans about the police apology. some say it's a little too late, noting that it was not the police initial reaction. translation: if the apology is not followed by responsibility, - it won't bring back the victims. it's not comparable with the number of dead in this place. _ people come to the stadium not only to lay flowers and to pray, but also to express their anger and disappointment with the police by writing messages on the wall. this one means, your duty is to serve, not to kill." the indonesian police today announced that they have upgraded
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the status of their investigation from preliminary to full investigation. this means they may now have suspects soon. the scottish government has introduced legislation aimed at largely freezing rents and restricting evictions over the winter. the bill, set to be fast tracked into the statute books in a few days, would keep rents at their current level until at least the end of march. rebekah vardy will have to pay about £1.5 million in towards colleen rooney's legal costs. it's after she lost the high court case she brought against ms rooney. in an order made public on tuesday, thejudge ruled that mrs vardy should pay 90% of mrs rooney's costs.
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we will bring you that a bit later on, but for now let's check out the weather prospects. hello there. the rest of this week is shaping up to be pretty unsettled. quite an autumnal feel going on with low pressure always nearby. it's going to be quite windy at times. spells of rain, but also sunshine and showers in between. fairly mild, i think, for the time of year. but certainly the wind and the rain will be noticeable for the next couple of days and that will be followed by sunshine and showers. so there will be some sunshine around too. now today, low pressure sits the north of the uk, quite a big dip area of low pressure and associated with that, a couple of weather fronts bringing some wet weather to much of the country. winds quite a feature across northern and western areas. but temperatures in the southeast given some good spells of sunshine, reaching around 20 degrees. and there will be some sunshine at times across scotland, too. but the rain, the cloud, piles back into the north and the west of the country as we head through this evening and overnight.
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some heavy bursts of rain, quite persistent rain. so the rain gets in towards the southeast as well hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. the prime minister faces growing angerfrom her party after refusing to commit to increasing benefit payments in line with inflation. we haven't made a decision yet on that specific issue and all of these things depend on the specific circumstances. the uk's public inquiry into the covid pandemic has begun — it's expected to last for two years. ukraine says its troops have seized back more territory in regions annexed by russia last week. of march 2023 has been introduced by the scottish government.
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we are still waiting from that speech from the home secretary at the tory party conference but in the meantime all the latest sport. we have a huge game to look forward to in the champions league tonight. back to you now. and we can hear now from the home secretary in birmingham.— from the home secretary in birminuham. �* ., ,, . ., , from the home secretary in birminuham. �* ., ,, . , birmingham. being home secretary is not 'ust a birmingham. being home secretary is notjust a tremendous _ birmingham. being home secretary is notjust a tremendous honour. - notjust a tremendous honour. keeping the british people safe and secure our borders are the highest duties of state. our prime minister
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understands those duties. and so do i. we stand for the law—abiding majority of bretons. — britons. and in doing so i draw on a long tradition of conservative home secretaries who were willing to challenge failing orthodoxy. they refused to accept defeat. michael howard on his first day as home secretary was told there was nothing he could do about the inevitable rise of crime. he disagreed and crime fell dramatically. they said theresa may could not deport abu
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katarzyna, the islamist extremist, and despite setbacks along the way she made it happen. priti patel negotiated a ground—breaking deal with our partners in rwanda to bring forward a new solution for the challenge of illegal migration providing protection in rwanda by those that need it whilst breaking the business models of people smugglers. i'm grateful to priti patel and borisjohnson smugglers. i'm grateful to priti patel and boris johnson for the foundations that they laid. serious violent crime has fallen. as has overall crime excluding fraud and online theft and were well on our way to 20,000 additional police
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officers. but home secretary can never be complacent and some things still need fixing. i'm pleased to be working with a brilliant team of ministers who i'm so pleased to see with us today. tom tugendhat, tom percival, jamie greene, lord andrew shot supported by our excellent pps team who bring talent and expertise to the home office. the prime minister and i want to see homicide, serious violence and neighbourhood crime fall by 20%. some of our most committed and courageous people serve in the police. in belfast
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docks at serve in the police. in belfast docks an �* ~ ,, docks at applause in belfast last week ijoined police leaders and to pay tribute to those officers who have died in action. the ultimate sacrifice is one for which we owe a huge debt of gratitude. so yes, i am immensely proud of our police. many on the left want to defund the police. i say to the militants and the anarchists and extremists, no, iwillalways militants and the anarchists and extremists, no, iwill always back our police men and women. that is what being on the side of
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the law—abiding majority means. but we also need to be frank when things go wrong. some police officers have fallen devastatingly short of the standards expected. we need to get back to common—sense policing, empowering the police to tackle the issues facing the public. not policing pronouns on twitter. not policing pronouns on twitter. not policing non—crime hate incidents. that is why i'm very pleased to see that greater manchester police, hampshire, bedfordshire, northamptonshire and the metropolitan police have all now promised to visit the scene of every burglary. but the law—abiding
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majority expect every force to investigate every neighbourhood crime and so do i. drugs, car theft, vandalism and anti—social behaviour cannot be ignored. perhaps the most unsettling and unspeakable crime of all is rape. as an mp and as attorney general i have already seen first hand how the system needs to do better. i cannot change things overnight but i will not accept the status quo. policing is a public service and must be accountable to you, the public. that is why it is right that we publish league tables that show how well
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every force in england and wales is doing in theirfight every force in england and wales is doing in their fight against crime. you will have the right to know and greater transparency will drive up standards. the modern world inevitably brings new challenges. 0ur inevitably brings new challenges. our national security bill will ensure that law enforcement and intelligence agencies have the tools they need to stay ahead of the evermore sophisticated adversaries. yet everything starts from getting the basics right. we need common—sense policing, unashamedly, unapologetically on the site of the law—abiding majority. and that means that the mob needs to be stopped.
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the police must have all the powers they need to stop the protesters who use guerrilla tactics and bring chaos and misery to the law—abiding majority. it is not a human right to vandalise property. it is not freedom of expression to protest violently. you cannotjust expression to protest violently. you cannot just start a riot expression to protest violently. you cannotjust start a riot or glue yourself to the road and get away with it. as attorney general i had to go to court to get some of these simple truths established. the judges agreed with me last week in the court of appeal in the case of the constant statue and that is why a public order bill will empower our
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police to stop this nuisance so whether you are just stop oil or insulate britain or extinction rebellion, you cross the line when you break the law and that is why we will keep putting you behind bars. it is very easy to say the culture wars are a distraction. but make no mistake, the left are attacking our profound elemental values and wanting to replace them with the poison of identity politics. and when this poison seeps into the public sphere it distracts a public servants from doing their realjob. that philosophy dominates the labour
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party whatever sir keir starmer pretends. and that is why it is not only wrong for the police to take the leak and it is wrong for them to join in with political demonstrations, it is wrong for biologically male police officers to strip search female suspects. and it is notjust that pandering to identity politics is a huge waste of time, they need to stick to catching the bad guys. those who dismiss political correctness as a conservative obsession can i say this. i say visit rochdale, is at telford. the grooming gangs scandal is a stain on this country and that is what
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happens when political correctness becomes more important than criminal justice. more pcs, less pc. my other mission is to control our borders. firstly illegal migration, i backed brexit because i wanted britain to have control over migration and to cut overall numbers. brexit was meant to give us a say on how we determine our own migration policy. we should use our new fund controlled to deliver the kind of migration that grows the economy. for example that helps projects that have stalled or built friendships and relationships with allies. but the truth is parts of our system are
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not delivering. we need to end the abuse of the rules and we need to cut down on those numbers that are not meeting the needs of our economy. and we must not forget how to do things for ourselves. there is absolutely no reason why we cannot train up enough of our own hgv drivers or butchers or foot pickers. there way we build high skilled, economy is encouraging business to invest in capital and domestic labour and not relying wholly on low skilled foreign workers. this is not just this is notjust about policy or economics for me. it is intensely personal. my parents came to this country in the 1960s from kenya and
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mauritius. they loved britain from afar as children of the commonwealth. it was britain that offered them security and opportunity as young adults. i'm not embarrassed to say that i love britain. no conservative is. it is not racist for anyone, no conservative is. it is not racist foranyone, ethnic no conservative is. it is not racist for anyone, ethnic minority or otherwise to want to control our borders. it is not bigoted to say that we have too many asylum seekers who are abusing the system. it is not xenophobic to say that mice and rabbits migration places pressure on housing, public services and community relations. i reject the argument that it is hypocritical for someone from an ethnic minority to tell these truths. my parents came
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here through legal and controlled migration. they spoke the language, they threw themselves into the community and embraced british values. when they arrived they signed up to be part of our shared project because the united kingdom meant something distinct, integration was part of the quid pro quo. that did not mean abandoning their heritage but it did mean adopting british identity of which we should all be proud. this is the best place on earth to come and live in. but i fearwe best place on earth to come and live in. but i fear we are losing sight of the core values and culture that
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made it so. the unexamined drive towards multiculturalism as an end in itself combined with the corrosive aspects of identity politics has led us astray. i saw this when i went to leicester recently a melting pot of cultures and beacon of religious harmony but even there rioting and civil disorder have taken place because of failure to integrate large numbers of newcomers. such conflict has no place in the uk. 0r of newcomers. such conflict has no place in the uk. or when we look at the present scheme we see how cultural tensions within communities are not being handled well enough.
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the murderer of a much missed dear friend sir david amess had been referred to prevent but could not stop them. as a people cannot be cowed into fear by vocal minorities who attempt to undermine our common—sense instincts and as home secretary i will make sure that the prevent scheme is fit for purpose, the law—abiding majority deserve nothing less. and lastly we have to stop the boats crossing the channel. this has gone on for far too long. but crossing the channel. this has gone on forfar too long. but i crossing the channel. this has gone on for far too long. but i have to be straight with you, there are no
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quick fixes and the problem is chronic. 0rganised criminal gangs are selling a lighter thousands of people. many are drowning in the channel. many are leaving a safe country like france and abusing our asylum system. so what is our plan? firstly, i work with the french has prevented around half of all the crossings. i know that alone will not work. so i will work closely with the french to get more out of our partnership both on the french coastline and further upstream against the organised criminal gangs. secondly we need to find a way to make the rwanda scheme work. thirdly, we need to do more to get asylum seekers out of hotels
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currently costing the british taxpayer £5 million a day. and fourthly we cannot allow a foreign court to undermine the sovereignty of our borders. for a few months ago the european court of human rights in strasbourg did just that. by a closed process with an unnamed judge and without any representation by the uk, european court overrode our supreme court. and as a result our first flight to rwanda was grounded. we need to take back control. but i
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need to be honest with you, the strasbourg court is not the only problem. everyone agrees that we must fight the evil of modern slavery. i am must fight the evil of modern slavery. iam immensely must fight the evil of modern slavery. i am immensely proud of this country and its global leadership in protecting genuine victims. but the hard truth is that our modern slavery laws are being abused by people gaming the system, we've seen a a50% increase in modern slavery claims since 2014. we've seen a 450% increase in modern slavery claims since 2014. today the largest group of small boats migrants are from albania, a safe country. many of them claim to be trafficked as modern slaves. that is despite them having paid thousands of pounds to come here or having willingly taken a dangerous journey on the channel. the truth is that
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many of them are not modern slaves and the claims of being trafficked are lies. it is notjust illegal migrants, since entering the home office i have seen egregious examples of convicted paedophiles and rapists trying to game the system. making last—minute claims of modern slavery to block their removal from the country. some have even gone on to commit further crimes in the interim. in one case a convicted six offender from south africa had spent a year in prison. he was about to be deported from the united kingdom and lo and behold, he made a claim of modern slavery. the removal was installed and in this time he went on to commit further rape. he is now behind bars but when
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he is released it is also terribly predictable. in another case a paedophile from pakistan received ten years in prison but at the end of his prison sentence he put in a spurious claim to be a modern slave. and even when he got through that process he made a second claim which blocked his removal. we simply cannot go on like this. we need to make sure our system strikes the right balance. 0ur laws need to be resilient against abuse whilst at the same time ensuring that we help those in genuine need. we have a proud history of offering sanctuary to those in need from
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supporting the thousands of people fleeing persecution in hong kong to welcoming nearly 20,000 afghan nationals fleeing war and terror, to offering immediate refuge to thousands of ukrainians fleeing the barbarism of putin. the uk and this conservative government has always been there to hold up the hand of help to those who need it most. but the law simply is not working. it is not working in the interests of the british people or people who need our help the most. 0ur laws are being abused. abused by people smugglers and criminals peddling false promises, appeased by people making multiple meritless and last—minute claims. abused by
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tactics from specialist small boat chasing law firms. this cannot continue. so i will commit to you today that i will look to bring forward legislation to make it clear that the only route to the united kingdom is through a safe and legal route. and that is so we can help support those who need our help the most including women and girls. so if you deliberately enter the united kingdom illegally from a safe country you should be swiftly returned to your home country or relocated to rwanda. that is where your asylum claim will
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be considered. uk policy on illegal migration should not be derailed by a piece of a modern slavery laws, the labour human rights act or orders of the strasbourg court and we will always of course work within the bounds of international law but we cannot allow this abuse of our system to continue. and of course at the same time we need to stamp out illegal working practices, we already have some of the toughest penalties for those not playing by our rules but we will redouble efforts to go after them. i need to be straight with you, this will not be straight with you, this will not be easy. i cannot promise you a solution immediately. we have all heard pledges and promises but this problem is complex and entrenched. and there are many forces working against us. the labour party will
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try to stop this. the lib dems will go bananas. the guardian newspaper will have a meltdown. as for the lawyers, don't get me started on the lawyers! i am a recovering lawyer! but what i can pledge to you is my total and undeniable and unfettered and unconditional commitment to doing whatever it takes and despite those obstacles i will not give up on you and not give up on the british people. applause.
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applause it is very kind of you, i have not actually finished! my goodness. if i don't getting a standing ovation at the end! ladies and gentlemen, the time for words is over. now is the time for words is over. now is the time for words is over. now is the time for action, time to put the will of the hard—working patriotic majority at the height of all we do.
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it is time for the police to stop virtue signalling and start catching robbers and burglars. it is time to tackle the small boats. it is time for common sense. i stand ready to serve you, i stand ready to deliver and the time is ours, the time is now. thank you, conference. applause. the home secretary suella braverman there saying that she is going to look to introduce laws on tightening the access of migrants, she said our laws are being abused by people
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smugglers and she is looking to bring in legislation that would deny the channel as a route into the uk and if people try to do that illegally they will be returned or relocated to rwanda. that is the home secretary suella braverman there at the conservative party conference in birmingham. much more on that throughout the evening. you have been watching bbc news.
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a growing divide among conservative mps over benefit increases and the tax u—turn. the prime minister faces growing pressure from within her party to commit to an increase in benefits in line with inflation. well, we haven't made a decision yet on that specific issue, and all of these things depend on the specific circumstances. it comes as a cabinet minister accuses mps of a coup against the prime minister to force the u—turn on tax. also on the programme... the official public inquiry into how covid was handled in the uk opens in london. its chair promises the bereaved and those who suffered will be at the heart of it. ukrainian forces seize back more territory in southern ukraine that's been illegally annexed by russia. the former england footballer alex scott speaks out about the domestic abuse she and her mother experienced.
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