Home Office civil war continues as Mike Tapp says 'he won't be intimidated' after Shabana Mahmood's attempted sacking
Mike Tapp has doubled down as the Migration Minister has said he "won't be intimidated' after the Home Secretary called on the Prime Minister to sack him for writing an article she believed to be out of line with immigration policy.
Ms Mahmood has called for the Prime Minister to dismiss Mr Tapp, after he wrote a Times article suggesting foreign care workers should be exempt from her plans to tighten settlement rules.
But Downing Street has resisted immediately sacking the minister, who is accused of allegedly breaching the ministerial code by his actions.
The stand-off between the Home Office and Downing Street is viewed by some as a test of Sir Keir Starmer’s authority during his final weeks in Downing Street.
Writing on social media on Friday, Mr Tapp said: "Ok, morning all. It’s gone from ‘he broke the ministerial code’ to ‘he stole my idea’. I have put my views across on a policy I’ve been working on for months (I have the receipts) in an Op Ed in the times. Give it a read, and let’s continue to discuss.
"I won’t be intimidated to drop my views. Stay classy!"
Mr Tapp, who said he was at a wedding in San Francisco in the US, appeared to be referring to efforts by some within Government to suggest he was not responsible for the ideas in his article.
A Government source told GB News: "Mike Tapp wrote a piece in a national newspaper freelancing on policy without the knowledge or agreement of the Home Secretary or her team. He took proposals that the Home Secretary was working on, and briefed them as his own.
"In doing so, he has broken collective responsibility and has breached the Ministerial Code. Now is he threatening to leak sensitive documents. The Home Secretary has asked the Prime Minister to sack him."
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Labour MP objects to nearby RAF base being used to house asylum seekers
A Labour MP whose constituency falls near an RAF barracks earmarked for asylum seekers has said he will object to the plans.
Terry Jermy, the MP for South West Norfolk, said: "I am very concerned that RAF Barnham is being considered as a possible site to temporarily house asylum seekers and I strongly object to this site being used for this purpose.
"Whilst RAF Barnham is outside my constituency, I immediately made my concerns known to the Home Office Minister and asked the views of the wider community and other elected officials are taken on board.
"I am proud that our country is able to provide asylum in relevant circumstances and support people, including providing refuge to those who have put themselves in harm's way to help our troops.
"However, we must also consider the views of the local communities in the decision making process and insist these sites are located in appropriate places."
Minister says it is up to Keir Starmer on whether to sack Mike Tapp
Justice minister Jake Richards said it would be up to the Prime Minister whether to sack Mike Tapp.
He said: "The Prime Minister makes decisions as to whether the ministerial code or collective responsibility is broken. Mike is a friend of mine, he’s someone who served his country before coming into Parliament, he’s someone I have an enormous amount of respect for."
Mr Richards told Times Radio: "We’re clearly in an unusual moment in our politics, where the Prime Minister has resigned on Monday, just a few days ago, and it’s quite clear that his replacement will be taking over in the next few weeks.
"Now, that is unusual. We need to undertake that interregnum period with some calm, I think everyone needs to take a deep breath and ensure that we work collectively as a team for the interests of the country.
"I’m sure that’s what Mike will do… he’s someone who served his country before with great distinction, and I’m sure he’ll continue to do that as a minister and as Member of Parliament."
Nato chief says he will be 'tough but discreet' about defence spending in veiled warning to Labour
Nato chief Mark Rutte has said he will be "tough but discreet" in ensuring member states meet their defence spending commitments, amid a dispute in Britain over future military funding.
The alliance’s Secretary General made a veiled reference to the current row when he named-checked the UK in pointing out that when countries have to "really step up" their investment in their armed forces "of course there will be discussions".
Mr Rutte said making certain nations had a "credible path" to spending five per cent of economic output on defence by 2035 was one of the issues that would raised at a crucial Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, early next month.
The commitment is split into a 3.5 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) core defence spending commitment, and a 1.5 per cent GDP commitment to wider resilience spending.
Mike Tapp doubles down in immigration policy row - 'I won't be intimidated'
Migration minister Mike Tapp has said he “won’t be intimidated to drop my views” after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood called on the Prime Minister to sack him for writing an article believed to be out of step with immigration policy.
The Dover and Deal MP said: "Morning all. It’s gone from ‘he broke the ministerial code' to 'he stole my idea'.
"I have put my views across on a policy I’ve been working on for months (I have the receipts) in an Op Ed in the times. Give it a read, and let’s continue to discuss.
"I won’t be intimidated to drop my views. Stay classy! Oh and I’m at a wedding in San Francisco, but happy to talk more when I’m back."
Senior economic advisor warns Andy Burnham against wealth taxes
Andy Burnham has been warned against introducing wealth taxes should be succeed Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.
Lord O’Neill, who has been tipped to join Mr Burnham's team if he becomes Prime Minister, said the taxes do not raise much money.
The Makerfield MP had been urged to bring in wealth taxes by backbench leftwing MPs, as well as Green Party leader Zack Polanski.
However, the peer told LBC: "I am very opposed to the general rule of wealth taxes. I think they are very easy to be gamed and avoided so I don’t think they are likely to raise a lot of revenue."
Asylum seekers in hotels falls to lowest level since records began
The number of asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels has fallen to its lowest level since data was first reported in 2022, according to Home Office figures published last month.
There were 20,885 people staying in such accommodation while they were awaiting a decision on their asylum claims at the end of March, down 35 per cent year-on-year from 32,326.
The total had climbed as high as 56,018 at the end of September 2023. The issue of people being housed in hotels came to the fore last year with protests outside some sites.
On Thursday, the Home Office said 20 more hotels have now been closed.
The Refugee Council’s Imran Hussain said: "Moving refugees from unsuitable hotels to unsuitable former military sites is storing up problems for the next prime minister by repeating policies that failed in the recent past. It would be wise to rethink this approach."
John Major says UK must rejoin the EU single market within the next five years
Sir John Major has said the UK must rejoin the single market within the next five years as he took aim at pro-Brexit campaigners.
The former Prime Minister told The Independent:"‘The aim within the next five years must be to rejoin the single market.
"But that will have a price. We are going to have to be absolutely honest with the British people. If we go back into the single market, we say 'here are the gains we proposed and here is the price that we will have to pay for it.'"
Senior Tory takes veiled swipe at Reform UK - 'We have a fully costed plan'
A Conservative frontbencher has taken a veiled swipe at Reform UK as he laid out the Tories' financial plans
When asked about how the party would implement tax cuts, Shadow Policing Minister Matt Vickers told GB News: "We've put forward a plan. Unlike a lot of the other guys, we have a fully costed plan.
"We've told you how we're going to save £47billion in terms of savings, half of that is going to pay down the national debt.
"We're doing it in a conservative way. In a responsible way. The primary way we're doing that is to get people back into work, the welfare bill is ballooning under this government."
Danny Kruger says Muslims, immigrants and transgender people have 'nothing to fear' if Reform wins next election
Reform UK MP Danny Kruger has said Muslims, immigrants and transgender people have nothing to fear from the "revolution" being prepared by Nigel Farage's party.
Mr Kruger, the MP for East Wiltshire, told the ARC conference in west London: "We are not fighting immigrants — we are fighting mass migration and the surrender of our borders, and the unasked-for transformation of our towns and cities.
“We are not fighting trans people but the doctrine of personal self-creation, a doctrine of power and the abuse of reality, whose principal victims are the people who believe in it.
"We are not fighting Muslims, but the version of Islam that recognises no allegiance to the King in parliament, that marches for Gaza but sees no sin in the subjection of women and the rape of children."
Mr Kruger, who is in charge of preparing Reform for government, denied his vision was about "Brexiteers, and populists, and Christian nationalists, who want to take us back into the dark past".
Labour seeking to house THOUSANDS of asylum seekers in three new ex-military sites - is your area one of them?
Labour is seeking to house thousands of asylum seekers in three new ex-military sites around Britain.
The fresh immigration reforms, introduced to Parliament next week, threaten to affect rural towns across the UK.
RECAP: EU threatens British farmers with immediate ban under Labour's Brexit 'deal'
The EU is threatening to hammer British farmers as soon as Labour's Brexit reset "deal" comes into force.
If and when he becomes Prime Minister, Andy Burnham will be forced to endure Brussels bureaucrats looking to impose the bloc's food standards on Britain.
The EU is looking to immediately implement a ban on pesticides, which are legal in Britain but banned in the bloc, in an alignment on food standards.
British Government officials have proposed a "transition period" for British farmers to adjust back to the EU regulations.
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