Starmer suggests Badenoch has missed chance to have private, national security briefing on Chagos Islands issue
Kemi Badenoch says:
When Labour negotiates, our country loses.
Yesterday it was reported the Chagos deal would cost £18bn. She says this is money that belongs to us and our children. It is so north London lawyers can boast at dinner parties.
Why did the energy secretary stop fighting the Rosebank case.
Starmer says Diego Garcia is “vital for our national security”.
But the legal certainty was thrown into doubt some years ago.
He goes on:
Let me be clear, and I’ll pick my words carefully. Without legal certainty, the base cannot operate in practical terms as it should.
That is bad for national security, and is a gift to our adversaries.
Some within the party opposite know exactly what I am talking about.
That is why the last government started negotiations.
Starmer says, if Badenoch is “properly briefed” on the national security aspects, she will know what is is talking about.
If Badenoch is not properly briefed, she is not fit to be PM.
(Starmer seemed to be alluding to a recent report saying Badenoch missed a recent national security briefing – although that was about the Southport killings.)
Key events
Home Office to release later today review of Prevent’s handling of Southport killer
Later today the Home Office will release a review of Prevent’s handling of three referrals it received about Axel Rudakubana from 2019 to 2021, the last being three years before he murdered three school girls at a dance class in Southport in July 2024.
The review is expected to be critical and Prevent, the official scheme to stop people becoming terrorists, declined to adopt Rudakubana’s case because it saw no signs his interest in violence was linked to terrorism.
Prevent learning reviews are not usually made public.
The Guardian has learned Prevent will soon face even further pressure with the government intending to also release the review into the anti-radicalisation scheme’s handling of the man who went on to murder the MP Sir David Amess as he held a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea in October 2021.
Ali Harbi Ali was referred to Prevent who adopted his case, and after working with him cleared him of being a terrorist threat in 2015, some six years before the attack of Amess in a church.
The Prevent learning review into Ali’s case may be released as soon as next week.
PMQs – snap verdict
Keir Starmer faced questions from the leaders of both main rightwing opposition to him today. Nigel Farage’s party may be ahead in the polls. But he has little authority in the Commons chamber, where ‘smooth insider’ goes down better than ‘insurgent bloke’, and where not having dozens of MPs to cheer him is a handicap, and today he fluffed his question by pausing for too long, which meant the jeering became excessive. The scripted question from Farage was fine.
What do I say to 25,000 constituents in Clacton, including 99-year-old Jim O’Dwyer, who flew a full set of missions on Lancaster bombers as a tail-end Charlie, as they’re losing winter fuel allowance, feeling the pinch, while at the same time they’re willing to give away a military base and pay £18 billion for the privilege of doing so.
But Starmer replied:
He talks of panic, the only panic is people using the NHS who know that under his policy he wants to charge them for using the NHS.
What he should say to the people of Clacton – when he finally finds Clacton – is that they should vote Labour because we are stabilising the economy.
And this worked better.
As expected, Kemi Badenoch started by talking about the Chagos Islands, which she claimed was “an immoral surrender so north London lawyers can boast at their dinner parties”. But this was almost a feint because she ended her first interention with a question about “the eco nutters who want to obstruct Rosebank’s oil and gas fields” and then, for the rest of the session, she carried on with Rosebank before widening that to ask about Great British Energy, AstraZeneca and potential job loses. It was punchy – there were references to taking the knee and the voice coach stories, two rightwing obsessions – but it was unfocused and, while it may have delivered okay soundbites for social media, none of them sounded like a clinching argument in the chamber.
Starmer was more interesting because he rolled out what seems like a new attack line against Badenoch. He may even have been inspired by Badenoch herself, because last week she seemed to joke about claims that she is lazy. In response to the first question, which included a reference to the Chagos Islands, Starmer went into a lengthy answer that implied, if Badenoch had attended a security briefing on privy council terms, she would know that the UK had no option other than to hand over sovereignty because – well, he couldn’t say, because it’s secret. (See 12.09am.) And then, in response to the second question, he made the point again.
She didn’t say that she was briefed about the Chagos issue. This is important. When she became Leader of the Opposition, I said to her that I would give her a briefing on any national security issue if she asked for it – that’s very important to the way we run our democracy – she has not asked for a briefing on the Chagos Islands.
Later Starmer made further references to Badenoch not being properly briefed on other issues.
In one respect, this was just Starmer throwing an accusation against Badenoch that she has used against him. But when Badenoch accused Starmer of not knowing the details of the schools bill or the employment rights bill, that was never particularly convincing because, while Starmer has plenty of flaws as a politician, not doing the work and not knowing the detail is not one of them.
It is easier to believe that Badenoch can be cavalier about detail. And Starmer is not the first person to suggest she has missed a crucial national security briefing. In his column in the Sun last week, Harry Cole said she has skipped a briefing on the Southport attacks. He wrote:
The leader of the opposition was invited by the PM on Monday to a briefing on the Southport attack, yet sources say she did not attend.
The top-level update, done occasionally on secret privy council terms, was due to be given by the deputy national security adviser – pointing to how serious No 10 was about keeping the opposition in the loop.
This line of attack may have seemed a bit obscure to non-politicos watching, because lots of people don’t know much about how privy council briefings operate. But MPs understand all of this, and believe they matter, and Starmer’s claim that Badenoch is neglecting this side of her job may have concerned some of her MPs.
Badenoch is also getting negative write-up from Tory commentators this afternoon because she did not say more about the claim that Starmer broke lockdown rules when he got his voice coach to help in person. The rightwingers are also claiming it is significant that Starmer chose not to answer yes when asked if he was confident his staff did not break the rules. (See 12.31pm.) But this is probably just the sound of a dead horse being flogged yet again. Despite their best efforts, the Tory papers have not been able to find any evidence that Starmer broke the rules and, if he did not reply yes, it might have been because the answer he did give was better.
What Starmer says about need for Palestinians to be allowed to return home to Gaza, and for two state solution
This is what Keir Starmer said in response to Ed Davey when asked about President Trump’s Gaza plan. (See 12.21pm.)
The most important issue on the ceasefire is, obviously that it’s sustained, and we see it through the phases. And that means that the remaining hostages come out, and the aid that’s desperately needed gets into Gaza at speed and at the volumes that are needed.
I have from the last few weeks two images fixed in my mind. The first is the image of Emily Damari reunited with her mother, which I found extremely moving.
The second was the image of thousands of Palestinians walking, literally walking through the rubble, to try to find their homes and their communities in Gaza.
They must be allowed home. They must be allowed to rebuild, and we should be with them in that rebuild, on the way to a two state solution.
Michael Wheeler (Lab) asks Starmer if he agrees the government should listen to the experience of job centre staff when reforming welfare.
Starmer does agree. He says the government is planning the biggest reform to employment support for a generation.
Danny Chambers (Lib Dems) asks about maternity services, and what is being done to make them safer.
Starmer says the government is committed to recruiting thousands more midwives.
Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance) refers to Hilary Benn’s speech yesterday. She says she agrees with Benn about the need to reform public services. Will this governent reform the institutions in Northern Ireland so it can operate properly.
Starmer says devolution has been very valuable in Northern Ireland. He says the restoration of the executive was an important milestone, and he says the goverment will continue to work with the parties there.
Dave Doogan (SNP) asks if Starmer agrees with Prof Sir John Curtice, who has said Starmer is the worst thing to happen to Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader. He says Starmer has been catastrophic for Scottish Labour’s polling.
Starmer says he can remember when the SNP had so many MPs they said on the front benches (where the Lib Dems are now).
Joanna Baxter (Lab) asks about council funding in Scotland. She criticises the Scottish government for the way it is withdrawing money from council workers’ pay to cover pension costs.
Starmer says the Scottish government has got the money it needs.
Claire Hughes (Lab) asks what the government is doing about shoplifting.
Starmer says for far too long this has not been taken seriously. Under the Tories, offences involving the theft of goods worth less than £200 were not investigated. He says the government has changed that.
Starmer defends meeting with voice coach during lockdown, says he was working while Tories were partying
Gagan Mohindra (Con) asks about the claim that Starmer broke lockdown rules when he got a voice coach to visit him before Christmas in 2020. He says he believes Starmer is an honourable man and he asks him to repeat his assurance that the rules were followed, not just by him, but by his team.
Starmer replies:
In December 202o I was in my office working on the expected Brexit deal with my team. We had to analyse the deal as it came in at speed, prepare and deliver a live statement at speed of one of the most important issues for our country in recent years. That’s what I was doing.
What were they [the Conservatives] doing? Suitcases of booze into Downing Street, partying and fighting, vomiting up the walls, leaving the cleaner to remove red wine. States. That’s the difference. I was working. They were partying.
Richard Tice, the Reform UK deputy leader, says the UK shoudl stop funding Unwra, because some of the Hamas hostages were held in Unwra facilities. He goes on:
The British people do not want our aid being stolen by Hamas. So will the prime minister agree with me that we should stop funding Hamas, follow the example of other nations and divert our aid to other, more trustworthy agencies.
Starmer recalls a conversation with one of the hostages after she was released. He spoke to her about the conditions in which he was held.
Then he angrily goes on:
To be absolutely clear, and [Tice] knows this, we are not funding Hamas, never will, we condemn Hamas, and everybody in this house should condemn Hamas.
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, says his party believes in a health service free at the point of delivery. (Earlier a Labour MP criticised him for being in favour of an insurance system).
But his question is about the Chagos Islands. He asks how he could justify spending £18bn on this to the people of Clacton.
Starmer says under Reform policy, people would have to pay to use the NHS. If Farage can find the people of Clacton, he should tell them to vote Labour, he says.
Starmer says Palestinians must be allowed to return to Gaza – but ducks opportunity to criticise Trump
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, asks about the carer’s allowance scandal. He mentions a carer caught up in it, even though the sanctions policy is being reviewed. Will the government look at this?
Starmer says he will arrange for the DWP to look at this.
Davey says he has raised it with the DWP already, but did not get a good reply.
He asks about Gaza, and asks if Starmer will raise with President Trump the concerns MPs have about his “dangerous statements”.
Starmer says Palestinians must be allowed to return home, and the UK shoud be supporting them in that, he says.
But he does not refer to Trump, or agree to Davey’s suggestion to pass on the concerns of British MPs.
