Labour has been forced to admit that the true cost of the Chagos Islands “surrender” deal is 10 times higher than what the Prime Minister claimed.Announcing the giveaway earlier this year, the PM said the deal would cost £3.4billion – but new figures from the Government Actuary’s Department shows the cost is far higher.The total sum, at first, was estimated at 10 times Starmer’s figure – £34.7billion. This was then lowered by the Government through inflation estimates, then lowered once again under a accounting method sometimes used for long-term projects.Ministers had refused to release the figures when Tories attempted to file Freedom of Information requests to the Foreign Office, while the PM himself had said estimates between £9-18billion were “wide of the mark”.”It’s bad enough that Starmer and Reeves’s economic mismanagement has created a £50billion black hole in the public finances, prolonging the cost of living crisis,” Kemi Badenoch blasted to The Telegraph last night.”Now, our research has uncovered the Government’s own figures showing Labour’s Chagos surrender is costing the country another £35billion. Add that to their £50billion black hole, and it’s clear – when Labour negotiates, Britain loses.”When MPs return on September 1, her Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel is set to demand a correction from the PM, and an apology for the “cover-up” of failing to release the data.FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY…
Foreign criminals prevented from ‘gaming system’ as Britain handed new powers to deport convicts before appeal
Britain has been handed new powers to deport Foreign criminals before appeal to prevent convicts from “gaming the system”.The latest attempt by the Government to restore order to the UK’s immigration system enables more criminals to have their appeals heard from abroad, preventing them from gaming the system to delay their deportation.The “Deport Now Appeal Later” scheme will include three times as many countries, going from eight to 23 under new plans.Foreign nationals from India, Bulgaria and Uganda will be included as just three of the 15 new nations where provisions will now operate…READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Bridget Phillipson: White working-class schoolchildren ‘written off by society’
White working-class children have been “written off” by society, Bridget Phillipson has said, ahead of a new White Paper containing a series of interventions to tackle the crisis.The Education Secretary said it was a “national disgrace” that so many white working-class pupils were not able to gain the exam results needed for university.And with A-level results day just three days away, she said: “Far too many young people, particularly white working-class British students, don’t get the exam results that they need at GCSE or A-level to allow them to continue onto university.”Under her reforms, the Government will publish data showing soaring school suspension and exclusion levels among white working-class pupils for the very first time.Ministers are also considering expanding an “AI-powered” attendance tool which will show schools how they stack up against those with similar demographic make-ups.Just 18.6 per cent of white British pupils eligible for free school meals achieved at least a grade 5 – a “high C” under the previous marking system – in their English and Maths GCSEs last year.This compares to 45.9 per cent of all state school pupils in England, according to Department for Education (DfE) data.
Foreign Office doubles down on ‘£3.4billion’ Chagos giveaway cost claim
GETTY/PA | ‘The average cost is £101million per year, and the net present value of payments is £3.4billion,’ the Government said A Government spokesman said: “The Diego Garcia military base is essential to the security of the UK and our key allies, and to keeping British people safe.”The average cost is £101million per year, and the net present value of payments is £3.4billion – this is less than 0.2 per cent of the annual defence budget.”The deal is supported by our closest allies, including the US, Canada, Australia and Nato. The costs compare favourably with other international base agreements, and the UK-US base on Diego Garcia is larger, in a more strategic location and has unparalleled operational freedom.”