All posts tagged: David Lammy

4 times Starmer’s top team distanced themselves from the PM … just this week – POLITICO

4 times Starmer’s top team distanced themselves from the PM … just this week – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Yvette Cooper  The U.K.’s current foreign secretary was keen to remind MPs she wasn’t running the Foreign Office when the seeds of the Mandelson saga were sown. Asked about the Doyle revelation in the House of Commons Tuesday, Cooper said: “Obviously, I was the home secretary at the time that I understand that took place, so I was not involved and do not know the circumstances.” Robbins told MPs earlier Tuesday that he was “under strict instruction” from No. 10 not to discuss the possibility of Doyle’s posting with Lammy, something Cooper said she was “extremely concerned” about. For good measure, she added Doyle would “not have been an appropriate appointment.”  Darren Jones  There are few ministers closer to Starmer than Jones, but it appears even the PM’s chief secretary has his limits. During an interview with POLITICO’s Anne McElvoy, Jones pleaded ignorance when quizzed over accusations from Robbins that there had been a culture of fear inside Downing Street around Mandelson’s appointment.  “I wasn’t in the building at the time, so I can’t speak …

7 takeaways from Olly Robbins’ evidence on the Peter Mandelson vetting saga – POLITICO

7 takeaways from Olly Robbins’ evidence on the Peter Mandelson vetting saga – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

This is particularly wounding for Starmer because Doyle, like Mandelson, has since been embroiled in a scandal over his past association with a pedophile. (Mandelson resigned over the depth of his friendship with the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in September, while Doyle campaigned in 2017 for a friend who had been charged with child sex offenses, and was later convicted.) It was in March 2025, when Robbins was making large numbers of career civil servants redundant in a restructure. He told MPs he was “under strict instruction” from No. 10’s private office not to discuss the offer with then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy. “I felt quite uncomfortable about it and I kept giving advice that I thought this would be very hard for the office, and was hard for me personally to defend,” he added. “I don’t know what the origin of the suggestion was, and I don’t know who exactly was behind it or how serious it was,” he went on. David Lammy speaks to reporters before a “Meeting in Defence of Democracy,” a …

Labour MP Criticises Jury Trial Cuts After Rape Reveal

Labour MP Criticises Jury Trial Cuts After Rape Reveal

Published by Sam Flores

A Labour MP has condemned David Lammy’s plan to scrap most jury trials after revealing for the first time that she had been raped. Charlotte Nichols accused the justice secretary of using victims as a “cudgel” to force the controversial reforms through. The government wants to get rid of juries in cases where the sentence is expected to be less than three years. Ministers say the move is necessary to clear the huge backlog of court cases in England and Wales. But critics say the planned reforms, contained in the Court and Tribunals Bill, will remove a fundamental right while not actually solving the problem. During a Commons debate on the bill, Nichols said she had waited 1,088 days for her case to get to court. The MP for Warrington North said: “Every single one of those days was agony, made worse by having a role in public life that meant that the mental health consequences of my trauma were played out in public, with the event that led to my eventual sectioning for my …

Keir Starmer ripped apart by barrister over ‘shameful’ act – ‘simply staggering’ | Politics | News

Keir Starmer ripped apart by barrister over ‘shameful’ act – ‘simply staggering’ | Politics | News

Published by Sam Flores

The right for defendants to choose whether trials should take place in the magistrates’ or crown court would be scrapped, meaning some sexual assault, burglary, drug dealing and robbery cases could be heard by a single judge. Instead, judges will assess whether a case is “likely” to result in a three-year prison sentence or more. If thought to be less, it will be heard by either a magistrate or the new Crown Court Bench Division. Justice Secretary David Lammy says drastic action is needed to reduce huge waiting lists, but has faced a furious backlash over cutting people’s right to have their fate decided by their peers. Now barrister Chris Moran has sensationally resigned his Labour membership in outrage, writing to the Prime Minister personally to vent his anger at the “heartbreaking” change. Mr Moran voted for Sir Keir to become Labour leader because he “looked up to and admired” him as a former director of public prosecutions. He also believed a Labour government would “act differently” to the Tories in its approach to the …

Lammy Sparks Confusion Over Legality Of RAF Jets Striking Iran

Lammy Sparks Confusion Over Legality Of RAF Jets Striking Iran

Published by Sam Flores

David Lammy has caused significant confusion after claiming RAF jets could legally strike at Iranian missile sites if they were considering attacking British targets. The deputy prime minister and justice secretary was trying to outline the government’s stance over the Iran war on Friday morning. It comes after the US and Israel initiated joint strikes on Iran last weekend, killing the country’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei. US secretary of state Marco Rubio said this was a “pre-emptive” attack. The UK has made it clear it is not part of any offensive action against Iran. However, the government has permitted the US to use its military bases to launch defensive, limited strikes against Iran. Britain is also sending forces to Cyprus after an Iranian drone strike targeted a sovereign UK base for the RAF on the island. As the conflict threatens to engulf other nations, wider questions are being asked over just how far Britain would go to protect its interests. Speaking to broadcasters on Friday, Lammy – who is also the former foreign secretary – …

Cabinet Minister Mistakenly States Cyprus Is In Nato

Cabinet Minister Mistakenly States Cyprus Is In Nato

Published by Sam Flores

David Lammy has mistakenly claimed Cyprus is a member of the Nato defence alliance, even though it’s not. The country has been in the spotlight ever since Iranian forces sent two drones to the UK’s RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus last Sunday. There were no casualties and the strike caused limited damage. But the government is still sending additional staff to deal with air defences to the region, including over the island, in case Iran strikes again. Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Friday, the deputy prime minister was explaining why it was so important that the UK defends the base when he misspoke. He said: “We will do everything we can to protect our airbase, to protect our staff and people, but also to support – alongside our allies, I should say, because Cyprus is part of Nato – the French, the Germans and others have also sent frigates to the base.” There are 32 countries in the defence alliance, including many European states near Cyprus like Greece. But Cyprus is one of the four …

David Lammy Refuses US Influence In Iran’s Leadership

David Lammy Refuses US Influence In Iran’s Leadership

Published by Sam Flores

David Lammy has refused to say he supports Donald Trump’s claim that the US should have a say in who leads Iran next. Days after US-Israeli strikes killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, the US president insisted that he should be involved in choosing the Ayatollah’s successor. He told POLITICO the US is going to “work with them to help them make the proper choice” because he wants to avoid appointing a new head of Iran “that’s going to lead to having to do this again in another 10 years.” But the deputy prime minister did not endorse this thinking when speaking to BBC Radio 4′s Today programme. Asked if he thought Trump should have a say in Iran’s future, Lammy – who is now the justice secretary – said: “The concerns that I expressed as foreign secretary was what might come after Ali Khamenei was no longer there.” He continued. “This might ultimately be a matter for the Iranian people. “As we have discussed, it is now for the US and Israel to set …

David Lammy facing Labour civil war over plans to axe jury trials | Politics | News

David Lammy facing Labour civil war over plans to axe jury trials | Politics | News

Published by Sam Flores

David Lammy is facing a revolt over plans to slash jury trials (Image: Getty) David Lammy is facing a growing Labour revolt over his plan to axe jury trials as it emerged the first judge-only cases could be heard in two years. The Justice Secretary confirmed he will slash half of jury trials, dramatically increase the number of video court hearings and roll out the use of Artificial Intelligence. Mr Lammy took the fight to the rebels, claiming critics were using “old-fashioned” and “male” arguments amid a record Crown Courts backlog of almost 80,000. But Labour’s Karl Turner blasted: “His proposal to curtail the right to trial by jury across swathes of serious criminal cases is not acceptable. There is deep and growing concern across Parliament that the plan to do away with jury trials is unnecessary and there is no evidential link between the juries and the cause of the backlog. “How much time would actually be saved through the reduction of a right to trial by jury? What are the unintended consequences of …

The strange death of the long-term prime minister – POLITICO

The strange death of the long-term prime minister – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Keir Starmer may have survived a political near-death experience last week. But with a perilous by-election looming and punishing May elections on the horizon, few in Westminster think the prime minister is truly in the clear. With fresh jeopardy ahead, could Starmer become the fifth prime minister in a decade to fall short of a full term? This week on Westminster Insider, host Patrick Baker asks: why don’t UK prime ministers last anymore? Political historian and host of the Past, Present, Future podcast David Runciman argues the revolving door at the top reflects a wider global surge in political instability — driven above all by economic turbulence. Former Downing Street communications directors Katie Perrior, Lee Cain and James Lyons lift the lid on how Britain’s unforgiving 24/7 media machine is grinding down modern premiers. David Lammy’s former adviser Ben Judah and the Institute for Government’s Jill Rutter probe whether the civil service is helping — or hindering — an era of increasingly fragile premierships. And the author and historian Anthony Seldon says a “massive collapse” in prime …