🚨 Keir Starmer accused the government of "crashing" the economy at #PMQs

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 And SNP MPs blasted the Supreme Court's decision to refuse a Scottish #indyref2

🧵👇 Read more with today's top five stories
politicshome.com/news/article/t… 1️⃣ During the first PMQs since the Autumn Statement, Starmer claimed households were now facing a record tax burden because of "12 years of Tory failure"

✅ Labour "ready" to work with businesses
👨‍⚕️ Sunak uses private GP
🎄 MPs reject Christmas expenses guidance

👇🧵 Five of today's top political stories
politicshome.com/news/article/l… 1️⃣ Labour leader Keir Starmer told business leaders at the @CBItweets conference that his party is “ready” to work with them

🌹 He said: “This is a different Labour party, and there's no going back."

💡 Rishi Sunak promised a drive for business innovation to boost growth

➕ Tory and Labour ministers reacted to the death of a migrant at Manston and controversies surrounding the Qatar World Cup

👇🧵 Four of today's top stories
politicshome.com/news/article/l… 💭 The PM told business leaders the government must be “bold, decisive, and radical” by embedding innovation in public services

@CBItweets called on the govt to allow more immigration to tackle labour shortages

📺The five candidates running to be next Conservative Party leader — and the next Prime Minister — are live on @Channel4 for the first debate of the race

@KemiBadenoch @PennyMordaunt @TomTugendhat @RishiSunak @trussliz

🔴 Follow along live: @Channel4 Asked why the public should trust them, Liz Truss says she raised concerns about Boris Johnson's policies "in private"

Rishi Sunak says he tried to give Johnson "the benefit of the doubt" before he resigned but said "that became increasingly hard"

🚨📰 Here is your evening recap of today's news — as told by PoliticsHome reporters:

📧 The Home Office has emailed MPs telling them they will no longer provide updates on Ukrainian refugee visa cases
politicshome.com/news/article/h… 🙅‍♂️ Keir Starmer has described Boris Johnson as "the opposite" of an honest politician and said that he has "absolutely nothing in common" with the Prime Minister
politicshome.com/news/article/k…

🙅‍♂️ MPs have been told to stop "chasing" urgent updates for Ukrainian visa cases, leaving many stranded for weeks

⏳ The Home Office has faced heavy criticism for the delays and technical problems that have beset the scheme

🧵Thread:

politicshome.com/news/article/h… 📧 In an email seen by PoliticsHome, MPs have been told to stop seeking individual updates on visa applications relating to the constituents

✋ "Due to the volume of correspondence we are currently receiving, we will not be able to provide you with further interim updates."

🚨📰 Here is your evening recap of today's news — as told by PoliticsHome reporters:

🕵️‍♂️ A spokesperson for Downing Street has confirmed that Boris Johnson has approved Rishi Sunak’s request that his tax affairs be investigated
politicshome.com/news/article/b… 👉 The Labour party has called for Conservative MP Imran Ahmad Khan to resign and call a by-election after the 48-year-old was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old-boy in 2008
politicshome.com/news/article/l…

🇺🇦 Aleksandr, a 19-year-old student, fled to Poland from Ukraine following the Russian invasion

📲 Through texts and voice messages, he kept in touch with @kate_m_proctor on his journey

🧵 This is his story...

View the full conversation: bit.ly/3Cbul6k 🗓 Thursday February 24

In a town 25km south of Kyiv, Aleksandr and his mother wake up late at night to find there's no electricity

His brother and his wife-to-be arrive at the family home, having driven from the capital on log-jammed motorways full of people fleeing the city

👀 The mood at No 10 is reportedly low following multiple reports of lockdown-breaking parties

🤷‍♂️ PoliticsHome understands staff in more junior roles feel dejected by how their superiors have responded

🧵/1
politicshome.com/news/article/d… 😬 A former special advisor said that when the first party story broke, ex-colleagues still working there told them they had "never felt such a bad atmosphere”

🤷‍♂️ Downing Street staff said they felt there hadn't been "any leadership" from senior officials to support them /2

🚨 Exclusive 🚨 The government is bracing itself for supplies of beer, fizzy drinks and meat to be hit by a severe shortage of CO2

🛒 Supermarkets and restaurants expected to be affected in the coming days

👇 Read the full story from @AdamPayne26
politicshome.com/news/article/b… 💨 PoliticsHome understands that the Defra was warned on Thursday that shortages of CO2

🚫 The cause? Two major fertilizer plants, where the gas is produced, have shut their doors this week due to soaring gas prices /2

🚨 No 10 has confirmed a cabinet reshuffle is taking place this afternoon — follow along for live updates 🧵 👉 A No 10 spokesperson said:

"The PM will today conduct a reshuffle to put in place a strong and united team to Build Back Better from the pandemic.

"The PM will be appointing ministers this afternoon with a focus on uniting and levelling up the whole country."

🚨 Exclusive 🚨

🍽 Greggs is the latest high-profile food outlet to be affected by supply chain disruption, leading to shortages of chicken-based products like its popular chicken bake

🧵/1
politicshome.com/news/article/g… 🚛 The bakery confirmed a small number of products had been affected, but stressed that its broad menu meant it had been able to mitigate the impact

🍗 Their menu has several items containing chicken, including the chicken bake, the chargrill oval bite, and some baguettes /2

🚛 Exclusive polling by @RedfieldWilton for PoliticsHome reveals that the public supports relaxing immigration rules for European lorry drivers

👋 Labour shortages are already causing empty supermarket and shutting restaurants in some parts of the UK
politicshome.com/news/article/p… 🚚 The survey found that 47% of respondents supported the government relaxing rules for drivers coming from the European Union, which multiple industry bodies are calling for

Read more: politicshome.com/news/article/p…

🇬🇧👋🇪🇺 Five years on from the historic vote to leave the European Union, have any of the big campaign claims from Leave and Remain come true?

PoliticsHome’s @johnjohnstonmi takes us through some of the most memorable moments 🧵

politicshome.com/news/article/b… LEAVE 🗣 £350M A WEEK FOR THE NHS

Fact checkers have said the figure was “misleading”, but senior Brexiteers have stood by the pledge

Ex-PM Theresa May did offer a boost to NHS funding after the vote, but this cash didn’t come from money saved via Brexit /2

EXCLUSIVE 🚨

Campaigners and carers are demanding the government publish its long-awaited review into “barbaric” benefits rules forcing terminally ill people to attend work assessments

The full story from PoliticsHome 🧵/1

politicshome.com/news/article/f… Under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness (SRTI), people who can prove they have less than six months to live can have their benefits claim fast-tracked

But they have to be able to prove a “reasonable expectation of death within six months” /2

Dominic Cummings made his contempt for health secretary Matt Hancock pretty clear in his seven-hour evidence session on Wednesday

But the rivalry between the two men long predates the pandemic — the origins of this feud are 15 years in the making 🧵/1 The pair first came into professional contact in the early 2000s

👉Cummings was an adviser to Michael Gove, then the shadow minister for children, schools and families

👉Hancock was chief of staff to then shadow chancellor Osborne /2

Dominic Cummings’ dramatic evidence session on Wednesday included some serious accusations about the government’s handling of the pandemic

🕵️‍♂️But does he have the evidence to back this up?

PoliticsHome investigates which of his claims need receipts 🧵/1

politicshome.com/news/article/t… 🤥CLAIM 1: Matt Hancock lied on multiple occasions

Committee chair Greg Clark said these “serious allegations” needed proof, but Cummings appeared to baulk at the prospect of sharing WhatsApp messages and emails /2

‘Like a scene from Independence Day’: Here’s how Dominic Cummings claims the final days leading up to lockdown unfolded at the heart of the Downing Street operation, as told by @Kate_M_Proctor: 🧵/1 9 MARCH 📅 Discussions ramp up over the virus’ escalation and whether the current scientific thinking and plans are the right ones

Cummings says the official stance of the government, up until 13 March, was herd immunity /2

🔴 Dominic Cummings will give evidence before MPs from 9:30am — follow here for live updates:

https://twitter.com/Alain_Tolhurst/status/1397470901441122308

🚨 The Singh report into Islamophobia in the Conservative party has found that anti-Muslim sentiment “remains a problem” in the party today

⬇ Here are some key points from the report ⬇ 🔵 Comments made by Boris Johnson in his 2018 Telegraph column and language from Zac Goldsmiths’ mayoral campaign "give an impression to some of a party and leadership insensitive to Muslim communities" /2

📚In 2015, publishers revealed Boris Johnson was writing a biography of Shakespeare entitled ‘The Riddle of Genius’

Six years later, there’s no sign of the book — but some claim the PM has been working on it since he entered No 10 🧵/1

politicshome.com/news/article/t… 🛑 Boris Johnson’s biography of the bard was put on hold when he became foreign secretary in 2016, but an archived version of the Amazon page for the book suggests it was due for publication in June 2020 /2