Political news

• 'Coronation Street': Shayne Ward's Exit To Be Male Suicide Storyline

  30-04-2018 23:33
  ‘Coronation Street’ is set to air a suicide storyline next week, when Aidan Connor (played by Shayne Ward) takes his own life. Viewers will see Aidan’s dad, Johnny, discover his son’s suicide at the beginning of an hour-long episode, airing on Wednesday 9 May. No element of the death will be shown on screen. The ‘Coronation Street’ writing team have worked with the Samaritans and Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) on the storyline, to ensure th
  
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• 'People Just Do Nothing': Fifth And Final Series To Air On BBC Two

  30-04-2018 22:03
  The BBC have dropped some bittersweet news, revealing that series five of ‘People Just Do Nothing’ will air later this year, adding that it will be the final one.For the first time ever, the new episodes will premiere on BBC Two, before being made available on the online-only channel BBC Three. The exact air date is yet to be confirmed, but a press release issued on Monday (30 April) night teases what’s ahead for Grindah and his crew.It reads: “DJ Steves has been nic
  
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• Labour suspends John Woodcock over sexual harassment claim

  30-04-2018 21:30
  MP for Barrow and Furness faces allegation he sent inappropriate text messages to female former aideLabour MP John Woodcock has been suspended from the party ahead of an investigation into claims he sent inappropriate text messages to a female former aide.The backbencher, a fierce critic of Jeremy Corbyn, had been ordered to appear before party disciplinary chiefs over the alleged harassment, which he has denied in an open letter to constituents. Continue reading...
  
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• Warm welcome belies the challenges Sajid Javid faces at Home Office

  30-04-2018 21:27 via ft.com
  New home secretary faces same issue of working within prime minister’s framework
  
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• Warm welcome belies challenges Sajid Javid faces at Home Office

  30-04-2018 21:27 via ft.com
  New home secretary has same issue of working within prime minister’s framework
  
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• Netanyahu's Ridiculously Basic Power Point On Iran Makes Sense With Trump At The Helm

  30-04-2018 21:26
  Israel presented on Monday what it said was evidence that Iran had continued gathering nuclear knowledge after signing a 2015 agreement with world powers to curb it, calling on Washington to jettison the agreement.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s message was very clear - so clear he wrote it in giant Times New Roman letters on a screen behind him. Inevitably this drew more than a bit of mockery.#Netanyahu's power point demo on the evils of Iran looks like a pyramid scheme presentat
  
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• Netanyahu Accuses Iran With Ridiculously Basic Power Point

  30-04-2018 21:26
  Israel presented on Monday what it said was evidence that Iran had continued gathering nuclear knowledge after signing a 2015 agreement with world powers to curb it, calling on Washington to jettison the agreement.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s message was very clear - so clear he wrote it in giant Times New Roman letters on a screen behind him. Inevitably this drew more than a bit of mockery.#Netanyahu's power point demo on the evils of Iran looks like a pyramid scheme presentat
  
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• Sainsbury's Boss Sings 'We're In The Money' During Asda Mega-Merger Interviews

  30-04-2018 21:16
  The boss of Sainsbury’s has apologised after he was caught on camera singing “we’re in the money” between media interviews about the supermarket’s mega-merger with Asda.Mike Coupe, CEO of of the UK supermarket chain, described humming the song made famous by the musical 42nd Street - but also featured in the 1933 Warner Brothers film Gold Diggers - as an “unguarded moment”.The move, which unions fear could result in branch closures an
  
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• Sainsbury's Boss Caught Singing 'We're In The Money' During Interviews Over £12bn Asda Merger

  30-04-2018 21:16
  The boss of Sainsbury’s has apologised after he was caught on camera singing “we’re in the money” between media interviews about the supermarket’s mega-merger with Asda.Mike Coupe, CEO of the UK supermarket chain, sang “we’re in the money, the sky is sunny, let’s lend it, spent it, send it rolling along” and appeared to look down the lens of the camera at one point as he did so.He described humming the song made famous by the musica
  
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• Javid says Windrush families will be immediate priority

  30-04-2018 20:32 via ft.com
  New home secretary rejects ‘hostile environment’ approach to illegal immigration
  
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• Sajid Javid disowns 'hostile environment' phrase in first outing as home secretary – as it happened

  30-04-2018 20:26
  Home Office wants ‘compliant environment’ for immigrants, Javid tells MPsWho is Sajid Javid?
  Fresh Lords Brexit defeat for government makes ‘no deal’ less likelyAfternoon summary 6.17pm BST We will do right by the Windrush generation.I want to start by making a pledge, a pledge to those from the Windrush generation who have been in this country for decades and yet have struggled to navigate through the immigration system: This never should have been the case and I will do
  
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• Bereaved Mother Siobhan McLaughlin Starts 'Heartbreaking' Legal Battle In Belfast To Secure Rights For Unmarried Couples

  30-04-2018 19:57
  A bereaved mother’s legal battle to secure rights that are being denied to unmarried couples has begun in the Supreme Court.Siobhan McLaughlin is fighting to ensure parents who are not married get the same bereavement benefits as those who are married after her long-term partner died in 2014.Siobhan McLaughlin has four children - Stuart, 23, Rebecca, 15, Billy, 16 and Lisa, 21 - with her long-term partner John Adams, who died at the age of 60.The couple were together for 23 years but
  
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• Lords amendment creates hitch for EU withdrawal bill

  30-04-2018 19:54 via ft.com
  MPs to have more than just a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ choice on Brexit
  
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• Labour MP John Woodcock Suspended From Party Pending Sex Harassment Investigation

  30-04-2018 19:41
  Labour MP John Woodcock has been suspended from the Labour Party pending an investigation into alleged sexual harassment, HuffPost has learned.The former No.10 aide and shadow minister has had the party whip withdrawn following a decision by general secretary Jennie Formby to apply the sanction.Woodcock, a fierce critic of Jeremy Corbyn, is accused of sending inappropriate texts and messages to a former female staff member between 2014 and 2016.The ruling National Executive Committee (NEC)&rsquo
  
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• Rudd’s exit shows the British state is set up for low-key shambles

  30-04-2018 19:32 via ft.com
  With no sense of direction, Theresa May becomes the plaything of events
  
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• Tories flounder in attempt to launch Operation Save Theresa | John Crace

  30-04-2018 19:25
  Amber Rudd made one teeny-weeny little mistake. The mistake of trying to protect her bossWith Operation Save Amber finally derailed after two weeks of fire-fighting the former home secretary’s failing memory – by the weekend she couldn’t even remember what targets she was meant to have forgotten – the Tory party’s attention turned to Operation Save Face. Aka Operation Save Theresa. With Amber Rudd out of a job, the prime minister has been left with no one else to ta
  
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• Rudd’s resignation and British attitudes to immigration | Letters

  30-04-2018 19:21
  Professor Raj Bhopal argues we need to change the language around migrants. Otto Inglis and Philip Duval say most British people do want controls on immigration. Michael Jones and Annabelle Zinovieff say immigration policy must be more compassionateThe Windrush affair continues to expose the fault lines in British society and immigration policy (Rudd quits over Windrush scandal, 30 April). The government has defended the hostile environment policy as primarily targeted at “illegal immigran
  
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• The Guardian view on Amber Rudd’s resignation: now change the policy | Editorial

  30-04-2018 19:19
  Sajid Javid has a chance to press the reset button on the Windrush generation scandal. The new home secretary must abandon the policies that brought his predecessor downAmber Rudd had to resign as home secretary on Sunday night for two reasons: first, because she deceived MPs about her own immigration policy and, second, because the Guardian exposed the deception. In the end, her own words brought her down. Ms Rudd denied that she had a target for removing illegal migrants under the “hosti
  
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• Sajid Javid disowns 'hostile environment' phrase in first outing as home secretary - Politics live

  30-04-2018 19:19
  Home Office wants ‘compliant environment’ for immigrants, Javid tells MPsWho is Sajid Javid?
  Fresh Lords Brexit defeat for government makes ‘no deal’ less likelyAfternoon summary 6.17pm BST We will do right by the Windrush generation.I want to start by making a pledge, a pledge to those from the Windrush generation who have been in this country for decades and yet have struggled to navigate through the immigration system: This never should have been the case and I will do
  
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• The Guardian view on the House of Lords: end of the peer | Editorial

  30-04-2018 19:16
  Sixty years since life peerages changed the all-hereditary upper house, it is time for a more radical reformThe House of Lords and radical change are not words that often appear in the same sentence, least of all on May Day. Yet the Life Peerages Act 1958, which became law 60 years ago this week, was arguably the most radical change in the British parliamentary system of the postwar era. Until it came into force, the House of Lords was an overwhelmingly hereditary body. Sixty years later, the Lo
  
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• What’s the point of a leader who only wants to stand still? | Rafael Behr

  30-04-2018 19:02
  Theresa May wants the status quo in a time of upheaval. Eventually the crisis will come that overwhelms her completelyTheresa May hates change, while governing in an age of upheaval. It is an unfortunate combination: inflexible temperament meets volatile circumstance. The result is periods of tense stasis punctuated by spasmodic crises. This is a chronic condition afflicting the government and Amber Rudd’s resignation on Sunday is the latest symptom. That doesn’t exonerate the former
  
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• Turmoil at the Home Office further saps Theresa May’s authority

  30-04-2018 18:59 via ft.com
  The promotion of Sajid Javid should prompt a review on immigration
  
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• Sajid Javid faces in-tray of complaints about plans for EU nationals

  30-04-2018 18:54
  European parliament’s Brexit coordinator says MEPs have found significant problems surrounding future status of EU citizensSajid Javid, the home secretary, will begin his new job by facing a series of complaints from the European parliament over the UK government’s proposed system for granting EU nationals settled status in the country.
  In the wake of the scandal over the treatment of the Windrush generation that cost Javid’s predecessor her job, the parliament’s Brexit c
  
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• Sajid Javid: No More 'Hostile Environment' For Illegal Immigrants

  30-04-2018 18:45
  New Home Secretary Sajid Javid tore up a key part of Theresa May’s legacy today as he banned the phrase “hostile environment” when it comes to enforcing immigration laws.Appearing in the Commons just hours after replacing Amber Rudd in the Home Office, Javid sought to reassure MPs that incidents like the Windrush debacle would not happen on his watch.Javid repeatedly referred to himself as a “second-generation migrant” as he claimed he was “personally committe
  
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• Sajid Javid pledges to urgently 'do right' by Windrush generation

  30-04-2018 18:43
  New home secretary tries to get on top of problem that led to exit of his predecessor Amber RuddSajid Javid has vowed to “do right” by the Windrush generation as the government tries to get to grips with the scandal that led to the departure of his predecessor.
  The home secretary, who was appointed on Monday morning after Amber Rudd stood down, told MPs it “should never have been the case” that immigrants from across the Commonwealth faced problems proving their status. C
  
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• Fresh Lords Brexit defeat for government makes 'no deal' less likely

  30-04-2018 18:32
  Cross-party amendment, passed with support of 19 Tory rebels, is seventh Lords defeat for government on EU withdrawal billThe government has suffered a heavy defeat on a crucial Lords vote that could pave the way for parliament to send ministers back to the Brussels negotiations if MPs vote down Theresa May’s Brexit deal. Related: May has lost an ally in cabinet and gained a potential Brexit rebelContinue reading...
  
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• The rentquake will punish the Tories at the ballot box | Suzanne Moore

  30-04-2018 18:25
  The effects of our broken housing system are felt most strongly in London – so don’t be surprised if voters there swing further towards Labour in this week’s elections
  Anecdote is not data, as they say, but it is strange to ignore the strength of feeling with which people talk about an issue. Increasingly, I have conversations that centre around housing. Not of the “Have you seen these lovely tiles?” variety, but about the difficulty of having a long-term home. So,
  
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• Isle of Man poised to relax abortion laws

  30-04-2018 18:10 via ft.com
  Politicians expected to back decriminalisation ahead of Ireland’s vote on same issue
  
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• Abusing And Threatening Politicians Does Not Cure Our Broken System

  30-04-2018 18:06
  “Burn in hell Amber Rudd you spineless c***”.“Haha f*** off Amber Rudd you stupid, vile c*** woman”.Why should we care if this is the response to the departure of a Home Secretary who inherited, presided over and defended an inhuman, heartless immigration system? And when those who stand up for the rights of those in that system routinely face similar anger from the right?Because in the decade I spent working with refugee children and young people at Centrepoint and for t
  
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• DreamLab App Lets You Fight Cancer By Plugging Your Phone In Overnight

  30-04-2018 18:05
  A new app that uses your smartphone to find new cancer treatments has been launched by Imperial College London.The DreamLab app has been developed by the Vodafone Foundation and Imperial College and works by breaking down huge calculations into smaller manageable sums that an individual smartphone could easily process.The app is designed to be used at night when your smartphone is connected to power and a WiFi connection. That way the app can continuously run throughout the night performing calc
  
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• Does Your Feminist T-Shirt Empower The Women Who Made It?

  30-04-2018 18:03
  “My particular bug bear is feminist tees which were not made by women who were paid fairly for their labour. Check your tags and brands,” posted actress Aisling Bee during Fashion Revolution Week.  Slogan T-shirts with female empowerment messages are everywhere now, but the reality is that the fashion industry doesn’t empower the majority of women who work in it. International Workers’ Day or Labour Day on 1 May was established to commemorate those who fought for saf
  
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• Parliament Must Support Our Call For A Global Ban On Cosmetic Animal Testing

  30-04-2018 18:02
  On Tuesday in Parliament MPs from across the house will call on the UK Government to propose a global ban on cosmetic animal testing in a Westminster Hall debate. I would like to encourage all my animal-friendly colleagues to support the call for the UK to champion an international agreement that will end the needless suffering of animals for cosmetic purposes worldwide. Whilst my constituents’ views on foreign policy or the industrial strategy react to news and adapt over time, one v
  
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• Sajid Javid and the return of the Tory power stance

  30-04-2018 18:01
  On his first day at work, the new home secretary resurrected the tradition of Conservative ministers striking a distinctly odd poseAs he was officially unveiled on his first day at work as home secretary, Sajid Javid struck one familiar chord. Or rather, struck one familiar pose – the rather curious, legs-too-far-apart “power stance”.It has become a habit from leading Conservative politicians, dating back to 2015. George Osborne was the early adopter, photographed here after de
  
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• May Suffers Huge Brexit Defeat As Lords Backs ‘Meaningful Vote’ On EU Deal

  30-04-2018 17:59
  Theresa May has suffered her most damaging Brexit defeat so far after the House of Lords voted to give Parliament a say over the terms of any future EU deal.Peers voted by 335 to 244 - a hefty majority of 91 - for a cross-party amendment to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill to ensure MPs get a ‘meaningful vote’ on the outcome of the Prime Minister’s talks with Brussels.The amendment, tabled by former Tory Cabinet minister Lord Hailsham, allows Parliament to decided what course of action
  
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• Martin Rowson on Amber Rudd's resignation – cartoon

  30-04-2018 17:54
  Continue reading...
  
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• To Hell With Gender Roles At Weddings - I Was My Sister's Bridesman

  30-04-2018 17:53
  My sister Alex got married four years ago, and when I found out she was engaged I was delighted. She was overjoyed, Jonny her husband-to-be is a great guy and let’s be honest, who doesn’t love a reason to dress up nice and have a party? A lot of thoughts went through my head after finding out she was getting married, but being asked to be my sister’s bridesmaid (or bridesman) certainly wasn’t one of them; it’s just one of those things I thought wasn’t for men.
  
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• My Journey Out Of Corbynism

  30-04-2018 17:52
  In the summer of 2015, I voted for Jeremy Corbyn in the Labour Leadership election.I was twenty-one years old, and had recently graduated from university. I hadn’t given politics too much serious thought before the General Election of that year, but had gradually become more and more interested in the months leading up to the vote. After all, Russell Brand was urgently imploring his fans to vote Labour, and anything good enough for the godfather of The Trews was good enough for me.Obv
  
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• Sajid Javid answers Windrush questions as new home secretary - Politics live

  30-04-2018 17:45
  James Brokenshire is housing secretary and Penny Mordaunt takes women and equalities brief as Theresa May faces pressure over immigration targetsFull report: Sajid Javid replaces Amber Rudd as home secretaryRudd resigns hours after Guardian publishes deportation targets letterWho is Sajid Javid?Lunchtime summary 4.45pm BST Stephen Doughty, the Labour MP, asks how many people have been wrongfully deported or detained. And will Javid scrap the net deportations target?Javid says he is not currently
  
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• 5 Things New Communities Secretary James Brokenshire Has To Get To Grips With

  30-04-2018 17:28
  Sajid Javid has plenty in his in-tray as he takes over as Home Secretary, but so to does his successor as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.James Brokenshire comes back into the Cabinet after taking three months away from the top of Government to receive treatment for lung cancer.The former Northern Ireland Secretary now oversees a sprawling department, which has suffered some of the deepest cuts in the Government’s austerity drive.Here are 5 items Brokenshir
  
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• Who is Sajid Javid?

  30-04-2018 17:25 via bbc.co.uk
  The second-generation immigrant son of a bus driver who is now in charge of the UK's immigration policy.
  
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• May has lost an ally in cabinet and gained a potential Brexit rebel

  30-04-2018 17:25
  With Amber Rudd’s departure, PM is further than ever from finding way to avoid collision with reality of broken Brexit strategyIn a sign of ongoing government solipsism over Brexit, Westminster’s initial reaction to Amber Rudd’s replacement by Sajid Javid has been to scrutinise what it means for the balance of power among soft and hard Brexiteers around the cabinet table.Related: Theresa May denies Rudd resigned over PM's own hostile environment policy - Politics liveContinue r
  
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• Theresa May under pressure to break Brexit deadlock

  30-04-2018 17:08 via ft.com
  Brussels and Dublin urge new UK proposals to avoid a hard border with Ireland
  
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• Ministers Should Intervene In £12bn Asda-Sainsbury's Merger If Northern Jobs To Suffer – Labour

  30-04-2018 17:04
  Ministers should have the power to intervene in the Asda-Sainsbury’s merger if the deal disproportionately hits the north, Rebecca Long-Bailey has said. Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary said MPs should have a statutory right to intervene in a business deal when deprived communities heavily lose out. As it stands, a merger cannot be halted unless it puts at risk national security, media plurality or the UK’s financial security - but Long Bailey says the public intere
  
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• Scotland to debate policy that may force rape victims to testify

  30-04-2018 16:50
  New guidance on ‘reluctant complainers’ is retrograde step, say MSPs and campaigners
  The row over new prosecution guidelines that would compel rape complainants to give evidence in court is to be debated in the Scottish parliament, as campaigners say the policy will have a “chilling effect” on women coming forward to report sexual violence. The controversial guidance on dealing with “reluctant complainers”, issued at the beginning of March, means alleged rape
  
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• Malaysian Palm Oil Lobby Is Running A Social Media Campaign Against Iceland Supermarket Boss

  30-04-2018 16:46
  The boss of the Iceland supermarket chain has found himself at the centre of a strange smear campaign run by a Malaysian palm oil lobby group.Richard Walker, who has been in the post for three years, was mocked for “inheriting” Iceland from his father, who founded it, and has been branded a  scaremonger in a string of tweets and videos.The group, called Faces Of Palm Oil, began sending messages to the managing director on April 10, a day after the company announced it wanted to
  
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• Gemma Collins Addresses Photoshopping Controversy After Her Head Was Superimposed Onto Models' Bodies

  30-04-2018 16:45
  Gemma Collins has apologised to her fans, after her head was photoshopped onto numerous models’ bodies on her clothing website.Earlier this month, it was discovered that The GC had been using pictures of models with her head superimposed on them to sell plus-size clothing on her website.Addressing the matter on Monday’s (30 April) ‘This Morning’, the ‘TOWIE’ star came clean, claiming she asked her team to do it because she felt that her image would sell more c
  
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• What Is Ethereum And How Do Cryptocurrencies Work?

  30-04-2018 16:37
  While Bitcoin has managed to steal most of the limelight around cryptocurrencies there is another that’s pushing for supremacy and that’s Ethereum.While its price is nowhere near as high as that of Bitcoin, Ethereum has the potential to be considerably more useful as a piece of technology.Here is a brief explanation of what Ethereum is and why it could soon overtake Bitcoin as the leading cryptocurrency in the world.What is Ethereum?Ethereum is a cryptocurrency at its core. That mean
  
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• The fall of Amber Rudd: why she resigned as home secretary – video explainer

  30-04-2018 16:04
  Amber Rudd resigned as home secretary on Sunday after days of apologies and questions about her role in deportation targets for immigrants in the UK. Rudd had initially denied having targets for removing illegal migrants, but a letter published in the Guardian revealed she had been involved in setting a figure Continue reading...
  
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• Amber Rudd played the blame game over Windrush and lost

  30-04-2018 16:04
  In denying there was a target culture at the Home Office, the former home secretary became a target herselfThere have been many moments over the last few weeks when Amber Rudd got herself in a tangle over her response to the Windrush scandal.Her denial last week of knowing about deportation targets during a home affairs select committee was certainly one. But her fate might have been sealed a week before that, when she addressed MPs to make the first of many apologies. Continue reading...
  
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• The Windrush scandal shows why we must hold power to account

  30-04-2018 15:47
  The Guardian’s revelations have driven public debate and demonstrated the importance of independent, investigative journalism
  The resignation of the British home secretary, Amber Rudd, over the Windrush scandal marks an important moment for independent, investigative journalism, demonstrating how it can hold power to account in order unequivocally to change people’s lives for the better.
  The Guardian reporter Amelia Gentleman has spent the past six months exposing the truth of the su
  
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