Month: December 2024

While the couple are still deciding on the focus of the new initiative, both are said to be passionate about education and likely to incorporate that among its goals. …reports Asian Lite News

Former prime minister Rishi Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, are believed to be in talks to set up a new private office in the new year to make a positive contribution to Britain, according to a media report on Wednesday. 

‘The Times’ newspaper reports that Sunak and Murty, both 44 and with a combined estimated fortune of around GBP 500 million, are to fund the so-called “Office of Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak” themselves. 

While the couple are still deciding on the focus of the new initiative, both are said to be passionate about education and likely to incorporate that among its goals. 

“Rishi Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, are in talks about setting up an office next year to pursue initiatives that they believe will make a positive contribution to Britain,” claims the newspaper report. 

“The former prime minister has elected not to take the GBP 1,15,000 a year allowance to which he is entitled after leaving No. 10 [Downing Street]. They are being supported by Coulson Partners, a PR firm set up by Andy Coulson, a former No. 10 adviser and newspaper editor,” it adds. 

Sunak, who stepped down as Conservative Party leader in the wake of a bruising electoral defeat in July, is now a backbench member of Parliament for Richmond and Northallerton in Yorkshire. 

Back in October, he addressed his final Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) as Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons to make way for his successor – Kemi Badenoch. 

Alluding to some media speculation around his family’s relocation plans to California, Sunak had stated that he will be spending more time in his constituency while continuing to raise issues of concern from the backbenches. 

“I am happy to confirm reports that I will now be spending more time in the greatest place on earth, where the scenery is indeed worthy of a movie set and everybody is a character – that’s right, if anyone needs me, I will be in Yorkshire,” he said, amid laughter from his parliamentary colleagues. 

Last month, Britain’s first prime minister of Indian heritage received a rockstar welcome at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s annual Diwali gala in London – where he joined Akshata and her mother Sudha Murty as the guest of honour. 

During her time at 10 Downing Street, Akshata Murty – daughter of Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy – held a regular “Lessons at 10” programme to provide children from across the UK an opportunity to see behind the scenes of the famous black door – the office and residence of the PM in London. 

“I know the phenomenal work that goes into running a business. My mother’s endeavours in science, technology, engineering and maths allowed her to push boundaries both academically and professionally and gave her a ringside seat to the technological revolution,” she said during a special International Women’s Day edition of “Lessons at 10” in March. 

The couple’s shared interest in technology is among the areas expected to influence the focus of any new private office next year. 

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During Prime Minister’s Questions, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch asked why the prime minister had appointed a “convicted fraudster” as his transport secretary…reports Asian Lite News

Keir Starmer has refused to give more information about why Louise Haigh resigned as transport secretary last week. Haigh stepped down after it emerged she had pleaded guilty to a fraud offence a decade ago, a conviction she reportedly told Sir Keir about in 2020, when he appointed her to his shadow cabinet. 

During Prime Minister’s Questions, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch asked why the prime minister had appointed a “convicted fraudster” as his transport secretary. Starmer said Haigh had been right to resign “when new information came to light”. 

But, when asked by Badenoch for details about the new information, he replied: “I’m not going to disclose private information.”   

He added that Haigh’s swift resignation was a “marked contrast” to the behaviour of the previous Conservative government and accused Badenoch of being “obsessed with the Westminster issues”. Badenoch said the prime minister was “obfuscating” and that he owed MPs “an explanation”. “The country needs conviction politicians not politicians with convictions,” she said. 

Hitting back, Starmer said two of Badenoch’s predecessors had “convictions”, a reference to Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, who both received fixed penalty notices for breaking Covid rules. Fixed penalty notices are not classed as criminal convictions, provided the fine is paid on time. 

Later, responding to Badenoch’s questions, a Labour source said: “If the Conservatives want to have a row about the extent of their criminality in office, that’s fine by us. “The fact is that her two predecessors were found guilty of breaking the law, partying in Downing Street while telling everyone else to follow the rules, something which the leader of the opposition described just a few weeks ago as ‘overblown’. Maybe she’ll want to retract that statement.” 

Last week, Haigh became the first minister to resign since the Labour government took office in July. On Thursday evening, Sky News and The Times revealed details of her past conviction. Haigh subsequently issued a statement giving further details of the incident, which took place in 2013 when she was working for insurance company Aviva. 

She said she had reported a mugging to the police and that a work mobile phone was one of the items that had been stolen. She later said she found the handset in a drawer at home. Turning on the phone “triggered police attention”, she said, and the matter was taken to magistrates’ court for making a false report to police. 

Haigh said: “Under the advice of my solicitor I pleaded guilty – despite the fact this was a genuine mistake from which I did not make any gain.” She received a conditional discharge six months before becoming an MP in the 2015 general election. 

Early on Friday, the morning after the details of the conviction emerged, Haigh sent a resignation letter to the prime minister, saying she did not want to become a distraction. 

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PM sets out ‘next phase’ covering economic growth, NHS backlogs, energy, and a ‘bobby on every beat’…reports Asian Lite News

Keir Starmer will attempt to reset his premiership with a series of pledges to show he is “delivering change”, including 13,000 extra neighbourhood police and a named “bobby on every beat”. 

In a speech Labour hopes will set out the “next phase” of government, the prime minister will detail half a dozen “milestone” targets covering living standards, NHS backlogs, secure energy, housebuilding and children’s readiness for school. 

As part of a promise to crack down on crime and antisocial behaviour, he will say that every neighbourhood in England and Wales will have a named, contactable police officer. Each police force will also have an antisocial behaviour lead tasked with coming up with ways to tackle concerns raised by local residents and businesses. 

Starmer will pledge 13,000 more neighbourhood police, PCSOs and special constables by 2029, with an additional £100m of funding. “These officers must demonstrably spend time on visible patrol and not be taken off the beat to plug shortages elsewhere,” he will say. The boost would bring the total police workforce to a level above its 2010 peak. 

After ministers were accused of blindsiding businesses with a big increase in employer national insurance contributions in the budget, the heads of three high street retailers – Asda, Co-op and McDonald’s – endorsed the “neighbourhood policing guarantee”. 

The promise will prompt comparisons with the Blair-era “tough on crime” slogan. Many of the plans were first outlined by Labour last year. 

The attempted reboot – labelled Starmer’s “plan for change” – follows a rocky first five months in power for the government. A major tax and spend budget was welcomed by campaigners for greater spending on public services but sapped business confidence and led to protests by farmers. Starmer has also faced a row over ministers enjoying freebies, and the resignations of both his chief of staff, Sue Gray and his transport secretary, Louise Haigh, who quit after it emerged she had been convicted of fraud over a missing work phone. 

The Conservative party leader, Kemi Badenoch, has branded Thursday’s speech an “emergency reset”. But Starmer will say claim that the new “milestones” are the next phase of the “missions” he said would shape a Labour government. But it is also a tacit admission that those missions are being dumped as they were either too woolly or not achievable. 

The missions were: achieving the highest growth out of G7 countries, making Britain a “clean energy superpower”, halving serious violent crime, breaking down “barriers to opportunity” and building an NHS “fit for the future”. No 10 insiders have argued that numerical targets are more memorable for voters. “We’ll be putting them [the missions] into layman’s terms,” said one source last week. 

In his speech on Thursday, Starmer will say: “My government was elected to deliver change, and today marks the next step. People are tired of being promised the world, but short-term sticking plaster politics is letting them down. 

“Hardworking Brits are going out grafting every day but are getting short shrift from a politics that should serve them. They reasonably want a stable economy, their country to be safe, their borders secure, more cash in their pocket, safer streets in their town, opportunities for their children, secure British energy in their home, and an NHS that is there when they need it. My mission-led government will deliver.” 

On the crime and antisocial behaviour plan, he will add: “The neighbourhood policing guarantee will deliver 13,000 extra neighbourhood police, visible on your streets, cracking down on antisocial behaviour. A named, contactable officer in every community. A relief to millions of people scared to walk their streets they call home. 

“But it’s a pledge that is only possible because we are matching investment with reform; standardising procurement, streamlining specialist services like forensics, and ending the madness of 43 forces purchasing their own cars and uniforms.” 

Shops have complained of facing an epidemic of shoplifting in the past year, fuelled in large part by the cost of living crisis. 

Liz Evans, the chief commercial officer at Asda, said: “Asda welcomes the introduction of the neighbourhood policing guarantee and the new role for businesses in shaping local policing priorities. 

“At the heart of communities, retailers see every day the devastating impact retail crime is having on our colleagues and our customers. The changes introduced today are positive, and Asda stands ready to work in partnership with our new neighbourhood officers to help reduce crime and improve safety in the communities we serve.” 

Alistair Macrow, the CEO of McDonald’s UK, said: “Addressing and raising awareness of antisocial behaviour is essential in keeping high streets and local communities safe.” Paul Gerrard, Co-op’s campaigns and public affairs director, said: “The Co-op sees every day in our stores and in the communities they serve the impact of crime and antisocial behaviour so we welcome the government’s action today.” 

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