Cameron: police to get powers to seize passports


  • Cameron: police to get powers to seize passports

    David Cameron and his team walking to parliament from Downing Street ahead of his statement on anti-terror measures today.
    Live David Cameron unveils anti-terror measures in a statement to the House of Commons

    Live cover of UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s statement on new anti-terror measures.
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    Michael Ellis, a Conservative, asks if Cameron will commit to consulting the Commons before taking punitive action in Iraq?
    Cameron says he always believes in consulting the Commons. He will keep it informed. But if he had to act urgently, for security reasons or for humanitarian reasons, he would act without pre-authorisation from the Commons.
    Cameron says the new powers he is proposing will allow the authorities to stop planes flying into the UK if they do not provide sufficient passenger information. These are the kind of powers that operate in the US, he says.
    Cameron says there is little doubt Hamas uses people to protect its rocket. That is “absolutely despicable”, he says.
    Grahame Morris, a Labour MP, asks if British citizens serving in the Israeli Defence Force would be treated in the same way as Britons fighting for Isis.
    Cameron says he does not accept that. Israel was protecting itself from terrorist attack, he says. Morris will regret making that comment, he says.
    Updated
    Bob Stewart, a Conservative, says Isis will only be defeated on the battlefield. The Iraqi forces are the people most likely to do that. Will we give them as much support as necessary?
    Cameron says that is fundamentally right. Supporting the Kurds and supporting the Iraqi government are not alternatives, he says.
    Labour’s John Woodcock asks Cameron to confirm that he is open to the idea of Britain mounting air strikes against Isis.
    Cameron says he is not ruling anything out. He believes in consulting the Commons, he says.
    But he says it is also important to confirm that, if necessary, the government would act quickly without pre-authorisation from the Commons.
    Steve Baker, a Conservative, says he was appalled to learn that a British terrorist interviewed on Newsnight came from Wycombe. If he returns, will he face the full force of the law?
    Cameron says it is shocking to hear people like this say they just want to come back to Britain to bomb and maim.
    Sometimes the evidence against these people does not meet a criminal burden of proof, he says.
    Jason McCartney, a Conservative MP, says he backs targeted air strikes by Britain in Iraq against Isis.
    Cameron says we should listen carefully to what the Kurds says. So far we have just supplied them with non-lethal weapons, he says. But Britain is prepared to go further, he says.
    Cameron says he envisages the sanctions regime “getting tighter all the time” if Russia does not alter its policy in Ukraine.
    Labour’s Barry Sheerman calls for a Commons debate on these matters. And he says President Putin will not be alarmed by anything he has heard. Britain needs to stand up to bullies, he says.
    Cameron says he agrees there is a case for a debate. On Russia, he says he thinks sanctions have an impact. Russia needs the west more than they need it, he says.
    Angela Watkinson, a Conservative, asks what meetings Cameron has had with the Muslim community to ensure they condemn Isis?
    Cameron says Eric Pickles, the communities secretary, has taken the lead on this. There has been a real difference. For example, after the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby, many Asian and Muslim leaders were willing to speak out.
    Keith Vaz, the Labour chair of the home affairs committee, asks if Cameron agrees on the importance of engaging with ethnic minority communities.
    Cameron says he has been pleased by how many Muslims have spoken out against Isis recently.
    Crispin Blunt, a Conservative, says we have already made “ugly” compromises over Egypt. Does he agree something similar is required, to get countries like Russia and Iran involved in the fight against Isis?
    Cameron says he agrees countries in the region must play a greater part.
    Labour’s Pat McFadden says getting rid of control orders was the wrong policy for the wrong reason. He welcomes Cameron’s U-turn. Will Cameron consider getting a new mandate from parliament for action in the Middle East?
    Cameron says those in the region must lead the charge against Isis. Britain and other countries will help them.We must use our judgement about how, he says.
    John Baron, a Conservative, says the policy of speaking loudly but carrying a small stick is often found wanting. Does Cameron agree we should not be cutting 20,000 posts from the armed forces.
    Cameron says he does not agree. You cannot describe a £33bn defence budget as small, he says.
    Sir Edward Garnier, the Conservative former solicitor general, commends Cameron for not proposing wholesale reform of the terror laws. Will the government consider any new measures very carefully?
    Cameron says he heard Garnier’s comments on the Today programme. (See 9.19am.) They set his calm tone for the day, he says. He says he has never supported knee jerk legislation.
    Chris Bryant, the Labour MP, says Russia is behaving like a terrorist state. Can Cameron finally say that those involved in the murder of Sergei Magnitsky are not welcome in the UK?
    Cameron says he has nothing to add to the letter he sent Bryant on this over the summer.
    Sir Tony Baldry, a Conservative, says Donald Tusk’s comments at the weekend showed that EU reform is achievable.
    Cameron says Tusk’s statement was positive. He looks forward to working with him.
    Nadhim Zahawi, a Conservative MP with a Kurdish background, says on a recent visit to the region he found that Isis were issuing their own passports. He backs Cameron’s plans.
    Labour’s Frank Dobson says we should be careful about interfering with the rights of British citizens. If the security services know enough about these people to say they should not be allowed in, why can’t they be prosecuted? If we treat British citizenship lightly, other countries will to.
    Cameron says he agrees prosecutions are best. But, when Britain faces an existential threat, sometimes that is not possible. Passports are already taken away from dual nationals, he says.
    John Redwood, a Consevative, says recent events show the need for Britain to control its own border. Their weakest border is our border, he says.
    Cameron says we are not members of Schengen, so we can control our own borders.
    Asked when the Iraqi army will be able to defeat Isis, Cameron says its problem was that it was seen as a force representing just one part of Iraq.
    Labour’s Dennis Skinner says Cameron is trotting out “garbage”. Two years ago he wanted the Commons to support Isis, and to arm them. It’s only because of Labour that that did not happen, he says.
    Cameron says his recall is that that vote was about the use of chemical weapons. He was right to oppose them, he says.
    Rory Stewart, the Conservative MP and new chair of the Commons defence committee, asks when Cameron will pre-commit British troops to the Baltics.
    Cameron says this issue will be addressed at this week’s Nato summit. We need to make real Nato’s Article 5, he says.
    Martin Horwood, a Lib Dem, suggests Nato should stop the French selling assault ships to Russia by buying them itself.
    Cameron says it is hard to get the EU to agree to sanctions. But sanctions are being toughened, he says.
    Alistair Burt, the Conservative former Foreign Office minister, asks if the government has received a request for arms from the Kurdish peshmerga.
    Cameron says the Kurds have asked Britain to help transport arms. He is not aware of a specific request for arms. But he would look upon such a request favourable. They are our allies, he says. But he says he wants them to remain part of Iraq.
    Sir Gerald Kaufman, the Labour MP, asks what Cameron will do to stop a further attack on Gaza.
    Cameron says he wants all parties to engage in talks.
    Bill Cash, a Conservative, says international law does allow people to be rendered stateless in some circumstances.
    Cameron agrees. Doing nothing ‘sticks in the craw”, he says.
    Caroline Lucas, the Green MP, asks why Britain supplies arms to Saudi Arabia, a country that beheads its own people and funds extremism.
    Cameron says Britain has some of the toughest arms controls laws in the world. The Saudis have changed their approach to funding extremism, he says.
    Liam Fox, the Conservative former defence secretary, asks what is being done to stop the sale of Isis oil. And under what circumstances would Britain join air strikes.
    Cameron says Isis makes a lot of money selling oil to Assad.
    The military have delivered aid to Iraq, he says. Britain supports the military air strikes. It is best to keep asking how can we best pursue the national interest, he says.
    Cameron says the joint terrorism assessment centre decided to raise the terrorist threat. It is independent, he says.
    It is their decision, not mine.
    Dominic Grieve, the Conservative former attorney general, says he is concerned about plans to stop jihadists returning to the UK. That would not only be against international law; it would be against common law too. It is much better to prosecute these people here, he says.
    Cameron says he broadly agrees; he would like to see people prosecuted. But the government also needs to look at any gaps in its capabilities, he says.
    Hazel Blears, the Labour former communities secretary, says she is disappointed that Cameron had so little to say about tackling extremism.
    Cameron says he is sorry about that. There are few people in the Commons he agrees with more on this issue.
    Peter Hain, the Labour former Foreign Office minister, says Britain should urge Saudi Arabia to stop funding medieval barbarism. And he calls for a full debate on foreign policy.
    Cameron sidesteps the question about Saudia Arabia, but he says he agrees that countries in the Middle East need to address this problem themselves.
    Sir Menzies Campbell, the former Lib Dem leader, says Cameron’s statement is more “nuanced” than some of the reporting over the weekend suggested.
    But who would decide when to ban a suspected jihadists from returning to the UK? Would there be a right to appeal?
    Cameron says he wants to work within the law.
    But there is a problem. The government can excluded foreign nationals, and people of dual nationality. But it does not have the same power in relation to British nations, even if they declare allegiance to another power.
    Jack Straw, the Labour former foreign secretary, asks Cameron if he agrees Britain should re-engage with Iran.
    Cameron says Britain is re-engaging with Iran, but “very cautiously”.
    Sir Peter Tapsell, a Conservative, says it was a mistake to support the Sunni uprising in Syria. The west should not intervene in a civil war that has been running for 1,300 years, he says.
    Cameron says he does not agree.
    Cameron is responding to Miliband.
    He thanks him for the constructive tone of his statement.
    He confirms that the EU is looking at imposing sectoral sanctions on Russia.
    He says he is pleased Labour will support the plans for seizing passports.
    He says he thinks it important that the Prevent programme should be focused on counter-terrorism.
    And, on Tpims, he quotes David Anderson, the independent reviewer of terror legislation, saying that there is no need to return to control orders and that Tpims are more civilised.
    David Cameron
    David Cameron Photograph: BBC Parliament
    Ed Miliband is responding to Cameron.
    He starts by paying tribute to Cathy Ashton, Britain’s outgoing commissioner (and a Labour peer).
    Does Cameron agree there is a need for sectoral sanctions against Russia?
    Miliband says Isreal’s response to the threat from Hamas was not justified. And today’s annexation of Palestinian land is “deplorable”.
    Miliband condemns Isis (which he, likes Cameron, calls Isil). But we have to learn lessons from the war in Iraq, he says.
    Defeating Isil will not be achieved by military means alone, he says.
    What role is the EU playing in promoting an inclusive Iraqi government?
    Miliband says it is unclear what Cameron is proposing in terms of excluding people from the country. He wants more detail, he says.
    On Tpims, Miliband welcomes the introducing of a “relocation” power. This was recommended by David Anderson, the independent reviewer of terror legislation, he says.
    Control orders contained this power, he says. The government should never have abandoned them in the first place, he says.
    Ed Miliband
    Ed Miliband Photograph: BBC Parliament
    Cameron turns to what the government is doing domestically.
    He repeats some of the points he made at his press conference on Friday.
    There are two areas where more action is needed.
    First, more needs to be down to stop people travelling.
    Passports are not an automatic right. The Home Office can take them away.
    But the police cannot seize a passport at the border. The government will give them this power.
    And the government’s royal prerogative powers (which allow the Home Office to seize passports) are being challenged in the courts. If a challenge succeeds, the government will legislate to give it the power to do this. And it will start preparing the legislation anyway, he says.
    The government wants to stop jihadists returning to Britain.
    The authorities need a discretionary power to allow them to stop people returning to the UK. It will work on the details, and introduce them in proportionate way compatible with the law.
    Second, more must be done to tackle extremists here.
    Cameron says the government will beef up the Tpim regime, introducing new relocation powers. (Control orders allowed the authorities to ban people from certain areas. Tpims do not, but there has been pressure for this to change.)
    There is a lot of jeering from Labour at this point. Labour will present this as a U-turn.
    Cameron also says he wants to impose new conditions on those subject to Tpims.
    Cameron turns to the threat from Isis.
    EU leaders agreed to coordinate action to crack down on those going to fight in Syria and Iraq, he says.
    The root cause of this is a “poisonous ideology of religious extremism”, he says.
    This is nothing to do with Islam, a religion followed by 1bn people which inspires countless acts of kindness every day.
    We need a firm security response to Isis, Cameron says. Britain is already providing equipment to Kurdish forces. A UN security council resolution will disrupt flows of finance to Isis.
    But, alongside this, there must be a political response.
    In Syria there must be a political transition.
    In Iraq there must be a genuinely inclusive government, he says.
    Britain will continue to consider what further role is in the national interest, including any possible further military action, he says.
    Cameron turns to Gaza.
    The loss of life has been appalling, he says. And the civilian casualties have been unacceptable. A Palestinian child’s life is worth just as much as an Israeli child’s life, he says.
    But the Hamas aggression was unacceptable.
    Cameron says Israel’s latest seizure of land in the West Bank is completely unacceptable.
    David Cameron is making his statement now.
    He starts by talking about the appointments agreed at the EU Council. Donald Tusk, the new council president, places a big emphasis on meeting the concerns of Britain, Cameron says.
    The EU summit discussed Russia and Isis (he calls it Isil, but our house style is Isis), he says.
    Russia is trying to force Ukraine to abandon its democratic choices at the barrel of a gun, he says.
    We know the danger of a nation state being undermined by force, he says.
    The EU leaders agreed that new sanctions against Russia would be drawn up within a week.
    Cameron says he does not accept that sanctions are not having an impact. Capital has been flying out of Russia, he says.
    Damian McBride, Gordon Brown’s former spin doctor, used to work for HM Revenue and Customs. He thinks the authorities already know quite a lot about passengers boarding aircraft and, in a post on his blog, he says that if forcing airlines to provide more information is the main focus of David Cameron’s statement today, we should be sceptical.
    Here’s an excerpt.
    By a long distance, the majority of our potential suspects were instead identified in advance via intelligence sources, surveillance work, etc. both in the UK and overseas. In other words, the red flags were waving long before those suspects ever checked onto a plane.
    So I find myself puzzled and intrigued by the headlines saying that David Cameron will today ask airlines to increase the information they provide about their passengers, and that the government believes this will be a significant addition to their armoury of weapons against the Jihadists.
    And let’s be clear: that is the headline measure from today’s package of anti-terror powers, so you’d expect it to be significant.
    I’ll suspend judgement until I see all the details, or hear from some of the security talking heads, but in the meantime, I’m prepared to whisper a provisional call of ‘bullshit’ against this measure.
    First, I’m not convinced there’s much useful information the airlines can give the authorities beyond what they already provide. And second, if our security services are genuinely reliant on that extra passenger information to identify potential terror suspects, then we’d better raise the ‘threat level’ to ‘Run!!’
    David Cameron’s announcement will include a plan to share more information about suspected jihadists with the Irish, my colleague Henry McDonald tells me. He’s sent me this.
    A list of suspected Jihadi fighters is to be shared between the Irish and British governments, the Dublin media reports today.
    Airline passenger lists and finger printing at Irish airports will be available to the UK authorities in case returning Jihadists from the Middle East and Afghanistan try to travel back to Britain via Ireland.
    The Garda Siochana is understood to have a list of 30 Jihadist suspects who were resident in Ireland but have since moved to war zones such as Syria and Northern Iraq, according to the Irish Independent.
    The increased co-operation between the UK and the Republic comes about after a weekend in which Irish soldiers for the first time ever engaged in armed clashes with ISIS or Al Qaeda linked Islamist militants.
    Irish troops directed machine gun fire on the de-militarised zone of the Golan Heights to rescue 38 Filipino UN peacekeepers who had been encircled by the Al Qaeda inspired Al Nusra front.
    A detachment of Irish peacekeepers managed to rescue their colleagues from the Phillipines from UN post inside a buffer zone between Syria and Israel.
    Irish soldiers have been deployed on the Golan Heights with the UNDOF peacekeeping mission for the last 40 years.

    David Cameron's statement on anti-terror measures

    David Cameron will be making his statement in the Commons at 3.30pm.
    On the Commons monitors, it is billed as a statement on the EU council, security and the Middle East.
    The main focus will be on the new anti-terror measures Cameron promised at the end of last week. But we might also learn something about his thoughts about military intervention against Isis, the Russian quasi-invasion of Ukraine, and the impact of the new European Commission (and Douglas Carswell’s resignation?) on his plans to renegotiate Britain’s membership of the EU.

    John Bercow's statement

    The full text of John Bercow’s statement is now on the Guido Fawkes blog.
    Here’s the key passage.
    Two rounds of interviews were conducted and at each stage the panel source to select one person who could meet the demanding twin roles both of procedural adviser to the house and of its chief executive officer. The panel reached its decision on July 30. However a number of colleagues have since expressed disquiet…
    Their concerns fall into two categories. The first, helpfully raised by the honourable member for Rutland and Melton [Sir Alan Duncan], is whether the panel should have recommended separating the roles. I was advised that the panel could not adopt this approach without prior legislation.
    As I have said, there is a compelling case for such a separation but any change would, of course, require the support of the House.
    The second concern is for free appointment scrutiny and was initially put forward by the honourable member for North East Somerset [Jacob Rees-Mogg]. A strong case can be made for it and on this point also I wish to hear colleagues’s views.
    In the circumstances, and having discussed the matter with the leader and shadow leader of the House, I believe that a modest pause in the recruitment process is desirable while such issues are explored and the views of members solicited in detail. In the meantime, the functions of the clerk and chief executive will be distributed between members of the management board. I am sure the whole House will wish them well in the discharge of these important duties while the matter is resolved with good will and by consensus.
    This is the verdict from John Bercow’s biographer.

    Bercow backs down in row over new Commons clerk

    Bercow’s statement is over.
    He is not taking questions on it now. But there may be points of order later.
    Here are the key points.
    • Bercow has confirmed that he has suspended Carol Mills’ appointment as Commons clerk. He described it as a “modest pause”, and it was gracefully executed, it is hard not to see this as a significant climbdown - “humiliating” even, if I can get that past the cliche police - forced upon him reluctantly by pressure from the many MPs opposed to the appointment. A week ago Bercow’s allies were insisting he was determined to press on with the appointment.
    • He has renewed his call for the post of Commons clerk to be split, so that “chief executive component” is carried out by someone separate.
    • He has accepted that a new candidate can only be appointed with the support of the Commons. This makes it highly unlikely that Mills will ever take up the post she was offered - the traditional clerk post, combining clerk and chief executive.
    Updated
    The Commons is now sitting.
    John Bercow says he is making a statement.
    Currently the roles of clerk and chief executive are combined, he says.
    But managing the Commons has become more complicated. Highly-skilled management is crucial.
    His preference for splitting the post was not accepted by others before the new person was appointed.
    So the Commons advertised a joint post, he says.
    Two rounds of interviews were held. The panel reached a decision on 30 July.
    Since then “a number of colleagues have expressed disquiet”.
    They have two concerns, he says.
    First, some MPs want to split the role. Bercow says he was advised this would need legislation. Any change would require the support of the house.
    Second, some MPs wanted pre-appointment scrutiny. Jacob Rees-Mogg pressed for this. A strong case can be made for this.
    Bercow says, having discussed this with William Hague, the leader of the Commons, and Angela Eagle, the shadow leader of the Commons, he has decided there is a need for a “modest pause” while these matters are resolved.
    He hopes this will be decided with good grace, he says.
    John Bercow is expected to make a statement on the post of Commons clerk shortly.
    Jesse Norman is one of the MPs leading attempts to stop Bercow appointing the Australian Carol Mills to the post.

    Lunchtime summary

    • Scottish leaders have warned voters they have until midnight on Tuesday to submit their registration forms to vote in the independence referendum. As the Press Association reports, Alex Salmond, Scotland’s first minister, urged the “missing million” who are not registered to vote to get out and harness “Scotland’s immense wealth”. Johann Lamont, the Scottish Labour leader, said it is the people least likely to vote who stand to lose the most if Salmond “has got his sums wrong”. For more details, do take a look at our new daily Scottish referendum live blog.
    • A trade minister has defended the decision not to exclude the NHS from the free trade deal the EU is negotiating with the US - the so-called transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP). Lord Livingston said TTIP was essentially a free trade deal which would lead to a series of benefits for businesses, workers and consumers. As the Press Association reports, he said the NHS was not being excluded from the deal because it would not be affected. “The NHS will not see any change to its existing obligations - the deal would not change the nature of what happens today,” he said.
    You can read all today’s Guardian politics stories here. And all the politics stories filed yesterday, including some in today’s paper, are here.
    As for the rest of the papers, here is the PoliticsHome round-up of today’s top 10 political must-reads, and here is the ConservativeHome round-up of all the politics stories in today’s papers.
    And here are four stories I found particularly interesting.
    Rebel Tory Eurosceptics will pledge in their personal manifestos at next May’s general election that they will definitely vote for the UK to quit the EU in the referendum Mr Cameron has promised in 2017. This would be widely seen as a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister’s ability to win a good deal for Britain when he renegotiates its membership terms after the election.
    It would echo the warning by Douglas Carswell, the former Tory MP who defected to Ukip last week, who claimed Mr Cameron was not “serious” about EU reform and wanted to recommend voting to remain within the union. Mark Reckless, Tory MP for Rochester and Strood, told The Independent: “My election manifesto will confirm my view that we should leave the EU.”
    Other Eurosceptics predicted today that between 50 and 100 Conservative MPs would make the same pledge in their election material. A revolt on that scale would be almost impossible for Tory HQ to prevent.
    George Osborne’s attitude to the European Union has gone through an “unmistakable hardening”, leading him to wonder if Britain would be better off leaving, according to his biographer.
    The chancellor now also acknowledges that wanting to leave the EU has become a mainstream ambition, rather than something that obsesses a few on the fringe of his party, according to a new edition ofGeorge Osborne: The Austerity Chancellor, by Janan Ganesh ...
    According to Mr Ganesh, his views hardened after he came to office. “He remained a supporter of British membership and shook his head at the casualness with which some colleagues talked of exit. But he had arrived at two conclusions,” Mr Ganesh wrote. “The first was that exit was no longer unthinkable: a sequence of events leading to that end could be imagined, and it was not just the crazies and the bores who were enthused by this.
    “The second conclusion was that a large EU country outside of the eurozone was in an increasingly invidious position. The currency bloc was becoming the real decision-making crucible and voting weights were shifting in its favour on matters of vital British interest, such as banking.
    “Britain was one of the largest financial contributors to an organisation whose inner circle was doing its own thing. His mood on the subject varied, but, at his bleakest, he wondered whether such an arrangement could last.”
    There is no government in the Western world that would even contemplate an act so self-defeating, so short-termist, and so barbarically contemptuous of the rights of the population. That is why all three main parties have correctly ruled out expansion of Heathrow airport, in the form of a third runway.
    So it is mystifying and depressing to learn that some in Whitehall want to use the cover provided by Sir Howard Davies to effect a colossal U-turn: by announcing that this option is back on the agenda – for consideration post May 2015.
    He also says that, under his plans for a new airport in the Thames estuary, “an Orly-style airport” (ie, a small one) could remain at Heathrow. Previously he seemed to advocate closing Heathrow completely. (His new stance may have something to do with his decision to seek the nomination to stand as the Tory candidate in Uxbridge, where Heathrow is the major employer.)
    Senior Lib Dem Danny Alexander recently announced the party wants to persuade the Tories to axe the hated levy before next year’s election.
    But Shadow Work Secretary Rachel Reeves last night said they should work with Labour to end it now.
    David Davis, the Conservative MP and a friend of Andrew Mitchell’s, says today’s “plebgate” report is damning. He told me:
    What we have got here is evidence of industrial-scale dishonesty. There was clear collusion. The Met try to avoid the word conspiracy, but there is clear evidence of collusion, and an attempt to do harm to the elected government of the day.
    He also says that the report also contains some evidence suggesting that there was a premeditated plot to undermine Mitchell. The Met do not draw this conclusion, but Davis says the report includes text messages sent by one of the diplomatic protection officers on duty at Downing Street on the night of the incident that would be open to this interpretation.
    About 20 minutes before Mitchell’s altercation with an officer at the Number 10 gates, the officer sent a text to his partner saying:
    Sorting out what could turn into a major prob lol not for me though x
    Later, after the incident, he sent her another message:
    Done what I can’t do now so it’s up to segts to sort it out in the morning lol x
    And the following day he sent her a message saying:
    One of the cabinet government ministers that I’ve had a run in with before got ump with being told to use pedestrian gate with his pedal cycle, told one of our guys ‘you don’t run the country we do your all a punch of fucking Plebs
    Updated
    The Sun’s Tom Newton Dunn, who broke the original “plebgate” story, claims that this video is particularly significant.
    That’s because it seems to confirm PC Toby Rowland’s claim that members of the public passing the Downing Street gates were visibly shocked by Andrew Mitchell’s behaviour.
    The main Met report also provides some new detail about Andrew Mitchell’s previous altercations with the police about access to Number 10. This is from a summary of the statement provided by an (unnamed) former head of security and business continuity at Number 10, “civil servant 2”.
    Civil Servant 2 stated there were very few incidents or issues about entry to Downing Street but is aware of two occasions when Andrew Mitchell MP was inconvenienced when trying to enter the road for cabinet meetings.
    The first was between March 2011 and May 2011. Mr Mitchell stated that he was unhappy that he had been to the back gate of the ‘L’ shaped road and been denied entry and sent to the front gate. At the time Mr Mitchell was Secretary of State for International Development. He stated that he did not wish to make a big deal of the incident but didn’t want to see it repeated. Civil Servant 2 believed that Mr Mitchell used the word ‘fucking’ in the conversation but this was in relation to the incident and was not aimed at an individual. Civil Servant 2 believed he said something like ‘they should have fucking known who I am’. The language did not bother Civil Servant 2 as it was not aimed at him.
    The second incident was between May and June 2011 and was again at the back gate of Downing Street. A Cabinet Minister had been let through with his protection officers but Mr Mitchell on his bike was refused access. Mr Mitchell was deeply unhappy about the refusal and stated that ‘if it happens again tell them I’ll write to the Commissioner and make a formal complaint;’ he pointed out that this was the second occasion and it was ‘becoming ridiculous’. Again Mr Mitchell swore but Civil Servant 2 could understand his frustration.
    In the autumn of 2011 it was decided that cyclists should not go through the front gate. This was for security reasons. Though this policy was written down Civil Servant 2 expected the officers based at Downing Street to exercise their discretion and judge each situation on its merits.
    Here’s the Guardian story from my colleague Nicholas Watt about the “plebgate” reports. And here’s how it starts.
    An armed Metropolitan police officer who was on duty in Downing Street on the night of the so called Plebgate incident involving the former chief whip Andrew Mitchell texted a colleague two days later to say that she could “topple the Tory government”.
    The text is published in a lengthy report by the Metropolitan police into Operation Alice, its investigation into the incident in Downing Street on 19 September 2012, which ended Mitchell’s cabinet career. The Met has also released CCTV footage of the incident.
    Deputy assistant commissioner Patricia Gallan, who was in charge of the Operation Alice investigation, said that allegations that officers had conspired to falsify statements had “damaged public trust and confidence in us”.
    And the report also reveals that PC Gillian Weatherley, who sent a picture of PC Rowland’s “plebgate” email to a colleague who gave it to the Sun, boasted about being able to “topple” the government.
    On 21st September 2012 at 6:50pm, a text message was sent from PC Weatherley’s mobile phone number to Officer 18 that read, ‘This will make you feel better, I’m the officer that stopped the chief whip leaving Downing St in Wednesday. He didn’t swear at me but Toby that let him out the side gate. I could topple the Tory government x’ (SIC).
    Here’s the key document - the 56-page Met report into the “plebgate” affair (pdf).
    It summarises all the evidence exhaustively but - rather frustratingly - does not pass judgement on the key allegation at the centre of the story: that Andrew Mitchell told a police officer at the gates of Downing Street: “You’re fucking plebs.”
    Mitchell, who resigned as chief whip over the allegation, continues to deny this very strongly. But the officer who made the allegation, PC Toby Rowland, was not subject to any criminal prosecution or misconduct proceedings. The Met report says there was insufficient evidence to justify taking action against him.
    Here are extracts from the report about the Met’s interview with Rowland.
    PC Rowland was interviewed twice under Police Misconduct Regulations in relation to Mr Mitchell’s allegations that he did not use the phrases which PC Rowland attributed to him in his report.
    On the first occasion, PC Rowland repeated the events as written in his pocket book and email. He said, ‘Whilst on duty there, at that post, I was dealing with a person entering via the front pedestrian gate to Downing Street regarding an ongoing function that was happening. On my return to the main vehicle gates I saw a male who later identified himself as the Government Chief Whip and who I subsequently confirmed was Mr Andrew Mitchell. He was stationary on a pedal cycle speaking to PC Weatherley. Mr Mitchell was demanding to be let out of the vehicle gates into Whitehall. I explained to Mr Mitchell that he must use the pedestrian gates. I repeatedly said to Mr Mitchell, “I’m more than happy to open the side pedestrian gate for you sir, but its policy that we are not to allow cycles from the main vehicle entrance”. I further added that if the policy changed I was more than happy to allow use of the vehicle gates, but up to that point that he must use the pedestrian gates.’
    Mr Mitchell repeatedly stated he was the Chief Whip and he would use the main vehicle gates but on being told that no other officer would open the gates for him he went to the side pedestrian gate with PC Rowland. As they neared the gates PC Rowland could see as usual several members of the public directly in front of the fence opposite the pedestrian gate. As they got to the gate, Mr Mitchell said ‘Best you learn your fucking place, you don’t run this fucking Government, you’re fucking plebs’. PC Rowland said he could see that several members of the public were visibly shocked by this outburst and that he was alarmed by this abuse directed at him by a senior member of the government and the language used. PC Rowland said to Mr Mitchell, ‘Please don’t swear at me sir, if you continue to, I will have no option but to arrest you under the Public Order Act”. Mr Mitchell remained quiet, but as he cycled off said, “You haven’t heard the last of this”’
    PC Rowland went on to describe that he thought Mr Mitchell appeared agitated and that he was demanding to be let through the gates. He said that the officers were calm and polite throughout their dealings with Mr Mitchell and that the reasons for not opening the main gates for him were explained.
    PC Rowland said that they were quite close to each other when Mr Mitchell swore at him and that he was adamant that Mr Mitchell had used the words, ’Best you learn your fucking place, you don’t run this fucking Government, you’re fucking plebs.’ PC Rowland said that he wasn’t familiar with the word ‘pleb’ prior to this incident.
    PC Rowland was asked why he had warned Mr Mitchell under the Public Order Act and said, ‘Because he was swearing in a public place where there were members of the public who showed a visible reaction to that and whilst I am aware that under the Public Order Act you don’t have to warn, I think it’s the right thing to do, to warn someone that they adjust their behaviour and if they can do that then I’ve done my job.’ PC Rowland was asked to describe the members of the public in more detail but was unable to.
    PC Rowland was asked about his perception of Mr Mitchell saying, ’You haven’t heard the last of this,’ and said that he thought he would make a complaint to the police senior management or Downing Street ....
    In the second interview, PC Rowland was shown the Downing Street CCTV footage in detail and he was asked to talk through what had happened and exactly where the exchange with Mr. Mitchell took place. He gave a full account and stated that Mr. Mitchell began swearing at him as they were on the pavement walking towards the inside and shortly before they reached the pedestrian gate. PC Rowland gave Mr. Mitchell a public order warning as he opened the gate, after Mr. Mitchell swore at him. Mr. Mitchell then said, ‘You haven’t heard the last of this’ from outside the gate.
    PC Rowland was asked to point out on the CCTV which members of the public were the ones which he quoted in his notes as being ‘visibly shocked.’ He indicated that it was the male with the rucksack, who appeared to follow the officer and Mr Mitchell as he exited the gate. PC Rowland said he had looked this male in the eyes and at the same time he was aware of the two female members of the public seen walking towards Trafalgar Square. It was pointed out that these two people appear to be looking away from the incident toward the camera and their attention was not on Mr Mitchell. PC Rowland said that he had looked out as Mr Mitchell was swearing and had seen these people in his ‘periphery vision’ and perceived their reaction. He formed the opinion he needed to warn Mr Mitchell about his behaviour; ‘I remember making eye con. I remember thinking at that moment I’m going to have to do something’. He maintained that this was his perception of the events as they happened in real time ...
    PC Rowland’s recall during the second interview was limited in places, particularly around his movements on his return to Apex House but his recollections around the incident central to this enquiry remain unchanged. His account is supported by the notes/report that he completed very soon after the incident.
    Mr Mitchell’s aide memoir was first drafted between 12th and 18th November 2012. In this he admits to swearing in his conversation with PC Rowland and acknowledged that the officer warned him about his behaviour. In the course of the enquiry, a number police officers came forward to give statements about occasions where Mr Mitchell has been rude or abrupt.
    Mr Mitchell said in his own statement that as he was exiting the pedestrian gate of Downing Street that, ‘I think I said that I would pursue this matter further the next day.’ However, Sir Jeremy Heywood said in his statement that when he met with Andrew Mitchell, ‘he denied threatening the officer with words such as you haven’t heard the last of this’.
    Here’s an extract from the covering note released by the Metropolitan police explaining why four officers were dismissed from the police over “plebgate”.
    Keith Wallis was sentenced to 12 months in prison on 6 February following his conviction for misconduct in a public office. Wallis was dismissed from the MPS without notice on 26 February.
    On that same day, James Glanville was also dismissed after evidence that on 20 September he passed information about the incident to the Sun newspaper.
    Glanville later provided the newspaper a photograph of an email sent by PC Toby Rowland to his supervisors, which Glanville got from Gillian Weatherley who had been on duty at Downing Street that night. He subsequently lied about his actions in statements given to detectives from the Alice team.
    On 30 April Gillian Weatherley was dismissed, after evidence was found that on 20 September she spoke to James Glanville about the incident the night before and went on to send him a photograph of an email sent by PC Toby Rowland to his supervisors via a multi media text message. The pair, Weatherley and Glanville, went on to exchange 12 text messages over the course of 20 - 22 September all of which she deleted.
    Gillian Weatherley subsequently gave inaccurate and misleading statements to the detectives from the Operation Alice team.
    Susan Johnson was dismissed on 20 May, after evidence was found that a person closely connected to her contacted the Sun newspaper on 20 September, and that around that time the two exchanged text messages and a phone call.
    The team found further evidence that later that same day Keith Wallis emailed Susan Johnson a copy of the email that he had sent to his MP falsely claiming to have witnessed the incident at Downing Street. Keith Wallis then went on to tell Susan Johnson that on 25 September he had had a meeting with his MP. At no time did she report the matter to a senior officer.
    On 23 May the gross misconduct panel in the case of a PC from the Diplomatic Protection found the case against him not proven. It was alleged that the PC had lied to the operation Alice investigation team by providing them with a statement to say he had not spoken to PC Keith Wallis, since March 2012.
    Two officers were subject to local misconduct in relation to statements they provided to the investigation team or inappropriate comments and have received final written warnings.
    I’m having problems uploading the new Met material. Until I can find it, I can’t tell how significant it is.
    The Met have also released some new video of the plebgate incident. Here it is.
    The Metropolitan police have just released documents about their inquiry into “plebgate”.
    I will post details as soon as I get them.

    Tory MP Sir Tony Baldry standing down

    Another Conservative MP has announced he’s standing down. It’s Sir Tony Baldry.
    But Labour won’t be able to depict him as another backbencher worried about his prospects of re-election. Baldry has been MP for Banbury since 1983 and had a 18,227 majority at the last election.
    Here’s Baldry’s full statement.
    Updated
    Chris Kelly has spoken to his local paper, the Express and Star. He did not tell them why he was standing down, but he did say that he was wishing Douglas Carswell “all the best” - which sounded rather like an expression of support for Carswell’s Ukip candidature in the forthcoming Clacton byelection.
    Here’s the quote from Kelly.
    I won’t be joining UKIP, though I wish Douglas Carswell all the best. He has been a superb MP and it’s honourable to stand for re-election.
    Kelly was one of the 81 Tory MPs who rebelled in 2011 and supported an in/out referendum in the Commons (before David Cameron had embraced the idea).
    Here’s Michael Dugher, the shadow minister for the Cabinet Office, on Chris Kelly’s decision to stand down.
    Another Tory MP is giving up on David Cameron, who can’t even persuade his newest MPs that he has the answers. Confidence in the prime minister is collapsing even inside his own party, with MPs formerly loyal to David Cameron throwing in the towel rather than fighting on.
    Hardworking people desperately need a government which will deal with the cost-of-living crisis. Instead we have a weak Prime Minister and a divided Tory Party turning in on itself.

    Tory MP in marginal seat announces he is standing down

    Chris Kelly, the Conservative MP for Dudley South, has announced that he is standing down at the next election. He was only elected to parliament in 2010.
    He broke the news in a statement on his blog which says he is proud to have been the constituency MP but which does not offer an explanation for his departure.
    But this might. It’s the Wikipedia page for the constituency, and it shows that his majority in 2010 was just 3,856. In a list of Labour target seats published earlier this year, Lewis Baston put Dudley South at number 74. It’s just above the target that Ed Miliband would have to hit to gain an overall majority (67).
    According to Labour, Kelly is the ninth member of the 2010 Tory intake to announce that he’s standing down.

    Garnier says government should be 'very careful' about new terror crackdown

    Sir Edward Garnier
    Sir Edward Garnier Photograph: BBC News
    On the Today programme this morning Sir Edward Garnier, the Conservative former solicitor general, said the government already had the power to take away passports from people planning to travel abroad to take part in jihadist activity. Referring to reports that Cameron will announce measures to impose a temporary ban on jihadists returning to the UK, Garnier suggested this was unwise.
    Whether that’s practical and whether that’s wise is another matter. We do have to consider what can be done, but also what can be done within the law. Parliament can pass any law it likes, but the government is bound by at least two UN conventions on statelessness and it seems to me that the Government already has many laws in its locker which it can use.”
    I think we need to be very careful. We need to do an audit of the laws that we have and the laws that we don’t have, and make sure that we don’t simply, during the course of the next weeks or months, pass new laws which simply replicate existing laws.
    Welcome back everyone. I hope you all had a good summer.
    MPs are back in the Commons today after their summer recess and they are going to get a statement from David Cameron about a package of anti-terror measures the government is implementing in response to the increased threat posed by the success of Islamic State (Isis) in Iraq and Syria. In his statement at the opening of his press conference on Friday, Cameron insisted this was not a “knee jerk” reaction or a bid to “dream up some sweeping new power that would be ineffective in practice”, but instead a measured attempt to plug “some gaps in our armoury”.
    Today we’ll be able to assess whether that’s a fair description.
    Some details of the government’s package have already emerged, although negotiations within the coalition about the final details are said to be continuing this morning. My colleague Nicholas Watt has the details in today’s Guardian story. These are the key elements.
    • A temporary ban on British jihadists returning to Britain.
    • Measures to tighten terrorism prevention and investigation measures (Tpims).
    • Measures to make it easier for the intelligence agencies to get information about airline passengers
    • More cooperation with Turkey and Germany with a view to preventing jihadists returning to the UK.
    This morning Sir Edward Garnier, the Conservative former solicitor general, suggested the plan to impose a temporary ban on jihadists returning to the UK was unwise. I will post his comments in detail shortly.
    I will be covering the Cameron plans, and the reaction to them, in detail.
    But I will also be looking in some detail at the Metropolitan police’s report into the “plebgate” affair, and John Bercow’s statement on the Commons clerk appointment.
    Here’s the agenda for the day.
    11am: Number 10 lobby briefing
    11am: Metropolitan police release their report into the Andrew Mitchell “plebgate” affair.
    1pm: Alistair Darling, head of the Better Together campaign, gives a speech on the impact Scottish independence would have on families.
    2.35pm: John Bercow, the Commons Speaker, is expected to make a statement to MPs about the appointment of the new Commons clerk.
    3.30pm: David Cameron makes a statement to MPs about the government’s new anti-terror measures.
    Around 5pm: Theresa May, the home secretary, is expected to make a statement about the Rotherham child abuse scandal.
    As usual, I will also be flagging up any breaking political news, posting summaries with a round-up of all the day’s developments, and highlighting the most interesting political articles on the web.
    If you want to follow me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
    • copy http://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live
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