Newslinks for Tuesday 22nd April 2025

Tories push to abolish Non-Crime Hate Incidents and end policing of free speech

“Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has demanded that Keir Starmer “stop hiding behind weasel words” and back her amendment to end the use of woke Non-Crime Hate Incidents. The Conservatives have announced they will table an amendment to the Government’s Crime & Policing Bill that would put an end to police forces in Britain investigating and or making arrests for incidents where someone could have caused offence but not broken the law. The use of Non-Crime Hate Incidents by the police has surged in recent years, with forces averaging around 13,000 per year. NCHIs are used by the police to collect information on ‘hate incidents’ that do not cross the threshold into being a crime, but could suggest the individual may be likely to escalate into more serious offence in future” – Daily Express

• Woke ‘Offensive’- Cops must be banned from recording so-called ‘non-crime hate incidents’, demand Tories – The Sun
• Tories vow to scrap non-crime hate incidents – Daily Telegraph
• Scrap non-crime hate incidents to protect free speech, Tories say – The Times

Reform predict local election wins will see Farage’s party be largest on the right

“More than 13 million people are eligible to vote in next month’s English local elections – and their verdict could help shape British politics for years to come.Nigel Farage is the leader aiming highest, insisting that his ultimate aim is for Reform UK to supplant the Conservatives as the leading force on the right and as the main opposition to Labour. With Kemi Badenoch struggling to make an impact as Tory leader, the omens are good for Reform as it consistently runs Labour close in national opinion polls, leaving the Conservatives limping behind in a poor third. Whether those hypothetical levels of support are translated into real votes will be tested on 1 May, as well as at the Runcorn and Helsby parliamentary by-election the same day. And if some of the wilder forecasts of Reform and Labour figures are borne out, the county hall contests from Cornwall to Northumberland could mark the beginning of the biggest shift in British politics for decades with the Tories ultimately ousted as the UK’s dominant party of the right. The stakes really are that high” – The i

>Today

Jenrick welcomes government move to force Home Office to publish migrant crime figures

“The nationalities of migrants with the highest rates of crime will be revealed in official league tables for the first time under plans due to be announced by the Government on Tuesday. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, has ordered officials to publish the first detailed breakdown of offences committed by foreign criminals living in the UK while awaiting deportation. Albanians, Romanians and Poles are expected to be among the worst offenders for crimes including violence, robbery, theft and drug dealing. Mr Jenrick, who first called for the data to be published, welcomed the move, saying: “Following over a year of pressure from campaigners, including my own attempt to change the law, it appears that there’s been a breakthrough. The British public deserve the truth about migrant crime and the costs of low-skilled immigration,” he said.” – Daily Telegraph

• Major supermarket opens Britain’s first ‘in-prison’ convenience store for inmates inside UK’s largest jail – Daily Mail
• ‘Arm us’ – Prison officers demand power to use Tasers in UK’s toughest jails after Manchester bomb plotter attacked staff – The Sun
• Prevent scheme ‘fails to tackle terrorism funded by organised crime’ – The Times

Shadow Chancellor criticises PM for staying silent over pensioner petition

“Sir Keir Starmer has been condemned for snubbing Britain’s elderly after he arrogantly refused to respond to a petition pleading for pensioners not to be dragged into paying tax. Four weeks ago, the campaign group Silver Voices delivered a major petition to No 10 warning the Prime Minister and Chancellor Rachel Reeves that taxing the state pension would be a “fundamental mistake”… the petition received a whopping 115,000 signatures before being delivered to Sir Keir’s front door in Downing Street. Support has since grown to 125,000. However, a whole month later, neither the Prime Minister nor the Chancellor have responded.” – Daily Express

Comment

• Pensioners deserve better than their treatment by Labour – Mel Stride Daily Express

Chancellor travels to IMF meeting in US amid hopes of a trade deal but jitters in US stocks

“Rachel Reeves will fly to Washington this week to argue for global free trade in the face of Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs, amid continued international economic turbulence. The UK chancellor will use the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund, which is attended by top finance ministers and central bankers, to make the case that free trade is in both British and global interests. One senior official said: “We’re facing a new economic reality, but we’re a heavily trading country, with the value of our exports the equivalent of 60% of GDP, so it’s always in our own interests to promote free trade.” Reeves will urge the Trump administration to cut punitive tariffs on UK car and steel exports and step up negotiations for a trade deal when she meets the US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, for the first time, allies said.” – Guardian

• Hopes rise of US trade deal ‘within a month’ as Reeves heads for Washington- The i
• China sends grim warning to all countries doing deals with Trump – Daily Express
• US stock markets fall again as Trump calls Fed chair ‘a major loser’ – Guardian
• US markets fall as Donald Trump attacks Fed chairman Jerome Powell – The Times
• Fresh Trump markets turmoil as Reeves heads to Washington – The Telegraph
• US stocks and dollar sink as Donald Trump renews attacks on Fed chair Jay Powell – FT
• Starmer close to EU arms deal — at the expense of fishermen – The Times
• Finance bosses bet on London amid US market jitters – City AM
• Donald Trump’s state visit in chaos as Labour MPs try to block speech – Daily Express
• Starmer risks Labour MP rebellion if Trump addresses Parliament on ‘stupid’ state visit – The i

New data reveals how much directors of Quangos cost, and what tax payers get for it

“A quango boss was paid £145,000 to sit on the boards of nine government bodies but missed one in four meetings, analysis has revealed. Martin Spencer was a non-executive board member of Ofsted, Companies House, the NHS Counter Fraud Authority and the Criminal Cases Review Commission, among others. He sat on more quango boards in 2022-23 than any other individual in the public sector, holding nine such positions, the TaxPayers’ Alliance said. The total remuneration for his roles was £145,000, according to the think tank, despite his missing 18 of the 65 meetings he was eligible to attend. It is not known why Mr Spencer did not attend the meetings, which took place over the course of the 2022-23 financial year.” – Daily Telegraph

• UK spends £125m on salaries for quangocrats as waste spirals – Daily Express

World wide tributes paid to Pope Francis who died on Easter Monday, including message from the King and Queen

“The Vatican said that the Pope had “returned to the house of the Father” as it announced his death at the age of 88 on Easter Monday. The pontiff, who had struggled for weeks to recover from double pneumonia, died of a stroke followed by irreversible heart failure, officials confirmed on Monday night. Tributes poured in from around the world and mourners began to gather at the Vatican as cardinals prepared to place the Pope’s body in St Peter’s Basilica before a funeral that is set to be attended by heads of state from around the world. The King led tributes in Britain, saying that he and the Queen were “most deeply saddened” by Francis’s death only 12 days after they visited him at the Vatican. The Union flag was lowered to half mast at royal residences after the news broke.” – The Times

• ‘He was the people’s pontiff’: Pope dies from stroke and heart failure – Daily Telegraph
• Weeping mourners come together at vigils across the globe for Pope Francis in the wake of his death aged 88 – as Vatican confirms pontiff’s final wishes – Daily Mail
• Tributes pour in after pontiff’s death – Guardian
• Pope Francis cause of death revealed as Vatican issues statement – Daily Express

Comment

• The Pope dodged the culture wars. His successor won’t have that option – Fraser Nelson The Times

News in brief

• The Francis effect. A complicated man and a complicated legacy – Luke Coppen Spectator
• The mystery of Pope Francis. Intrigue surrounded the late pontiff – Unherd
• Gender-critical women do not lack empathy – Victoria Smith The Critic
• How jihadis lost their aura – Luca Watson The Critic