Missed

Alan Johnson and David Blunkett say Tory proposal for a privileges committee inquiry is a ‘nakedly political stunt’Good morning. Kemi Badenoch is trying to get Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker, to give MPs a vote on a proposal to get the Commons privileges committee to investigate allegations that Keir Starmer lied to MPs in statements he made to them about the vetting of Peter Mandelson. Other opposition parties may be backing her, but we don’t know for sure because the process is relatively secret; MPs have to write a private letter to the speaker, who then decides whether this is a serious request that should be decided by the Commons as a whole, or a frivolous complaint that should be ignored. (We do know that Karl Turner has written to the speaker about this too, but only because he was daft enough to post his letter on social media last week.) Today we are likely to find out whether or not Hoyle is agreeing to a Commons vote.Boris Johnson was referred to the privileges committee over allegations that he lied to MPs about Partygate (allegations the committee concluded were justified). Badenoch wants to make the case that Starmer is just as dishonest as Johnson. He isn’t, by any stretch, and the claims that Starmer lied to MPs about Mandelson are spurious; they relate to contest intepretations of political language of the kind that are commonplace in parliamentary debate. But the fact that this has even become a live consideration for the speaker is a big win for the Tories.The fact that Kemi Badenoch has changed the accusations she is levelling against the PM on an almost daily basis as her claims have failed to stand up to scrutiny shows what this is really about. This is a nakedly political stunt with no substance ahead of the May elections.Any comparison with Boris Johnson is absurd. When parliament referred that matter to the privileges committee, a police investigation had directly disproved his categoric statements that he knew nothing about the breach of lockdown rules.I suppose our constituents might ask [if a privileges committee goes ahead], have we got the balance right between holding the government to account and seemingly squabbling amongst ourselves when there is so much else going on that perhaps parliament ought to be focusing on as well.I have to say, a really truthful position is, why the rush at the moment? Has it got anything to do with local elections? Continue reading...

• The Trump administration fired six immigration judges on Friday, including Judge Roopal Patel and Nina Froes, for dismissing high-profile deportation cases against international students involved in pro-Palestinian protests. • Patel ruled in January that there were no grounds to deport Turkish student Rümeysa Öztürk, targeted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio after her critical op-ed on Tufts University's Palestine stance; Froes ended proceedings against Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi in February. • The judges reported pressure from the administration to approve more deportations, as revealed in interviews with The New York Times.

Rapper ‘very thankful’ to be given chance to enter mental health diversion program after arrest in LA last yearA judge has allowed Lil Nas X to enter a mental health diversion program intended to lead to the dismissal of charges of attacking Los Angeles police officers.Judge Alan Schneider told the rapper and singer on Monday that if he sticks to his treatment program and obeys all laws for two years, his four felony counts will be dismissed. Continue reading...

US supreme court files brief order vacating lower court ruling that had upheld rightwing media host’s conviction Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxSteve Bannon, the rightwing media host and ally of Donald Trump, appears likely to have his criminal conviction dismissed.The US supreme court filed a brief order on Monday that vacated a lower court ruling that had upheld Bannon’s conviction and sent the case back to the US court of appeals for the DC circuit for “further consideration in light of the pending motion to dismiss the indictment”. The Trump administration had moved to dismiss Bannon’s conviction. Continue reading...

Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany were accused of lying on document used to enter Taylor’s house on night of shootingA federal judge has dismissed charges against two former Louisville police officers accused of falsifying the warrant used to enter Breonna Taylor’s apartment the night police shot her to death.Charles Simpson, a US district judge, issued a one-page ruling on Friday throwing out charges against Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany, two former officers involved in crafting the Taylor warrant. Continue reading...

London mayor could however join the House of Lords while still remaining in his current roleAllies of Sadiq Khan have dismissed reports the London mayor could join Keir Starmer’s cabinet after being made a peer, although it remains possible he could join the Lords while keeping his current job.Downing Street said reports that Khan could become a peer after crucial elections in May across England, Scotland and Wales were “speculation”, while a Labour source also declined to comment. Continue reading...

Some people are opting not to travel at all amid what they call ‘a manufactured crisis by the Trump administration’Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxPassengers across the US have had their travel plans upended by the latest Department of Homeland Security shutdown, which has triggered widespread staffing shortages at airports as security employees go weeks without pay.“We are returning from St Thomas, US Virgin Islands to Boston today and it took fully three hours to get through US customs. Absolutely insane,” Boston-based passenger John Hildebrandt told the Guardian. Continue reading...

Gia Lam should have been offered interpreter by medical team at Fairfield hospital, coroner’s court findsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA woman who died of sepsis three days after giving birth in western Sydney could have survived if her urinary tract infection (UTI) had been diagnosed, a coroner’s court has found.It also found the woman, who was born in Vietnam, should have been offered interpreter services so she could communicate better with medical experts. Continue reading...

Clare Dupree, 48, who had severe mental illness, died after using a vape to start blaze at prison in GloucestershireThere were “missed opportunities” that could have prevented the death of a woman with severe mental illness from “sustained inhalation of smoke” after a fire in her prison cell, an inquest has found.Clare Dupree, 48, from Cardiff, died after she used a vape to start a fire at HMP Eastwood Park in Gloucestershire just after Christmas 2022. Continue reading...

US based Covid vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant people on ideology instead of evidence, critics saySign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThere was scant data behind ending the Covid vaccine recommendation for pregnant people and children, according to internal memos made public because of a lawsuit against the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).The memos overlooked hundreds of studies on the benefits and safety of Covid vaccination and set the precedent for making changes to vaccine recommendations based on ideology instead of evidence, critics say. Continue reading...

SETI has spent decades listening for a sharp, well-defined radio signal that could indicate it was sent by distant intelligent life. Now researchers believe that space weather could distort and blur such signals – meaning SETI has been scanning for the wrong thing