The late Queen was “very keen” for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to take on a “prominent role in the promotion of national interests”. a senior official told the then-foreign secretary before he was appointed trade envoy in 2001. The Press Association says:
double quotation mark In a memo addressed to Robin Cook dated 25 February 2000. then-chief executive of British Trade International Sir David Wright said Queen Elizabeth II’s “wish” had been for Andrew, then the Duke of York, to take on the job.
Wright suggested the role would include some regional trips. two or three overseas visits each year, as well as a “leading trade mission from time to time”.
He said: “Finally, we would want the Duke of York to be available to receive prominent trade visitors from overseas here in London. perhaps act as host at meals or receptions as appropriate.”
The senior official said he “did not envisage that the Duke of York would want to be burdened with the regularity of meetings of the board of British Trade International or the burden of paper. goes along with the board membership”.
He added: “We would nonetheless ensure that he was kept in touch with board developments and issues.”
The memo has been released today as part of a trove of files related to Andrew’s appointment to the post, which gave him access to senior government. business contacts around the world.
The former duke faces accusations of sharing sensitive information with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein while acting as a special representative for trade. investment between 2001 and 2011.
It came after the Liberal Democrats tabled a humble address in parliament calling for the publication of papers on Andrew’s role, including any vetting. any correspondence from disgraced former ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson.
The list of Commons written statements due to be released includes one from the Department of Business. Trade entitled “Return to the Humble Address on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor”.
James Cleverly. the shadow housing secretary, is keen to take credit for today’s fall in net immigration figures – even though the official response from his party implies his policies did not help much. (See 10.18am.) He says:
double quotation mark Some people talked about reducing net migration, I did something about reducing net migration.
Chris Osuh is a Guardian community affairs correspondent.
Youth custody rates were slashed by a Ministry of Justice-funded project in which children were placed in residential settings while awaiting trial. research from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) has found.
This week the government set out plans to overhaul the youth justice system. including a commitment to reduce the use of custodial remand for children by 25%.
The Greater Manchester Alternative to Custodial Remand pilot explored whether the number of children being held on secure remand could be reduced by youth justice teams pooling their budgets,. informs the government’s plans for reform.
The project, led by Manchester Met’s Centre for Crime. Youth Justice, meant children could be placed in local authority accommodation – including a property that was designed to feel domestic but was secure, staffed and with access to support – instead of a typical custodial setting.
The number of children on remand in Greater Manchester fell from a monthly peak of 18 in April 2024 to just one in January 2026. saving £3m, researchers said.
Prof Hannah Smithson, professor of criminology and youth justice at MMU’s Centre for Crime and Youth Justice, said:
double quotation mark This groundbreaking pilot has shown the importance of effective alternatives to custodial remand for children. the majority of whom were not given custodial sentences after being held in custody on remand.
Our evaluation comes at an important time for youth justice. directly speaks to the proposals in the government’s new youth justice white paper. It demonstrates how a regional pooled funding approach, alongside small-scale, highly supervised residential settings, can support more equitable. child-centred youth justice practice.
The Tax Justice UK campaign has welcomed Wes Streeting’s call for capital gains tax rates to be aligned with income tax rates. Its executive director, Faiza Shaheen, says:
double quotation mark It is only right that wealth should be taxed at the same rate as work because at the moment. if you make your money from assets like shares or property, the system has been designed to give you a sweet deal compared to everyone else.
In a de-facto leadership contest where candidates need to win support, advocating for higher taxes on wealth is a win-win. It’s popular and it is a concrete way to build a fairer economy.
This also needs to extend to an annual wealth tax on the very richest that generates tens of billions of pounds to invest in affordable homes, cheaper bills. making the country work for everyone.
Here is Alexandra Topping ’s story about Streeting’s comments.
But economists aren’t impressed by the former health secretary’s intervention.
These are from Helen Miller, director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
double quotation mark @TheIFS we’ve long made case for wholesale CGT reform
Important: raising revenue & avoiding reducing investment requires reform of tax base.
Always good to see politicians picking up our ideas. You can read about the why & how of reform here https://ifs.org.uk/publications/capital-gains-tax-reform 2 notes:.
double quotation mark Simply raising rates would not raise big sums of revenue (it could easily lose money). would reduce investment
double quotation mark It’s unclear to me what this would mean in practice; “reward genuine entrepreneurship, with lower CGT rates for those who take real risks building companies. creating job”
A key difficulty is that it’s very hard to know in advance who the ‘genuine entrepreneurs ‘ are.
And this is from Rupert Harrison, who was chief of staff to George Osborne when he was chancellor.
double quotation mark And yet every time a new Labour team gets into the Treasury. asks about this idea they will be told the data clearly shows it would actually result in lower tax revenues, and they won’t do it.
We are pretty much at the revenue maximising rates for capital gains tax.
And this isn’t because of avoidance schemes, it’s mainly just that people would defer selling assets or possibly move overseas.
To justify his claim that aligning capital gains tax with income tax could raise up to £12bn a year. Streeting has cited research from the Centre for Analysis of Taxation (CenTax).
The late Queen was “very keen” for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to take on a “prominent role in the promotion of national interests”. a senior official told the then-foreign secretary before he was appointed trade envoy in 2001. The Press Association says:
double quotation mark In a memo addressed to Robin Cook dated 25 February 2000. then-chief executive of British Trade International Sir David Wright said Queen Elizabeth II’s “wish” had been for Andrew, then the Duke of York, to take on the job.
Wright suggested the role would include some regional trips. two or three overseas visits each year, as well as a “leading trade mission from time to time”.
He said: “Finally, we would want the Duke of York to be available to receive prominent trade visitors from overseas here in London. perhaps act as host at meals or receptions as appropriate.”
The senior official said he “did not envisage that the Duke of York would want to be burdened with the regularity of meetings of the board of British Trade International or the burden of paper. goes along with the board membership”.
He added: “We would nonetheless ensure that he was kept in touch with board developments and issues.”
The memo has been released today as part of a trove of files related to Andrew’s appointment to the post, which gave him access to senior government. business contacts around the world.
The former duke faces accusations of sharing sensitive information with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein while acting as a special representative for trade. investment between 2001 and 2011.
It came after the Liberal Democrats tabled a humble address in parliament calling for the publication of papers on Andrew’s role, including any vetting. any correspondence from disgraced former ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson.
The list of Commons written statements due to be released includes one from the Department of Business. Trade entitled “Return to the Humble Address on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor”.
In the Commons we have already had an urgent question on costs for motorists. Rachel Reeeves, the chancellor, is giving a statement later,. the speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, seems to have granted the UQ in part because he was particularly annoyed that the government briefed yesterday about a change to mileage rules – even though Keir Starmer did not mention that when he told MPs the fuel duty freeze was being extended.
Hoyle may have been angered by this item in Politico’s London Playbook this morning.
double quotation mark Playbook hears that Reeves is expected to announce a rise in mileage rates (the 45p a mile that employers pay employees in expenses for using their car for business travel). which haven’t been lifted for 15 years. Key unions have been campaigning on that one for yonks, since social care workers are among those affected,. the Treasury launched a review in March. There is a conspicuously titled “transport taxation update” written statement due out later.
Alan Campbell, the leader of the Commons, is currently taking business questions.
After 12.15pm we are getting three statements: Reeves on the cost of living; then Hamish Falconer, a Foreign Office minister, on the Middle East;. finally Chris Bryant, the trade minister, on the Andrew humble address documents.
Keir Starmer has released this statement on social media about the immigration figures.
double quotation mark Net migration has fallen 82%.
I promised to restore control to our borders. My government is delivering.
I know there’s more to do, we’re introducing a skills-based migration system that rewards contribution. ends our reliance on cheap overseas workers.
The Conservatives could argue. the fall in net immigration is largely the result of policies that they introduced before the 2024 election. But. rather than make this argument, Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, prefers to argue that immigration is still too high. (See 10.18am.)
The late queen was “very keen” for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to take on a “prominent role in the promotion of national interests”. then-chief executive of British Trade International Sir David Wright said in a memo to then-foreign secretary Robin Cook dated February 2000, the Press Association reports.
The government is today publishing 11 documents relating to Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment as a trade envoy.
Chris Bryant, the trade minister, has released a written statement about the release of the documents.
The IPPR. a left-leaning thinktank, says today’s immigration figures suggest the government does not need to press ahead with plans to toughen the rules governing legal migration.
In a statement, Marley Morris, the IPPR’s associate director for migration, trade and communities, said:
double quotation mark Today’s figures show that migration has fallen sharply. while the asylum system is beginning to function more effectively after a period of strain. The government has made notable progress since the start of the year in closing asylum hotels.
This should prompt a more measured debate. An excessively tough approach now runs the risk of making policy for the pressures of three years ago. rather than the reality of today.
Public concern about migration has been driven by a sense that the system was not under control. The figures suggest that is changing, but there is still work to do.
The focus now should be on the parts of the system that still need fixing: tackling small boat crossings, closing remaining asylum hotels,. speeding up appeals. The priority should be to build a fair, well-managed immigration system that supports the economy. public services, not a race to push numbers ever lower.
Morris was referring to the government’s plans to significantly increase the amount of time migrants have to wait until they can get indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
The Home Office has also published asylum figures this morning. These show that the number of asylum seekers being housed temporarily in hotels stood at 20,885 at the end of March 2026. down 35% year-on-year from 32,326. The Press Association says:
double quotation mark It is the lowest figure since data was first reported in 2022, Home Office figures show.
The total had climbed as high as 56,018 at the end of September 2023.
The Labour government has pledged to end the use of hotels for asylum seekers by the next election.
The Conservatives are saying non-EU immigration remains “far too high”. This is what Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, is saying in his response to the net immigration figures.
double quotation mark Brits are leaving on a massive scale and non-EU immigration remains far too high. Mass immigration undermines our society and low wage immigration is bad for the economy. British families feel it in lower wages, longer waiting lists for public services and housing shortages.
Labour must go further and reform indefinite leave to remain before their hard-left flank forces them to abandon it altogether.
The next Conservative government will introduce a binding annual immigration cap at a very low level, close the loopholes that let temporary visa holders stay indefinitely. tighten and extend the conditions for ILR. We want a small number of highly skilled migrants and no low-skilled migration at all. But sadly, Labour do not have the backbone to do any of it.
Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, has said the immigration figures shows the government is making “real progress” on border controls. In a statement, she said:
double quotation mark Net migration has fallen by 82% in just three years.
We will always welcome those who contribute to this country and wish to build a better life here. But we must restore order and control to our borders.
As these statistics show, real progress has been made, but there is still work to do. That is why I am introducing a skills-based migration system that rewards contribution. ends Britain’s reliance on cheap overseas workers.
The sharp fall in the net immigration figures is largely a result of tougher rules for work visas. student visas, originally introduced by James Cleverly when he was home secretary in the Conservative government, and then mostly kept in place by Labour.
Here is a chart from the ONS report indicating this.
Net immigration has been falling for at least the past two years. But many people wrongly believe the opposite. according to new research from the British Future thinktank, published before today’s ONS figures came out. (See 9.44am.) Geneva Abdul has the story.
Here is the British Future report.
And this chart from the report shows that it is Reform UK. Conservative party supporters most likely to think, wrongly, that net immigration has been going up.
Net migration to the UK stood at an estimated 171,000 in the year to December 2025. down nearly a half (48%) from 331,000 in the previous 12 months, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The Press Association says:
double quotation mark It is the lowest figure since early 2021, when the post-Brexit immigration system was introduced. Covid-19 travel restrictions were still in place.
Net migration is the difference between the number of people moving long-term to the UK. the number of people leaving the country.
An estimated 813,000 people immigrated to the UK in the year to June while 642,000 emigrated.
The continued fall in net migration is being driven by fewer people from outside the EU arriving in the UK for work. the ONS said.
Matthew England from the Hansard Society has a list of all 20 MPs who won the chance to bring in a private member’s bill. listed according to whethere they were for or against assisted dying.
Here is the list of 20 MPs who won the right to introduce a private member’s bill in the ballot held this morning. The list is in order, with Desmond Swayne in first place. Although 20 MPs can introduce a bill. only the people in the top seven are guaranteed a full day for their second reading debate, which means they are the MPs with the best chance of having a bill that might eventually become law.
The top seven MPs winning the ballot are: Desmond Swayne (Conservative, New Forest West), Lauren Edwards (Labour, Rochester. Strood), Mike Wood (Conservative, Kingswinford and South Staffordshire), Andrew George (Liberal Democrats, St Ives), Luke Evans (Conservative, Hinckley and Bosworth), John Whittingdale (Conservative, Maldon), and Jessica Toale (Labour, Bournemouth West).
The other MPs on the list are: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative, Solihull West. Shirley), Gareth Snell (Labour, Stoke-on-Trent Central), Lincoln Jopp (Conservative, Spelthorne) Patricia Ferguson (Labour, Glasgow West), Robert Jenrick (Reform UK, Newark), Damian Hinds (Conservative, East Hampshire), Alistair Strathern (Labour, Hitchin), Clive Jones (Liberal Democrats, Wokingham), Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Louth and Horncastle), Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrats, Twickenham), Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrats, North Norfolk), Paul Foster (Labour, South Ribble), and David Pinto-Duschinsky (Labour, Hendon).
This is from my colleague Jessica Elgot.
double quotation mark NEW - Two assisted dying supporters have come second and fourth in the private members bill ballot
If they choose to take on the bill. it is possible it could still pass (but it is still very difficult)
Schools have become a “pipeline” to worklessness for a large cohort of young people in the UK. according to an influential former Labour adviser who has called for urgent action to help a “lost generation”. Alexandra Topping and Richard Partington have the story.
Good morning. It’s a big day for Rachel Reeves, the chancellor. In a Commons statement, she is announcing a series of measures to help people with the cost of living. She wants people to enjoy a “Great British summer”, she says. Reeves’s plan for what makes for a good summer is not quite the same as Samantha Niblett’s; the chancellor is talking about free bus travel for children, as Heather Stewart, Peter Walker. Sarah Butler report in their preview.
Reeves is speaking after 11.30am.
In the meantime, another Labour MP with ambitions to run the economy has been speaking out. Wes Streeting has given an interview to the BBC’s Nick Robinson for his Political Thinking podcast. he had a lot more to say about his policy agenda than he did in his resignation speech in the Commons yesterday. As the BBC reports, Streeting proposed a “wealth tax that works” – by which he means not what most people think of as a wealth tax (the Green party version – a tax on assets above a certain amount ),. instead aligning capital gains tax rates with income tax rates. Streeting said this proposal –. is broadly the same as one of the main proposals in the Labour Growth Group ’s report last week – could raise up to £12bn a year.
Lucy Rigby, the new chief secretary to the Treasury, was giving interviews this morning. Asked about Streeting’s proposal, she said she had not heard his interview, but she suggested Reeves was already taxing wealth. She told the Today programme:
double quotation mark We already tax wealth in this country. The chancellor introduced a host of measures in her first budget,. then further measures in the last budget as well, that try and make sure that tax is as progressive and fair as possible.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9am: Nusrat Ghani. a Commons deputy speaker, selects from a ballot the 20 MPs who will get a slot to bring forward a private member’s bill.
9.30am: The Office for National Statistics publishes figures for long-term migration into the UK. Separately, the Home Office publishes its quarterly asylum figures.
9.30am: Peter Kyle, the businesss secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
10.30am: Steve Reed, the communities secretary, gives a speech on “neighbourhood standards”. He is expected to suggest profits made by private providers of social care could be capped.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
After 11.30am: Rachel Reeves. the chancellor, makes a statement to MPs about measures to help people with the cost of living.
There are also 14 written statements coming today, of which at least two look particularly interesting. The government will publish information about the appointment of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as a trade envoy. in compliance with a Commons humble address. And Bridget Phillipson. the equalities minister, is publishing the long-awaited guidance on single sex spaces updated in the light of last year’s supreme court judgment on the meaning of the Equality Act.
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