Rishi Sunak refuses to repeat Suella Braverman’s declare ‘hurricane’ of migrants coming – Tory convention reside

Transport Secretary Mark Harper stated the choice to chop HS2 north of Birmingham “is in the interest of the country” as he shrugged off criticism from Tory former premiers David Cameron and Boris Johnson.

He advised Sky News: “They’re absolutely entitled to their opinion. I worked closely with both of them in government and was very proud to serve with them. But that was a number of years ago.

“The facts have changed, the costs of the project have escalated, the patterns of travel have changed post-pandemic.

“So this Government’s taken a different decision. The Prime Minister’s taken a different decision that he thinks and I think is in the interest of the country.”

Rishi Sunak declined to repeat Suella Braverman’s declare {that a} “hurricane” of mass migration is coming and dodged questions on whether or not she was proper to vilify individuals looking for emigrate to the UK as a part of an “invasion”.

The Home Secretary’s feedback in her Tory convention speech precipitated unease amongst some senior Conservatives.

Asked whether or not he agreed along with her phrases, the Prime Minister advised the BBC’s Today programme on Thursday: “Illegal migration is putting unsustainable pressure on our country and, for me, it is non-negotiable that it should be the British people who decide who comes to our country and not criminal gangs.

“I made a speech myself eight months ago about illegal migration. I pointed out the number of people who potentially could come to the UK, figures that have been mentioned by international organisations. That’s clearly unsustainable, which is why we’re taking action to stop the boats.”

He stated it’s “right when people come here that they integrate”.

When it was put to him that he was pleased with the Home Secretary’s remarks, Mr Sunak stated: “Your words, not mine.”

A tetchy Rishi Sunak defended his resolution to ban smoking however not impose restrictions on junk meals, saying cigarettes are “different to a pack of crisps or a piece of cake”.

The prime minister stated smoking, which he banned for future generations as a flagship coverage in his first Tory convention get together speech as chief on Wednesday, was “unequivocally the single biggest preventable cause of death, disability and illness in our society”.

And he stated it was “chemically addictive”, praising his personal plan to ban it as “the single biggest intervention in public health in a generation”.

Rishi Sunak got here below hearth inside hours of delivering his first Conservative Party convention speech as two former Tory prime ministers took intention at his flagship plans.

In a wide-ranging tackle, the PM lastly introduced he was scrapping the northern leg of HS2 – as first revealed by The Independent – and unveiled a ban on cigarettes for the following era.

But in a rare attack, David Cameron denounced the choice to axe the high-speed line past Birmingham because the “wrong one”, saying {that a} “once-in-a-generation opportunity” had been misplaced.

Kate Devlin, Adam Forrest and Jon Stone report:

The Home Secretary is being taken to court docket over new anti-protest laws.

Liberty has advised Suella Braverman, “See you in court,” after it was granted permission by the High Court on Wednesday to take authorized motion in opposition to her.

The human rights organisation stated the Government has “unlawfully introduced new anti-protest legislation, which had been democratically rejected by Parliament just a few months earlier”.

Rishi Sunak declined to apologise to individuals within the North of England for reducing HS2 north of Birmingham.

In a pre-recorded interview broadcast on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday, the Prime Minister was requested whether or not he would apologise for the Tory Party’s “false promises” remodeled many years.

He replied: “No. What I want to say to everybody is that what we’re doing is going to be better. It’s going to be better for our country.

“You keep using the word scrap but what we’re doing is replacing HS2 with something that’s going to benefit far more people in far more places and far quicker.

“Every penny that would have been spent on this project, £36 billion, is going to be reinvested in every form of transportation, not just heavy rail and in every part of our country.”

He repeated his declare that “the facts have changed” with a pandemic that has “totally changed business travel”.

“The right thing to do is to have the courage to change direction and do something different and that’s what I’ve done.”

Rishi Sunak has been reported to police in Scotland over feedback made about former first minister Nicola Sturgeon in his Tory convention speech.

Mr Sunak sought to make enjoyable of the previous SNP chief after she was arrested and questioned as a part of Police Scotland’s investigation into her get together’s funds – dubbed Operation Branchform.

Ms Sturgeon was launched with out cost following her arrest again in June.

Now Chris McEleny, the overall secretary of the rival pro-independence Alba Party, has reported Mr Sunak to the pressure for contempt of court docket allegations, because the prime minister’s feedback come amid a reside police investigation.

Former UKIP and Brexit Party chief Nigel Farage has stated the issues he fought for have turn out to be “fairly mainstream inside the Conservative Party”.

He advised ITV’s Good Morning Britain that his views had beforehand been characterised by senior Conservatives as “excessive”, “unhealthy” and “unsuitable”.

He added: “Those issues we’ve got fought for have turn out to be fairly mainstream inside the Conservative Party. I used to be welcomed with open arms (on the get together’s convention).”

He additionally stated it was “very good” of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to say he might return to the Conservatives however he wouldn’t be doing so.

West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin stated Rishi Sunak had not consulted northern leaders on his plans to tear up the northern leg of HS2.

She advised BBC Breakfast: “It additionally feels fairly irritating that when the Prime Minister was on the platform, he was saying ‘I do know what the North wants’.

“He hasn’t spoken to any northern leaders and we might have been useful in attempting to work out what was truly a precedence for us and it’s that capability that HS2 was there to resolve.”

She additionally complained a few lack of element on the transport schemes introduced by Mr Sunak.

“We’ve had a decade of underfunding on transport within the North. Now we have been given the issues that we have been campaigning on, pots of money – we do not know what they’re, we do not know the place they’re coming from, we do not know the timeframe.”