UK & other courts
Lawyers representing civil liberties campaigners have told the High Court that Britain’s domestic spies have illegally retained “deeply sensitive” data concerning potentially thousands of innocent people for years.
Evaluation of UK’s international obligations
According to a Unicef assessment of policies on child care and parental leave, the UK is among the least family-friendly of the world’s richest countries.
A joint investigation by the Guardian, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Channel 4 News, has found that one of the most potent air pollutants is on the rise in the UK, but the Government has no comprehensive monitoring, little enforcement, and almost no funding or clear plan to reduce the emissions.
UK’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU
Boris Johnson has faced a backlash over his plan to withhold the £39bn divorce bill agreed with the EU if he becomes the next Prime Minister. He has stated that the UK will leave the EU on October 31st with or without a deal under his leadership, though has concede that a no-deal Brexit would be a ‘last resort’. Meanwhile Tory leadership hopeful Esther McVey has admitted that she could move to suspend Parliament in order to ensure Brexit is delivered by 31st October. The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has dismissed the suggestion that Parliament could be prorogued in order to force through a no-deal Brexit. However Attorney-General Geoffrey Cox has stated that suspending Parliament to prevent MPs blocking a no-deal Brexit would not be illegal, though John Major has accused Tory leadership contenders threatening to shut down Parliament in order to force through a no-deal Brexit of “gold-plated hypocrisy”.
Jeremy Corbyn has insisted that Labour is not yet ready to fully back a second EU referendum. Labour lead a cross-party bid to rule out a no-deal Brexit by seizing control of the Commons agenda. However, this lost by 309 votes to 298. Oliver Letwin stated that Parliament has now run out of options for preventing the UK crashing out of the EU after the defeat.
A confidential Cabinet note seen by the Financial Times has warned that the UK is unprepared for the disruption of a disorderly exit from the EU, with the pharmaceutical sector and border checks still not ready.
Academic research by Christabel Cooper and Professor Christina Pagel has found that, while 33% of the country want a no-deal Brexit, 42% say it is their least favourite outcome.
Jean-Claude Juncker has stated that Theresa May’s Brexit deal will not be renegotiated.
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