Minister says government working on sanction options for those involved in Alexei Navalny’s death – as it happened | Politics

• Kemi Badenoch has accused the Post Office chair she sacked of a “blatant attempt to seek revenge” after he made explosive allegations about the government’s handling of the Horizon scandal. The business secretary launched an extended attack on Henry Staunton in the Commons on Monday, and claimed that he was under investigation for bullying when she fired him.

• The extraordinary war of words began over the weekend after Staunton gave an interview to the Sunday Times accusing the government of wanting to stall compensation payments to victims of the Horizon scandal until after the general election. Badenoch dismissed Staunton from his role last month. In his interview Staunton said that Badenoch told him when she fired him: “Well, someone’s got to take the rap for this.” He also claimed that soon after starting his role in December 2022, he was instructed by a senior civil servant to delay compensation payouts so the Conservatives could “limp into” the general election.

• Henry Staunton issued a stinging riposte to Kemi Badenoch on Monday night, saying he had kept a record of the alleged comment from a senior civil servant asking him to stall compensation payments to Horizon victims. A spokesperson for Staunton said he “recorded [it] at the time in a file note, which he emailed to himself and to colleagues and which is therefore traceable on the Post Office server”. The spokesperson said Staunton had never been made aware of any bullying allegations against him and that they were “certainly not raised by the secretary of state at any stage and certainly not during the conversation which led to Mr Staunton’s dismissal. Such behaviour would in any case be totally out of character.”

• A Foreign Office minister has ruled out a prisoner swap for the imprisoned Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, a British citizen, who MPs have expressed concern about after the death of Alexei Navalny. Kara-Murza’s wife was now adamant that she wanted everything to be done to get her her husband out of Russia, said the Conservative backbencher Bob Seely, who urged the government to countenance swapping imprisoned spies for the pro-democracy activist who was now the most high-profile Russian political prisoner. Seely, who is in contact with the Kara-Murza and Navalny families, said when he had discussed prisoners swaps with the Foreign Office it had been made clear to him that such moves only encouraged state hostage taking.

• Keir Starmer risks triggering the biggest rebellion of his leadership if he tries to stop his MPs voting on Wednesday for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, backbenchers have warned. Labour MPs are urging their leader not to whip them against voting for a Scottish National party motion this week calling for a ceasefire, three months after a similar vote saw 56 members rebel, including eight frontbenchers. Party whips have not yet decided how to approach Wednesday’s vote, but several MPs have told the Guardian they risk another damaging internal row if they try to oppose it.

• Humza Yousaf has accused Labour of behaving like Margaret Thatcher by throwing oil and gas workers “on the scrapheap”, as he announced the Scottish National party would not back proposals for extending the fossil fuel windfall tax. In a campaign speech delivered in Aberdeen, the UK’s oil capital, Scotland’s first minister accused Labour of risking 100,000 jobs after Keir Starmer promised a “proper” windfall tax on oil and gas firms this month when he scaled back his party’s £28bn green investment pledge.

• A scheme allowing Ukrainians to join family members taking sanctuary in the UK has been unexpectedly closed, in what opposition politicians described as a cruel and “below the radar” move days before the two-year anniversary of Russia’s full invasion. The Ukraine family scheme is being shut but government officials said a separate Homes for Ukraine scheme would continue to fulfil people’s needs as a way of “simplifying” the process.

• Children’s services leaders have called for a national “plan for childhood” to transform the health, emotional wellbeing and life chances of a generation of youngsters scarred by austerity and the pandemic. In a withering assessment of the government’s record over the past few years, they said ministers had presided over deepening child poverty, crumbling schools and an exploding health and wellbeing crisis in young people, with low-income families worst affected.

• Israel has gone “beyond reasonable self-defence” in its attack on Gaza, a Labour frontbencher has said, as the party prepares for a potentially difficult Commons vote on the crisis later this week. Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said it was possible that Israel had broken international law in its military campaign, which has killed more than 28,000 people in Gaza since the 7 October massacre of Israelis by Hamas.

• Ofcom has launched an investigation into whether a GB News programme where Rishi Sunak took questions from the public breached impartiality rules by failing to include other political views. The broadcast watchdog said it had received 500 complaints about People’s Forum: The Prime Minister, held in County Durham on 12 February on Monday last week.

• The UK’s chief inspector of borders and immigration has said it is “scandalous” that his watchdog role could be left vacant while the Rwanda scheme is introduced. In a break with the treatment of his predecessors, David Neal has been told he will not serve a second term as chief inspector of borders and immigration. The Times reported that a successor was unlikely to be appointed for at least six months, covering the period when the prime minister has said he hopes the first flights carrying asylum seekers to Rwanda will take off.

That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, and the UK politics live blog for today. Thanks for following along.

If you want to carry on following all the latest news from Westminster and beyond, see here.

David Cameron visits Falkland Islands

Andrew Sparrow

David Cameron has become the first foreign secretary to visit the Falkland Islands in 30 years, in a high-profile demonstration the contested territory is a “part of the British family”, PA Media reports. PA says:

Cameron said that the archipelago’s sovereignty is “not… up for discussion” while the islanders wish to be British, despite fresh calls from Argentina for talks on the future of the islands.

The foreign secretary arrived at Mount Pleasant airbase and will visit some of the key battle sites of the 1982 Falklands War to pay his respects to those who lost their lives in the conflict.

Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, who met Cameron last month, has called for the South Atlantic islands to be handed over to Buenos Aires.

But ahead of his arrival in the UK overseas territory, Cameron said: “The Falkland Islands are a valued part of the British family, and we are clear that as long as they want to remain part of the family, the issue of sovereignty will not be up for discussion.”

That is all from me for today. Tom Ambrose is now taking over.

Libby Brooks

The war of words on the SNP’s Gaza vote continued today, with Labour’s Scottish secretary Ian Murray telling BBC Radio Scotland this evening that no decision has been taken on whether his party will support Wednesday’s motion.

The UK party is desperate to avoid another rebellion on the issue, as happened last November over a similar SNP vote, and led to the resignation of eight frontbenchers.

Murray said the actual motion had not yet been laid, and added that the SNP should be spending it’s time trying to persuade the government to support them.

Murray also insisted there was “a cigarette paper between” the motion Scottish Labour conference voted for on Saturday, calling for an immediate ceasefire, and Starmer’s call at the same conference on Sunday for the fighting to “stop now”.

But the SNP is continuing to ramp up the pressure on Labour, with Westminster leader Stephen Flynn continuing to offer a meeting to Labour leader Keir Starmer to discuss the vote, but stressing the aim of an immediate ceasefire must not be watered down.

In the Commons Leo Docherty, a Foreign Office minister, is now making a statement about the death of Alexei Navalny.

He told MPs the government was appalled at the news of Navalny’s death and that he was speaking for the whole house in sending his deepest condolences to Navalny’s family. He went on:

Mr Navalny dedicated his life with great bravery to exposing corruption. He called for free and fair politics and held the Kremlin to account. He was an inspiration to millions and many Russians felt that gave them a voice.

The Russian authorities saw him as a threat. President Putin fear to even speak his name Putin’s Russia imprisoned him on fabricated charges, poisoned him, and sent him to an Arctic penal colony.

Mr Navalny was a man of huge courage and iron will. Even from his remote prison so he persisted in advocating for the rights of the Russian people.

No one should doubt the dreadful nature of the Russian system. Years of mistreatment at the hands of the state at a serious effect on Mr Navalny’s health. His death must be investigated fully and transparently.

Docherty said the Russian authorities should tell Navalny’s family where his body is.

The UK government held the Russian authorities “wholly responsible”, he said.

And, in a reference to possible sanctions, he said that the people to blame should be held to account and that the government was “working at pace” on options to enable this to happen.

In her opening statement Kemi Badenoch said that Henry Staunton’s claims in his Sunday Times article were “completely false”. In particular, she addressed three of his specific claims, relating to briefings the media, why he was sacked, and claims compensation was delayed.

Mr Staunton alleges that I refused to apologise to him after he learned of his dismissal from Sky News. That was not the case.

In the call he referenced I made it abundantly clear that I disapproved of the media briefing any aspect of this story and out of respect for Henry Staunton’s reputation I went to great pains to make my concerns about his conduct private.

In fact in my interviews with the press I repeatedly said that I refused to carry out HR in public. That is why it is so disappointing that he’s chosen to spread a series of falsehoods, provide made up anecdotes to journalists and leak discussions held in confidence.

All of this merely confirms in my mind that I made the correct decision in dismissing him.

• She said Staunton was not sacked because, as he claimed she told him, someone had to take the rap for the Horizon scandal. She said:

Mr Staunton claimed I told him that someone’s got to take the rap for the Horizon scandal, and that was the reason for his dismissal. That was not the reason at all.

I dismissed him because there were serious concerns about his behaviour as chair, including those raised from other directors on the board. My department found significant governance issues, for example, with the recruitment of a new senior independent director to the Post Office board. A public appointment process was under way, but Mr Staunton apparently wanted to bypass it, appointing someone from within the existing board without due process.

He failed to properly consult the Post Office board on the proposal. He failed to hold the required nominations committee. Most importantly, he failed to consult the government as a shareholder which the company was required to do.

I know that honourable members will agree with me is such a cavalier approach to governance was the last thing we needed in the Post Office given its historic failings.

In his Sunday Times interview Staunton addressed this claim, arguing that he was backing the candidate favoured by the board, when the government wanted its own candidate to get the job. (See 4.07pm.)

I should also inform the house that, while he was post, a formal investigation was launched into allegations made regarding Mr Staunton’s conduct. This included serious matters such as bullying.

Concerns were brought to my department’s attention about Mr Staunton’s willingness to cooperate with that investigation.

So it is right that the British public knew the facts behind this case, and what was said in the phone call where I dismissed Mr Staunton.

Today I am depositing a copy of that readout in both libraries of the house so the honourable members and the public can see the truth. Personal information relating to other post office employees in those minutes have been redacted.

Mr Staunton claimed that when he was first appointed as chair of the Post Office he was told by senior civil servants to stall on paying compensation. There is no evidence whatsoever that this is true.

In fact, on becoming Post Office chair, Mr Staunton received a letter from the BEIS [Deparment of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy] permanent secretary, Sarah Munby, on 9 December 2022. It welcomed him to his role, making it crystal clear that successfully reaching settlements with victims of the Post Office scandal should be one of his highest priorities …

The reality is that my department has done everything it can to speed up compensation payments for victims. We’ve already made payments totaling £160m across all three compensation schemes. That includes our announcement last autumn of the optional £600,000 pound fixed-sum award for those who’ve been wrongfully convicted. It is the strongest refutation of those who would claim that we only acted after the ITV drama.

• She said that all 2,417 post office operators who claimed through the original Horizon shortfall scheme have now had offers of compensation. In total, around £1bn has been committed to ensure wronged post office operators can be compensated, she said.

In short we are putting our money where our mouth is and our shoulders to the wheel and ensuring that justice is done. It is not fair on the victims of this scandal, which has already ruined so many lives and livelihoods, to claim, as Mr Staunton has done, that this has been dragged out a second longer than it ought to be.

For Henry Staunton to suggest otherwise, for whatever personal motives, is a disgrace and it risks damaging confidence in the compensation schemes which ministers and civil servants are working so hard to deliver.

I would hope the most people reading the interview in yesterday, Sunday, Sunday Times, we’ll see it for what it was a blatant attempt to seek revenge following dismissal.

I must say I regret the way in which these events have unfolded. We did everything we could to manage this dismissal in a dignified way for Mr Staunton and others. However, I will not hesitate to defend myself, and more importantly, my officials, who cannot respond directly to these baseless attacks.