Rolling coverage of all the day’s political developments as they happen, including David Cameron’s speech on taxCameron raises new objection to TV debatesCameron’s Q&A - SummaryLunchtime summary 5.11pm GMT Having heard all of Sharon Evans’ evidence to the home affairs committee, and all of Ben Emmerson’s, I would guess that, if it has to take sides, the committee is more likely to side with Emmerson. 5.04pm GMT Q: Would you continue as counsel to inquiry?Emmerson says there are some fantastic people on the panel. He can see no reason why they shouldn’t go onto the new inquiry. In fact, there is only one who has been a problem. 4.58pm GMT Emmerson says he is not a natural political ally of Theresa May. So when he praises her (see 4.39pm), he is being sincere. 4.57pm GMT Keith Vaz goes next.Q: What are the main qualities required of a chair? 4.53pm GMT Q: Did you advise Fiona Woolf on the drafting of her letter to Theresa May about her conflicts of interest?Emmerson says he did not have anything to do with what she wrote about her relationship with Lord Brittan. 4.51pm GMT Q: Your assessment is that the panel is in difficulties because it cannot hold discussions in confidence.Emmerson says it is his assessment that the panel cannot do its work because of Evans conduct. Although she is a survivor herself, what she has done has not served the interests of survivors, she says. 4.44pm GMT Emmerson says that, if members of the panel can not speak in confidence, they will not be able to do their work at all. They must be able to talk to each other knowing their thoughts will not end up in the papers. 4.40pm GMT Emmerson says Evans’s conduct has been a “massive distraction” and has caused “a great deal of damage”. 4.39pm GMT Michael Ellis, a Conservative, goes next.Q: Do you have any doubts about the sincerity and integrity of the panel? 4.35pm GMT Emmerson says he asked the Home Office last week to lift the duty of confidentiality in his contract preventing him from answering some questions at today’s hearing. 4.32pm GMT Q: You are saying Evans breached confidentiality at least four times. How many times before she is out?Emmerson says that is a matter for the Home Office. 4.31pm GMT Here is an extract from the report Mary Calam, the Home Office director general, produced when she investigated the claim that Emmerson bullied Evans.It is in the documents bundle (pdf), starting on page 24.In relation to Ben Emmerson’s conduct towards you, I do not think that it meets the definition of bullying set out above or as commonly understood. I found no evidence that he intended to “undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure you”. His email of 7 January included an apology “if you felt threatened by (his) emails”. From what I have seen (and noting that I am not a lawyer myself), the content of his advice to you and other Panel members in relation to the question of writing to the Home Secretary and to confidentiality, seems entirely reasonable and proper. He was acting within his responsibilities as Counsel to the Inquiry.All that said, there is no doubt that you genuinely found his approach very distressing. Be assured that I will draw this to Ben Emmerson’s attention in an appropriate way. 4.29pm GMT Tim Loughton says the committee is aware of two breaches of confidence by Evans. Q: You have mentioned others. When did they take place? 4.22pm GMT Tim Loughton, the Conservative former children’s minister, goes next.Q: Do you accept that people think this is all a mess? 4.20pm GMT Emmerson says there are other breaches of confidentiality by Evans that are not in the public domain.Among the statements that are in the public domain, there are three very misleading statements. They have made it harder for the panel to do its work. 4.17pm GMT Emmerson says Sharon Evans’ leaks made it “very, very much more difficult” for the panel to do its work.Evans complained about Emmerson to her local MP, Vince Cable. Cable took this case up with Theresa May. 4.16pm GMT The bundle of documents published by the committee (pdf) includes a letter that Ben Emmerson sent to Keith Vaz ahead of the hearing.In it, Emmerson complains about Vaz’s conduct. It explains why the exchanges between Emmerson and Vaz sere so tetchy. During the hearing on Tuesday Sharon Evans made allegations against me of bullying and intimidation and said that she had reported the alleged misconduct to the Home Office. Following the hearing I am informed that you issued a statement via twitter calling on me to consider my position in light of her allegations ... In the circumstances, your call for me to consider my position was issued without any proper inquiry into the facts and was a wholly unjustified imputation of professional misconduct. I would ask you to now formally and publicly withdraw it. 4.10pm GMT Q: Is it just all a big understanding? I asked one of my clerks today, about how people can think barristers are being aggressive when they are just putting advice forcefully.Emmerson says Vaz will need to ask Sharon Evans. 4.05pm GMT Emmerson says his statement had “all necessary clearances” before he issued it.Q: Did the Home Office clear it? 4.04pm GMT Vaz reads from Mary Calam’s letter.He says Calam set tests for bullying. She found that Emmerson’s behaviour towards Evans did not meet those tests. But she said she accepted Evans found Emmerson’s behaviour upsetting. 3.57pm GMT Vaz is now asking Emmerson about the statement he issued last week. (See 3.29am.)He says the committee has a letter from Mary Calam, a Home Office director, about the Sharon Evans investigation. It does not say Evans’ complaint was unfounded. 3.55pm GMT Vaz says these documents are being published on the committee’s website.Here they are (pdf). 3.53pm GMT Vaz says it is a contempt of parliament to intimidate witnesses to a select committee. A briefing note was prepared before panel members gave evidence to the committee last week. Q: Did you prepare this? 3.50pm GMT Emmerson says on two occasions he has offered advice in relating to the drafting of letters.The panel decided to follow the procedures that apply to public inquiries, in case they were turned into a public inquiry. 3.45pm GMT Emmerson says he is counsel to the inquiry.That means the job is a little wider than just being its legal adviser, he says. 3.38pm GMT Ben Emmerson says he wrote to the committee at the end of last week saying he was bound by three separate duties of confidentiality.Vaz says the letter is on the committee’s website. 3.37pm GMT Ben Emmerson CQ is giving evidence now.Keith Vaz, the committee chair, invites Emmerson to clarify the evidence given last week by Sharon Evans. 3.31pm GMT After the hearing last week all members of the child abuse panel, apart from Sharon Evans, put out a statement saying they had not been bullied or intimidated by Ben Emmerson.It said:Today we outlined that the work of the panel is under way. The panel has full confidence in the integrity, advice and impartiality of counsel to the Inquiry. 3.29pm GMT Last week MPs from the home affairs committee took evidence from members of the child abuse inquiry panel.One of them, Sharon Evans, used the hearing to accuse Ben Emmerson QC, counsel to the inquiry, of bullying and intimidating her.The effective operation of any public inquiry requires that panel members are able to hold full and frank discussions in confidence and take collective responsibility for their decisions. This is reflected in the terms of their appointment which provide that the unauthorised disclosure of confidential information is a breach of contract justifying immediate termination.Sharon Evans has repeatedly disclosed confidential information in public and has made a number of public statements that are factually misleading. These were serious violations of her duties as a panel member and undermine the integrity of the inquiry and the confidence of victims and survivors. 3.18pm GMT Nick Robinson, the BBC’s political editor, has been taking part in an online Q&A on Facebook.Inevitably, he’s taken questions about the report during the Scottish referendum campaign which infuriated nationalists who thought he was wrongly accusing Alex Salmond of failing to answer a question. That was the episode that led to this demonstration.I didn’t choose my words carefully enough on that report - as I’ve said on a number of occasions - but I didn’t manipulate the news. I thought and still think that Alex Salmond chose not to answer the substantive criticisms that were made by business leaders of independence which I quoted to him. However, my phrase “He didn’t answer” made it look to some (though not all) that he hadn’t answered at all. It was a mistake but having spent last week with Nicola Sturgeon and her team it’s one I think it’s time to move on from 3.00pm GMT Philip Cowley, the academic, is interesting on John Bercow’s plan for online voting. (See 9.45am.)The problem with e-voting is that it chases extra handful of % turnout at the rise of huge damage to perceptions of integrity of the systemIf we've learnt anything from the last 15 years, it's that perceptions of integrity matter just as much (more) than % turnout. 2.57pm GMT Jim Murphy, the new Scottish Labour, triggered a bit of a row recently by saying that he wanted to use the proceeds of the mansion tax (which will be paid disproportionately by Londoners) to pay for 1,000 Scottish nurses. 2.51pm GMT Fifteen Labour MPs have signed a joint statement calling for more leftwing policies, including renationalisation of the railways and the promotion of more collective bargaining.The full statement is on LabourList. Here’s an extract.When the Thatcher government came to office in 1979, 82% of workers in the UK had their main terms and conditions determined by a union-negotiated collective agreement. The latest figures now show that the coverage is down to just 23%. One very significant result is that the share of national income going to salaries and wages has fallen dramatically from 65% in 1980 to 53% in 2012 – a loss to employees of some £180bn! 2.17pm GMT Ed Miliband was doing one of his People’s Question Time events in Staffordshire. Labour did not sent an all-round op note saying it was taking place, the Press Association don’t seem to have been there, and it was not covered by BBC News or Sky, and so I haven’t got full details, I’m afraid.But the Express and Star has a live blog of sorts.Asked @Ed_Miliband about downgraded Hospitals, like Stafford, what can @UKLabour do? Ed says decisions on services should be medically led.Room very full as people await the arrival of @Ed_Miliband at the Aquarius in Hednesford for a People's Question Time pic.twitter.com/EbR4hjpDkp 1.54pm GMT 1.36pm GMT Ed Miliband was lukewarm about Syriza’s victory in Greece in his comments this morning (see 12.31pm), but Len McCluskey, the Unite general secretary, is thrilled. He’s issued this statement.This stunning election victory is a tribute to the Greek people who have now firmly rejected the disastrous austerity policies imposed on them by the troika of the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.The fight of the Greek people against austerity is the same fight that British, Irish and millions of other working people across Europe are waging against the failed politics that protects the rich and well-off at the expense of the poor. 1.30pm GMT Professor Ian Brown, associate director of Oxford University’s Cyber Security Centre, has told the World at One that John Bercow’s plan to allow online voting by 2020 (see 9.45am) is “incredibly optimistic”, according to the BBC. He said:For national elections you really want to be very sure indeed that people aren’t able to break into voting systems and to affect people’s opinion of the trustworthiness of the results, which I think unfortunately would be a very significant risk if we in the UK were to introduce online voting in the kind of time-frame that John Bercow has talked about. 1.19pm GMT According to the briefing note sent out overnight, David Cameron was planning to say in his speech that the average basic rate taxpayer would be paying at least £8,000 in income tax by the end of the decade as a result of increases the basic rate tax allowance, those implemented already and those planned by the Tories for after the election.Not to be outdone, Danny Alexander, the Lib Dem chief secretary to the Treasury has produced figures showing that more than 8m households will be £1,330 better off next year from the coalition’s tax allowance increases. 12.41pm GMT Responding to the Digital Democracy Commission report (see 9.45am), Angela Eagle, the shadow leader of the Commons, says Labour would pilot online voting.This report suggests some interesting ways to improve our democracy and help us meet the challenges of our modern age. It is right they should be considered. We have to do much more to demystify parliament and facilitate public engagement in our political process. Labour is committed to piloting online voting to see if it can be done securely and affordably. We will also create a new democracy portal to draw together in one place all of the things you need to know before you vote, we will make it easier to register to vote and we will reform the scrutiny of legislation to formalise a role for the public and give a greater role to backbench MPs. 12.31pm GMT Here’s Ed Miliband’s full quote on the Greek election results.Just like our elections are a matter for the people of this country, so who the Greek people elect is a decision for them.It is the responsibility of the British government to work with the elected government of Greece for the good of Britain and Europe and not to play politics. 12.28pm GMT Here is today’s Populus poll.Latest Populus VI: Lab 35 (-1), Con 34 (+2), LD 9 (-), UKIP 13 (-), Others 9 (-1). Tables here: http://t.co/MMEgv3KR2Y 12.19pm GMT Ed Miliband has been doing one of his People’s Question Time events this morning. This is what he said about the Greek election result.It is the responsibility of the British government to work with the elected government for the good of Britain and Europe, and not to play politics. 12.03pm GMT Here are the key points from Cameron’s Q&A.My BlackBerry went in my pocket, I answered it and it claimed to be a conference call established – which I do obviously very frequently – between the head of GCHQ and some of the staff in my office. A voice came through, a voice I didn’t recognise. The voice said he said he was sorry to wake me up, which I thought was strange as it was 11 o’clock in the morning, and so I quite rapidly asked ‘who is this?’, to which the answer came ‘it is a hoax call’, and so I pushed the red button on the BlackBerry which ended the call.I want to see unconventional gas properly exploited in our country. I think there are good reasons for doing this: we want to have greater energy security, and that should mean making the most of our indigenous energy supplies; we want to keep prices down, I think that’s important; we also want to tackle climate change, and so exploiting some of our own gas rather than shipping it from other parts of the road can make a contribution ...Until we see wells that are dug, local communities benefiting from not only the financial incentives, but also the business rates that will flow to them - it’s only when that happens that I think we’ll see people in our country, who are understandably sceptical about this new technology, see that it worked in America, it can work here, it can create jobs, it can create wealth and it can make us competitive at the same time.What the Greek elections show is that you need to have an economic plan that works. The Greek voters were revolting against failure, economic failure; a country whose economy had shrunk, whose unemployment was unacceptably high and they couldn’t see a secure future. There’s a massive contrast with what has happened here in Britain. 11.51am GMT Here is the full transcript of what David Cameron said about the TV debates. He was responding to questions from ITV’s Libby Weiner.It is worth posting at length because it is actually a rather brilliant example of political flannel. Most politicians can dodge a tricky question, but to do it as effortlessly as this, with humour and apparent sincerity, is rare indeed.Well, we’re making good progress. I was told that it was appalling and outrageous that I had suggested that you could not have one minor party without having the other minor party, and I’m delighted the broadcasters have gone away and thought again. They have actually come up with rather more minor parties than I had in mind. [Laughter.] But, anyway, I’m sure they’ve thought it all through and they know what they’re doing, although I don’t quite see why Northern Ireland seems to be missing out because, as far as I’m concerned, that is as important a part of our United Kingdom as well as Scotland. But we’re making good progress and I’m sure they know what they are doing.Well, I want to take part. And I said they needed to do the minor parties thing. And they have certainly done that. Well, they were never my terms. I simply said you have a problem if you have one minor party, Ukip, but you don’t have another minor problem, the Greens. And everyone said that is appalling and outrageous and how can the prime minister make such suggestion. I woke up one morning last week to find out everyone agrees with me. It’s very good news. I want these debates to go ahead. And that’s good progress. 11.12am GMT Here are the key points from Cameron’s Q&A. 11.02am GMT Q: Will tax cuts be enough to keep the south and south east Conservative?Cameron says there are 214,000 more people in work in the region. 11.00am GMT Q: Will you back plans to put fracking on hold?Cameron says he wants to see unconventional energy sources exploited. If you look at America, you will see that fracking (although he continues to call it unconventional gas) has promoted economic growth. 10.59am GMT Q: Now the Greens have been included in the debates, will you turn up?Cameron says we are making progress. People said it was outrageous that the Greens were not included. Now the broadcasters have included even more, including parties he did not propose. But he does not see why the Northern Irish are excluded. They are an important part of the UK. 10.57am GMT Q: What lessons do you draw from the elections in Greece? And what impact will there be on the UK?Cameron says the Greek elections show that you need to have an economic plan that works. The Greek voters were revolting against failure. There is a “massive contrast” with the UK, where the plan is working. There are 1,000 more people getting a job every day since it has been in office. 10.53am GMT Cameron is now about to take questions. 10.52am GMT BBC News has given up its coverage of the speech, but there is a live feed on the BBC website. 10.52am GMT Cameron is now setting out the Conservatives’ tax commitments.First, the basic rate income tax threshold would go up to £12,500. Some 1m people would be taken out of tax. Anyone on the minimum wage working 30 hours a week would then be taken out of income tax altogether. 10.46am GMT Cameron says security is the key theme behind his campaign.He says promising to cut taxes is not just a vague promise; the Conservatives’ record shows that they can do this, he says. 10.43am GMT David Cameron is speaking now. He is in Eastleigh.He says it has been an interesting weekend. 10.38am GMT Here’s the speech venue.The PM will take to the stage here in about five minutes. pic.twitter.com/rdlzYrr9ow 10.35am GMT David Cameron is in Hampshire for his speech, and he has already fitted in a visit to Southampton. 10.32am GMT David Cameron’s speech on tax cuts is due to start soon.According to the extracts released overnight, this is what he will say about why he is committed to tax cuts.I sometimes get asked: why do I believe in tax cuts so much? It’s simple, because I trust people more than I do politicians. I think people know how to spend their money better than those in Westminster do. I believe that if people have worked hard and earned their own money, they should be able to spend it on a holiday, or a nice meal out, or some new clothes for their children – and that it shouldn’t be thrown up the wall to satisfy the latest gimmick dreamed up in Whitehall. This is the right thing to do: it’s your money, not the government’s, and so you should keep it ...But there’s another reason for tax cuts, and we’re at that moment now – what I would call the tax moment, when after years of sacrifice, the British people deserve a reward. Let me put it like this: in the wake of Labour’s great recession, these past few years have incredibly hard for this country. But after some dark times, we are coming out the other side. And as we do, I’m clear – the people whose hard work and personal sacrifices have got us through these difficult times should come first. So it’s right that where we can ensure people keep more of their own hard-earned money, we should. 10.24am GMT Boris Johnson visited Kurdistan last week. In his Telegraph column, he suggests the government should consider sending ground troops to help the Kurds fight Islamic State.Of course I understand the anxieties of the UK Government: the strong and justifiable aversion to sending British ground troops to the frontline ... All these political questions are important and delicate, but they strike me as fundamentally questions for another day. The immediate task is to help the Kurds defeat the forces of darkness and hate. It is hard to think of another conflict where righteousness coincides so overwhelmingly with the British interest. In a miserable region, Kurdistan is an oasis of democracy, tolerance, prosperity, openness and relative gender equality. Since John Major’s 1991 no-fly zones, the Kurds have been vehemently pro-West, and particularly pro-British. With the sixth-biggest notional oil reserves in the world, Kurdistan is a huge opportunity – and already has the most successful Jaguar Land Rover showroom in the Middle East. 10.08am GMT SSE has become the latest power company to announce it is cutting gas prices. This is from the Press Association.Energy supplier SSE is to reduce household gas prices by 4.1% on April 30 before extending its energy price freeze until at least July 2016. The move is the latest cut by one of the UK’s Big Six energy firms, although SSE’s reduction will take effect much later than the company’s rivals, with British Gas due to cut its gas tariffs by 5% from February 27. 9.45am GMT John Bercow, the Commons speaker, has published the report from his Digital Democracy Commission. The full report is here (pdf), and here’s a summary.Mostly it’s full of very sensible suggestions about making parliament more accessible. Here are what it describes as its key recommendations.1. By 2020, the House of Commons should ensure that everyone can understand what it does. 2. By 2020, Parliament should be fully interactive and digital. The sheer weight of information about politics, now available, can act as a wall, keeping the citizen out of the mysterious world of Westminster. 9.09am GMT As I mentioned earlier, George Osborne was on the Today programme earlier (although it didn’t sound much like Osborne - either he’s got a croaky voice, or it was another imposter.)Ultimately, if you take at face value all the things that the new Greek government has promised, including the increases in public expenditure, I think that is going to be very difficult to deliver and incompatible with what the eurozone currently demands of its members. But I hope that both sides now act responsibly. Indeed, you heard the new Greek leader immediately saying ‘look, I want to get into a discussion with the eurozone authorities’. So I think everyone has in the past seen the precipice, a couple of years ago, the Greek exit from the euro, and pulled back.I don’t think it’s just a question about the public finances. I think that is a panacea, that’s a false hope that it’s just a question of spending more money in these countries. One of the reasons these countries are in a mess is because they weren’t able to bring their public finances under control in the past.I think the obligation on the eurozone is to come forward with an economic policy that delivers jobs and growth not just in Greece, but in other European countries that have really struggled.What people don’t like is economic policies that don’t work; in the UK, we have an economic policy that is working.I was listening to him on the television yesterday, and I thought he was very compelling about the reasons why he wanted a Conservative government ... I’m certainly not aware of something that that I should be worried about.Hear the full interview with Chancellor @George_Osborne on how Greece's #Syriza win could affect Europe: http://t.co/6EhrWJ2zIH #r4today 8.50am GMT #UKGENERALELECTION2015 101 DAYS TO GO 8.43am GMT David Cameron is giving a speech on tax this morning. And, according to the extracts released overnight, he’s going to say that the public should get tax cuts after the election because we deserve a reward. It is as if he views tax cuts as Nectar points.We’re at that moment now – what I would call the tax moment, when after years of sacrifice, the British people deserve a reward. Let me put it like this: in the wake of Labour’s Great Recession, these past few years have incredibly hard for this country. But after some dark times, we are coming out the other side. And as we do, I’m clear – the people whose hard work and personal sacrifices have got us through these difficult times should come first. So it’s right that where we can ensure people keep more of their own hard-earned money, we should. Continue reading...
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