The Independent from July 11 – July 24

July 11

Nadhim Zahawi vows to publish tax returns if he becomes PM amid HMRC probe

Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has vowed to publish his tax returns if he wins the Conservative Party leadership contest and becomes prime minister, following The Independent’s revelation that HMRC experts are investigating his financial affairs.   The leadership hopeful claimed to be the victim of a “smear” campaign – but vowed to “answer any questions that HMRC has of me” and publish his accounts annually if he succeeds Boris Johnson at No 10.   Conservative Party leadership candidates Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt have also pledged to open up their tax affairs if they make it to the final stage of the Tory leadership race.

July 12

Sajid Javid ‘exploited non-dom tax loophole’ while working in Treasury

Sajid Javid exploited a tax loophole to benefit from non-dom perks while working in the Treasury as a ministerial aide, The Independent understands.   The Conservative leadership hopeful, who on Monday called for greater scrutiny of candidates as he launched his campaign, would say only that he gave up the controversial tax status “before entering public life” and refused to answer further questions on his tax affairs.   But according to sources familiar with Mr Javid’s tax planning, while the former health secretary gave up non-dom status in 2009, he preserved some of the tax benefits through an offshore trust until 2012. This step, which is entirely legal, allowed him not to pay UK income tax on some foreign income from investments. From 2011, Mr Javid worked in the Treasury as a ministerial aide to then chancellor George Osborne.

Mo Farah reveals he was illegally trafficked to UK under another name Four-time Olympic champion makes the revelations in a BBC documentary released this week

July 13

Heatwave pushes NHS to ‘tipping point’ as hospitals and ambulance services declare black alert

A spike in Covid absences and the extended heatwave have left NHS hospitals and ambulance services struggling to cope.   The hot weather is also driving more patients to A&E departments, and callers are being urged not to use 999 except in serious emergencies.   All 10 ambulance trusts in England are on black alert, the highest level, while health leaders warn that “ill-equipped” hospital buildings are struggling to store medicines correctly amid the abnormally high temperatures.

Rishi Sunak accused of risking UK ‘recession’ as Tory rivals target leadership frontrunner Former chancellor under fire from both wings of Tory party, after securing most nominations in backbiting leadership race

Boris Johnson blocks Commons bid to force him from No 10 immediately No-confidence vote was expected on Wednesday but – in unprecedented move – Labour has been denied parliamentary time

We’re just shy of a week after Boris Johnson announced that he was resigning as Tory leader (or did he?) and we’re already in the quarter-finals of the contest to crown the next prime minister. The shortlist has officially been whittled down to the final eight after Sajid Javid, Grant Shapps and Rehman Chishti (who?) all dropped of the running. Thankfully, Priti Patel decided that she wasn’t going to run, much to the relief of everyone. This then leaves us with the ‘Exciting Eight’ of Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Tom Tugendhat, Liz Truss, Suella Braverman, Jeremy Hunt, Kemi Badenoch and Nadim Zahawi (some of whom may have already fallen in the race by the time you read this) – the majority of whom have faced their own amount of indignity in the past few days. I know what you’re thinking, ‘How did we get this lucky?’ Well, we have to wait until September to see who will replace Boris Johnson, who might not be in the job by that point given his comments at PMQs. While UK politics does seem like a never ending merry-go-round of calamity it still doesn’t look as bad as what’s going on in the United States…

The Deep Dive

Ranking every modern prime minister’s resignation speech from the memorable to the terrible Time moves quickly in the world of politics as Boris Johnson learned during his short but eventful tenure as prime minister. Elected into office in 2019, he secured a huge mandate with the biggest Conservative majority since 1987 and the largest share of the vote since 1979. However, his time as prime minister was rife with scandal from Partygate, to the recent Chris Pincher revelations where over 59 MPs lost trust in their leader to continue on and urged Johnson to quit by resigning from their ministerial roles.  Though Johnson was determined to remain in power despite pleas from cabinet ministers to depart but in the end, agreed to resign after he spoke to Tory 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady. As with any departure from the top job, history will look back on the speeches delivered by our former prime ministers so let’s see where Johnson’s resignation speech ranks in comparison to his predecessors. Read the list here.

July 14

Editorial: The Tory leadership contest is now Penny Mordaunt’s to lose

Rishi Sunak wins first Tory leadership ballot but Penny Mordaunt has momentum

Penny Mordaunt is the new favourite to be the next Tory leader and prime minister, after a stunning surge in support among party MPs and members that left her rivals floundering.   The little-known former defence secretary was defeated by Rishi Sunak in the first leadership ballot – by 88 votes to 67 – but is the candidate with momentum behind her, as the race hots up.   Mrs Mordaunt leapfrogged Liz Truss into second place, ahead of a second ballot on Wednesday, and is also the overwhelming choice of the Tory grassroots who will pick the next leader, according to a bombshell poll.

One of Boris Johnson’s last PMQs – and one of the strangest | John Rentoul

July 15

1 / Liz Truss accused of ‘black-ops’ as desperate fight to stay in Tory leadership race begins

The foreign secretary has been accused of “black-ops” in her desperate fight to stay in the Tory leadership race, as the party’s right-wing boosted her chances of being the next prime minister.   Two leading supporters of the foreign secretary branded key rival Penny Mordaunt unfit to be prime minister as the contest turned nasty and undermined her claim to be fighting a clean campaign.   The Tory infighting comes as one senior Truss supporter revealed frustration with MPs who have failed to vote for her as promised, telling The Independent: “This is the most duplicitous lying electorate you have ever come across.”   David Frost accused Ms Mordaunt of failing to “master the detail” when she was his deputy as Brexit minister and urged Kemi Badenoch to pull out of the contest so there can be “unity among free marketeers” in backing Ms Truss.   The attacks were condemned by David Davis, the former cabinet minister and a Mordaunt backer, as the “clockwork” response to his candidate surging ahead.

July 18

Government ‘must act now’ to protect against extreme heat as UK braces for 40C

Ministers have been urged to take action to make Britain fit to cope with extreme heat as the country faces temperatures above 40C for the first time.   The Met Office has issued its first “red extreme” heat alert while the government declared a national heatwave emergency for the first time, saying even fit and healthy people were at risk of death from blistering temperatures. Widespread disruption is expected with trains cancelled and Britons told to stay home.   MPs and government advisers warned that homes, city centres and NHS services must be urgently adapted and better action plans put in place for when extreme heat strikes, as the Met Office predicts 35C temperatures could happen once every three years by the end of the decade.

‘Hidden epidemic’ of abusive cults in UK, with 2,000 groups operating freely Thousands of British adults and children are being deceived into joining UK cult groups, new research has found, with experts calling the phenomenon a “hidden epidemic” that the government has failed to address. An estimated 2,000 cult groups are operating across the country, but ministers have not acted to stop them because of fears that they cannot legally distinguish between religion and semi-criminal cults, a charity leader said. A survey of 105 victims of 36 different cult groups, produced by the charity The Family Survival Trust (FST), has found that thousands of people have suffered sexual abuse, isolation from friends and family, financial exploitation and modern slavery at the hands of UK cults. … Of the 99 people who responded to the question about isolation, 56 per cent said they had been isolated from their parents, 68 per cent from other family members and 71 per cent from their friends. + Recommended Bad Vegan Sarma Melngailis and the curious allure of cults Love Has Won: What we know about the cult whose leader was found mummified in Colorado ‘They become re-wired, a different person’: Inside the fight to deprogram Love Has Won cult members Japan executes six members of doomsday cult by hanging

Watch/ Car engulfed in flames and smoke driving through Portugal wildfire in apocalyptic scene

July 19

1 / Legal setback for government over net zero plan as Britain swelters in heatwave Ministers failed to outline exactly how their net zero strategy will achieve emissions targets, a court ruled on Monday – dealing the government’s climate change credentials a serious blow on the day Britain sweltered under its first ever red extreme temperature alert.   Proposals for meeting emission targets were too vague for business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to claim in parliament that the government was on track to fulfil its global warming promises, the High Court said.   Detailed analysis was omitted from the strategy even though “it is plain from the evidence before the court that the information existed at the time”, Mr Justice Holgate concluded.

2 / Wales’ hottest temperature record broken twice in one day after reaching 37.1C Gogerddan near Aberystwyth provisionally recorded 35.3C on Monday. Then hours later Hawarden in Flintshire recorded 37.1C

3 / Tom Tugendhat eliminated as Truss gains on Mordaunt Foreign secretary draws slightly closer to top two, but fails to pick up as much support as Kemi Badenoch

4 / With friends like these: Putin, Erdogan and Raissi to meet in Tehran Reports that Iran is planning to sell Russia hundreds of combat drones in what would be a milestone in relations between the two adversaries of the US

5 / British workers see biggest drop in regular pay since records began ‘Following recent increases in inflation, pay is now clearly falling in real terms,’ ONS says

July 20

If you’re reading this then congratulations, you’ve made it through the hottest heatwave that the UK and other parts of Europe have ever experienced. Record temperatures weren’t just surpassed they were absolutely obliterated with heat surpassing the dangerously hot 40C barrier. It was so absurdly warm that it was possible to fry burgers and eggs on a car and more distressingly wildfires broke out leaving an aftermath that looked like something from a movie. Of course, Brits tried their best to try and stay cool (some more creatively than others) but it was easier said than done, especially when you find yourself getting worked up by climate change deniers banging on about the ‘summer of 1976‘ and saying ‘it’s just the weather.‘ Well, they might not be laughing when deadly sharks are swimming off the coast of Norfolk. Elsewhere, the heat is on in the Tory leadership race which has now been whittled down to Rishi Sunak (who doesn’t know where Darlington is) and former Lib Dem and Remainer Liz Truss following a series of…how shall we say…enlightening debates. In all honesty it hasn’t been the most riveting campaign from any of the candidates but at least we got to know a bit more about Kemi Badenoch and Penny Mordaunt and their interesting approach to politics. We’re just sad that Nadine Dorries didn’t run in the race as her continued strop at the imminent departure of Boris Johnson, who did his best Terminator impression in his final PMQs, has provided us with a huge amount of joy.

Major incidents declared in parts of England as country swelters in record 40.3C heat

Britain smashed its all-time temperature record on Tuesday as intense heat fuelled dozens of serious fires and brought chaos to transport and schools across England and Wales.   The mercury hit 40.3C in Coningsby, Lincolnshire – one of 34 locations across England in which the previous 2019 record was broken.   Fire services declared major incidents in London, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire after exceptional heat left much of the country tinder-dry, piling pressure on already-stretched services.

Watch/  UK heatwave: Huge fire on Dartford Heath rages near motorway

UK inflation rises to 40-year high of 9.4% as cost of living crisis spirals Increase ‘driven by rising fuel and food prices’, ONS chief economist says

July 21

Editorial: This heat is the cry of Mother Nature in distress

Editorial: The Tories will likely elect her, but lacklustre Liz won’t help them

Opinion: Tory leadership candidates should be banned from evoking Thatcher

Mordaunt eliminated as Sunak and Truss to battle it out for prime minister

The Conservative party is facing a brutal summer of vicious infighting, as Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss slug it out for the keys to 10 Downing Street in what is expected to be the most tightly-fought leadership contest in decades.   There were appeals for the two contenders to succeed Boris Johnson to avoid “blue on blue” attacks on one another, amid Tory fears that a bloody battle will undermine efforts to restore public trust in the party.   The new prime minister will be chosen by an estimated 160,000 Conservative members, prompting calls for an immediate election after the new Tory leader is installed on 5 September to give all voters a say on who runs Britain.

Villagers devastated by fire on UK’s hottest day call for more action on climate change ‘This is a tiny town on the outskirts of London; this could’ve been avoided’

July 22

Liz Truss’s tax cuts will damage public services and bust Treasury rules, economists warn

The £30bn tax-slashing plans of Liz Truss have been savaged by economists, who are warning they will fuel inflation and risk a return to austerity while busting Treasury rules.   The Tory leadership race favourite was dragged into a damaging row about the credibility of her strategy after she argued it would tame soaring inflation – turning economic orthodoxy on its head.   One economics professor told The Independent the claim was “ridiculous”, while the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies went further, also highlighting the danger for public services and spending rules.

Trump watched supporters attack Capitol on television as aides begged him to act, committee says January 6 committee says evidence will show Trump failed to act as his supporters attacked Capitol

July 23

July 24