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Mahmood says police arrest footage ‘disturbing’, but police watchdog must be allowed to investigate

Mahmood pays tribute to “the dignified and powerful words of the Novak family in the statement they gave after yesterday’s sentencing”.

They deserve answers. They deserve answers in particular, about what happened on that awful night and the actions of the police officers who arrived on the scene.

I expect many in this house, and many more across this country, have now seen the police officer’s bodycam footage released last night.

It is, without question, a disturbing and tragic thing to see. People are rightly asking questions about how the situation was handled, and they are shocked and disquieted to hear Henry’s words: “I can’t breathe.”

I know that it is difficult to wait any longer for answers, but there is a proper process to assess whether there have been incidents of police misconduct led by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, the IOPC.

They will determine what could and should have been done differently. They will determine what action may need to be taken against individual officers.

The family yesterday called on me “to ensure the IOPC has the resources, authority and independence it needs to conduct a full, fearless and transparent investigation. I can confirm today that I will do so.

The IOPC will be equipped and encouraged to act, to find the truth and to ensure, if necessary, that there are consequences.

Key events

Mahmood condemns those seeking ‘political profit’ from Nowak tragedy

Mahmood said that, in the light of this case, there have been calls to limit the right of Sikhs to carry a kirpan, a ceremonial knife.

She said:

There have been calls to limit the right of Sikhs to carry their ceremonial knife, the kirpan, one of the five holy items in their faith.

The Offensive Weapons Act of 2019, passed under the previous government, clarified and strengthened existing legal protections in relation to long weapons. This included extending defences so that kirpan can be lawfully possessed for religious reasons, and used in religious and ceremonial contexts.

But let me be clear, carrying a knife for the purpose of religious observance is one thing. Using it as so tragically occurred in this case is quite another.

It is a vile act, a crime of the utmost severity, and it will be met with the severest punishment.

Yesterday, the Nowak family ended their statement with a powerful call to us all. I quote: “We do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension.”

They quoted the words of the prosecuting lawyer and I quote again: “This is not a case about Sikhism. This is not a case about racism. This is a case about murder.”

I echo those words. We cannot cannot allow this murder to turn communities against one another.

We must condemn those who seek personal, political profit from tragedy.

Mahmood ended by quoting the again from the statement from Nowak’s family.

I call on everyone here to be responsible in this moment to allow justice to run its full course.

But while we must be limited in what we can say, we must not be limited in how we act.

I will end with the words of the Novak family once more. Last night they wrote that no other family should experience the heartbreak and horror of losing a child to knife crime.

Let that be the challenge to us all across this house, across government and across society. It is the very least we can do to honour the memory of Henry Nowak.

Mahmood said the government was committed to tackling knife crime.

This government is committed to halving knife crime in this decade and, since the start of this parliament, we have made progress.

Knife crime has fallen by 10%. Knife homicides are down 27% at their lowest level in a decade.

But clearly we must do more whilst there are still tragedies like this one, and for that reason, we have recently published our halving knife crime plan.

It sets out how we will go further to drive sustained reductions in violence.

Mahmood condemns ‘dangerous’ commentary, saying one officer wrongly linked to Nowak case has faced death threats

Mahmood said that there was a “dangerous undercurrent” in the commentary on this case, and she said that a police office had had to relocate for his own protection because he had been wrongly identified as the officer in this case.

She said:

Let me also be clear about one other thing, a dangerous undercurrent that I have seen in the reaction to this awful crime. Threats against police officers are utterly unacceptable. There can be no justification for intimidation, abuse or attempts to take the law into one’s own

Let me also be clear about one other thing, a dangerous undercurrent that I have seen in the reaction to this awful crime.

Threats against police officers are utterly unacceptable. There can be no justification for intimidation, abuse or attempts to take the law into one’s own hands.

A police officer unrelated to this case has been misidentified online and subjected to death threats. He has been forced to relocate to protect himself and his family.

Misinformation and inflammatory commentary is making a dreadful situation even worse.

We must all together condemn it, and we must also allow the facts to be established to the appropriate investigations and the courts, and we must do so calmly and responsibly.

Mahmood says ‘everyone equal before law’, and police must operate ‘without fear or favour’

Mahmood turned to allegations of two-tier policing. She said:

There have been accusations of two-tier policing, that one community has been prioritised over another.

It will be for the IOPC to determine the facts with regard to this specific case, and I cannot and will not comment on them.

But let me say this on the question of preferential treatment more widely.

The police in this country have a sacred duty to police without fear or favour. Everyone in this country is equal before the law. It is the promise upon which our whole justice system rests, and the equality of every citizen is the foundation on which the openness, tolerance and generosity of this country rests.

Mahmood says police arrest footage ‘disturbing’, but police watchdog must be allowed to investigate

Mahmood pays tribute to “the dignified and powerful words of the Novak family in the statement they gave after yesterday’s sentencing”.

They deserve answers. They deserve answers in particular, about what happened on that awful night and the actions of the police officers who arrived on the scene.

I expect many in this house, and many more across this country, have now seen the police officer’s bodycam footage released last night.

It is, without question, a disturbing and tragic thing to see. People are rightly asking questions about how the situation was handled, and they are shocked and disquieted to hear Henry’s words: “I can’t breathe.”

I know that it is difficult to wait any longer for answers, but there is a proper process to assess whether there have been incidents of police misconduct led by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, the IOPC.

They will determine what could and should have been done differently. They will determine what action may need to be taken against individual officers.

The family yesterday called on me “to ensure the IOPC has the resources, authority and independence it needs to conduct a full, fearless and transparent investigation. I can confirm today that I will do so.

The IOPC will be equipped and encouraged to act, to find the truth and to ensure, if necessary, that there are consequences.

Mahmood says murder of Nowak ‘horrifying act’, and further charges pending against family members

Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, is speaking now.

She says the murder of Henry Nowak was “a horrifying act”.

Vickrum Digwa murdered him, and accused him of racism.

Digwa has been sentenced to life in prison, and will serve at least 21 years, she says.

She says Digwa’s mother has been convicted of assisting an offender. She is due to be sentenced on 17 July.

And the CPS has today authorised further charges are pending against other members of his family. She says, because charges are pending, there is a limit to what can be said.

No 10 says Starmer uses disappearing messages on WhatsApp, provided proper record keeping not affected

At the No 10 lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson said that Keir Starmer does use disappearing messages on WhatsApp. This morning the Tories claimed that, as a result, the public were not getting a full picture of Starmer’s dealings with Peter Mandelson. (See 9.09am.)

These are from Adam Bienkov from Byline Times.

Keir Starmer’s spokesman admits that the Prime Minister does automatically delete his Whatsapp messages, when asked why he barely features in the Mandelson files.

Says “some material may no longer be available where devices are changed or messages were set to disappear for legitimate reasons”

Keir Starmer’s spokesman says it’s fine for the PM to use disappearing Whatsapp messages as long as it doesn’t affect proper “record keeping”.

Asked how it possibly can’t affect it, given those records are automatically deleted, they reply that there will be a government review of Whatsapp use

Shabana Mahmood to give Commons statement on Henry Nowak murder

Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, will soon be giving a Commons statement about the murder of Henry Nowak. On Monday Vickrum Digwa, 23, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years for the murder of 18-year-old Nowak, a student, in Southampton.

The case has become prominent for at least three reasons.

First, when the police arrived at the scene where Nowak had been attacked and was slumped on the ground, they initially believed the word of Digwa, who claimed that he was the victim and that he had been racially abused. Nowak was handcuffed as he was dying.

Second, Digwa, a Sikh, attacked Nowak with a large version of a kirpan, or a religiously sanctioned knife. The case has triggered a debate about whether exemptions to knife laws that apply to kirpans are approporiate.

And, third, rightwingers have claimed that the police response to the incident shows that the police are biased against white people and that a system of “two-tier” justice is in force. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, and others in his party have been making this argument aggressively for some days, and this morning Farage delivered a TV statement about it. (In normal circumstances Farage would hold a press conference, but in recent weeks Farage has become very relectant to take questions from journalists, presumably because he does not like being asked about the £5m he got from Christopher Harborne which he failed to declare, and where he got the money for his £1.4m house.) In his statement today Farage said people should respond to the police handling of the Nowak murder “with pure cold rage”. The Conservatives have also claimed that the case showed the police were too focused on tackling racism.

For more details of the case, here are the final sentencing remarks from Judge William Mousley, who presided over Digwa’s trial.

Starmer says police watchdog probe into how officers handled Henry Nowak murder must happen ‘as quickly as possible’

Keir Starmer has said the police watchdog’s investigation into how officers handled the case of murder victim Henry Nowak amid outrage over his treatment must “be carried out as quickly as possible and answers delivered”.

At the No 10 lobby briefing this morning, the PM’s spokesperson said Starmer raised the Nowak case at the start of cabinet today. He said:

The prime minister payed to Henry Nowak describing him as a kind, thoughtful and much-loved [person] whose life had been ripped away in the most appalling circumstances.

He said Henry’s killer shamelessly lied about him and then accused him of racism.

The prime minister said that in his last harrowing moments, Henry was then handcuffed by lay dying on the floor.

The prime minister said it was right that the IOPC [Independent Office for Police Conduct] was investing the police response, which he said needed to be carried out as quickly as possible, and answers delivered.

He said the thoughts of the whole cabinet were with Henry’s family today.

Labour ‘not looking to raise taxes to fund benefits’ as Mandelson messages suggest, minister says

Labour MPs are not looking to raise taxes to fund more benefits, the Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds has said. Jessica Elgot has the story.

SNP embezzlement scandal ’embarrassing internationally’ for Scotland, says former first minister Jack McConnell

Jack McConnell, the former Labour Scottish first minister, has said the Peter Murrell embezzlement scandal is “embarrassing internationally” for Scotland. Speaking at a conference in Edinburgh, where he restated his calls for Holyrood and the UK parliament to hold a joint inquiry into what happened, McConnell said:

This is not just hilarious tittle-tattle here in Scotland. This is embarrassing internationally for us now and we need to take it seriously.

Even if it seems in some aspects – although obviously not in the criminal prosecution, which is very serious – a good source for the comedians, that’s not the point. I think the point here is the reputation of Scotland globally and I would welcome a bit of a rethink at the top and a willingness to be open with some kind of public inquiry.

Tories accuse Cooper of ‘cosying up’ to Chinese Communist party

The Conservatives have criticised Yvette Cooper for her trip to China. Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, said:

As if Keir Starmer’s surrender tour earlier this year wasn’t enough, his foreign secretary is now in Beijing cosying up to the CCP [Chinese Communist party] too.

This is little more than a distraction from the scandal engulfing the government – which involves Mandelson’s links to China as well as to a convicted paedophile – and the civil war raging at the top of the Labour Party.

Cooper should be pushing for the release of Jimmy Lai. But Labour lack the backbone to stand up to China. Only the Conservatives will put our country first.

UK and China have ‘shared interest’ in rules-based international order, Cooper says during talks in Beijing

Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, has said that a rules-based international order is in Britain and China’s “shared interest”, the Press Association says. PA reports:

Cooper was speaking as she met the country’s vice president Han Zheng for talks on global security as part of a three-day visit to Asia.

Cooper acknowledged “areas of disagreement” between London and Beijing but insisted that approaching discussions with “candour and respect” would help to increase mutual understanding of one another.

Greeting the minister in the capital’s Great Hall of the People today, Han hailed a “new chapter in bilateral ties” which he said had been opened during Keir Starmer’s visit to the country in January.

On her first visit to the country, Cooper said as two “P5 powers” – permanent member states of the UN Security Council – the UK and China must work together to address global challenges, citing wars in Ukraine and Iran and health crises like the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“It is in our shared interest to have a rules-based international order and to find ways to reduce rising geoeconomic tensions,” she said.

Addressing Han at the top of the meeting, Cooper said: “I’m very pleased to be here in China, thank you for welcoming me.

“We will have important issues of shared interest and cooperation and also areas of disagreement, but as the prime minister and President Xi [Jinping] have demonstrated, we increase our understanding of one another when we approach these conversations with candour and respect.”

She added: “Those frank and constructive discussions can help us make meaningful progress for the benefit of our two countries and the wider world.”

Welcoming her in Beijing’s opulent state building, Han said an “important consensus” had been reached during Starmer’s visit earlier this year after the two leaders agreed to move forward with a “comprehensive strategic dialogue” – a framework for deepening cooperation amid heightened geopolitical volatility.

“Their important consensus has opened a new chapter for bilateral ties,” Han said.

Yvette Cooper meeting Han Zheng in Beijing, China. Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

Yvette Cooper holding talks with Han Zheng Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

My colleage Jessica Elgot points out that the prospect of Andy Burnham calling an early election if he becomes PM (see 10.30am) was always remote.

You cannot seriously think that Labour MPs would make Andy Burnham prime minister if they thought he was going to call a snap general election where hundreds would lose their seats even in the best case scenario. Truly bizarre.

At 12.30pm there will be a Commons urgent question on the Alan Milburn report on Neets published last week. A DWP minister will respond. Then, after 1pm, Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, (not Sarah Jones, the policing minister, as suggested earlier) will give a statement on the Henry Nowak murder. (See 10.14am.)

Mandelson should never have been appointed ambassador, says Cooper, as she ducks questions about whether his Starmer criticisms correct

Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, has said that Peter Mandelson should never have been appointed as an ambassador.

Speaking to reporters on China, where she is on a visit and where she was asked about the Mandelson files released yesterday, she said:

What I would say is that Peter Mandelson should never have been appointed as ambassador to the United States.

There’s been a lot of transparency now about messages being released. That’s always an unedifying process but [it’s] right to be transparent.

We mustn’t forget two things, first is that in the end this whole thing started about Epstein’s abuse of young women and girls, and sometimes the conversation gets pulled away from that, and secondly, I think the whole government is getting on with the most important issues that affect our country, and that’s exactly why I’m here in China having these important discussions about international security.

But, when asked specifically if she agreed with Mandelson’s criticisms of Starmer’s leadership style, and specifically whether the peer was right to describe his approach as “advance, buckle, advance, buckle”, Cooper declined to address the question and focused on her point about it being wrong to appoint Mandelson in the first place.

Yvette Cooper visiting the Forbidden City in Beijing. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

Miliband confirms UK’s latest carbon budget, aiming for 87% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2042

Fiona Harvey

Fiona Harvey is the Guardian’s environment editor.

The UK’s seventh carbon budget was formally confirmed today, committing to an 87% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2042, compared with 1990 levels. The announcement follows the recommendation made by the Climate Change Committee last year.

Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, said the commitment would help to wean the economy off fossil fuels. “As Britain faces the second fossil fuel shock of the decade, the only way to protect family and business finances is to drive for clean homegrown power that we control,” he said.

He pointed to findings from CBI Economy and the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit thinktank, published today, that showed the net zero economy – including renewable energy companies, home insulation installers, heat pump makers and others – was worth more than £100bn a year and supported more than 1m jobs.

He said:

What has been achieved so far by businesses and communities across the country is a great British success story – cutting costs by upgrading homes, backing British businesses, supporting one million good jobs according to new analysis from CBI Economics, and protecting our beautiful countryside.

Some people want to stick their heads in the sand and let our children face the consequences of climate breakdown – but this government believes in the timeless British value of protecting our country for generations to come.

No government has yet rejected the advice of the Climate Change Committee, which is charged under the 2008 Climate Change Act with setting five-yearly carbon budgets that bind future parliaments to stringent emissions cuts, in line with the statutory goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. However, the Conservatives and Reform UK have pledged to repeal the act if elected, and last week the former Labour prime minister Tony Blair attacked the net zero target.

Experts, businesses and campaigners welcomed the government’s announcement. Lord Stern, the LSE economics professor who carried out a landmark review for the last Labour government on the economics of climate change, said:

This is the first carbon budget to be presented to parliament since the unacceptable and short-sighted abandonment by some parties of the commitment to net zero. The evidence is now clearer than ever that the investments required to make the transition away from fossil fuels are far smaller than the potential costs of climate change impacts.

These investments in the clean technologies and businesses of the future will lower costs, drive growth and ensure that the UK remains competitive. Any slippage now on net zero by the UK, in light of its past leadership on climate change, would have serious and adverse knock-on effects on the commitments by other countries to decarbonise their economies.

Ed Miliband arriving for cabinet this morning. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

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Mahmood says police arrest footage ‘disturbing’, but police watchdog must be allowed to investigate

Mahmood condemns those seeking ‘political profit’ from Nowak tragedy

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