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Tories and Labour warned over ambitious spending promises Returning infrastructure investment to 1970s levels may be undeliverable, says IFSLabour and the Conservatives have triggered a public spending bidding war, promising massive programmes of borrowing that will return public investment to levels last seen in the 1970s, according to Britain’s leading experts on the public finances.The Institute for Fiscal Studies said plans unveiled by Sajid Javid, the chancellor, and John McDonnell, his Labour shadow, would represent a decisive break with the past, but warned that a future government might have trouble delivering projects on the scale envisaged. Continue reading... Go to Source

PM gives 'cast-iron' pledge to refuse second Scottish independence vote Boris Johnson described Nicola Sturgeon and Jeremy Corbyn as ‘yoke-mates of destruction’Boris Johnson has made a “cast iron” pledge that he will not grant Nicola Sturgeon the powers she needs to hold a second independence referendum, regardless of whether the Scottish National party (SNP) wins a majority of Scottish seats in December’s general election or if they win a pro-independence majority in the Holyrood elections of 2021.In his strongest rebuff yet to Sturgeon’s vow to hold a second vote on independence next year, Johnson used his first visit to Scotland of the election campaign to insist: “Absolutely, there is no case whatsoever [for a second referendum] because people were promised in 2014 that it wou...

Two teenagers found guilty of murdering student Jodie Chesney Jury heard girl, 17, was stabbed in east London park in possible case of mistaken identityTwo drug dealers have been found guilty of killing 17-year-old Jodie Chesney.The popular student and girl scout had been smoking cannabis and listening to music with friends in a park in Romford on the evening of 1 March when she was stabbed in the back. Continue reading... Go to Source

John Bolton fails to appear before Trump impeachment inquiry – live Former national security adviser reportedly objected to mixing US national security priorities in Ukraine with Trump’s political concerns – follow liveSign up for the US briefing and get a new perspective 5.58pm GMTAn entertaining outtake from last night’s Trump rally in Louisiana:The kid doing “the worm” behind @Acosta is the best thing I’ve seen today pic.twitter.com/SAIcupml1e 5.47pm GMTLaw prof and impeachment expert Ross Garber points out that Schiff’s statement of the parameters of the inquiry, mentioned earlier, read a lot like draft articles of impeachment:Notice the motive identified in the first two: advancing “personal political interests.” That’s where the debate will ultimately focus. Trump and defend...

'It was gut-wrenching': Berlin Wall tunnellers recall 1971 capture Tunnel built to aid escape East Berlin is excavated and opened to public for first timeA tunnel built under the Berlin Wall to allow dozens of East Germans to escape to freedom has been exposed for the first time in almost half a century.Hundreds of volunteers including some of the original tunnellers dug up 189 cubic metres of earth beneath a 19th century brewery allowing access to the former escape route, which will open to the public on Monday as part of celebrations to mark 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Continue reading... Go to Source

BBC 'deliberately failed to call key witnesses' in Samira Ahmed dispute Equal pay tribunal hears that witnesses involved in initial contracts were ‘tellingly’ not calledThe BBC deliberately chose not to call key witnesses who could explain the pay difference between Jeremy Vine and Samira Ahmed, an employment tribunal has heard. Related: Jeremy Vine was 'gifted' his show, says Samira Ahmed Continue reading... Go to Source

General election: McDonnell says it is 'common sense' to relax borrowing rules for £400bn investment - live news The shadow chancellor follows his Tory counterpart in delivering speech outlining economic visionSign up to the morning briefing: the day’s news delivered to your inboxFormer Labour MP Ian Austin tells voters to back Boris JohnsonTom Watson quits as Labour deputy leader 11.59am GMTMcDonnell is now answering questions from activists at the event.He says Labour wants to give local authorities the power to control rents. People think that is radical, he says. But it is normal through Europe. And rent controls used to apply in this country too. 11.58am GMTQ: Why have Ian Austin and the Jewish Chronicle both decided that the election choice should not be Labour?McDonnell doe...

Police officer charged with murder of Dalian Atkinson Second constable facing charge of actual bodily harm after death of former footballerA police officer has been charged with the murder of the former premiership footballer Dalian Atkinson, the Crown Prosecution Service has said.Atkinson, who played for Aston Villa and Manchester City, died aged 48 in 2016 following a clash with police outside his father’s home in Telford, Shropshire. Continue reading... Go to Source

Ukraine crisis put on ice by Trump staff busy working out how to buy Greenland State and defence departments wanted military aid restored, but the Greenland issue ‘took up a lot of energy’, new testimony revealsAfter the White House cut off military aid to Ukraine, Donald Trump’s top officials scrambled to get it restored but were unable to organise a meeting with the president, in part because his staff were too busy pursuing his interest in buying Greenland, according to newly released congressional testimony.The acting US ambassador to Ukraine, Bill Taylor, told Congress that Trump’s order in mid-July to cut off security assistance triggered a series of high-level meetings with cabinet members on how to get it resumed, given the urgency of the Russian military intervention in e...

Government drops Grenfell contractor in sudden U-turn Housing secretary backtracks on allowing Rydon to bid for public contracts after outcryThe government has told the main builder of the disastrous Grenfell Tower refurbishment to stop bidding for public contracts, in an abrupt U-turn just days after it sparked fury among survivors by naming the firm on a list of recommended contractors for high-rise housing.The housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, said late on Wednesday that Rydon should no longer bid for projects until the truth about what caused the loss of 72 lives was established. Continue reading... Go to Source

Merkel's CDU could 'tear itself apart' after call for AfD coalition Regional politician gives warning, after calls for barriers on far-right outfit to be liftedJens Spahn: As German health minister, I’m championing both migration and patriotismAngela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union risks “tearing itself apart” over her legacy in the wake of a string of poor election results, as some conservative politicians double down on her pro-immigration stance while others eye a pact with the nationalist far-right.In the eastern state of Thuringia, where the CDU was beaten into third place by the openly xenophobic Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) at state elections last month, 17 politicians from the party have written a letter calling for lifting the cordon sanitaire around the far-righ...