Boris Johnson joins Tory calls to leave European convention on human rights to remove asylum seekers – UK politics live

London fire brigade (LFB) has been put into special measures by a watchdog amid concerns over “unacceptable behaviour” including discrimination and bullying, PA Media reports. PA says:

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services said LFB will now face a so-called “enhanced level of monitoring” by inspectors.

It comes after an independent review published last month found the fire service has “dangerous levels of ingrained prejudice against women” while colleagues from minority backgrounds are “frequently the target of racist abuse”.

In a comment on the decision, Matt Parr, the fire and rescue services inspector, said:

We should recognise that London fire brigade’s recent cultural review was commissioned by the brigade, whose leadership has accepted its findings without reservation.

However, it is clear that the behavioural problems we highlighted earlier this year are deep seated and have not improved. The Engage process provides additional scrutiny of the brigade’s plans, and support for them from across the fire sector.

We will now examine London fire brigade’s improvement plans more frequently and more intrusively, and work closely with the brigade to monitor its progress.

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said he welcomed the fact that London fire brigade was getting enhanced scrutiny, but he said “wide-ranging changes” at the force were already being implemented under Andy Roe, whom Khan said he appointed as a “reforming commissioner’. Khan went on:

Huge changes to policies, procedures and equipment mean that the Brigade are now better prepared, organised and equipped to fight fires and keep all Londoners safe. A new independent service has now been set up to investigate complaints and London Fire Brigade will be the first service in the country to issue body-worn cameras to their crews, both to protect them but also to ensure public safety and reassurance, as part of a landmark pilot.

UK inflation declined at the sharpest rate in 16 months to 10.7% in November as the momentum behind the rising cost of clothing and petrol began to ease amid growing fears of a long recession, my colleague Phillip Inman reports.

Last night UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, strongly condemned the asylum policy unveiled by Rishi Sunak. In a statement, its assistant high commissioner for protection, Gillian Triggs, said:

The announced proposal to first detain, and then either return asylum seekers to their home countries, or transfer them to a third country would amount to a denial of access to the UK asylum system for those who arrive irregularly.

That approach would close down access to asylum in the UK for all but a few. This would likely result in refugees having no means to establish their status and place them at risk of forced return to unsafe countries, in breach of the refugee convention. It would also undermine the global refugee system at large and would be a violation of international refugee law.

Christian Wakeford MP will apologise today for previously claiming asylum seekers “have a shopping trolley as to what they want as economic migrants” before he defected from the Conservative party to Labour, my colleague Aletha Adu reports.

Good morning. As the old saying goes, “there’s no pleasing some people” – or Tory Brexiters.

Rishi Sunak got a good reception from Conservative MPs, and the Fleet Street wing of the party, for the plans he unveiled yesterday to deal with small boat crossings, including legislation next year that would ban people who arrive illegally in the UK from applying for asylum. But after PMQs the Tory MP Jonathan Gullis will propose his asylum seekers (removal to safe countries) bill under the 10-minute rule procedure, a Commons rule that allows a backbencher to argue for a bill with a 10-minute speech in the middle of proceedings, even though it has almost no chance of becoming law.

The bill would allow the government to remove asylum seekers even if that is against the European convention on human rights, or other international law.

Why does that matter? Because when Sunak proposed his new legislation in the Commons yesterday, he refused to say whether he was willing to withdraw the UK from the European convention on human rights if that turned out to be the only means by which he could actually do what he said he wanted to do.

This is what some Tory Brexiters want (including Suella Braverman, the home secretary, who told the Tory conference that she personally favoured withdrawal from the EHCR). But other Tories regard the prospect with horror (not least because it would blow up the Good Friday agreement, which is based on the UK remaining party to the convention), and in his statement to MPs yesterday Sunak repeatedly dodged questions about whether he was prepared, if necessary, to withdraw from the convention, or other international treaties protecting the rights of refugees.

The Gullis bill will not become law. But MPs do sometimes vote on 10-minute rule motions, and it is thought there will be a vote today. Even if Gullis were to lose (as is likely), a division could enable him to show how many Tory MPs there are who support him – and who, by implication, want to see Sunak toughen his line on asylum still further.

And two of his backers are highly significant. Boris Johnson, the former PM, and Priti Patel, the former home secretary, are co-sponsors of the bill. Gullis told TalkTV last night that Johnson was “very pleased to back a bill that actually enacted what he and Priti had been working on side by side”.

Other co-sponsors of the bill reportedly include Jacob Rees-Mogg, Nadine Dorries and Tim Loughton.

Here is the agenda for the day.

9.45am: Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan police commissioner, gives evidence to the Commons home affairs committee.

12pm: Rishi Sunak faces Keir Starmer at PMQs.

After 12.30pm: The Tory MP Jonathan Gullis presents a 10-minute rule bill that would allow the government to remove asylum seekers even if that is against the European convention on human rights, or other international law.

Afternoon: The king visits parliament.

4.15pm: Dominic Raab, the justice secretary and deputy PM, gives evidence to the joint committee on human rights on the bill of rights.

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