Here is the full text of Crispin Blunt’s apology. After some thought, I decided to withdraw my statement in defense of Imran Ahmad Khan. I’m sorry that my defense against him has caused considerable upset and concern, especially to victims of sexual offenses. It was not my intention to do that. To be clear, I do not approve of any form of abuse and I strongly believe in the independence and integrity of the judiciary. It is a particularly difficult time for LGBT + rights around the world, and my statement risks diverting APPG’s attention to global LGBT + rights from its important purpose. Today I offered my resignation to the officers, in order to find a new chair to continue the work of the team with full force. 8 minutes ago 09:23
Blunt apologizes for insulting sexual assault verdict and resigns as chairman of LGBTQ + MPs
Former Tory Justice Minister Crispin Blunt has now apologized for the offense sparked by his statement yesterday calling into question the conviction of his Tory colleague Imran Ahmad Khan for sexual assault. Blunt also resigned as chairman of the LGBTQ + pan-party parliamentary group on global rights. Withdrawal of statement for Imran Ahmad Khan. | After some thought, I decided to withdraw my statement in defense of Imran Ahmad Khan. I’m sorry that my defense against him has caused considerable upset and concern, especially to victims of sexual offenses. pic.twitter.com/qqlvL5vjQb – Crispin Blunt MP (@CrispinBlunt) 12 April 2022 15 minutes ago 09:16 Armed Forces Secretary James Hippie was in a government interview earlier in the day and said “all options” would be on the table if reports that Russia had used chemical weapons in Mariupol were verified. He told Sky News: It is important to recognize that there are many ways in which these things can be done [chemical weapons] could be used, from the use of tear gas, which is essentially a riot control measure, to completely destructive deadly chemical weapons systems, so I do not think it is useful to be too binary about the situation, because these are extremely nuanced. But he continued: There are some things that go beyond the ocher and the use of chemical weapons will get an answer, and all the options are on the table as to what that answer might be. That’s what Secretary of State Liz Truss said about it on Twitter last night. Reports that Russian forces may have used chemical agents in an attack on the people of Mariupol. We are urgently working with partners to verify details. Any use of such weapons would be a harsh escalation in this conflict and we will hold Putin and his regime accountable. – Liz Truss (@trussliz) April 11, 2022 Updated on 09.19 BST 22 minutes ago 09:09
Labor Party defends call for precautionary measures to stop climate crisis protesters from disrupting motorists
As previously mentioned, it is the week of crime in the grid of the Labor campaign and last night the party announced that – as it put it in its own press release – “it called for immediate national orders to block Just Stop Oil demonstrations as “Protests continue to cause misery to motorists across Britain.” Keir Starmer tweeted about it last night. In the eye of the Conservatives, drivers are being hit by rising gasoline prices and now millions of motorists are unable to access fuel. The government must stop standing idly by and impose immediate precautionary measures to stop this unrest. https://t.co/NLlF1fKFSz – Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) April 11, 2022 And Thangam Debbonaire, the shadow Commons leader who is giving interviews this morning, told Today a few minutes ago why Labor was asking for these orders. He said: Up and down the country, people are struggling to find fuel to put in their cars to go to work to put food on the table, pay rent or mortgage and it is a very basic thing. People are struggling with the cost of living crisis already with stratospheric energy bills. Life is hard enough. And we want people who need their cars to get to work to be able to. The proposal has angered the people of the Labor left. This is from James Schneider, who was one of Jeremy Corbyn’s senior communications consultants. Keir Starmer was a human rights lawyer who defended the protesters in court. Now his policy is to ban them and persecute them. What the hell happened? 🧐 – James Schneider (@schneiderhome) April 11, 2022 And this is from Momentum, the team that was created to promote Corbin’s agenda. When @Keir_Starmer ran for leader, he emphasized his credentials as a human rights lawyer defending environmental protesters against state repression. Today, the leading Labor Party called for police crackdown on climate activists. At S * n.pic.twitter.com/k9QnmdIBoJ – Momentum 🌹 (@PeoplesMomentum) April 11, 2022 Asked about this criticism, Debbonaire said that under Starmer Labor he defended the right to protest by voting against the many measures that would limit it in the bill on police, crime, conviction and the courts. 48 meters before 08:42
Tory MP Crispin Blunt withdraws statement on guilty verdict in Imran Ahmad Khan trial for sexual assault
Good morning. The Labor Party is campaigning for crime in the local elections this week, and Conservative MP Crispin Blunt, a former Justice Minister, played into their hands yesterday when a statement was issued criticizing the lawsuits that led his colleague to Tories Imran Ahmad Khan to found guilty of sexual assault. Blunt claimed that his friend was the victim of “a terrible judicial failure”, but, in the statement posted on his website, he did not provide any evidence to justify this inflammatory claim. According to Peter Walker and Jenn Selby in their overnight story, Blunt’s comments were strongly criticized – especially by his own party. Tory sources say they are awaiting an imminent recall from Crispin Blunt – the tweet has already been deleted. – Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) April 12, 2022 Blunt was pressured to propose a recall and, according to my colleague Jessica Elgot, removed the statement from his website yesterday morning and deleted his tweet about the case. Whether he will go further and say that he made a mistake in speaking at first remains to be seen. Tory sources say they are awaiting an imminent recall from Crispin Blunt – the tweet has already been deleted. – Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) April 12, 2022 The controversy coincided with the publication of a report by the Communities Internal Affairs Committee on rape cases which states that “levels of prosecution, prosecution and conviction remain shamefully low”. Says: Public confidence in the criminal justice system’s ability to respond to reports of rape, support victims and survivors, and ultimately bring perpetrators to justice is at an all-time low. Police in England and Wales recently recorded the highest number of rapes ever in 12 months, but only 1.3% of reported rape offenses resulted in a charge or summons. According to the Crown Prosecution Service, the volume of integrated rape prosecutions decreased from 5,190 in 2016/17 to 1,557 in 2020/21. Parliament is not meeting this week, Boris Johnson is taking a mini break at the Checkers and there is not much on the calendar. But Keir Starmer is campaigning in Scotland, and his shadowy chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will be appearing on LBC, replacing James O’Brien. I try to follow the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, include “Andrew” somewhere and I will be more likely to find it. I’m trying to answer questions and if it is of general interest, I will post the question and answer over the line (ATL), although I can not promise to do it for everyone. If you want to get my attention quickly, it’s probably best to use Twitter. I’m at @AndrewSparrow. Alternatively, you can email me at [email protected] Updated on 09.09 BST
