Kemi Badenoch has defended Robert Jenrick after he described Britons of Pakistani origin as “individuals from alien cultures”, saying it was very important to have an open debate concerning the abuse and rape of girls and ladies by grooming gangs.

The Conservative chief’s intervention was made after Samuel Kasumu, a former Tory adviser on race points, stated Jenrick’s feedback had been extremely divisive and risked individuals getting killed.

Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, has been significantly outspoken on the difficulty after it emerged that the federal government had refused a request by Oldham council to carry one other nationwide inquiry into failings over the circumstances, saying a neighborhood investigation can be extra productive.

In a prolonged tweet on Saturday, Jenrick stated the crimes had been “legalised and actively coated as much as forestall dysfunction” as a result of authorities had been involved {that a} predominance of males of British-Pakistani origin among the many offenders would hurt neighborhood relations.

“This appalling affair is the ultimate nail within the coffin for liberals who nonetheless cling to the argument that Britain is an integration success story,” Jenrick wrote. “The scandal began with the onset of mass migration. Importing lots of of 1000’s of individuals from alien cultures, who possess medieval attitudes in direction of girls, introduced us right here.”

Requested about Jenrick’s feedback, Kasumu advised BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme that his blood was “boiling”.

He stated: “I don’t assume that Elon Musk or Nigel Farage are essentially the most harmful people in our nation. I feel Robert Jenrick has the potential to be essentially the most divisive particular person in our political historical past. A few of his phrases over the past 12 months might lead to some individuals perhaps even dying. He has the potential to incite hatred in ways in which I’ve by no means seen.”

Kasumu added: “He must tone it down, or we’re going to have a extremely horrible 2025.”

Requested about Jenrick’s views, Conservative officers referred reporters to feedback on Sunday by Chris Philp, the shadow dwelling secretary, who declined to endorse or condemn them, telling Sky Information: “He’ll select his phrases, I’ll select mine.”

However afterward Sunday, Badenoch condemned Kasumu, commenting above a clip of his BBC interview to jot down: “This nonsense of attacking anybody with a distinct viewpoint as ‘divisive’ has to cease. We MUST be free to have powerful conversations, regardless of how tough which may be to listen to.

“We want ethical braveness, not silencing of debate via private assaults. It is a traditional instance of why politicians cease being trustworthy with the general public, and the issues have stacked up over many years. The Conservative Social gathering is underneath new management and which means confronting tough truths.”

Sarah Owen, the Labour MP who chairs the Commons girls and equalities committee, and who has beforehand stated that the Conservatives’ concentrate on migration and small boat crossings helped stoke August’s UK riots, condemned Jenrick.

“It’s fairly galling that Robert Jenrick, who was a part of the final authorities which oversaw round 98% of reported rapes going unpunished, finds he now cares about victims,” she stated.

“To many individuals, Jenrick’s concern will ring hole as he continues to be extra involved about self-promotion and division, than he’s victims of rape and sexual violence.”

Samuel Kasumu, who was a senior advisor to Boris Johnson, warned individuals might die due to the Jenrick’s potential to incite hatred “in ways in which I’ve by no means seen”.

Commenting on the grooming gangs scandal – which noticed teams of males from primarily Pakistani backgrounds goal younger women – Jenrick attacked the “importing of lots of of 1000’s of individuals from alien cultures who possess medieval attitudes” to the UK in a put up on Twitter/X.

Kasumu informed the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday that he felt Jenrick was extra harmful than Nigel Farage or Elon Musk.

He stated: “My blood is boiling due to what Robert Jenrick stated.

READ MORE: Reform UK chief Nigel Farage says Elon Musk will make social gathering ‘cool’

“I don’t suppose that Elon Musk or Nigel Farage are probably the most harmful people in our nation. I believe Robert Jenrick has the potential to be probably the most divisive individual in our political historical past.

“I believe a few of his phrases over the past 12 months could lead to some individuals possibly even dying as a result of he has the potential to incite hatred in ways in which I’ve by no means seen.”

He added: “Robert Jenrick often crosses the road.”

He branded Jenrick’s interventions “fully inappropriate, uncalled for, unjustifiable and fallacious”.

Jenrick, who was immigration minister below Rishi Sunak, claimed that the legislation had been utilized “selectively” to sort out grooming gangs.

He stated: “The rule of legislation was deserted to maintain the parable that variety is our energy, destroying the lives of 1000’s of weak white working-class women within the course of.

READ MORE: One-third of Scots say Commonwealth Video games ought to finish – are they proper?

“The scandal began with the onset of mass migration. Importing lots of of 1000’s of individuals from alien cultures, who possess medieval attitudes in direction of ladies, introduced us right here.”

Ex-Tory MP Anna Soubry known as it an “appalling dog-whistle”.

Elsewhere on the BBC programme, Farage stated in an interview he thought Twitter/X proprietor Musk giving Reform cash might make the social gathering “look cool”.

He refused to disclaim the billionaire would give Reform UK a donation, however rubbished stories he might make investments $100 million.

SCOTUS NEWS

The federal courts is not going to refer complaints that Justice Clarence Thomas violated ethics legal guidelines to the Division of Justice for investigation. The nationwide policymaking physique for the federal courts on Thursday rejected Democratic lawmakers’ request to consult with the lawyer basic claims that Thomas violated the legislation when he did not disclose luxurious journey, the sale of property to billionaire Harlan Crow, and different items.

In similar letters to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, and Rep. Hank Johnson, a Democrat from Georgia, Senior U.S. District Choose Robert Conrad, Jr., who serves because the secretary of the Judicial Convention of the US, indicated that Thomas had filed amended monetary disclosure types that, Conrad mentioned, “handle a number of points recognized” in a letter despatched to the convention by the 2 members of Congress final yr. Furthermore, Conrad added, it isn’t clear in any occasion whether or not the Judicial Convention has the facility to make such referrals for Supreme Courtroom justices.

Whitehouse and Johnson despatched their request to the Judicial Convention on April 14, 2023. They cited then-recent reporting by ProPublica on Thomas’s failure to reveal the sale of property that he co-owned along with his mom and the household of his late brother to Crow.

The Whitehouse and Johnson letter additionally pointed to an analogous request, made by the Marketing campaign Authorized Middle, referring to Thomas’s failure (additionally first reported by ProPublica) to report luxurious journey on Crow’s non-public jet and superyachts, in addition to stays at his resorts.

A subsequent letter from Whitehouse and Johnson requested for an replace on the standing of their request and included an appendix itemizing items and revenue that Thomas allegedly did not disclose, together with tuition for his grand-nephew (of whom Thomas had authorized custody) to attend a personal boarding college and a mortgage for a $267,000 leisure automobile.

Conrad’s letter defined that the committee tasked with coping with monetary disclosures had, in March and April 2023, issued steering indicating that the exemption from reporting for “private hospitality” “applies solely to meals, lodging, or leisure” and subsequently doesn’t apply to transportation, items “prolonged for a enterprise objective,” or items “prolonged at a business property.”

Though the monetary disclosure committee usually doesn’t “apply new steering retroactively to” previous disclosures, Conrad continued, the committee thought of whether or not an exception to that basic rule needs to be made for transportation. Nevertheless, in September 2024, he famous, the monetary disclosure committee advisable, and the Judicial Convention agreed, that the brand new steering mustn’t apply to journey earlier than 2022 “as a result of confusion arising from previous steering.”

In his 2022 monetary disclosure kind, Thomas famous that each he and Choose Raymond Randolph of the U.S. Courtroom of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit had “obtained steering” from workers on the Judicial Convention that private-jet journey fell below the private hospitality exemption.

Conrad additionally defined that there “is cause to doubt” whether or not the Judicial Convention has the facility to make referrals to the lawyer basic for the justices, significantly when Congress has not clearly indicated that it does. He added that the Judicial Convention “plans to check this query within the months forward.”

The Judicial Convention additionally declined on Thursday to refer ethics complaints towards Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the lawyer basic. In a letter to Russ Vought, the pinnacle of the conservative suppose tank Middle for Renewing America and President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to move the Workplace of Administration and Price range, Conrad defined that Jackson had already filed amended disclosure statements that reported outdoors revenue she and her husband obtained earlier than she turned a justice, in addition to reimbursements for journey in 2014 and 2016.

Gabe Roth of Repair the Courtroom, a judicial watchdog group that advocates for larger transparency on the Supreme Courtroom, in a press release referred to as the convention’s conclusions within the Whitehouse/Johnson letters “opposite to the plain-text studying of the monetary disclosure legislation, which units clear tips concerning the forms of items that should be reported.”

“Even when one believes {that a} sure phase of Thomas’ free holidays, like his stays at Harlan Crow’s ranch or summer time camp, weren’t reportable as a result of private hospitality exemption,” Roth mentioned, “that also fails to elucidate his willful omissions of the R.V. and the non-public college tuition, each of which constituted five- or six-figure reportable items. And no quantity of language-twisting within the Convention’s letters adjustments the truth that free transportation shouldn’t be included below the subheading of items exempt from reporting.”

This text was initially revealed at Howe on the Courtroom. 

If you happen to’ve acquired a flight booked for immediately, you may be questioning if the runway is open and if the airport remains to be permitting passengers to reach.

Right here’s what we all know concerning the present state of affairs at Birmingham Airport.

Is Birmingham Airport open?

Sure, Birmingham Airport is open on the time of writing. Nonetheless, it did briefly shut by means of the night time on Sunday.

Birmingham Airport closed in a single day with its X account telling passengers at midnight that it could be a brief closure, lasting “a minimal of two hours”.

Simply after 3am, it issued one other replace telling passengers that the runway had been re-opened “after snow clearing”.

It added: “The airport is working along with airline and dealing with agent to get passengers on their method following the #snowclosure.”

Birmingham Airport’s newest replace posted to X says: “On account of resilience groups working all through the night time, the beginning as much as the schedule stays enterprise as normal.

Winter security suggestions: Keep heat, secure and wholesome

Really useful studying:

“Passengers travelling to the airport are suggested to permit loads of time, we are going to proceed to replace passengers all through the morning.

“Please test our web site and along with your airline for the newest flight info.”

It offered two web site hyperlinks – one for departures and one for arrivals. The web site and X account will hold passengers up to date.

Simon Humphreys
BBC Radio Stoke

The chief of Staffordshire County Council, Alan White, has instructed us he is involved about flooding as snow on the bottom melts and turns to slush.

“We at the moment are shifting on… to an amber
warning for flooding as a result of as that snow melts, the surplus water begins to run
off and we now have obtained to keep watch over how that water is managed,” he stated.

“We hope
to see that water run off in a managed method however, as all the time with these
issues, we now have simply obtained to maintain a watch out.”

Councillor White stated gritting groups had labored by means of the evening and thanked native farmers for ploughing roads on the Leek Moorlands.

Elsewhere, youngsters have been having fun with sledging in Brough Park in Leek – a “legendary” spot in keeping with one participant.

Britt Allcroft, the British author, director and producer who steered the animated locomotive Thomas the Tank Engine to tv 40 years in the past en path to launching a beloved, profitable franchise, has died. She was 81.

Allcroft died on Christmas Day in Los Angeles, her daughter, Holly Wright, informed The New York Occasions.

Thomas the Tank Engine was created by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry in a sequence of Forties kids’s books (he primarily based the practice on a wood toy made for his son). Allcroft’s first adaptation, which she financed by mortgaging her home, was a 26-episode sequence that bowed in 1984 on ITV within the U.Ok. as Thomas the Tank Engine & Buddies.

Allcroft picked Ringo Starr to function Mr. Conductor, the light present’s first narrator, and the Beatles drummer can be adopted by the likes of George Carlin, Alec Baldwin and Pierce Brosnan.

Thomas rolled into the U.S. on PBS in 1989 because the spinoff Shining Time Station, created by Allcroft and American producer Rick Siggelkow. In 1996, she created one other spinoff, Mr. Conductor’s Thomas Tales.

Allcroft additionally was behind Magic Adventures of Mumfie, an animated sequence about an elephant that was impressed by books written by Katharine Tozer. It bowed in 1994.

Born on Dec. 14, 1943, in West Sussex, England, Hilary Mary Allcroft landed a job with the BBC when she was 19. She went on to work for Southern Tv and type her personal manufacturing firm to launch TV and stage exhibits.

She found Thomas in 1979 whereas she was making a documentary on British steam trains, and it will take her 5 years to get her present with the character up and operating.

British firm Hit Leisure purchased her firm in 2002, and Mattel in flip acquired Hit in 2012 as a part of a $680 million deal. Allcroft later wrote, directed and produced the 2000 movie Thomas and the Magic Railroad.

Survivors additionally embody her son and her grandchildren.

Premiership Girls’s Rugby has by no means seen a debut like Ilona Maher’s for Bristol Bears. The membership greater than doubled their file attendance with the 9,240 supporters additionally breaking the group file for a standalone PWR regular-season match. Maher’s presence was the reason for the inflow of followers with the fixture in opposition to Gloucester-Hartpury moved to Ashton Gate from Shaftesbury Park after the USA worldwide’s signing was introduced in December.

Such is the Maher impact that the sport was broadcast internationally, together with the US and New Zealand. Supporters needed to wait to see the 28-year-old in motion as she began from the bench however she entered the fray within the 61st minute to a deafening roar. She made an awesome hit on Rachel Lund as her first motion on the pitch however Maher, who was enjoying 15s rugby for the primary time since 2021, didn’t obtain a cross. It was additionally not the end result she or Bristol would have needed as Gloucester upset the social gathering with a bonus-point win over their rivals.

After spending greater than an hour signing autographs post-match, Maher mentioned: “It’s attention-grabbing, it is extremely totally different from sevens. Sevens is a really fast little battle. Sevens is a battle and 15s is a battle, it carries on in so many moments. The ball goes this fashion, we finish the half up after which it shifts the opposite means. I feel it was robust on the market.

“I used to be simply making an attempt to look at and perceive; OK Ren [Reneeqa Bonner], Millie [David] are doing this, what do I have to do once I get in? I feel every sport I’m going to be taught increasingly. You do be taught lots by shedding but in addition it places a hearth below you for the following sport.”

Pre-match the bottom was abuzz with Maher fever and two hours earlier than kick-off followers had been already beginning to arrive. Overheard conversations had been all concerning the membership’s star signing and among the many file crowd had been a bunch of gamers from Macclesfield RUFC, who drove over 120 miles for Maher.

Numerous supporters had been attending their first rugby sport, together with fan Tally Bevis. Initially from Nashville, Tennessee, however finding out a graduate diploma at College School London, Bevis travelled to Bristol simply to see Maher and has been following the participant for the reason that buildup to the Paris Olympics.

Bevis, who was carrying a brand new Maher Bristol shirt, mentioned: “I knew this might be doubtlessly the primary sport she might play [but] I actually didn’t thoughts if she performed or not, I simply knew she can be right here and I needed to help the group she had joined. She is so viral, cool, actual and humorous on-line that it felt pure for me to leap on a prepare, order a jersey and get to the sport.

“I’m so excited to see a brand new sport. I really like the truth that an American lady is coming to the UK to hone her craft, to get higher and try to obtain much more. Some individuals would cease as an Olympic medallist, it seems like a peak for most individuals, however she hasn’t stopped and it’s so encouraging. It’s so thrilling she is right here, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

When she first emerged for a warm-up, Maher ran throughout the pitch and a ripple of cheers flowed round Ashton Gate. It was additionally no shock that when the groups had been introduced, the largest cheer got here for the US participant. Fireworks welcomed the groups to the pitch earlier than Maher took her seat on the bench.

Much like their sport in opposition to Exeter Chiefs final outing, Gloucester absorbed a number of stress within the early phases however had been the primary to attain. A superb weaving run noticed in-form full-back Emma Sing over. Bristol responded completely as David, the league’s prime strive scorer, hit again along with her twelfth strive of the season.

Gloucester’s Lleucu George was proven a yellow card subsequent and Bristol took full benefit of being a participant up. An excellent dummy cross and footwork from Alisha Joyce-Butchers noticed her rating to provide the facet a 10-7 lead on the break.

What began out as a moist and windy day turned calm and sunny for the second half however the icy edge to the native derby didn’t thaw. Gloucester’s co-captain Mo Hunt sniped to attain to sway momentum of their path with Maud Muir and replacements Lund, Mia Venner and Georgia Brock all dotting down.

Bristol replied with a comfort strive from Sarah Bern. Gloucester transfer to second within the desk with the victory and the defeat provides stress to fifth-placed Bristol, with the battle for top-four locations taking place to the wire with six regular-season rounds left to go.

BRISTOL, England — Ilona Maher admitted she was crammed with nerves forward of her Bristol Bears debut however believes she has taken a step ahead in adjusting to the 15s format of rugby as she performed 20 minutes within the Bears’ 40-17 defeat to Gloucester-Hartpury in entrance of a report crowd at Ashton Gate on Sunday.

Maher, who received Olympic bronze within the girls’s sevens with the U.S., is focusing on a spot within the USA Eagles squad for the 2025 Rugby World Cup. To assist that aim as she swaps the short-form sevens format of the game for 15s, Maher has signed a three-month take care of Bristol the place she goals to impress forward of the World Cup in England later this 12 months.

If Bristol fall wanting making the playoffs in Premiership Girls’s Rugby (PWR), then she has solely obtained six matches to impress. The primary of these got here on Sunday as she obtained her first expertise of PWR as a Sixtieth-minute substitute for Reneeqa Bonner. However her time on the ball was restricted, as Bristol struggled to maintain tempo with the back-to-back PWR winners.

“I used to be undoubtedly very nervous,” Maher stated. “I believe the coach [Dave Ward] was like, ‘okay, you are going to go on after 60 minutes.’ I used to be like, ‘okay, we positive?’ I simply needed to do my teammates proud and present that I deserved to be on the market.

“However as soon as I did get on the sphere, I simply felt like, that is rugby. It is one thing I have been doing for the previous 10 years now. It is one thing that is in my blood. So I felt actually assured once I obtained there, but in addition to my teammates who’re always speaking to me, like Jazz Joyce always telling me what she wants. It makes me really feel I can play to one of the best of my capability. Now, as I get extra snug, I believe I will be in additional moments and be ready to place myself into extra areas.”

Maher’s final rugby motion was to assist the U.S. safe their first ever medal in rugby on the Olympics again in August. Throughout Paris 2024 she offered behind-the-scenes entry within the Olympic village and grew her social media following, which stands at round 8.1 million throughout her numerous platforms, establishing herself as by far the most-followed rugby union participant on the planet.

Because the finish of the Olympics, Maher’s life has been a whirlwind. She introduced a number of new model partnerships whereas her merchandise shows her mantra “magnificence, beast, brains.” She was the quilt star for the Sports activities Illustrated Swimsuit version in October and completed second on “Dancing with the Stars” on the finish of November.

Maher was welcomed to Bristol at first of December, introduced to the gang on the Bristol Bears males’s staff’s match in opposition to Leinster, greeting them with a royal wave.

“She’s given everybody an enormous raise,” Holly Aitchison, the Bristol and England fly-half stated on the time. “Anybody with that sort of profile goes to place eyes on the sport, which may solely be a superb factor for us.”

Maher then returned to the U.S. to fulfil numerous business and TV duties and arrived again at her short-term dwelling at first of 2025. Her star energy meant Bristol Bears acquired unprecedented demand for tickets forward of Sunday’s match. They normally play at Shaftesbury Park — a floor with a capability of two,000 of which 250 is seated — however they moved it to Ashton Gate, the 27,000 robust stadium, in anticipation of Maher’s debut.

Maher final performed the XV-a-side format of the game in 2021, however the star energy was evident at Ashton Gate: digital camera crews following her each motion, supporters proudly displaying her title on the again of her shirts, and an attendance of 9,240 all desperate to catch a glimpse of a rugby celebrity.

“Sevens is a battle, I really feel like 15s is usually like a battle,” Maher stated afterwards. “There are such a lot of moments. It was powerful on the market. For me, I used to be simply making an attempt to look at and perceive, pondering, what do I must do once I get in? And I believe every recreation I am simply gonna study increasingly. And also you do study so much by shedding, however it additionally places a hearth underneath you for the following recreation.”

Pre-kick-off, and even throughout the early levels of the sport, the cameras had been educated simply as a lot on Maher because the on-field motion. Although she began on the bench, there was the inevitable subplot of the gang, and sport, ready for her introduction.

Her positional versatility meant she might have featured probably within the back-row, within the midfield and out vast on the wing. Ultimately, Bristol and Maher opted for the latter possibility, as she began her brief spell on the Bears on the precise wing. However in her 20-minute cameo, she was much more busy in defence than with ball in hand, as Gloucester-Hartpury ended up snug victors.

“[My] instincts are the identical, however it’s extra just like the construction that you just actually have to know because the transferring components are simply so totally different,” Maher stated.

“In Sevens there are loads of 1v1s. I get previous this particular person, I am fairly dwelling free. In fifteens there’s one particular person working right here, you are working behind, you might have three folks in entrance of you, you are pondering, is that the most suitable choice or ought to we exit the again? So there’s a lot, so many extra transferring components that I’ve to nonetheless sort of perceive and study.”

Maher signed autographs and took pictures with the followers contained in the stadium for over an hour after full-time. It was a report attendance for a Bristol Bears’ girls’s dwelling match, and Maher hopes her fame and fan base will hope develop the sport.

“It is actually essential for me to attach with them — they are not simply the following era of rugby gamers however the subsequent era of followers. What’s cool was that there have been loads of girls on the market. In males’s sports activities, you might have loads of male followers — particularly in rugby — it is a boy’s membership. You could have loads of previous males going to their staff’s recreation. Can we now get extra girls shopping for our jerseys and coming to our video games?

“Girls have energy, girls have affect and so they’re a superb fanbase to have.”

In a uncommon perception into his dwelling life, Countryfile favorite John Craven has opened up about one peculiar behavior that he has adopted down the years.

In a current interview with Countryfile journal, the presenter shared how he has at all times had a want to reside beside the seaside, however has “by no means managed to realize residing there”.

He stated: “All my life I’ve dreamt of a house by the seashore however by some means have by no means managed to realize it.

“As an alternative, I reside within the centre of England – but it is solely a 90-minute drive to the closest seashore, the place I can chill out, breathe within the ozone, poke among the many rock swimming pools and recharge the batteries.”

Regardless of the occasional tour to the seaside, the 84-year-old revealed that he has an alternate at-home treatment to plug the hole for when he would not make the journey.

He stated: “Confession time: generally I sit in my backyard, play recordings of the ocean and fake I am there, doing simply that.”

In addition to his evident love for the attractive vistas that the seaside offers, he was keen to say the significance of taking care of the ocean, describing it as “an important factor on this nation’s lifeblood”, as he urged individuals to rally collectively to “save the ocean, irrespective of the place we reside.”

John might served an exceptionally lengthy profession in broadcasting, nevertheless it looks as if the host has little plans to name it a day on his profession anytime quickly.

John instructed BBC’s The One Present presenters final yr: “I don’t actually like being referred to as a legend as a result of, yeah, I’m getting on a bit, however I nonetheless really feel fairly helpful.”

John boasts a extremely profitable profession on the planet of broadcasting, having turn into an ever-present function on our screens within the Nineteen Seventies and 80s when he hosted Newsround on the BBC, however extra just lately he has explored his love of nature as he has hosted Countryfile since 1989, making him one of many channel’s present longest-serving presenters.

His broadcasting prowess hasn’t gone unnoticed, nonetheless, as he was awarded an OBE for his providers to rural and kids’s broadcasting in 2000, and 11 years later his contributions to Newsround had been acknowledged once more after he gained a Kids’s BAFTA.