Count Binface to be one of few challengers to Nigel Farage as major parties boycott contest
30m agoCount Binface has already raised more than £15,000 to help him fight Farage
42m agoReform UK says it will move writ tomorrow, so Clacton byelection can take place on Thursday 6 August
2h agoBurnham suggests he won't have succeeded as PM unless 'clear majority of people' hopeful about future
2h agoTreasury confirms Farage's resignation as MP for Clacton has been accepted
2h agoStarmer says Trump did not raise concerns about UK defence spending when they met at Nato summit
3h agoRuth Ellis could have argued diminished responsibility under modern law, says MoJ, explaining conditional pardon
3h agoReeves confirms she will approve Farage's resignation, saying 'if he wants to spend summer arguing with a bin, I won't stop him'
3h agoMore Reform UK transactions worth millions reported to National Crime Agency
4h agoDWP publishes data showing 1.5m children living in homes that will benefit from two-child benefit cap being axed
4h agoConditional pardon for Ruth Ellis 'matters profoundly', says her granddaughter
5h agoLammy announces conditional pardon for Ruth Ellis, in recognition she was hanged for murder triggered by abuse
5h agoLammy says Hillsborough law bill due back in Commons 'in coming days'
5h agoLammy refuses to support Lib Dem call for Farage's resignation to be blocked until standards inquiry over
5h agoLammy refuses to rule out rapists and paedophiles being included in prisoner early release scheme
6h agoDavid Lammy faces James Cleverly at PMQs
6h agoReform UK's Suella Braverman heckled at LGA conference after claiming councils make children ashmed to be British
8h agoBadenoch suggests Count Binface could end up as the people's candidate in Clacton, against establishment Farage
8h agoPolanski tells council chiefs devolving power can help rebuild trust in politics
9h agoOnly 12% of people think Farage has been honest about his financial affairs, poll suggests
9h agoZia Yusuf claims main parties not contesting Clacton byelection because they're 'running scared' of Farage
9h agoEd Davey urges government to block Farage's resignation until standards inquiry concludes
10h agoLabour calls on Farage to ‘come clean’ over £5m gift and work with crime agency over money laundering concerns
Reform UK has said that it will move the writ for the Clacton byelection tomorrow. A spokesperson said:
Reform UK will move the writ tomorrow morning, and we are proposing a byelection on 6 August.
There is a lot of good comment about the Clacton byelection around. You can read the latest Guardian articles here.
And here are four other contributions worth reading.
Fraser Nelson, the Times columnist and former Spectator editor, says in a post on his Substack blog that Count Binface could be more than just a joke candidate.
When I made my Ch4 film on Reform UK I focused on its popular support, how it was giving hope to millions who loathed the Labour-Tory duumvirate. But Reform now starting to look like another crooked establishment, who loathe accountability so much, so viscerally, that they call byelections in protest against it. Against this, are we really so sure that Count Binface is the joke candidate? He gave a decent interview to Sky News. He represents the voter’s right to rebel: to same that some propositions are too absurd to be dignified with normal politics. A byelection held because the local is irritated by scrutiny is exactly such a proposition. When the British are told that it is their role to rise to a national occasion, to play the clapping extras in the coronation of a musical or political monarch, they often revolt. With a monkey; a boat. With Joe Dolce. Or perhaps with a man wearing a dustbin on his head. Farage says Reform UK will cover the £350k cost, which itself reminds us of the problem. It is, literally, trying to buy an election. And what kind of party has that cash to waste on a pointless byelection stunt? The offer to fund is an obvious red flag, a reminder that £3 in every £5 Reform spends is being wired from Bangkok by the crypto-king Christopher Harborne.
When I made my Ch4 film on Reform UK I focused on its popular support, how it was giving hope to millions who loathed the Labour-Tory duumvirate. But Reform now starting to look like another crooked establishment, who loathe accountability so much, so viscerally, that they call byelections in protest against it.
Against this, are we really so sure that Count Binface is the joke candidate? He gave a decent interview to Sky News. He represents the voter’s right to rebel: to same that some propositions are too absurd to be dignified with normal politics. A byelection held because the local is irritated by scrutiny is exactly such a proposition.
When the British are told that it is their role to rise to a national occasion, to play the clapping extras in the coronation of a musical or political monarch, they often revolt. With a monkey; a boat. With Joe Dolce. Or perhaps with a man wearing a dustbin on his head.
Farage says Reform UK will cover the £350k cost, which itself reminds us of the problem. It is, literally, trying to buy an election. And what kind of party has that cash to waste on a pointless byelection stunt? The offer to fund is an obvious red flag, a reminder that £3 in every £5 Reform spends is being wired from Bangkok by the crypto-king Christopher Harborne.
Luke Tryl, the More in Common pollster, says Clacton is not the place for a Martin Bell-style anti-sleaze candidate.
Lots of ‘a Martin Bell type’ should stand against Farage. I think that analysis makes two errors. 1) We are not in 1997 where there are ‘unimpeachable characters’ like Bell, the idea of the man in white doesn’t work in 2024, when they’d likely be labelled an establishment pick 2) Clacton isn’t Tatton, the segment split of Tatton is much more ‘centrist dad’ than Clacton who has many more voters both on the right and disillusioned with status quo
Lots of ‘a Martin Bell type’ should stand against Farage. I think that analysis makes two errors.
1) We are not in 1997 where there are ‘unimpeachable characters’ like Bell, the idea of the man in white doesn’t work in 2024, when they’d likely be labelled an establishment pick
2) Clacton isn’t Tatton, the segment split of Tatton is much more ‘centrist dad’ than Clacton who has many more voters both on the right and disillusioned with status quo
Patrick Maguire in the Times says Farage will use the byelection to test a new style of campaigning.
As much as anything else, this byelection will be a test run for a new political operating system. Farage had already set in train plans to spend millions of pounds on campaign staff over the summer, in anticipation of an early general election. Here is the dress rehearsal. Makerfield was much the same. Some members of Reform’s board were unhappy with Farage’s choice of candidate. Others moaned about the result — 35 per cent of the vote in a seat where they had won 51 per cent in local elections only weeks previously. From genuinely close allies the analysis was more nuanced. They did not quite call it a “brilliant defeat”, to revive Private Eye’s description of Labour’s fancy, modernised, all-singing, all-dancing but nonetheless all-losing 1987 general election campaign. But it was a byelection in which a launch video for an unknown candidate racked up 20 million views, while major economic and fiscal policies were launched straight onto social media – no need to play Westminster’s game at a long press conference – and they will no doubt do the same in Clacton.
As much as anything else, this byelection will be a test run for a new political operating system. Farage had already set in train plans to spend millions of pounds on campaign staff over the summer, in anticipation of an early general election. Here is the dress rehearsal. Makerfield was much the same. Some members of Reform’s board were unhappy with Farage’s choice of candidate. Others moaned about the result — 35 per cent of the vote in a seat where they had won 51 per cent in local elections only weeks previously.
From genuinely close allies the analysis was more nuanced. They did not quite call it a “brilliant defeat”, to revive Private Eye’s description of Labour’s fancy, modernised, all-singing, all-dancing but nonetheless all-losing 1987 general election campaign. But it was a byelection in which a launch video for an unknown candidate racked up 20 million views, while major economic and fiscal policies were launched straight onto social media – no need to play Westminster’s game at a long press conference – and they will no doubt do the same in Clacton.
Sam Freedman in a post on his Comment is Freed Substack says Nigel Farage may struggle to stay in post as Reform UK’s leader for another three years. He says:
It’s possible that if a second byelection is triggered that Farage would quit straight away, as Johnson did. He may fight on given that he does have considerable support in his constituency, but it would be a genuine risk. Lowe’s Restore party would leach away some of his supporters, as they did in Makerfield. The anti-Farage vote would likely coalesce around the Tories, who came second in 2024 and have the best chance of beating him, in what is an extremely right-wing seat. Even if he won it would mean fighting a campaign in the national spotlight dominated by discussion of his financial scandals. Polling I published a few weeks ago showed that attacking Farage for corruption does work in depressing Reform’s vote share, particularly with the lower income older men who form their core support.
It’s possible that if a second byelection is triggered that Farage would quit straight away, as Johnson did. He may fight on given that he does have considerable support in his constituency, but it would be a genuine risk. Lowe’s Restore party would leach away some of his supporters, as they did in Makerfield. The anti-Farage vote would likely coalesce around the Tories, who came second in 2024 and have the best chance of beating him, in what is an extremely right-wing seat.
Even if he won it would mean fighting a campaign in the national spotlight dominated by discussion of his financial scandals. Polling I published a few weeks ago showed that attacking Farage for corruption does work in depressing Reform’s vote share, particularly with the lower income older men who form their core support.
Keir Starmer has said that, while Labour is not standing in next month’s Clacton byelection, it would stand in the event of Nigel Farage having to face a recall byelection if he gets suspended from the Commons for breaking parliamentary rules.
Speaking to reporters at the Nato summit, Starmer said:
If [Farage is] forced into a second byelection, then certainly we should [put up a candidate]. But he’s been utterly exposed over the last 24 hours with this desperate measure. We know why he’s done it. He’s absolutely up to his neck in sleaze. He doesn’t want to answer questions from any of you or in parliament, because he can’t answer those questions. He runs away from those questions, but he’s run into a cul-de-sac … He’s now utterly exposed, and it’s right, I think, that all the major parties are not running candidates, and as I say, he’s been utterly exposed by this as a complete charlatan.
If [Farage is] forced into a second byelection, then certainly we should [put up a candidate].
But he’s been utterly exposed over the last 24 hours with this desperate measure. We know why he’s done it. He’s absolutely up to his neck in sleaze.
He doesn’t want to answer questions from any of you or in parliament, because he can’t answer those questions.
He runs away from those questions, but he’s run into a cul-de-sac … He’s now utterly exposed, and it’s right, I think, that all the major parties are not running candidates, and as I say, he’s been utterly exposed by this as a complete charlatan.
Asked if he would be supporting Count Binface, Starmer joked that it was “actually against Labour party rules to endorse another [candidate]”.
Helena Horton is a Guardian reporter.
Count Binface, the leading opponent to Nigel Farage in the upcoming Clacton by-election, has seen thousands of donations pour in for his campaign.
The bin-hatted candidate, a comedian named Jon Harvey, has stood in many elections before including against Andy Burnham, Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson. He does not usually campaign in the election but turns up to the count to make a spectacle.
This time, it looks as if he will be campaigning in earnest and has launched a Ko-Fi donation page, asking people to donate £3 at a time.
Unlike some politicians with their £5million war chests (and ITV detective series back-catalogues), I’m an entirely independent space warrior. I donated all profits from my London mayor campaign to charity, but I’d love to be able to keep fighting the intergalactic fight. Any amount of support is hugely appreciated. I’ve got lots of plans for future endeavours. Watch this hyperspace!
He launched the page yesterday evening and has received 5,122 donations, so has raised over £15,000 so far. Not quite £5m, but maybe enough to print out some leaflets.
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, has criticised Rachel Reeves for not blocking Nigel Farage’s application to resign as an MP. (See 2.23pm and 3.30pm.)
The chancellor had the chance to put this byelection on hold for a few weeks so the people of Clacton could have the full facts about the Farage funding scandal. It is extremely disappointing but exactly what we expect from this “business as usual” government.
The chancellor had the chance to put this byelection on hold for a few weeks so the people of Clacton could have the full facts about the Farage funding scandal.
It is extremely disappointing but exactly what we expect from this “business as usual” government.
Andy Burnham has suggested that he won’t have succeeded as PM unless he has been able to make “a clear majority” of people feel optimistic about the future.
In a video on social media, giving his response to a question about his definition of success, he says:
My definition of success is a clear majority of the people, more than right now, feeling hopeful about the future. I think we’ve lived through a decade where life has just got that bit harder year on year, and consequently people feel a little pessimistic about their prospects. So if we could change that, and make more people feel hopeful about the future, that would be a really great thing.
My definition of success is a clear majority of the people, more than right now, feeling hopeful about the future.
I think we’ve lived through a decade where life has just got that bit harder year on year, and consequently people feel a little pessimistic about their prospects.
So if we could change that, and make more people feel hopeful about the future, that would be a really great thing.
In time, Burnham may regard this as a hostage to fortune. Different pollsters try to measure whether people feel hopeful about the future in different ways, using slightly different questions. But they all produce broadly similar results. While it might be quite easy to get “more [people] than right now” feeling optimistic, Britain is a long way off “a clear majority” of people feeling positive about the future.
Ipsos is one company that tracks this. Its figures show there have only been two brief periods this decade (just after the Brexit deadlock ended, and as the worst of the Covid crisis was ending) when a plurality of people did think the country was heading in the right direction.
Nigel Farage is no longer MP for Clacton. His resignation has been accepted, meaning the process of organising the byelection (in which he will stand) can begin.
The Treasury has announced this in the traditional way (which makes the news unintelligble to most people – see 10.54am). In a press release headlined “Manor of Northstead”, it says:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has this day appointed Nigel Paul Farage to be Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead.
Sadly, Farage does not get to live in the Manor of Northstead, which does not exist. He will have to make do with the five other houses that he and his partner own.
Donald Trump did not raise concerns over UK defence spending with Keir Starmer at the Nato summit, the prime minister has said. The Press Association reports:
There was “great unity” at the gathering in Turkey, Starmer insisted, despite the US president’s ongoing criticism of the alliance. Ahead of Wednesday’s session of the North Atlantic Council, Trump said he would “relate my problems” at the meeting, again insisting that Greenland – which belongs to Nato ally Denmark – should be part of the US. He complained again about defence spending, saying he was “very upset” with Nato, and criticised the UK for refusing permission for the US to use British bases to launch strikes against Iran at the beginning of the war. Defence spending was a key issue at the summit, with Nato general secretary Mark Rutte calling on allies to present “credible” plans for reaching the target of spending 5% of GDP on defence by 2035 agreed at The Hague last year. At home, Starmer has been accused of arriving at the summit “empty-handed” after last week’s defence investment plan did not set out a clear path to reaching the Nato target, and there had been concerns Trump could confront him over the issue. But the outgoing prime minister said the American leader had not raised it. Starmer told reporters travelling with him to Ankara: “Let me just share with you the closing words of President Trump, because as Mark Rutte closed the meeting, he turned back to Donald Trump, who thanked everybody there for the spirit of the meeting and the unity of the meeting. “Mark Rutte thanked us particularly for the Dip further investment, and I had no discussion with Donald Trump in which he made any issue with me in relation to the defence spending for the United Kingdom.”
There was “great unity” at the gathering in Turkey, Starmer insisted, despite the US president’s ongoing criticism of the alliance.
Ahead of Wednesday’s session of the North Atlantic Council, Trump said he would “relate my problems” at the meeting, again insisting that Greenland – which belongs to Nato ally Denmark – should be part of the US.
He complained again about defence spending, saying he was “very upset” with Nato, and criticised the UK for refusing permission for the US to use British bases to launch strikes against Iran at the beginning of the war.
Defence spending was a key issue at the summit, with Nato general secretary Mark Rutte calling on allies to present “credible” plans for reaching the target of spending 5% of GDP on defence by 2035 agreed at The Hague last year.
At home, Starmer has been accused of arriving at the summit “empty-handed” after last week’s defence investment plan did not set out a clear path to reaching the Nato target, and there had been concerns Trump could confront him over the issue.
But the outgoing prime minister said the American leader had not raised it.
Starmer told reporters travelling with him to Ankara: “Let me just share with you the closing words of President Trump, because as Mark Rutte closed the meeting, he turned back to Donald Trump, who thanked everybody there for the spirit of the meeting and the unity of the meeting.
“Mark Rutte thanked us particularly for the Dip further investment, and I had no discussion with Donald Trump in which he made any issue with me in relation to the defence spending for the United Kingdom.”
The Ministry of Justice has issued a news release about the conditional pardon for Ruth Ellis. (See 12.48pm.) It says:
The application for a pardon was brought by four of Ruth Ellis’s grandchildren. The application presented that her responsibility was profoundly shaped by domestic abuse, trauma and circumstances that were never properly recognised at her trial. Under modern law, it is possible that Ruth Ellis could have argued the partial defences of loss of control or diminished responsibility applied to her – defences that might have reduced her conviction from murder to manslaughter, and which could have been considered by a jury had the case been heard today. As the last woman to be hanged in the United Kingdom, Ruth Ellis’s sentence is an exceptional case – and replacing it with one of life imprisonment takes into account the historic injustice of the death penalty in this particular instance. The government hopes today’s decision brings a measure of peace to her family.
The application for a pardon was brought by four of Ruth Ellis’s grandchildren. The application presented that her responsibility was profoundly shaped by domestic abuse, trauma and circumstances that were never properly recognised at her trial.
Under modern law, it is possible that Ruth Ellis could have argued the partial defences of loss of control or diminished responsibility applied to her – defences that might have reduced her conviction from murder to manslaughter, and which could have been considered by a jury had the case been heard today.
As the last woman to be hanged in the United Kingdom, Ruth Ellis’s sentence is an exceptional case – and replacing it with one of life imprisonment takes into account the historic injustice of the death penalty in this particular instance. The government hopes today’s decision brings a measure of peace to her family.
Lee Anderson, the Reform UK chief whip, gave an interview to GB News earlier today during which he said Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, had not yet approved Nigel Farage’s resignation.
Reeves has now confirmed that she will go ahead and accept the resignation. She is ignoring the Liberal Democrats, who want her to become the first chancellor since 1842 to block the process. (See 10.54am.)
In a post on social media, Reeves says:
I will accept Nigel Farage’s request to be appointed Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead. It is a farce and a desperate distraction, and the people of Clacton deserve better. But if he wants to spend the summer arguing with a bin, I won’t stop him.
I will accept Nigel Farage’s request to be appointed Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead.
It is a farce and a desperate distraction, and the people of Clacton deserve better.
But if he wants to spend the summer arguing with a bin, I won’t stop him.
As chancellor, Reeves has not been famous for her sense of humour. This tweet implies we’ve been missing out.
A host of transactions involving Reform UK’s most senior figures and donations to the party caused bankers to report potential money-laundering concerns to the National Crime Agency, a Guardian investigation has found. Anna Isaac has the story.
Andy Burnham, who is set to become PM within a fortnight, has also posted what looks a bit like a quasi-endorsement of Count Binface in the Clacton byelection on social media. He says:
Always worth knowing when bin day is.
More than 400,000 households – in which there are around 1.5 million children – are likely to see an increase in their benefits as a result of the two-child limit being scrapped, the Press Association is reporting. PA says:
The policy – which had restricted child tax credit and universal credit (UC) to the first two children in most households – was officially axed on 6 April. Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in her November budget that the policy would be ditched – after months of pressure from Labour backbenchers. Data published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) today stated 436,780 households in Britain are expected to see an increase in their UC following the removal of the two-child limit. There are 1,544,900 children living in those households, the department said. Universal credit is a payment to help with living costs and is available for people in work who are on low incomes, and those who are out of work or cannot work. The DWP data, which covers England, Scotland and Wales, also shows almost six in 10 (58%) households affected by the policy are in work. The government has estimated that removing the two-child limit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty by the end of 2029/30.
The policy – which had restricted child tax credit and universal credit (UC) to the first two children in most households – was officially axed on 6 April.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in her November budget that the policy would be ditched – after months of pressure from Labour backbenchers.
Data published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) today stated 436,780 households in Britain are expected to see an increase in their UC following the removal of the two-child limit.
There are 1,544,900 children living in those households, the department said.
Universal credit is a payment to help with living costs and is available for people in work who are on low incomes, and those who are out of work or cannot work.
The DWP data, which covers England, Scotland and Wales, also shows almost six in 10 (58%) households affected by the policy are in work.
The government has estimated that removing the two-child limit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty by the end of 2029/30.
Ruth Ellis’s grandchildren Laura Enston and Stephen Beard were in the gallery during PMQs to hear David Lammy announce that Ellis is getting a conditional pardon.
Afterwards Enston said in a statement:
Today, justice has finally been done for our grandmother, Ruth Ellis – the last woman to be hanged in England in 1955. This pardon does not undo what happened 71 years ago. It does not restore the lives that were broken – the children left behind, the years lost. But it says, formally and finally, that Ruth should not have been executed, that the justice system failed her. That acknowledgment matters profoundly to our family. Ruth was a victim of sustained and brutal abuse. Her children, our mother and uncle, never recovered. My uncle took his own life, my mother’s trauma left her unable to be the parent we needed. The shadow of Ruth’s execution has fallen across two generations. We have carried shame that was never ours to bear.
Today, justice has finally been done for our grandmother, Ruth Ellis – the last woman to be hanged in England in 1955.
This pardon does not undo what happened 71 years ago.
It does not restore the lives that were broken – the children left behind, the years lost.
But it says, formally and finally, that Ruth should not have been executed, that the justice system failed her.
That acknowledgment matters profoundly to our family.
Ruth was a victim of sustained and brutal abuse.
Her children, our mother and uncle, never recovered.
My uncle took his own life, my mother’s trauma left her unable to be the parent we needed.
The shadow of Ruth’s execution has fallen across two generations.
We have carried shame that was never ours to bear.
David Lammy and James Cleverly clearly like, or at least respect, each other. Their exchanges today, while not exactly chummy, were mostly good-natured, and they focused on matters of substance. Apart from one jibe by Lammy right at the start, they avoided insults and there was no assumption of bad faith. Kemi Badenoch is getting a lot of praise at the moment, in Tory circles and more widely, for her death-machine ruthlessness at PMQs. Unlike Cleverly, I don’t think she has ever called her opponent at the dispatch box “a good man”. The exchanges did not really break new ground, and you would be hard pressed to identify a winner, but nevertheless there was something mildly uplifting about the Cleverly approach, which was sensible, mainstream and grown-up. It was like going back to another era.
The best story from PMQs (see 12.48pm) really did take us back to a different era – the Britain of the 1950s. Lammy was able to announce that Ruth Ellis is getting a conditional pardon, which marks a victory for a campaign led by relatives and campaigners including Stephen Beard, Ellis’s grandson.
This petition explains the case for a pardon.
Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be hanged in England, she was 28. It was 60 years ago this July. We believe that although the law of the land was technically correct in 1955, the effects of ‘Battered Woman Syndrome’ were unknown at the time and the other acts of brutality against Ellis were withheld from the jury - Ruth murdered a man, but was a victim of domestic violence. In view of these facts, we believe the decision should be re-addressed. It should be considered a crime passionnel. We believe Ruth Ellis should be given a posthumous pardon on this basis. Another woman was reprieved the week before Ruth Ellis was hung. David Blakely treated Ruth Ellis appallingly using continual physical and emotional violence to an already traumatised woman. The jury did not know Ruth had suffered a miscarriage not long before the shooting due to a blow from Blakely.
Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be hanged in England, she was 28. It was 60 years ago this July.
We believe that although the law of the land was technically correct in 1955, the effects of ‘Battered Woman Syndrome’ were unknown at the time and the other acts of brutality against Ellis were withheld from the jury - Ruth murdered a man, but was a victim of domestic violence. In view of these facts, we believe the decision should be re-addressed. It should be considered a crime passionnel. We believe Ruth Ellis should be given a posthumous pardon on this basis.
Another woman was reprieved the week before Ruth Ellis was hung.
David Blakely treated Ruth Ellis appallingly using continual physical and emotional violence to an already traumatised woman.
The jury did not know Ruth had suffered a miscarriage not long before the shooting due to a blow from Blakely.
This is the second announcement in less than a week that has involved righting a historic wrong. Last week Keir Starmer did this with his formal apology to the victims of forced adoptions. During his Commons statement on that apology, the Labour MP Warinder Juss asked Starmer:
Does the prime minister agree that it is never too late to issue an apology for wrongdoing?
It is never too late to issue an apology for wrongdoing – I wholeheartedly agree with that.
Lammy did not explain why the conditional pardon is being announced now, but it is very hard to believe that it has nothing to do with Starmer wanting to clear some unfinished business before he leaves No 10 a week on Monday.
In one sense, apologies and pardons like this don’t matter because they can’t alter the past.
But in another sense they do; a country that has formally decided that Ellis should not have been punished in the way that she did is a different (and better) place from one that still says she deserved all she got. Starmer is right; it is never too late to acknowledge a wrong.
Pam Cox (Lab) said Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be executed in this country. She was hanged in 1955.
She said the case was “a haunting reminder of a time when our justice system ignored the realities of domestic abuse and control”.
She said Ellis’s relatives have been campaigning for a posthumous pardon.
They showed the importance of the need to free women “from devasting cycles of abuse.
In response, Lammy had an announcement to make.
I have the honour to say that His Majesty the King has accepted our advice to grant Ruth Ellis a conditional pardon – the last woman to be hanged. While the pardon does not claim she was innocent of killing David Blakely, it replaces the death penalty with a sentence of life imprisonment to recognise a profound injust in this exceptional case.
I have the honour to say that His Majesty the King has accepted our advice to grant Ruth Ellis a conditional pardon – the last woman to be hanged.
While the pardon does not claim she was innocent of killing David Blakely, it replaces the death penalty with a sentence of life imprisonment to recognise a profound injust in this exceptional case.
Lammy said he hoped this would bring some closure to members of Ellis’s family watching in the gallery.
Emily Darlington (Lab) asked Lammy if the government would back an amendment she has tabled to the representation of the people bill intended to stop deepfakes being used to mislead voters. She said her law would “protect the UK from these destructive tactics used by foreign states who wish to see our democracy weaker”.
Lammy said he agreed that legal protections must keep pace with evolving threats.
Politics live with Andrew Sparrow
