Political Headlines – Facebook’s fine, Tory resignations, troops to Afghanistan and Trump/BoJo

Today’s Political Headlines includes Facebook’s fine, Tory resignations, more troops to Afghanistan and the Trump BoJo friendship. 

Facebook given maximum fine for Cambridge Analytica scandal
The Guardian reports that the Information Commissioner has announced that it will fine Facebook the maximum possible – £500,000 – for its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Elizabeth Denham, the Commissioner, said if the penalties introduced by the GDPR had been in place, the fine could have been hundreds of millions of pounds. Facebook has said that it is ‘reviewing the report’ and will respond soon. An enforcement notice has been filed against Aggregate IQ, which the investigation found had ‘significant links’ to Cambridge Analytica.

Tory vice-chairs quit over Brexit plans
The Daily Telegraph says that two vice-chairmen of the Conservative Party have resigned over Theresa May’s Brexit plans. MPs Maria Caulfield and Ben Bradley described the Chequers agreement as the ‘worst of all worlds’ and warned that it would lead to ‘Prime Minister Corbyn’. A cabinet minister has told The Times that he expects the compromise to be voted down by the House of Commons in the autumn.

May to announce that 440 more troops will be sent to Afghanistan
According to the BBC, Theresa May will use the NATO summit to announce that the UK is to send 440 more troops to Afghanistan, taking total UK troop numbers to 1,090. May said that the deployment will help to deliver ‘stability and security’. The Times adds that the Prime Minister is not expected to produce a funded plan for the military at the summit, despite pressure from Donald Trump.

Trump hints at meeting with Johnson during UK trip
The Times reports that Donald Trump has hinted that he would like to speak to his ‘friend’ Boris Johnson during his trip to the UK later this week, describing him as ‘very supportive’. The US President also claimed that the UK was in ‘turmoil’ and suggested that his meeting with Vladimir Putin might be easier than that with Theresa May.

Labour appoints anti-Semitism row MP as shadow equalities minister
The BBC says that Labour has made Naz Shah a shadow equalities minister, despite her having previously made anti-Semitic comments. Shah lost the parliamentary whip in 2016 after posts by her on social media which she admitted were anti-Semitic were discovered.

Hancock received £32,000 from thinktank that proposes scrapping the NHS
The Daily Mirror reports that the new Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock accepted donations totalling £32,000 from Neil Record, chair of the Institute of Economic Affairs whose head of health and welfare wants the NHS to be privatised. He also received a £5,000 donation from Gurdev Dadral, director of a private nursing agency.

Government draws up plans to stockpile food for ‘no deal’ Brexit
In an exclusive, The Sun reveals that ministers have drawn up secret plans to stockpile processed food and medicine in a bid to convince the EU that the UK is prepared for a ‘no deal’ Brexit. The paper adds that the Government will start to announce its contingency measures in the coming week.

MPs to debate ‘sanctioning’ McVey
The Daily Mirror says that Labour is to lead a debate on ‘sanctioning’ Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey by cutting her salary to zero for a month. The move forms part of a motion of censure in the House of Commons following McVey’s admission that she misrepresented a report on universal credit by the National Audit Office.

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