The backlash against Suella Braverman’s refugee speech 

Welcome to Wednesday’s Early Edition from i.

In 1951, after two World Wars had dramatically displaced people fleeing war and persecution, the international community came together in an attempt to protect the human rights of refugees. That took the shape of the UN refugee convention, which Suella Braverman says she now wants to reform. In a speech to the centre-right think tank American Enterprise Institute yesterday, Ms Braverman claimed the threshold for asylum has been steadily lowered since the convention came into being. The Home Secretary says she wants a narrower definition of the term, and that the convention should not grant protection to people who face discrimination on the basis of being gay or a woman. “We will not be able to sustain an asylum system if in effect, simply being gay, or a woman, and fearful of discrimination in your country of origin, is sufficient to qualify for protection,” she said. She also alleged the convention gives 780 million people the “notional right” to claim refugee status. Her comments have, unsurprisingly, sparked anger from refugee and LGBT groups, cross party politicians, and the UN. We’ll look at what they’ve said, after the headlines.

Today’s news, and why it matters

The former head of the COP26 climate conference, Sir Alok Sharma, has confirmed he will stand down from Parliament at the next election, just days after Rishi Sunak’s climbdown on net zero. Sir Alok, who headed the international Glasgow climate conference under Boris Johnson in 2021, had become one of the most vocal proponents of pro-green policies in the Conservative Party – and was in post when several of the policies ripped up by Mr Sunak were drawn up.

Ministers could be prevented from making major policy announcements when the House of Commons is not sitting after Rishi Sunak’s u-turn on net zero and possible scrapping of the northern leg of HS2. The Prime Minister sparked fury from the Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle last week when he revealed during recess that he was pushing back the date of the ban on new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035.

The police are to give evidence to the Covid Inquiry on how they enforced lockdown regulations, it has emerged for the first time. Witnesses from the National Police Chiefs Council, representing senior officers, will testify during the second module of Lady Hallett’s inquiry, which starts next week.

Labour hitting private schools with 20 per cent VAT tax immediately on winning power will put parents off voting for Sir Keir Starmer’s party, Conservative MPs have claimed. They also warned that the policy to tax independent schools would “harm aspiration” and that doing so would be a “gift to the Conservatives”.

GB News has launched an investigation into “totally unacceptable” comments made by Laurence Fox about female journalist Ava Evans, which she said left her feeling “physically sick”. Ms Evans, the political correspondent for online news site Joe, shared a clip of the comments with the caption “Laurence Fox just did a whole speech on GB News on why men apparently won’t shag me ?”

The BBC is set to announce a fresh round of cuts to its news shows which go far beyond a dramatic shakeup of its flagship Newsnight programme, an insider has warned. The Today programme, Radio 5 Live and the World Service could be in line for cost-saving measures, according to a senior News figure, who said the moves to slice £5m from Newsnight’s budget by axing investigative reporting are just the “tip of the iceberg”.

Three questions over Suella Braverman’s refugee speech :

How have Tories reacted? One Tory former minister told i the comments “feel a lot like more dog whistle stuff”. “The issue is the further you push this right-wards, when the pushback comes it is still further away from a centrist position.” An MP said Ms Braverman’s remarks were a “problem” and “symbolically bad” for LGBT voters who are already concerned about delays to Government legislation on banning conversion therapy.And one more pointed out that Ms Braverman singling out women and gay people was “a little odd”. Read the full story here.

Is it good or bad news for Labour? Yvette Cooper was quick to lambast Ms Braverman’s speech as “a desperate attempt to distract from her total failure to tackle Tories asylum chaos.” She tweeted: “No practical solutions, only ramped up rhetoric & looking for others to blame. Aimed at a Tory leadership contest not at finding answers for the country. Deeply divisive, damaging political game playing – unworthy of her office. Instead of blaming people persecuted in places like Uganda for who they love, she shd sort chaos at home.” But if indeed her mission is to create debate ahead of an election here, will it pay off? Politico’s Anne McElvoy says despite anger within the Conservative party over the issue, it is still an awkward one for Keir Starmer. “Rather, Starmer has had to start sketching out his own approach – which also has its paradoxes and wishful thinking: all EU countries accessible enough to attract migrants are struggling to agree on how many each should take and what happens when the numbers shoot up,” she writes. Read her full piece here.

How legitimate were her claims? Leading immigration barrister Colin Yeo pointed out that “no one gets refugee status because someone called them names or discriminated against them”. He said: “Look at the list of nationalities claiming asylum: Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Eritrea are properly repressive countries. Adam Wagner, a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, also said: “The paper tiger which Braverman seeks to build is that protection against persecution has become protection against discrimination. Anyone who has practised in asylum law will tell you that is wrong – I am not a regular practitioner but I have done plenty of appeals over the years relating to protection from persecution of all types, and I can tell you from my experience anyway that it really isn’t the same as discrimination – an area which I also regularly practise in. Meanwhile the UNHCR issued a statement clarifying how the convention works. “The refugee convention remains as relevant today as when it was adopted,” it said. “Where individuals are at risk of persecution on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, it is crucial that they are able to seek safety and protection.” It also added that: “An appropriate response to the increase in arrivals and to the UK’s current asylum backlog would include strengthening and expediting decision-making procedures. This would accelerate the integration of those found to be refugees and facilitate the swift return of those who have no legal basis to stay.” Meanwhile Rob McNeil of the Migration Observatory at Oxford University took Ms Braverman’s use of the 780m figure to task. “The Home Secretary ⁦⁦Suella Braverman has been using a report by the ⁦CPS think-tank⁩ to support the claim that up to 780 million people are ‘notionally’ able to become international refugees,” he said. “I am ‘notionally’ able to emigrate to the moon. Doesn’t make it realistic.”

Around the world

 Ukraine has made retaking occupied territory a key objective of its ongoing counteroffensive, and that includes Crimea, described by defence analysists as an ambitious undertaking. But an escalation in attacks against the Russian-held peninsula in recent weeks is bearing fruit, with British-made Storm Shadows playing a pivotal role.

Russia is recruiting foreign fighters from as far afield as Cuba and Nepal to plug manpower gaps as the Kremlin seeks to avoid another round of mobilisation for the war in Ukraine that could be politically damaging. Hundreds of migrant workers from central Asia have been rounded up in raids in Russian cities and taken to military recruitment offices over recent weeks, according to Russian media reports.

At least 114 people have been killed and another 150 injured after a fire broke out at a Christian wedding in northern Iraq, the health ministry has said. Civil defence officials described the wedding hall’s exterior as being decorated with highly flammable cladding that is illegal in the country.

Pop star Shakira has been charged with an alleged tax fraud of €6.7m on top of other charges that could result in an eight-year prison sentence and a €24 million fine. Spanish prosecutors have charged the Colombian singer with failing to pay tax on her 2018 income.

Watch out for…

 Storm Agnes, which is expected to bring damaging winds and stormy seas from around midday today. 

 Thoughts for the day

 Private schools have abandoned Britain’s aspirational middle class – a VAT hike makes perfect sense. The private sector has broken its side of the social contract with wider society, says Luke Tryl.

Shaming men for their penis size isn’t just humiliating for them – it’s bad for women too. We don’t celebrate the average penis nearly enough, writes Kate Lister.

Fear of ageing stopped me planning for retirement – I’m sad I didn’t act sooner. Building a decent retirement fund is easier said than done, explains Poorna Bell.

Culture Break

 How Russell Brand defined TV’s grim decade of ‘irony banter’. In the Noughties, anything went – you just had to understand that nobody meant anything they said. Tom Nicholson looks back at the aloofness, outrageousness, cruelty and misogyny that defined our entertainment, and led to modern Nice TV.

The Big Read

 I’m 45 and I’ve been hearing voices since my late teens – I’d feel strange if they went away. The Voices Network estimates that between 3 and 10 per cent of the UK population hear voices that other people do not. Three voice-hearers tell Kasia Delgado about what it’s like to have an extra cast of characters in one’s brain.

Sport

 I won the Ryder Cup as captain – this is what I’ve told Luke Donald about 2023. Luke is very calming – that is why I wanted him as my vice-captain, Thomas Bjorn writes.

Something to brighten your day

 How much water you really need to drink each day to stay healthy. Marvel star Chris Pratt was advised by his trainer to glug down huge amounts of water through the day. So, how much is enough?