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UK politics: Tories’ Philp rejects French claim that shots fired from naval boat near him were training exercise – as it happened

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Philp rejects French claim that shots fired from naval boat near him were training exercise, not intimidation

According to Chris Philp, the French authorities are now saying the shots fired from the boat near him in the Channel were just part of a training exercise. He has accused them of not telling the truth.

Philp says:

double quotation markThe French are now claiming that the shots were a training exercise

This is not credible

There were no warnings in place about live firing training exercises. They fired the live rounds at the closest point of approach to us - and didn’t fire anything that we saw before or after

It looked and sounded exactly like deliberate intimidation

Key events

Early evening summary

For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.

Andy Burnham meets with apprentices and graduates at Alstom Transport in Derby, a factory where trains are made.
Andy Burnham meets with apprentices and graduates at Alstom Transport in Derby, a factory where trains are made. Photograph: Lauren Hurley/No 10 Downing Street

This is from Michael Gove, who was credited with toughening academic standards in English schools when he was education secretary, on Andy Burnham’s plans for vocational education.

double quotation markLabour re-introducing secondary moderns

The Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank has published a short analysis of Andy Burnham’s plans to reform vocational education. It says what is particularly new is the suggestion that pupils should choose technical education from the age of 14. “That brings its own challenges, not least the risk of asking young people to specialise too soon, though there are other countries which specialise even earlier,” the IFS says.

But the IFS agrees there is a problem to be solved. It says:

double quotation markCurrently, there is a mismatch for many young people in England between the training they receive and the work they go on to do:

-The number of graduate jobs has not kept pace with the expansion of higher education in many places. More than half of graduates in Cumbria and Lincolnshire work in jobs that do not require a degree. England has the highest level of overqualification among OECD countries: in 2022, 37% of workers were overqualified for their jobs, compared with an OECD average of 23%.

-41% of workers in England work in jobs that are not aligned to their area of study. This is not much higher than the OECD average of 38%. But countries with strong vocational pathways linked to local employers, like Germany and the Netherlands, have achieved lower field-of-study mismatch (33% and 31% respectively).

Why Badenoch's claim about last Tory government creating '14,000 new prison places' was misleading

At her press conference this morning, Kemi Badenoch said that the last Conservative government “created 14,000 new prison places”. (See 10.11am.)

However, as the Press Association points out in a QuickCheck analysis, this figure on its own is deeply misleading. PA explains:

double quotation markData from the government show that between May 2010 and April 2024, 14,142 prison places were added by building new prisons or adding more space in existing prisons.

However, there was a decrease in prison capacity of 13,660 in the meantime.

This meant that the overall number of prison places rose by 482 over that period.

Teaching unions concerned about lack of funding and detail in Burnham's plans for vocational education

Three teaching unions have expressed some concerns about Andy Burnham’s plan to get schools to offer early, localised access to technical education.

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:

double quotation markAndy Burnham’s first announcement should have been that he will end austerity in education. These proposed changes to technical education are welcome, but they will hit the skids unless there is sufficient investment in schools.

Support and investment for schools, colleges and young people must come first. The FE [further education] sector is severely underfunded and the government have not fully funded teacher pay for next year. Where will the teachers, lecturers and physical infrastructure to support these new routes come from without proper funding?

Broader options and flexibility for students are in principle a positive step forward, but if the government’s plans close doors for young people by narrowing their options at 14 this may place limits on their future opportunities. This will disproportionately hit the most disadvantaged.

This is from Matt Wrack, general secretary of NASUWT.

double quotation markThe prime minister has identified a significant issue with the learning offer made to secondary pupils in England. It is entirely legitimate for him to look at how programmes can be reshaped to support young people’s engagement with and enjoyment of learning and create the breadth and balance that the current curriculum lacks.

However, to date there is a dearth of detail on how these new pathways will work and how they will be integrated with the existing curriculum. It will be essential as further details of these proposals are developed that teachers and school leaders are able to help shape the structure and implementation of any plans.

And this is from Paul Whiteman, general secretary at NAHT, which represents school leaders.

double quotation markSchool leaders support the principle of giving technical and vocational education the same status and recognition as more traditional academic routes. Young people should be able to access pathways that reflect their strengths, interests and future aspirations, as part of a broad and balanced curriculum.

However, this announcement sets out a direction of travel rather than detailed proposals, and schools will need much greater clarity about what it means in practice and over funding.

Claire Waxman, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, has praised the women who attended the Conservative party press conference today so they could speak out about their concerns about their attackers being let out of jail under the early release scheme. (See 9.58am.)

In a post on LinkedIn, Waxman said:

double quotation mark

No one could fail to be moved by the courage of the women who spoke today. Their testimony was a powerful reminder of the profound and lasting impact these crimes have on victims and survivors. I commend their bravery in speaking up and speaking out.

As victims’ commissioner, I hear their pain, I share their concerns, and I recognise the fear and uncertainty many victims are now living with. These are concerns I have been raising directly with ministers and officials over many months, and I will be raising them again with the lord chancellor [Alex Norris] in my meeting with him today.

Lucy Powell says 'egregious' student loans system 'needs looking at'

Lucy Powell, the education secretary, has said the “egregious” student loans system “needs looking at” amid concerns over costs for graduates. As the Press Association reports, in her first major interview since returning to government under Andy Burnham, Powell said making the repayment terms “fair for students” was “top of my in-tray”.

There has been an outcry over the plan 2 loans, which have left some graduates with snowballing debts despite years of repayments as a result of inflation. As PA reports, interest on plan 2 loans, taken out between 1 September 2012 and 31 July 2023 in England, is charged at the rate of retail prices index (RPI) inflation, plus up to 3% extra depending on income. Repayments start when graduates earn a salary of £29,385.

In her interview on Radio 5 Live, Powell said:

double quotation markI’ve called it in the past egregious. And I’m not going to sort of change my opinion on that just because I’m now the secretary of state.

The government has committed to a review of that. It is … very much at the top of my in-tray as the secretary of state.

And I want to make sure that we look at this so that it’s fair for students. And it’s a real cost-of-living issue for young people because there’s about a 10-year timeframe for people on this plan 2 as well. So, they’re paying high repayments and never, ever paying off the capital of their student loan.

Asked whether it was something she would deal with, Powell said: “I can’t make any promises, but it needs looking at.”

Lucy Powell in Downing Street today.
Lucy Powell in Downing Street today. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA

Home Office used ‘AI hallucinated’ information to refuse asylum claim, judge suggests

A senior judge has accused the Home Office of relying on “AI hallucinated” information to refuse an asylum claim, Diane Taylor reports.

Burnham's vocational education drive 'not about dumbing down in any way', says education secretary Lucy Powell

Lucy Powell, the new education secretary, has said that Andy Burnham’s plan for more localised, vocational education in schools does not mean the government does not want children to go to university.

double quotation markWe don’t want fewer people going to university.

Having that offer of the same quality, the same esteem pathways straight into employment or into further education, into technical and vocational education, will suit some students better and will actually equip all students with the skills they need for the modern economy.

So, this is about having that focus as well, alongside the academic.

But this is not about dumbing down in any way or having less aspiration for kids to go to university.

Led By Donkeys wins compensation over seizure of Gaza protest banner

The campaign group Led By Donkeys has received £27,000 in compensation after a giant banner it displayed in Parliament Square saying “Yes it’s a Genocide” was seized by Greater London Authority officials and destroyed, Haroon Siddique reports.

Philp rejects French claim that shots fired from naval boat near him were training exercise, not intimidation

According to Chris Philp, the French authorities are now saying the shots fired from the boat near him in the Channel were just part of a training exercise. He has accused them of not telling the truth.

Philp says:

double quotation markThe French are now claiming that the shots were a training exercise

This is not credible

There were no warnings in place about live firing training exercises. They fired the live rounds at the closest point of approach to us - and didn’t fire anything that we saw before or after

It looked and sounded exactly like deliberate intimidation

Philp accuses French navy of firing pistol to intimidate him - as expert says shots were probably just routine training

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, has accused the French navy of firing live ammunition to stop him investigating what they are doing about small boats.

He also said he would be complaining about the incident to the French ambassador.

He issued a statement as a follow-up to a claim he first made on social media. (See 12.12pm.) He was on a boat filming an interview with a BBC journalist about three miles from the French coast when they heard 17 gunshots being fired from a French naval ship about 300m away. A French officer on the boat could be seen pointing a pistol towards the sea, but not in the direction of Philp’s boat.

The BBC report of the incident is here.

In his statement, Philp said:

double quotation markIt is extraordinary that the French navy will fire live rounds to defend their waters against a visiting British politician but cannot bear to do anything about stopping illegal Channel crossings.

If France showed people smugglers half the seriousness they showed me, the boats would stop. Instead, the French wave them through and pass them off to the British coastguard so it’s our problem.

I will be raising this incident with the French ambassador.

The French authorities have been contacted for a comment.

But, in an interview on Radio 4’s the World at One, Kevin Rowlands, a retired Royal Navy captain who is now journal editor at the RUSI thinktank, said that he thought it was unlikely that the French were deliberately trying to intimidate Philp.

He said that, if a naval vessel was doing an exercise with its main guns, it would have to do a notice to other seafarers. But that was not the case with “routine, small arms firing”, he said. That could just be sailors “catching up on their training”, and that was the sort of thing that happened “pretty regularly”.

Rowlands said, from the pictures he had seen, the handgun was aimed “in a safe direction”. And if it was in a safe direction, that would just be “pretty routine business”.

Rowlands said it might have been better if the French had left a larger distance between the vessels. But, if it had been intended as a warning, it should have started with a warning call, he said.

He went on:

double quotation markAnd so, on the face of it, I don’t think this appears to be an incident where the French are actively trying to intimidate a British politician or or the BBC. That seems a little bit much, from what I’ve seen.

Chris Philp near a French naval ship from where shots were fired.
Chris Philp near a French naval ship from where shots were fired. Photograph: Chris Philp MP/X

Last week charities complained that the world’s most vulnerable people would be put at risk by Andy Burnham’s decision to use the aid budget to pay for cheaper bus fares in England.

Now 100 NGO leaders have signed an open letter to Burnham setting out their case in more detail. They say:

double quotation markPrime Minister, you have an opportunity to tackle the root causes of poverty and inequality and promote solidarity across marginalised communities both here in the UK and internationally. Your emphasis on reshaping our economic and political systems, and bringing greater power at local level to better address the needs of ordinary people, promises to take us in this direction. We welcome this.

However, your decision to reallocate £400m of the UK’s international climate finance to help fund a cap on bus fares in the UK risks pitting the needs of marginalised people in lower-income and climate vulnerable countries against those in the UK. Diverting resources away from quality grant funding for those who need it most leaves countries already trapped in unfair debt cycles with few choices but to borrow more, to address a climate crisis not of their making.

Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, has welcomed Andy Burnham’s plan for more localised, vocational education. She said:

double quotation markI wholeheartedly agree with the direction of travel of these reforms. Local leaders should have a greater role in making sure young people have a line of sight to employment. I look forward to hearing more and working with the government to ensure we deliver an education system that works for every child, in every postcode. That means long-overdue attention paid to vocational routes alongside making sure every child, no matter their background, can choose quality academic paths.

Comments are not open here. But they are open on our Q&A with Polly Toynbee, who will be responding to questions from readers about Andy Burnham’s first week in power from 2pm.

You can read or join in here.

Michael Marra to stand in Scottish Labour leadership election

Scottish Labour MSP Michael Marra has announced he will run for the party’s leadership following the resignation of Anas Sarwar, the Press Association reports. It comes as the Scottish Labour party confirmed a new leader will be elected by 19 September. PA says:

double quotation markMarra, the party’s finance spokesman, said the party had to change following successive election defeats.

He said he had the “skills, the experience and the character” to lead the party on the “road to recovery”.

He is the second person to announce their intention to run in the leadership contest.

Monica Lennon, who lost her seat at the May election, launched her leadership bid last week. She will be offered Sarwar’s Glasgow list seat after he stood down to take up a seat in the House of Lords and become a UK minister.

Marra, an MSP for the North East region, said the contest would be a “moment of renewal” for Scottish Labour.

He told the Daily Record: “The promise of our Scottish Labour party is that we build a better, more equal nation, and we leave it as a legacy for our children.

“That is a moral purpose. But too often it can become clouded in the day to day of our politics.

“In this moment of renewal for our party, we must restate that purpose. But we also have to listen. We have to learn. And we have to change.”

Nominations will officially open for two weeks from Monday 3 August, with party members and supporters being balloted from 28 August to 17 September before a leader is announced on 19 September.

Burnham has clear lead over all other main party leaders on who would make best PM, poll suggests

Yesterday More in Common published an opinion poll showing Labour four points ahead of Reform UK. YouGov later published a poll showing Labour and Reform UK both on 22%, and the Tories on 21%.

Some further YouGov polling published today may be a bit more significant. It is hard to win a UK election without a popular leader and the new figures show Andy Burnham well ahead of all the other main UK party leaders on the ‘who would be the best PM?’ measure. Keir Starmer did not do badly on this measure, but Burnham has eclipsed him easily.

Polling on which party leader would make best PM
Polling on which party leader would make best PM Photograph: YouGov

The figures also suggest that support for Nigel Farage is falling. Earlier in the year he was ahead of Kemi Badenoch on this measure, but now she beats him by more than two to one. Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, and Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, have both seen their ratings fall since the start of this year, but in a head to head contest they both beat Farage, who is the most disliked of all the main party leaders.

Polling on who would make best PM
Polling on who would make best PM Photograph: YouGov

In his write-up for YouGov, Dylan Difford has more detail on how the anti-Farage effect works. He says:

double quotation markWhile just over half of Lib Dem and Green voters (52-53%) think Burnham would be a more capable PM than Badenoch (with 21% of Lib Dems instead backing Badenoch), this rises as much as 25 points (71-77%) when Burnham’s opponent is Farage.

Likewise, while Reform UK voters feel Badenoch would make a better PM than Burnham by a decisive margin of 52% to 6%, just 38% of Conservative voters see Farage as potentially being a better PM than Burnham, with 24% instead feeling the former Manchester mayor is more up to the job.

Additionally, when the scenario includes two leaders from the same bloc, significant proportions of voters are willing to ‘cross the floor’ to back the more centrist contender. For example, 61% of 2024 Lib Dems, alongside 44-45% of Labour and Green voters, back Badenoch over Farage, while Conservative and Reform UK voters prefer Burnham to Polanski by 41-44% to 2-3%.

As mentioned earlier, the government included almost 20 endorsements in its news release about its plan for more localised, vocational education. (See 9.16am.)

Someone at No 10 has been busy because the press office has now sent out quotes from 14 leading UK businesses backing the idea. The firms are: Barclays, Tesco, Amazon, the National Grid, JLR, Sainsbury’s, Babcock International, Lloyds Banking Group, Rolls-Royce, PwC UK, Siemens, Google, HSBC and the Royal Mail.

There is nothing more boring than a list of 14 business figures all saying much the same thing, but it is unusual to get so many CEO quotes backing a government initiative. As an example, this is what Sarah Armstrong, chief people officer at Rolls-Royce, said:

double quotation markA strong pipeline of engaged and enthusiastic talent is vital to ensure that companies like Rolls-Royce can keep the UK at the forefront of technological development and advanced manufacturing. We welcome any effort to bring young people closer to industry and prepare them for the world of work, and support the ambitions of the government to work with industry and local leaders to help more young people leave school ready for a career.

The Green party is broadly positive about Andy Burnham’s plan for more localised, vocational education- but sceptical about whether he will really be able to get people to respect technical qualifications as much as university degrees. This is from the Green MP Hannah Spencer, who was a plumber before she was elected to parliament.

double quotation markThere is huge potential to create so many well paid, highly skilled and very rewarding jobs through the transition to a Green economy, with workers at the heart of it. We need people, of all ages, to train in sectors like renewable energy, home insulation and sustainable transport.

But for those of us with experience in the trades, we know it’s not what the qualifications are called that stop people training. It’s the fact that once we’re qualified we’re still looked down on and undervalued or seen as ‘less than’ because we didn’t go to university. Time will tell over whether Andy Burnham is seriously committed to tackling this.