Rolling coverage of all the day’s political developments as they happen 11.57am: Chris Bryant has finished giving evidence. John Yates is appearing now. 11.55am: Bryant says his main complaint is that the police had evidence of criminality but did not interrogate him. Keith Vaz asks Bryant if he has met Yates. Bryant says Yates wrote to him threatening to sue him. At the bottom of that letter Yates offered a meeting. Bryant says he did not take that as a friendly invitation. He is now involved in legal action with the Met. 11.55am: Bryant says that some mobile phone companies tell customers when they think their phones have been hacked. Some don’t. But they all should, he says. 11.52am: Chris Bryant says Andy Hayman, who ran the original phone hacking investigation, is now working as a News International columnist. He also says that the police have never investigated Rebekah Brooks, the News International chief executive, even though she effectively admitted to a crime when she told the culture committee in 2003 that her journalists had paid police officers for information. (Bryant was on the culture committee at the time and he was the MP who put the question.) 11.47am: Bryant says the original prosecution does not seem to have had a deterrent effect. Kelly Hoppen had her phone hacked last year. A senior MP (who he does not name) has had her phone hacked within the last few months, he says. Bryant says there is a real danger that the Met can be seen as being “in collusion” with News International. Last week Yates defended the fact that he had taken hospitality from News of the World executives. Bryant suggests that these meetings were a mistake. Yates had lunch with Neil Wallis, a former News of the World executive, in February, Bryant says. Bryant wonders whether Yates told the officer currently leading the new phone hacking investigation about this. 11.45am: Bryant says if the police found a name alongside a list of phone numbers, they should have taken those numbers to the person identified and asked him or her about them. The police did not do this, he says. In response to a question from Bryant, he says the police have now been in touch with him to tell him about his phone being hacked. 11.41am: Mark Reckless, a Conservative, asks Bryant if he thinks Yates deliberately misled the home affairs committee. Bryant says that a note written by Scotland Yard in 2006 says that a “vast number” of people had had their phones hacked. Reckless says that this suggests Yates was deliberately misleading the committeed. “Quite,” says Bryant. Bryant says it was “disingenuous in the extreme” of Yates to suggest that there were very few victims because the police had never bothered to look at the evidence properly. 11.37am: Keith Vaz, the chairman, asks Bryant if he accepts that the Crown Prosecution Service originally told the police that a hacker would have to listen to a message before it had been heard by the intended recipient for an offence to be committed. Bryant says that he accepts that a lawyer may have said this to the police. But he says he thinks Yates’s evidence on this last week was “somewhat disingenuous”. He says that he wants to tell the committee about the other areas where he thinks Yates misled MPs. But Vaz says he wants to concentrate for the moment on the issue of the legal advice. 11.32am: Chris Bryant is giving evidence to the committee first. John Yates will appear at 12pm. Bryant starts with an opening statement. Bryant says Yates told the home affairs committee on 7 September 2010 that there was no evidence that MPs had had their phones hacked. But at least eight MPs have had their phones hacked, he says. Yates said a hacker had to listen to a message before the intended recipient had heard it for an offence to be committed. But Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, has said that this legal definition played no part in the original inquiry, he says. 11.22am: It’s Groundhog Day for John Yates. Last week he appeared before the Commons culture committee to answer allegations – made by Chris Bryant in a Commons debate earlier this month – that he misled MPs when he gave evidence about the legal advice given to police when they first investigated phone hacking. For almost two hours, he endured a fairly undignified duffing up. You can read Nick Davies’s story about the hearing here, and Simon Hoggart’s sketch here. Now Yates has got to go through the whole thing all over again. The home affairs committee has invited him to appear because he originally gave evidence to it about phone hacking as well as to the culture committee. Keith Vaz, the chairman of the home affairs committee, clearly does not want to feel left out. At the end of last week’s hearing Yates suggested he was unhappy about the prospect of having to answer the same questions twice. But is he going to nick Vaz and his colleagues for wasting police time? I doubt it. The hearing will start soon. 11.18am: Most people in the Labour party are opposed to AV, Lord Reid, the former Labour cabinet minister, told BBC News this morning. According to PoliticsHome, this is what he said: My view is quite simple. If the vast majority of the people in the Labour Party, as I believe they are, are opposed to AV and want to defend one person one vote – as well as the vast majority of people in the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties as well – then I’m on the side of the mainstream majority on this one. 11.02am: Could “bling back” become official government policy? It’s a term in a report published by Lady Newlove, the government’s champion for safer communities, to describe money made from the sale of drug dealers’ assets being given to the communities they blighted. Newlove is in favour of “bling back” and also “community reward” – money being given to communities to spend on crime prevention initiatives as a reward when people pass on information leading to criminals being convicted. There are more details of the report in this Home Office news release. James Brokenshire, the crime prevention minister, has praised Newlove for her contribution. 10.49am: Matthew Elliott, the No to AV campaign director, wasn’t impressed by the line up at this morning’s pro-AV rally. (See 9.20am and 10.34am.) He’s put out this statement. Yes to AV claim they are the “people’s campaign” but today’s launch looked like a Lib Dem convention chaired by Ed Miliband. The only person missing from their Westminster photo-op is the man who is forcing us to have this expensive referendum: Nick Clegg. It was he that bargained away his promise on tuition fees for a referendum on the Alternative Vote. It would be his party – the Lib Dems – that would benefit most from a switch to AV. The Yes to AV campaign is just a front for the Lib Dems and they are deceiving the public if they claim otherwise. 10.34am: Ed Miliband told the AV rally this morning that the alternative vote would increase the chances of “progressive” parties winning elections. Here’s an extract. AV would encourage us to build bridges, not barriers, between parties so that we can persuade more voters of our case. I believe today’s political culture, which only encourages division, profoundly damages belief in politics. Nowhere has this been more true than among the progressive forces in Britain. I have spoken before about the progressive majority. The tragedy for progressive politics in Britain has been that division on the centre and left has handed a united right victory after victory. For most of the last eighty years, there has been one Conservative party but several competing for progressive votes. No wonder the Tories back the current system. They know Britain is not a fundamentally Conservative country. But with first past the post, they are more likely to govern whenever progressive forces are divided. This Tory led government and its current alliance of power with the Liberal Democrats does not change my belief that there is a progressive majority in this country. Britain deserves an electoral system that fairly reflects voters’ views. 10.28am: William Hague has met a member of the Libyan opposition. He put out this statement after his meeting with Mahmoud Jibril, an envoy from Libya’s interim transitional national council (ITNC) ahead of today’s Libya conference. I was delighted to invite Mr Jabril to London today. Mr Jabril and I have spoken on several occasions over the past week and he has come to London at my request. The ITNC is an important and legitimate political interlocutor and the UK is committed to strengthening our contacts with a wide range of members of the Libyan opposition who are working to create a Libya where the legitimate aspirations of its people can be met. We discussed the current political and humanitarian situation in Libya. We agreed on the absolute importance of protecting and safeguarding civilians in Libya. We considered how best the UK as well as other attendees at today’s London conference can best support the Libyan people, and I asked for Mr Jabril’s assessment of the humanitarian needs in Libya and priorities for international assistance. 10.12am: Labour have just sent out Refounding Labour, a 32-page consultation document exploring ways the party needs to reform (pdf). Patrick Wintour has written a story about this for the Guardian today and he says that it could lead to registered Labour supporters being given a vote in leadership elections. The document has been written by Peter Hain, the chair of Labour’s national policy forum. His report does not contain specific recommendations, but it does raise plenty of thoughtful and far-reaching questions about party organisation. Here’s what Hain is saying this morning about the need for the party to change. Since the 1950s membership of political parties has been in decline across Europe’s established democracies. The UK now has one of the lowest rates of party membership of all. The 1.5 per cent of the electorate who belonged to parties in the UK in 2001 compares to nearly 5 per cent elsewhere in Europe in the late 1990s. By 2005 only 1.3 per cent of UK voters were members of any of the three main political parties, down from nearly 4 per cent in 1983. The Labour Party’s basic structure is essentially that adopted in 1918. In today’s much more diffuse, individualist political culture, how can we maximise the potential for participation by ‘Labour Supporters’ – those who would not join the Party, but who could be mobilised to back and work for us? How do we manage this in a way that does not undermine the rights of ‘full’ members? 9.47am: The Office for National Statistics has revised its growth forecast for the fourth quarter of 2010 back to a 0.5% decrease. That’s marginally better than the ONS was forecasting last month, when it put fourth quarter growth at minus 0.6%, but exactly the same as it was predicting in January, when it made its first stab at producing a figure. The ONS is still saying that the snow was to blame for growth falling by 0.5%. That means that, without the bad weather, growth would have been 0%. The economy would have been flat. That’s still pretty bad. The ONS summary is here, and the full ONS statistical bulletin is here (pdf). 9.39am: Looking at the Press Association overnight wire, I see that Labour MP Kerry McCarthy used an iPad instead of notes to prompt her when she was delivering a speech in the Commons last night. She is thought to be the first MP to use an iPad in this way in the chamber. Last week a Commons committee said that the ban on MPs using iPads “as an aide memoire” in debates should be ended. 9.27am: While we’re on the subject of AV, there’s a letter in the Times (paywall) today claiming that first-past-the-post is one of the reasons why Britain has been able to punch above its weight in world affairs. It sounds like a fairly spurious argument, but the letter has been signed by a heavyweight collection of signatories: William Hague, the foreign secretary, four former foreign secretaries (Margaret Beckett, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Lord Hurd and Lord Howe) and three former Foreign Office ministers (Keith Vaz, Tony Lloyd and Caroline Flint). Here’s an extract. Those of us who have represented Britain internationally know that one of the many reasons why we have always punched above our weight is our simple and straightforward voting system, a system that everyone can understand, because it gives one person, one vote. Democracies all across the world have been founded on the example of our voting system. Today, billions of people elect their representatives through the system of one person, one vote. It took many centuries for the principle of one person, one vote to become enshrined in our democracy. And now that it is there, we believe it would be a grave error to abandon this principle and replace it with a voting system that is more complex, more confusing, more costly and more unfair. 9.20am: The Yes to Fairer Votes rally has started. BBC News has just shown a clip of Caroline Lucas, the Green leader, speaking on the platform, with Ed Miliband behind her. Here’s a full list of the politicians taking part. Ed Miliband Shirley Williams Caroline Lucas John Denham Charles Kennedy Darren Johnson Tessa Jowell Tim Farron 8.47am: There’s plenty to keep us busy today. London is hosting a conference about the future of Libya . Adam Gabbatt should have more details on his Libya live blog . There will be a press conference, but it won’t be until late this afternoon. I’ll be focusing on the domestic politics today, of which there’s plenty. Here’s a full list. 9am: Ed Miliband speaks at a pro-AV rally alongside Charles Kennedy and Caroline Lucas and other Labour, Lib Dem and Green politicians. 9.15am: Sir David King , the former chief scientific adviser to the government, launches a report on nuclear policy in the UK. 9.30am: Frank Field and Nadine Dorries MP hold a press conference about amendments they are tabling to the health bill about abortion . 9.30am: The Office for National Statistics publishes its revised forecast for growth in the final quarter of 2010. 10am: Officials from the Office for Budget Responsibility and the Treasury give evidence to the Treasury committee about the budget . 10.30am: Universities UK and the Russell Group give evidence to the business committee about the future of higher education . 11.30am: Chris Bryant , the Labour MP, and John Yates , the acting deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police, give evidence to the Commons home affairs committee about phone hacking . Bryant will appear at 11.30am, and Yates at 12pm. They will be asked about allegations that Yates misled the committee last year over the legal advice given to the police about what constitutes phone hacking. Last week Yates was grilled by the culture committee about these allegations . 2.30pm: Keir Starmer , the director of public prosecutions, and Lady Neville-Jones , the security minister, give evidence to the joint committee on human rights on extradition policy . 3pm : George Osborne , the chancellor, gives evidence to the Commons Treasury committee about the budget . 3.30pm: Kenneth Clarke , the justice secretary, makes a statement to MPs about his green paper on civil justice . As usual, I’ll be covering all the breaking political news, as well as looking at the papers and bringing you the best politics from the web. I’ll post a lunchtime summary at around 1pm, and an afternoon one after Osborne has finished. House of Commons Andrew Sparrow guardian.co.uk
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Full coverage of the inquest into the death of newspaper vendor Ian Tomlinson after he was struck by police during the G20 protests in London in 2009 11.53am: In his opening remarks, the coroner told the jury their task was to find the cause of death of Tomlinson. In summary, he: • Warned the jury to avoid researching the abundance of material about his death available on the internet, as well as press reports from the inquest. • Told the jury to ignore the fact that the director of public prosecutions (DPP) chose not to bring criminal proceedings against the officer. “That was not a final decision, but a provisional decision,” he said. “He may review that decision after the inquest.” • Stated that the inquest would consider some broader issues, but would not be as wide-reaching as a public inquiry. “Nobody is on trial. No organisation is on trial. You as the jury will not decide any question of civil or criminal liability.” • Gave a summary of Tomlinson’s last 30 minutes alive. He explained how he left Monument tube station, where he had been selling the Evening Standard newspaper, shortly before 7pm. He made his way north, encountering several police cordons, before his encounter with PC Simon Harwood at Royal Exchange buildings. 11.44am: The video shown to the jury is a compilation of still pictures, CCTV footage and pictures taken from a police helicopter. It shows the newspaper seller trying to find a way through the various streets in the area, many of which were cordoned off. The helicopter footage shows police medics treating Tomlinson after he fell to the ground in Cornhill. 11.38am: In his opening remarks, the coroner summarised the events leading up to Tomlinson’s death. He told the jury that it wasn’t clear where Tomlinson was heading on the evening he died, but it’s possible he was heading home to a hostel in the Smithfield area. The jury was also told that Tomlinson suffered from alcoholism and had been drinking that day. The jury members were then shown a compilation of video footage, which has not been seen before. Later, the jury will visit the location in the City of London where Tomlinson died. 10.57am: Welcome to the first day of our coverage of the inquest into the death of Ian Tomlinson, a newspaper seller who was struck by police during the G20 protests in London in 2009. Judge Peter Thornton QC, a senior judge sitting as assistant deputy coroner, is overseeing proceedings, which in fact began yesterday with legal argument that we are unable to report. A jury of seven men and five women were sworn in at 2.15pm, after what Thornton conceded was an “unusually protracted process” due to the limited number of suitable candidates in London’s Square Mile. They were sent home while the legal debates continued. Over the next five to six weeks the jury will determine Tomlinson’s cause of death, deciding specifically whether he was unlawfully killed by police. I’ll be live-blogging, tweeting, and writing reports. You can email me in confidence at paul.lewis@guardian.co.uk or message me on Twitter . Tomlinson’s family, most of whom are in the hearing today, have been waiting almost exactly two years since the day of his death to get to this point. It has been a long road, so here is a brief recap of how we got here. Tomlinson died on 1 April 2009, the day of the G20 protests in London . He was not a protester, but was trying to pick a route home through the City of London. Many of the streets around the Bank of England had been cordoned off by police detaining activists in “kettles”, and Tomlinson found himself caught up in the crowds. He was struck by a police officer around 7.30pm on Cornhill. Police initially claimed he died of natural causes and there was no investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). That changed six days later, when the Guardian released video footage showing Tomlinson being struck from behind then pushed in the back by a member of the Met’s Territorial Support Group (TSG). Tomlinson, who had his back to the officer and his hands in his pockets, fell to the ground and was unable to break his fall. He collapsed and died shortly afterwards. In July last year, the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, announced there would be no charges laid against the officer who struck Tomlinson. Ian Tomlinson G20 Protest Police London Independent Police Complaints Commission Paul Lewis guardian.co.uk
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On Tuesday the Supreme Court will hear a lawsuit from women who say they were systematically discriminated against by retail giant Wal-Mart. If the court allows the case to go forward as a class action, it could involve up to 1.6 million women. (March 29)
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Tens of thousands of Syrians are rallying in a central Damascus square for a demonstration in support of President Bashar Assad. (March 29)
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Libya – President Obama Addresses the Nation on Libya – PART 1 of 2 Democrats React to Obama’s Libya Speech.flv Obama’s Speech on His Invasion of Libya (Filled with Lies & Hubris) – PT 2 of 2 Obama's Speech , RealClearWorld – The Compass Blog Obama’s Speech . Posted by Greg Scoblete at 7:38 PM. President Obama offered a very strong humanitarian case for American intervention in Libya. The crux: It is true that America cannot use our military wherever repression occurs. … Will Obama Speech Address Region, or Just Libya? – NYTimes.com President Obama will seek to answer what the White House calls “legitimate” questions about the American involvement in the war in Libya. Text Of President Obama's Speech On The Situation In Libya | TPM … The White House has released the text of President Obama’s address on Libya, as prepared for delivery. Here’s the full text: Good evening. Tonight, I’d like to update the American people on the international effort that we have led in. Scott White: Obama's Speech on Libya (I WIsh) The following is a confidential, annotated first draft of the speech President Obama plans on giving to the nation Monday night about US involvement in Libya. It has reached The Huffington Post through an unauthorized disclosure, … Riehl World View: Sen. Rand Paul responds to Obama's speech on Libya Jennifer of Cubachi Senator Rand Paul gave a response to President Obama’s Libya speech. He is as puzzled as most of us over what the mission is in Libya, and he also asks why Obama consulted with the UN… Sean_Coppernoll says: #Palin admits #Obama speech confusing. Seems eloquence and integrity confound her.
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