This week the Government confirmed what has become increasingly evident over the previous months: it is one rule for them and another for everyone else. 

I was astounded to see the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland admit that the Government was preparing to break international law. The UK Government is proposing to unilaterally rewrite previously agreed sections of the EU Withdrawal Agreement. When this comes before Parliament next week, I’ll be working with my Labour colleagues to stop this.  

Also this week the Public Accounts Committee held a hearing with HMRC officials where we discovered that up to ten per cent of the money spent on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme could have been for fraudulent claims. See a transcript of the hearing here. 

The Public Accounts Committee also questioned Home Office officials on the Windrush Compensation Scheme. It is right that the Home Office has now started to proactively seek out other Commonwealth citizens outside of the Caribbean who could’ve also been impacted, although there is still some way to go until justice is delivered. See a transcript of the hearing here. 

And the Government has also announced new restrictions in light of the increase in COVID-19 infections. After Monday, groups of six will no longer be allowed to meet in any setting, although some exceptions apply. See here for a local COVID-19 update from Hackney’s Director of Public Health, Dr Sandra Husbands.