Tata Steel decision to axe 3,000 jobs sparks outrage – latest

Wales Green Party chief Anthony Slaughter stated: “This is devastating news for the local community and beyond.

“Wales knows only too well what happens when communities are abandoned by government and industries.

“We saw it with the coal industry and now it is happening again with the steel industry.

“Decarbonisation of industry is vital, but communities and people’s jobs must be protected.

“That means putting unions and workers at the heart of a just transition.”

Ian Price, director of CBI Wales stated: “Tata Steel’s announcement of the closure of two blast furnaces with the loss of 2,800 jobs is a blow for workers employed at the plant in Port Talbot and in the wider supply chain, which includes a number of local companies, and affects other firms throughout Wales.

“The trade unions and the Welsh and UK governments need to come together with Tata and local businesses to find a way of reskilling and retraining those affected staff and help them return to the labour market.

“The new Freeport in Milford Haven-Neath Port Talbot, and on Anglesey, offer opportunities for workers’ talents to be harnessed in support of the renewables and net zero industry and it is essential the projects are delivered rapidly to support the Welsh economy.”

Fujitsu boss Paul Patterson told the inquiry bugs, errors and defects in the Horizon IT system were known about by “all parties” and have been known for “many, many years”, Zoe Grunewald reports.

When asked if Fujitsu knew about the existence of errors and defects at a “corporate level”, Mr Patterson said: “Yes. In fact all the bugs and errors have been known on one level, or not, for many, many years.

“Right from the very start of the deployment of this system there were bugs and errors and defects which were well known to all parties.”

The Indian-owned steel giant said it was “not feasible or affordable” to adopt a plan put forward by the GMB and Community unions to keep the furnaces open while transitioning to a greener production method.

Archie Mitchell and Alex Ross report:

A former postmaster said that his colleagues were still experiencing shortfalls due to the Horizon computer system, Zoe Grunewald reports.

Talking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he stated: “There was a postmistress up in Perthsire [..] and just last month, she had a shortfall of £414.

The fact that this is still going on, still affecting people’s finances, still affecting people’s mental health is absolutely disgusting.”

The Horizon IT system, which led to 700 sub-postmasters being accused of siphoning cash, it nonetheless being utilized by the Post Office.

Following information that the Lords’ International Agreements Committee has really useful that the Rwanda treaty shouldn’t be ratified, the Law Society, which represents solicitors in England and Wales, has stated the treaty must be delayed till Rwanda has confirmed that it’s now protected for asylum seekers, Holly Bancroft experiences.

Vice president Richard Atkinson stated: “We are pleased to see the Committee shares our view that the conclusion of the Rwanda treaty in itself does not make Rwanda a safe country to send asylum seekers to.

“The Supreme Court ruled that the policy is unlawful on a point of fact, based on a core and well-established principle of international and domestic law, non-refoulement.

“It is a fact that Rwanda is not considered a safe country given the high risk of refoulement of asylum seekers.

“The signing of a treaty does not change this finding of fact.”

He added: “There are serious questions about the effectiveness of the treaty which we urge the House of Lords to probe carefully.

“At the very least, peers should endorse the Committee’s recommendation that ratification be delayed until the mechanisms and safeguards in the treaty have been fully implemented.”

Downing Street said it was “confident” Rwanda would implement improved measures into its asylum system in time for a new treaty with the UK being ratified by parliament.

It comes after the House of Lords International Agreements Committee said “significant legal and practical steps” must be taken before Rwanda can be deemed safe and the treaty approved by Westminster.

Asked whether ministers would be following through on the committee’s recommendations, a spokeswoman for the prime minister said: “So I think more broadly on the process, we will let it follow its course as it is looked at in the Lords. We will consider issues that are raised — motions and amendments — in the usual way.”

On the matter of the treaty, she stated: “In terms of the improvements and the assurances that we have with the government of Rwanda, we are confident that there will be implementation of all of those measures in line with the timelines for the treaty.

“So those assurances that we provided, which responded to issues raised by the Supreme Court, will be in place when we get flights off the ground.”

Asked whether the government would comply if peers pass a motion designed to provide assurances over the treaty, the spokeswoman said: “I’m not going to get ahead of parliamentary processes and processes in the Lord’s — that starts to get into hypotheticals.”

Rishi Sunak played down the prospect of putting more peers into the House of Lords to pass the Rwanda Bill.

Speaking to reporters in Hampshire, he stated: “We shouldn’t be talking about these things because the House of Lords will be able to see that this is part of the strong majority in the Commons, they can see that this is a national priority.

“And I would urge them strongly to crack on with it because we all just want to get this done.

“The country is fed up and frustrated with the merry-go-round on this topic.

“I think people can appreciate that we have made progress last year, but we now need to finish the job and that’s why we should pass this scheme as quickly as possible.”