Good afternoon. This is Mason Boycott-Owen, gently wafting you towards a sleepy protest-y bank holiday.
CHEAT SHEET
— The government will appeal against the Epping hotel decision that ruined its recess.
— Protests and counter-protests are taking place across the country as other councils seek to close their own migrant hotels.
— Famine has been declared around Gaza City as the humanitarian crisis continues.
— Ukraine dealmaking rumbles on as the Kremlin shows a bit of leg.
— Wes Streeting has a drug pricing problem.
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TOP OF THE NEWSLIST
BACK TO COURT: The government has taken the first steps to appeal the High Court ruling which gave the Home Office until Sept. 12 to move asylum seekers out of The Bell Hotel in Epping. Dan Jarvis, the security minister, confirmed the move earlier today.
Legal steps: Jarvis told broadcasters that the government needs to close all asylum hotels by the end of this parliament, but that it needs to be done “in a managed and ordered way,” adding: “That’s why we’ll appeal this decision.” Somani Hotels, the owner of the Bell Hotel, also confirmed that it will be appealing the ruling by Mr Justice Eyre.
Tories disagree: Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “It is completely wrong that the Labour government is taking legal action to keep open the Bell Hotel. The Government isn’t listening to the public or to the courts.”
Can of worms: Tuesday’s High Court decision to accept Epping Forest District Council’s demands for an injunction to remove asylum seekers from the hotel is a big problem for the government if other councils take similar action, which could put further strain on the migrant accommodation system.
Bank holiday of discontent: Today there are protests expected to take place in at least eight towns and cities across the U.K. as locals and activists seek to pile pressure on local officials to follow Epping’s lead. These include Leeds, Cardiff and Portsmouth, with another 14 planned to take place on Saturday.
Not content with discontent are campaigners Stand Up to Racism, who are organizing counter-protests for today’s rallies, and are expected to put on their own marches over the weekend. In a post on X the group said: “We’re in a dangerous moment. This weekend is set to see the biggest number of far-right demonstrations since the riots last summer.”
Concerns over violence: Craig Leyland, leader of Lincolnshire’s East Lindsey district council, told Times Radio that although asylum seekers in his area are a worry for local residents, he is concerned about the “potential for violence and disruption” at protests over this weekend.
Chants begin: The Times’ live blog of today’s protests reports that a group of around 70 protesters have gathered with flags outside Portsmouth’s guildhall. The paper adds that there is a speaker playing “Rule, Britannia!” while the group chants “get them out.”
Wary of the right: Nathan Evans, leader of the Conservative group on the Labour-run Trafford council, told the Times that legal challenges should be started, rather than waiting for protests which could turn potentially violent. “Are we waiting for an attack before the council do something?” he asked, adding that he did not want to directly join protests in case they are “hijacked by organisations we don’t support.”
Flag flying: The Spectator has spoken to the man putting flags up around York, amid this week’s flag frenzy that has seen shadow ministers involved in vigilante flag-based justice.
DRIVETIME DEBRIEF
FAMINE IN GAZA: Gaza City is now officially in famine, according to a report from the U.N.-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). The organization upgraded its classification to Phase 5 — the highest level — warning that half a million people face “starvation, destitution, and death.”
U.K. reacts: Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement that the announcement “is utterly horrifying and is wholly preventable,” adding: “The Israeli government’s refusal to allow sufficient aid into Gaza has caused this man-made catastrophe. This is a moral outrage.”
Israel pushes back: Israel dismissed the IPC findings as “Hamas lies.” Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed to unleash “the gates of hell” on Gaza, until they agree to “the release of all hostages and their disarmament.”
RUSSIA LATEST: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte made a surprise appearance in Kyiv today for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on possible security guarantees for Ukraine. In a joint press briefing, he said Ukraine, the Europeans, and the U.S. are working together to make sure defenses “of such a level that [Vladimir Putin], sitting in Moscow, will never ever try to attack Ukraine again.”
Don’t hold your breath: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov joined NBC News where he said that Putin is ready to meet with Zelensky once there is an agenda set for any summit, but added that this agenda is “not ready at all.” Later in the interview Lavrov went on to blame the Ukrainian president for turning down Russian demands.
Brussels’ view: European Commission VP Kaja Kallas told BBC Radio 4 that Russia “is just dragging [its] feet” and has no interest in peace. She called for more EU and U.S. sanctions and tariffs against Russia to force Putin to the negotiation table.
Allies in the dark: My top colleague Antoaneta Roussi reports that Tulsi Gabbard, the U.S. director of national intelligence, ordered in July that all information regarding the Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations should not be shared with Five Eyes intelligence partners including the United Kingdom.
WES STREETING HAS A DRUG PRICING PROBLEM: Labour’s health secretary has walked away from talks with big pharma, after the sector’s top pharma lobby, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) rejected a government offer on NHS drug pricing.
Backtrack: The U.K. was reviewing a clawback tax, which forces companies to return cash to the NHS if spending goes over a pre-agreed cap. ABPI argues it’s making Britain “uninvestable.” Now that they’ve spurned the government’s proposal, they’re stuck with the current clawback deal until 2028. DHSC told the FT “that the interests of patients and the NHS are best served by concluding the review and continuing with the existing … scheme unamended.”
WHAT A LIBERTY: Staff at Liberty Steel’s South Yorkshire steelworks have been told that they will receive their August pay and pension contributions after Speciality Steel UK (SSUK) — Liberty’s main British business — was put into administration on Thursday afternoon. The Guardian has a write-up.
FAKE NEWS: There was no “woke mutiny” of junior staff at The Bull pub in Charlbury when JD Vance wanted to eat there during his U.K. visit. The Fence writes that what actually happened was some back-and-forth with Vance’s team that ended in the now-famous barbecue with Thomas Skinner.
NAH: Online message board 4chan will refuse to pay a fine issued by Ofcom for breaching its obligations under the Online Safety Act, its lawyer Preston Byrne has told my ace tech colleague Mizy Clifton. “My client will not be the first American in 250 years to allow the UK to tell it to wear a muzzle. We fought a war over this and the UK lost,” he said. Ofcom didn’t confirm whether a fine had been levied and said it couldn’t comment further while an investigation was ongoing.
COUNCIL WOES: The Conservatives have lost overall control of Surrey County Council after a Lib Dem victory in a by-election. Ed Davey’s party dubbed it “a Surrey shambles.”
SOCIAL (MEDIA) AFFAIRS
Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! Reform UK has announced that Jeremy Kyle has joined the presenting line up for its party conference in two weeks. Kyle says that he wants to “put a smile back on the face of politics, because it’s a bit bloody miserable isn’t it?”
BEYOND THE M25
FBI RAID ON BOLTON: The FBI has raided the home of Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, as part of an investigation into the handling of classified documents.
Trump’s revenge: Bolton and Trump clashed over Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea policy during his first term. The feud spilled into print when Bolton published a book containing classified information about his time in the White House — which the administration tried and failed to block. After a judge cleared publication, Trump fumed Bolton would “pay a huge price for this.”
PLS NO SANCTIONS: Iran today confirmed that its foreign minister spoke with British, French and German counterparts over the phone, as part of efforts to avoid the reintroduction of U.N. sanctions over the country’s nuclear program. Earlier this month the three nations warned Iran that the “snapback” sanctions would come into force unless a solution was reached by the end of the month. AP has the story.
SOLIDARITY: French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk are all set to visit Moldova next week to celebrate the country’s independence day. The post-Soviet state has been a target of Russian destabilization efforts since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. POLITICO has more.
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TONIGHT’S MEDIA ROUND
LEADING THE NEWS BULLETINS: BBC News at Six, ITV Evening News (6.30 p.m.) and Sky News (5.30 p.m.) leading on the famine in Gaza.
Ben Kentish at Drive (LBC, until 7 p.m.): Reform UK’s Immigration spokesperson Ann Widdecombe and Stand Up to Racism’s Lewis Nielsen (5.05 p.m.).
Sky News (5.30 p.m.): Israeli diplomat Danny Ayalon (5.30 p.m.) … Save the Children’s Head of News Dan Stewart (6.30 p.m.)… Epping West and Rural County District Councillor Holly Whitbread (6.45 p.m.).
BBC PM (Radio 4, 5 p.m.): Lib Dem leader Ed Davey … Former Education Secretary David Blunkett.
TWEETING TOMORROW’S PAPERS TONIGHT: Alfie Tobutt.
REVIEWING THE PAPERS TONIGHT: Times Radio (10.30 p.m.): TalkTV’s Peter Cardwell and Former Lib Dem Head of Media Jo Phillips.
WEEKEND MEDIA ROUND
Peter Cardwell (Talk, 10 a.m. on Saturday): Lib Dem Edinburgh West MP Christine Jardine (10 a.m.) … Reform UK Portsmouth Councillor George Madgwick (11 a.m.).
The Camilla Tominey Show (GB News, 9.30 a.m. on Sunday): Alex Armstrong covering for Camilla with The Independent’s David Maddox (9.30 a.m.) … Labour MP Catherine Atkinson (9.45 a.m.) … Ben Gregg from the Centre for Social Justice (10.45 a.m.)
Lewis Goodall (LBC, 10 a.m. on Sunday): Former Treasury official James Meadway (10 a.m.) … Labour MP Catherine Atkinson (10.35 a.m.) … Former Israeli MP Ruth Wasserman Lande (11.35 a.m.).
Peter Cardwell (Talk, 10 a.m. on Sunday): Former government adviser on political violence John Woodcock (10 a.m.) … CEO of Performance Learning Dr. Tej Samani (11.30 a.m) … Israel’s International Spokesperson to the UN Jonathan Harounoff (12.30 p.m.).
Westminster Hour (Radio 4, 10 p.m. on Sunday): Scottish Labour Party Leader Anas Sarwar … Tory MP John Glen … Green Party MP Siân Berry … HuffPost UK’s Kevin Schofield.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING: The Economist’s Bagehot column asks what it means when Britain talks about “Bosh” — in other words, how Westminster came to see Tom Skinner as a guide to a country politicians struggle to understand.
MEA CULPA: It is Labour peer Kevin Brennan (not non-affiliated peer Daniel Brennan) on today’s Westminster Insider podcast.
WRITING PLAYBOOK MONDAY MORNING: Sam Blewett
THANKS TO: My editor Oscar Williams, reporter Caroline Hug and the POLITICO production team for making it look nice.
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