Lunchtime summary

The shadow chancellor has been setting out how Labour

would ensure companies work for the greater good. John
McDonnell stressed that Labour is pro-business but announced beefing up the
regulatory system to prevent failures such as Thomas Cook and Carillion and
measures to ensure company directors are not just driven by profit but take into
account impacts on employees, the environment and the wider good. He said
companies not moving towards de-carbonisation would be de-listed. But he said
Labour would not impose a windfall tax on oil companies.
Boris Johnson will aim to tackle knife crime by reducing
charging and prosecution times of offenders, the Evening
Standard reports. It also says a new form of court order called a serious
violence reduction order will be introduced allowing police to search habitual
knife carriers in the street without requiring suspicion. Also on law and order, the
shadow justice secretary, Robert Buckland, pledged the Tories would introduce a
whole life term for adults who commit the premeditated murder of a child. He acc
The Green party launched its election manifesto with the
central plank being a pledge to implement a zero carbon
economy by 2030. The party’s co-leader, Jonathan Bartley, said it was
moving faster on the climate crisis than Labour - and the other parties - and was
also firmly a Remain party, unlike Labour.
The Tory candidate in Aberdeen North has been
suspended after having been found to have made
“unacceptable” comments about the Holocaust, Muslims and
homosexuals. Ryan Houghton denied holding antisemitic, racist or
homophobic views saying the eight-year old posts on a martial arts forum had
been taken out of context.
The Lib Dems’ Chuka Umunna has described Prince
Andrew as a complete disgrace. McDonnell urged the Duke of York to
cooperate with the authorities but Buckland would not be drawn on the prince’s
conduct, saying the focus should be on the victims.
Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has
mocked Boris Johnson for refusing to debate her or facilitate a
second independence referendum. She tweeted: “Is this the ‘die in a
ditch’ definition of ‘never’?”