Fears that UK ministers' private conversations might be publicly reported could cripple government decisions, a leading Conservative MP told The National.
With the continued furore engulfing Downing Street over allegations that Prime Minister Boris Johnson said "let the bodies pile high" during a conversation with advisers about the pandemic, Tobias Ellwood condemned the damaging culture of breaching confidentiality.
He criticised Mr Johnson's former chief adviser Dominic Cummings, who is accused – but strongly denies – leaking information, labelling him "an agitated ex-employee".
“It's a privileged position to work in government and people should be free to say what they’d really like to, knowing that it's not going to be reported,” the chairman of the Defence Committee said.
“Now everybody in a meeting is going to be so shy to say anything of value, which is a wider concern as to where politics is going today, that it is so sanitised that people are scared of saying anything for fear of it being repeated by a disgruntled employee.”
He said many in the Conservative Party were disillusioned by Mr Cummings's actions since leaving government in December.
There are also concerns that the controversies over the refurbishment of the prime minister's flat and the leaking of WhatsApp messages could prove a dangerous distraction as the UK tries to vaccinate its population before another wave of Covid-19 arrives.
“What's on most people's minds at the moment is how we can plot a way forward out of this pandemic, so distractions like this are dangerous,” said the former defence and foreign minister.
Mr Johnson’s Labour opponents believe that if the Conservatives fare badly in local elections on May 6 as a result of the current revelations, his position as prime minister could be under threat.
"The elections are going to be a real test and there are a lot of people who are hungry for his job," Sarah Champion, the Labour chairwoman of the International Development Committee told The National.
“Politicians can smell blood and I think there's a lot of it around at the moment from a lot of different directions, so I think he's in a very vulnerable position.”
Addressing who paid for the renovation of the private flat at Downing Street, Mr Ellwood said the matter needed clarification, and suggested that Britain should adopt the American system under which a trust is in place to pay for upgrades to the White House.
With an ongoing row over WhatsApp messages between Mr Johnson and the entrepreneur James Dyson, Mr Ellwood suggested that code of conduct guidelines for politicians should be updated for the modern age.
The prime minister’s messages were in response to Mr Dyson’s request for easing taxation rules for his overseas workers after an urgent request to build ventilators at the beginning of the pandemic.
“The ministerial code hasn't kept up with the use of mobile phones, but that's how it’s done all the time now to communicate,” Mr Ellwood said. “There was an emergency – Dyson is an entrepreneur and he offered to make ventilators and if you see what's happening in India now, then that benefited us. You have to be able to make these things work.”
However, critics say politicians must follow protocol so their decision-making is transparent.
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
UK%20-%20UAE%20Trade
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Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
Sector: Online rental marketplace
Size: 40 employees
Investment: $2 million
England Test squad
Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Jamie Porter, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes.
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
SPECS
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Essentials
The flights
Return flights from Dubai to Windhoek, with a combination of Emirates and Air Namibia, cost from US$790 (Dh2,902) via Johannesburg.
The trip
A 10-day self-drive in Namibia staying at a combination of the safari camps mentioned – Okonjima AfriCat, Little Kulala, Desert Rhino/Damaraland, Ongava – costs from $7,000 (Dh25,711) per person, including car hire (Toyota 4x4 or similar), but excluding international flights, with The Luxury Safari Company.
When to go
The cooler winter months, from June to September, are best, especially for game viewing.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.6-litre turbo
Transmission: six-speed automatic
Power: 165hp
Torque: 240Nm
Price: From Dh89,000 (Enjoy), Dh99,900 (Innovation)
On sale: Now
The specs: Volvo XC40
Price: base / as tested: Dh185,000
Engine: 2.0-litre, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 250hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 350Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.4L / 100km
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,470,000 (est)
Engine 6.9-litre twin-turbo W12
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 626bhp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 900Nm @ 1,350rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.0L / 100km
Scores
Scotland 54-17 Fiji
England 15-16 New Zealand
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Racecard
6pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 Group 1 (PA) $55,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
6.35pm: Oud Metha Stakes Rated Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,200m
7.10pm: Jumeirah Classic Listed (TB) $150,000 (Turf) 1,600m
7.45pm: Firebreak Stakes Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,600m
8.20pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 Group 2 (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,900m
8.55pm: Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,900m
9.30pm: Balanchine Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m
