Election news in brief
Nuttall ‘won’t rule out’ detaining terror suspects
The leader of Ukip has suggested he would be prepared to back the detention without trial of suspected terrorists. Paul Nuttall said he “wouldn’t take anything off the table” when it came to dealing with the threat of violent extremism, including a return to internment. “When you read this morning there’s a suspected 23,000 jihadis living amongst us, obviously MI5 are stretched to capacity at this present moment in time,” he told the BBC. A policy of internment was adopted by the government in Northern Ireland in the 1970s when it was widely adjudged to have acted as a recruiting sergeant for the IRA. Mr Nuttall said, while he was not advocating an immediate return to detention without trial, it should not be ruled out for the future given the scale of the terrorist threat. The Ukip leader also reaffirmed his support for “hard measures”, including waterboarding, in the interrogation of terrorist suspects if their use could stop an immediate attack.
Tory MP urged to apologise for food-bank comments
A senior Conservative has been urged to apologise after claiming that most food bank users were not “languishing in poverty”. Former justice minister Dominic Raab came under fire when he claimed that many people receiving food parcels have “a cash flow problem episodically” as he sought to defend the Government’s record during a TV debate. Some 1.2 million food parcels were handed out last year, according to The Trussell Trust charity, and the Prime Minister faced pressure to tackle the issue when reports emerged that nurses had been forced to use food banks.
Scottish Greens launch manifesto
Scottish Greens have launched their manifesto for the general election, with the party apologising to supporters across the country who cannot vote for them as they are fielding just three candidates. Despite the Scottish Green Party running a limited campaign, co-convener Patrick Harvie said they would “hopefully give Scotland its best chance yet of electing a Green voice to Westminster”. Mr Harvie, who has been an MSP for Glasgow for 14 years, is standing in the Glasgow North seat, and has already pledged to quit Holyrood if he is voted into Westminster. The only other Green candidates standing are Lorna Slater in Edinburgh North and Leith and Debra Pickering in Falkirk, a decision said to be based on resources.