Royal mess

David Cameron was urged to “get a grip” on Monday night after Downing Street appeared to change its position on whether to support the Duke of York. On Sunday, an anonymous source within No.10 said that there would be no “tears shed” if the Duke stood aside from his role as Britain’s trade ambassador. But yesterday morning the Prime Minister’s official spokesman insisted that the Government was “fully supportive” of his decision to stay on. The spokesman added that ministers were not reviewing the Duke’s position, despite suggestions from within No.10 hours earlier that the Duke would have to stand down if more allegations emerged. The about-turn cast a shadow over Craig Oliver’s first full week as the Government’s director of communications. The assurances also appeared to contradict remarks by Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, whose department oversees the work of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI). – the Telegraph

David Cameron was forced to try to head off a rift with Buckingham Palace last night after his new spin-doctor appeared to question the Duke of York’s future as a British trade envoy. Downing Street sources – understood to be Craig Oliver, the Prime Minister’s new director of communications – briefed the BBC that Prince Andrew’s position might become “untenable” if further revelations about his links to the controversial American billionaire Jeffrey Epstein came to light. Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, then threw fuel on the flames by saying that it was up to the Duke to judge whether he should stay in the role – and that “conversations” would be taking place with him on that subject. Just a few hours later, however, Downing Street was in full retreat. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman insisted that Mr Cameron had full confidence in the Duke and was “fully supportive” of him remaining in the post. He also dismissed suggestions that Prince Andrew’s role could be downgraded following the furore over his other business connections. – the Independent

Police cuts will hit areas with highest crime rates

Police chiefs have privately told ministers that a total of 28,000 jobs will be lost from the 43 forces in England and Wales because of government funding cuts, the Guardian has learned. The confidential calculation from the Association of Chief Police Officers is the most authoritative so far about the effects on police numbers caused by a 20% reduction in government grants, and the first from police chiefs to be made public. It predicts the number of officers will fall by 12,000, while civilian staff will have to be cut by 16,000, several sources say. Urban areas, which have the highest crime rates, will be hit hardest because they are more reliant on government money, opening the coalition to charges that cuts will fall hardest on the poor areas. The figures come in one of the most tumultuous weeks for British policing in modern times and could herald a showdown with the government. – the Guardian

Hague faces the music

Amid mounting criticism of his handling of the Libyan crisis, William Hague yesterday had to accept the blame for a bungled SAS mission that the opposition called an “embarrassment” that could have led to tragedy. Nonetheless, attempting to downplay his own role in the process, the Foreign Secretary stressed that the military was responsible for the details of the operation. And he added that David Cameron was informed before two diplomats, guarded by six special forces troops, were sent to the east of the country. Mr Hague was forced to make a Commons statement following the fiasco, which led to the detention of the Britons by rebel leaders and the confiscation of their weapons and helicopters. Earlier Downing Street had confirmed the Foreign Secretary had approved the dispatch of the “diplomatic team” to Libya. MPs of all parties mocked the decision to send the Foreign Office advisers – who were charged with forging links with opposition leaders – to a location outside Benghazi at night. Although Mr Hague told the Commons he accepted “full ministerial responsibility” for the botched operation, he also sought to pass some blame to the Government’s military advisers. – the Independent

The Foreign Secretary told MPs he had authorised the “dispatch of a small British diplomatic team” to “initiate contacts with the opposition” and “to assess the scope for closer diplomatic dialogue”. “They were withdrawn yesterday after a serious misunderstanding about their role, leading to their temporary detention,” he said. “However, this situation is resolved and they were able to meet the council president.” Mr Hague said he had acted on military advice, and that Prime Minister David Cameron was “aware” of the operation. But he looked increasingly beleaguered as he was asked why there had been insufficient communication with Libyan rebel leaders in advance of the operation and why a diplomatic mission, if that is what it was, did not simply fly into Benghazi rather than land in a helicopter in the desert with the SAS. Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander wondered how Mr Hague would welcome new neighbours in his street: “Would he ring their front doorbell to say, ‘Hello,’ or climb over their back garden fence?” Former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell described the operation as “ill-conceived, poorly planned and embarrassingly executed”. – Sky

Cameron attacks “enemies of growth”

David Cameron has pledged to confront the “enemies of enterprise” in Whitehall and town halls across the country, attacking what he called the “mad” bureaucracy that holds back entrepreneurs. The prime minister, who was criticised for failing to outline economic growth plans after last year’s autumn spending review, moved to recover ground by promising to place the promotion of enterprise at the heart of the budget on 23 March. In one of the strongest attacks by a prime minister on the civil service, Cameron yesterday made clear he shared the frustration of Tony Blair, who famously claimed in 1999 that he bore “scars on my back” from those opposed to his reforms. – the Guardian

When we urgently need a plan for jobs and growth to get the economy moving again and help hard-pressed families all David Cameron and George Osborne can offer is empty words but precious little action. All we’ve heard from this Conference is the reheated rhetoric and warmed up policies of 30 years ago – a VAT rise, deep spending cuts, knee-jerk deregulation and enterprise zones which didn’t work when they were tried in the 1980s. If David Cameron wants to know who is the real enemy of enterprise and growth in Britain today he only needs to look next door at his own Chancellor. It is George Osborne’s reckless plan to cut too deep and too fast, which has seen the economy go into reverse. David Cameron and George Osborne appear to be in denial that in the real world families and businesses are facing the squeeze, petrol prices are at a record high, unemployment is going up again and the recovery has stalled. And they don’t seem to understand that without strong growth and more jobs we can’t get the deficit down. – Ed Balls blog

Tories “gutter politics” an act of desperation

Labour has accused the Conservatives of “gutter politics” after Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper were referred to the Parliamentary watchdog over travel claims for their children. The party hit back following a Sunday Times story that the couple have been reported for £14,000 in travel claims between 2007 and 2010. Tory MP Andrew Bridgen has referred the couple to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards over the allegations. But Sharon Hodgson MP, the shadow children’s minister, said today: “The thing I’ve always respected about Ed and Yvette is that while they have been in the public eye they’ve always protected their children and kept them out of politics.  “So this is a desperate new low from the Tories to try to drag their children into a political fight. Andrew Bridgen was described this week as one of David Cameron’s ‘new generation of attack dogs’ and now we see the gutter politics this will mean.” – Politics Home (more…)

Cameron and Fox face questions over “strategic” defence review

It took months of agonising discussions between worried politicians and fearful military men to map out Britain’s military strategy for the coming generation. And when David Cameron set out the conclusions of his Strategic Defence and Security Review to a restless House of Commons last autumn, he appeared confident that all the sweat and fears of the previous five months had been worth it. For Conservative and Liberal Democrat politicians who had spent years in opposition attacking the previous government over its failure to honour the military covenant and ensure the armed forces were sufficiently resourced and recognised, this was the chance to put things right. Grandly billed as “Securing Britain in an Age of Uncertainty”, the SDSR mapped “a clear vision for the future structure of our armed forces”, according to the Prime Minister. Yet the most telling assertion was that it was not “simply a cost-saving exercise to get to grips with the biggest budget deficit in post-war history”. – Independent on Sunday

Miliband: Government not learnt lesson of banking crisis

ED MILIBAND last night warned that the Coalition has not learnt the lessons of the banking crisis and urged Chancellor George Osborne to slap an extra tax on bankers’ bonuses. His comments came after Bank of England governor Mervyn King warned of a second ­financial meltdown unless banks are reined in. The Labour leader said: “What Mervyn King is saying is this Conservative-led Government has not learned the lessons of the banking crisis and is still not doing enough to tackle the excesses of the industry. They should reinstate the bonus tax so those who caused the crisis contribute more. They should act on transparency.” Mr King said the 2008 crisis and its £500bn bank bail-out could be repeated. – Sunday Mirror

Universities hit out at foreign student visa plans

Universities across the country will have to close vital science and engineering courses and sack staff unless the home secretary, Theresa May, drops controversial plans to limit UK visas for international students, a powerful alliance of vice-chancellors has warned. In a letter to the Observer, 16 vice-chancellors express their “profound concern” at the proposals, making clear that they will have a devastating effect on universities’ incomes and their ability to run the best courses for British, as well as overseas, students. Their intervention will stoke a cabinet battle that has pitted May, who is committed to cut net immigration from 215,000 to 100,000 by 2015, against the business secretary, Vince Cable, and the universities minister, David Willetts. Cable and Willetts are known to be deeply concerned about the damage to universities and the economy if the £5bn-a-year income universities get from overseas students is choked off. The vice-chancellors, many of whom have lobbied ministers privately in recent weeks, have gone public with the joint letter just days after a 12-week Home Office consultation over the changes was concluded. A decision from ministers is imminent. – the Guardian (more…)