• Government proposals for carer’s allowance compensation would be “victory” for carers and campaigners
• Mandelson appointment: Lib Dems call for independent investigation with access to documents and messages
• Farage must come clean on who’s bankrolling his US trips to “badmouth Britain”
• Greene: Scotland is lagging behind in research and development investment
• Greene urges all parties to support key victims’ proposals ahead of final vote

Government proposals for carer’s allowance compensation would be “victory” for carers and campaigners

Responding to reports that the Government is considering compensation payments to those caught up in the carer’s allowance scandal, Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat Leader, said:

I really hope the government will give the victims of this appalling scandal the compensation they deserve. It would be a milestone for carers across the country, and a victory for all those who have campaigned tirelessly for justice.

The government has a chance here not just to compensate the victims, but to overhaul carer’s allowance so it properly supports carers and doesn’t punish them for working. We will keep pushing ministers to seize that chance.

Mandelson appointment: Lib Dems call for independent investigation with access to documents and messages

The Liberal Democrats are calling for an independent inquiry into what was known about ex-US Ambassador Peter Mandelson’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein at the time of his appointment, saying that victims must be “put first.”

The party’s Cabinet Office Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said an independent investigation is needed to uncover what was known, when and by whom regarding Mandelson’s connections to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The Liberal Democrats are also calling for relevant text messages, WhatsApps and emails to be handed to the inquiry for proper independent scrutiny of how the appointment was made.

It comes as Peter Kyle, the Business Secretary, claimed in an interview with Laura Kuennsberg this morning that “if we had known the information we know now, it is highly unlikely that [Mandelson] would have been appointed”, calling the new information “materially different” from the content reviewed during vetting.

Sarah Olney, Cabinet Office Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, said:

The Government has serious questions to answer about what they knew when. The current explanations just don’t add up.

Number Ten must put the victims of Jeffrey Epstein first, not their own reputation. We need an urgent, independent inquiry into how details of Mandelson’s ties with a convicted paedophile slipped through the cracks of Government vetting.

This inquiry must be given access to all the relevant messages, texts and documents so it can get to the bottom of this appalling mess.

Farage must come clean on who’s bankrolling his US trips to “badmouth Britain”

Responding to reports that Farage failed to register his Trump fundraising visit and did not say who paid him, Daisy Cooper, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader, said:

Nigel Farage needs to come clean on who’s bankrolling his trips abroad to badmouth Britain.

He uses every opportunity he can to talk down Britain and suck up to Trump while failing to represent his constituents in Parliament.

The public deserve to know whether the Trump administration and their cronies are funding these trips, using Farage as a puppet to meddle in British politics.

Greene: Scotland is lagging behind in research and development investment

Scottish Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson Jamie Greene MSP has today highlighted new figures showing that Scotland is not keeping pace with the rest of the UK in investment in research and development.

New figures show that in 2023:

• The amount invested by businesses in Scotland in research and development as a share of GDP was estimated to be 1.34%, compared to 1.82% for the UK as a whole, and lagging behind the EU and OECD.
• Business enterprise R&D expenditure fell in Scotland by 6.6% in real terms between 2022 and 2023, compared to a reduction of 3.1% for the UK as a whole.
• The amount invested by Scotland’s higher education sector in research and development was 0.97% (compared to 0.62% for the UK as a whole).
• However, this investment fell in real-terms in Scotland by 1.6% in 2023, compared to a fall of 0.8% for the UK as a whole.

Jamie Greene said:

A key part of growing our economy is helping businesses invest in research and development, but right now too many are being held back by an environment of uncertainty.

Our universities are world-class and they continue to punch above their weight. However, they are facing strong headwinds, staff are worried about cuts and the model of relying on income from international students has been exposed.

If we are to get the Scottish economy growing and secure a thriving future for our higher education sector, we need to get these numbers up. A vote for the Scottish Liberal Democrats next May is a vote to tear down barriers to investment, support innovation and get Scottish education and research back to its best.

Greene urges all parties to support key victims’ proposals ahead of final vote

Ahead of a final vote on the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Bill, Scottish Liberal Democrat Jamie Greene MSP has called on the Scottish Government and all parties in parliament to support his proposals to strengthen the rights of victims of crime.

On Tuesday, MSPs will vote for final time on the Victim, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Jamie Greene has put forward a range of amendments to the Bill, which are largely formed from his own Victim’s Law. Among the measures proposed by these amendments are:

• A guaranteed right for victims to make impact statements during their perpetrator’s trial.
• A requirement for the Parole Board to:
  1. Consider the likely impact of the parole decision on the safety and security of any victim or of any family member.
  2. Consider applying an exemption zone to a prisoner.
• A requirement for the Victim’s Commissioner to introduce a victim’s charter, which sets out a victim’s journey and rights throughout the entirety of the criminal justice system.

Mr Greene has already succeeded in passing an amendment to the Bill which will require the Parole Board to take into account the perpetrator’s failure to disclose their victim’s remains. This is also known as Suzanne’s Law.

Jamie Greene said:

Right now, our system can tilt too much in favour of a perpetrator of a crime, without proper regard for the victims and their families.

To redress that balance and strengthen the rights of victims, I developed a Victim’s Law, and I have worked constructively to try and ensure the key measures set out in that law are included in this Bill.

Ahead of the final vote this week, I am calling on the government and all parties across parliament to back my further proposals to strengthen victim’s rights.

We are in the final months of this parliament, so there is no time to lose in making critical changes that could significantly improve the safety and rights of victims and their families. The time to make these changes is now.