Top Stories: Home Office "Concern" Over Nicola Bulley Case, Kwasi Kwarteng At Odds With Liz Truss
Nicola Bulley has been missing since 27 January (Alamy)
4 min read
The Home Office has reportedly raised concerns with Lancashire Police over the disappearance of Nicola Bulley, after personal information was revealed about the missing woman.
The 45-year-old was last seen on 27 January, when she took her dog for a walk in St Michael’s on Wyre.
On Wednesday, the force released a statement which said that Bulley had suffered with “some significant issues with alcohol” and had struggled with menopause.
According to the Daily Mail, that Home Secretary Suella Braverman is concerned by the force's decision to release those personal details, and asked police for an explanation.
In a statement yesterday afternoon, Bulley's family said that they believe "the public focus has become distracted from finding Nikki, and more about speculation and rumours" regarding her private life.
"As a family, we were aware beforehand that Lancashire Police, last night, released a statement with some personal details about our Nikki," they added.
Kwasi Kwarteng does not agree that Liz Truss had to sack him
Former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has said he does not agree with Liz Truss’s claims that she had to sack him in the fallout from last autumn’s mini-Budget.
Writing in the Telegraph earlier this month, the former prime minister said that she was “deeply disturbed” by having to remove her friend Kwarteng as chancellor, but she had “reluctantly concluded I had no option” as the markets faltered.
Kwarteng told TalkTV on Thursday that he had wanted to have a “very calm approach” to the situation.
“Of course I don’t agree," he insisted when asked about the dismissal.
“I think we could have, we should have actually worked together. I think the one thing that I would say is that in any difficulty, in any strong stressful situation where people are buffeting around [...] you’ve got to have a very calm approach and that is what I wanted to do.”
Kwarteng served as chancellor between 6 September and 14 October last year, when he was then replaced by Jeremy Hunt.
Rishi Sunak to meet party leaders in Northern Ireland as protocol deal nears
Rishi Sunak is due to meet Stormont party leaders in Belfast this morning, in the hope that a deal on the Northern Ireland protocol could be close.
PoliticsHome reported last night that Sunak was making the trip alongside his Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris, with an announcement due on a deal possibly as seen as next week.
According to Politico, Sunak was believed to be planning to sit down with the parties in order of their size at the Assembly, which is currently not sitting.
Officials will need to persuade the DUP to support the deal with the EU after the party led by Sir Jeffrey Donaldson collapsed the power-sharing government in Northern Ireland early last year over its opposition to the post-Brexit arrangements and is refusing to re-enter the institutions in Stormont until their concerns are addressed.
Sammy Wilson, DUP MP for East Antrim, warned yesterday that his party would be the "final arbiters" as to whether the tests have been met.
Ahead of Sunak’s visit, No 10 said: “Whilst talks with the EU are ongoing, ministers continue to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure any solution fixes the practical problems on the ground, meets our overarching objectives, and safeguards Northern Ireland’s place in the UK’s internal market.
“The Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland are travelling to Northern Ireland this evening to speak to political parties as part of this engagement process."
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