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The prime minister has an LGBT+ “blind spot” in cabinet, the UK’s first openly gay minister has said.
Lord Chris Smith, who served as culture secretary in Tony Blair’s government, said that this was a “matter of great regret” and urged Boris Johnson to diversify his top team in “the next year or two”.
Elsewhere, the House of Lords inflicted a third defeat on the government over the so-called genocide amendment, which aims to stop trade deals with countries guilty of such atrocities.
The crossbench peer Lord Alton put forward a fresh amendment on Tuesday, allowing a parliamentary panel of judicial experts to determine whether genocide had been committed by any trade deal signatories. Previously, it had been suggested that the High Court should be given the power to do this.
The new amendment was backed by 367 votes to 214 in the Lords in the latest legislative tussle between the two chambers.
Government suffers third defeat from peers over genocide amendment
The government has once again been defeated heavily in the House of Lords in a vote over a genocide amendment.
The crossbench peer Lord Alton put forward a fresh amendment on Tuesday, allowing a parliamentary panel of judicial experts to determine whether genocide had been committed by any trade deal signatories. Previously, it had been suggested that the High Court should be given the power to do this.
The new amendment was backed by 367 votes to 214 in the Lords in the latest legislative tussle between the two chambers.
Our political correspondent Ashley Cowburn reports:
Rory Sullivan24 February 2021 08:07
Morning, and welcome to The Independent’s rolling UK politics coverage.
Rory Sullivan24 February 2021 07:59
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