The Sunday Telegraph Sunday 11 August 2019 *** 5Number of people released on Home Detention Curfew (000s)
20151050k
2005 2010 2015Use of home detention curfews spiked
in 2018Number of recalls to prison from licence (000s)Prisoners recalled after committing
offences while on release20140k2462016 2018Rising prison population
Annual average prison population
1007550250
1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000Number of people released on Home Detention Curfew (000s)
20151050k
2005 2010 2015in 2018
Rising prison population
Annual average prison population
1007550250
1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000SOURCE: MINISTRY OF JUSTICE, HOUSE OF COMMONS LIBRARY
Gove heads team to combat ‘fake news’about risks of leaving without a deal
By Christopher Hope
CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENtMICHAEL GOVE will tomorrow launch
a rapid rebuttal unit at the heart of Gov-
ernment to provide instant responses
to “media myths and half-truths” about
the risks of a no-deal Brexit.
The new Response Unit will be run
by Cabinet Office civil servants and will
ensure that “the public and businesses
are not being alarmed by scare stories
or falsehoods”, The Sunday Telegraph
can disclose.
Senior Government figures are
known to have become frustrated over
the anti-no-deal stories aired by the
BBC in recent days, notably one about
cows being slaughtered in Northern
Ireland after a no-deal exit. Last week
BBC2’s Newsnight reported that 45,
dairy cows could be culled in Northern
Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit
if new higher tariffs were applied to
British milk, despite Defra saying that aThe Cabinet Office declined to com-
ment. But a source said: “We are leav-
ing the EU on the 31st October whatever
happens. While we want a deal, we
have stepped up preparations for no
deal in case the EU continue to refuse
to negotiate a new deal.
“While no deal may present some
challenges, scare stories and misinfor-
mation are designed to obstruct de-
mocracy and prevent us leaving.
“The new Cabinet Office rebuttal
unit will work to combat fake news and
fearmongering to help ensure busi-
nesses and citizens are Brexit-ready for
31st October.”
Mr Gove’s team oversaw an effective
blog at the Department for the Envi-
ronment, Food and Rural Affairs which
sought to explain the Government’s
side of news items which his depart-
ment took issue with.
The initiative was welcomed by
Mark Francois, vice chairman of the
European Research Group, who said: “I
recommend they rapidly establish
three outstations of this unit – one at
the BBC’s New Broadcasting House,
one in the Bank of England and one in
Philip Hammond’s constituency.”Editorial Comment: Page 19Cabinet Office civil
servants to be tasked withcountering ‘scare stories’
about Oct 31 departurecull was “absolutely not something that
the Government anticipates nor is
planning for in the event of no deal”.
A BBC spokesman said: “We’ll con-
tinue to cover Brexit impartially.” On
the Newsnight report, he added: “Our
report was extremely clear that the in-
dustry figures who spoke to Newsnight
were warning that a cull of dairy cows
could happen in Northern Ireland as a
result of higher tariffs on milk due to a
no-deal Brexit, not that there are actu-
ally plans in place to do so.”
Individual departments will be
tasked by the unit – which is overseen
by Mr Gove, the Chancellor of the
Duchy of Lancaster, who is coordinat-
ing no-deal planning in the Cabinet Of-
fice – with rebutting articles that
officials feel exaggerate or misrepre-
sent the dangers of leaving the Euro-
pean Union without a deal on Oct 31.
Insiders said this “could take a vari-
ety of forms from correcting inaccura-
cies at source to issuing tweets or
directly reassuring stakeholders like
businesses to publishing factual blogs”.
One added: “The purpose is to en-
sure the public and businesses are not
being alarmed by scare stories or false-
hoods. It’s important that people pre-
pare for no deal based on actual facts.”Javid wants millions
of 50p Brexit coins in
circulation on Oct 31
By Christopher HopeMILLIONS of 50p Brexit
coins are to be minted and
ready to spend in time to
mark Britain’s exit from the
EU, under plans being drawn
up by the Chancellor.
Sajid Javid, who is also
Master of the Mint, has asked
officials to look at whether
the seven-sided coins can be
produced in huge volumes
in time for exit day on Oct 31.
The decision will be seen
as a statement of intent that
the Treasury is fully be-
hind Brexit now that
Mr Javid’s prede-
cessor, Philip
Hammond,
who was
mistrusted
by Brexiteers
for his
gloomy prog-
nosis on leav-
ing the EU, has
returned to the
backbenches.
Under Mr Ham-
mond, around 10,000 com-
memorative coins – costing
£10 each – were to be pro-
duced. Collectors would
have applied for them on
exit day and waited for up to
eight weeks for delivery.
The new coins will still be
marked with the words
“Friendship with all na-
tions”. However, they will be
stamped with the expected
new date of Brexit, Oct 31
2019, rather than the previ-
ous date of March 29 2019.
Mr Javid wants officials to
examine whether the coins
can be produced in volume,
with some of them entering
general circulation in time
for Brexit day. One possibleheadache is that the coin has
to be signed off by a meeting
of the Queen’s Privy Council
of ministers which is not due
to meet again until October.
Typically around 10,
commemorative coins are
produced, compared with
up to three million of those
minted for circulation.
This would make it a “one
nation – so that everyone
gets a coin, not just a tribal
thing that some people buy”,
one source said.
The Royal Mint regularly
issues special coins to mark
national moments, no-
tably a set that
celebrated the
London 2012
Olympics. A
50p coin was
minted when
the UK joined
the EEC in 1973
and when the
UK held the
presidency of the
EU in 1998.
The news came as it
emerged that Whitehall de-
partments have only a mat-
ter of weeks to put together
bids for the new one-year
spending round, which will
set their budgets after March
next year.
The Sunday Telegraph can
disclose that Mr Javid and
Boris Johnson, the Prime
Minister, have agreed that
the round will be announced
on Sept 11.
Cabinet ministers only
formally received invitations
to bid for their budgets on
Thursday last week.
The crucial spending en-
velope setting the size of
budget increases is yet to be
agreed.easury is fully be
rexit now that
vid’s prede-
Philip
ond,
was
sted
xiteers
his
y prog-
on leav-
e EU, has
ed to the
encheseseseeeeeeesissues special coins to
national momen
tably a set
celebrated
London
Olympics
50 p coi
minted
the UK
the EEC
and whe
UK held
presidency
EUE in 1998As many as 100
Labour MPs are
preparing to
defy Jeremy
Corbyn and
commit to a
second
referendum if a
snap election is
called in the
autumn.
Anti-Brexit
MPs are
organising
across party
lines to agree to
run on policies
to support a
second
referendum on
Britain’s
membership of
the European
Union.
The idea is
that if there is a
snap election,
the pledge for a
secondreferendum will
be contained on
their personal
election
addresses on
leaflets that are
sent out locally
to voters.
The wording
and policies on
these addresses
is set by the
individual
candidate in
each
constituency.
Last month,
Mr Corbyn
challenged the
next Tory leader
to hold another
referendum
before taking
Britain out of
the EU, saying
Labour would
campaign for
Remain. The
Labour leadersaid the party
would take this
position to stop
“no deal or a
damaging Tory
Brexit” but he
did not say what
he would do if
he won a general
election and was
placed in charge
of the Brexit
process.
If scores of
MPs run on
personal
commitments
for a second
referendum on
Brexit it could
be highly
embarrassing
for Mr Corbyn.
One source
said: “They
think they have
got 100 Labour
MPs who would
do the same.”Defiance Labour MPs to demand new poll
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