The Daily Politics

Tom Fletcher - the UK's former man in Beirut - claimed "diplomacy is now much too important to be left to diplomats."The self-styled 'recovering ambassador' talked Trump, Brexit and the rise of extremism in a personal film for the Daily Politics soapbox series, airing on Tuesday's programme.

Select Committee
Parliament

Labour's Lord Judd comes at the issue from a different angle asking how many UK nationals currently live in Romania.

The ambassador replies that 2,190 British citizens are officially living in Romania and offers a detailed breakdown of the numbers.

However, he urges peers to look beyond figures. He tells the committee that his country spent 50 years under a totalitarian regime. "I know how it feels, how it is to not to be able to get through borders. When I was child I couldn't travel to the West," he says. 

Figures and numbers are important, he says, but there is also the sense of being free to move around the world.

Select Committee
Parliament

There begins a debate about the number of Poles and Romanians living and working in the UK - specifically the numbers seasonal workers are in the UK.

Neither ambassador is able to give an estimate.

Dan Mihalache replies that it is difficult to measure - "There are a lot. I don't know." He adds that workers wouldn't come to the UK if there was not a demand.

Chair Baroness Kennedy seeks to clarify that the committee is not attacking such workers but trying to highlight "the huge detriment" if such workers were not able to come to the UK.

House of Commons
Parliament

From 11:30am MPs will put questions to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and his team of ministers on subjects including Kashmir, Somalia and Aleppo.

Afterwards Labour's John Woodcock is asking an urgent question on the battle for Mosul, where the Iraqi army and it's allies are attempting to retake the city from the self-styled Islamic State group.

And then onto the main business of the day, which is a debate on the draft Royal Charter for the BBC. 

Select Committee
Parliament

Chair Baroness Kennedy welcomes the witnesses and explains the committee is keen to to gauge how other countries in the EU are responding to Brexit.

In his opening statement the Polish Ambassador, Arkady Rzegocki, tells peers that Britain has "a very special place in every Poles' heart" remembering that Britain was a refuge for free Poles during World War Two and the time of communism.

The Romanian ambassador, Dan Mihalache, expresses concern about current unpredictability for Romanians living in the UK - "our citizens need to know what their rights will be".

Image source, PA

The Institute for Fiscal Studies says that the higher than expected rate of inflation will hit the real-terms incomes of families whose benefits have been frozen until 2020.

This follows the Office for National Statistics' announcement that the rate of inflation had reached 1.0% - higher than the rate of 0.6% forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility in March's Budget.

In an effort to save £12 billion in social security spending, the government announced in July 2015 a freeze on most in-work benefits and tax credits until March 2020.

The higher rate of inflation means that 11.5 million families are now expected to see an effective income loss of £360 per year, £100 more than was previously predicted.

Read the report: Falling sterling, rising prices and the benefits freeze, external

Europeans give their reaction to the EU referendum being called in the UK and their views on Britain's relationship with Europe.

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, European Photo Agency

The EU Justice Sub-Committee evidence session on “Brexit: acquired rights” is due to begin at 10:45am.

The witnesses are:

• HE Dan Mihalache, Ambassador of Romania, Romanian Embassy
• HE Arkady Rzegocki, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, Polish Embassy

Acquired rights refers to those rights conferred on UK citizens as a result of EU membership.

Such rights include the right to move, work and retire within the EU’s member states.

The inquiry will look at

• Whether these rights will continue to operate after the UK leaves the EU
• The availability of alternative legal avenues to protect acquired rights
• Whether the withdrawal agreement between the UK and the EU can safeguard some of these rights

Coverage of Tuesday at the Northern Ireland Assembly, as MLAs debate opposition motions on increasing social housing and improving cancer services.

Image source, PA

Two campaigners in the EU referendum have been fined £1,000 each after breaching rules on campaign identification.

Roger Gabb and Lady Susan Inkin were fined after failing to include an imprint identifying the printer and promoter of adverts encouraging a "leave" vote which they placed in local newspapers.

Electoral Commission guidelines, external say that campaigners must include imprints in published material as they help to ensure transparency of political campaigns. 

Louise Edwards, Head of Regulatory Compliance and Casework at the Electoral Commission said: "It is vital that voters can identify the source of campaign material that seeks to persuade them to vote a certain way.

"When the rules are broken, voters can be confident that action will be taken. In these cases we have fined the two campaigners in line with our established enforcement procedures."

Mr Gabb has already paid the fine, while Lady Inkin has until 2 November to comply. 

Tom Bateman
Political Correspondent, Millbank

An aide to a Conservative MP has been arrested on suspicion of rape following an alleged attack at the Houses of Parliament.

It is understood that Sam Armstrong, who is chief-of-staff to Craig Mackinlay MP, was released on bail after his arrest last week.

The Metropolitan Police said detectives were investigating an allegation of rape at the Houses of Parliament in the early hours of Friday 14th October.

They said a 23-year-old man was arrested on Friday on suspicion of rape and was bailed pending further inquiries until mid-January.

A spokesman for the South Thanet MP said: "Mr Mackinlay was made aware of an allegation against a staff member and granted permission for the police to access his Westminster office.

"Mr Mackinlay is monitoring the situation and awaits further details from the police and Parliamentary Authorities."

Parliament is "working closely" with police, the House of Commons said.

"We are aware of an incident on the parliamentary estate which is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Service," a spokesman said.

"Parliament is working closely with the police on their investigation and we cannot comment further while this is ongoing."

Why is Downing Street being asked about the PM's confidence in her chancellor, just three months after his appointment?

Financial Times

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

The Financial Times reports that the flow of French bankers coming to work in the City has "ground to a halt" following the vote to leave the EU. 

An estimated 300,000 French people live in London, of which around 100,000 are thought to work in financial services, the paper says.

The article quotes a junior banker at a large French firm who says: "London does not seem so cool anymore."

Read more: Brexit vote puts brake on flow of French bankers to London, external