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In today’s newsletter: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt was expected to target ‘unnecessary’ council spending on consultants and diversity projects in his Budget – but here’s the truth
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Good morning. One feature of Jeremy Hunt’s budget yesterday was an effort to present the government as ruthlessly focused on reducing the state’s profligacy, in order to leave more money in people’s pockets. (See below for highlights of the Guardian’s coverage.) To that end, a line was briefed out ahead of the speech that will have prompted groans in town halls across the country: an attempt to put the blame for the financial crisis so many of them are facing on waste.
The culprit, Hunt was expected to say, was “unnecessary” council spending on consultants and diversity projects. He told the Sunday Telegraph that he found public money being spent on “woke” initiatives very hard to defend.
US politics | Nikki Haley ended her presidential primary bid on Wednesday after being defeated in 14 Super Tuesday contests, ceding the 2024 Republican nomination to Donald Trump. The former South Carolina governor declined to endorse Trump, instead saying it was up to him “to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond who did not support him”. Read Martin Pengelly’s analysis.
Defence | Two men have been acquitted of paying bribes totalling millions of pounds to high-ranking Saudis after they argued that they had been unfairly prosecuted. A jury in London acquitted Jeffrey Cook and John Mason after lawyers argued the payments had been authorised by the British and Saudi governments to secure a huge defence deal.
Israel-Gaza war | The UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, has said he held a “tough but necessary” conversation with Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, repeating calls for more humanitarian aid for Gaza and warning him against a fully fledged offensive in Rafah. The talks came as a new aid convoy destined for northern Gaza was looted by hungry civilians after being held at an Israeli army checkpoint for several hours.
Haiti | The crime lord behind a six-day gang mutiny against Ariel Henry, Haiti’s prime minister, has claimed the Caribbean country could be plunged into civil war unless its temporarily exiled leader steps down. The gang boss Jimmy Chérizier told reporters: “Either Haiti becomes a paradise or a hell for all of us.” Henry has hardly been seen since the gang rebellion began while he was overseas.
US news | The armourer for the film Rust has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter over the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on a New Mexico film set. Prosecutors said that Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for ensuring that firearms on the set were safe, loaded a fully functioning revolver used by Alec Baldwin with dummy rounds and at least one live round.
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