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The British economy contracted by 0.3 per cent in April after shrinking by 0.1 per cent in March, according to the Office for National Statistics. Wages by April were 2.2 per cent lower in real terms than a year before, and economic inactivity fell by only a smidgen (0.1 per cent) to 21.3 per cent. Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, urged the Competition and Markets Authority to see whether a 5p cut in fuel duty, from 58p to 53p a litre, was being passed on quickly enough to drivers. VAT at 20 per cent is charged on the price including duty. The Duke of York, on family advice, took no part in the Garter Day procession to see the Duchess of Cornwall and Sir Tony Blair installed.
A plane with asylum-seekers to be deported to Rwanda did not take off after the intervention of the European Court of Human Rights. The High Court had declined to grant an injunction and the Appeal Court agreed; a full judicial review is to be heard in July. On the Rwanda question, the Prince of Wales ‘thinks the government’s whole approach is appalling’, according to an anonymous account of a private conversation published by the Times. At least 270 migrants from small boats landed in Dover on the day of the planned flight. A Bill was published allowing ministers to override parts of the Northern Ireland protocol. Products arriving from Great Britain marked as only for sale in Northern Ireland (such as many supermarket goods) would be subjected to no red tape; seed potatoes, plants and trees would also be allowed in. A ‘dual regulatory system’ would govern standards. Ministers would regain control of tax and state aid in Northern Ireland.
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