Jacob Rees-Mogg has been shunted sideways into a new role as Prime Minister Boris Johnson attempts to move on from the “partygate” row with a series of political appointments.
Mr Rees-Mogg, a long-term ally of Mr Johnson, will now be the cabinet minister responsible for “Brexit opportunities”, after previously being the Leader of the House of Commons.
The former investment banker is an ardent Eurosceptic and was one of the key figures attempting to push through a “hard Brexit” during withdrawal negotiations with the European Union.
In his new position, he will hope to deliver some of the benefits of leaving the EU, although it remains to be seen whether the 52-year-old will be in the job long enough to do that – in 2018 he suggested “the overwhelming opportunity for Brexit is over the next 50 years”.
Mr Rees-Mogg will keep his seat at the Cabinet table, although he is only at a Minister of State level.
The shake-up of the ministerial team follows the appointment of Stephen Barclay as the Prime Minister’s chief of staff and comes as Mr Johnson seeks to relaunch his administration.
Stuart Andrew has been appointed Minister for Housing in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. He had previously been deputy chief whip.
Chris Heaton-Harris takes over as the prime minister's parliamentary enforcer, as the new chief whip.
Other new hires made by Mr Johnson this week include the appointment of a new communications director, Guto Harri, who has come under scrutiny for lobbying in support of Chinese technology firm Huawei.
The communications chief was said to have been representing lobbying firm Hawthorn Advisers during a 25-minute video call including Huawei executives on June 2, 2020.
The following month, telecoms firms were ordered to strip Huawei equipment from 5G networks by 2027 over security fears.
Downing Street confirmed a meeting took place, with the prime minister’s official spokesman saying it was “within the rules” and “obviously we met with a number of interested parties at that time while that discussion was taking place”.
In response to the leak, Downing Street said Mr Johnson had described himself as a “Sinophile” but that the government had a “clear-eyed” approach to Beijing.
“It’s in the UK’s interest to have an effective relationship with China,” the prime minister’s official spokesman said.
“That needs to be clear eyed, as the Integrated Review (of foreign and defence policy) makes clear. We need to be able to address disagreements in a frank manner and address some of the challenges that China can pose. And that’s what the prime minister does.”
Mr Johnson's conduct in parliament has come under fresh scrutiny after the Labour leader Keir Starmer was verbally abused by a right-wing group in central London on Monday.
Mr Starmer faced baseless allegations of “protecting paedophiles” and chants about sex offender Jimmy Savile from protesters before being bundled into a police car for his protection.
Last week, an under-pressure Mr Johnson accused Mr Starmer of having “used his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile” while director of public prosecutions.
House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle delivered a fresh rebuke to Mr Johnson over his claim in parliament last week that Mr Starmer failed to prosecute Savile when he was director of public prosecutions.
Sir Lindsay said he had requested a situation report from the Metropolitan Police after the Labour leader was surrounded on Monday by a mob accusing him of being a “paedophile protector".
Sir Lindsay said: “I know it has been reported that some abuse was directed at the leader of the opposition yesterday, related to claims made by the prime minister in this chamber.
“But regardless of yesterday's incident, I made it clear last week that while the prime minister's words were not disorderly they were inappropriate.
“As I said then, these sorts of comments only inflame opinions and generate disregard for the House and it is not acceptable.
“Our words have consequences and we should always be mindful of the fact.”
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1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
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5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
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6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
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Top investing tips for UAE residents in 2021
Build an emergency fund: Make sure you have enough cash to cover six months of expenses as a buffer against unexpected problems before you begin investing, advises Steve Cronin, the founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com.
Think long-term: When you invest, you need to have a long-term mindset, so don’t worry about momentary ups and downs in the stock market.
Invest worldwide: Diversify your investments globally, ideally by way of a global stock index fund.
Is your money tied up: Avoid anything where you cannot get your money back in full within a month at any time without any penalty.
Skip past the promises: “If an investment product is offering more than 10 per cent return per year, it is either extremely risky or a scam,” Mr Cronin says.
Choose plans with low fees: Make sure that any funds you buy do not charge more than 1 per cent in fees, Mr Cronin says. “If you invest by yourself, you can easily stay below this figure.” Managed funds and commissionable investments often come with higher fees.
Be sceptical about recommendations: If someone suggests an investment to you, ask if they stand to gain, advises Mr Cronin. “If they are receiving commission, they are unlikely to recommend an investment that’s best for you.”
Get financially independent: Mr Cronin advises UAE residents to pursue financial independence. Start with a Google search and improve your knowledge via expat investing websites or Facebook groups such as SimplyFI.
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%3Cp%3ENon-oil%20trade%20between%20the%20UAE%20and%20Japan%20grew%20by%2034%20per%20cent%20over%20the%20past%20two%20years%2C%20according%20to%20data%20from%20the%20Federal%20Competitiveness%20and%20Statistics%20Centre.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%2010%20years%2C%20it%20has%20reached%20a%20total%20of%20Dh524.4%20billion.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ECars%20topped%20the%20list%20of%20the%20top%20five%20commodities%20re-exported%20to%20Japan%20in%202022%2C%20with%20a%20value%20of%20Dh1.3%20billion.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EJewellery%20and%20ornaments%20amounted%20to%20Dh150%20million%20while%20precious%20metal%20scraps%20amounted%20to%20Dh105%20million.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERaw%20aluminium%20was%20ranked%20first%20among%20the%20top%20five%20commodities%20exported%20to%20Japan.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETop%20of%20the%20list%20of%20commodities%20imported%20from%20Japan%20in%202022%20was%20cars%2C%20with%20a%20value%20of%20Dh20.08%20billion.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
