Newslinks for Sunday 26th August 2012

2.30pm Raheem Kassam on Comment: The BBC spends a third of £1 million concealing 'Balen Report' into its Middle East coverage

ToryDiary: IDS and Pickles back Theresa May's fight to strengthen immigration policies

Rehman Chishti MP on Comment: The public will be safer because of new sentencing guidelines on dangerous dogs

Mohammed Amin on Comment: How much tax is enough?

Local government: Now the good news... councils that ARE rewarding work, volunteering, and armed service in housing allocation

Cuts to courts system mean offenders are receiving softer sentences

"Staff in one region, Durham Tees Valley, told a survey by Napo, the union for probation and court staff, that constraints had led to offenders getting off lightly. “Possibly because of shortcuts, unpaid work requirements have been imposed where alternative, more robust sentencing was needed,” said the union’s report." - The Sunday Telegraph

Hague and Clarke most popular in Cabinet - Mail on Sunday

Peter Hitchens: "Can I put in a plea here for Ken Clarke? Mr Slippery should certainly not sack him as Secretary of State for Injustice... Far better have him doing the job than some slick fraud who makes ‘tough’ speeches about how prison works, while letting prisoners out even more quickly than Ken does."

George Osborne remains under microscope

• "The Chancellor, I am told, has made clear to Mr Cameron that he wants to remain in full control of the Tories’ General Election campaign. Even if Mr Crosby, who helped Boris Johnson become Mayor of London, is brought on board, it will not happen until six months before an Election, so until then Mr Osborne remains in charge of tactics." - Melissa Kite in the Mail on Sunday
• Toby Helm claims Tory MPs are turning against Osborne but offers no sources or evidence - Observer
• Does PM David Cameron have a better choice for Chancellor? - Lisa Buckingham in the Mail on Sunday
• 75% think it's important that Government reduces the budget deficit but only 22% thinks it is making much progress - YouGov

But, says John Rentoul, it's Labour that deserves more scutiny...

"Ed Miliband and Ed Balls have been getting on particularly badly recently... The Eds' relationship could have more bearing on the outcome of the next election than the unusually strong one, in historical terms, between Cameron and Osborne. As so often in politics, it is the dog that hasn't barked that is more important than the ones that make the most noise." - Independent on Sunday

Liberal Democrats vow to block deeper spending cuts - The Sunday Times (£)

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Are Tory MPs wrong to complain about Osborne's spending priorities?

Owen Paterson is the latest in a growing list of Conservatives urging David Cameron to drop his opposition to another runway at the London airport - The Sunday Telegraph

"Shapps set out his stall yesterday by signalling his support for a third runway at Heathrow. He said “all options” for expanding airport capacity in the southeast needed to be examined to boost the economy. His intervention fuelled speculation that Cameron could move Justine Greening, the transport secretary, because of her opposition to Heathrow expansion." - The Sunday Times (£)

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: We made a silly promise not to build a third runway for Heathrow but it was a promise

Migrants who are falsely claiming benefits after coming to Britain to work, study or visit face being stripped of their welfare payments - The Sunday Telegraph

Cameron and Clegg are preparing yet another Coalition U-turn by dropping plans to let voters sack misbehaving MPs

"Tory MP Zac Goldsmith, a passionate believer in the 'power of recall' proposal, warned the Coalition of dire consequences if the pledge was scrapped. He told The Mail on Sunday: 'This was a key promise after the endless scandals around expenses. It is also the one promised reform that will directly empower people and keep politicians on their toes." - Mail on Sunday

The Commons public administration select committee, chaired by Bernard Jenkin, is expected to recommend end of automatic gongs for long service in public sector - The Sunday Times (£)

Matthew d'Ancona: Cameron should be willing to give the Liberal Democrats state funding of political parties in return for guaranteed support for the boundary review - The Sunday Telegraph

> Recent ToryDiary: Tory MPs shouldn't vote for more state funding of party politics

Michael Gove is right to want to stop grade inflation but he is tackling it in an unjust way - Andrew Rawnsley in The Observer

• The exam regulator bowed to pressure yesterday in the row over the “fixing” of GCSE results in English and ordered an urgent review - The Sunday Times (£)
• Our 'A-grade' children can't even manage a paper round - Peter Hitchens in the Mail on Sunday

Tory Reform Group warns PM: 'We must reach out to ethnic minorities'

"Mr Cameron has not made a speech on race since becoming Prime Minister, and the only pledge in the Tory manifesto to help ethnic-minority communities – a mentoring scheme in Whitehall – has never been delivered." - Independent on Sunday

Cameron's local Oxford council joins revolt over plan to devolve council tax benefits - Observer

Ex-MI5 chief urges Cameron to defy party on European Union and continue to integrate crime policies - Observer

• The people of Britain - and Europe - have seen through the great project. When will the elites catch up? - Dan Hannan in The Sunday Telegraph

"It is no role of legislators to impose their religious will on the public. If they want to keep their own Sundays special, that's fine; but we have no business trying to prevent others from spending their Sundays in whatever way they want." - Former Tory MP Geoffrey Lawler on The Guardian's Northerner blog

I'll never vote for Cameron after his bloody badger cull - Brian May in the Mail on Sunday

The Liberal Democrats have been accused of drawing up “dangerous” demands for the swift introduction of right-to-die legislation at Westminster - Sunday Express

Nick Ferrari calls for a right-to-die in the Sunday Express: "Opponents paint a Holocaust-style scenario in which the depressed and vulnerable will face mass euthanasia but their argument is hollow. Simply appoint a panel of independent clinicians who have to approve any of the tiny handful of cases that would need to be heard. In that way, the years of pain and struggle Tony and his family endured will not have been in vain."

Roman Catholic priests are to read out a letter in each of the Church's parishes in Scotland criticising the Scottish Government for plans to introduce gay marriage - BBC

Fighting to save the Union - Alistair Darling talks to the Independent on Sunday about leading the campaign to stop Alex Salmond breaking up the UK

The Houses of Parliament could close for up to five years under plans for a £3 billion refurbishment

"The Commons and Lords would be evacuated for the first time since the second world war while the Grade I-listed building is overhauled after decades of delay. Under one option, MPs would meet in a replica chamber under Big Ben while the antiquated plumbing and electrics, and the asbestos-riddled interior, of the Palace of Westminster are replaced. The House of Commons commission, chaired by John Bercow, the Speaker, has asked a group of MPs, peers and officials to report on options to save the building." - The Sunday Times (£)

And finally... Every time the PM heads to the West Country, something goes awry - The Independent on Sunday asks if the PM can beat "the curse of Cornwall".

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