Everyone knows we are a nation of animal lovers, unless – in these politically correct times – it upsets a vocal ethnic minority, when appeasement becomes more important than animal welfare or anything else for that matter. Even now as Labour puts forward its much-vaunted animal welfare strategy “to prevent animals suffering”, it has deliberately omitted the compulsory labelling of halal and kosher meat, even though it’s hailing its ban of boiling live lobsters and the more humane slaughter of farmed fish!

That is why tomorrow in parliament I am introducing a Bill for the compulsory labelling of halal and kosher meat. I’m not calling for a ban of these meats, just a modest requirement for labelling, so we all know what we are buying and eating. Properly labelling halal and kosher meat should be just as important for those who particularly want to buy it as for those who particularly don’t want to buy it, so everyone benefits.

The unique process of halal and kosher meat requires the animal to have its throat slit. In the case of halal meat the animal is often stunned before it’s killed, although it might not be, and for the shechita killing (for kosher meat) there is no pre-stunning at all. This lack of stunning causes the animal to experience severe pain.

Now, UK law does require animals to be stunned before slaughter, but an exemption was made for both ‘schechita’ (Jewish) and some ‘halal’ (Muslim) methods. This was to cater for the religious requirements of the UK Jewish population (280,000 people) and the Muslim one, now amounting to four million people, which has almost doubled in size in the last decade.

However, what started as a limited exemption has rapidly become the norm. According to the National Secular Society, the selling of this ‘religious’ meat is now widespread in supermarkets and other food outlets unlabelled to unwitting consumers who are buying it whether they want it or not.

It is now being served in our hospitals and prisons – without anyone being told – and non-stunned produce is being used by 17 local councils in schools, the majority of which are not Islamic faith schools, without parents or children having the first idea about it.

The RSPCA estimates 12% of meat is not pre-stunned. The Food Standards Agency equates that to 30 million chicken, sheep, goats and cattle being killed in this way, whilst other welfare organisations put that figure much higher at around 100 million animals. Unfortunately “Full of Fear” Keir is too petrified of upsetting ethnic minority voters to do something even this modest, despite a ban on non-stun slaughter being introduced in some regions of Belgium which paved the way for bans in Norway, Sweden, Slovenia, Iceland, Switzerland and Denmark.

So isn’t it time we updated our regulations and demanded our meat was clearly and fully labelled so we know what we are buying and eating? Surely that is what consumer choice is all about, and I would wager that the overwhelming majority of animal lovers in the UK expect the House of Commons to support my Bill tomorrow.

Prince William and Princess Kate deliver a welcome sight despite Andrew scandal

Good to see William and Kate at the BAFTAs at the weekend. It was their first outing since Andrew’s arrest. They looked as regal as ever, but I wonder what inner turmoil was going on in their minds.

Labour MP must now stand down from Cabinet Office post

Labour Together, a think tank that goes right to the heart of the Labour Party and helped get Starmer elected as leader of the Labour Party, is up to its armpits in scandal. Incredibly, its former head – now current Labour Minister, Josh Simons MP – procured the services of an American company, Apco, which investigated and subsequently smeared two British journalists after they wrote an article about the murky finances of Labour Together.

Simons is using a Starmeresque excuse to distance himself from the investigation and report saying it “extended beyond the contract” – but his explanation has already been discredited after the terms of the contract Simon’s gave Apco were published. Ouch. If Simons wants to have any future in politics he would do best to stand down from his ministerial post at the Cabinet Office straight away, the department that is currently looking into his and Labour Together’s actions, and seek some credit for doing so. Of course Starmer should sack him, but he lost his authority over the Labour Party months ago. What a sorry mess.

We must oppose the anti-monarchists now on the march

Be in no doubt the anti-monarchists are on the march. Andrew for his part has provided anti-royalists with an arsenal of ammunition in their quest to take down the royal family. We mustn’t let them succeed. The Royal Family remains a vital institution for the country.

Whilst Charles stripped Andrew of his titles and quickly banished him from public life, I fear that might prove to be insufficient. To survive and allow for a fresh start, I am sure Charles will do whatever it takes to protect the Royal Family – even if that means standing down to allow the next generation to take over.

Even after Peter Mandelson furore, Keir Starmer seems not to have learnt his lesson

Has Starmer learnt nothing from his botched appointments of scandal hit Lord Mandelson and Lord Matthew Doyle? Despite a chorus of objections, the PM hastily appointed controversial figure Antonia Romeo as his new Cabinet Secretary last Thursday.

Romeo, known in some quarters as the ‘Queen of Woke’, who told civil servants to join a ‘gender non-conforming book club’ and was investigated for bullying and her expense claims during her time as Consul General in New York, could well be his next appointment mistake. He had to get rid of his last Permanent Secretary in indecent haste which is set to cost us all £250,000 in a pay-off. Labour never worries about wasting other people’s money.

No amount of spin by Rachel from Accounts can hide the facts

Graduate jobs have collapsed by a quarter in the worst market for 13 years, according to a survey by High Fliers Research.

However Rachel from Accounts tries to spin it, her tax on jobs, increase in the minimum wage and Angela Rayner’s employment rights bill is stopping businesses recruiting staff. And it is young people who are suffering the most from Labour’s war on businesses and wealth creators.