3 h. ago Minister defends watering down Angela Rayner's flagship Bill amid backlash

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said there was a 'very real prospect' that key measures in the Employment Rights Bill would not be in place by April without the change

Politics

17 h. ago Starmer forced to deny breaking Labour manifesto as experts sound dire warning over Budget plans

Damning assessment came as chancellor and prime minister forced to defend plans and insist they did not breach manifesto promises

Events

7 d. ago Police say 47 arrested after latest demo in support of banned Palestine Action

Defend Our Juries said demonstrators sat outside the Ministry of Justice building in Westminster on Thursday afternoon.

Events

7 d. ago Spanish PM calls for nation to heed past lessons on anniversary of Franco’s death

Pedro Sánchez says his country must defend the democratic freedom ‘wrenched from us for so many years’Spain has marked the 50th anniversary of Francisco Franco’s death with an absence of official events but a call from the prime minister to heed the lessons of the dictatorship and defend the democratic freedom “wrenched from us for so many years”.Franco, whose military coup against the elected republican government in 1936 triggered a civil war and brought about four decades of dictatorship, died in Madrid on 20 November 1975. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Keir Starmer says any No 10 briefings against ministers ‘unacceptable’

Starmer defends Wes Streeting at PMQs but dodges question on his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeneyUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer has condemned as “completely unacceptable” any briefings against cabinet ministers from inside Downing Street as he tried desperately to close a rift at the top of government.Questioned by Kemi Badenoch at prime minister’s questions, Starmer defended Wes Streeting, the health secretary, who was the apparent target of a pre-emptive No 10 push against a feared imminent leadership challenge against the prime minister. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago The Guardian view on the BBC under siege: Britain must defend its own truth | Editorial

With Donald Trump circling and Labour ministers wavering, defending the corporation’s independence is now a test of national willThe chair of the BBC, Samir Shah, struck a defensive tone in his interview to explain the mess the broadcaster has found itself in. The impression was of an organisation under siege rather than one confidently self-correcting. Mr Shah will be busy. He must find a new director general after Tim Davie resigned. Gone too is the CEO of news, Deborah Turness. Both resigned after an exhausting rightwing campaign which cried bias at every turn and was energised by an absurd transatlantic attempt to paint the BBC as part of a global liberal conspiracy.A giant like the BBC will make mistakes. The failure is not owning them fast enough and moving on. The corporation remains one of Britain’s few genuinely national institutions – and ministers say it is a “light on the hill” for people here and abroad. The BBC is the most trusted source of news in ...

Politics

3 w. ago PM to admit consensus is gone but UK ‘all in’ on net zero at Cop30

The Prime Minister will staunchly defend his Government’s clean energy agenda on economic grounds.

Politics

3 w. ago Lammy ‘not informed of key details’ when questioned about prisoner release error

The Ministry of Justice has defended David Lammy, after he failed to answer questions about the mistaken release of Brahim Kaddour-Cherif.

Events

4 w. ago Prisons minister defends £500 payoff to migrant sex offender with golf analogy

Lord Timpson tells Parliament ‘if someone wants to give you a putt, you take it’ as he faces questions over a ‘slush fund’.

Events

4 w. ago First Minister defends mental health waits during Stirling by

The SNP leader spoke to the Observer on recent cases of "heartbreaking" waits for mental health and CAMHS support - as well as measures to improve the city centre.

Politics

4 w. ago Home Office minister defends plans to house asylum seekers on military bases

Asylum minister Alex Norris said the two sites in Inverness and East Sussex are an ‘important part’ of driving down hotel use.

Events