5 h. ago Flight 149: Hostage of War review – a tale so staggering you couldn’t write it

This excellent documentary tells the tale of a BA plane’s Kuwait stopover just as Saddam Hussein invaded. It’s a crucial tale of a four-month nightmare that is barely believableIf it were a work of fiction, the story of Flight 149 would probably be deemed too horrifying – or too unbelievable – for television. Indeed, as a documentary interspersed with dramatic reconstructions, at points it is almost unbearable to watch. But it is a crucial piece of work: a one-off film that goes deep into a bizarre and increasingly hideous ordeal to ask how and why it happened.On 2 August 1990, a British Airways plane carrying nearly 400 passengers and crew from London to Kuala Lumpur touched down for a scheduled stopover in Kuwait. Those on board knew nothing of the unfolding Iraqi invasion of the country and the brutality Saddam Hussein was inflicting on his neighbours (this would, of course, soon lead to the Gulf war). British Airways maintains that it, too, was unaware of what was taki...

Events

8 h. ago The Guardian view on Labour’s spending review: the chancellor tightened belts and loosened seams | Editorial

The government offers capital investment and fiscal prudence but real-terms department cuts and grand promises could strain political credibilityBrexit’s ghost haunts a Labour spending review intended to lay the foundations for a second term. Its headlines echo the twin themes of the referendum campaign: control immigration, fund the NHS. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said she would end the use of hotels for asylum seekers “in this parliament” saving £1bn a year, while NHS spending will rise by 3% a year. Ms Reeves framed it as a politics of security and compassion. Yet it reads as Brexit’s populist promises, filtered through Westminster orthodoxy.The risk is that this is all slogan and very little solution. The asylum savings are speculative, and the annual increase in NHS budgets is below its historical average. There are also real-terms cuts or essentially flat budgets for key departments such as transport, education and local government. The Home Office faces cuts deeper than a...

Politics

9 h. ago Labour promised people we would rebuild Britain – and that’s what we’re doing | Keir Starmer

This week’s spending review marks a new stage in the mission of national renewal, built on the foundations laid last yearKeir Starmer is the prime minister of the United KingdomThe mandate we received from the British people could not have been clearer. First, we had to stop the chaos and return Britain to economic stability. Second, we had to turn the page on Tory decline with clear Labour choices. Third, we were instructed to rebuild our country.Wednesday’s spending review turbocharged that rebuilding. It is an investment in Britain’s renewal, so working people have more money in their pocket, more pride in their community and more hope for their children’s future. It’s what people voted for. An NHS cutting waiting lists, with care closer to the community. Wealth and opportunity no longer hoarded by only a few towns and cities. Continue reading...

Politics

10 h. ago Treasury minister dismisses claims spending review will lead to autumn tax rises – UK politics live

Darren Jones says such claims are ‘incoherent’ and the government is allocating money that has already been raisedSpending review: key points at a glanceGreen party MPs and activists joined a protest outside parliament today saying the government should use the spending review to announce a wealth tax. In a post on social media, Adrian Ramsay, the party’s co-leader, said:We expect the chancellor to take another axe to public spending today: decline by design from a govt that refuses to tax wealth to properly fund our overstretched public services & support the most vulnerable. We need to invest in a secure & fairer future. #TaxExtremeWealth Continue reading...

Politics

11 h. ago Reeves pledges funds for northern rail but London left short | Spending review 2025

Reeves pledges funds for northern rail but London left short | Spending review 2025  The Guardian

Economics

12 h. ago Reeves says use of hotels for asylum seekers to end ‘in this parliament’ – UK politics live

Chancellor delivers spending review, claiming asylum move will save £1bn and says health spending represents a record cash investmentSpending review: key points at a glanceGreen party MPs and activists joined a protest outside parliament today saying the government should use the spending review to announce a wealth tax. In a post on social media, Adrian Ramsay, the party’s co-leader, said:We expect the chancellor to take another axe to public spending today: decline by design from a govt that refuses to tax wealth to properly fund our overstretched public services & support the most vulnerable. We need to invest in a secure & fairer future. #TaxExtremeWealth Continue reading...

Politics

12 h. ago Spending review 2025 – live: Reeves criticised for ‘fantasy’ plan as economists warn tax hikes ‘very likely’

Chancellor Rachel Reeves insists she will never have to repeat last year’s Autumn Budget, when tax rises were announced

Events

13 h. ago Spending review: Reeves vows to ‘renew Britain’ with big rises for NHS, housing and defence

Chancellor pledges to end spending on asylum hotels, as she contrasts Labour investment with Tory austerityUK politics live – latest updatesSpending review 2025: key points at a glanceFive charts underpinning Rachel Reeves’s decisionsRachel Reeves has pledged to “renew Britain” with a spending review prioritising health, defence and more than £100bn for long-term capital projects, despite leaving some key areas facing a tough squeeze on funding.In a speech to the Commons setting out Labour’s priorities up to the next general election, the chancellor said her investment programme would be felt in all corners of the country, while decrying austerity as a “destructive choice”. Continue reading...

Politics

13 h. ago Spending review 2025: Key takeaways after Rachel Reeves announces government budgets

The Independent looks at what is in the spending review, and, crucially, what is not

Politics

13 h. ago Spending Review 2025 LIVE: Rachel Reeves pledges billions more for NHS and social housing... but Met police cash row looms

Chancellor announces extra £29 billion per year for the NHS and vows to end use of asylum seeker hotels

Economics

14 h. ago Spending review 2025 – live: Reeves vows to end asylum hotels by next election in £600bn budget plan

Chancellor promises review will boost ‘Britain’s renewal’

Economics

14 h. ago Spending review 2025: What’s in and what’s not after Rachel Reeves announces government budgets

The Independent looks at what is in the spending review, and, crucially, what is not

Politics

14 h. ago Reeves says use of hotels for asylum seekers to end ‘in this parliament’ and NHS spending to rise 3% a year – UK politics live

Chancellor claims asylum move will save £1bn and says health spending represents a record cash investmentSpending review: key points at a glanceGreen party MPs and activists staged a protest outside parliament today saying the government should use the spending review to announce a wealth tax. In a post on social media, Adrian Ramsay, the party’s co-leader, said:We expect the Chancellor to take another axe to public spending today: decline by design from a govt that refuses to tax wealth to properly fund our overstretched public services & support the most vulnerable. We need to invest in a secure & fairer future. #TaxExtremeWealthSenior SNP figures held a secret meeting on Monday night to discuss removing John Swinney as party leader, The Herald has learned, following last week’s defeat in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse byelection.One of the 25 attendees said the first minister had two weeks to come up with a new strategy on independence — or risk facing a leadership...

Politics

14 h. ago Spending Review 2025 LIVE: Rachel Reeves sets out spending plans with 'biggest cash injection in social housing in 50 years'

Chancellor is laying out the Labour government’s day-to-day and capital spending plans

Economics

15 h. ago PMQs: Starmer says there is ‘no easy answer’ to finding way of seizing frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine – UK politics live

Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, asks prime minister about frozen Russian assets in the UK after sanctioning of two Israeli ministers on TuesdayGreen party MPs and activists staged a protest outside parliament today saying the government should use the spending review to announce a wealth tax. In a post on social media, Adrian Ramsay, the party’s co-leader, said:We expect the Chancellor to take another axe to public spending today: decline by design from a govt that refuses to tax wealth to properly fund our overstretched public services & support the most vulnerable. We need to invest in a secure & fairer future. #TaxExtremeWealthSenior SNP figures held a secret meeting on Monday night to discuss removing John Swinney as party leader, The Herald has learned, following last week’s defeat in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse byelection.One of the 25 attendees said the first minister had two weeks to come up with a new strategy on independence — or risk facing a leadership ch...

Politics

15 h. ago Spending review 2025 – live: Rachel Reeves to unveil plans for £600bn budget

Sir Keir Starmer being quizzed at PMQs before chancellor set to outline Labour's spending plans for NHS, housing and defence

Economics

16 h. ago Rachel Reeves spending review 2025 LIVE as Chancellor makes major announcements

Key projects in Greater Manchester are expected to benefit from funding

Politics

16 h. ago Magdalena, Woman of Joy review – sex, sin and saintliness with a tour de force host

Playhouse East, LondonLily Sinko rages, writhes, provokes and teases her way through the horrifying life story of her storyteller with cartoonish abandonMagdalena appears from the dark, perched on a bar stool, cigarettes and liquor by her side, an array of hanging lamps casting a sultry glow. Her first words set the tone – “You want to fuck me,” she says – and lead us into an uncompromising introduction, littered with sex, violence and sideways jokes.She is the creation of French-English actor and writer Lily Sinko, and as her character’s name suggests, we’re hurled through a life of saintliness and sin, despair and redemption, as Magdalena does the best with the hand she’s dealt. We travel to her childhood in Marseille with a hostile “Papa”, an airport abduction that sees her deposited at the Virgin Mary School for Bad Bad Girls (Cash Only), and a wild escape through the streets of France, finding fleeting refuge in a cathedral.At Playhouse East, London, until 28 June Continue read...

Politics

16 h. ago Spending review live: Rachel Reeves to announce how she’ll spend £600bn budget as experts warn of tax hikes

Chancellor to unveil funding boosts for NHS, housing, defence and schools as she outlines Labour's spending plans until next election

Economics

17 h. ago High Rollers review – John Travolta leads a charmless casino raid of staggering stupidity

Travolta and a team of misfits are forced to raid a tawdry gambling den, but the stakes are disappointingly low in this ineptly made workHere is a cheap-ass knockoff of Ocean’s Eleven starring John Travolta that makes the Soderbergh film look like something by Andrei Tarkovsky or Ingmar Bergman. High Rollers is a heart-slowing work of staggering stupidity and charmlessness, ineptly made and quite frankly dull except when its flaws become so egregious you can’t help but guffaw.The idea is that Mason Goddard (John Travolta, who has finally given up on hairpieces and embraced the bald) leads a rodent pack of skilled thieves and conmen. The gang is first met at the beach wedding of two of the group’s younger members, tech whiz Link (Natali Yura, mouth permanently agape) and dim hunk Caras (Swen Temmel). Alas, the nuptials are interrupted when international criminal Salazar (Danny Pardo) and his henchmen swoop in and kidnap Mason’s wife Amelia (Gina Gershon, somehow surviving this with d...

Politics