19 h. ago Cutting aid for disease fund would be moral failure, Labour MPs tell Starmer

UK expected to reduce contribution to Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria by 20%A group of seven Labour MPs who served as ministers under Keir Starmer have written to the prime minister warning that an expected cut to UK funding for aid to combat preventable diseases would be both a “moral failure” and a strategic disaster.With ministers and officials expected to decide the UK’s contribution to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria within days, the letter renews pressure on Starmer to pull back from an expected 20% cut. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: Russian attacks on substations are ‘nuclear terrorism’, says Ukraine

Ukrainian foreign ministry says deliberate strikes on civilian energy facilities violate international law as fears of a winter crisis grow. What we know on day 1,347Ukraine’s foreign ministry has denounced what it described as Russian attacks on substations critical to supplying external power for Ukraine’s nuclear power stations. Russia has carried out “targeted strikes on such substations”, a ministry statement issued late on Friday said. “Deliberate strikes on civilian energy facilities that directly affect the safe operation of nuclear installations bear the hallmarks of nuclear terrorism and constitute a grave violation of international humanitarian law,” it added.The foreign ministry referred to a statement issued on Thursday by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, reporting military activity “that has led to damage to substations critical to nuclear safety and security in Ukraine”. The IAEA statement reported incidents near two nuclear plants – So...

Events

8 d. ago Rachel Reeves blasted by Keir Starmer over rent licence scandal – but she won't be sacked

Sir Keir Starmer believes that this is a case of 'inadvertent failure' and the independent standards adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, said he found 'no evidence of bad faith'

Politics

9 d. ago Starmer clears Reeves over ‘inadvertent’ failure to obtain rental licence

The Prime Minister said he was taking no action against the Chancellor after her estate agent took the blame.

Events

9 d. ago Reeves says she should have checked rental licence had been obtained as letting agent apologises – UK politics live

No 10 releases redacted emails between Reeves’ husband and letting agentRachel Reeves’ rental error: standards adviser looking at new informationRobert Peston, ITV’s political editor, says he thinks it is a mistake for the Conservatives to be saying Rachel Reeves should have to resign over the rental licence error. He explains why in a post on social media. Here is an extract.Kemi Badenoch’s call for Starmer to sack Reeves, for failing to register her family home when she rented it on moving to Downing Street, lowers the bar quite significantly for sackable offences by ministers. I am not certain all her shadow cabinet colleagues will thank her.The point is that there is a clear distinction between Rayner’s failure to take stamp duty advice and Reeves’s failure to register her home with the council for rent. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Business and charity leaders urge ministers to lead England’s transition to four

Open letter signed by more than 100 leaders comes after local government secretary criticised a council for switching to shorter weekAnalysis: Benefits of a four-day week are ever clearer, despite Steve Reed’s stanceMore than 100 business and charity leaders have called on ministers to “lead the country’s transition toward a shorter working week”, after the local government secretary criticised a council for shifting to a four-day work pattern.Steve Reed wrote to South Cambridgeshire district council, the first English council to trial a four-day week, raising concerns about performance and value for money, and expressing his “deep disappointment” over the policy. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Lord Hermer condemns 'disgraceful allegations' that Starmer and Jonathan Powell collapsed China spy case

Lord Richard Hermer said he had been both disappointed and surprised that the trial of Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry had collapsed.

Politics

1 week ago Hermer blames collapse of China spy case on law ‘not fit for purpose’

The Attorney General said prosecutors had been working in ‘good faith’ to secure a conviction.

Politics

1 week ago Gunman admits killing Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe using homemade weapon in attack in broad daylight three years ago

Tetsuya Yamagami (pictured), 45, allegedly gunned down Japan's longest serving prime minister as Mr Abe was giving a speech in the Japanese city of Nara in July 2022.

Events

2 w. ago Grooming gangs survivor who quit inquiry panel claims Starmer WANTS the investigation to fail

Elizabeth Harper, who was abused in Rotherham aged 14, said the Prime Minister wanted the inquiry to fail as it would damage his party.

Events

2 w. ago POLL OF THE DAY: Will Keir Starmer see out his term as Prime Minister?

Keir Starmer suffered another hammer blow today as Lucy Powell was named as his new Labour deputy - and warned that he is not being 'bold' enough.

Politics

2 w. ago 'Considerable chance' Trump may meet North Korean tyrant Kim Jong

The American president is due to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in South Korea next week.

Politics

2 w. ago The Guardian view on Conservative immigration policy: the threat of mass expulsions is abhorrent | Editorial

Tory plans to revoke indefinite leave to remain in pursuit of greater ‘cultural coherence’ resemble the most extreme ambitions of far-right fringe partiesIt is too early to declare Sir Keir Starmer’s “one in, one out” migration deal with France a failure, but nor can the government claim that it is working as intended. This week, the Guardian revealed that one of the first people deported under the treaty had found his way back to the UK via a small boat. On the same day, Home Office data revealed that the number of people who had made the journey so far this year – 36,886 – had surpassed the total for 2024. The usual partisan recriminations followed. Opposition parties accuse Labour of failing to grip the problem; ministers say they are burdened by a long legacy of Conservative mismanagement. Both things can be true.For all its deficiencies, Sir Keir’s deal with France recognises two facts that his Tory and Reform UK opponents cannot accept. First, engagement with EU states is...

Events

2 w. ago Government says Attorney General was not involved in collapsed China spy case

Robert Jenrick had asked why Baron Richard Hermer had not provided evidence to stop the case collapsing.

Politics

2 w. ago Hermer and Jones summoned to public hearing on China spy case collapse

The Attorney General and Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister have been asked to give evidence to a parliamentary inquiry next Tuesday.

Politics

2 w. ago Top lawyers rounding on chief prosecutor over China spy case collapse rebuked

A CPS source says legal experts are entitled to offer an opinion ‘based on published documents and media reports’.

Events

2 w. ago Tories told to ‘stop throwing mud’ over collapse of China spy case

Home Office minister Dan Jarvis said the Prime Minister and other ministers were powerless to stop the Crown Prosecution Service shelving the case.

Politics

2 w. ago First Minister ‘working night and day’ to ensure Casement Park is built

The project to transform the GAA pitch in west Belfast has been hit by delays.

Politics

2 w. ago Failing Keir Starmer only has 'months' to show he can stop Labour's collapse, former leader Lord Kinnock warns

Lord Kinnock delivered a stark message about the lack of 'basic political skills' in No10 amid rising alarm about the damage from policy bungles and scandals.

Events

2 w. ago How a Labour manifesto boast led to the collapse of the China spy trial... after a suspect was found with £4,000 in cash in a suitcase as he flew into Heathrow

The Daily Mail has learnt that a single sentence, which appears to have been lifted almost word for word from Labour's 2024 manifesto, led to the China spy case collapsing.

Economics