62 m. ago No 10 says Starmer stands by claim Tories were jumping on far

Prime minister’s comments were about ‘ministers from previous government who sat in office for years and did nothing’, says No 10 spokespersonStarmer launches new grooming gangs investigationIn his interview on the Sky News this morning Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said that Keir Starmer should apologise for saying in January that those calling for a national inquiry into grooming gangs were jumping on a far-right bandwagon. Kemi Badenoch, his party leader, is also quoted today in an Daily Express splash story saying Starmer should apologise, but she is saying he should apologise for not agreeing to hold a national inquiry earlier.At the Downing Street lobby briefing this morning the No 10 spokesperson was asked if Starmer still thought that people who backed a national inquiry in January were joining a far-right bandwagon. In response, the spokesperson defended the phrase, and insisted that it only applied to Tories who were now demanding an inquiry they never set up whe...

Politics

78 m. ago My unexpected Pride icon: as a bullied teenager, I found safety in slasher films

Watching mild-mannered schoolgirls overcome serial killers such as Freddy Krueger and emerge as survivors spoke to my younger self in a way no other films couldI have always been morbidly obsessed with the horror film genre. As a small child, I’d gaze up at the posters of Freddy Krueger or Pinhead in our local video rental shop with a curious mix of fear and desire. I wanted to be scared, and I also did not. I was 11 when Channel 4 screened A Nightmare on Elm Street. My poor mum, assuming it couldn’t be that bad if it was on TV, let me record it. I watched through my fingers, drunk on anxiety, the anticipation of the kills almost unbearable. There is, I would argue, something quite queer about this complicated urge. Horror is titillating.The golden age of the slasher movie was the 1970s and 80s. I’m sure film-makers were inspired by the cultural austerity of the Reagan era, the Moral Majority and the unfolding Aids crisis. But, as a child, I was blissfully unaware of those things or...

Politics

1 hour ago Mum leaves husband and kids for toyboy she met on 'spiritual' holiday

Cheryl Thomasgood, now 65, left her husband and three children in the UK to be with a Maasai warrior in Kenya - but she says the relationship was doomed from the start.

Politics

1 hour ago Family demand answers after 'quiet, kind' man strangled to his death by partner

An inquest will examine the involvement of state agencies in the couple's relationship to determine whether the death was avoidable

Events

2 h. ago Family shocked by behaviour leave country village after 30 minutes

Karl Taylor said he was 'deeply disappointed' by what he and his family saw on the visit with 'large groups occupying almost every grassed area'.

Events

2 h. ago UK's favourite breakfasts could be harming your health, warns nutritionist

A nutritionist has warned not all breakfasts are created equal, and some of the nation's favourite morning meals are doing more harm than good - including some of the worst foods to start off your day

Events

2 h. ago Danny Jones' wife says 'I feel like a failure' as she bursts into tears

Singer Danny Jones and wife Georgia look to be getting their relationship back on track and she appeared on This Morning in an emotional segment on the ITV show

Events

3 h. ago Investor Index 2025: confidence holds firm amidst tariffs and turbulence

Now in its sixth year, the Investor Index, is an annual in-depth survey of investor behaviours conducted among 1100 UK adults (18+) with a minimum of £10,000 invested. Conducted jointly by London-based communications agency AML Group and The Nursery Research & Planning, the study has established itself as a rigorous barometer of investor practices based on hard data.

Economics

3 h. ago People with a Blue Badge may be able to use it on holiday abroad this summer

Blue Badge users could access parking spaces reserved for people with disabilities, extended parking durations, or exemptions from parking fees.

Politics

3 h. ago Trump is steamrolling congressional Republicans. What’s in it for them? | David Kirp

The budget bill was a reminder: the president and House speaker don’t care about lawmakers’ views. Why not just quit?Like soldiers in a well-disciplined army, Republican members of US Congress do whatever Commander Donald Trump demands. While the foot soldiers may occasionally grumble, they quickly fall in line when Trump intervenes.Republican representatives go through contortions to satisfy the bully in the White House: we hated deficits, goes the party orthodoxy, but now we vote for adding trillions to the deficit; we supported Ukraine, but now we cozy up to the Russians; we scrutinized cabinet nominees, but now we give our “advice and consent” to a cabinet of knaves and charlatans.David Kirp is professor emeritus at the Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago Arsenal transfer news: Viktor Gyokeres makes 'threat' claim amid new target rumours

The transfer window reopens this morning and will run for 12 weeks through to its September 1 deadline. And whether Mikel Arteta finally adds the centre forward his squad so badly desires remains to be seen.

Events

6 h. ago Revealed: Meghan Markle's 'kind' show of support for British actress Jameela Jamil during 'very hard' time

In conversation with The Times, the LA-based actress opened up on her relationship with Meghan and explained how she previously offered her emotional support.

Politics

7 h. ago The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine review – a polyphonic portrait of class and trauma in Belfast

The acclaimed short-story writer brings her characters vividly to life in this debut novel about a teenage girl’s assault and its aftermathThat we tend to regard the shift from the short story to the novel as a natural authorial progression perhaps speaks to a failure to recognise the shorter form as its own distinct discipline. Short stories are not novels in miniature, or parts of novels pruned to stand on their own. Without the luxury of space and looser pacing, they demand of the writer a linguistic precision and compression that, at its most radical, borders on the poetic, and which across the breadth of a novel would feel wearying. Novels need room to breathe. The writer expanding their scope therefore faces a difficult adjustment: guarding against density while ensuring they don’t get lost in the space.For Wendy Erskine, the move to a larger canvas feels entirely unforced. Her highly praised stories, collected in 2018’s Sweet Home and 2022’s Dance Move, often display a certai...

Events

7 h. ago Grenfell firefighter blasts flammable cladding as he names who was to blame for blaze

Dave Badillo appears in a new Netflix documentary about the avoidable Grenfell tragedy and condemns the lack of prosecutions, claiming "people need to go to prison for this"

Events

9 h. ago Is this Britain's unluckiest village? Durham town was left stinking of rotten eggs from landfill site...now local authorities are introducing an INCINERATOR which residents fear will be just as bad

A 10,000-tonne incinerator, which lies within a mile of a nursery, a primary school and a sixth form college, is being built and will be up and running next year. But locals are making a last ditch attempt to stop it.

Culture

9 h. ago The vet misdiagnosed my dog and made us spend £2,500 on pointless treatments before recommending he was put down

EXCLUSIVE: Emma Edwards, 50,said she faced 'utter contempt' when she tried to complain about her vet practice after her dog Coco was 'misdiagnosed' with pancreatitis.

Economics

10 h. ago Katy Perry spotted without her engagement ring in Melbourne amid claims of 'tension' in relationship with Orlando Bloom

Katy Perry has been spotted without her distinctive ruby engagement ring given to her by Orlando Bloom amid rumours of 'tension' between the couple.

Events

13 h. ago Friends say Minnesota shooting suspect was deeply religious and conservative

The man accused of assassinating the top Democrat in the Minnesota House held deeply religious and politically conservative views, telling a congregation in Africa two years ago that the U.S. was in a “bad place” where most churches didn’t oppose abortion

Events

15 h. ago Laura Anderson takes huge swipe at Gary Lucy on Father’s Day

Former Love Island star Laura Anderson has hit out at her ex boyfriend Gary Lucy as she cheers to 'single mums' on Fathers Day and says she feels bad for her daughter

Politics

16 h. ago Love Island fans spot subtle clue Conor doesn't like Toni in very telling move

Conor made a very telling comment that some Love Island fans have taken as a sign he doesn't like Toni despite her praising him for his behaviour on the bombshell date

Politics