Author: MoorningTimes

The husband of former Labour MP Gloria De Piero has confirmed his home was searched on Wednesday as part of a police investigation into an alleged Chinese spying ring.James Robinson, a former aide to the ex-Labour deputy leader Tom Watson, issued a statement confirming the raid on the home he shares with his wife, but said he had not been detained or questioned by police.He said: “I can confirm that police officers visited my home yesterday with a search warrant. I understand their attendance was part of enquiries into those arrested and questioned over matters allegedly relating to China.”Robinson, the…

David Lammy has said it is an “absolute travesty” that details were leaked from a top secret national security meeting on the US-Israel attacks on Iran and has called for an investigation.There were reports last weekend of cabinet splits at a national security council meeting, which is protected by the Official Secrets Act, over allowing the US to use British bases for the strikes against Iran.Keir Starmer suggested allowing the US to use the bases to carry out defensive strikes against Iranian targets at the meeting last Friday but was met with opposition from Ed Miliband, Rachel Reeves, Yvette Cooper…

Nigel Farage to discuss Chagos Islands deal at Mar-a-Lago dinner with Donald Trump tonightIn the latest example of Nigel Farage doing absolutely anything rather than spend time in his Clacton constituency, the Reform UK leader is to meet Donald Trump for dinner at Mar-a-Lago tonight, where he says he will discuss the Chagos Islands deal.Attending a ‘Save Chagos Boat Party’ yesterday, Farage said he would be flying to Florida to dine with the US president on Friday, GB News reported.He said: double quotation markWe think this is the central plan for this government’s foreign policy and we are beating them…

My guess is you keep across the news. You know Andy Mountbatten-Windsor has just had the worst birthday ever; that tall hotels in Dubai don’t make for a great holiday right now; and that Keir Starmer’s engagements diary for 2027 will be remarkably clear.Still, there is one headline I’ll bet you haven’t seen, even though it directly affects your life. It’s about your life, and mine, and those of our families and friends and neighbours. I didn’t spot it either, until a few days ago when the Guardian ran a reader’s letter.It came from Alan Walker, a retired professor at…

The defence secretary, John Healey, has accused opposition politicians of deliberately undermining the UK’s relationship with Donald Trump, saying it was “unpatriotic” for MPs to seek to turn the US against Keir Starmer.Healey, speaking to the Guardian at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, which was hit by a drone strike over the weekend, said he had been shocked at the way politicians like Nigel Farage had sought to “undermine” the UK’s relationship with the US.The Conservatives and Reform UK have criticised the British decision not to allow the US to use UK bases for offensive strikes against Iranian targets, though they…

But for the Iran crisis, Labour’s first major policy announcement since the party’s calamitous defeat in the Gorton and Denton byelection would have been arguably the biggest political story of the week.Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, pressed ahead with what is intended to be the party’s full-throated answer to the competition it faces from Reform UK as she declared an end to permanent refugee status and the removal of state support from some asylum seekers.It immediately put her on a collision course with many Labour backbenchers, but it also left the party’s soft-left majority, who had been pushing for a…

The UK prime minister has defended his stance on the war in the Middle East amid growing pressure from Cyprus, Bahrain and the UAE. John Harris, Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey discuss whether he has shown strength or weakness. Plus: the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has announced her controversial asylum plans Continue reading… Source link

The first flight chartered by the UK government to evacuate British nationals from the Middle East has now departed, Keir Starmer has confirmed.The prime minister announced that the delayed charter flight from Oman, which was originally scheduled to leave at 7pm on Wednesday, had taken off during a Downing Street press conference.The airlift of British nationals takes place against the backdrop of continued US and Israeli strikes on Iran, with missiles and drones also raining down on other states in the region.More than 2,000 people had arrived in the UK on Wednesday onboard eight flights from the United Arab Emirates,…

The UK government must double down on its clean energy drive to protect bill payers from increasingly volatile fossil fuel markets in the wake of the US-Israel war on Iran, climate groups, academics and energy experts have warned.Research published on Thursday shows that the last fossil fuel energy crisis, caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, cost the EU and the UK $1.8tn between 2022 and 2025, driving up bills and fuelling a devastating cost of living crisis.The US-Israeli attacks on Iran, which started at the weekend, have resulted in fossil fuel prices surging again. Experts say it underscores the…

Our political memory fails us. We treat government policies as if we’re seeing them for the very first time. But much of what appears to be novel has deep historical roots. If we fail to understand those roots and the soil in which they grow, we will fail to resist the assaults on our humanity.The home secretary’s new attack on the rights of immigrants and refugees is shocking and disorienting. Shabana Mahmood wants to raise the qualification period for immigrants to achieve indefinite leave to remain in the UK from five years to 10 (and up to 20 for refugees).…