Markus Andrews

The mass evacuation of Britons from the Middle Eastern warzone has begun with the first flight leaving Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon.With more than 1,000 UK citizens trying to leave Israel as tit-for tat for missile attacks continue to be exchanged with Iran, foreign secretary David Lammy has confirmed that the government is scrambling flights.Mr Lammy said: “This is an ongoing and fast-moving situation.”He said the government will keep advice “under close review and there may need to be further updates over the course of the next few days”.David Lammy updated the Commons on the situation in the Middle East on Monday More

Labour rebels have said they will refuse to support Keir Starmer’s plans to slash disability benefits – despite claims they could face deselection if they vote against the reforms.The Independent has been told that MPs – including ministers – considering rebelling against the government’s welfare reforms on Tuesday next week have been threatened with losing the whip and even, according to two sources, deselection.The issue is set to come to a head in a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday evening.The government plans to make £5bn a year in savings on welfare mostly by reducing personal independence payments (PIPs) for those with disabilities by limiting access to them for all apart from the most disabled.Starmer and chancellor Rachel Reeves need to balance the books More

Prague’s High Court canceled for the second time on Monday a lower court ruling that acquitted former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš of fraud charges in a $2 million case involving a European Union subsidy.The court returned the case for retrial to Prague’s Municipal Court to deal with it, saying the lower court, which acquitted Babiš for the second time last year, did not properly assess evidence.Babiš had pleaded not guilty and repeatedly said the charges against him were politically motivated. The prosecution had originally requested a suspended sentence and a fine to be paid by the populist billionaire who left the courtroom before the verdict was announced. The municipal court acquitted Babis for the first time in 2023. Prague’s High Court later canceled that decision and ordered the case to be retried at the same court.Babiš’ former associate Jana Nagyová, who signed the subsidy request, will also face retrial.The case centered around a farm known as the Stork’s Nest, which received EU subsidies after its ownership was transferred from the Babiš-owned Agrofert conglomerate of around 250 companies to Babis’ family members. Later, Agrofert again took ownership of the farm.The subsidies were meant for medium- and small-sized businesses, which Agrofert wouldn’t have been eligible for. The conglomerate later returned the subsidy.The lower court previously said what Babiš did was not considered criminal.Babi has become part of the country’s opposition after his populist ANO (YES) centrist movement lost the 2021 parliamentary election. He also contended for the largely ceremonial post of president in January 2023 but lost to Petr Pavel, a retired army general.Monday’s verdict comes just months before October’s parliamentary election in which Babiš and his movement are predicted to win the vote. More

Nigel Farage’s plans to introduce a ‘Robin Hood tax’ to attract the wealthy back to the UK would cost the economy £34bn a year, a leading tax expert has warned.Dan Neidle of Tax Policy Associates has hit out at the Britannia card scheme proposal, which would allow wealthy people to pay a one-off fee of £250,000 and replace the former non-dom scheme scrapped by Tory chancellor Jeremy Hunt and current Labour chancellor Rachel Reeves.Reform UK believes that the scheme would produce around £2.5bn a year which it plans to hand out as a dividend of £1,000 to those on the lowest incomes.But Labour has damned it as a “bonanza for billionaires”, likening it to Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-Budget.Meanwhile, in a scathing assessment, Mr Neidle warned: “We believe there are three very serious problems with the policy.Farage and Yusuf arrive to introduce their plans More

The choices Keir Starmer makes in the next few days could define his premiership. Tony Blair never escaped the accusation he had been George Bush’s “poodle” over the invasion of Iraq. And how far the current Labour PM goes in backing another US president in another foreign conflict could help or haunt him for years to come. Despite the prime minister last week repeatedly saying “de-escalation is the priority”, the Trump administration pressed ahead with strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran overnight on Saturday. The prime is now walking a tightrope between supporting the UK’s closest ally and attempting to call for calm. In the wake of the strikes, Sir Keir appeared to give the US his cautious backing – describing Iran’s nuclear programme as a “grave threat to international security”. But he has also issued stark warnings about the conflict escalating beyond the region. As the situation in the Middle East continues to escalate, the prime minister is caught between a rock and a hard place. He is currently sat firmly on the fence – with his most senior ministers refusing to say whether Trump’s strikes were either legal or even “the right thing to do”. And while the US did not ask Britain for help in its first round of strikes, at some point, the prime minister will be forced to make a decision. So what are his options? Sir Keir Starmer has worked hard at forging close ties with President Trump since his return to the Oval Office More

David Lammy has warned the West is facing a “moment of peril” after Iran vowed to retaliate following US strikes on three nuclear facilities. It comes after Donald Trump’s regime conducted airstrikes at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz despite Sir Keir Starmer pushing for de-escalation in the preceding days.Asked how concerned the government is about possible retaliation, the foreign secretary warned: “This is a moment of peril.” Britain’s foreign secretary David Lammy makes a statement following their meeting with Iran’s foreign minister on Tehran’s nuclear programme More

Foreign secretary David Lammy has refused to defend Donald Trump’s attack on Iran and confirm it was either legal or even “the right thing to do”.In an awkward interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, Mr Lammy was asked four times if Donald Trump’s airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities were legal.“We were not involved, it is for the Americans to discuss those legal issues,” he responded, avoiding the answer.The questions followed reports that UK attorney general Lord Hermer has suggested it would not be legal for the UK to launch such attacks.David Lammy was unable to say if the US attack was legal or right More