Markus Andrews

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreYvette Cooper has repeatedly refused to set a deadline to reduce dangerous small boats crossings in the channel. The home secretary described the numbers making the journey as “too high” but claimed it would have been “thousands” higher under the last Conservative government’s approach.Some 34,880 people have arrived in Britain on small boats so far this year, up 20 per cent on this time last year but down 22 per cent on 2022.Ms Cooper repeatedly declined to say when the public could expect to see the number of small boat crossings fall.She told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “These levels are far too high, this is dangerous what’s happening. Of course we want to continue to progress, of course we want to see the boat crossings come down as rapidly as possible.” Ms Cooper conceded that remaining under 2022’s record high would be “no comfort” to people while numbers continue to rise. But she suggested the figures could have been as much as 50,000 under the Tories.Migrants crossing the Channel in a small boat More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreThe Foreign Office has admitted it doesn’t how much money has been spent on the Chagos Islands deal.The admission was made after The Independent submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), asking for details on how much money was handed to Mauritius as part of the deal, as well as asking for the other expenses involved in striking the deal.The department admitted that details on how much money has been spent so far is “not centrally held and is not readily retrievable”, adding that responding to the request would take a “substantial amount of work and staff hours”.While the department said no money has yet been handed over to Mauritius directly as part of the deal as the treaty is still being finalised, it was unable to produce a figure for how much has been spent on legal costs, travel costs and other expenses.David Lammy has repeatedly insisted the deal is a good one More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreSir Keir Starmer has been accused of continuing the previous Tory government’s so-called “hostile environment” approach to migration after the Home Office hailed a new crackdown on immigration crime. On Sunday, the government announced that nearly 13,500 migrants have been removed from Britain since the election, as well as pledging to put £8m towards technology for immigration enforcement operations such as raids and arrests. It comes after Labour previously pledged to return more people who do not have a right to stay in the country halfway through their first year in office than any other six-month period since 2018.While the government said the figures show it is on track to deliver on its returns pledge, which would need to be met by early January, campaigners have hit out at the approach, comparing it to that of the previous Tory government. The Conservative Party, which put a controversial plan to send migrants to Rwanda at the centre of their migration strategy, was often accused of using dehumanising language to describe refugees.Julia Tinsley-Kent, head of policy and communications at the Migrants’ Rights Network told The Independent: “In line with previous governments, the new government has made it crystal clear that it is content to continue the trend of criminalising migration.Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, second left, during a Calais Group meeting on Tuesday (PA/Henry Nicholls) More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreThe “tractor tax” row has taken a dramatic new turn after a pro-Labour tax expert used by Sir Keir Starmer to support the move called on him to reverse his decision.Labour-supporting tax campaigner Dan Neidle says the Budget decision to charge death tax on family farms worth over £1m should be dumped in favour of a £20m threshold.It would remove at a stroke the threat of farmers who want to pass on their farms to their children being forced to sell up to pay a massive tax bill, said Mr Neidle. Instead, the government should target rich landowners who use the current inheritance tax (IHT) exemption on farms as a tax dodge, he argued.Insisting his “dramatic and simple” blueprint to end the row is “workable”, he said it was time for all concerned to do some “proper thinking” and ignore “the political noise”. Farmers protest the tax in Westminster this week More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreKeir Starmer has been urged to “get serious” about boosting the economy and forge closer links with the EU as the UK prepares to formally join a partnership of Asia-Pacific countries which he once said would yield “very small” benefits.Rishi Sunak’s government predicted that the post-Brexit trade deal would grow the economy by a tiny 0.08 per cent, but it later emerged that even that may be an overestimate, according to the government’s own documents.After failing to secure its original objective of a Brexit trade deal with the United States, the Tory government presented joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) as a flagship agreement and a major benefit of leaving the European Union. Last year, while still in opposition, Sir Keir warned that the benefits would be “very small”. The UK is being urged to forge better relationships with the EU post-Brexit More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreNigel Farage’s Reform UK is just three points behind the Tories as the latest Techne UK tracker poll appears to confirm a three-way split at the top of UK politics.The rightwing populist party this week unveiled former Tory donor Nick Candy, better known as the husband of actress Holly Valance, as a member as well as controversial former Conservative MP Aidan Burley, infamous for once organising a Nazi themed stag do.According to the latest poll Reform have nudged up one point to 22 per cent, with Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives on 25 per cent and Keir Starmer’s under fire Labour government on 27 per cent, both unchanged.The Lib Dems are down one point on 11 per cent while the Greens are unchanged on 7 per cent.Farage unveiled Candy as a Tory defector to Reform More