Markus Andrews

Keir Starmer is being urged to keep to a pledge to support a new international coalition to “scale up” the peace process in the Middle East as the crisis in Gaza deepens.At a major conference on the conflict last December, the prime minister said he would bring together countries to back the project that is based on an initiative that brought peace in Northern Ireland.Then, in February, Downing Street and the Foreign Office held meetings with figures behind the coalition – The International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace (IFIPP) – which would bring together people on both sides of the conflict for a two-state solution.Now a paper by Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), seen by The Independent, has made the case for the plan again.Starmer made his commitment to the peace fund after meeting Mandy Damari, the mother of a British hostage held by Hamas last December More

The number of overcrowded small boats arriving in the UK carrying more than 80 people has quadrupled in three years, casting doubt over Labour’s pledge to stop migrants from making the dangerous journey. Fresh analysis from the Home Office showed that 33 boats made the perilous journey while carrying more than 80 people in the year to April 2025 – up from eight in the year to April 2022.While the overall number of dinghies, typically made to carry up to 20 people safely, arriving declined from 1,116 in 2022 to 738 in 2025, more people have been crammed onto each vessel for the crossing.People thought to be migrants wade through the sea to board a small boat leaving the beach at Gravelines, France, in an attempt to reach the UK by crossing the English Channel More

Nationalisation of struggling Thames Water is “not the answer”, environment secretary Steve Reed has warned after a private equity giant pulled out of a £4bn rescue deal, throwing the company’s future into doubt.A bailout of the debt-laden utility would take money away from the NHS and other public services, he said. Thames Water is about £19bn in debt, and MPs were told last month that at one point this year it had about five weeks’ worth of cash left before going bust.Britain’s biggest water supplier, which has 16 million customers, chose KKR at the end of March to be its preferred bidder under plans to invest around £4bn of new equity. But the firm said on Tuesday that KKR was no longer “in a position to proceed” and that its status as preferred bidder had lapsed.At the despatch box, Conservative shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins accused ministers of having “talked themselves out of” a rescue plan.Mr Reed told MPs: “The government stands ready for any eventuality and will take action as required. We are not looking at nationalisation because it would cost over £100bn of public money that would have had to be taken away from other public services like the National Health Service to be given to the owners of the water companies.“It will take years to unpick the current model of ownership, during which time pollution would get worse and we know that nationalisation is not the answer – you only have to look at the situation in Scotland to see that.”Mr Reed said he would “make no apology” for tackling the behaviour of water companies under the previous government. “I mean, we even had stories that have been confirmed by water companies of previous Conservative secretaries of state shouting and screaming at water company bosses, but not actually changing the law to do anything about the bonuses that they were able to pay themselves.”Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Tim Farron said Thames Water should go into special administration and emerge “as a public interest company”.Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice proposed a plan to “buy it for a pound – it’s a good deal for the taxpayer – then it won’t have to pay huge, egregious rates of interest, and the taxpayer and the customers will be the beneficiaries”.The move by KKR comes as an interim report by the Independent Water Commission found the water sector in England and Wales needs a “fundamental reset” and called for a “strengthening and rebalancing” of Ofwat’s regulatory role.It is understood that Thames Water is now working on alternative plans with senior creditors. These creditors are the bondholders who effectively own Thames Water after the High Court earlier this year approved a financial restructuring through a loan of up to £3bn to ensure it can keep running until the summer of 2026.Sir Adrian Montague, chair of Thames Water, said: “We continue to believe that a sustainable recapitalisation of the company is in the best interests of all stakeholders and continue to work with our creditors and stakeholders to achieve that goal.”Britain’s biggest water supplier has 16 million customers More

The government still doesn’t know if the British steel and aluminium industry will be hit with 50 per cent tariffs tomorrow, just hours before Donald Trump ramps up his global trade war.The US president sent shockwaves through the global economy when he announced on Friday that he would raise the tariffs from 25 per cent to “further secure” the industry in his country.A much-lauded UK-US trade deal unveiled last month should have exempted Britain from steel tariffs completely when they were slashed to zero as part of the agreement. But the deal is yet to be implemented, meaning the industry could be slapped with double the tariffs it had before.President Donald Trump silences his mobile phone which rang two times as he was speaking to reporters after signing executive orders regarding nuclear energy in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) More

Britain will be forced to sign up to a target to hike defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035 at a Nato summit later this month in a bid to appease Donald Trump, defence sources believe. On Monday Keir Starmer’s bold plans to transform the UK’s defences were overshadowed by a row over money after the prime minister failed to commit to a firm date to raise spending to 3% of GDP. The Labour leader was warned Britain may not be moving quickly enough to counter the rapidly growing threats from countries such as Russia.Sir Keir and other Nato leaders are also under pressure from US president Donald Trump to rapidly increase spending, to wean Europe off a dependence on Washington for military support. Now amid attempts by Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte to woo President Trump, senior defence sources said Britain will “without a doubt” sign up to a proposal for member countries to boost defence spending. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump (Carl Court/PA) More

Police issued an order on Tuesday denying a request to hold an LGBTQ+ event later in central Budapest, a consequence of recent steps by the right-wing populist government aimed at banning the popular Budapest Pride march. The police’s decision to prohibit the planned event later this month came after Hungary’s parliament passed legislation in March, and a constitutional amendment the following month, that allowed the government to ban public events by LGBTQ+ communities — moves that legal scholars and critics have called another step toward authoritarianism by the autocratic government.In its justification for prohibiting the Budapest event, which organizers requested to take place on June 28, the city’s police argued that “it cannot be ruled out, or is even inevitable, that a person under the age of 18 will be able to engage in legally prohibited conduct” if attending the proposed march.The police also contended that the march could result in “passive victims,” who, “because of the assembly’s march-like nature, did not wish to attend the assembly but, because of its public nature, nevertheless become a bystander.”In a statement, the organizers called the police decision “a textbook example of tyranny.”The ban on LGBTQ+ events — which the government says ensures children’s rights to moral, physical and spiritual development — allows for fines on people organizing or taking part in Pride events, and the use of facial recognition software to identify them.Hungary’s contentious “child protection” legislation prohibits the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality to minors aged under 18.Hungarian officials have given contradictory statements as to whether or not the new policies amount to a full ban on Budapest Pride. In a speech to supporters in February, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán advised organizers “not to bother organizing this year’s parade,” calling it “wasted money and time.”The Budapest Police attached photographs and videos to its statement depicting scenes from previous Budapest Pride events — ostensibly evidence to corroborate its view that the march was likely to violate the new laws banning public displays of homosexuality. France, Germany and Spain were among at least 20 European Union nations who last month called on Hungary to revise its legislation banning LGBTQ+ events, expressing concern that it runs contrary to the fundamental values of human dignity, freedom, equality and respect for human rights enshrined in EU treaties.Organizers of Budapest Pride, which draws tens of thousands annually and is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, have vowed that the event will go on as planned despite the threat of legal sanctions. More

Rachel Reeves has been urged to increase taxes and cut public spending after the UK’s growth forecast was downgraded amid rising prices and the impact of Donald Trump’s trade war. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has warned the chancellor to “step up” efforts to bolster the ‘headroom’ in the nation’s finances.And it calls on her to start to act within days – including in next week’s Spending Review, which will outline government spending for the coming years. Chancellor Rachel Reeves faces pressure after a higher-than-expected rise in state borrowing (Yui Mok/PA) More