UK Politics

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 moreRevenge porn should be made a statutory civil offence to allow victims redress without having to go through a “retraumatising” criminal trial, MPs have been told.In a Westminster Hall debate on tackling image-based abuse, Labour MP Kirith Entwistle said allowing a civil process for victims would give them a “second chance”, and highlighted the rise in deep fake intimate images generated using AI.Reports to the Revenge Porn Helpline doubled last year, reaching nearly 19,000, according to the organisation’s 2023 report.In an increasingly digital world this abuse, this violence, is an escalating crisisKirith Entwistle, Labour MPSince 2015 the helpline has reported 338,000 intimate images.Ms Entwistle said survivors often describe their experiences as “digital rape – a term that captures the intensely personal and profoundly scarring nature of this violation”.The member for Bolton North East said: “Image-based sexual abuse encompasses a wide range of violations. From digitally altered images like deep fakes to invasive acts such as upskirting, downblousing and so-called revenge porn.“In an increasingly digital world this abuse, this violence, is an escalating crisis.”Ms Entwistle told MPs: “Our legislation fails survivors by denying them accessible civil remedies such as immediate takedowns and compensation for emotional harm outside a criminal process.“For survivors who endure years of abuse, the inability to seek swift relief without a lengthy, retraumatising trial is a devastating gap.“Creating a statutory civil offence for image-based abuse would not only empower survivors to seek redress directly against perpetrators and platforms, it would give them that all-important second chance.”Ms Entwistle referred to former Love Island star Georgia Harrison, who has been an active campaigner against image-based sexual abuse after having an intimate video posted online by her ex-boyfriend without her consent.She said: “There is a glaring failure to criminalise abusive images themselves.“Georgia’s story illustrates this brutal oversight.“Despite her abuser’s convictions the absence of a stay down provision allows her images to still circulate online, forcing her to relive the trauma with each resurfacing.”The MP added: “Survivors deserve certainty that once their abuse is addressed it is addressed permanently.”Conservative former minister Dame Caroline Dinenage, who was involved in the creation of the Revenge Porn Helpline in 2015, said the rise in deep fake pornography “opened up a new front of the war on women”.“The fact that the use of nudification apps and the creation of really ultra-realistic deep fake porn for private use is still legal, and worse becoming more popular, that is a war on women’s autonomy,” she said.“It’s a war on our dignity and it’s a war on our identity.”Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said the Government is “absolutely committed” to tackling violence against women and girls.Many of us will have experienced it ourselves or know friends or family who haveAlex Davies-Jones, justice ministerShe said: “Tackling online abuse is of course crucial to doing this and the statistics are clear.“But behind these stats are real people, real victims.“Many of us will have experienced it ourselves or know friends or family who have.”Ms Davies-Jones said that current laws targeting intimate image abuse were developed in “piecemeal fashion, with new offences introduced over many years to address different forms of offending”.She added: “The result is a patchwork of offences with known gaps in protection for victims.“For example, while it is currently an offence to share a deep fake image without consent it is not an offence to make one.”The minister said the Government was undertaking a number of new measures, including more training for police, and requirements for social media platforms to take non-consensual content down.Ms Davies-Jones added: “This is a start but I am clear that this is not the be-all and end-all of tackling intimate image abuse.If we want to see true and lasting change we need a culture shiftAlex Davies-Jones, justice minister“We can and we must do more.“If we want to see true and lasting change we need a culture shift.“I’ve said this before and I’ll keep saying it: we need everyone – especially men – to play their part.”The Revenge Porn Helpline highlighted that in 2023 it received a low number of complaints relating to deep fake or generated content, which its annual report describes as “an anomaly when compared to the societal and political coverage that the issue has received”. 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 moreMinisters have been accused of a serious error over winter fuel payment cuts that will damage public confidence in the policy. The row erupted after the department in charge of the changes wrongly claimed that pensioners made up more than half of one MP’s constituency. Tory MP Alicia Kearns hit out at the “preposterous” mistake and challenged ministers on how locals can have confidence in “what the government is doing if they… can’t even get the basic numbers right?” Millions of pensioners are to be stripped of the help to pay their winter fuel bills, after Labour blamed the last Conservative government for leaving a £22bn black hole in the public finances. Ministers have pledged to protect less well-off pensioners and urged them to apply for pension credit, under which they would still be eligible for the £200-300 this winter.Millions of pensioners are to be stripped of the help to pay their winter fuel bills 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 moreVladimir Putin was so close to using nuclear weapons in October 2022 that Liz Truss spent the dying days of her premiership preparing for the potential fallout, an updated version of her biography has claimed.The former prime minister reportedly spent her last days in office studying weather maps and preparing for cases of radiation poisoning in the UK amid US intelligence a strike was imminent.Ms Truss had been told the Russian president was just hours from deploying a nuke, which Whitehall officials feared would hurl radioactive material into the atmosphere which could spread 1,700 miles from the blast, according to Out of the Blue, an unauthorised biography of the short-serving former PM.An updated edition of the book, by journalists Harry Cole and James Heale, said Ms Truss spent “numerous hours studying satellite weather data and wind directions” over fears the “wrong weather patterns” could have a “direct fallout effect on Britain”.Liz Truss reportedly spent her last days in office preparing for the potential fallout of a Russian nuclear attack in Ukraine 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 moreBritish troops may have to be deployed in Ukraine if Donald Trump cuts Kyiv’s funding, Boris Johnson has warned.The former prime minister has said that if Vladimir Putin gains the upper hand in the conflict, the UK may have to deploy troops to defend Europe.Mr Trump’s return to the White House has raised fears that the US, which has been Ukraine’s biggest backer since Russia’s invasion, could withdraw support from the country.Mr Trump has repeatedly promised an immediate end to the war on his return to the White House, saying one of his first acts will be to negotiate a deal between the two sides.But, amid fears this would see Ukraine cede significant ground, which Putin would see as a win for his forces, Mr Johnson said: “If Ukraine goes down, then we face an even bigger threat on our borders, the borders of the European continent wherever the democracies butt up against Russia.”He told GB News that the knock-on effects would be felt in the Baltic states and the South China Sea, adding: “What I’m saying is for people watching, thinking ‘why are we supporting the Ukrainians?’Boris Johnson has repeatedly called for Ukraine to be allowed to join Nato (Victoria Jones/PA) 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 moreSue Gray has reportedly turned down Sir Keir Starmer’s offer to become the prime minister’s envoy for the nations and regions, after months of speculation over when she would take up the role. It comes amid claims the prime minister was poised to withdraw the job offer. No 10 repeatedly said she was on a short break before taking up her new post, but it has since been reported that she has declined to take the role she was offered. The PM’s former chief of staff was due to take up a job as “envoy to the nations and regions”, after she stepped down from her position at the heart of government in October.This followed intense media speculation about turmoil at the heart of Downing Street.Sue Gray resigned from her position as Downing Street chief of staff in October (Stefan Rousseau/PA) 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 Conservatives have taken a two-point poll lead over Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party in Kemi Badenoch’s first week as leader.The new Tory leader has taken the party to 29 per cent of the vote, according to pollsters More in Common, with Labour behind on just 27 per cent. It is the highest rating for the Conservatives since February.It marks a remarkable fall from grace for Labour, which in July was elected to power in a landslide victory over Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives.Then, Labour won a 174-seat majority on 34 per cent of the vote, while the Tories suffered their worst election defeat in history.Kemi Badenoch succeeded Rishi Sunak as Tory leader last 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 moreSir Keir Starmer has distanced himself from comments made by a senior adviser to Tony Blair after he said “we don’t need small farmers” during a discussion about the fury among farmers towards the inheritance tax rises announced in the Budget.John McTernan, who was the ex-Labour PM’s political secretary, sparked fury as he said family farming is “an industry we can do without”.The party grandee was asked about planned protests by farmers over Rachel Reeves’ Budget, which will mean they have to pay 20 per cent of tax on inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m from April 2026. The change is being dubbed the “tractor tax” and has sparked outrage among farmers, who say it will threaten the UK’s food security and lead to the closure of family farms.Keir Starmer said he ‘totally disagrees’ with John McTernan More