UK Politics

Kemi Badenoch has said Adolescence is based on a true story that has been “fundamentally changed”, and that while it touches on an issue in society, Islamic terrorism is a bigger problem.Co-creator Jack Thorne recently dismissed an online theory that the series changed the race of the lead character from a real-life case it was supposedly based on.The drama about a teenage boy who is accused of killing a girl from his school examines so-called incel (involuntary celibate) culture and has prompted a national conversation about online safety.Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hosted a roundtable at Downing Street with Thorne and children’s charities on Monday to talk about young boys being influenced by misogyny they encounter online.Tory leader Mrs Badenoch said she had not watched the series.“I don’t have time to watch anything to be honest, but I have read about it … what I understand is that this is a fictional representation of a story that is actually quite different,” she told LBC.“And I think it’s an interesting story. It certainly touches on some of the things that are happening in the world today, but it is not the biggest thing that is happening in the world today in terms of what is happening to people being radicalised on social media.”She said she was aware of what the series is about.The prime minister met with some of the show’s creators on Monday to discussed the issues raised in the series More

Regulation and technology can help online platforms combat extreme views and misogynistic attitudes but sites have taken a “hands-off approach” to content for “too long”, an online safety expert has said.Lina Ghazal said TV shows like Netflix drama Adolescence “shine a light on the devastating impact” the spread of such content can have on young people.On Monday, the Prime Minister hosted Adolescence writer Jack Thorne and producer Jo Johnson at Downing Street, alongside representatives from the NSPCC and Children’s Society, where he said he wanted to talk about “what can we do as a society to stop and prevent young boys being dragged into this whirlpool of hatred and misogyny”.Netflix said it would make the series free to stream for all secondary schools across the UK.The TV drama, which examines so-called incel (involuntary celibate) culture, has prompted a national conversation about online safety.Sir Keir Starmer said he had watched the show with his family and had not found it easy viewing.He said the online world and social media means “ideology” can be “pumped directly into the minds of our children”, and there may not be a single response to adequately address the issue of misogyny, which he said is “much bigger” than just an online problem, and “almost a cultural issue”.Ms Ghazal, the head of regulatory and public affairs at online safety provider Verifymy, who has previously worked at both Meta and Ofcom, said she agreed with Sir Keir’s assessment, but said new online safety laws and the growing use of technology in content moderation could play a key role in combating the issue, and it was also time for social media sites to step up.“For too long, many online platforms have taken a hands-off approach to user content and behaviour, allowing extremist views and misogynistic attitudes to proliferate. Shows like Adolescence shine a light on the devastating impact this can have on young people,” she told the PA news agency.“As the Prime Minister says, there is no single solution to the issue but regulation and technology can ensure sites become weaker breeding grounds for harmful content – and that children are less likely to see it.“The Online Safety Act is a step in the right direction, and Ofcom has now a key role to play in enforcing it, cracking down on deepfake abuse, non-consensual image sharing, and extreme adult content that normalises violence.“The recommendations of the recent independent porn review should further strengthen these efforts.“AI-driven content moderation combined with human oversight can also prevent harmful content from being published in the first place, while innovative age assurance technology, such as email-based or facial age estimation, plays a key role in triggering safeguarding measures for young online users.“Now, platforms must use this technology to uphold their duty of care.”The Online Safety Act, which is gradually coming into force throughout this year, requires online platforms to follow codes of practice set out by Ofcom.The codes dictate how platforms must stop users, and in particular children, from encountering harmful content online – including by having clear safety policies, using content moderation and reporting tools, and designing safety features to protect users.Regulator Ofcom can impose large fines for sites found to be in breach, and in extreme cases ask a court to block access to a platform. More

The US State Department has made a rare intervention in British politics, warning of its “concerns about freedom of expression in the United Kingdom”. The department, responsible for US foreign policy, put a statement on X, formerly Twitter, highlighting fears about the prosecution of anti-abortion campaigner Livia Tossici-Bolt. It said she faces criminal charges for offering conversation with patients seeking abortions within a legally prohibited “buffer zone” outside a clinic. “We are monitoring her case. It is important that the UK respect and protect freedom of expression,” the State Department’s dedicated democracy, human rights and labour (DRL) account posted. It added: “US-UK relations share a mutual respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. “However, as Vice President Vance has said, we are concerned about freedom of expression in the United Kingdom.” US Vice-President JD Vance recently criticised abortion buffer zones in Scotland (Matthias Schrader/AP) More

There is “no country better placed than the UK” to strike a deal with Donald Trump to lift tariffs and dodge a damaging tit-for-tat trade war with the US, the business secretary has said.With the US president’s so-called Liberation Day looming, Jonathan Reynolds confirmed he expects Britain to be hit with tariffs alongside every other country in the world. But, hinting that the UK could negotiate a carve-out from the import taxes within weeks, he said “if the US can reach an agreement with anyone, I believe it can with the UK”. Mr Reynolds told Times Radio: “I believe from where we are at the minute, the President wants this liberation day tomorrow to apply to every country in the world and there’ll be no exemptions on that first day towards that. “If any country is able to reach an agreement with the US, I don’t believe there’s a country better placed than the UK because of the work that we have been doing.” Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said if anyone can strike a deal with Donald Trump it’s the UK More

Britain will almost certainly be hit by Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, Downing Street has said, as hopes of concluding a deal before Wednesday’s deadline dwindle.Sir Keir Starmer had been hoping to secure an exemption for British businesses but despite “intense negotiations” with Washington DC No 10 has confirmed no agreement will be in place before 2 April, when the US president has vowed to impose levies on a wide range of goods.Talks reportedly included ministers offering a carve-out deal that would include concessions on artificial intelligence, tax and agriculture.The deadlock comes as a major blow to Sir Keir after careful diplomatic efforts to woo Mr Trump, including an invitation to a second state visit. And the admission came despite a warm telephone conversation between the president and prime minister on Sunday night.Meanwhile, two major business groups have warned that more than 60 per cent of their members will be hit directly by the US tariffs with others facing indirect effects from the impact on supply chains.International markets tumbled around the world on Monday as President Trump confirmed that tariffs will hit “all countries” on Wednesday, in what he had dubbed “liberation day”.Donald Trump believes tariffs will benefit US firms More

For years, Marine Le Pen stood at the gates of power — poised, relentless and rising. She stripped the French far right of its old symbols, sanded down its roughest edges and built in its place a sleek, disciplined machine with the single goal of winning the country’s presidency.In 2022, she came closer than anyone thought possible, winning more than 40% of the vote in the runoff against Emmanuel Macron. The Élysée Palace seemed within reach.Now her political future may lay in ruins. On Monday, a French court convicted Le Pen of embezzling European Union funds and barred her from holding office for five years. The sentence may have done more than just potentially remove her from the next presidential race. It may have ended the most sustained far-right bid for power in Western Europe since World War II — surpassed only, in outcome, by Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.But the political earthquake Le Pen set in motion will rumble for years to come. A family inheritance — reforged Le Pen was born in 1968 into a family already on the fringes of French politics. In 1972, her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, founded the National Front party rooted in racism, antisemitism and a yearning for France’s lost empire.She was just 8 years old when a bomb destroyed the family’s apartment in Paris in what was widely seen as an assassination attempt on her father. No one was seriously hurt, but the blast marked her for life. She has said it gave her a lasting sense that her family was hated, and that they would never be treated like other people.As a young woman, she studied law, became a defense attorney and learned how to argue her way through hostile rooms. In politics, she didn’t wait her turn. In 2011, she wrested control of the party from her father. In 2015, she expelled him after one of his Holocaust-denying tirades.She renamed the party the National Rally. She replaced leather-jacketed radicals with tailored blazers and talking points. She talked less about race, more about the French way of life. She warned of “civilizational threats,” called for bans on headscarves and promised to put French families first.Her tone changed. Her message didn’t.In one of her sharpest political maneuvers, she sought out a group long despised by her father: the LGBTQ community. Le Pen filled her inner circle with openly gay aides, skipped public protests against same-sex marriage and framed herself as a protector of sexual minorities against “Islamist danger.”Critics called it “pinkwashing” — a cosmetic tolerance masking deeper hostility. But it worked. A surprising number of gay voters, especially younger ones, started backing her. Many saw strength, clarity and the promise of order in a world spinning too fast. From the fringe to the front line She ran for president three times: 2012, 2017 and 2022. Each time, she climbed higher. In her final campaign, she was confident, calm and media savvy. She leaned into her role as a single mother, posed with her cats and repeated her calls for “national priority.” She no longer shocked. She convinced.Behind her stood a constellation of far-right leaders cheering her on: Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, Italy’s Matteo Salvini, the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders. They saw in her not only an ally, but a leader. Her mix of cultural nationalism, social media fluency and calculated restraint became a blueprint.“Marine Le Pen posts pictures of her cat, talks about being a mother. But when it comes to policy, there’s no softening,” said Pierre Lefevre, a political consultant in Paris. “It makes extreme positions seem more palatable, even to people who might otherwise be put off.”When she lost in 2022, she didn’t vanish. She regrouped, stayed present in parliament and prepared for 2027. Polls had her leading. Macron cannot run again.Then came Monday’s verdict. The fall The court found that Le Pen had siphoned millions of euros in public funds while serving in the European Parliament, paying party staff with money intended for EU assistants. Prosecutors described it as deliberate and organized. The court agreed.She was sentenced to two years of house arrest, fined €100,000 ($108,200) and banned from holding public office for five years. She said she would appeal. The house arrest sentence will be suspended during the appeal, but the ban on holding office takes effect immediately.Her allies erupted in outrage. Orbán declared, “Je suis Marine” — I am Marine. Salvini called the ruling “a declaration of war by Brussels.” In Paris, her supporters called it political persecution. Her opponents fist-pumped in the streets. A changed political landscape Even in disgrace, Le Pen remains one of the most consequential political figures of her time. She took a name that once evoked hatred and transformed it into a serious vehicle for national leadership. She made the far right electable. She blurred the line between fringe and power.Her party, the National Rally, became the largest last year in France’s lower house of parliament. Her handpicked successor, 29-year-old Jordan Bardella, now leads it. He is polished and popular, but he lacks broad political experience and name recognition.Whether Le Pen returns after her ban, fades into silence or reinvents herself again, her mark is permanent. She forced mainstream rivals to adapt to her language. She turned fear into votes and redefined what was politically possible in a republic once seen as immune to extremism.She never became president, but she changed the race and the rules. More