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      Moment John Prescott punched protester who threw egg at him

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      Known for his fiery temperament, John Prescott made headlines in 2001 when he punched a protester who had thrown an egg at him during an election campaign in North Wales.The Deputy Prime Minister had been there to speak at a Labour rally while on the general election campaign trail.Lord Prescott said at the time: “I was attacked by an individual. In the melee that followed I clearly defended myself.”Tributes have poured in from across the country, after his death, at the age of 86, was announced by his family on Thursday (21 November). More

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      UK ministers scrap warships, helicopters, and drones in £500m defence cuts

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      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 defence secretary has announced emergency cuts to the UK military, including the Royal Navy’s two amphibious assault ships, a frigate and 31 helicopters.John Healey has blamed the disputed £22bn black hole left in the finances by the Tories. However, the Conservatives have warned that the cuts have come because Labour refuses to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence.Mr Healey told MPs that Labour had “a dire inheritance” from the Tories in defence so needed to scrap six “outdated” defence projects which will save £500m over the next five years.“We have begun to fix the foundations going forward,” he added. “For too long our soldiers, sailors and air staff have been stuck with using outdated equipment.”The emergency statement caught MPs by surprise on Wednesday and has left doubts over whether the UK could take back the Falklands if they were invaded again.The scrapping of HMS Bulwark and HMS Albion leaves the UK without any amphibious assault ships. In addition, the frigate HMS Northumberland is beyond economic repair and will be decommissioned along with two Wave-class tankers.Mr Healey said that HMS Bulwark and HMS Albion had been “superficially retired” by Tory ministers “but kept on the books at a cost of £9m a year”.Healey says difficult decisions have to be made More

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      Republican senator falsely accuses Biden and Harris of masterminding Chagos deal to ‘appease’ UN and China

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      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 moreA Republican senator who is a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump has falsely accused President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of being behind the British government’s decision to turn over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands — including the location of a key military base — to Mauritius despite the deal’s origins under the previous Conservative-led government.Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana used time for debate over a trio of Democratic-authored resolutions to cut off certain kinds of arms to Israel to rail against the agreement that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s government reached with Mauritius over the status of the archipelago in October.In remarks delivered from the Senate floor, Kennedy — who is not related to the famous family that has produced multiple Democratic officeholders since the 1960s — described the pending agreement as a “crisis” that he was only recently alerted to.Kennedy accused Biden and Harris of “giving away” the important British-American military base on Diego Garcia, one of the islands that will be turned over to Mauritian authorities once the agreement is completed, albeit with a 99-year lease that guarantees continued American control of the island.“Here’s what President Biden is doing and Vice President Harris, they say, we need to … grant independence to the Chagos islands, but not let the people of the Chagos islands run their country. We need to give the Chagos islands back to Mauritius,” he said.A US Air Force B-1B bomber takes off from the Diego Garcia military base on a strike mission against Afghanistan in Diego Garcia in 2001 More

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      Railways set to come back into public ownership after Lords pass nationalisation bill

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      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 moreBritain’s railways are set to come back into public ownership after legislation to renationalise the train services was passed by members of the House of Lords.Sources in the government expressed surprise at the speed with which peers voted through the Passenger Rail Services (Public Ownership) Bill, but it now only needs Royal assent to go into law.The vote in the Lords means that Sir Keir Starmer’s government has achieved its first major public service reform since coming into office on 5 July.A proud Sir Keir tweeted: “We said we would create Great British Railways. We are. “It is also a major victory for the besieged transport secretary Louise Haigh, whose job prospects were being questioned recently after her comments about the hire and fire practices at P&O Ferries led to its owner DP World threatening to withdraw £1bn of investment.‘Passenger-in-chief’: transport Secretary Louise Haigh More

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      Nadine Dorries uses new book to continue feud with Kemi Badenoch over Boris Johnson’s downfall

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      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 moreNadine Dorries has used her latest book to continue her feud with Kemi Badenoch, with the former culture secretary claiming the newly appointed leader is both a bully and unfit to be prime minister.Written as this summer’s Conservative leadership race was unfolding, Ms Dorries quoted a number of unnamed party insiders who attacked Ms Badenoch’s credentials.However, a source close to the now Tory leader dismissed Downfall, which will be published on Thursday, as fiction. Ms Dorries resigned as an MP in August 2023 after launching a blistering attack on then prime minister Rishi Sunak. Former prime minister Boris Johnson and former culture secretary Nadine Dorries (Oli Scarff/PA) More

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      Now Ukraine fires British missiles at Russia for first time as UK ‘doubles down’ on support for Kyiv

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      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 moreUkraine has fired British long-range Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory for the first time, The Independent understands, the latest sign of a change in stance from Western countries on involvement in the conflict.Images circulating online appear to show fragments of Storm Shadow missiles in Russia’s Kursk region – the border area into which Ukrainian forces staged a surprise assault in August, taking a swathe of territory they still hold. Approval for the use of the weapons is believed to have been given in response to the deployment of more than 10,000 North Korean troops in Kursk alongside Russian troops, in what UK and US officials have warned is a major escalation of the war.On the Telegram messaging app, pro-war Russian accounts posted video they claimed to include the sound of missiles striking in the Kursk region. At least 14 huge explosions can be heard, most preceded by the sharp whistle of what sounds like an incoming missile. The footage, shot in a residential area, showed black smoke rising in the distance.The pro-Russian Two Majors Telegram channel said Ukraine had fired up to 12 Storm Shadows into the Kursk region, and carried pictures of missile fragments said to have come from Storm Shadows.Kyiv has long lobbied for permission to use Storm Shadow missiles in Russia, as it seeks an increase in Western military support to counteract Vladimir Putin’s forces advancing on multiple fronts across Ukraine. And pressure has mounted with the US presidential election victory of Donald Trump, with fears he may cut off military and financial aid to Ukraine when he takes office in January.Photos posted by Russian milibloggers showed what they have said are fragments of Storm Shadow missiles More

    • 125 Shares119 Views

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      Ministers scrap warships, helicopters, and drones in £500m defence cuts

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      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 defence secretary has announced emergency cuts to the UK military, including the Royal Navy’s two amphibious assault ships, a frigate and 31 helicopters.John Healey has blamed the disputed £22bn black hole left in the finances by the Tories. However, the Conservatives have warned that the cuts have come because Labour refuses to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence.Mr Healey told MPs that Labour had “a dire inheritance” from the Tories in defence so needed to scrap six “outdated” defence projects which will save £500m over the next five years.“We have begun to fix the foundations going forward,” he added. “For too long our soldiers, sailors and air staff have been stuck with using outdated equipment.”The emergency statement caught MPs by surprise on Wednesday and has left doubts over whether the UK could take back the Falklands if they were invaded again.The scrapping of HMS Bulwark and HMS Albion leaves the UK without any amphibious assault ships. In addition, the frigate HMS Northumberland is beyond economic repair and will be decommissioned along with two Wave-class tankers.Mr Healey said that HMS Bulwark and HMS Albion had been “superficially retired” by Tory ministers “but kept on the books at a cost of £9m a year”.Healey says difficult decisions have to be made More

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      Almost every musician has suffered from Brexit ‘hell’, industry warns in plea to Keir Starmer

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      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 moreLeading artists have warned that “Brexit is hell” as a damning report revealed the damage of Britain’s departure from the EU on the UK’s music industry.As the number of artists saying Brexit has hit their income rose from 82 per cent to 87 per cent, UK-based songwriter Victoria Canal said “it is expensive logistically and puts pressure on all of us”.Producer Catherine Marks said the UK’s exit from the European bloc has negatively impacted recording budgets and caused increases in costs for British artists touring the EU.UK Music’s annual economic report said Brexit has been a “catastrophe” for the sector, with artists still seeing fewer invites to perform in the EU and swathes of red tape when playing on the continent.And, amid Sir Keir Starmer’s ongoing post-Brexit reset of relations with the EU, the industry body said: “A much more ambitious plan is needed to ensure the UK keeps pace with intensifying global competition.”UK Music said last year the hit to UK artists’ income was broadly comparable with 2022 but had worsened for average and lower earners.The report said: “Superstar artists such as Harry Styles, Elton John and Coldplay command attractive offers to play in the EU, and have the resources to manage the obstacles presented by Brexit.“However, this is often not the case for road crews and supporting musicians who can find themselves restricted by the 90-day limit, or music creators who are not household names.”The calls come weeks after a top soprano warned in The Independent that Britain risks losing its entire classical music industry due to post-Brexit red tape blocking UK artists from touring in the EU.Victoria Canal said Brexit ‘is hell’ for musicians More