UK Politics

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorA former veterans’ minister is facing jail over his refusal to reveal the names of whistleblowers who told him about alleged special forces murders to a public inquiry.Johnny Mercer has repeatedly refused to hand over the names of “multiple officers” who told him about allegations of murder and a cover-up during his time as a backbench MP while giving evidence to the Afghanistan Inquiry in February and has reiterated his vows to “keep my word” to those who confided in him.However, the former Conservative MP for Plymouth Moor View could now be handed a prison sentence or a fine if he fails to disclose the names within two weeks after his application to withhold them was rejected by the probe’s chairman.Sir Charles Haddon-Cave’s ruling on Thursday quoted from the British Army’s values and standards by saying: “Integrity requires moral courage to do what is right, even when it may not be popular.”Mr Mercer claimed the ruling contained “multiple inaccuracies and assertions” and said he found it “extraordinary… that Mr Haddon-Cave considers it appropriate to repeatedly question my moral courage and integrity in public”.Sir Charles Haddon-Cave’s ruling on Thursday quoted from the British Army’s values and standards More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorSir Keir Starmer has insisted that Joe Biden is not senile as he leapt to the president’s defence amid growing calls for him to step aside from the US election race.The prime minister had his first bilateral meeting with the president in the White House on Wednesday in what proved to be a friendly meeting of political allies which both sides hope will mend the damage done by Brexit to the special relationship.But it came after actor George Clooney wrote an article in The New York Times urging Biden not to run against Donald Trump in November, while fellow Hollywood star Michael Douglas said it would be “hard to imagine” Biden serving his full term as president even if he is re-elected.Starmer and Biden met yesterday at Nato More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorSir Keir Starmer’s new government has “no other alternative” but to release prisoners 40 per cent of the way into their sentence to ease the overcrowding crisis behind bars and avert the collapse of the criminal justice system, unions have warned.The new justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, is expected to announce such measures on Friday, with exemptions for more serious offenders, after Sir Keir described his shock at the extent of the mess he has inherited from the Conservative government.Rishi Sunak’s administration is understood to have drawn up similar plans before abandoning them prior to calling the general election in June. He had already been forced to release prisoners progressively earlier since October, reaching up to 70 days early in May.Describing the bringing forward individual prisoners’ release dates as having caused “absolute mayhem” for the probation service, Napo union chief Ian Lawrence said he hopes the new move of a more blanket recalculation of sentences will ease some of the pressure.Sir Keir Starmer described his shock at the state of the nation’s prisons More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorSir Keir Starmer has promised to send fewer people to jail in the long term while he prepares to oversee the mass early release of prisoners to ease the overcrowding crisis facing the UK’s jails.The prime minister hit out at the inheritance left for him by the Conservatives and branded Britain’s prison system “broken”, speaking of his shock at discovering the scale of the crisis.And Sir Keir warned he cannot build new prisons in just seven days.It has led to widespread expectations that the new justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, will use a major speech on Friday to unveil measures aimed at easing the crisis.The prime minister said he was “pretty shocked” at the scale of the situation More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorDefence secretary John Healey has warned that the west is facing “a decade or more of growing aggression” Vladimir Putin’s Russia as Labour seeks to drawn Britain closer into EU defence arrangements.The new defence secretary was speaking to journalists at the Nato summit in Washington DC after a series of meetings with the other 31 allies and Ukraine.Mr Healey has committed to UK £3 billion of aid to Ukraine for the war to be transferred within the first 100 days of the government.He denied that the UK’s bid to draw back on some of the Tory Brexit arrangements would see the UK joining an EU military force but he confirmed that work on a security pact will start next week when Britain hosts the European Political Council summit.John Healey (right) with Starmer and Europe minister Nick Thomas-Symonds More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorPrime minister Sir Keir Starmer would not commit to an extra bank holiday if England win Euro 2024. The Labour leader said the UK should “certainly mark the occasion” but said he did not want to “jinx anything” by pre-empting the result of Sunday’s final. The Liberal Democrats led calls for an extra bank holiday after England claimed a last-minute 2-1 victory over the Netherlands on Wednesday. Gareth Southgate’s side will now play Spain in the finals. Sir Keir previously supported calls for a bank holiday when England’s women’s football team made it to the World Cup final last year.Asked whether he would back a bank holiday if Southgate’s team is victorious, the prime minister told broadcasters in Washington DC: “We should certainly mark the occasion, I don’t want to jinx it. I went to the last Euros final, I don’t want to go through that again.“I don’t want to jinx anything but we must mark it in some way. But the most important thing is getting it over the line on Sunday.”Sir Keir, an Arsenal supporter who regularly plays five-a-side football, said England’s win on Wednesday night was “fantastic”.The Labour leader said the UK should “certainly mark the occasion” More

Starmer meets with Senate leaders and German chancellor during visit to Capitol HillSupport trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorSir Keir Starmer is facing a backbench rebellion to scrap the two-child benefit cap after figures revealed that 1.6 million children are affected by the policy.In response to the latest figures, work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall warned child poverty is a “stain on our society” with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar pressuring the PM to scrap the cap.A bitter civil war erupted among Reform UK members after Nigel Farage unveiled his new team in a huge shake-up to “professionalise” the party.Mr Farage announced that Ben Habib had been sacked from his role as deputy leader and appointed new MP for Boston and Skegness Richard Tice instead.But Mr Habib said he is now evaluating his position within the party “more generally” after the sudden ousting. Ashfield MP Lee Anderson is now the new chief whip and donator and entrepreneur Zia Yusuf the new Reform chairman. In Washington, Sir Keir is set to meet world leaders and discuss long-term support for Ukraine’s entry process into the Nato alliance. Show latest update 1720709228News website claims Hannah Blythyn not source of Gething leakHannah Blythyn was not the source of a leak which triggered her sacking from the Welsh Government, the website which originally reported the story has said.The Labour former social partnership minister was removed from the Welsh Government by Vaughan Gething in May, after messages from the Covid pandemic were leaked to the media.The leaked messages showed Mr Gething claiming he would delete all correspondence from a WhatsApp group of Welsh ministers.Delyn MS Ms Blythyn said this week in the Senedd that she could “look all my colleagues who sit on these benches in the eye” and say she had not leaked to the media.The embattled First Minister told the Senedd on Wednesday the messages could only have come from her phone, adding that there had been a “breach of trust”.But Nation.Cymru, the website which originally broke the story, has now said she was not the source of the information.A statement from its chief executive, Mark Mansfield, said protecting journalistic sources was very important, and added: “Given the strong public interest and importance of this story and out of concern for Hannah Blythyn’s wellbeing, we have decided that the right thing to do is to state publicly that she was not the source of our story and that at no stage before or since publication of it have we had any contact with her about it.”( More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorUkrainian refugee parents barred from bringing their two-year-old daughter to Britain after the UK’s sponsorship rules were suddenly tightened will now be reunited with their child after a government U-turn.Oleksandra and Yaroslav, both aged 31, decided to leave their daughter Anna with her grandparents in Kyiv while getting set up with their own accommodation and establishing a new business after arriving in Britain under the Homes for Ukraine scheme in April 2022.But after they overcame these hurdles, their application in April this year for Anna to join them was refused by the Home Office on the grounds that – as per rule changes brought in without warning in February – they were no longer eligible sponsors, being neither UK or Irish citizens nor having indefinite leave to remain.However, after Anna’s case was highlighted by The Independent and raised by the charity Settled with senior Home Office figures, her parents were given sponsor checks and the toddler’s visa was finally approved on 18 June.“I’m feeling relieved it’s finally sorted and we can live a normal life – I’m very happy about it,” Anna’s mother Oleksandra told The Independent, after months of worry. But despite the U-turn in Anna’s case, the rules preventing other Ukrainians from sponsoring close family members still remain in place – prompting Oleksandra, Labour peer Lord Dubs and multiple frontline charities to urge Sir Keir Starmer’s new government to urgently reinstate their right to do so.Kate Smart, chief executive at Settled, said: “We are so pleased that Anna has now been granted a visa and that this family can now be reunited in safety. This follows Settled’s intervention with a senior Home Office contact, and our sharing this story in national media. “However, the unfortunate changes to Homes For Ukraine rules made in February still stand – so it’s likely that other families will still be prevented from sponsoring their children. Prior to February’s changes, Ukrainians with more than six months left on their visa could act as sponsors More