UK Politics

Allies of Angela Rayner have hit out at “false” claims that she is eyeing up a Labour leadership bid after the ex-deputy PM insisted she has “not gone away” when asked about a return to frontline politics. A source close to the MP said Ms Rayner is “focussed on representing her local community” as they dismissed reports around her alleged plans to topple the prime minister as “silly games”. It comes after the Telegraph reported that the ex-housing secretary was laying the groundwork for a leadership bid, at the end of a week which saw a bitter briefing row surrounding Sir Keir Starmer’s future. A source close to Ms Rayner said: “This is total rubbish and obviously false. Amidst all the stirring and silly games, Angela is focussed on representing her local community and ensuring that the priorities she championed in government are delivered in full.”Meanwhile, Ms Rayner said Labour MPs should be drowning out the “tittle tattle” in SW1 as she urged leaders to focus on “real challenges that real people are facing” in her first interview since stepping down as deputy prime minister.Angela Rayner More

A judge has lifted the privacy order on a series of cases brought by former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich against the Jersey government – meaning the details of the two-year battle will be made public for the first time. The Russian billionaire had originally requested the gagging order on the cases but removed his opposition after he alleged conspiracy by the island’s authorities over a criminal investigation brought against him in 2022.Abramovich had already succeeded in his legal attempt to force ministers and other senior figures in Jersey to produce private messages, emails and other data related to him which will now be made public.However, it has now been revealed in the court documents that the Jersey government data linked to the original investigation in 2022 has been wrongly deleted.The charges brought against Chelsea relate to a period when Roman Abramovich, pictured, owned the club (Jed Leicester/PA) More

Home secretary dismisses Starmer leadership speculation as ‘Westminster bubble tittle tattle’The home secretary has said she will end the UK’s “golden ticket” for asylum seekers as part of a major immigration crackdown which she claims will prevent division in Britain. Shabana Mahmood has outlined a raft of radical measures, including introducing a 20-year wait for those who arrive in Britain by means such as small boats or lorries to qualify for a permanent stay. But her big announcement, which will be finalised in the Commons on Monday, has been overshadowed once again by Labour leadership rumours after a turbulent week for the government involving anonymous briefings about an alleged coup against Sir Keir Starmer. Ms Mahmood described the row, which centred around disputed claims that Wes Streeting is vying to be prime minister, as “deeply mortifying” and referred to it as a “tittle tattle”.It comes after allies of former deputy leader Angela Rayner were forced to deny claims she is eyeing up a leadership bid after she said she had “not gone away” when asked about a return to frontline politics.SNP says the government’s asylum policy is ‘outrageous’ The SNP has called the government’s changes to asylum policy “outrageous”.Instead, the Scottish party said the government should focus on “helping people with rising costs and investing properly in public services,” Sky News reported. Pete Wishart, the SNP’s deputy leader in the Commons, said: “It is outrageous that Labour is considering kicking people out who have been in the country for up to 20 years.”That would mean families torn apart, communities destabilised, and people denied the chance to contribute – and Labour can’t even offer reassurance to Ukrainians who have become part of every community across the country.”Pete Wishart called the government’s changes to asylum policy “outrageous”. (PA) More

Two men have been arrested after a mobile phone was planted in the House of Commons to play “sex noises” during Prime Minister’s Questions.The device, discovered near the front bench, is thought to have been hidden there to deliberately disrupt the weekly showdown between Sir Keir Starmer and the opposition.It had been taped to the underside of a table but had lost its grip and fallen on the floor, according to reports. It later rang twice during PMQs with a sexually explicit ringtone, but had already been discovered during a routine security sweep on 3 September.Scotland Yard launched an investigation into the prank, which is being treated as a major security breach. A man in his 30s and a man in his 60s were arrested on suspicion of attempting to intentionally cause a public nuisance and bailed later that month, it has now emerged. The device was found near the front bench, it is understood More

Sending BBC licence fee money “over to Mar-a-Lago” would not be a “smart” thing to do, the shadow home secretary has said after Donald Trump threatened to sue the corporation for up to $5bn. Chris Philp said he believed the president is the “wronged party” in his battle with BBC, but that he did not think that using licence fee money to settle the matter would be a good idea. Mr Trump told reporters on Air Force One over the weekend that he would sue the corporation for “anywhere between $1bn and $5bn probably sometime next week”.His comments followed an apology from the BBC on Thursday in which it said the Panorama edit of Mr Trump’s Capitol speech on 6 January 2021 had given the “mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action”.The broadcaster apologised and said the splicing of the speech was an “error of judgment” but refused to pay financial compensation after the US president’s lawyers threatened to sue for $1bn in damages unless a retraction and apology were published.Donald Trump has indicated that he will speak to Keir Starmer about the potential legal action More

A cross-party group of MPs has warned that the government risks missing both its housing and nature targets under proposed reforms.The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) found measures in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, currently before Parliament, are insufficient to meet either goal. The EAC’s report, published on Sunday, argued nature is not a “blocker” to housing but essential for resilient neighbourhoods.The committee also concluded that without addressing skills shortages in ecology, planning, and construction, the government will miss its housebuilding goal.The Bill overrides existing habitat and nature protections, which the government has suggested to be a barrier to its target to build 1.5 million houses by the end of this Parliament as well as wider economic growth.Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves have previously argued that current nature rules have gone too far, often citing the example of a £100 million bat tunnel for the construction of the HS2 railway route.The government wants to build 1.5 million homes by the end of this Parliament More

Asylum seekers could lose their automatic right to housing and financial support under Labour’s radical immigration crackdown.Home secretary Shabana Mahmood will indicate a move away from EU law as she announces plans to scrap the UK’s statutory duty to provide support to asylum seekers – with migrants also facing stricter requirements to receive and retain benefits. It is part of a major overhaul of the immigration system, inspired by the Danish model, and comes as Labour battles to restore public trust in the asylum system to see off the threat of a Reform UK government. But Ms Mahmood may face objections from some Labour backbenchers, with immigration reform seen as a divisive issue within the party. Ahead of a speech by the home secretary laying out the reforms on Monday, the Home Office said that support will “no longer be a given” for asylum seekers, vowing that automatic handouts for those seeking refuge “will end”. The announcement is being billed by the government as the largest overhaul of asylum policy in modern times and a move to “restore order” to the rules. Shabana Mahmood will give a speech laying out the reforms on Monday More

The decision to rip up plans for the Budget has left Keir Starmer even further “weakened” and more likely to face an imminent bid to oust him, Labour MPs have claimed.Ministers and backbenchers reacted with despair to news that plans to hike income tax had been abandoned, claiming that is showed “nobody is in charge” of the government.The Independent has been told that supporters of health secretary Wes Streeting still want him to replace Sir Keir in a coronation to get the Labour government back on track. One MP said the U-turn made a coup more likely while a minister described the PM’s position as “weakened”. It is being claimed that Downing Street overruled the Treasury over the planned income tax rise in a bid to buy Sir Keir time and see off an attempted coup.But the move may have backfired again with one senior minister complaining: “It has just added to the sense of directionlessness.” Another minister said: “It feels like nobody is in charge any more.”Morgan McSweeney More