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    Listen: Keir Starmer refuses to rule out war with Russia

    Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out sending British troops to Russia, stating that the UK cannot “ignore the threat” Vladimir Putin poses.Asked on the BBC’s Radio 4’s Today programme whether the UK might have to send forces to Nato’s eastern border to “possibly die”, the prime minister replied: “I hope not.”.On Sunday (1 June), German’s chief of Defence, General Carsten Breuer, told the broadcaster that Russia would attack again within the next four years, highlighting Lithuania and Poland as particularly vulnerable.On Monday (2 June), Sir Keir told BBC’s Nick Robinson that in order to make sure British troops aren’t sent to the frontline, the UK “has to prepare”. More

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    Starmer says he feared postman delivering bills through letterbox growing up

    Sir Keir Starmer has revealed that he was scared of the postman delivering bills through his letterbox growing up.The prime minister made the admission amid a scathing attack on Nigel Farage, where he warned Britons against the Reform UK’s leader’s “mad” economic plans.Delivering a speech in the north west of England on Thursday (29 May), Sir Keir said that unlike Mr Farage, he knows “what it’s like when your family can’t pay the bills, when you fear the postman and the bills that may be brought”.On Monday (25 May), Reform UK announced it will fully reinstate winter fuel payments and scrap the two-child benefit cap.Sir Keir slammed the party for pledging “completely unfunded” tax cuts which would trigger economic instability. More

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    Labour minister hits out at Sadiq Khan’s call for cannabis law reform

    A Labour minister has rejected Sir Sadiq Khan’s calls for the partial decriminalisation of cannabis, stating that the government’s stance “remains unchanged”.London’s mayor backed a report by the London Drugs Commission (LDC), which recommends that natural cannabis be removed from the Misuse of Drugs Act.The LDC, set up by Sir Sadiq in 2022 and chaired by former lord chancellor Lord Charlie Falconer, found the current laws on cannabis were “disproportionate to the harms it can pose” following a study of how the drug is policed around the world.Housing minister Matthew Pennycook said that whilst the London mayor is “entitled to his view on the matter”, there is no intention to reclassify the class B drug. More

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    Nigel Farage admits depicting Angela Rayner as cow in abbatoir ‘not very funny’

    Nigel Farage has said Reform activists depicting female cabinet ministers as cows to be slaughtered is “probably not very funny”.The Reform UK leader responded to a report by The Independent about an image that emerged from a Reform local election stunt depicting Angela Rayner, Rachel Reeves and Bridget Phillipson as cows heading to the abattoir.He said: “All sorts of appalling things get said and done by people fighting in elections at a local and national level.“We get it done to us, and if one or two of our people do it to them, maybe, if it’s funny, it probably isn’t very funny.” More

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    Deputy PM Angela Rayner: ‘I don’t want to be leader of the Labour Party’

    Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has quashed rumours that she is vying to become leader of the Labour Party, saying she has “no desire” to take on the role.It follows speculation about a potential leadership challenge after the leak of a memo outlining apparent tax rise plans, alongside media briefings suggesting she could be demoted.In an interview with Trevor Phillips on Sunday (25 May), the deputy leader said she is “honoured” to hold her current role and is not interested in becoming leader. Asked whether she could rule out ever becoming leader, she replied: “Never.”Rayner also indicated that an inquiry is “underway” into how the memo addressed to Chancellor Rachel Reeves was leaked. More

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    Rachel Reeves’s interview disrupted by on-air audio glitch as Chancellor’s voice turns high pitched

    A Rachel Reeves interview was stopped mid-air due to a technical glitch that resulted in her voice sounding extremely high pitched.Discussing recent inflation data from the Office of National Statistics in a squeaky voice, the Chancellor was cut short mid-sentence by Sky News.Presenter Wilfred Frost had to apologise for the technical blunder: “I think we’ve got a problem there with the sound, again,” he explained.Inflation rose to 3.5 per cent last month – the largest month-on-month rise in two and a half years. More

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    Keir Starmer backs Lucy Connolly’s prison sentence over hate tweet after Southport attack

    Sir Keir Starmer has backed the courts over Lucy Connolly’s prison sentence, stating that he is “against incitement of violence to other people”.The wife of a former Tory councillor was sentenced to 31 months in prison for inciting racial hatred online in the aftermath of the Southport attack last year.Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (21 May), Sir Keir said that whilst he is “strongly in favour of free speech”, he is staunchly opposed to any incitement of violence against individuals, when asked about Connolly’s case by Independent MP Rupert Lowe.Connolly’s Court of Appeal application against her jail term was dismissed yesterday by three judges at the Royal Courts of Justice. More

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    Starmer jokes Farage was ‘first through e-gates in France’ after skipping Brexit deal debate for holiday abroad

    Sir Keir Starmer made a jab at Nigel Farage during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (21 May), stating that the Reform UK leader, who is currently holidaying in France, was “first through the e-gates”.Mr Farage missed a parliamentary debate on a Brexit reset yesterday, where the prime minister presented his new UK-EU deal, with access to e-gates being a crucial part of the agreement.Speaking to Reform UK MP Lee Anderson in the House of Commons, Sir Keir said it was “very good” to see him standing in for the Clacton MP.Sir Keir’s joke on e-gates was met with cheers from the Commons, and he followed the jab with the pun: “Nice work if you can get it.” More