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    Starmer may need to play his Royal Trump card for difficult White House talks

    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.Read moreThe traditional gifts for Keir Starmer’s visit to see Donald Trump for the first time since the inauguration have yet to be announced, but it is a fair bet that the prime minister will hand the US president an Arsenal shirt with the number 47 (for 47th president) on it.The shirt of the prime minister’s favourite football team has been his safe go-to gift for all his first meetings with previous world leaders and this is one trip above all where he will be wanting to play safe.Insiders have told The Independent that Sir Keir will receive a “respectful” and even “warm” greeting from the new president – at least publicly – and we’re likely to see similar jovial treatment in the Oval Office in front of journalists as French president Emmanuel Macron did earlier this week. Starmer announced an increase in defence spending More

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    More than 1,000 British staff cut from key Ukraine troop training programme

    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.Read moreThe number of British personnel working on an international training program for Ukrainian soldiers has fallen by more than 1,000 in the last 2.5 years, new figures reveal. The decline marks a 73 per cent reduction in the UK staffing of the British-led Operation Interflex that has trained over 51,000 Ukrainian soldiers to resist Vladimir Putin’s invasion.It comes as Britain and its European allies scramble to bolster their own defences amid mounting pressure from Donald Trump and stark warnings about their defence capabilities.Operation Interflex has trained over 51,000 Ukrainian soldiers More

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    How a fraudster helped fund Farage’s US trip to meet Musk

    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.Read moreNigel Farage’s trip to Florida to meet tech billionaire Elon Musk was partly funded by convicted fraudster George Cottrell, records show. The former Ukip volunteer paid for the Reform UK leader’s £15,000 fight from Teterboro, New Jersey, to Palm Beach, Florida, last year where he was pictured posing next to Mr Musk and Reform UK treasurer Nick Candy. Mr Cottrell, who spent eight months in jail after being convicted of one count of wire fraud in the US, is a former adviser to Mr Farage.After being arrested in 2016, he struck a plea bargain with prosecutors, who said he had agreed to launder money for undercover agents posing as drug traffickers.Reform UK leader Nigel Farage (Yui Mok/PA) More

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    Europe cannot sustain 100,000-strong Ukraine peacekeeping force, former British army chief warns

    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.Read moreEuropean nations would have to send at least 100,000 troops to keep the peace in Ukraine and “none of them can do it”, a former head of the British armed forces has warned. General Lord Richards called for Nato countries to be “very grown up” and “live within what is physically and militarily possible”, rather than “what our political leaders sometimes would aspire to do”. The former chief of the defence staff warned it is “inevitable” that Russia will seek to test any defence force placed in Ukraine in the event of a deal to end the war. “If we send troops, they will be tested, and they have to robustly be able to defend themselves,” Lord Richards told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. He said given the size of the border between Russia and Ukraine a force of 100,000 to 200,000 troops would be needed. He added that these troops would need to be rotated, which could singificantly increase the number number that would be required to maintain the presence. “The idea you are going to send a few peacekeepers with berets to reassure the Ukrainians is crass,” Lord Richards said. “We are talking, to do it robustly, 100,000 troops overall, drawn from European nations. None of them can do it,” he added.He instead called for Britain to put the Ukrainians in a position to defend themselves after any peace deal with a “massive increase in support”. Lord David Richards said Europe would be unable to sustain a peacekeeping force in Ukraine More

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    Reeves says Europe must follow UK’s lead and ‘step up’ defence spending

    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.Read moreRachel Reeves has called on European allies to follow the UK’s lead and “step up” on defence after Keir Starmer’s pledge to boost spending to 3 per cent.In a move to underscore the reasoning behind the controversial budget shift, the chancellor wrote in The Telegraph it was the duty of the government to respond to Russian aggression by increasing defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP in the next to years, before going further following the next election.“This is a generational moment for our Continent. All of us must step up and do more on defence,” Ms Reeves said. “That is why over the coming days I will be talking to European counterparts at the G20 in South Africa about the importance of security and defence for our economies, and how we can work together to bolster them.”The chancellor said Britain had stepped up at “every moment of history” when the world became less secure, referencing Winston Churchill’s stance against Nazi Germany, the post-war Labour government’s involvement in founding Nato, and the previous Conservative government’s support for Ukraine.Ms Reeves’ comments come as US president Donald Trump pressures European allies in Nato to boost their own share of the cost of defence as the administration brokers a deal with Russia to end the Ukraine war.Keir Starmer said Britain was confronting a “generational moment” More

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    Starmer warned child poverty will hit all-time high if two-child benefit cap not scrapped

    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.Read moreSir Keir Starmer is facing a fresh backlash over the two-child benefit cap after a key economic think tank warned child poverty would hit an all-time high if it is not scrapped. The prime minister has been urged to rethink the Conservative-era limit after the Resolution Foundation said his strategy to tackle child poverty would lack credibility if it remains in place. Furious Labour MPs told The Independent the two-child limit was a “critical issue” for the government to address, branding it the biggest driver of rising child poverty. Keir Starmer is under fresh pressure over the two-child benefit cap More

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    Two-thirds of voters want young Britons to be able to live and work in Europe, poll shows

    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.Read moreTwo out of three voters want Sir Keir Starmer to agree an “Australian-style” youth mobility scheme with the European Union as part of his post-Brexit reset of relations with the bloc, a new poll has found.The survey of almost 15,000 people, by YouGov for campaign group Best for Britain, shows overwhelming public support for the idea with a majority of voters in every constituency across the UK supportive of the proposal.It found that two-thirds (66 per cent) back the scheme, compared to just one in five (18 per cent) who are opposed.In Nigel Farage’s Clacton constituency, which voted overwhelmingly in favour of leaving the EU in 2016, more than twice as many people were in favour (57 per cent) than against (25 per cent) the idea of a mobility scheme.The same was true in totemic red-wall seats like Bishop Auckland (63 per cent vs 19 per cent) and Ashfield (59 per cent vs 22 per cent), the latter of which is held by Mr Farage’s Reform UK colleague Lee Anderson.The move would see tens of thousands of workers and students from the EU allowed to live and work in the UK for a few years, with 18 to 30-year-old Britons granted similar access to the EU. The survey of almost 15,000 people shows overwhelming public support for the idea More

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    Meta fact-checker cuts will allow spread of racist misinformation, MPs say

    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.Read moreMeta’s removal of third-party fact checkers from its platforms will allow “racist misinformation” to spread, MPs have warned.The social media giant denied that it was ending fact-checking on its app, but was instead “moving to a system which is more scalable” following “feedback” from its users.In January, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg announced the change, saying at the time that fact-checkers were too “politically biased” and were having an impact on “free expression” – a move seen by many as an attempt to get closer to the pro-free speech stance of the incoming Donald Trump administration.During an appearance before MPs on the Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee, Chris Yiu, Meta’s director of public policy for northern Europe said the decision to replace third-party fact checkers with a community notes system in the US, and to reduce content moderation on some topics was based on feedback that debate on sensitive issues was being “suppressed”.The committee noted that Meta had previously submitted evidence to it that third-party fact-checking was a key part of the firm’s approach to combating misinformation.Mr Yiu was asked by MPs on the committee how this fitted with leaked guidelines for the changed content moderation approach and community notes system which showed the site would now allow a range of transphobic, racist and antisemitic statements, including statements such as: “trans people don’t exist”, “immigrants are filthy” and “Jews are greedier than Christians” – which were labelled “racist misinformation” by the committee.In response, Mr Yiu said: “I accept that some of those are difficult for the communities that are affected to hear.“We have received feedback over the months and years that in some cases, some areas of debate were being suppressed too much on our platform, and that some conversations, whilst challenging, should have a space to be discussed.“We retain clear rules and community standards prohibiting content which is designed to incite violence.”Responding to Mr Yiu, Emily Darlington MP asked whether Meta believed there was a “genuine debate” around the example statements on trans people, Jewish people and immigrants.“We’ve had feedback that topics which have become part of mainstream discourse – conversations around some of the issues that happen among members of the public, that happen in newspapers, were being suppressed on our platforms in a way which was too aggressive,” Mr Yiu said.“Where people make statements that violate our policies, they will be actioned equally. We’ve had the feedback that there are topics where the view was that there there should be more room for debate and conversation.”Committee chair Chi Onwurah MP warned Meta that by allowing such statements to be appear on the platform, they were in fact “amplifying” such content.“It’s not the same as a conversation in somebody’s home,” she said.“This is something that people are going to see in their feeds.”Chris Morris, chief executive of independent fact-checking charity Full Fact, said Meta was “dismantling” processes that lead users to “good information” online.“Meta’s claim that it is not ending fact checking in the US isn’t credible and lacks context,” he said.“Replacing experts trained to establish factual accuracy with a community notes model designed to reach consensus risks skewing information circulating on Meta platforms towards what some users think rather than what the evidence says.“Community notes have a role to play in improving our online conversation, but is not the same as independent fact checking.”Elsewhere during the session, where representatives from TikTok and Elon Musk’s X were also giving evidence, Ms Darlington clashed with X executive Wilfredo Fernandez over the firm’s content policies.She read out a violent threat made to her in the replies to her own post on X, as well as a string of racist, antisemitic, homophobic and violent posts from the same account that were also posted to the platform.“Is this acceptable under the guise of free speech on X these days?,” she asked Mr Fernandez.The X executive said the comments were “abhorrent” and that he would ensure “our teams take a look”, but when pressed on whether the account in question would be removed he added that he “can’t make any assurances”.“I can assure you that our teams will review under our terms of service, and I’m sorry that you had to experience that,” he said.Mr Fernandez also refused to be drawn on whether the sharing of videos of Mr Musk’s recent gesture at a Donald Trump rally – widely interpreted as a Nazi salute – was appropriate and made X a safer platform.“I think there’s a lot of discussion around that, and that’s why the platform allows for people to debate it and discuss it,” he said. 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