UK Politics

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 moreFormer prime minister Boris Johnson has called on the government to increase its defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP as European leaders face growing pressure to devote greater resources to regional security.Mr Johnson was on Monday in Kyiv for the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, where he told The Telegraph an increase to 2.5 per cent of national income was “not enough” ahead of Keir Starmer’s meeting with US president Donald Trump this week.“We should get to 3 per cent by 2030,” Mr Johnson he told the masthead.The former Tory leader earlier told The Independent Ukraine is just “days away” from signing a deal to cede control of its rare earth minerals to the US as part of a process to end the war with Russia.His comments add to a growing domestic and international debate over the level of spending European allies should commit to continental security to fend off future Russian aggression, as the US brokers a peace deal to end the Ukraine war.On Sunday, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson sought to manage expectations ahead of Sir Keir’s visit to the US as Washington demands European allies shoulder the overwhelming share of the burden of security on the continent.Asked whether the Prime Minister would promise Donald Trump that Britain will spend “much more” when he meets the US President next week, Ms Phillipson told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “Let’s be clear, 2.5 per cent is ambitious.“We will get there, but it is ambitious, and this is also in the context of the public finances which, let’s be honest were left in a devastating state by the Conservatives – a £22 billion black hole, no credible plan for this nonsense that they claim around how they were going to reach 2.5 per cent.” More

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 moreWatch live as foreign secretary David Lammy announces new sanctions against Russia on the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on Monday, 24 February.In a statement, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said a “milestone package” of 107 new sanctions will be implemented to “target funds going into Putin’s war chest and propping up Russia’s kleptocratic system.”Targets of the sanctions include producers and suppliers of machine tools, electronics and dual-use goods for Russia’s military that are based in a range of third countries including Central Asian states, Turkey, Thailand, India and China.Other targets include North Korean Defence Minister No Kwang Chol and other North Korean generals and senior officials the government says are complicit in deploying over 11,000 DPRK forces to Russia.“For the first time, we are also using new powers to target foreign financial institutions supporting Russia’s war machine. We are sanctioning the Kyrgyzstan-based OJSC Keremet Bank, disrupting Russia’s use of the international financial system to support its war efforts,” the statement added.Thirteen Russian targets, such as LLC Grant-Trade, its owner Marat Mustafaev and his sister Dinara Mustafaeva, have been included. The government says they have used the company to funnel advanced European technology into Russia to support its illegal war. The sanctions come ahead of a meeting between Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump in Washington next week, with the US president accusing Britain and France of having “done nothing” to end the war in Ukraine. On Sunday Sir Keir spoke to French president Emmanuel Macron to mark the anniversary, with the pair promising to “work together to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position at this crucial moment for global security”.Mr Trump has also been condemned for claiming that Kyiv started the war and describing Mr Zelensky as a “dictator”. He has also sidelined Ukraine from negotiations on ending the conflict with Russia, defying European calls for Mr Zelensky to have a role in peace talks. More

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 moreMinisters have heard warnings that “inventive” teenagers could circumvent a social media ban.Labour MP Naushabah Khan said on Monday that some parents fear their children have “no pause” from risks beyond their control, even at home.She made her comments as MPs debated a petition calling for a minimum age on social media, set at 16, which has gathered more than 128,300 signatures.Caroline Voaden, the Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon, suggested that the definition of harmful material should extend beyond “hardcore” content into “the long hours that children are spending on screens”, while data protection minister Sir Chris Bryant said users consume “large amounts of utter misinformation”.The minister hinted the Government could bring forward fresh legislation to tackle harmful social media use in the next two or three years.Ms Khan, the MP for Gillingham and Rainham, said she had spoken to some parents in her Kent constituency concerned about the risks to their children “beyond the sanctuary of their own home – they see no pause, no protection and no escape”.She told MPs that teenagers “are extremely capable of being inventive and circumventing the rules – this is what teenagers have done since immemorial”.Ms Khan continued: “The fundamental problem is that these platforms were never designed with the safety of children in mind.“We will be doing our children a disservice to raise a legal barrier and simply hope that the risk then disappears, because that’s not what’s going to happen.“Children do deserve more – they deserve more responsibility from social media companies, more urgency from regulators, and perhaps more action from us as elected to this House.”Tony Vaughan, the Labour MP for Folkestone and Hythe who introduced the debate in Westminster Hall, spoke to an argument against banning younger teenagers from social media, when he warned poorly thought-out rules could “push children into unregulated and more dangerous online spaces”.He said: “This can’t be about shutting down avenues for young people to socialise with each other.“And so, whatever action is taken to make it harder for young people to access social media, we have to make sure that other things are going on in society, so they don’t feel that this is the only place they can go to socialise.”Mr Vaughan had earlier said: “Social media can of course be a wonderful tool, but it’s currently a wild west where there is too much harmful content… being pushed onto young people, and social media companies are simply not doing enough to tackle it.“The sad fact of the matter is that social media is pushing content that radicalises, catalyses mental health crises, and is highly addictive.”Ms Voaden turned to social media watchdog Ofcom’s proposed code of practice for user-to-user services.She warned the document did not address issues around the “myths of the perfect body”, adding: “That’s not hardcore content like online pornography or suicidation videos, it’s the subtle stuff of social media, it’s the addictiveness of it that is really dangerous, and my concern is about the long hours that children are spending on screens, the time spent indoors instead of playing with friends and making real, human connection.”The MP later continued: “Older children are not experiencing boredom.“I mean, we all remember standing at bus stops, right?“You didn’t have a mobile phone, you got bored, you looked at the sky, you looked around you, you watched other people, it’s part of the development of a human brain.”Sir Chris, on behalf of the Government, also pointed to new duties which social media companies must meet next month to protect their users from illegal content, including terrorism.He said: “Is it better to make that happen now and bed that in, or is it better to say, ‘right, we’re going to have another piece of legislation now’?“Now, I would be amazed – I’m not allowed to make commitments on behalf of the Government, but – I would be absolutely amazed if there isn’t further legislation in this field in the next few years brought forward by the Government.”The minister later added that “nothing is off the table” and said: “I do not doubt for a single instant that this will be the end of the story, that the Online Safety Act will be the end of the story.“I will be amazed if there weren’t further legislation in this field in some shape or other in the next two or three years.”He also said social media users consume “large amounts of utter misinformation” by both “state actors” and “pernicious actors in their own right”. More

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 more A hard-right British politician has been charged with accepting bribes to make favorable statements about Russia in the European Parliament.Nathan Gill, 51, appeared in a London court on Monday. He did not enter a plea to eight counts of bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.Prosecutors say Gill, a former member of the European Union legislature who also led the Reform U.K. party in Wales, was tasked by former Ukrainian politician Oleg Voloshyn on at least eight occasions to make statements in return for money.Prosecution lawyer Richard Link said Gill made statements in the European Parliament and in opinion pieces to news outlets which were “supportive of a particular narrative” which would “benefit Russia regarding events in Ukraine.”The offenses are alleged to have taken place between 2018 and 2020. Gill was stopped at Manchester Airport on Sept. 13, 2021 under British counterterrorism laws, and after an investigation was charged last week.Gill spoke only to confirm his name, birthdate and address when he appeared by video link Monday at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. He was released on bail until his next court appearance on March 14.Gill was elected to the European Parliament in 2014 for the anti-EU U.K. Independence Party, and later represented the Brexit Party. He remained in the legislature until Britain left the European Union in 2020.He led the Welsh branch of the Brexit Party’s successor Reform U.K. during 2021 elections in Wales but is no longer a member, the party said. More

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 moreBoris Johnson has claimed Ukraine is just “days away” from signing a deal to cede control of its rare earth minerals to the US as part of a process to end the war with Russia. The former prime minister on Monday said he “remains convinced that Ukraine will have a great future as a free sovereign and independent nation”.Mr Johnson, who is in Kyiv for the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, said the deal was “a very interesting development” which would commit the US to future financing of Ukraine and ensure the country remains a free and sovereign nation. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has previously rejected the deal, thought to be worth around $500 billion (£400 billion), and said on Sunday he would not “sign something that 10 generations of Ukrainians will have to repay”. Boris Johnson said he is convinced Ukraine has a ‘great future’ as a free nation More

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 moreBoris Johnson abruptly ended a live interview in Kyiv on Good Morning Britain on Monday. Speaking from the Ukrainian capital three years after Russia’s invasion, the former PM said he believed a minerals agreement between the US and Ukraine was close to being signed – before then abruptly ending the interview. Pressed on how he thought world leaders should communicate with Mr Trump, Mr Johnson said: “You have to keep knocking the ball back over the net. I mean this is crazy stuff… but you’ve got to look at what is actually being proposed. “When you look at the potential of the [minerals] agreement – I think that it’s positive for Ukraine”. He then said: “I’ve got to go”, before removing his equipment in a hurry on camera and walking out of shot. Mr Johnson’s comments came after Mike Waltz claimed Ukraine will sign an agreement to cede control of much of its rare earth minerals to the US. More

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 moreKeir Starmer has failed to rule out Russia returning to the G7 group of nations on the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. His security minister Dan Jarvis said it was “a matter to be discussed with international allies” when he was pressed on whether the country should be allowed back into the group. “And that is a matter that no doubt will be considered at the point at which the conflict in Ukraine has been concluded. And we need to get to that point as quickly as we possibly can,” Mr Jarvis told Times Radio. Security minister Dan Jarvis said Russia’s readmission to the G7 was ‘a matter to be discussed with international allies’ More

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 has a “very tough hand” to play when he meets Donald Trump in the White House this week, former US secretary of state John Kerry has warned. The prime minister is meeting the US president on Thursday to discuss the war in Ukraine and is set to promise Britain and Europe will play a greater role in their own defence. Ahead of the meeting, Mr Kerry, who served as Barack Obama’s secretary of state, said: “I like Keir, I think he’s a bright guy. But he’s got a very tough hand.”With the PM expected to highlight Labour’s plans to boost Britain’s defence budget from 2.3 per cent to 2.5 per cent of GDP, Mr Kerry highlighted the “tough choices” facing Sir Keir in terms of spending elsewhere. But, asked what advice he would give Sir Keir, Mr Kerry told The Telegraph: “He knows what he’s doing.” John Kerry warned Sir Keir Starmer has ‘a very tough hand’ ahead of his meeting with Donald Trump More