UK Politics

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseLow-level criminals could serve their sentences under house arrest as part of plans to free up prison space and ease overcrowing. A government review, launched on Tuesday, will explore tougher punishments outside of prison while making sure there is space to incarcerate the most dangerous offenders.It comes on the same day that around 1,100 inmates are due to be freed as part of the government’s policy to free up prison space.The review will look at using technology to place criminals in a “prison outside prison” and forcing offenders to do work in the community to give back to society.Punishments outside prison could involve using wristwatches or apps that “nudge” offenders to ask if they have complied with licence conditions, in addition to sobriety tags or home detention curfews.Shabana Mahmood (Jordan Pettitt/PA) More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseSir Keir Starmer is facing pressure to rethink the UK’s position on reparations for its role in the slave trade, as the government is set to face a showdown next year with a delegation of Caribbean nations over the issue. It comes as the prime minister travels to Samoa for a major Commonwealth summit. The biennial gathering of heads of government for the 56 nations, will see leaders elect the new Commonwealth secretary general. All three candidates seeking the top job have called for reparations to countries that were affected by slavery and colonialism.The 15 member states of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), who have previously set out formal demands for reparations in a 10-point plan, are planning a delegation to the UK in 2025 with an updated list of demands.Downing Street has rejected demands, saying the issue is “not on the agenda” for the event and “we won’t be offering an apology”.Pressure is also building on Sir Keir from within his party, with Bell Ribeiro-Addy, MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, saying No 10’s position was “disappointing” and likening it to old “colonial attitudes”.The prime minister will travel to Samoa for a major Commonwealth summit More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseFormer Conservative minister Richard Holden is leading a campaign to secure protected status for traditional pie and mash as a celebration of the “original fast food”. Mr Holden and producers have made representations to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) about an application for Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) status for the dish.TSG is a quality scheme that protects the names of food and agricultural products that are made using traditional methods or ingredients. Bramley Apple pie filling and Cornish pasties are some of the foods protected under the scheme. Mr Holden, the MP for Basildon and Billericay, will lead a parliamentary debate in Westminster Hall on Tuesday to further press the case for the “cracking” products to get the “recognition they deserve”.Traditional pie and mash may be given TSG status if there is agreement between producers on the recipe that would need to be follow to use the name in future, Defra said. The recipe involves a minced beef pie served with mashed potatoes and a parsley sauce known as liquor.The recipe involves a minced beef pie served with mashed potatoes and a parsley sauce known as liquor More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseAI-powered “nudifying” apps which can create non-consensual explicit images of people, including children, should be banned, an online safety charity has said.Internet Matters has called on the Government to strengthen the Online Safety Act to ban tools which can create deepfake nudes after a study from the group estimated that as many as half a million children have encountered such images online.It said its research had found a growing fear among young people over the issue, with 55% of teenagers saying it would be worse to have a deepfake nude of them created and shared than a real image.Strengthening the new online safety laws and new legislation to ban nudifying tools are necessary because current legislation is not keeping pace, Internet Matters said, arguing that the AI models used to generate sexual images of children are not currently illegal in the UK, despite possession of such an image being a criminal offence.Children have told us about the fear they have that this could happen to them without any knowledge and by people they don’t know. They see deepfake image abuse as a potentially greater violation because it is beyond their controlCarolyn Bunting, Internet MattersEarlier this month, online safety watchdog the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) warned that AI-generated child sexual abuse content is now being increasingly found on the open, public web, rather than hidden away on dark web forums.Internet Matters said it estimates that 99% of deepfake nudes feature women and girls, and warned the content is being used to facilitate child-on-child sexual abuse, adult perpetrated sexual abuse, and sextortion.Internet Matters co-chief executive Carolyn Bunting said: “AI has made it possible to produce highly realistic deepfakes of children with the click of a few buttons.“Nude deepfakes are a profound invasion of bodily autonomy and dignity, and their impact can be life-shattering.“With nudifying tools largely focused on females, they are having a disproportionate impact on girls.“Children have told us about the fear they have that this could happen to them without any knowledge and by people they don’t know. They see deepfake image abuse as a potentially greater violation because it is beyond their control.“Deepfake image abuse can happen to anybody, at any time. Parents should not be left alone to deal with this concerning issue.“It is time for Government and industry to take action to prevent it by cracking down on the companies that produce and promote these tools that are used to abuse children.”The safety organisation’s study involved surveying 2,000 parents of children aged three to 17, and 1,000 children aged nine to 17, in the UK.It found that teenage boys are twice as likely to report an experience with a nude deepfake. However, boys are more likely to be the creators of deepfake nudes, and girls are more likely to be the victims.The study also indicated support among both children and parents for more education around deepfakes, with 92% of teenagers and 88% of parents saying they believe children should be taught about the risks of the technology in school.Online deepfake abuse disproportionately impacts woman and girls online, which is why we will work with Internet Matters and other partners to address this as part of our mission to halve violence against women and girls over the next decadeSafeguarding minister Jess PhillipsMinister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls Jess Phillips said: “This Government welcomes the work of Internet Matters, which has provided an important insight into how emerging technologies are being misused.“The misuse of AI technologies to create child sexual abuse material is an increasingly concerning trend.“Online deepfake abuse disproportionately impacts woman and girls online, which is why we will work with Internet Matters and other partners to address this as part of our mission to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade.“Technology companies, including those developing nudifying apps, have a responsibility to ensure their products cannot be misused to create child sexual abuse content or non-consensual deepfake content.” More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseThe Government has been urged by a House of Lords committee to begin early talks with the European Commission on securing a new data adequacy agreement to ensure the economy is not hit by extra costs and red tape.The Lords European Affairs Committee has written to Technology Secretary Peter Kyle to encourage him to begin talks on renewing the data agreement, which is due to expire in June 2025.The UK and European Commission made a data adequacy agreement in 2021, where the EU recognised the UK’s data protection regulations as being equal to the EU’s own laws on the issue, therefore allowing data to flow seamlessly between the two.The loss of data adequacy would create new barriers and run completely counter to the Government’s ambitions to grow the economy and reset relations with the EULord Ricketts, Lords European Affairs CommitteeThe Lords committee has written to the Technology Secretary after concluding a seven-month inquiry, where it said experts warned that losing data adequacy status would not only increase friction for businesses and other organisations, but also produce significant extra costs and higher prices for consumers.Lord Ricketts, chairman of the European Affairs Committee, said: “The UK faces a potential cliff-edge in June 2025 unless agreement is reached with the EU on the continued free flow of data.“The safe and effective exchange of data underpins our trade and economic links with the EU and co-operation between our law enforcement bodies.“The loss of data adequacy would create new barriers and run completely counter to the Government’s ambitions to grow the economy and reset relations with the EU.“We recommend that reaching timely agreement on data adequacy should be integral to the reset, and the Government’s top data protection priority.”The committee said witnesses during its inquiry suggested that failing to secure continued adequacy status could impose additional compliance costs on UK businesses of around £1 billion.Lord Ricketts added that the process could also give the Government the chance to look at the UK’s own data laws.“The UK’s current GDPR regime is far from perfect. But the consequences of not reaching agreement with the EU are extremely harmful,” he said.“There is clearly scope to reform and improve GDPR as part of the Government’s new Digital Information and Smart Data Bill.“But this must not jeopardise the UK’s adequacy status.” More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseThe government is to go ahead with the early release of around 1,000 more prisoners despite calls for the second tranche to be suspended.A source close to justice secretary Shabana Mahmood has insisted that the second wave of early releases will go ahead with some criminals only serving 40 per cent of their sentence despite concerns being raised over public safety.Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel led calls for the early release scheme to be suspended after raising issues about sex offenders and violent criminals being allowed out early.Lib Dem justice spokesman Josh Babarinde had also tried to raise an urgent question in Parliament on the issue but his request was turned down by the speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel (Lucy North/PA) More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseThe government has been pressed to provide answers after leaked recordings sparked fears the British High Commission in Mauritius had its phones hacked around the time the UK opened negotiations for the handover of the Chagos Islands.On Sunday, The Independent revealed that British high commissioner Charlotte Pierre was hit in a huge leak of purported phone conversations between high-profile Mauritian figures.Pressure is now building on the government to address the potential security breach.Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, Liberal Democrat MP James MacCleary asked: “It has been reported today that there is an investigation underway into a major hack of the British commission’s phones during the Chagos Island talks. What action is the government taking to address this potentially major security breach?”Responding, foreign office minister Stephen Doughty said: “In regard to the points you raised about in the media, alleged hacks, those are subject to an ongoing police investigation in Mauritius, so I don’t want to comment. But my understanding is they’re historic, rather than relating to the recent negotiation period.”The Chagos issue is sensitive due to the secretive joint UK-US air base on Diego Garcia More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseLabour’s Employment Rights Bill will cost businesses up to £5bn a year, the government’s own impact assessment says.The legislation, which returns to the Commons for its second reading on Monday, will include plans to ban exploitative zero-hours contracts and “unscrupulous” fire and rehire practices which it said will benefit millions of workers.Under the new legislation, the existing two-year qualifying period for protections from unfair dismissal will be removed and workers will have the right from the first day in a job.However, an impact assessment published by the government has warned that the policies will “impose a direct cost on business of low billion pounds per year (ie, less than £5bn annually)”.Total wage costs in the UK were £1.3 trillion in 2023 in nominal terms. The assessment cites official surveys suggesting that 40 per cent of businesses would respond to higher labour costs by increasing prices, while 17 per cent would cut jobs. Around a third would rely on profit margins to absorb the costs, the assessment said. It also warns that costs will be “proportionately higher” for small and micro businesses as a result of admin costs and compliance burdens but says measures need to apply in the same way to avoid creating a “two-tier workforce” where some workers get access to rights and others do not.Rayner said the changes proposed were long overdue More