UK Politics

Chris Philphas been accused of courting Elon Musk after he responded to a social media post from the tech billionaire offering funding to bring private legal action relating to the grooming gangs scandal. The shadow home secretary replied to an X post in which Mr Muskannounced plans to “help fund legal actions against corrupt officials who aided and abetted the rape of Britain, per the official government inquiry”. He added: “Please reply below for consideration.”Responding, the shadow home secretary – who was a minister in the Home Office until last year – claimed to have “details of a senior police officer who deliberately covered up evidence of the rape and sexual assault of young girls by mainly Pakistani origin taxi drivers, with evidence of that”. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp More

Scotland’s First Minister has accused Elon Musk of spreading “misinformation” following an incident in Dundee where a girl was charged for alleged possession of offensive weapons.John Swinney said the world’s richest man was trying to “undermine” the social “cohesion” in Scottish communities, which he said was “totally and utterly unacceptable”.He condemned the “deliberate disinformation” he said was being used to “stoke up fear and alarm” around the country.Footage of a young girl apparently brandishing weapons has been widely shared on social media, with posts making claims about it gaining millions of views.Mr Musk – the billionaire owner of X, formerly Twitter – shared several posts on his site which made claims about the incident, including the migrant status of the people allegedly confronted.Far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who was previously sentenced for contempt of court, also shared posts making claims around the incident, some of which were shared by Mr Musk.The incident is understood to have taken place in St Ann Lane in the Lochee area of the city around 7.40pm on Saturday.Speaking to the PA news agency in Glasgow, Scotland’s First Minister said there was a limit to what he could say about the “misinformation” to avoid prejudicing the case.“But what is very important,” he said, “is that Police Scotland have issued a warning about deliberate misinformation that is being used to stoke up fear and alarm in our communities.“I am concerned about that and everybody should be concerned about that because we live in a fundamentally safer country today than we did 40 years ago.“That’s what all the recorded data told us earlier on this week – we’re living in a safer country than we did 40 years ago.“But people like Elon Musk, with the misinformation that has been stoked up about this case, are trying to undermine that sense of cohesion within our communities and it is totally and utterly unacceptable, and Police Scotland are absolutely right to call it out.”Chief superintendent Nicola Russell, who is responsible for Police Scotland’s Tayside division, issued a statement on Wednesday.She said: “We are aware of misinformation being shared on social media in relation to an incident where a Bulgarian couple were approached by youths in St Ann Lane, Dundee, on Saturday 23 August 2025.“A 12-year-old girl has been charged with being in possession of offensive weapons. She will be referred to the relevant authorities and our inquiries are ongoing.“We would like to thank the local community for their help with our investigation and would urge the public not to share misinformation about this incident or speculate on the circumstances.”Mr Musk has previously caught the ire of another first minister, with former SNP leader Humza Yousaf in January accusing him of trying to “inflame racial tensions”.The businessman, who was previously one of US President Donald Trump’s closest aids before a falling out, has consistently waded into Scottish and British politics and has clashed with Mr Yousaf on several occasions.The Tesla owner once branded Mr Yousaf “super racist” during one of their online arguments last year, daring the former first minister to sue him. More

As the old saying goes: “Once is an accident; twice is unlucky; but three times is a pattern.”Nin Pandit, who was the principal private secretary in No 10 and ran the prime minister’s team, was not a household name by any means, but nevertheless she was an important cog in Sir Keir Starmer’s Downing Street operation.The departure happened while the prime minister was away on holiday in what might be a poor attempt at keeping his fingerprints off it, but her sudden departure has underlined a growing sense of dysfunction at the core of this Labour government.Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Toby Melville/PA) More

Reform UK have been accused of a “massive attack on local democracy” after a local council leader banned his councillors from engaging with a leading local newspaper. Earlier this week, the Nottingham Post said they had been told by Nottinghamshire County Council’s Reform administration that it would no longer engage with them or the team of BBC-funded local democracy journalists that the paper manages.The move, which comes despite the party’s claim to defend free speech, has been met with outrage. The editor of the paper – which includes the Nottingham Post and its online edition Nottinghamshire Live – said it was a “worrying sign of potentially things to come if Reform wins the next election”. Nigel Farage has been urged to step in and urge Reform’s council leader Mick Barton to reverse the ‘dangerous and chilling’ decision More

Sir Keir Starmer is replacing the top civil servant in his Downing Street office – the third senior staff member to leave their role in less than a year. Nin Pandit, who is the principal private secretary in No 10 and runs the PM’s team, has only been in the role for ten months. It is understood she will be leaving that role in September, and taking up a different position in the Downing Street operation. Her departure comes after chief of staff Sue Gray was forced out in October, while Matthew Doyle – the previous director of comms for Sir Keir – stood down in March. Ms Pandit’s departure has triggered speculation the PM is attempting to conduct another reset within Downing Street More

Rachel Reeves is reportedly plotting a tax raid on landlords in an attempt to plug the up to £40billion blackhole in the nation’s finances.The chancellor is considering raising taxes for landlords in her next budget by applying national insurance (NI) to rental income, arguing the move would target “unearned income”, according to reports.The plans aim to make the Treasury £2 billion, as it attempts to avoid breaking the chancellor’s “red lines” outlined before the general election, which included not increasing VAT, income tax or national insurance.Currently, NI contributions do not have to be paid on most earnings from property, pensions and savings, while employees with other forms of income are hit with the 8 per cent levy.But sources have told The Times that NI contributions could now be levied on rental income in what would be “a significant potential extra source of funds” at a time when Ms Reeves is under a multitude of financial pressures, including rising borrowing costs.Rachel Reeves is plotting a tax raid on landlords in an attempt to plug the up to £40billion blackhole in the nation’s finances More

Sir Ed Davey is set to boycott Donald Trump’s state banquet next month over accusations the US president has not used his power to end the “horrifying” war in Gaza.The Liberal Democrat leader suggested the US president and Sir Keir Starmer were hoping to merely “close their eyes and wish this away” rather than act on the escalating humanitarian crisis in the Gaze Strip.In an announcement that led the Tories to accuse him of “deep disrespect” to the King, Sir Ed confirmed on Wednesday that he would decline an invitation to the dinner, set to take place during Mr Trump’s state visit in mid-September.Sir Ed said he and his wife Emily had “spent all summer thinking about this” and had “prayed about it”, before deciding it was “the one way” to send a message to both Mr Trump and Sir Keir.He said: “There is no honour like an invitation from the King, and not to accept his invitation goes against all of our instincts.Sir Ed Davey is set to boycott Donald Trump’s state banquet next month More

Labour’s planned welfare reforms could create a two-tier benefits system, the impacts of which will last for “decades”, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned.Major changes to universal credit (UC) will see the entitlement cut by almost half from £423.27 to £217.26 for all new claimants from April 2026 and frozen until 2029. Anyone who applies for the benefit after 6 April next year will only be entitled to the lower rate, meaning they will be paid around £2,500 less than a claimant who applied before this date, who will continue to receive the higher rate. This threatens to create a two-tier system that lasts into the 2040s and beyond, analysis from the IFS has found.The influential think tank said that around 500,000 people currently claiming an incapacity benefit, such as UC health, have been in receipt of it for 15 years or longer. Based on this trend, the two levels of entitlement still won’t be phased out by 2040.Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall first announced the government’s welfare plans in March More