UK

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 moreA regulator has been accused of a “lack of ambition” over the Online Safety Act, with one charity warning that tech sites can do less on safety and still comply with the new rules because of a “checklist” approach.Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, said new online safety laws have some “pretty clear systemic weaknesses” in how Ofcom is implementing them, and called for the Government to intervene and create a strengthened version of the Act.Speaking to Sky News, Mr Burrows said the current approach of Ofcom setting out codes of practice for tech platforms to follow meant that some of the biggest sites could “scale back” their safety measures and still be compliant with the Online Safety Act.“What we’re seeing from Ofcom is a distinct lack of ambition,” Mr Burrows said.“They are being cautious in the face of really pronounced, urgent challenges but that has also exposed some pretty clear systemic weaknesses with the way the original Act was drafted.“One of the big problems right now is that, essentially, if some of the big tech platforms comply with a checklist that Ofcom has set out in its codes of practice then they’re taken as being compliant.“What that essentially means is that some of the big tech services – the Metas of this world, the TikToks of the world – could actually scale back what they currently do and be taken as compliant. That’s not what Parliament envisaged.”Mr Burrows said the Molly Rose Foundation has recently met the Prime Minister on the issue, and is calling on him to commit to a “new Act that can strengthen this regime”.The Molly Rose Foundation was set up by the family of Molly Russell, who chose to end her life aged 14, in November 2017, after viewing suicide and self-harm content on social media.Under the Online Safety Act, the largest tech platforms have to follow Ofcom’s codes of practice on issues such as illegal content and protecting children from online harm, which requires them to remove illegal material from their sites and ensure they have systems in place, such as age verification, that prevent children from accessing harmful content.Fines of up to 10% of global turnover – potentially billions of pounds for the biggest firms – are possible for those found to be in breach.But Mr Burrows said the Molly Rose Foundation’s “fear” is that the UK was “going backwards” on children’s online safety.He highlighted Meta’s recent announcement that it was rowing back on using third-party fact checkers in the US and would instead implement a user-based community notes system, as well as loosen some of its content policies around certain issues in the name of free speech, as a sign of tech giants pulling back from online safety.“What we’ve seen from some of the big tech companies, from (Meta boss) Mark Zuckerberg since Donald Trump’s election, is a bonfire of safety measures here in the UK,” he said.Mr Burrows urged Sir Keir Starmer and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle to listen to parents in the UK rather than “geopolitical pressures now from the US and elsewhere” calling for looser regulation of tech firms.He said: “Our polling shows 85% of parents want a new Act and I think if the Government has the ambition and the bravery to fix this Act and to tackle these issues once and for all, parents watching this right across the country this morning will cheer the Prime Minister on.”An Ofcom spokesperson said: “Our codes of practice set out robust measures – many of which are not currently being used by the largest and riskiest platforms – that will significantly improve safety for all users, especially children.“The stipulation that firms will be compliant with their safety duties if they implement all the measures in our codes is one that’s built into the legislation.“If providers fail to meet their duties once they’re in force, we won’t hesitate to use our robust enforcement powers.” 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 been urged to ban degrading, violent and misogynistic pornography including making it illegal to publish videos of women being choked during sex.A major review of the industry has proposed giving regulator Ofcom the power to police porn sites plagued with “harmful” material. The review, commissioned by Rishi Sunak and carried out by Tory peer Gabby Bertin, said porn depicting non-fatal strangulation is “rife on mainstream platforms”. Baroness Bertin said porn websites are ‘rife’ with choking videos 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 refused to rule out more spending cuts and tax rises ahead of Rachel Reeves’ spring Budget on 26 March.But speaking to journalists on a trip to meet President Donald Trump in Washington DC, the prime minister has tried to calm fears claiming that the worst news was delivered in the Budget in October.Sir Keir was attempting to deal with dire warnings from a number of economic thinktanks who have warned that he has little headway to afford his spending plans with growth at minimal levels.Starmer and Reeves are plotting the Budget 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 moreA former Bank of England governor has slammed the chancellor’s pre-election tax promises as “irresponsible” and called on her to hike income tax. Mervyn King, who ran the Bank from 2003 to 2013 and was the chancellor’s boss when she worked there, said Rachel Reeves made “silly” promises on tax before the general election and should row back on them in government. Lord King also questioned the chancellor’s self-imposed fiscal rules, urging Ms Reeves to set rules in a way that would allow her to borrow more and boost government spending. In the general election campaign, Labour promised not to hike VAT or income tax. The party also ruled out reversing a Tory cut to employee national insurance contributions, despite economists warning it was unsustainable at the time. In her first Budget, Ms Reeves instead increased employer national insurance contributions, with the aim of raising around £25 billion a year. But Lord King told Sky News she raised the wrong tax by doing so. Mervyn King was the chancellor’s boss at the Bank of England – this week he said she made the wrong call on the tax to raise in her Autumn Budget 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 moreRussia and China will be the beneficiaries of Keir Starmer’s plans to slash the foreign aid budget, a former deputy foreign secretary has warned in a stark message to the prime minister.Sir Keir defended his controversial cuts saying he would use the cash to hit back at “tyrants” like Putin, as he bowed to pressure from Donald Trump to boost defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP just hours before jetting to meet the US President at the White House. But Andrew Mitchell warned the move would actually aid Russia, three years after its illegal invasion of Ukraine. And he suggested Labour had turned its back on its own principles, pointing out that Sir Keir argued against reductions to the overseas aid budget under the Conservatives. Keir Starmer has been told Russia and China will benefit from plans to slash the foreign aid budget 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 are considering relaxing the two-child benefit cap after facing intense pressure to scrap the limit entirely, it has emerged. Under plans being considered to tackle child poverty, parents of under-fives could reportedly be exempted from the limit.The government is also considering exempting parents of disabled children, parents in work and hiking child benefit payments for those with young children, The Guardian reported. Keir Starmer is under mounting pressure to scrap the two-child benefit cap 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 made it clear he intends to stand up to Donald Trump over Ukraine as he jets over to Washington DC for one of the most consequential meetings ever between a US president and British prime minister.Speaking to journalists on the flight over the Atlantic, Sir Keir insisted that Russia’s Vladimir Putin has to be viewed as the aggressor.He will make clear that there can be no negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine, and will push for Europe to play a greater part in global defence.However, in a challenging meeting which will also encompass awkward conversations on plans to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, trade deals and a potential visit by President Trump, Sir Keir was keen to talk up the relationship between the two.The prime minister insisted that “there is no issue between us” on Ukraine as he jetted out – attempting to play down disagreements in the past two weeks.He said: “Of course, the president has been very clear about the peace that he wants. He’s right about that. We all want peace. The question is, how do we make sure it’s a lasting peace? There’s no issue between us on this.”His words came as it was revealed he plans to host Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders for a defence summit this weekend.With talks on tariffs being imposed by the US and concerns by the Trump administration, inflamed by Elon Musk, on free speech in the UK regarding social media, Sir Keir will be keen to remind the president that the two countries share trade worth $400bn, which supports more than 2.5 million jobs across both countries.The prime minister will join the president at the White House on Thursday, before a tete a tete at the Oval Office. He will be accompanied by the foreign secretary, David Lammy.Last week, President Trump shocked allies in the West by calling President Zelensky a dictator and arranging a meeting in Saudi Arabia with Russia without Ukraine or Europe at the table.Even worse, there was fury when the US sided with autocratic regimes including China and North Korea to vote down a resolution blaming Russian aggression for the war.Donald Trump discussing foreign policy 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 moreDavid Lammy has conceded that Donald Trump can veto the controversial deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.The foreign secretary’s admission comes as The Independent has discovered the US President has been handed a second legal dossier on why the deal should not go ahead.It is understood that Mr Trump will raise the subject of giving the islands, which are home to the crucial UK/US Diego Garcia airbase, to a potential ally of China.The UK had been prepared to spend as much as £18 billion leasing back the base for the next 99 years after the handover takes place.Britain Chagos IslandsSpeaking on Robert Peston’s show on ITV, Mr Lammy said: “If President Trump doesn’t like the deal, the deal will not go forward.”The admission appears to underline a growing feeling that the president will veto the deal which is set to be discussed in the White House when the prime minister visits on Thursday.It also comes on a day when Sir Keir Starmer refused to deny that his defence budget boost of £6 billion will be spent paying Mauritius to lease back the airbase, after he was confronted on the issue at Prime Minister’s Questions by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.Sir Keir and Mr Lammy hope that they can make a last ditch effort to persuade the president that the deal is “good” and will preserve the legality of the base on Diego Garcia.But they have been unwilling to provide details on the consequences of a deal, which has already been delayed because of a change of government in Mauritius.The Independent has been told that a dossier, prepared by Tory shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick on the legalities of the issue and why there is no need to hand over the islands, has been placed in the hands of Trump aide Stephen Miller.The president is being briefed for questions on the subject when he and Sir Keir meet in the Oval Office on Thursday.David Lammy has been Foreign Secretary since July (Jordan Pettitt/PA) More