UK

An under-siege Keir Starmer is facing a showdown with Donald Trump over “free speech” in the UK, which could derail crucial talks during the US president’s state visit.Senior Washington sources have told The Independent that free speech is now top of the president’s agenda when he visits Chequers on Thursday for talks with the prime minister at the end of his trip.The issue could derail hopes by the UK government to get a deal to remove steel tariffs and will take up time they want to use to discuss the increasingly complex picture on the international stage, given the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.It will not, though, wreck an expected announcement on a major new tech partnership between the two countries, partly because insiders claim “Trump needs Britain to succeed”.And on Monday, Sir Keir will reveal a “landmark” deal to boost the building of nuclear plants in both countries, to be signed during Trump’s visit. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been struck by one scandal after another (Alberto Pezzali/PA) More

The government has been warned against allowing amendments from the Lords to water down its flagship Employment Rights Bill, with seven leading women’s organisations arguing that this would hamper efforts to tackle gender inequality. In a joint letter to the new business secretary, Peter Kyle, seen by The Independent, the Women’s Budget Group, the Fawcett Society, Young Women’s Trust, Rights of Women, Women’s Resource Centre, Pregnant Then Screwed, and Maternity Action have warned that the measures included in the bill are “crucial to improving women’s material living conditions and to reducing the gender pay gap”. The letter is in response to a number of amendments made to the legislation in the House of Lords before the summer recess, including proposals to introduce a six-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal and to make the right to a guaranteed hours contract a right to request, rather than a right to be offered.Equalities minister Bridget Phillipson said the bill would be delivered in full More

The name Morgan McSweeney may not be on the lips of people down in the pub or at the school gate but it is one that those in the Westminster bubble are obsessed with.Labour MPs are particularly aware of the Downing Street chief of staff’s power and importance, either as something they consider to be a toxic poison at the heart of government or the means of future preferment and promotion.So reports that Sir Keir Starmer was “screaming” at his chief of staff, telling him “you were supposed to protect me” over the Lord Mandelson debacle is a sign that this government is in incredibly serious trouble.Chief of staff Morgan McSweeney is a powerful figure More

A senior cabinet minister has admitted that “political considerations” about Peter Mandelson’s “outstanding singular talents” meant security concerns about the Labour peer being made ambassador to the US were ignored.Business secretary Peter Kyle repeated the claim on Sky News and BBC on Sunday morning that “new information” coming to light over Lord Mandelson’s relationship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein led to his sacking on Friday.Last week The Independent revealed that Sir Keir pushed through his appointment earlier this year despite failing security vetting by MI6. Mr Kyle refused to say if the prime minister spoke to Lord Mandelson directly to let him know he was sacked, nor whether the appointment had been a mistake in the first place.Mandelson was sacked as the UK’s representative in Washington on Thursday More

Keir Starmer is facing growing questions over his leadership of the Labour party and the country after a disastrous fortnight. In the last two weeks his deputy prime minister had to resign after she admitted she had not paid enough tax, his ambassador to Washington was sacked in a row over his links to notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his long-planned government ‘reset’ appears to have fallen flat. The PM is now facing increasing demands to explain what he knew and when over Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein – and defend his decision to appoint the Labour grandee, forced to resign from government twice already. Some Labour MPs believe a major change is needed in their government including, potentially, a change of leader. A new campaigning group within the party, Mainstream, was launched by Andy Burnham this week and could become a vehicle for precisely that new direction. Sir Keir Starmer is facing mounting pressure from his own party in a week where he stood by British ambassador to the United States Lord Peter Mandelson – then sacked him More

Lord Mandelson could be in line for a substantial taxpayer-funded payout after he was sacked by Sir Keir Starmer over his relationship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Sir Keir, who picked the Labour grandee to be the UK’s man in Washington, dramatically sacked him after the publication of emails which showed Lord Mandelson sent supportive messages even as Epstein faced jail for sex offences. No 10 said the emails revealed “materially different” information from what was known when the peer was appointed. But by deciding not to resign in the wake of the emails, Lord Mandelson could have to be compensated, experts have warned.Lord Mandelson was removed from his position as ambassador to the US earlier this week (PA) More

No 10 officials were aware of emails between Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein before Sir Keir Starmer defended the peer during Prime Minister’s Questions.But the PM is understood not to have been aware of their contents until Wednesday evening, after he told the Commons he had “confidence” in his ambassador, a situation a Labour MP has condemned as “embarrassing”.Olivia Blake also called for her party to look at forcing the peer to give up his plum seat in the House of Lords in the wake of the furore – hours after fellow backbencher Clive Lewis hit out at Sir Keir saying he “doesn’t seem up to the job”. Sir Keir, who picked the Labour grandee to be the UK’s man in Washington, sacked him after the publication of the emails, which showed Lord Mandelson sent supportive messages even as Epstein faced jail for sex offences.The Foreign Office is understood to have received a media enquiry outlining details of the messages on Tuesday, which was passed on to No 10. Sir Oliver Robbins, the permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office, asked Lord Mandelson about the emails but did not hear back until Wednesday afternoon. But, with pressure mounting over their contents, the ambassador was sacked on Thursday morning. Keir Starmer’s appointment of Lord Mandelson was a political gamble (Carl Court/PA) More