UK

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorThe efforts of the chancellor Rachel Reeves to get control of Britain’s finances are being hampered by a massive £47bn bill in outstanding compensation claims which could balloon even further, The Independent can reveal.Analysis of a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) showed £84bn has been pledged by previous governments, with 12 compensation schemes for injustice, cover-ups and negligence.Although much of that sum has been paid out by the British state, almost £47bn is still owed in high-profile cases such as the infected blood and Post Office Horizon scandals.The outstanding total is more than double the £22bn black hole in the nation’s finances that the chancellor revealed to MPs in July which saw her slash winter fuel payments, cancel reforms to social care and cut spending plans including upgrades to the railway network. Ms Reeves has also confirmed that she intends to roll back on her election pledge not to raise taxes.But, alarmingly for the government, the bill could grow even higher. Infected blood scandal victims are expecting more than the £2.2bn currently in the budget to compensate them, while other demands for compensation are still to be decided.The intransigence of the Post Office under former boss Paula Vennells led to subpostmasters being wrongly convicted More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorKeir Starmer has cancelled his holiday next week in the wake of the riots across the country.The prime minister had been expected to travel to the continent for a summer break with his family this weekend.But it is understood he will instead work between No 10 and Chequers, the PM’s grace and favour country home, next week.On Friday the Labour leader warned the police to remain on “high alert” amid fears of more trouble this weekend.6,000 riot officers are being deployed to potential hotspots, in a bid to prevent more violence erupting.Police forces with riot gear prepare for a far-right anti-immigration protest in Newcastle on Saturday More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorBoris Johnson has launched a scathing attack against prime minister Sir Keir Starmer over his handling of the far-right riots and his approach to immigration.The former PM, who was disgraced over breaking lockdown rules during the pandemic and misleading parliament, accused Sir Keir’s government of being “deaf” to public concerns about immigration.Writing in his MailOnline column, Mr Johnson suggested Sir Keir needed to pack his “Factor 50” and go on holiday to reflect on his premiership so far.He added in his outburst: “Nothing excuses a government that seems deaf to public concerns, and that suggests, moreover, that they actively dislike all members of the public who share those concerns.”The former Tory leader accused Sir Keir of giving “the clear impression of a man who has no plan to stop illegal immigration, because he simply doesn’t care”.His comments come after Sir Keir attacked former PM Rishi Sunak’s approach to the small boats crisis as “gimmicks, not serious government” and established the party’s own plans to clamp down on people smugglers back in May.Former PM Boris Johnson has launched an attack on current prime minister Sir Keir Starmer More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorThe former attorney general during the 2011 riots has warned recent far-right violence should be a wake-up call for the country’s broken justice system.Dominic Grieve praised the rapid convictions of those who took part in the violence, saying they had used similar tactics in 2011 and that the authorities in recent days had “risen to the occasion”. So far, more than 480 people have been arrested, with 150 appearing in court and stiff jail terms for those who have been sentenced. But, he stressed, high-profile arrests and sentences will not necessarily prevent future violence on the streets unless extensive court delays caused by years of underfunding are dealt with.England has been plagued by far right riots for the last week More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorKeir Starmer is facing calls to order an inquiry into social media to prevent platforms from turbo-charging future riots in the wake of the appalling scenes in recent days. Cabinet ministers have warned online posts acted as a “rocket booster” for the organisation of violence, while No 10 clashed with Elon Musk after the billionaire used his X platform to claim “civil war is inevitable” in Britain. Vital lessons have to be learnt to stop social media “fuelling” similar outbreaks in the future, the Liberal Democrats said. The prime minister has said the police should remain on “high alert” with fears of more trouble this weekend. Six thousand riot officers are to be deployed to potential hotspots, while almost 600 arrests have now been made in relation to the disorder.Gavin Stephens, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, warned those “intent on violence and destruction have not gone away”.Hundreds of people have been arrested across England More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorTory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch has been accused of being “missing in action” during the violent riots that have swept the UK.While the MP has been active on social media in the last week, sharing posts about minimum service legislation and gender among other issues, she has yet to post anything directly addressing the mass unrest that has taken place since the murder of three young girls in Southport. Over the weekend, when the UK saw its worst levels of violence, Ms Badenoch shared an interview she did with the Telegraph about her leadership bid and “the truth about the recent smears” on her campaign. Southport was among many parts of the UK affected by riots More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorThe role of social media in the violence and disorder on Britain’s streets has become a key issue, with the moderation and regulation of platforms coming under scrutiny.Misinformation spreading online in part helped sparked the riots, and now people are being arrested and charged for inciting hatred or violence through social media platforms.Here is a closer look at how social media content moderation currently works, how posting hateful material can be a crime and how regulation of the sector could change moderation going forward.– How do social media sites moderate content currently?All major social media platforms have community rules that they require their users to follow, but how they enforce these rules can vary depending on how their content moderation teams are set up and how they carry out that process.Most of the biggest sites have several thousand human moderators looking at content that has been flagged to them or has been found proactively by human staff or software and AI-powered tools designed to spot harmful material.– What are the limitations as it stands?There are several key issues with content moderation in general, including: the size of social media makes it hard to find and remove everything harmful posted; moderators – both human and artificial – can struggle to spot nuanced or localised context and, therefore, sometimes mistake the harmful for the innocent; and moderation is heavily reliant on users reporting content to moderators – something which does not always happen in online echo chambers.Furthermore, the use of encrypted messaging on some sites means not all content is publicly visible and can be spotted and reported by other users. Instead, they rely on those inside encrypted groups reporting potentially harmful content.In many instances, social media platforms are taking action against posts inciting or encouraging the disorder (PA) More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorThe Government will have to “look more broadly at social media” after recent rioting, the Prime Minister has said in an apparent hint that further regulation could be considered.False information spread on social media about the identity of the alleged Southport knife attacker has been seen as playing a role in sparking the recent violence, leading some to call for tougher regulation.Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has been among those calling for reform, saying recent events have shown regulations due to come into force under the Online Safety Act are “not fit for purpose”.Elon Musk, the owner of social media platform X, has been criticised for disseminating false information about recent disorder in the UK (Leon Neal/PA) More