UK

Donald Trump has thanked an unlikely ally for supporting plans for his new golf course during the official opening at his Aberdeenshire resort.The US president did a lacklustre impression of James Bond star Sir Sean Connery’s accent as he addressed guests and the media from the Scottish resort. Referring to difficulties getting the new site approved, Mr Trump said: “This has been an unbelievable development.”The land, they said it couldn’t get zoned, it was an impossibility.Donald Trump praised Sean Connery’s help in opening his new golf course More

The world economy will grow faster than expected after the impact of Donald Trump’s tariff war waned and imports to the US surged, new projections show. Britain is in line for a small boost with the IMF upgrading its growth predictions by just 0.1 per cent for 2025. Growth is expected to sit at 1.2 per cent this year and 1.4 per cent for 2026, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest World Economic Outlook forecasts. It came as the IMF said the global economy would be more resilient than it expected in May. Global growth is set to be 3 per cent this year and 3.1 per cent next year, up from 2.8 per cent and 3 per cent respectively. Like Britain, Germany and Italy have both had their growth upgraded by 0.1 per cent for 2025, and received no upgrade for 2026. Meanwhile, Canada was handed a marginally bigger upgrade of 0.2 per cent in 2025 and 0.3 per cent in 2026, taking its growth to 1.6 per cent in 2025 and 1.9 per cent in 2026. Rachel Reeves has been accused of talking down the economy More

Nigel Farage has reiterated his demands for a Cabinet minister to apologise for accusing him of being on the side of “extreme pornographers”.A row broke out on Tuesday morning after Peter Kyle said the Reform UK leader is on the side of “people like Jimmy Savile” over the party’s pledge to scrap the Online Safety Act.Mr Farage labelled Technology Secretary Mr Kyle’s remarks as “below the belt” and “so absolutely disgusting that it’s almost beyond belief”, and urged people to sign a petition calling for the legislation to be repealed.Former Reform chair Zia Yusuf said on Monday that the party would repeal the legislation if they got into Government.“I see that Nigel Farage is already saying that he’s going to overturn these laws,” Mr Kyle told Sky News.“So you know, we have people out there who are extreme pornographers, peddling hate, peddling violence. Nigel Farage is on their side.“Make no mistake about it, if people like Jimmy Savile were alive today, he’d be perpetrating his crimes online. And Nigel Farage is saying that he’s on their side.”Responding to Mr Kyle on a live stream on Tuesday morning, Mr Farage said: “Just how low can the Labour Government sink in its desperation?“Yes, of course they’re in trouble. They’re well behind us in the opinion polls. But frankly, to say that I would do anything that would in any way aid and abet people like Jimmy Savile, it’s so below the belt it’s almost not true.”He also reiterated his demand for an apology and added: “We’re not going to get one. I think perhaps the best thing we can do is to sign the petition to repeal the Online Safety Act. That’s what I’m going to do today. I think it makes sense. I’m deeply worried about the implications for free speech.”Under rules that came into effect on July 25, online platforms such as social media sites and search engines must take steps to prevent children accessing harmful content such as pornography or material that encourages suicide.Mr Yusuf has said that the laws work to “suppress freedom of speech” and “force social media companies to censor anti-Government speech”.After being asked by Mr Farage to apologise on social media, Mr Kyle doubled down on his comments, claiming that wanting to “overturn” the Act puts somebody “on the side of predators”.Mr Yusuf has claimed that Mr Kyle’s remarks showed “how deeply unserious” the Government was about child safety, adding: “Talking about Jimmy Savile in that way does nothing other than denigrate the victims of Jimmy Savile.”He told Sky News that the comments are “one of the most outrageous and disgusting things a politician has said in the political arena that I can remember. And that’s quite a high bar, frankly.”Sir Keir Starmer jumped to defend the legislation from its critics when he met Donald Trump on Monday, telling reporters: “We’re not censoring anyone.“We’ve got some measures which are there to protect children, in particular, from sites like suicide sites.”The Prime Minister added: “I personally feel very strongly that we should protect our young teenagers, and that’s what it usually is, from things like suicide sites. I don’t see that as a free speech issue, I see that as child protection.” More

A row has broken out between Labour and Nigel Farage after a Cabinet minister accused the Reform UK leader of being on the side of Jimmy Savile and “extreme pornographers” over his opposition to new online safety laws. The technology secretary Peter Kyle accused the Reform UK leader of wanting to “turn the clock back to the time when strange adults, strangers can get in touch via messaging apps with children”.It came after Mr Farage’s party promised to scrap the Online Safety Act – a new set of laws aimed at protecting children and adults online – dubbing it a “dystopian” infringement of free speech. Responding in a virtual broadcast on Tuesday morning, Mr Farage said the “below the belt” comments were “so disgusting its almost beyond belief”. Peter Kyle’s comments sparked backlash More

Former Labour MP Zarah Sultana has revealed what she wants the new left-wing party she has founded with Jeremy Corbyn to be called. The Coventry South MP, who quit Labour earlier this month to launch the new group, is pushing for the name to be ‘The Left’.However, the name, already a well-known phrase used to describe left-wing parties and activists in the UK, risks repeating the same confusion that occurred when the movement was officially announced last week. At that stage Mr Corbyn unveiled its existence with a message saying “this is your party” and urging his followers to go to the website yourparty.uk. Many assumed the party’s new name was simply Your Party, prompting Ms Sultana to clarify on social media: “It’s not called Your Party.”The party is a joint venture between MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More

Donald Trump has hit out at Keir Starmer’s taxes on North Sea oil just hours after praising the prime minister when the two met at his Scottish golf course. The president said the resource is a “treasure chest for the United Kingdom” as he urged Starmer to ”incentivise the drillers”.It comes less than a day after Trump described Sir Keir as “strong” and “respected” in an impromptu press conference on Monday, even saying that he wanted “to make the prime minister happy.” Now the president has used his Truth Social network to attack North Sea oil taxes, which he said make “no sense”. He posted: “North Sea Oil is a TREASURE CHEST for the United Kingdom. The taxes are so high, however, that it makes no sense. “They have essentially told drillers and oil companies that, “we don’t want you.” Incentivize the drillers, FAST. A VAST FORTUNE TO BE MADE for the UK, and far lower energy costs for the people!”The two men met at Trump’s Scottish golf course More

The Netherlands will ban two far-right Israeli ministers from entering the country, in the latest European response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Gaza, the country’s foreign minister said. The ban and other measures were announced in a letter Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp sent to lawmakers late Monday evening, declaring “The war in Gaza must stop.” The ban targets hard-line National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, key partners in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition. The pair are champions of the Israeli settlement movement who support continuing the war in Gaza, facilitating what they call the voluntary emigration of its Palestinian population and the building of Jewish settlements there.Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway imposed financial sanctions on the two men last month. Later on Tuesday, leaders will meet in Brussels to discuss a European Union response, including evaluating a trade agreement between the bloc and Israel. The Netherlands wants part of that agreement to be suspended. Ben-Gvir and Smotrich remained defiant. In a statement on social media, Smotrich said European leaders were surrendering to “the lies of radical Islam” and that Jews may not be able to live safely in Europe in the future. Ben-Gvir said he will “continue to act” and said that in Europe “a Jewish minister from Israel is unwanted, terrorists are free, and Jews are boycotted.” Pressure has been mounting on the Dutch government, which is gearing up for elections in October, to change course on Israeli policy. Last week, thousands demonstrated at train stations across the country, carrying pots and pans to signify the food shortage in Gaza. The government will also summon the Israeli ambassador to the Netherlands to urge Netanyahu to change course and “immediately take measures that lead to a substantial and rapid improvement in the humanitarian situation throughout the Gaza Strip,” Veldkamp wrote. After international pressure, Israel over the weekend announced humanitarian pauses, airdrops and other measures meant to allow more aid to Palestinians in Gaza. But people there say little or nothing has changed on the ground. The U.N. has described it as a one-week scale-up of aid, and Israel has not said how long these latest measures would last.Israel asserts that Hamas is the reason aid isn’t reaching Palestinians in Gaza and accuses its militants of siphoning off aid to support its rule in the territory. The U.N. denies that looting of aid is systematic and says it lessens or ends entirely when enough aid is allowed to enter Gaza. Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, are currently wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. The men are accused of using “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid, and of intentionally targeting civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. Member states of the ICC are obliged to arrest the men if they arrive on their territory. More