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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 moreRachel Reeves has called on European allies to follow the UK’s lead and “step up” on defence after Keir Starmer’s pledge to boost spending to 3 per cent.In a move to underscore the reasoning behind the controversial budget shift, the chancellor wrote in The Telegraph it was the duty of the government to respond to Russian aggression by increasing defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP in the next to years, before going further following the next election.“This is a generational moment for our Continent. All of us must step up and do more on defence,” Ms Reeves said. “That is why over the coming days I will be talking to European counterparts at the G20 in South Africa about the importance of security and defence for our economies, and how we can work together to bolster them.”The chancellor said Britain had stepped up at “every moment of history” when the world became less secure, referencing Winston Churchill’s stance against Nazi Germany, the post-war Labour government’s involvement in founding Nato, and the previous Conservative government’s support for Ukraine.Ms Reeves’ comments come as US president Donald Trump pressures European allies in Nato to boost their own share of the cost of defence as the administration brokers a deal with Russia to end the Ukraine war.Keir Starmer said Britain was confronting a “generational moment” 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 moreSir Keir Starmer is facing a fresh backlash over the two-child benefit cap after a key economic think tank warned child poverty would hit an all-time high if it is not scrapped. The prime minister has been urged to rethink the Conservative-era limit after the Resolution Foundation said his strategy to tackle child poverty would lack credibility if it remains in place. Furious Labour MPs told The Independent the two-child limit was a “critical issue” for the government to address, branding it the biggest driver of rising child poverty. Keir Starmer is under fresh pressure over 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 moreTwo out of three voters want Sir Keir Starmer to agree an “Australian-style” youth mobility scheme with the European Union as part of his post-Brexit reset of relations with the bloc, a new poll has found.The survey of almost 15,000 people, by YouGov for campaign group Best for Britain, shows overwhelming public support for the idea with a majority of voters in every constituency across the UK supportive of the proposal.It found that two-thirds (66 per cent) back the scheme, compared to just one in five (18 per cent) who are opposed.In Nigel Farage’s Clacton constituency, which voted overwhelmingly in favour of leaving the EU in 2016, more than twice as many people were in favour (57 per cent) than against (25 per cent) the idea of a mobility scheme.The same was true in totemic red-wall seats like Bishop Auckland (63 per cent vs 19 per cent) and Ashfield (59 per cent vs 22 per cent), the latter of which is held by Mr Farage’s Reform UK colleague Lee Anderson.The move would see tens of thousands of workers and students from the EU allowed to live and work in the UK for a few years, with 18 to 30-year-old Britons granted similar access to the EU. The survey of almost 15,000 people shows overwhelming public support for the idea 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 moreMeta’s removal of third-party fact checkers from its platforms will allow “racist misinformation” to spread, MPs have warned.The social media giant denied that it was ending fact-checking on its app, but was instead “moving to a system which is more scalable” following “feedback” from its users.In January, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg announced the change, saying at the time that fact-checkers were too “politically biased” and were having an impact on “free expression” – a move seen by many as an attempt to get closer to the pro-free speech stance of the incoming Donald Trump administration.During an appearance before MPs on the Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee, Chris Yiu, Meta’s director of public policy for northern Europe said the decision to replace third-party fact checkers with a community notes system in the US, and to reduce content moderation on some topics was based on feedback that debate on sensitive issues was being “suppressed”.The committee noted that Meta had previously submitted evidence to it that third-party fact-checking was a key part of the firm’s approach to combating misinformation.Mr Yiu was asked by MPs on the committee how this fitted with leaked guidelines for the changed content moderation approach and community notes system which showed the site would now allow a range of transphobic, racist and antisemitic statements, including statements such as: “trans people don’t exist”, “immigrants are filthy” and “Jews are greedier than Christians” – which were labelled “racist misinformation” by the committee.In response, Mr Yiu said: “I accept that some of those are difficult for the communities that are affected to hear.“We have received feedback over the months and years that in some cases, some areas of debate were being suppressed too much on our platform, and that some conversations, whilst challenging, should have a space to be discussed.“We retain clear rules and community standards prohibiting content which is designed to incite violence.”Responding to Mr Yiu, Emily Darlington MP asked whether Meta believed there was a “genuine debate” around the example statements on trans people, Jewish people and immigrants.“We’ve had feedback that topics which have become part of mainstream discourse – conversations around some of the issues that happen among members of the public, that happen in newspapers, were being suppressed on our platforms in a way which was too aggressive,” Mr Yiu said.“Where people make statements that violate our policies, they will be actioned equally. We’ve had the feedback that there are topics where the view was that there there should be more room for debate and conversation.”Committee chair Chi Onwurah MP warned Meta that by allowing such statements to be appear on the platform, they were in fact “amplifying” such content.“It’s not the same as a conversation in somebody’s home,” she said.“This is something that people are going to see in their feeds.”Chris Morris, chief executive of independent fact-checking charity Full Fact, said Meta was “dismantling” processes that lead users to “good information” online.“Meta’s claim that it is not ending fact checking in the US isn’t credible and lacks context,” he said.“Replacing experts trained to establish factual accuracy with a community notes model designed to reach consensus risks skewing information circulating on Meta platforms towards what some users think rather than what the evidence says.“Community notes have a role to play in improving our online conversation, but is not the same as independent fact checking.”Elsewhere during the session, where representatives from TikTok and Elon Musk’s X were also giving evidence, Ms Darlington clashed with X executive Wilfredo Fernandez over the firm’s content policies.She read out a violent threat made to her in the replies to her own post on X, as well as a string of racist, antisemitic, homophobic and violent posts from the same account that were also posted to the platform.“Is this acceptable under the guise of free speech on X these days?,” she asked Mr Fernandez.The X executive said the comments were “abhorrent” and that he would ensure “our teams take a look”, but when pressed on whether the account in question would be removed he added that he “can’t make any assurances”.“I can assure you that our teams will review under our terms of service, and I’m sorry that you had to experience that,” he said.Mr Fernandez also refused to be drawn on whether the sharing of videos of Mr Musk’s recent gesture at a Donald Trump rally – widely interpreted as a Nazi salute – was appropriate and made X a safer platform.“I think there’s a lot of discussion around that, and that’s why the platform allows for people to debate it and discuss it,” he said. 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 moreSir Keir Starmer has bowed to pressure from Donald Trump to boost defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by slashing foreign aid.The announcement came just 24 hours before Sir Keir flies to Washington DC for his first meeting with the US president since the inauguration last month.It comes at a time when the White House is piling pressure on European allies in Nato to massively increase their own share of the cost of defence as Trump appears to be on the verge of turning his back on Ukraine.The announcement to a stunned parliament has been condemned by senior Labour figures including former foreign secretary David Miliband and aid charities who have accused Starmer of “abandoning the poorest in the world”.Keir Starmer is set to meet Donald Trump in the White House this week 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 moreWatch as Sir Keir Starmer holds a press conference on Tuesday, 25 February, after announcing he will slash the foreign aid budget to hike defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP to counter “tyrants” like Vladimir Putin.The prime minister said spending on defence will rise from its current 2.3 per cent share of the economy to 2.5 per cent in 2027, meaning spending £13.4bn more every year from 2027.Sir Keir has acknowledged the increase will require what he described as “extremely difficult and painful choices”.The PM said he wants the figure to reach 3 per cent of gross domestic product during the next parliament.However, to fund it development assistance aid will need to be slashed from its current level of 0.5 per cent of gross national income to 0.3 per cent in 2027.Sir Keir said the plan amounts to “the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War”.His move comes just a day before he travels to Washington for a crunch meeting with Donald Trump, who has repeatedly pushed Nato countries such as Britain to bolster their armed forces as he seeks to negotiate an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Sir Keir will hope the spending boost, which he said will mean an extra £13.4 billion for defence every year from 2027, will placate Mr Trump, who wants Europe to be less reliant on the US for support. 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 moreSir Keir Starmer is travelling to Washington this week armed having freshly announced plans to slash the foreign aid budget in order to fund a boost to Britain’s defence spending, which he hopes will help the UK avoid any conflict with US president Donald Trump. The prime minister outlined plans for Britain to spend 2.5 per cent of its GDP on defence by 2027, up from 2.3 per cent currently, which he said amounted to a £13.4 billion annual uplift. It comes amid calls from Mr Trump for Nato countries to significantly bolster their armed forces as he seeks to negotiate an end to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Why is defence spending being increased? Sir Keir has faced flak from the left of the Labour Party for prioritising a boost for Britain’s armed forces over spending on public services or tackling child poverty. Keir Starmer outlined plans to hike Britain’s defence 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 moreFarmers have accused the government of “promising the world and giving us nothing” as the environment secretary faced another barrage of criticism over Labour’s inheritance tax raid on family farms. Steve Reed sought to shift the blame for the challenges facing the agricultural industry onto the Conservatives’ Brexit deal, which he said had left farmers “badly let down”.Mr Reed said farmers had been sold a lie during Brexit talks that they would maintain access to European markets, but that Sir Keir Starmer’s ongoing reset of post-Brexit relations with Brussels would help address the dropoff, which has seen exports to Europe have fallen by a fifth since 2018.But farmers immediately hit back at Mr Reed, accusing Labour of being “determined to make the Tories’ Brexit work”. “They are aggressively trying to derail a legal challenge to the dreadful Australian trade deal which saw Boris Johnson famously ‘cede the whole kingdom over dinner’,” Save British Farming founder Liz Webster told The Independent.Steve Reed said farmers have been ‘badly let down’ by Brexit More