UK

The defection of Sir Jake Berry, a former Tory chairman, to Reform was a genuine shock last night.As Kemi Badenoch prepared to give a major speech just hours later on welfare reform, it left her looking increasingly lost and irrelevant.Already, there were questions over why she had chosen today of all days to deliver a major speech when the news was very much focused on migration and the mini-summit between Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, who would be grabbing the attention. But with Sir Jake’s defection, there would only ever be one subject anybody would ask her about at her press conference: “Who is leaving next?”Jake Berry, a former Conservative Party chairman, has joined Reform UK More

The threat of physical attacks by Iran on the UK now matches that of Russia, a watchdog has warned.Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee said the threat from Iran has increased “significantly” since 2022 and was “persistent” and “unpredictable”, in a report published on Thursday.Citing examples of 15 attempted murders or kidnappings of British nationals or UK residents by Iran, the committee said the physical threat posed by the country is “comparable with the threat posed by Russia”. Committee chairman Lord Beamish warned that Iran has “a high appetite for risk when conducting offensive activity” on foreign soil. “Its intelligence services are ferociously well-resourced with significant areas of asymmetric strength,” he said. Iran poses a ‘persistent’ and ‘unpredictable threat’ to the UK, Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee has found. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP) More

Every eligible voter in Britain should be forced to cast a ballot, the Constitution Society has said, warning that plummeting turnouts are fuelling the rise of right-wing populists. The educational charity said “disastrously low” turnout as seen at the last general election (59.7 per cent) is undermining democracy and leaving the young and working class unrepresented. And it said Australian-style compulsory voting would redress the imbalance, forcing MPs and the government to pay attention to the interests of young people and renters. Voters will need to show an accepted form of photo ID at polling stations before voting in Thursday’s elections More

Nigel Farage has landed a major scalp as he seeks to revive the momentum in his flagging Reform UK party with the defection of a former Tory chair.Sir Jake Berry, who chaired the party during Liz Truss’s 49-day premiership and had been a staunch ally of Boris Johnson, has announced in an interview with The Sun that he has joined Reform.The move is a major blow to Tory leader Kemi Badenoch who had hoped she was turning the corner after a difficult start in the role.Sir Jake Berry, a former Conservative party chairman, who announced he has joined Reform UK More

Sir Keir Starmer’s hopes to secure his much vaunted “one in, one out” migrant deal with France were hanging in the balance on Wednesday night.Anglo-French talks on the scheme, which would return some illegal migrants back across the Channel, continued just hours before the start of a bilateral summit to be held on Thursday.The British prime minister had hoped he would be able to announce the migration deal before the French president’s three-day state visit ended at the end of Thursday, with some speculating it would be unveiled at the summit.However, discussions were reported to be deadlocked the night before, with the question of how much the UK will pay towards policing small boat crossings a particular sticking point. Beyond money, further obstacles reportedly cited by aides on both sides included possible legal challenges in France as well as potential opposition from other European countries.In response to reports that a deal had already been agreed and was set to be announced on Thursday, a government source told The Independent: “It’s speculation and talks are ongoing.”Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer at No 10 on Wednesday More

Bridget Phillipson has spoken of her anger over revelations of vulnerable children being placed in squalid homes including one youngster forced to live in a caravan at the cost of £75,000 for the taxpayer.The education secretary has spoken to The Independent ahead of announcing a £53 million to create up to 200 high quality places for children in care to live.The senior minister has vowed to end the practice of vulnerable children being sent to live in care in illegal homes including caravans and dirty bedsits.She warned that the practice of sending children to “illegal accommodation” would be brought to an end.Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson (Jeff Overs/BBC/PA) More

Britain and France will join together to use nuclear weapons against any “extreme threats” towards Europe, Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have declared. A newly-signed declaration by the leaders will state that the two countries’ nuclear deterrents are independent but can be co-ordinated in a joint attack on Europe’s enemies. Officials warned that any adversary threatening the interests of Britain and France would be confronted by the nuclear arsenals of both nations simultaneously. Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron said they would use nuclear weapons jointly More

Kemi Badenoch is poised to unveil a controversial plan to restrict health benefits to only the most severely ill, as she warns of a “ticking time bomb” in the UK’s welfare system.In a speech scheduled for Thursday, the Tory leader will highlight government forecasts suggesting annual spending on health and disability benefits could soar to £70 billion by 2030. Other projections indicate this figure could even reach £100 billion, while the Office for Budget Responsibility has cautioned that a failure to curb the rate of benefit uptake could incur an additional £12 billion in costs.Calling for tougher action on welfare, Ms Badenoch is expected to state: “We should be backing the makers – rewarding the people getting up every morning, working hard to build our country. Our welfare system should look after the most vulnerable in society – not those cheating the system.”As well as restricting benefits to “more serious conditions”, Ms Badenoch is expected to reiterate her policy of preventing foreign nationals claiming welfare.She will say: “It is not fair to spend £1 billion a month on benefits for foreign nationals and on handing out taxpayer-funded cars for conditions like constipation.”Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch More