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Sir Keir Starmer said allies must “step up” support for Ukraine, as he met the country’s president amid uncertainty about the future of US backing for Kyiv after Donald Trump’s election victory. The Prime Minister told Volodymyr Zelensky the UK had an “unwavering” commitment to help the country defend itself against Russia’s invasion during bilateral talks at a European Political Community summit in Hungary. Sir Keir also said the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia was “proof of Putin’s increasing desperation” and that the UK would stand with Ukraine “for as long as it takes for Russia to withdraw”....

An Oxford University student killed himself after becoming a victim of “pervasive cancel culture” over an unproven allegation made by his ex, a UK court has heard. The body of 20-year-old Alexander Rogers was pulled from the River Thames on Jan. 15 — just days after his friends and classmates stopped speaking to him when his former partner aired the unknown allegation, This Is Oxfordshire reported. The unspecified allegation was not reported to authorities or the school, but resulted in Rogers being “ostracized” as part of a “pile-on” effect, a court hearing into his death was told. Dr. Dominique Thompson,...

Donald Trump's presidential victory means some U.S. allies may have to reckon with prior scathing remarks as their countries prepare to build diplomatic ties with a president-elect whose return they may not have anticipated. “The most destructive president in history,” Australian Ambassador to the U.S. Kevin Rudd said of Trump in 2020, who “drags America and democracy through the mud.” “A woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathizing sociopath” and a “profound threat to the international order,” David Lammy, the U.K.'s current foreign secretary, said in 2018. “A political pyromaniac who must be put before a criminal court,” Jean Asselborn, then-foreign minister for Luxembourg, said...

Donald Trump's victory yesterday sparked a barrage of calls for a hike in UK defence spending amid fears the US could pull out of NATO. A string of former defence secretaries said ministers should set a timetable for increasing military funding to 3 per cent of GDP in case Mr Trump reduces support for UK-backed campaigns, such as the war in Ukraine. And new Tory leader Kemi Badenoch rounded on Sir Keir Starmer over the issue during her first Prime Minister's Questions, challenging him to commit to hiking spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP. During the US election campaign,...

Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump have agreed the relationship between the UK and US is "incredibly strong" and will "continue to thrive", Downing Street has said. In the first phone call between the pair after the US election, the PM offered his "hearty congratulations" to Trump after his "historic victory" and said he looked forward to working closely with the President-elect, a No 10 spokeswoman said. It comes after Kemi Badenoch urged Sir Keir to apologise for "derogatory" comments made about Trump by David Lammy before he was foreign secretary. In her first appearance in Parliament as Conservative leader,...

Iran said on Saturday it had arrested the head of a US-based “terrorist group” accused of being behind a deadly 2008 bombing in the southern city of Shiraz and planning other attacks. “Jamshid Sharmahd, who was leading armed and sabotage operations inside Iran, is now in the powerful hands” of Iran’s security forces, state television said, citing an intelligence ministry statement. It did not elaborate on where or when the alleged leader of the opposition royalist group known as the Kingdom Assembly of Iran, or Tondar (Farsi for Thunder), was detained. Iran slammed its arch enemy the United States for...

Two British music producers have flown to the US to campaign for Kamala Harris, describing Donald Trump’s allyship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin as “terrifying” for the UK. Dan Glatman and Jon Cohen landed on Thursday in Pennsylvania, a battleground swing state, joining an army of volunteers knocking on doors and engaging with voters ahead of polling day on Tuesday. The London-born pair have no vote or stake in the US election, but 52-year-old Mr Cohen told the PA news agency it was becoming impossible to overlook when the “stakes are so high”. Mr Cohen, whose producing credits include Joss...

Conservative party announces Badenoch has beaten rival Robert Jenrick in ballot of party members Five things to know about Kemi Badenoch Kemi Badenoch is the new Conservative party leader after defeating Robert Jenrick in a members’ vote, becoming the first Black leader of a major UK party and the fourth woman to lead the Tories. Badenoch took just over 56% of the 95,000 votes, in a poll that had a 73% turnout of eligible members. This amounts to the narrowest win of the four since the party changed its rules to allow party members the final say in contested leadership...

Never frightened to ruffle feathers, Kemi Badenoch's willingness to say what others may regard as unsayable has made her the darling of the Tory grassroots. Her task now will be to convince voters to agree with her views as much as the Conservative Party members who have made her leader today.

Kemi Badenoch has promised to win back voters who have deserted the Conservatives after securing an historic victory in the party's leadership contest. The 44-year-old becomes the first black woman to lead a major political party in the UK. She defeated fellow right-winger Robert Jenrick, 42, by 12,418 votes after a marathon contest to replace Rishi Sunak, who led the party to the biggest defeat in its history in July's general election. In her victory speech, Badenoch promised to "renew" the party and told cheering supporters it was "time to get down to business".

Kemi Badenoch has promised to win back voters who have deserted the Conservatives after securing an historic victory in a party leadership contest against fellow right-winger Robert Jenrick. The 44-year-old becomes the first black woman to lead a major political party in the UK. She defeated Jenrick by 12,418 votes after a marathon contest to replace Rishi Sunak, who led the party to the biggest defeat in the party's history in July's general election. In her victory speech, Badenoch promised to "renew" the party and told cheering supporters it was "time to get down to business". Badenoch, who is the...

An migrant who was arrested at the border for crossing illegally before being cut loose has been charged with raping a five-year-old girl on Long Island. Wilson Castillo Diaz, 26, of Westbury, is accused of raping the young victim at an undisclosed location on October 16, according to Nassau County Police. Diaz, who illegally crossed the US border near Rio Grande, Texas in April 2014, was arrested by US Border Patrol agents and then released.

Kemi Badenoch has received a flurry of late endorsements for the Tory leadership, in a sign that some Conservative MPs believe she is set to win the race on Saturday. The shadow communities secretary has been backed by five new Tories in the past fortnight, including two members of the shadow cabinet. Robert Jenrick, the former immigration minister who is Mrs Badenoch’s rival in the two-horse race, has picked up two new Tory MP endorsements. It means Mrs Badenoch is now backed by 13 other members of the Tory shadow cabinet, while Mr Jenrick has the backing of three.

Sir Keir Starmer has warned NHS staff they are likely to see their workload 'go up, not down' – just a day after the service secured billions more pounds in the Budget. Speaking on a hospital visit alongside Chancellor Rachel Reeves yesterday, the Prime Minister told clinicians: 'We are going to be asking more of you.' His remarks risk deepening the workforce crisis, which has seen burnt-out staff quitting their jobs for less stressful and better-paid roles overseas. The tax rises and increased borrowing in the Budget will provide the NHS with an extra £3.1billion to spend on capital over...

Axel Rudakubana, accused of the knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July, is alleged to have made ricin – a biological toxin – and kept materials related to the terrorist group.... al-Qaeda material was found during a search of Rudakubana’s house. It was a PDF entitled Military studies in the jihad against the tyrants: The al-Qaeda training manual.

The poster at right has appeared on the streets of Paris. Across the Channel, the New Londoners are tearing it down: What is it with some Muslims? Again some have torn down images of the hostages held in Gaza & now tearing down images of the three little girls murdered in Southport. Perhaps to them, Jewish & European lives do not matter. pic.twitter.com/00inR7wB2j — David Atherton (@DaveAtherton20) October 31, 2024 Diversity is where nations go to die - and their successors would rather you die unmourned, as the Christian community in Iraq did, on America's watch. The three girls slaughtered...

The Budget will embrace the "harsh light of fiscal reality" but "better days are ahead", Sir Keir Starmer has said in a speech ahead of Wednesday's announcement. Speaking in Birmingham, the prime minister said his government would take "tough decisions", opting to raise taxes in order "to prevent austerity and rebuild public services". Although he did not set out many details of the Budget, he did say the £2 bus fare cap in England, which had been expected to end, would instead be replaced by a £3 cap, funded to the end of 2025. He also announced £240m aimed at...

The Republic of Ireland has implemented censorship zones legislation banning prayer and offers of help to pregnant women outside abortion centres. All locations where abortions take place, including GP surgeries, now have surrounding 100m zones criminalising anyone who hands out pro-life literature or speaks to anyone about abortion. This applies to houses and churches bordering public spaces, banning such activities from gardens, doorways or windows. Under the Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Act 2024, those who continue their conduct after being informed that it is prohibited may be fined or imprisoned up to six months. ‘Abortion is...

It could be worse. Mark could be banged up in Belmarsh like poor old Tommy. Today, Justice Farbey of the High Court in London ruled: 1) the costs demanded by Ofcom are to be sent for detailed assessment on the standard basis 2) there will be a payment on account of £50,000 by 19 November 2024 3) Costs of today to be paid by the Claimants, save in relation to the written submissions which will be paid at 50% Mark will have twenty-one days to consider an appeal. Ofcom had demanded £144,959.28, refused to provide detailed billing to justify that...

"They are both evil beyond all imagination, there is no lesser evil"Roger Waters has urged followers on social media not to vote for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump in the upcoming US election, due to their respective stances on the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. Waters has frequently spoken on the issue since last October when over a thousand Israelis were killed by Hamas forces at a music festival. Following the attack, the Israeli cabinet formally declared war against Hamas, leading to the most significant escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in several decades and triggering unprecedented and seemingly unrelenting violence. According...