Free Republic

Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed the UK must rejoin the EU if the US leaves NATO, as US President Donald Trump has threatened to pull away if the pact does not support his Middle East war. Trump, a fierce critic of the defence bloc, has been left unimpressed by fellow members and their refusal to get involved in his war with Iran. The Ukrainian leader said that in order to bolster Europe's defence against Russia, the UK ought to reset relations with the continent. Zelensky said on Friday: 'If the United States truly thinks about withdrawing from NATO, then European security...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that whatever the pressure, Britain ​would not be dragged into the Iran war nor be involved in ‌a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. "We're not supporting the blockade," he told BBC Radio 5 Live, adding that it was vital to get the Strait reopened. "It is, in my view, vital that ​we get the Strait open and fully open, and that's where we've put ​all of our efforts in the last few weeks and we'll ⁠continue to do so," Starmer said. Britain had minesweepers in the region, he said, and ​while...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended NATO on Wednesday after President Trump suggested that the U.S. would reconsider its membership to the longstanding alliance once the conflict with Iran concludes. “NATO is the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen,” Starmer told reporters during a press conference at Downing Street. “It has kept us safe for many decades, and we are fully committed to NATO.” Starmer refused to bow to “pressure” from Trump, reaffirming the U.K.’s stance against wider involvement in the joint U.S.-Israeli military operation. “Whatever the pressure on me and others, whatever the noise, I’m...

Identical twins who had sex with the same woman within four days of each other can’t know for sure who fathered her child, a UK court ruled recently. Only one of the brothers can be listed on the birth certificate for the child, but right now it is “not possible” to confirm who the biological parent is, the Court of Appeals in London said, according to reports. The baby’s mother and one of the twins sought court intervention to grant him parental responsibility after the other brother was registered as the tot’s father on the paperwork based on a past...

At least 20 casualties after a car drives into pedestrians outside a nightclub in Derby, England, police say

The Royal Navy was facing growing criticism over its effectiveness as Defence Secretary John Healey struggled to say how many warships it has. The Cabinet minister came under fire after been grilled on how many frigates there are in the navy as he took to the airwaves to say British forces may now intercept Russian “shadow fleet” vessels in the Channel. “We have...we have...we have...we have...we have...we have 17 frigates and destroyers,” he told LBC Radio. “It’s down from 23 at the end of the last Labour government.”

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK could win a staggering 2,260 seats at next month’s local elections in England. Polling experts are predicting the biggest victory in decades. And they have warned that Labour could lose almost 2,000 councillors as the nation turns on Sir Keir Starmer. The Tories are also expected to suffer a brutal night on May 7, which could see them losing more than 1,000 seats. Zack Polanski’s Green Party is likely to be the biggest beneficiary, boosting its numbers on councils across the country by around 450. According to leading psephologist Steve Fisher, Reform UK’s expected victories will...

The British people want discussions with Argentina over the Falkland Islands, and those living in the “usurped” territory would accept a handover, a top politician has claimed. Daniel Filmus was the secretary for the affairs concerning the Malvinas - his country’s name for the archipelago - between 2014 and 2015, and later from 2019 until 2021. Speaking to The Express in Buenos Aires via an interpreter he insisted: “The British people want a dialogue about the Malvinas.” When asked why he thinks this, the former senator claimed that surveys have suggested that 95% of the Argentine people uphold sovereignty claims,...

As Western forces launched strikes against Iran, most expected tensions to rise in the Middle East. Few expected a different kind of shockwave--one rippling through the streets, communities, and polling data of Britain itself. Yet that is exactly what has emerged: not just disagreement, but a deep and widening divide over who the enemy is--and who deserves support.New polling conducted between March 2nd and 13th--during the opening phase of the American-Israeli military operation against Iran--reveals something far more serious than policy disagreement. It suggests that a significant portion of Britain's Muslim population did not simply question the West's actions. They...

Britain has failed white working-class boys, who remain the worst-performing group in England’s schools, Lord Sewell will tell Sir Keir Starmer this week. The Tory peer, the author of a report on race and ethnic disparities, will say the group is still stuck at the bottom of the class after successive governments ignored his warnings. In 2021, after the Black Lives Matter movement, Lord Sewell was asked by Boris Johnson to chair an inquiry by 10 commissioners, all but one of whom were from ethnic minorities. Their 250-page report said the biggest drivers of disparities were not race but class,...

A communal iftar in the heart of London has ignited a fierce political row in the United Kingdom. On March 16 afternoon, around 3,000 Muslims gathered at Trafalgar Square for the annual “Open Iftar”, an event held since 2019 to mark the breaking of the Ramadan fast. Hundreds of attendees, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan, joined the call to prayer, kneeling at Trafalgar Square. Khan hailed the gathering as a reflection of London’s inclusive ethos, saying the city “celebrates and champions our diversity”. What began as a symbolic display of unity quickly spiralled into controversy. Conservative MP and UK’s shadow...

Britain was built on seapower and is the “nation of Nelson” but has been emasculated and humiliated on the world stage by its own government... Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage said the British people are deeply concerned about the state of the nation and worried about the point it has reached, at a rally of members and supporters in Milton Keynes on Tuesday evening, as he decried developments of recent weeks as underlining the state of decay under years of defense cuts. We are utterly broken ....... In remarks that Mr Farage said: …we’ve allowed large groups of people...

A red fox stowed away on a cargo ship that departed Southampton, England, and was found by customs officers at the Port of New York and New Jersey. The Wildlife Conservation Society, which operates the Bronx Zoo in New York, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered the approximately 2-year-old male fox hiding among the ship's cargo when it arrived at the Port Authority. The 11-pound fox was brought to the Bronx Zoo on Feb. 19. "The fox is currently in the Animal Health Center at the Bronx Zoo, where it is under the care of the zoo's animal...

Is the West sleepwalking into a crisis it refuses to talk about? Tommy Robinson sits down with Gabe Groisman to explain why he believes the UK has already crossed a tipping point on immigration, free speech and cultural change...and why Americans should be paying close attention. From censorship battles and social-media bans to his personal run-ins with the British legal system, Robinson lays out his case for why he says Western institutions are hiding uncomfortable truths. Viewers will learn how debates around Islam, migration and free speech are unfolding in Europe, why Robinson says social media censorship changed the political...

The war with Iran kicked off its second week on Saturday after US and Israeli forces launched attacks that took out Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of senior Iranian officials. Now the US is expanding air operations. During a press conference last Wednesday, War Secretary Pete Hegseth said the B-52s would be among the airpower used “controlling the skies, picking targets,” and bringing “death and destruction from the sky all day long.” “As President Trump said, more and larger waves are coming. We are just getting started. We are accelerating, not decelerating,” he added. “Now with complete control...

People on the Falkland Islands have said they have forgotten what fresh food looks like with a crucial shipment of supplies delayed. Residents are waiting for the latest supply vessel to arrive from Uruguay, which usually lands every four to five weeks, but there has not been one for three months. It is thought that the boat will arrive on Saturday, March 8. There is a shortage of fresh fruit, vegetables and processed bread, as well as “no cheese”. The shipments are done via Uruguay because Argentina “wouldn’t allow them”. Cathy Jacobson, 67, originally from Southampton, runs the Victory Bar...

Britain's aircraft carrier could require a French escort to the Middle East as there are not enough Royal Navy ships to do the job. HMS Prince of Wales has been upgraded to advanced readiness, as criticism mounts over Britain's military response to the conflict with Iran. This means that the crew of the £3billion ship, currently undergoing repairs in Portsmouth, must be ready to sail with five days' notice.

Keir Starmer has agreed to allow the US to use UK military bases to launch attacks that degrade Iran’s missiles.In a recorded statement, the prime minister said the “only way to stop the threat is to destroy the missiles at source in their storage depots or the launchers which are used to fire the missiles”.

A female police officer who apparently defended the rights of a Christian street preacher against complaints from a crowd of Muslim men in London has been praised for her actions. A clip of the exchange in the predominantly Muslim area of Whitechapel, in London, has gone viral on social media, with a single post on X being viewed over half a million times. One bystander in the tense exchange can be heard accusing the preacher of insulting the Prophet Muhammad. As the group press the officer to take action, the Metropolitan Police Officer can be heard saying: "I understand that...

A prolific waste criminal has been ordered to pay £1.2m in compensation for illegally dumping more than 4,000 tonnes of waste across England. A nationwide investigation by the Environment Agency (EA) uncovered a network of 16 illegal dumping sites, including a manor house in Surrey, a farm in Cambridgeshire and a warehouse in Kent. The total weight of the waste dumped was about 4,275 tonnes – roughly the weight of 600 African elephants. Varun Datta, 36, was handed a four-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months. He must also pay £1.1m, reflecting the financial benefit from his crimes, plus £100,000...