Author: Fatimah Idera

Sir Keir Starmer’s director of communications, Tim Allan, has resigned, just a day after the prime minister lost his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney. Allan is the fourth communications chief to leave Downing Street in under a year, having served five months. In a statement, he said he was stepping down “to allow a new No 10 team to be built.” The resignations follow the fallout from revelations about Lord Mandelson’s links to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. McSweeney resigned on Sunday, taking responsibility for advising Starmer to appoint Mandelson as ambassador to the US in 2024. Starmer dismissed Mandelson…

Morgan McSweeney, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, has resigned, taking full responsibility for advising the PM to appoint Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US last year, a decision he now admits was wrong. In a statement, McSweeney said he accepts responsibility for the controversial recommendation, while Starmer expressed gratitude for his service, calling him “a key figure in our party’s work.”  Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said, “It’s about time,” but added that Starmer must also take responsibility for his own decisions. McSweeney, a central figure in the Starmer project, masterminded Labour’s 2024 general election landslide victory…

A Reform UK councillor for Redditch East in Worcestershire, has quit the party over plans to raise council tax, saying he cannot support the financial burden on residents.  He announced on BBC Politics Midlands that he will now sit as an independent councillor. Worcestershire County Council has warned it faces “effective bankruptcy” and has applied to the government to raise council tax by up to 10% from April. Taylor described the council as failing with £600 million in debt and said the proposed tax increase would hit already struggling residents. “They’re going to pay more and receive less,” he said.…

Police have searched two properties linked to former Labour minister Peter Mandelson as part of an investigation into alleged misconduct in public office connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Metropolitan Police confirmed that homes in north London and Wiltshire associated with Lord Mandelson were searched. He has not been arrested, and officers said enquiries are ongoing.The investigation follows the release of documents by the US Department of Justice, including emails from 2008 suggesting Lord Mandelson, then UK business secretary, discussed sensitive government information with Epstein. The messages appear to reference plans for a one-off tax on bankers’ bonuses…

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has apologised to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, admitting he was wrong to appoint Lord Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the United States and saying he “regrets believing his lies” during the vetting process. Speaking at an event in East Sussex, where he was originally due to outline his government’s Pride in Place strategy, Starmer instead opened his remarks by addressing the growing controversy surrounding Mandelson’s links to the disgraced financier. He said no one was aware of the depth and darkness of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein at the time of his appointment in 2024.…

Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has defended the government’s proposed immigration reforms, insisting they are fair and necessary despite strong opposition from Labour MPs concerned about their impact on migrants and key sectors of the economy. Appearing before the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, Mahmood argued that recent levels of migration to the UK have been unprecedented and require a firm response. She said settlement in the UK is “a privilege, not a right” and questioned whether allowing permanent residence after just five years was reasonable. Under the proposals, most migrant workers would have to wait 10 years up from…

An independent MP has been arrested for a second time in connection with multiple alleged sexual offences. Former Labour MP Dan Norris, 66, is now under investigation over allegations including the rape of two women, sexual assault of a third woman, voyeurism and upskirting. Police said the latest arrest follows an earlier one in April 2025, when Norris was detained over allegations of rape, child sexual offences and child abduction. Officers have since confirmed they are no longer investigating the alleged child-related offences. The remaining allegations are said to have occurred between the 2000s and 2020s. Norris, who previously served…

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has invited Japan’s Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, to visit the UK following talks in Tokyo, describing UK–Japan relations as the strongest they have been in decades. The meeting came at the end of Sir Keir’s East Asia tour, which included a four-day visit to China aimed at resetting relations with Beijing. During their discussions at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo, both leaders reaffirmed shared democratic values and agreed to deepen cooperation on trade, security and defence. Sir Keir said the two countries had a clear interest in free and predictable trade, with plans to…

An asylum seeker has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 29 years for the murder of a woman who worked at the hotel where he was staying. Deng Majek was convicted of killing 27-year-old Rhiannon Whyte after following her to Bescot Stadium railway station in Walsall in October 2024. Ms Whyte had just finished her shift at the Park Inn Hotel and was on her way home when she was attacked on the station platform. She later died in hospital from her injuries. Majek, a Sudanese national, had arrived in the UK by small boat about…

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced that China has lifted sanctions, including travel bans, imposed on six serving British MPs and peers following talks with President Xi Jinping. Speaking to the media in Shanghai, Starmer said all restrictions on the parliamentarians “no longer apply,” describing the move as a positive outcome of diplomatic engagement. The sanctions, imposed by China in 2021, targeted four Conservative MPs and two members of the House of Lords who were vocal critics of Beijing’s human rights record, particularly over alleged abuses in Xinjiang. Those affected were previously barred from entering mainland China, Hong Kong…