Politics LIVE: Mike Amesbury arrives in court after 'sucker-punch' attack as Reform UK prepares for by-election battle
WATCH NOW: Tom Tugendhat talks Mauritius and 'colonial guilt'
GB NEWS
Ex-Labour MP Mike Amesbury has arrived in court for his sentencing after admitting to attacking 45-year-old constituent Paul Fellowes.
Amesbury, 55, was suspended from the Labour Party after footage circulated on social media showing him sucker-punching a man in Frodsham, Cheshire.
After hitting Fellowes, the Runcorn & Helsby MP said: "You won't threaten the MP ever again, will you?"
Sir Keir Starmer labelled the incident "shocking", adding that Labour had "moved very swiftly to respond".
However, Reform UK and the Tories are now plotting a by-election battle in a major test for Sir Keir Starmer.
Nigel Farage immediately demanded a by-election, with the Conservatives starting its candidate selection process last week.
Despite pressure for a contest, only sentences of over 12 months in jail automatically disqualify individuals from being MPs.
However, recall petitions could be initiated over shorted or suspended prison sentences.
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Stamer doubles-down on commitment to send UK troops to Ukraine as Russia's invasion reaches 'grim milestone'
Sir Keir Starmer has doubled-down on his commitment to send British troops to Ukraine with the "right conditions in place".
The Prime Minister opened by paying tribute to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, adding it is "right" that this "grim milestone" is marked together.
Turning his attention to Donald Trump, Starmer said that the 47th President has "changed the global conversation" around the war in Ukraine.
"It has created an opportunity," he also claimed, adding that Ukraine "must have a seat at the table".
Rachel Reeves's 'triple whammy' tax raid to lead to 'tsunami of closures' across UK pharmacies
UK pharmacies are facing a £250million financial crisis from April due to rising costs, including from Chancellor Rachel Reeves's National Insurance raid, with industry leaders warning of imminent service cuts unless the Government provides urgent funding support.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA), representing 6,000 independent community pharmacies, has warned it will recommend collective action if new funding is not announced imminently.
The crisis comes as pharmacies across the country face a triple burden of increased National Insurance contributions, National Living Wage rises, and higher business rates.
Unlike other businesses, pharmacies cannot raise their prices to offset these costs, as approximately 90 per cent of their work is funded through the NHS.
Industry experts warn this could trigger widespread closures, with many pharmacies already "hanging on by their fingernails".
'He has every reason to be rattled!' Keir Starmer's latest attack on Reform torn apart after claiming Farage is 'not the answer' for Britain
Leader of Reform UK in the London Assembly has claimed that Labour has "every right" to be "rattled" by the party, following Sir Keir Starmer's latest attack on Reform and leader Nigel Farage.
Speaking to GB News, Alex Wilson AM said his party is "surging" in popularity, citing latest polling which places Farage's movement ahead of the Conservatives.
Taking aim at Reform UK, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told the Scottish Labour Conference in Glasgow that Farage's party are "not the answer for Britain", branding right-wing politics as "dangerous".
Starmer stated: "The alternative they offer is alien to working people. They claim to be the party of patriotism, but they're fawning over Putin."
"They're not the answer for working people in Britain, and they are not the answer for Scotland."
Defending Reform UK, Wilson hit back at Starmer's remarks: "Labour are rattled, and they have every reason to be."
'We stand with Ukraine!' Starmer slams Putin's 'barbaric' invasion on anniversary of Russia's onslaught against ex-Soviet state
Sir Keir Starmer has slammed Vladimir Putin over his "barbaric" invasion of Ukraine on the third anniversary of Russia's onslaught against the ex-Soviet state.
The Prime Minister said: "Three years on from Putin's barbaric full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we face a once in a generation moment for our collective security and values.
"We continue to stand with Ukraine for a just and lasting peace. Slava Ukraini."
Britain braces for influx of migrants as Trump's plan to take over Gaza could flood UKeditsharetrending_up
Britain is bracing for an influx of migrants as US President Donald Trump’s plan to take over Gaza could flood the UK.
Trump’s “Make Gaza Great Again” scheme has sparked controversy as it would see two million Gazans forcibly removed from the area.
The US President called the Strip a “demolition site”, vowing he would turn it into “something the entire Middle East can be very proud of".
Isam, a Palestinian opposition group supporter whose named has been changed, told The Sun: “Trump has suggested we go to Egypt or Jordan but we’d be swapping one hell for another.”
Trump invited to stay with King at Balmoral in Starmer's push to win over White House
Donald TrumpGETTYDonald Trump has been invited to stay with King Charles at Balmoral as Sir Keir Starmer hopes to win over the royal-mad President.
A senior source told The Sun: “Balmoral would be the obvious choice."
Trump, who frequently brings up his late mother's Scottish roots, was handed a state visit in 2019.
A Whitehall insider said: “He’s already been to Windsor and Buckingham Palace, so Balmoral is being talked about.
“Everyone knows he loves Scotland and it’s near his golf course.”
Trump would become the first US President to embark on two state visits to the UK if a second invitation was received by the Oval Office.
However, Buckingham Palace and Downing Street both declined to comment.
Miliband accused of 'playing into Vladimir Putin's heands' after fracking site decision
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has been accused of "playing into Vladimir Putin's hands" after approving plans to concrete over Britain's remaining fracking sites.
Lord Mackinlay, chairman of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group and organiser of the letter, told The Daily Telegraph: "The recent discovery in Lincolnshire should remind people of the madness of Red Ed’s sacred Net Zero.
"He is choosing to leave vast reserves of natural gas untouched at a time when our energy prices are the highest in the world.
"Salting the earth by concreting these wells shuts off a vital resource in very uncertain times, playing into Vladimir Putin’s hands exactly at a time when we need to be strengthening our energy security."
In a letter, signed by former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and ex-Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, top Tories added: "If this concreting order goes ahead and Britain’s only shale gas wells are destroyed, the British public will be left in no doubt that this is an ideological Government that prioritises an extreme net zero agenda and ideological purity rather than this country’s national security and people’s bills."
A Department for Energy, Security & Net Zero spokesman said: "We intend to ban fracking for good and make Britain a clean energy superpower to protect current and future generations."
'Hamas collusion!' Badenoch demands answers from BBC boss over Gaza documentary scandal
Kemi Badenoch
PATory leader Kemi Badenoch has demanded answers from BBC boss Tim Davie over last week's BBC2 film narrated by the son of a Hamas official.
In her letter, the Leader of the Opposition said that the apparent bias in the BBC’s reporting of the conflict was not an "isolated incident" and any review must root out the "systemic and institutional bias against Israel".
She added: "Surely it should have been immediately apparent that the programme was fundamentally flawed?
"Such an investigation must consider allegations of potential collusion with Hamas, and the possibility of payment to Hamas officials."
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