Reform UK insiders have claimed Sir Keir Starmer is in “panic mode” after Labour handed out fake medical bill documents warning of a £75,000 charge ahead of the upcoming Local Elections.
The documents, distributed in English and Welsh, were based on decades old comments made by Nigel Farage about an insurance-based healthcare model.
Leaflets were formatted like regular postal invoices are headlined with the words “your NHS bill under Reform”.
The letters also carry a stamp in capital letters declaring “Payment Overdue”.
A Reform UK source told The Telegraph: “The Labour lie machine is in full-on panic mode.”
Despite Labour insiders defending the leaflet, Farage swatted away Labour’s NHS attack during a visit to County Durham on Tuesday.
The Clacton MP said: “We’ve never, ever, ever, suggested anything other than the NHS should be free.”
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has blasted “evil Islamist sectarianism” after voters were warned “Allah sees everything” ahead of the upcoming Local Elections on May 1.
Pro-Palestine activists have circulated videos directing voters on which county council candidates to support in Wycombe based on whether they would back a boycott of Israeli goods if elected on May 1.
Some 18 candidates out of 81 candidates received a "green tick" in the videos after backing "divestment from companies involved in human rights violations" in Israel's war against Hamas.
The names of the remaining 63 candidates appear in red text with a cross next to their names because they either said they were opposed to a boycott or did not give a response.
Scottish First Minister John Swinney has admitted Nigel Farage has a “high likelihood” of becoming Britain's next Prime Minister in the wake of a disastrous start for Sir Keir Starmer’s Government.
Swinney, who will soon go up against Reform UK and Labour in an upcoming Holyrood by-election, revealed he is “very, very worried” at the prospect of Reform winning an untold number of list seats at next year's Scottish Parliament Election.
Labour's new plan to slash NHS waiting lists has been branded a "gimmick" by Shadow Paymaster General Richard Holden, claiming that GPs are "crying out for support" from the Government.
GPs in England will receive a £20 payment each time they avoid referring a patient directly to hospital under a new Government scheme aimed at cutting waiting lists.
The £80million initiative, known as "Advice and Guidance", aims to divert up to two million patients from hospital waiting lists by the end of 2025/26.
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay has demanded the SNP permanently abandon their gender policies following a Supreme Court defeat.
Findlay called on First Minister John Swinney to apologise to Scottish women for the "bitter divisions" caused by the Scottish Government's gender legislation.
The comments came after Britain's top judges ruled on Wednesday that "woman" and "sex" in the Equality Act refer to biological definitions.
Speaking in Edinburgh, Findlay told supporters: "Let me send this message to John Swinney and the SNP: Enough is enough."
"Drop your divisive policy of gender self-ID for good."
He insisted the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, which was passed at Holyrood but halted by the UK government, must not return "in any form".
Kemi Badenoch has reignited her feud with actor David Tennant over women's rights
GB NEWS/PA
Kemi Badenoch has reignited her feud with actor David Tennant over women's rights by telling the former Doctor Who star: "I was right."
The Tory leader, speaking to GB News' Political Editor Christopher Hope, also vowed that Harry Potter author JK Rowling was owed an apology for being heavily criticised - and in some cases "cancelled" - for her robust defence of women against trans activists online.
"I spent my entire time as equalities minister really fighting on this issue. I even got abuse from David Tennant... You might remember, but it's one of those things where a lot of people have been scared to speak out," she said.
"You need bravery, and I'm so pleased - I cannot tell you how pleased I am."
READ THE FULL STORY ON KEMI BADENOCH'S FIGHT-BACK AGAINST DAVID TENNANT HERE
Badenoch also talked trans athletes, Britain's war heroes and a US trade deal with Chopper - all of which you can read at the links below...
Suspended Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe has written to Nigel Farage, Lee Anderson and Zia Yusuf demanding they retract their "false allegations" of "workplace bullying" and "serious threats" against him.
The Reform top brass had released a statement in early March alleging that Lowe "had engaged in serious workplace bullying and had made multiple serious threats to physically assault and injure Yusuf" - which the Great Yarmouth MP said has "caused serious harm" to his reputation.
And in a fresh statement today, Lowe claimed the March letter "was published as part of a concerted smear campaign against me after I made comments about the party's leader Nigel Farage".
Sir Keir Starmer has released his first Easter message as Prime Minister
PASir Keir Starmer has released his first Easter message as Prime Minister.
It reads: “As Lent comes to an end and we move into the Easter weekend, I want to wish Christians everywhere remembering the death and celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ a very happy Easter. The story of Easter is central to the Christian faith: it is a story of hope, redemption and renewal.
“This Easter, as churches hold special services across the UK, and gather to celebrate with friends and family, we remember those Christians facing hardship, persecution or conflict around the world who cannot celebrate freely.
“I also want to thank you for the ways in which you follow Christ’s example of love and compassion in serving your communities. Whether through night shelters, youth clubs, toddler groups, family support, care for the elderly or chaplaincy support, and in a multitude of other ways, you demonstrate steadfast commitment and care.
“We can all take inspiration from the message of Easter and continue to work together for the flourishing and renewal of our country.”
A spokesman for the High Wycombe branch of the PSC said: "This video was not produced by our branch, and we have no knowledge of who created it.
"It does contain some screenshots of legitimate questions that our High Wycombe branch has asked of all candidates standing in the upcoming local elections, along with their responses.
"We are campaigning for voters from all backgrounds and walks of life to take into consideration when voting their candidates' positions in relation to Israel's systematic violations of international law and the rights of the Palestinian people, and their willingness to take action to ensure the local council is not complicit in those violations through its investments."
The group's response comes as local election campaigning has been rocked by an "evil Islamist sectarianism" row after it emerged voters have been warned that "Allah sees everything" before casting their ballots.
Pro-Palestine activists have circulated videos directing locals on which county council candidates to support in Wycombe based on whether they would back a boycott of Israeli goods if elected on May 1.
Britain's defence firms have been handed a major lifeline after Emmanuel Macron dropped his demands for a post-Brexit military deal to be dependent on fishing rights.
With international talks on a peace deal with Ukraine still yet to reach a conclusion, the French President has been urged by other EU leaders to treat the issues separately - which comes just days after the bloc's own foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said France's stance on the matter was "surprising".
A deal could open the door for British firms to bid for contracts under the EU's €150billion-valued defence fund, a mega investment drive unveiled last month and aimed at enabling countries re-arm quicker.
And one Brussels source told the Mail: "Even Emmanuel Macron isn’t stupid enough to let fish get in the way."
It comes less than a week since reports emerged that a UK-France defence partnership to shore up support for Ukraine was being stalled over fishing rights.
Kallas admitted that the French were holding things up - she said: "I'm surprised how important the fish are given the security situation."
Kemi Badenoch has distanced herself from speculation that Robert Jenrick is tabling a fresh Tory leadership bid
PA
Kemi Badenoch has distanced herself from speculation that Robert Jenrick is tabling a fresh Conservative leadership bid after the Shadow Justice Secretary created a mass WhatsApp group of supporters this morning.
Jenrick had been looking to fundraise for Armed Forces charity SSAFA through running the London Marathon in 10 days' time - and had started a messaging group to drum up support.
But the one-time Tory leadership hopeful then added hundreds of people, including David Cameron, George Osborne, Tory frontbenchers and one of Nigel Farage's staffers, to a 500-member-strong WhatsApp group.
Now, Badenoch has batted away speculation over what Jenrick was up to.
"I think he's running a marathon," she told GB News. "I don't really understand yet what happened with the WhatsApp group, but it's not the first time that loads of journalists and politicians have been added to a WhatsApp group. Seems to be the trend these days."
Asked whether there was no threat from Jenrick to her leadership, Badenoch said: "I have a great team and I'm leading a team that is uniting the Conservative Party.
"What we're really focused on now is ensuring that people understand that voting Conservative at the local elections is the only credible option."
Kemi Badenoch has said that Labour is "too close" to China following a week of warnings over Beijing's involvement in Britain.
Speaking on the campaign trail in Cambridgeshire, the Tory leader laid into China's "dictatorship" regime, Chinese authorities' deportation of MP Wera Hobhouse from Hong Kong, the country's use of slave labour for solar panels - and Labour's long-running net zero drive.
"I worry that this current Government is too close to [China]," she said. "I think [Trade Minister] Douglas Alexander has been out there trying to get investment on green tech at a time when we're trying to get China out of steel, for example, and out of critical national infrastructure.
"So they need a proper plan and a proper strategy. Right now, they don't have one."
"We need to look again at the investments that Chinese companies are making," she added. "How many of them are actually really at the behest of the Chinese Government? How much are they getting involved in national infrastructure across the board?"
Less than a quarter of Britons believe Labour cares about ordinary people, damning new data has revealed.
Fresh figures from pollsters at YouGov have placed the number of people who think the party of Government cares about the man on the street at just 24 per cent - the lowest level on record.
At the same time, more than half of Britons think Labour only cares about a select few - 51 per cent, a fraction lower than a record high 52 in February this year.
And in a final hammer blow for Sir Keir Starmer's party, the share of Britons who think Labour cares for neither has shot up to 17 per cent - again, the highest level on record.
A UK-US trade deal could see Britain 'cut off' by China
PAA UK-US trade deal could see Britain "cut off" by China and bearing the full force of Beijing's "economic coercion", the former deputy head of MI6 has warned.
Following the news that the US and Britain could sign some kind of deal in a matter of weeks, ex-spy chief Nigel Inkster has said the UK could land itself in hot water with China - with entire industries at risk of being targeted.
"If it were the case that we had such a deal, I think it would come with strings, and one of those strings would be an expectation that the UK would get with the programme when it came to China," Inkster told the BBC.
"We've seen a precursor of this with the Huawei 5G saga, which the Americans said, you cannot use a Chinese company to build the 5G.
"What needs to happen is that the Government needs to look much more carefully at what constitutes critical national infrastructure, and consider what the risks are in any given sector.
"And one of the areas here that worries me quite a lot is the whole pharmaceutical sector, because China is a critical supplier of many pharmaceutical products. Without them, we would be in trouble."
Asked whether the Chinese Government could switch off the supply of vital pharmaceuticals in the event of a future dispute, Inkster added: "It would be an incredibly powerful lever. China has, I think, a fairly clear track record of readiness to use economic coercion."
GB News has sifted through an official US trade document which exposes Keir Starmer's high-stakes gamble as he looks to secure a US trade deal.
British negotiators are closing in on an agreement to adopt the EU's food and veterinary standards, which could be finalised as early as next month.
The proposal, which would involve the UK adopting what is known as "dynamic alignment" with Brussels, has long been championed as a solution to the ongoing trade frictions - particularly concerning the Northern Ireland Protocol.
However, it would also bring some UK food regulation under the oversight of the European Court of Justice - a non-negotiable for Brexiteers.
Dynamic alignment could also shut out American agricultural products - said to be a key clause in any UK-US trade deal, which US Vice President JD Vance has suggested is on the table.
As a result, Starmer's critics now say he's at risk of sabotaging a deal which has been doggedly pursued since Britain left the clutches of the EU...
Vladimir Putin's predecessor Dmitry Medvedev has labelled David Lammy's trip to Paris for "coalition of the willing" talks a meeting of a "fascist clique" in a fresh outspoken outburst.
Medvedev, who was President of Russia from 2008 to 2012 - while Putin was Prime Minister - and PM himself from 2012 to 2020, blasted on social media: "Apparently, the top of Ukraine's fascist clique have come to Paris for talks with the UK, Germany and France on how many European coffins they will be ready to accept after the deployment of the troops of the 'coalition of the willing' in Ukraine."
Just days prior, Medvedev hailed Donald Trump's minerals deal plan as "excellent" - but called Volodymyr Zelensky "the Kiev freak".
He fumed: "The Americans rolled out an excellent draft commodity deal to the Kiev freak. If the Kiev regime approves it, the drug addict and co. will then be hanged on the Maidan, like Mussolini. And if it rejects it, the United States will reset the Bandera regime. Checkmate."
Wes Streeting has vowed not to ditch his Ilford North seat at the next election
PA
Wes Streeting has vowed not to ditch his Ilford North seat at the next election - despite a damning series of polling blows against his pro-Gaza independent challengers.
The Health Secretary won his constituency with a wafer-thin 528-vote majority over independent Leanne Mohamad - who has since surged to a polling lead over Streeting.
In November, Mohamad filed a complaint "regarding the count on the night of the General Election" to the Electoral Commission - the outcome of which is yet to be made public.
Meanwhile in next-door seat Ilford South, the pro-Palestine Ilford Independents turfed out Labour in a near-50 per cent swing in a recent council by-election.
But Streeting, asked by The Spectator whether he would switch to a safer seat, vowed: "Definitely not. Ilford North is my home. And I don't believe in cutting and running, I'm in it to win it.
"I won against the odds in 2015, I won despite the pressures in 2024 and I plan to go into the next election in Ilford North with a track record of turning around the NHS, making a real change for my constituency and changing people's lives and I'll be standing on my record at the next election."
Foreign Secretary David Lammy will be in Paris today for a crunch four-way meeting with his American, French and German counterparts.
With progress on a Ukrainian peace deal sluggish, Lammy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Fench Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and German equivalent Annalena Baerbock will be locked in crunch "Quad" talks on how to get things moving again.
The European trio at the table have all pushed for progress on the "coalition of the willing" - but are expected to press for American answers on what Donald Trump's peace plan with Russia could look like.
Trump's Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet Lammy and French President Emmanuel Macron today too - with the Anglo-French duo expected to be sniffing out answers on how Witkoff's talks with Putin in Russia went.
Labour's looming workers' rights Bill is a "recipe for conflict" and will lead to more strikes, Britain's biggest business groups have warned.
In a joint letter to members of the House of Lords today, business groups from across the country will warn that new laws making it easier for unions to call walkouts at short notice are "a recipe for conflict not for cooperation".
The Bill, if enshrined in law un-amended, will weaken the threshold currently required to trigger a strike, such as requiring at least half of a union's members to participate in a vote before calling industrial action.
Unions could also make pay demands at firms where just two per cent of staff are members - down from the current 10 per cent.
It comes as Britain faces down further strikes after Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner failed to reach a deal with unions and bin workers in Birmingham on Wednesday.
The letter to peers, signed by the "B5" club of business groups, says: "Many businesses work well with their trade unions, but some are faced with unions behaving unreasonably.
"By empowering trade unions rather than empowering whichever party is behaving reasonably, this legislation will guarantee continued conflict and prevent the reset in industrial relations that is needed."
The B5 comprises the British Chambers of Commerce, the Confederation of British Industry, Federation of Small Businesses, Institute of Directors and Make UK - and together represents the majority of British businesses.
A Government spokesman said the measures "have strong support amongst business and the public" - and businesses have been "consulted extensively".
Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to can Britain's multi-billion-pound migrant hotel contract spending
PASir Keir Starmer has been urged to can Britain's multi-billion-pound migrant hotel contract spending in a bid to stop the foreign aid budget being spent on the asylum system.
A letter signed by more than 100 international NGOs and pro-refugee charities has labelled the asylum set-up as "not fit for purpose" and "poor value for money" - but the groups have urged the Prime Minister to put migrants up in social housing instead.
Asylum seekers should be dropped into communities through "dispersal accommodation" like large houses, bedsits and flats across different local authorities, the letter recommends.
Such a move would allegedly be cheaper and help with integration - and the Home Office has the opportunity to terminate the contracts from January next year.
The letter, seen by The Times, vows that "community housing not only provides better value for money but also ensures higher-quality living conditions and better integration into society".
"The 2026 break clauses in the accommodation contracts must be utilised to achieve this," it adds.
France demanded access to UK waters last week - stalling a key peace plan for Ukraine
PA
Just days ago, it emerged that a key UK-France defence partnership to shore up support for Ukraine was being stalled over fishing rights.
French and British military chiefs had been thrashing out plans for a peacekeeping force in Ukraine if a potential peace deal with Russia comes to pass - but once again, France demanded access to UK waters.
That left EU foreign affairs boss Kaja Kallas "surprised" - but alongside France, Sweden's EU affairs minister Jessica Rosencrantz warned of how fisheries could obstruct a crucial defence pact two weeks prior.
"Just to be clear, I think it's really important that the EU and UK work together on defense and security," Rosencrantz told Politico.
"Obviously, there are other sensitive issues as well for many member states which also need to be resolved - fisheries being one."
As Emmanuel Macron steps aside for a UK deal in Europe, White House officials believe a trade deal with Britain can be finalised within three weeks.
An insider familiar with US strategy told The Telegraph that the UK was in a good position for a rapid deal - but will likely have to wait for a "second wave" of announcements, following Japan, India, and South Korea
The White House source said that an agreement was expected "soon" - and clarified: "Two weeks or maybe three."
