‘He must go!’ Starmer’s suffers fresh headache as Farage piles in on Reynolds ‘fabricating’ CV

‘Hag’ at centre of vile Labour WhatsApp chat claims Andrew Gwynne swore at her during doorstep dispute

A 75-year-old grandmother has come forward to confirm she was the "Duki hag" referenced in former Labour Minister Andrew Gwynne's leaked WhatsApp messages.

Elaine Cole revealed she was at the centre of a doorstep argument that later resulted in Gwynne's suspension from the Labour Party earlier this month.

The incident, which took place in Dukinfield in Greater Manchester, was first exposed in messages from the "Trigger Me Timbers" WhatsApp group.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Healey warns against ‘jeopardising the peace by forgetting about the war’

Talks between the US and Russia must not distract from the war in Ukraine, which could risk “jeopardising the peace”, the Defence Secretary has said.

Speaking at what he called “Nato’s front line” in Finnmark, Norway, John Healey warned that the Moscow administration is a “threat well beyond Ukraine and reminds us that Russian aggression is not confined to Ukraine”.

Asked whether the UK agreed with Mr Trump’s suggestion that Ukraine “started it”, Mr Healey told reporters on Wednesday: “Three years ago, one country illegally invaded another, and since then the Ukrainians have been fighting for their freedom.

“They’ve been fighting for their future, and they still are.

“So whilst all the focus may be on talks, not even negotiations, our concern as defence ministers is that we’re not jeopardising the peace by forgetting about the war.

“And our job as defence ministers is to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position going into any talks, and that means continuing to step up the military aid that we in Europe, alongside, we argue, to the States, needs to be maintained, because the maximum pressure on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is going to mean the maximum chance that he will negotiate seriously.”

Corbynista MP defends Farage attack with 'far-right' BNP label as activists plot anti-Reform rally

Corbynista MP Zarah Sultana has defended her "disgraceful" attack against Nigel Farage by comparing Reform UK to the "far right" politics of the British National Party and National Front.

Sultana launch an unhinged attack on the Clacton MP on social media earlier this afternoon, captioning her lengthy statement with: "No thanks, Nigel."

The Coventry South MP, who lost the Labour whip after rebelling on the two-child benefit cap, said: “As a born-and-bred Brummie whose parents suffered the violent consequences of far-right politics, I speak for many in this proud, multicultural city when I say: we reject the politics of hatred and division."

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Keir Starmer is better PM than only ONE Tory leader as he’s hit by nightmare popularity poll

Keir Starmer has managed to dodge becoming the worst Prime Minister - all thanks to one Conservative leader - in yet another humiliating popularity poll.

Now, the Labour leader's popularity has collapsed to below to that of Boris Johnson - all in the space of under eight months behind the doors of Downing Street.

Fresh off a party landslide last July, Keir Starmer has struggled to maintain public morale across a series of awkward gaffes and scandals, which has been topped off with a disastrously-received October Budget.

As a result, he has only been deemed a better PM than Liz Truss - who resigned after 45 days in Number 10.

He has also been recorded as far behind longer-serving leaders David Cameron and Margaret Thatcher.

The Iron Lady has out-performed the sitting PM by the largest margin as 44 per cent of Britons believe that she was a better PM.

Even Boris Johnson - whose reputation has been stained by the Partygate scandal - has proved to be more popular, leading ahead of Starmer by three per cent.

Previous polls conducted by YouGov has found that the electorate view Starmer's fleet of ministers as "incompetent" and "dishonest".

Badenoch rejects Trump's claims that Zelensky is a 'dictator without elections'

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said Donald Trump is “right that Europe needs to pull its weight”, but rejected his claim that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is a “dictator without elections”.

She wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “President Zelensky is not a dictator.

“He is the democratically elected leader of Ukraine who bravely stood up to Putin’s illegal invasion. Under my leadership, and under successive Conservative prime ministers, we have and always will stand with Ukraine.

“President Trump is right that Europe needs to pull its weight – and that includes the UK.

“We need to get serious.

“The PM (Sir Keir Starmer) will have my support to increase defence spending – there is a fully funded plan to get to 2.5% sitting on his desk. That should be the bare minimum.

“Starmer should get on with it, get on a plane to Washington and show some leadership. We cannot afford to get this wrong.”

Labour MP compares Farage to 'far-right' politics of BNP as activists plot anti-Reform rally amid poll surge

Labour MP Zarah Sultana has compared Nigel Farage to the "far right" politics of the British National Party and National Front ahead of an anti-Reform rally next month.

Sultana launch an unhinged attack on the Clacton MP on social media earlier this afternoon, captioning her lengthy statement with: "No thanks, Nigel."

The Coventry South MP, who briefly lost the Labour whip after rebelling on the two-child benefit cap, said: “As a born-and-bred Brummie whose parents suffered the violent consequences of far-right politics, I speak for many in this proud, multicultural city when I say: we reject the politics of hatred and division.

“In my view, based on the comments they have made publicly about Muslims and migrants, Reform UK is comparable to the National Front and the BNP.

"We pushed back against them before, and we’ll do it again."

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Ed Davey tells PM to 'challenge Trump on Ukraine lies'

Ed Davey has told Sir Keir Starmer that when he visits Washington, he needs to "challenge Trump on his Ukraine lies".

The Prime Minister will travel to Washington D.C. next week for his first face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump since the he won the US election in November.

His visit comes as the US begins negotiations with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine, and as Trump's administration is urging European leaders to commit more money to defence.

The Liberal Democrat leader took to social media to issue the PM some words of warning.

Writing on X, he said: "When the PM visits the White House next week, he must challenge Trump on his Ukraine lies in the strongest possible terms.

"It's alarming to see the leader of the free world parroting Putin's propaganda. Trump spoke in Mar-a-Lago but his words could have been written in Moscow."

'We cannot allow peace on Putin's terms!' Keir Starmer warned against 'excluding' Ukraine from ongoing talks

Shadow Defence Minister Mark Francois has indicated the Conservatives would be open to deploying British troops in Ukraine, whilst emphasising that peace negotiations must include Ukrainian participation.

Speaking on GB News, Francois stressed that negotiations about Ukraine's future cannot be conducted without their involvement.

"These negotiations should involve the Ukrainians, they should not be excluded," he said.

READ OUT THE FULL STORY HERE

'Economically illiterate!' Ed Miliband sparks blistering net zero row amid energy price hike: 'He's deluded!'

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has sparked a fiery row on GB News after new reports suggest that the energy price cap could increase once again for Britons.

Discussing Miliband's aspirations for net zero, broadcaster Mike Parry claimed the minister is "deluded" and "energy illiterate" in his policies for greener Britain.

According to consultancy Cornwall Insight, energy prices are set to rise by five per cent from April, adding another £85 a year to household bills.

Discussing Miliband's performance as Energy Secretary since last July, broadcaster Mike Parry fumed: "I think that he is economically illiterate, I think he is energy illiterate. I can't understand how he thinks he's taking us to a brighter future when the energy costs in this country are already the highest in the developed world.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Sadiq Khan U-turns on major Trump decision: 'That does mean sometimes saying boo to a goose'

Sadiq Khan has U-turned on a major decision to call on the Government to ban Donald Trump's UK state visit in 2019 - now saying that he would "absolutely" welcome the US President to London.

He explained that he was keen to have the Potus visit "so he can see some of the misunderstandings he has of our city" including his views on freedom of speech in London, as well as tolerance and respect between different faiths.

At the same time, the London Mayor has defended his historic attacks on the President and told Sky News that his work protecting the city "does mean sometimes saying boo to a goose".

Khan has previously lambasted Donald Trump with a series of colourful criticism - calling him "ignorant" on Islam, "sexist", "racist" and a "homophobe".

He even went so far as to compare his methods in government to those of the "fascists of the 20th century".

Admitting that "President Trump has fairly and squarely won a second term", he added: "Let's judge President Trump on what he does to his second term rather than what he did in his first term.

"My job as the mayor of this great city is to stand up for our values, stand up for our businesses, stand up for our people. And that does mean sometimes saying boo to a goose."

Khan is set to host talks this morning with ambassadors of all 27 European Union member states in the nation's capital.

Harold Wilson's press secretary Joe Haines dies at 97

Harold Wilson’s former press secretary Joe Haines has died aged 97, the Labour Party has confirmed.

"Lifelong Labour supporter" Haines died at his home in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, today, the party has said.

He first joined the former PM's Downing Street team in 1969 and progressed to become a part of Wilson's "kitchen cabinet" of special advisers.

Throughout his life as a journalist, Haines wrote for local papers as well as national titles, including the Daily Mail and the Mirror.

Labour minister dismisses Cabinet colleague's CV 'issue' as 'administrative error'

A Labour minister has dismissed the business secretary's CV "issue" as simply an "administrative error" on GB News this morning.

Jonathan Reynolds has faced recent accusations of "fabricating" his CV when he claimed to be a fully-fledged solicitor during a period in which he was actually a trainee.

Defending her colleague, Diana Johnson told the People's Channel: "I understand it… I think there was some issue around the LinkedIn page, and there was solicitor and trainee solicitor used and I don’t think that amounts to changing your CV.

"I think that was probably an administrative error, as far as I can see."

'Sling your hook!' Labour urged to challenge ECHR on deporting foreign criminals amid Britain's prison population crisis

Former Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has called for the UK to challenge the European Court of Human Rights over restrictions on deporting foreign prisoners to countries like Afghanistan.

Speaking to GB News, Chalk questioned whether returning offenders to certain regions of Afghanistan truly constituted "torture or human or degrading treatment" as defined by the ECHR.

The former Justice Secretary revealed he had "sweated blood, metaphorically speaking" in efforts to remove foreign national offenders from UK prisons.

READ THE FULL STORY

Wales warns against making deliberate deception a criminal offence as public trust plummets to an 'all-time low'

A Welsh committee has urged lawmakers to not criminalise lying in politics.

It has followed the Welsh Government promising to bring in legislation to ban sitting members of the Welsh assembly from lying on purpose as public trust in their politicians had "fallen to an all-time low".

However, a report published today shows that the committee announced that it was "not convinced" that making deception a new offence would rehabilitate national trust.

Yvette Cooper blasts 'crazy' online situation that gives more checks for alcohol and cigarettes than 'lethal weapons'

The Home Secretary has lamented the fact that it is more challenging for children to access cigarettes and scratch cards than knives on the internet.

Yvette Cooper is set to announce a package of measures to help combat knife crime following a report's publication which revealed a "crazy situation".

"There's often more checks for alcohol or for cigarettes or all these different things, and yet these are lethal weapons," she told The Mirror.

"And so that's why we have to change the law."

 UK inflation hits 10-month high of 3% in major blow for Reeves as economy experiences 'weak growth environment'

Inflation has hit a 10-month high, further above the Bank of England’s two per cent target, official figures have shown.

In the 12 months to January 2025, the consumer prices index (CPI) measure of inflation rose from 2.5 per cent to three per cent.

It follows a surprise drop in the CPI rate in December, when the headline figure fell from 2.6 per cent to 2.5 per cent.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE