Starmer

IF a Chinese bloke had been caught spying for the UK in Beijing, he’d currently be hung up by his toes in a cell, awaiting execution.

That’s how the Chinese sort things out. Nobody in Beijing would be worrying much if the UK is a threat or not.

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Bullet or lethal injection, Wu’s yer uncle.

Or maybe they would be pawed to death by an angry panda.

But it’s more often a bullet between the eyes.

Most countries take spying and espionage very seriously.

Indeed, ensuring we are safe from foreigners who might do us harm is the first duty of a government.

But clearly it is a duty that Sir Keir Starmer does not take remotely seriously.

Last week, two Brits were due to be tried for spying for the Chinese.

They were Christopher Cash, a parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry, a researcher who works in China.

Both deny any wrongdoing.

But suddenly, at the last minute, the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the case.

It didn’t bother explaining why — one minute the trial was on, the next it was dead meat.

Industrial secrets

It now transpires that the CPS took advice from British government officials.

It is entirely possible that the UK’s National Security Adviser, Jonathan Powell, a good mate of Keir, was one of the officials involved.

Shortly after their meeting with the CPS, the decision was taken to drop the case.

Why? They apparently told the CPS China couldn’t be called a “threat” to the UK.

Instead, it was just a “geo-political challenge”.

And so the charges against Cash and Berry wouldn’t stick.

In a previous spying case it was decided that charges were relevant only if it involved “a country which represents, at the time of the offence, a threat to the national security of the UK”.

Have you ever heard anything more ridiculous?

If China isn’t a threat to the UK, then who is?

The head of MI5, Sir Ken McCallum, has reported that the Chinese have tried to entice 20,000 Brits to act as spies for them, against our interests.

Did nobody think to ask Sir Ken if he thought China was a threat? I suspect I know the answer that would have been forthcoming

He also claimed that 10,000 UK businesses were at threat from the Chinese trying to nick industrial secrets.

In addition, he said that MI5 had 2,000 current investigations into Chinese spying activity — and that a new case was opened on the Chinese — behaving very deviously indeed — every 12 hours.

Did nobody think to ask Sir Ken if he thought China was a threat?

I suspect I know the answer that would have been forthcoming.

Of course the country is a threat.

It is menacing other nations down in South East Asia.

It has a whole bunch of nukes pointed directly at the West.

It arrests dissidents who want western-style freedoms.

And it does everything it can to undermine the UK’s politics and industry.

Truth be told, anybody who is working secretly for a foreign country in the UK is a threat to this country.

Especially if they are working in the House of Commons.

This seems to me so obvious that it should not need stating.

If their secret outside income involves a vast load of Yuan, some fortune cookies and cans of bubble tea, then we should investigate very seriously.

The truth in this particular case, though, is particularly damning.

It seems almost certain that Whitehall officials intervened at the behest of the Government.

And that they did this so as not to p**s off the Chinese — because aside from being a threat to the UK, which China certainly is, we are going cap in hand begging for investment from them.

Other nations don’t have a problem with employing a dual approach.

Make no mistake, we may need to do business with the likes of China, much as we did once with Russia — but they ARE the enemy

They understand that while they all need to do trade with horrible totalitarian countries such as China, they also need to count their spoons, if you get my meaning — and at the slightest sign of devious behaviour, call them out.

The Chinese understand this too.

Yes, being caught with a bunch of spies in our Parliament may be embarrassing for a short while.

But it won’t be allowed to get in the way of China making more money.

It seems that our government was too frit to risk it.

Too scared that the Chinese might react nastily and pull investment.

Or decide not to invest in the future. We mustn’t offend the Chinese.

Strategies like this simply do not work — and the Chinese, just like their big mates the Russians, will continue to spy on our institutions and do everything they can to harm our state.

Enemy is laughing

Make no mistake, we may need to do business with the likes of China, much as we did once with Russia — but they ARE the enemy.

And currently an enemy that is laughing its head off.

The government officials involved will be coming before the House of Commons Joint Committee on National Security Strategy.

If it is discovered that Jonathan Powell did warn off the CPS from pursuing the cases against Cash and Berry, then Powell should resign or be sacked.

Unless, of course, Powell was simply doing the bidding of the Prime Minister or the then Foreign Secretary, the intellectual colossus who is David Lammy.

If that’s the case then THEY should resign.

One way or another, we cannot allow Chinese spies to run amok in this country of ours just because we want to trouser some more wonga down the line, through Chinese investment.

This is a truly important week for Starmer.

The Chinese spygate scandal is the most serious he has faced since taking office last July.

It could yet be the finish of the man.

Which won’t make me lose a terrific amount of sleep, I have to tell you.

THE Man Who Never Sweats is probably feeling a bit moist under the armpits right now.

It has been discovered that Prince Andrew was still sending chummy texts to disgraced paedo Jeffrey Epstein long after the royal said he was.

Andrew is alleged to have messaged him to say: “We are in this together.”

This happened 12 weeks after the point at which Andrew claimed, in that BBC interview, to have cut off all contact with the odious slimeball.

It’s high time King Charles took action and kicked Andrew out of his Royal Lodge home in Windsor Great Park.

I’M sure there must be some people on those pro-Palestinian marches who are not actually dyed-in-the-wool antisemites.

But if so, how do they react to a comrade saying that they “don’t give a f***” about the Jewish community?

Or the protesters in Glasgow who unfurled a banner praising the “martyrs” of Hamas for murdering about 1,200 Israeli civilians and taking 251 hostage on October 7, 2023?

Or the chants about killing the IDF?

Or the demands for Israel to cease to exist?

Or for a global intifada?

It is one thing to have a few doubts about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

It is altogether another to stand alongside rabid, Jew-hating jihadis, chanting their odious slogans.

Isn’t it time these fellow travellers had a Mitchell and Webb moment and asked themselves: “Hey . . . are we the BAD guys?”

During a press conference in India, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the new Gaza ceasefire deal marks “a moment of profound relief that will be felt around the world”.

ROBERT Jenrick should stop lecturing the public on integration, Sir Keir Starmer has blasted.

The PM hit out at the Shadow Justice Secretary after he claimed he “didn’t see another white face” during a visit to Birmingham.

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Sir Keir slammed the comment on Thursday night, saying “it’s quite hard to take anything that Robert Jenrick says seriously.”

He accused the senior Tory of “running a leadership campaign” instead of making serious political arguments.

Speaking on a flight to Mumbai, where he will meet Indian President Narendra Modi, Sir Keir said: “We’re working hard on questions of integration, but we need no lessons or lectures from Robert Jenrick on any of this.

“He’s clearly just engaging in a leadership campaign.”

The row erupted after senior Conservatives rallied behind Mr Jenrick’s claim that Britain must confront “ghettoised communities” and a “dangerous” lack of social cohesion.

Labour figures branded the comments “racist”, but Tory leader Kemi Badenoch defended her colleague, saying there was “nothing wrong with making observations.”

Shadow Cabinet Minister Claire Coutinho also backed him, saying: “If you walk through an area and don’t see a single white face, it is a sign that integration has failed.”

The controversy broke out during the Tory party conference in Manchester after The Guardian obtained a secret recording of Mr Jenrick describing a 90-minute visit to Handsworth earlier this year.

He told members at an Aldridge-Brownhills dinner: “I went to Handsworth in Birmingham the other day to do a video on Twitter and it was absolutely appalling.

“It’s as close as I’ve come to a slum in this country.

“But the other thing I noticed there was that it was one of the worst integrated places I’ve ever been to.

“In fact, in the hour and a half I was filming news there I didn’t see another white face.”

Just nine per cent of Handsworth’s population is white, with most residents of Pakistani, Indian, and Bangladeshi heritage, official data shows.

Asked if he regretted his comments, Mr Jenrick told the BBC: “No, not at all and I won’t shy away from these issues.”

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He said he mentioned skin colour “because it’s incredibly important that we have a fully integrated society regardless of the colour of their skin or the faith that they abide by.”

He also linked the terror attack in north Manchester last week to a lack of integration.

Ms Badenoch again backed her shadow minister, saying she would take The Guardian report “with a pinch of salt.”

The Tory leader said: “What he and I both agree with is that there are not enough people integrating.

“There are many people who are creating separate communities.”

Labour last night pounced on the remarks, saying Mr Jenrick had “crossed a red line.”

A year after his huge election win, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday faced the daunting task of trying to rally his party amid dismal ratings.

His most serious challenge comes from the right-wing Reform UK Party, helmed by Nigel Farage. Its hardline stance on immigration is adding pressure for more border security from Labour.

Starmer’s address at the Labour Party conference showed energy and passion — things he’s been criticized for lacking in recent months.

But will it be enough to help Starmer overcome his challenges, or are his days in office numbered?

Presenter: Nick Clark

Guests:

Patrick Diamond – Professor in public policy at Queen Mary University of London, former policy adviser to Labour governments led by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown

Jennifer Nadel – Political communications strategist and co-founder of Compassion in Politics, a cross-party think tank that works towards legislative change and ethical governance

Michael Walker – Contributing editor at Novara Media, an independent outlet, a former Labour Party member who left in 2020

KEIR Starmer is set to announce an “online hospital” that will deliver millions of appointments a year as a “new chapter” for the NHS begins.

The Prime Minister will use his leader’s speech at Labour’s conference to set out plans for NHS Online which will connect patients to specialist clinicians.

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The scheme, which will begin operating in 2027, will deliver up to 8.5 million extra NHS appointments in its first three years, Labour claimed.

In his speech in Liverpool Sir Keir will say “a new world is coming” and “in decades to come, I want people to look back on this moment as the moment we renewed the NHS for a new world”.

The online hospital will be accessible through the NHS app and will allow patients to choose between the digital service and their local hospital.

And those who use the service will be able to access and track prescriptions, be referred for scans and tests, and receive clinical advice on managing their condition.

Patients who require a physical test or a procedure will be able to book them on the app, at a nearby hospital, surgical hub or community diagnostic centre.

Sir Keir will describe it as “a new chapter in the story of our NHS, harnessing the future, patients in control”.

“Waiting times cut for every single person in this country. That’s national renewal, that’s a Britain built for all.”

The Prime Minister will stress the need for continued NHS modernisation, insisting it is Labour’s responsibility to make the health service fit for the years to come.

Sir Keir will say: “I know how hard people work in the NHS – I see it my family – and I celebrate it at every opportunity.

“But the responsibility of this party is not just to celebrate the NHS, it’s to make it better.”

The scheme builds upon ideas already being used in some NHS trusts to reduce waiting times and allow patients to get treatment or advice quicker.

NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey said: “This is a huge step forward for the NHS and will deliver millions more appointments by the end of the decade, offering a real alternative for patients and more control over their own care.

“Patients who choose to receive their treatment through the online hospital will benefit from us industrialising the latest technology and innovations, while the increased capacity will help to cut demand and slash waiting times.

“The NHS can, must and will move forward to match other sectors in offering digital services that make services as personalised, convenient, and flexible as possible for both staff and patients.”

NHS Providers chief executive Daniel Elkeles said: “The online hospital could be a very significant development, transforming the way many patients receive their care.

“The way the NHS provides outpatients services hasn’t changed much for decades, but during Covid we learned a lot about opportunities for new approaches using digital technology.

“It’s sensible they are taking the time to plan this properly because there are a lot of factors to consider.

“These include the handling of patient data and the need to avoid ‘digital exclusion’ of people who can’t access the service.

“It’s important there’s new funding and it will be an NHS organisation with NHS staff.

“This is a bold, exciting initiative, but the benefits should not come at the cost of destabilising vital services patients will continue to rely on.”

In his speech, The PM will also say there is “nothing compassionate or progressive” about letting illegal migrants cross the Channel as he stakes his political life on bringing an end to the small boats crisis.

He is under pressure to give a storming conference speech to silence his growing number of critics in both the party and across the country.

Delivering hard truths to his party faithful, the Labour leader will say beating Reform will require “decisions that are not cost-free or easy — decisions that will not always be comfortable for our party”.

Sir Keir sees stopping the migrant boats, maintaining economic discipline and taking another stab at slashing Britain’s bloated benefits bill as vital to winning re-election.

Channel crossings are at record levels under Labour, while use of asylum hotels has also increased.

It has seen Reform open up a ten-point lead, according to some polls, and become the bookies’ favourite to form the next government.

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Sept. 28 (UPI) — Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called a policy that could lead to the indefinite deportation of thousands of people from the country “racist” and “immoral.”

Currently, migrants can apply for indefinite leave from other countries for five years, and allow them to live, study and work in Britain permanently, according to the BBC.

But a plan by Reform UK would abolish the status quo and require migrants to apply for new visas with more stringent guidelines. Right now, indefinite leave gives people more rights and access to benefits

Starmer said he did not think supporters of Reform UK are racist, but said he remains “frustrated” following 14 years of “Tory failure.” Starmer said he needed “space” to pursue and fulfill pledges he made during last year’s general election, which the Labor party won with a large majority.

“I do think it’s a racist policy, I do think it’s immoral,” Starmer said in an interview with the BBC. “It needs to be called out for what it is. It’s one thing to say we’re going to remove illegal immigrants, people who have no right to be here. I’m up for that. It’s a completely different thing to say we’re going to reach people who are here lawfully here and start removing them.”

Starmer called people in Britain under the current policy “neighbors” who contribute to the economy and changing the policy will “rip this country apart.”

A YouGov poll published Saturday shows that 58% of Britons oppose removing indefinite leave from those who already hold it. More than 44% say they support ending the policy, while 43% are opposed.

BRITAIN must join the fight against Hamas and not reward terror by recognising a Palestinian state, the former chief of Mossad has said.

Veteran Israeli spy Yossi Cohen vowed to eradicate every last enemy fighter in Gaza – as he fumed that Israel is “doing the world’s job alone”.

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Mr Cohen demanded to know why Britain and other countries were not helping Israel after joining previous fights against other terror groups.

Sitting down with The Sun, he said: “The big question is, will you join us?

“More than 70 countries, including Britain, fought together to defeat one terror organisation with ISIS, and you joined the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

“How many armies are fighting with us alongside Hamas? None. The state of Israel is doing the world’s job alone. You’re invited.”

With or without the support, Mr Cohen said he will hunt down every last Hamas fighter, vowing: “If there are 100 Hamas fighters left in Gaza City… I’ll find them for you.”

Mr Cohen, who reveals his life as a spy in his new book The Sword of Freedom, slammed Sir Keir Starmer for his decision last week to formally recognise a Palestinian state – insisting he has “no power to do that”.

Several other countries including France, Canada and Australia all recognised Palestine this month – pushing the number of UN members doing so over 150.

Successive UK governments have vowed to recognise a Palestinian state at the point of most impact as part of a peace process – and Starmer felt the time was now.

The PM said the decision was in aid of a two-state solution, which is the “opposite” of what Hamas wants – though the terror group still claimed it as a victory.

But Mr Cohen said the move by Starmer was cynical.

It was designed to “strengthen” support for the Labour government at home, Mr Cohen claimed, while serving no purpose on the world stage.

He speculated that Starmer felt forced into the decision to “keep people quiet” in the UK – rather than it being “from his heart”.

And he fumed it was a “reward” to Hamas for their heinous October 7 attack.

“If Hamas are the UK’s partners, that’s very sad,” Mr Cohen said.

Cohen dismissed the declaration as toothless because it is “legally impossible” for other countries to mandate a two-state solution.

Referring to the Oslo Accords of 1993, the only standing agreement Israel has with the Palestinian Authority, he insisted that decisions about statehood may only be made between Israel’s government and the PA.

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Earlier this year, Trump also suggested recognising the Palestinian state would risk “rewarding Hamas”.

Cohen said there is a history of governments, including the British, saying one thing to their population and another thing to Israel behind closed doors – and that he “hopes” that remains the case.

He revealed that, in his former roles, he met with foreign diplomats who would be appreciative during private meetings – only to later release “the filthiest statements” about Israel.

‘We take care of Gazans’

Directly addressing the hundreds of thousands of Brits who regularly take to the streets as part of pro-Palestinian marches, Mr Cohen said: “Israel is conducting a just war. This is absolutely the right thing that we have to do.

“Intentionally, we do not kill civilians. Intentionally, we do not starve anyone. Intentionally, we’re taking care of the Gazan people.”

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Mr Cohen even claimed he had received criticism in Israel for helping bring in financial support for Gazans from donors.

“Why is it that we do that? Because we do care about the Gazan people,” he insisted.

A United Nations commission determined this month that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Israel’s conduct in the war has faced increased scrutiny over the past year as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens.

Reflecting on why there is such a gulf in feeling between Israel’s public and Brits, Mr Cohen said his country is still reeling from the atrocities committed on October 7 – with hostages still being kept in Gaza.

He said: “Civilians were killed and butchered. Babies included, burned in their beds, raped. The atrocities that we’ve seen are on a different scale.

“This is the reaction of a normal country. We are a normal country.

“Demonstrators will demonstrate whether Israel conducts itself rightly or wrongly. This is part of their agenda.”

Civilians were killed and butchered. Babies included, burned in their beds, raped. The atrocities that we’ve seen are on a different scale

Yossi CohenFormer director of Mossad

Hundreds of civilians in Gaza are being killed every week in air strikes and shootings.

Israel has repeatedly blamed Hamas for the high civilian death toll – claiming the people of Gaza are being used as human shields.

The IDF has recently expanded its military operation in Gaza City where hundreds of thousands of civilian remain.

Confronted with this fact, Mr Cohen said: “The type of war that we conduct is hard.

“It is not something that you can even imagine when you have terrorists living together with kids and babies in kindergartens, UN facilities, hospitals, clinics, and any other thing.

“They just conquered everything, every single house in the region, to create a kind of a terror activity in within.

“So it’s hard to do, but I know for sure that the state of Israel is doing its best to make sure that the Gazan people will not be hurt.”

Almost 70,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The ex spy master served as Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security advisor – and has hinted at aspirations to become the next Prime Minister of Israel, or returning to the government in some capacity.

“If Netanyahu wants to use me or to use my capabilities… of course he can do that,” Mr Cohen said. “He knows my phone number.”

Hinting at Netanyahu’s handing of the war, he added: “I think the people of Israel need a change that is basically founded on the need of unification.

“It is getting a little bit too intense to my taste.”

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‘Amazing’ Tony Blair

Cohen also passionately backed an emerging plan for former UK PM Tony Blair to temporarily govern Gaza after the war.

Blair has reportedly pitched a plan to Donald Trump which would see him lead a Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA) overseeing the strip before handing over to the Palestinian Authority.

Cohen told us it was an “amazing move from Blair”, and insisted they would work well together.

He said: “This is the main problem – what do we do the day after? And who is going to take care of the close to 2.2 million people?

“We need someone to run the show in the Gaza Strip and stop it deteriorating into the hands of Hamas.

“Tony Blair‘s initiative and willingness to do that is highly appreciated. God bless him.”

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The prime minister has warned Reform UK “will tear this country apart” ahead of the Labour party conference.

Arriving in Liverpool on Saturday, Sir Keir Starmer said Reform’s plans to abolish indefinite leave to remain (ILR) for legal migrants was one of “the most shocking things” Nigel Farage’s party had said.

Sir Keir said the conference would be an opportunity to show Labour’s alternative to the “toxic divide and decline” offered by Reform.

He is under pressure after opinion polls show Labour trailing Reform UK, alongside speculation Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham could mount a leadership challenge.

But in an interview with the Sunday Times, Sir Keir insisted Labour could still “pull this round”, and said it was time for Labour to put in the “hard yards, roll up our sleeves and get on with it”.

Farage told the Telegraph, Sir Keir’s language “smacks, frankly, of total desperation” after the prime minister referred to Reform as an “enemy” in an interview with the Guardian.

“To call somebody in politics an enemy is language that is bordering on the inciteful,” he added.

Arriving at the conference centre in Liverpool, Sir Keir said it would be a “big opportunity to make our case to the country, and make it absolutely clear that patriotic national renewal is the way forwards – not the toxic divide and decline that we get with Reform”.

He continued the attacks as the conference got under way, telling the Sunday Mirror Farage was “grubby“, and that the Reform leader was “unpatriotic” for pretending he would fix problems that mattered to voters.

“Add to that that he spends more time grubbing around in America, trying to make money for himself than he does representing his constituents,” he said.

“He goes there not just to make money, but to talk our country down. The leader of a political party going to another country to talk his own country down. Grubby.”

Comparisons with Reform could be a theme of this conference, as Sir Keir tries to portray his party as a patriotic alternative to Reform, who continue to lead opinion polls.

Last week, Reform announced it will replace ILR with visas and force migrants to reapply every five years, if the party wins the next election. That includes hundreds of thousands of migrants currently in the UK.

Applicants would also have to meet certain criteria, including a higher salary threshold and standard of English. ILR is a key route to gaining British citizenship and allows people to claim benefits.

According to a YouGov poll published on Saturday, abolishing indefinite leave to remain divides the public, with 58% of Britons opposed to removing it from those who already hold it.

But more than 44% say they support ending ILR as a policy, while 43% are opposed to the idea.

During a visit to the office of newspaper Liverpool Echo, Sir Keir said: “These are people who have been in our country a long time, are contributing to our society, maybe working in, I don’t know, hospitals, schools, running businesses – our neighbours, and Reform says it wants to deport them in certain circumstances.

“I think it is a real sign of just how divisive they are and that their politics and their policies will tear this country apart.”

In an interview with the Sun on Sunday, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said legal migration was a “good thing” and the UK had “always welcomed people who want to come and work here”.

However, she said migrants should make a “contribution to their wider community”.

“So I am looking at how to make sure that settlement in our country – long term settlement, Indefinite Leave to Remain – is linked not just to the job you are doing, the salary you get, the taxes you pay, [but] also the wider contribution you are making to our communities,” she added.

Speaking to teenagers at the Liverpool Echo visit, Sir Keir also insisted the government would not legalise cannabis, and defended his plans to lower the voting age to 16 in general elections.

“It already happens in Scotland, already happens in Wales, and the sky didn’t fall in,” he said.

Ahead of the Labour conference, backbench MPs and unions renewed calls to end the two-child benefit cap.

Several MPs from Liverpool were among those who wrote to Sir Keir ahead of the conference insisting the cap “is one of the most significant drivers of child poverty in Britain today”.

Two MPs – former shadow chancellor John McDonnell and Apsana Begum – have had the whip restored, after a year-long ban for voting against the government on the cap.

McDonnell told the BBC: “If this is a signal the government is going to scrap the two-child limit I’m really pleased.”

The prime minister’s plans for a new digital ID system, revealed on Friday, will also likely face scrutiny at the conference.

Senior Labour figures are meanwhile expected to set out the details of a fresh tranche of “New Towns” at the event.

WASHINGTON — At a banquet table fit for a king, but set specially for him, President Trump called his state visit to the United Kingdom this week “one of the highest honors of my life.”

He then proceeded to tell guests at the white tie event that the United States was “a very sick country” last year before becoming “the hottest” again under his rule.

During a news conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Chequers estate Thursday, hailing a bilateral deal on artificial intelligence investments said to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars, Trump called America’s relationship with Britain “unbreakable,” bigger than any single esoteric policy disagreement.

But he quickly pivoted from magnanimity on the world stage, denying the results of his 2020 election defeat and calling exclusively on conservative reporters, who asked questions about Britain’s Christian nature and his predecessor’s alleged use of an autopen.

It was a familiar study in contrasts from the president, who routinely mixes diplomacy with domestic politics in his meetings with foreign leaders. Yet the sound of Trump engaging in fractious political discourse — not at the White House or a political event in Florida or Missouri, but inside Britain’s most revered halls — struck a discordant tone.

The Mirror, a national British tabloid aligned with Starmer’s Labour Party, wrote that Trump’s “wild … political rant” at Windsor Castle alongside King Charles III “seriously broke royal protocol.”

On Wednesday evening, as the formal banquet concluded, Trump took to his social media platform to designate a far left-wing political movement called Antifa as “a major terrorist organization,” describing the group as “A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER.”

President Trump appears with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at a news conference Thursday at Chequers near Aylesbury, England.

(Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

The move prompted a question to Starmer at the Chequers news conference from a right-ring reporter on whether he would consider taking similar action against leftist British groups.

“We obviously will take decisions for ourselves. I don’t want to comment on the decisions of the president,” Starmer said. “But we take our decisions ourselves.”

In another exchange, Trump repeated dramatically exaggerated figures on the number of undocumented migrants who entered the United States during the Biden administration, as well as false claims about the 2020 presidential election.

“I don’t want to be controversial, but you see what’s happened, and you see all the information that’s come out,” Trump said. “We won in 2020, big. And I said, let’s run. We gotta run. Because I saw what’s happening.”

The Royal Family went beyond its own rule book to show Trump extraordinary hospitality, honoring the president’s arrival with a 41-gun salute typically reserved for special, domestic occasions, such as the king’s birthday.

King Charles was hosting Trump for an unprecedented second state visit — a gesture never before extended to an American president — after the king’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II, greeted him at Windsor in 2019.

“That’s a first and maybe that’s going to be the last time. I hope it is, actually,” Trump said in his banquet speech, prompting the king to chuckle and balk.

At the stunning dinner, along a table seating 160 people in St. George’s Hall, guests were offered a 1912 cognac honoring the birth year of the president’s Scottish-born mother, as well as a whiskey cocktail inspired by his heritage. The president, for his part, does not drink.

First Lady Melania Trump, left, President Trump, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Lady Victoria Starmer watch the Red Devils parachute display team at Chequers, the country home of the British prime minister, on Thursday.

(Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)

But it is unclear whether the king’s soft-power diplomacy helped shift Trump closer to London’s priorities on foreign affairs. A growing chorus in Britain opposes Israel’s continued military operations in Gaza, and major U.K. parties are aligned on a moral and strategic need to support Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.

“Our countries have the closest defense, security and intelligence relationship ever known,” Charles said at the dinner. “In two world wars, we fought together to defeat the forces of tyranny.

“Today, as tyranny once again threatens Europe, we and our allies stand together in support of Ukraine, to deter aggression and secure peace,” the king added.

A king’s request for Europe

Trump’s reciprocal remarks did not mention Ukraine. But at Chequers, the president repeated his general disappointment with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the ongoing war, a conflict Putin has escalated with attacks on civilians and the British Council building in Kyiv since meeting with Trump in Alaska a month ago.

“He’s let me down. He’s really let me down,” said Trump, offering no details on what steps he might take next.

Starmer, pressing to leverage the pomp of Trump’s state visit for actionable policy change, said that a coordinated response to Putin’s aggression would be forthcoming and “decisive.”

“In recent days, Putin has shown his true face, mounting the biggest attack since the invasion began, with yet more bloodshed, yet more innocents killed, and unprecedented violations of NATO airspace,” Starmer said, referencing Russia’s Sept. 9 drone flights over Poland. “These are not the actions of someone who wants peace.”

“It’s only when the president has put pressure on Putin,” Starmer added, “that he’s actually shown any inclination to move.”

UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer got a pat on the back from US President Donald Trump when saying Hamas is a terrorist organisation that can have no place in Palestinian governance. Starmer added that the group is not interested in peace nor a ceasefire.

THE Hillsborough Law will leave a legacy for future generations, one of the campaigners at the heart of the battle for justice said after meeting the Prime Minister in Downing Street.

The new Public Office (Accountability) Bill is intended to make sure the authorities will face criminal sanctions if they attempt to cover up the facts behind disasters such as the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy or the Grenfell Tower fire.

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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had previously pledged to bring in the law by the 36th anniversary of the tragedy, which was on April 15, but Downing Street then said more time was needed to redraft it.

At a meeting with some of the families of those killed at Hillsborough, Sir Keir acknowledged it had been a battle, with “frank” discussions continuing as his deadline passed.

Margaret Aspinall, whose son James, 18, died at Hillsborough, said she is hopeful the new law “will mean no one will ever have to suffer like we did”.

Speaking alongside Sir Keir in No 10, she said: “I thought this is a day that was not going to happen.”

“This is not just about a legacy for the 97,” she said, in reference to the number of Liverpool fans who died in the tragedy.

“This is a legacy for the people of this country and I think that is the most important thing.”

Some campaigners raised fears the Bill’s contents had been diluted and would not include a legal duty of candour.

But the Government has confirmed a new professional and legal duty of candour will be part of the Bill, meaning public officials must act with honesty and integrity at all times and could face criminal sanctions if they breach it.

The Hillsborough disaster led to the deaths of 97 football fans during the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at the football ground in Sheffield.

The Government said the new legislation will “end the culture of cover-ups” and learn lessons from wider disasters including the Grenfell Tower fire and the Post Office Horizon and infected blood scandals.

Sir Keir said the new legislation can change “the balance of power in Britain” to ensure the state “can never hide from the people it is supposed to serve”.

He added: “Make no mistake, this a law for the 97, but it is also a law for the subpostmasters who suffered because of the Horizon scandal, the victims of infected blood, and those who died in the terrible Grenfell Tower fire. This is change only this Government can deliver.”

Sue Roberts, whose brother Graham was unlawfully killed at Hillsborough, described the Bill’s introduction as “a huge step in the right direction” but said the families will be “watching closely to ensure this Bill is passed in its entirety and enacted in full”.

She added: “The Government must resist any pressure from those who don’t believe the public deserves to know the truth about when the state fails.”

Among what the Government has described as the “seismic changes” as part of the Bill are the biggest expansion of legal aid in a decade for bereaved families, with non-means tested help and support for inquests.

There will also be a new offence for misleading the public, which the Government said will mean criminal sanctions for the most serious breaches.

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The Conservative Party has written to Sir Keir Starmer demanding answers over the extent of Downing Street’s knowledge of Lord Mandelson’s links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The Tories also called for the prime minister to release documents relating to Mandelson’s appointment, including evidence that shows how No 10 reacted when they learned of his ties to Epstein.

On Sunday, the BBC reported that Starmer explicitly asked Mandelson about his links to the paedophile before deciding to appoint him as ambassador to the US.

Mandelson was sacked last week after a cache of emails reported by Bloomberg showed supportive messages he sent after Epstein plead guilty to sex offences.

In the letter to the prime minister, Tory MP Alex Burghart questioned what and when Sir Keir knew of Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein before defending the former ambassador during Prime Minister’s Questions last Wednesday.

He added that the scandal had exposed the PM’s “appalling judgement”.

“He ignored warnings about Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, forced through his appointment, and is avoiding scrutiny about what he knew,” Burghart wrote.

The Conservative MP’s letter also demanded the release of what he called the “Mandelson-Epstein Files” – government correspondence and internal documents related to the pair – and for Sir Keir and his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney to give evidence to Parliament.

Downing Street have already stressed the prime minister only knew the contents of the emails last Wednesday evening and acted swiftly in sacking Mandelson within hours.

This scandal, following so soon after Angela Rayner’s resignation, has encouraged some Labour MPs to become more vocal in their criticism of the prime minister.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s The Westminster Hour on Sunday, Labour MP Helen Hayes said if the scandal were to affect the party’s chances in next year’s local elections in May, there will be questions about Starmer’s leadership.

“If those elections don’t go well then that will be the time to ask questions… questions about the nature of the leadership and whether things can continue as they are, but we’re not at that point now,” she said.

Hayes added that she felt “devastated” about Mandelson, but said she believed he shouldn’t have been appointed.

“I think there is a question about how frank he [Mandelson] was in the original vetting process. If he was not frank about that association, then that should be dealt with and his ability to speak as a Labour peer should be taken away from him,” she said.

Mandelson has repeatedly expressed regret about his relationship with Epstein who died in jail in 2019.

Over the weekend, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused the prime minister of lying to the public and said he had “very serious questions to answer”.

Antifascist campaign group Hope Not Hate condemns speeches at Saturday’s rally in London as ‘extremely disturbing’.

Britain will “never surrender” to far-right protesters who use the national flag as cover for violence and intimidation, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer says after violent scenes at one of the country’s largest far-right demonstrations in decades.

More than 110,000 people marched through central London on Saturday in a protest against immigration led by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. Some attending the Unite the Kingdom rally clashed with police. Twenty-six officers were injured, and at least 24 people were arrested, according to the Metropolitan Police.

In his first public comments since the rally, Starmer said on Sunday that peaceful protest was a fundamental value in Britain, but he condemned assaults on police officers and intimidation against marginalised communities.

“People have a right to peaceful protest. It is core to our country’s values,” he said. “But we will not stand for assaults on police officers doing their job or for people feeling intimidated on our streets because of their background or the colour of their skin.”

He added: “Britain is a nation proudly built on tolerance, diversity and respect. Our flag represents our diverse country, and we will never surrender it to those that use it as a symbol of violence, fear and division.”

Islam is the ‘real enemy’

Saturday’s protest was marked by nationalist symbols, scuffles and inflammatory speeches. Footage showed police on horseback pelted with bottles while baton charges were used to push back Robinson supporters and allow about 5,000 counterdemonstrators to leave the Whitehall area of central London safely.

A stage was erected for speeches from a lineup of far-right figures. Leading the charge was Robinson, who told the crowd: “It’s not just Britain that is being invaded. It’s not just Britain that is being raped.”

“Every single Western nation faces the same problem: An orchestrated, organised invasion and replacement of European citizens is happening,” he added.

International speakers included French politician Eric Zemmour, who echoed the views put forward by Robinson. “We are both subject to the same process of the great replacement of our European peoples by peoples coming from the south and of Muslim culture,” he said, citing the great replacement conspiracy theory that white Europeans are being deliberately replaced by people from other ethnicities.

“You and we are being colonised by our former colonies,” Zemmour added.

Similarly, Belgian far-right politician Filip Dewinter declared: “It has to be clear that Islam is our real enemy. We have to get rid of Islam. Islam does not belong in Europe, and Islam does not belong in the UK.”

Other speakers included Danish People’s Party leader Morten Messerschmidt, German Alternative for Germany MP Petr Bystron and Polish politician Dominik Tarczynski.

Tesla CEO and X Chairman Elon Musk also made an appearance by videolink, telling protesters the UK needed an “urgent change in government” and warning them to “fight back” or “die”.

Police, government and antifascist groups condemn violence

The rally came amid a wave of far-right violence in recent months, including arson attacks on hotels housing asylum seekers.

Experts said these incidents, fuelled by conspiracy theories, xenophobia and online disinformation, have intensified concerns over the rise of far-right movements across Britain and Europe, which often spill over into rioting and violence.

Assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner Matt Twist said the violence directed at officers was “wholly unacceptable”. He added: “There is no doubt that many came to exercise their lawful right to protest, but there were many who came intent on violence.”

British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood also condemned the violence, warning that anyone taking part in criminal acts would “face the full force of the law”.

Starmer’s remarks followed calls from the antifascist group Hope Not Hate and several MPs urging the government to act against the surge in far-right mobilisation. Hope Not Hate described the protest as “extremely disturbing”.

“While the turnout was significantly smaller than the millions claimed by Lennon and his supporters, it appears to be the largest far-right demonstration ever seen in Britain,” the group said.

“For anyone worried about the rise of far-right activism and the normalisation of viciously anti-migrant, anti-Muslim sentiment, it could be a sign of dark times to come,” it added.

SIR Keir Starmer tried and failed to boot Ed Miliband from his Net Zero brief, it was claimed today.

The PM is understood to have asked the Energy Secretary to swap jobs and take over disgraced Angela Rayner’s housing department during Friday’s cabinet reshuffle.

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But the former Labour leader dug in, insisting he wanted to keep control over the green agenda.

Sir Keir has vowed to put growth centre stage as he battles to steady Labour amid grim polling.

His reshaped top team points to a shift rightwards, as he braces for a looming challenge from Nigel Farage and Reform.

Mr Farage and his Deputy Richard Tice have made scrapping Net Zero a central pledge of the party.

Reform has vowed to repurpose billions in green funding to tackling illegal migration and restoring law and order.

No10 this morning insisted the PM is “delighted” Mr Miliband will stay on at the Department of Energy and Net Zero, but did not deny Sir Keir initially tried to move him.

The PM’s spokesman said: “The PM has set out his new Cabinet and ministerial team — a team that is going to be focused on delivery, with growth as a relentless focus.

“The Energy Secretary has been central to that growth agenda. Investing in clean energy goes hand in hand with cutting peoples’ bills and boosting growth across the country.

“You can see that with the investments being made into CCUS all across the country, into solar, into wind farms.

“The PM is delighted he’ll continue to do that.”

Labour sources admit the Net Zero push has been stalling activity, while firms quietly hope workers’ rights reforms could be softened or delayed.

New Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden is preparing a fresh assault on the ballooning benefits bill, after Labour MPs scuppered the last attempt.

But Mr Miliband is seen as the head cheerleader for the “soft left” in Sir Keir’s cabinet.

His popularity with party members gives him the power make demands of the PM to ensure he cannot make trouble from the sidelines.

CUTTING Angela Rayner loose will not end the trouble she has caused Sir Keir Starmer – in fact it could get a whole lot worse.

Millions of appalled voters will rightly expect her to scurry sheepishly off into the deep freeze along with any future ambitions.

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But to her legions of militant supporters, she is far from a busted flush – she is a martyr, and soon quite possibly their Red Queen over the water.

It is no secret Rayner is far to the left of Starmer, and that theirs has always been a tricky forced political marriage.

Remember when Sir Keir tried to clip her wings in 2021 only to end up giving her a promotion after she kicked off big time?

Now outside the Cabinet tent – and with no real sense of loyalty to the PM – she could turn from his right-hand woman into a right old headache.

Many in the Labour tribe are already furious with Starmer for turning his back on the left-wing causes he once championed.

From welfare, to taxes, to migration, there is no shortage of issues on which soft-left MPs are ready to scrap with No10.

As the PM tries to stem the bleeding to Reform with more hardline policies, those rows will only intensify.

Especially given Jeremy Corbyn’s new rabble and the Greens threaten to sap voters from Labour’s leftward flank.

In this looming battle for the soul of the party, it is easy to see Rayner emerging as the socialists’ standard bearer.

With the might of the unions and members also on her side, Rayner could quickly accumulate a large powerbase.

Maybe one even big enough to mobilise against her old boss.

Think of the grief Boris Johnson or Nigel Lawson caused Theresa May and Margaret Thatcher from the backbenches, leading to their downfalls.

Starmer had no choice but to push Rayner out.

Her fate was set as soon as Sir Laurie Magnus threw the book at her for breaking the ministerial code.

In this looming battle for the soul of the party, it is easy to see Rayner emerging as the socialists’ standard bearer

His gushing, personal, hand-written goodbye note is as clear a sign as any that he wanted to give her the heave-ho in as gentle a way as possible.

But it might not stay friendly for long.