Category Archives: Keir Starmer

Starmer adviser held 16 undisclosed meetings with top US tech bosses

Posted on by

Exclusive: Varun Chandra’s talks with Google, Meta, Apple and others raise fears of ‘lobbying behind closed doors’

An influential government adviser close to Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves held 16 undisclosed meetings with top US tech executives, the Guardian can reveal.

The No 10 business aide Varun Chandra discussed regulatory changes, AI and Donald Trump’s second administration with tech corporations during confidential meetings between October 2024 and October 2025. In one meeting he offered to help a top executive meet the prime minister directly.

Continue reading...

Some pro-Palestinian protests could be banned amid attacks on British Jews

Posted on by

PM worried about ‘cumulative’ effect of marches, as Met chief says Jewish communities facing biggest threat

Some pro-Palestinian demonstrations could be stopped, the prime minister has warned, as the UK’s most senior police officer said the threat to the Jewish ­community was greater than it had ever been.

Keir Starmer indicated he wanted the language expressed on some protest marches to be subjected to “tougher action” as he sought to allay the fears of British Jews after a series of attacks on their communities in recent weeks.

Continue reading...

Starmer says Polanski ‘is not fit to lead a political party’ after Golders Green police criticism

Posted on by

Green leader apologises for sharing post that said officers were ‘repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head’ and says he had did so ‘in haste’

Keir Starmer has condemned Zack Polanski as “disgraceful” and unfit to head a political party after the Greens’ leader shared a social media post critical of the way police tackled the suspect in the Golders Green stabbings.

The prime minister said any criticism of the police involved in the arrest was unfair on officers having to make split-second decisions in a moment of potentially grave danger.

Continue reading...

Andy Burnham has plan to return to Westminster ‘within weeks’, allies say

Posted on by

Exclusive: Greater Manchester mayor said to have identified seats where MPs would step aside to allow leadership bid

Andy Burnham has a credible plan to return to Westminster “within weeks”, his allies have said, with the Greater Manchester mayor expected to use a byelection fight to set out a new agenda for government.

Burnham, who was blocked by Labour’s ruling body from running in February’s Gorton and Denton byelection, has identified several seats where MPs are prepared to step aside for his leadership bid.

Continue reading...

Britain to create joint naval force with nine European countries as ‘complement’ to Nato

Posted on by

Royal Navy chief says unified naval force will deter future Russian threats from the ‘open sea border’ to the north

Britain has agreed to create a unified naval force with nine European countries to deter future Russian threats from the “open sea border” to the north, the head of the Royal Navy has announced.

Gen Sir Gwyn Jenkins said that despite the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, where the strait of Hormuz remains closed after the US-Israeli war in Iran, “Russia remains the gravest threat to our security”.

Continue reading...

Starmer and Badenoch clash over welfare and defence spending at PMQs – UK politics live

Posted on by

PM took questions from leader of the opposition and other MPs in final PMQs before recess

Here is the running order for PMQs.

Nigel Farage was given £5m by the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne shortly before announcing he would stand in the 2024 British general election, Anna Isaac reports.

Continue reading...

Top Foreign Office official ‘felt pressure’ for ‘rapid outcome’ on Mandelson vetting

Posted on by

Ian Collard tells MPs he had not seen UKSV assessment summary before briefing Olly Robbins on clearance

A top Foreign Office security official who played a key role in granting Peter Mandelson’s vetting clearance “felt pressure to deliver a rapid outcome” because of contacts from Downing Street, MPs have been told.

In testimony relayed to parliament via the Foreign Office (FCDO), Ian Collard said he had not seen the assessment summary produced by the vetting agency when he gave an oral briefing to Olly Robbins, the department’s former permanent secretary. Instead, Collard had received an oral briefing from a member of the FCDO’s personnel security team.

Continue reading...

Mandelson and McSweeney: a partnership forged on winning and crushing the Labour left

Posted on by

Former chief of staff who helped bring Mandelson out of Labour shadows for Washington post to be questioned by MPs on vetting process

Like many Labour stories, Peter Mandelson’s and Morgan McSweeney’s both start at Lambeth council.

Mandelson was in his mid-20s. It was 1979, and he was a new councillor under the leadership of “Red” Ted Knight. He came to despise the local party, describing the Lambeth Labour party’s leadership as “contributing very little to the economic development of south London, instead politicising everything, attacking the police and the Tory government, and making the council go broke.”

Continue reading...

Starmer tells MPs to ‘fight together’ before critical day for his premiership

Posted on by

The prime minister faces a standards investigation over Mandelson affair and testimony from Morgan McSweeney

Keir Starmer has told Labour MPs to “stick together and fight together” as ministers launched a massive operation to shore up his fragile position before a critical day for his premiership.

The prime minister faces the double threat of a standards investigation into his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US and potentially damaging testimony from Morgan McSweeney, his former chief of staff.

Continue reading...

Lonely at the top: who are Keir Starmer’s allies as daunting May elections loom?

Posted on by

Prime minister has shed trusted staffers but can still turn to many genuine friends in and out of government

Given that the signs of an embattled premiership are all around – defensive-sounding interviews insisting he will be in post at the next election; a rush of stories about supposed cabinet plotting – now, more than ever, Keir Starmer needs real allies. And here, at least, there is something to feel positive about.

If you talk to most Labour MPs, Starmer most likely will not lead Labour into the next election. He may even not remain in No 10 much beyond a set of Scottish, Welsh and local English elections on 7 May, which are expected to be disastrous for his party.

Continue reading...

Key figure in Mandelson vetting scandal will not give evidence before MPs

Posted on by

Chief property and security officer Ian Collard set to submit written answers to foreign affairs committee questions

A key figure in the row over Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to Washington will not appear before a parliamentary committee of MPs to give evidence.

Emily Thornberry had requested that Ian Collard speak to the foreign affairs committee (FAC) on Tuesday, but confirmed on Saturday that he would submit written answers instead.

Whether he felt under pressure to deliver Mandelson’s clearance, after Robbins said there was an “atmosphere of pressure” and “constant chasing” from Downing Street.

Whether he had seen the cover form for Mandelson’s vetting by UK Security Vetting (UKSV), the agency responsible for checks on candidates for sensitive posts, in which it had ticked two red boxes – meaning they had “high concern” and recommended “clearance denied or withdrawn”.

If he was asked by anyone in the Foreign Office, Downing Street or the Cabinet Office for advice about whether Mandelson required vetting for the post given that he was a member of the House of Lords.

If he advised on how Mandelson should be treated during the period between his appointment being announced and his clearance coming through.

Continue reading...

Trump says he will ‘probably put a big tariff on the UK’ if it doesn’t drop digital services tax

Posted on by

US president accuses UK of thinking it can ‘make an easy buck’ from US tech companies, weeks after warning that UK–US trade deal can be changed

Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on the UK if it does not drop its digital services tax on US social media firms.

The digital services tax, introduced in 2020, imposes a 2% levy on the revenues of several major US tech companies.

Continue reading...

‘Toxic’ views of Reform UK candidates raise questions about party’s vetting

Posted on by

Hope Not Hate campaign identifies election hopefuls calling for a ‘white Britain’ and complaining of ‘kowtowing to the black community’

A Reform UK candidate who called for a “white Britain” and said Keir Starmer should be shot is among a number of contenders fuelling doubts about the party’s claim to have tightened up its vetting.

The past comments of Linda McFarlane and other political hopefuls have been unearthed ahead of the 7 May elections, including one who complained about “constant kowtowing to the black community” and others who endorsed the far-right activist Tommy Robinson.

Continue reading...

Cabinet Office officials delayed telling Starmer about Mandelson vetting recommendation for almost three weeks – UK politics live

Posted on by

Permanent secretary Cat Little tells MPs that she sought legal advice before sharing the vetting information with the prime minister

Little says in March she had a meeting when she asked to see the Foreign Office’s documentation about the decision to grant Mandelson vetting. She said she was asking because this was documentation covered by the humble address. She said was told that “that information would not be forthcoming”.

In the middle of March, I have a meeting with Sir Olly and a senior member of his team, and this is after the point that I’ve been told that this summary document exists.

I specifically ask to see this document and any decision-making audit trail around those judgments at the time. It was made clear to me that that information would not be forthcoming.

I took the very unusual judgment that I should directly request the information from UK Security Vetting.

And I did that because I go back to my responsibilities, to discharge the humble address, which is a responsibility that is unique to me and I take very seriously.

Continue reading...

Olly Robbins refused to give Mandelson vetting summary to Cabinet Office, says Cat Little

Posted on by

In evidence to MPs, Cabinet Office top civil servant disputes that her department suggested vetting might not be needed

Olly Robbins refused to hand Peter Mandelson’s vetting summary to the Cabinet Office, the civil servant who leads the department has said.

The summary – which would have revealed that Robbins, the now-sacked Foreign Office head, had granted Mandelson clearance against the advice of security officials – was instead provided to Cat Little by UK Security Vetting, she said.

Continue reading...

Labour MP calls for Starmer’s resignation to end ‘psychodrama’ – UK politics live

Posted on by

Jonathan Brash says ‘own goals’ are distracting from Labour’s achievements

UK inflation accelerated to 3.3% in March after the Iran war triggered the biggest jump in fuel prices for more than three years, Richard Partington reports.

Today the Liberal Democrats staged a photocall to publicise their line about this being “Trumpflation”. Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem deputy leader and Treasury spokesperson, said:

People across our country have been struggling for years with a devastating cost-of-living crisis and Donald Trump’s idiotic war in Iran has added to it. The cost of fuel is soaring, mortgage rates are rising and fixed energy deals are already going up by hundreds of pounds.

But what is utterly inexcusable is that there are politicians in this country - Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch - who are happy to cheerlead Donald Trump as he hikes people’s bills. All the while this Labour government promised to fix the country but instead we’ve got political Groundhog Day: yet more sleaze and scandal.

Continue reading...

Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff, to be questioned by MPs

Posted on by

Exclusive: McSweeney summoned by foreign affairs select committee in rare step, as Mandelson vetting row continues

Morgan McSweeney, the prime minister’s former chief of staff, has been summoned before the foreign affairs select committee as the Peter Mandelson vetting row continues to undermine Keir Starmer’s premiership.

As MPs attempt to unravel the facts, McSweeney is to appear next Tuesday to respond to allegations that Downing Street put huge pressure on the civil service to approve his appointment as the UK’s ambassador to Washington.

Continue reading...

Olly Robbins’ account of Mandelson vetting piles pressure on Keir Starmer

Posted on by

Sacked civil servant tells select committee of ‘pressure’ to give clearance and ‘dismissive’ attitude to vetting

The civil servant sacked by Keir Starmer has given a devastating account of his government, saying Downing Street put huge pressure on the civil service to approve the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Washington ambassador despite the concerns of vetting officials.

Olly Robbins, the former top official at the Foreign Office, said No 10 took a “dismissive” attitude to vetting, and Mandelson was given access to the Foreign Office building and to “higher-classification briefings” before he was granted security clearance.

Continue reading...

Cabinet Office suggested Mandelson did not need security vetting, says Robbins as he describes ‘pressure’ from No 10 – UK politics live

Posted on by

Olly Robbins was forced out as Foreign Office permanent secretary over the Peter Mandelson security vetting revelations in the Guardian

The hearing has started.

Emily Thornberry, the chair, started by saying that Robbins did not tell the whole truth about this process when he gave evidence to it in November.

Continue reading...

Police investigate whether London arson attacks were planned for weeks

Posted on by

Criminals paid on behalf of Iran are believed to be behind attacks against Jewish targets, say detectives

Detectives are investigating whether the series of arson attacks in London were planned for weeks with suspects carrying out reconnaissance on the Jewish targets to be firebombed.

The series of attacks against synagogues and other Jewish targets, as well as one premises linked to Iranian dissidents, are believed to be carried out by criminals paid on behalf of Iran, police said.

Continue reading...