Lead News

More than 100,000 people in central London have joined a march organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, with a counter-protest by anti-racism campaigners also taking place. Protesters who are forming the “Unite the Kingdom” march are heading towards Whitehall where they will hear a series of speeches from people including Donald Trump’s former strategist Steve Bannon. Meanwhile thousands more gathered ...

Labour MPs are publicly and privately expressing their anger over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK ambassador to the US and the handling of his subsequent sacking. Mandelson was dismissed over his links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The men’s friendship had been known about at the time of his appointment but No 10 said new information about ...

One of the UK’s top planning lawyers has said it would be “unlawful” for the government to grant planning permission for a Chinese “mega embassy” near the Tower of London. The opinion, from Lord Banner KC, was submitted to the government on Monday, just ahead of the final deadline for those opposed to the scheme to have their say. Opponents ...

  The UK could suspend visas from countries that do not “play ball” and agree to returns deals for migrants, the new home secretary has said. Shabana Mahmood made the comments as she hosted Donald Trump’s head of homeland security and ministers from Australia, New Zealand and Canada at a meeting of the intelligence-sharing Five Eyes group in London on ...

Ex-Labour deputy Baroness Harman says deputy leader ‘needs to be a woman’ Former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman said the party must pick a woman from outside London to replace Angela Rayner as the party’s deputy. The party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) has set out a sped-up schedule for a deputy leadership race, shaping up to be a battle ...

The defence secretary has said the government is looking at expanding the use of military sites to house asylum seekers, as it seeks to move people out of hotels. John Healey also confirmed officials were considering other types of “non-military” accommodation. Just over 32,000 asylum seekers are currently in hotels, which represents about a third of the total number being ...

United Kingdom foreign minister David Lammy has been appointed as the country’s new deputy prime minister, replacing Angela Rayner after she resigned amid a tax scandal. Rayner’s resignation on Friday for breaching ministerial code after underpaying tax on her flat prompted a major cabinet reshuffle, with Lammy’s elevation to deputy prime minister among a raft of new appointments. The departure ...

Angela Rayner has resigned as housing secretary and deputy prime minister two days after admitting she underpaid the stamp duty due on her £800,000 flat in Hove. She has also stepped down as deputy Labour leader, a position to which she was elected by party members. Her departure comes after the prime minister’s ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus said Rayner ...

Zack Polanski has been elected leader of the Green Party of England and Wales by a landslide, signalling a clear shift to the left for the party. The London Assembly member beat Green MPs Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns, who were standing on a joint ticket, by 20,411 votes to 3,705. In his victory speech, Polanski promised to build a ...

The government is changing the law to stop the Sentencing Council issuing new guidelines to courts in England and Wales without the explicit approval of the justice secretary. Under the new rules, Shabana Mahmood will have veto powers over any new sentencing guidance issued by the independent public body, the Ministry of Justice said. The change comes after a public ...