Sir Sadiq Khan says he finds the racism allegations against Nigel Farage to be “incredibly credible and believable” based on his own experience. The Reform UK leader vehemently denies claims he was racist to fellow pupils at top private school Dulwich College in the 1970s and 80s, which a party spokesman has dubbed “a witch hunt”. Harvard Professor Steven Pinker ...

The former health minister Andrew Gwynne has dismissed as “idle speculation” reports he could resign his seat as part of an Andy Burnham “coup” against Keir Starmer. Allies of Burnham were reported on Sunday to have identified a shortlist of seats to allow the Greater Manchester mayor to return to Westminster in the new year. One of these seats is ...

The US government’s claims that Europe faces “civilisational erasure” because of mass migration are an attempt to score political points against Muslims, the home secretary has suggested. Shabana Mahmood dismissed the idea that European civilisation and national identities were under threat because of migration and said the UK had managed the challenges of multiculturalism “very well”. Her comments are the ...

Rachel Reeves’s attempts to overhaul Britain’s planning laws have been dealt a blow after a senior lawyer whom she appointed as an adviser decided to leave the government after just four months. Catherine Howard will leave the Treasury when her contract ends on 1 January, despite having been asked informally to stay on indefinitely. Howard is understood to have warned ...

It is a familiar pattern in news coverage of recent months: a horrific, often sexual, crime is committed by an asylum seeker or foreign national. A flurry of headlines and commentary follows, suggesting that men from the country, ethnic group or religion in question have a propensity to commit these types of offence. A common theme was crystallised by the ...

Several car-sharing companies are considering launching or expanding in London, with the imminent closure of Zipcar’s UK operation leaving a large gap in the market in one of Europe’s biggest cities. Free2Move, owned by the carmaker Stellantis, said it was “closely monitoring the London market”, and “actively assessing” options for its services. It already operates fleets in cities including Berlin, ...

The risk of women in England suffering severe bleeding after giving birth has risen to its highest level for five years, prompting fresh concern about NHS maternity care. The rate at which mothers in England experience postpartum haemorrhage has increased from 27 per 1,000 births in 2020 to 32 per 1,000 this year, a rise of 19%. Last year had ...

Thank you and a glittery goodnight That concludes Saturday’s semi-final liveblog but please feel free to continue the ballroom badinage in the comments below. Meet you back here tomorrow for this year’s last results show. It airs at 7.45pm Sunday on BBC1, featuring music from 5ive and Kylie. Not together. That would be weird. I’ll spark up the blog at ...

Canapes, crackers, Christmas playlists, flowing drinks, and a ripe brie cosying up to a firm gruyere on a cheeseboard surrounded by grapes and fresh figs: there is no better time of year to host guests, feast and be merry. Even better, you can do almost everything in advance of the big day: decorate, prepare canapes, get your dinner oven-ready and ...

A repeat CT scan of Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi’s brain has been conducted. In the report, there found severe damage of his brain. Dr. Abdul Ahad, a member of the surgical team of the neurosurgery department of Dhaka Medical College, informed this to media at a press conference on Sunday noon. He said, “Hadi’s physical condition is critical. ...