Politics

Sir Keir Starmer will hold an emergency COBRA meeting today after a minister said intelligence shows more protests are planned. The prime minister will meet security officials and police chiefs to discuss and to plan for the coming days of potential further unrest. Concerns 100 protests planned by far-right groups would turn violent on Wednesday,

Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick has been accused of “textbook Islamophobia” after telling Sky News people shouting Allahu Akbar should be “immediately arrested”. The former immigration minister said he had been “very critical of the police in the past”, particularly around the policing of protests against the war in Gaza, which started after Hamas attacked

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has called accusations of two-tier policing “complete nonsense” – and said they are putting officers at risk. Sir Mark condemned the claims saying: “It’s complete nonsense. We operate independently under the law without fear or favour. “They are putting them at risk by suggesting that any of those officers

Billionaire media baron Elon Musk is engaged in a war of words with Sir Keir Starmer over the role social media has played in riots around the UK. The X owner began to retweet posts a few days after the Southport stabbings and after the prime minister fired a warning shot to social media companies

Elon Musk has ramped up his row with the UK as he questioned if it was “Britain or the Soviet Union” after a man was apparently arrested over comments he made on Facebook. The billionaire owner of X has been engaged in a war of words with Sir Keir Starmer over riots gripping the UK,

Anyone whipping up violence online will face the full force of the law, Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman warned after Elon Musk said “civil war is inevitable”, following days of rioting in the UK. Mr Musk, the billionaire owner of X, made the comments on the social media platform below a video of rioters setting off

The home secretary has said prison places “are ready” for the “thuggish minority of criminals” rioting across the UK, ahead of an emergency COBRA meeting today. Yvette Cooper will hold the emergency meeting this morning following nearly a week of rioting in cities and towns across the UK. More than 140 people have been arrested

The prime minister has vowed to do “whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice” as he addressed the nation amid rioting in UK streets. “I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, either directly or those whipping up this disorder online,” Sir Keir Starmer said in a televised address. UK rioting

The government has said it will do “whatever it takes” to ensure those engaging in criminal activity during violent disorder across the UK are dealt with, including courts sitting overnight. It comes as the government’s adviser on political violence and disruption warned that far-right actors are “almost certainly” being “aided and abetted by hostile states

Sir Keir Starmer has told the police they have ministers’ full backing to take “all necessary action to keep our streets safe” from “thugs” who “sow hate” as violent protests erupted across the UK following the stabbing of three girls in Southport. A Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister had met senior ministers including

Robert Jenrick has said the political system he was part of is broken as he claimed he is the person who can change that as Tory leader. The former minister told a leadership race rally in his Newark constituency he wants to “breathe new life into our party” and will ensure it becomes a “mass

The culture secretary has said BBC newsreader Huw Edwards should return his salary after he admitted accessing indecent images of children. Edwards was paid £200,000 after he was arrested in November while he was suspended by the broadcaster up until he resigned in April on medical advice. On Wednesday, the 62-year-old BBC veteran pleaded guilty

A senior Labour politician who lost their seat in a shock result on election night has hinted at a future to return to parliament. Jonathan Ashworth, the former Labour MP for Leicester South who was defeated by an independent candidate, told Beth Rigby’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast that he was “still around” and “not going anywhere”.

Robert Jenrick thinks the Tories can win at the next election – but he added the party has a “mountain to climb” and must show “where we went wrong”. The former immigration minister will formally launch his campaign for the Conservative leadership on Friday. He will say the Tories need to undergo “serious changes” to

Sir Keir Starmer is holding an emergency meeting with senior police leaders following violent protests in the wake of the Southport stabbings. The prime minister will offer the government’s full backing to emergency service workers following outbreaks of violence in Southport, London, Hartlepool and Manchester this week. Sir Keir will meet senior police leaders on

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy will hold an urgent meeting with BBC boss Tim Davie over his handling of the Huw Edwards case. Edwards, who was the BBC’s highest-paid newsreader before he resigned in April, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children on Wednesday. Questions have been raised over the BBC’s handling

Tax rises will likely be announced in the autumn budget, chancellor Rachel Reeves has admitted. She said Labour would stick to its election manifesto pledge not to raise national insurance, income tax or VAT. During the election campaign, Labour candidates avoided answering questions on whether other taxes would be increased – and the Conservatives warned

The sister of a man who has spent 12 years behind bars on an abolished prison sentence has pleaded with new justice minister Lord Timpson to intervene in her brother’s high-profile case. Clara White, whose brother Thomas White has been in prison since 2012 for stealing a mobile phone, said offenders like him who are

Angela Rayner has played down the prospect of a backlash among her own MPs at the government’s housebuilding push as she launched a task force for a series of new towns across the UK. The deputy prime minister – who yesterday announced a shake-up of the planning system to pave the way for 1.5 million new homes

The chancellor has said her predecessor Jeremy Hunt “lied” as she accused him of deliberately covering up the truth about the state of the UK’s finances. After announcing a series of spending cuts on Monday, Rachel Reeves said it was “unforgivable” the Conservatives left a £22bn funding black hole. Follow the latest updates from Westminster