Major investigation launched after plot to play ‘sex noises’ behind Keir Starmer during PMQs discovered
Angela Rayner admits wrongdoing over tax affairs - WATCH
GB NEWS
An investigation has been launched by parliamentary authorities after a mobile phone was found hidden in the Commons which would have played "sex noises" while Sir Keir Starmer spoke during Prime Minister's Questions.
The phone was planted near the front bench and was set to go off as Sir Keir Starmer faced Tory Leader Kemi Badenoch in the Commons, according to The Times.
The phone was due to play a sexually explicit audio recording but was found during a routine check before the questions took place on Wednesday.
No clear footage surfaced of the mobile phone being placed near the front bench.
The incident is being treated as serious and as a major breach of parliamentary security.
A source told The Times that "it looks like it was just a prank, but it could have been much worse" and that "we don't know how it got there".
The chamber is open to the public on most mornings, and the latest incident was one of the largest breaches of parliamentary security in year.
Top Boris Johnson ally defects to Reform following 'agonising decision'
Nadine Dorries has joined Reform UK
PA
Boris Johnson's most staunch ally has defected to Nigel Farage's Reform UK party after declaring the "Tory Party is dead".
Nadine Dorries, the former Conservative Culture Secretary, joined up with Reform UK after months of secret negotiations as Mr Farage maps out a path to securing victory in the next General Election.
Ms Dorries explained her shocking decision to The Daily Mail, saying: "The Tory Party is dead".
Mr Farage said he was "absolutely delighted to welcome" the former MP to Reform.
Sussex Police 'aware of graffiti' outside Angela Rayner's Hove property
Sussex Police have confirmed that "we have been made aware of graffiti outside an address in Hove, on Thursday" after "tax evader Rayner" and "bitch" were found brandished on the Deputy Prime Minister's Hove property.
"The matter is being treated as criminal damage and we are proactively making enquiries to gather information as to the circumstances," Sussex Police said in a statement.
"We will be contacting the homeowner to identify and address any further concerns."
Police said "anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting serial 528 of 04/09".
'Nigel Farage is all anger, no solutions': Labour Party calls on Reform UK to 'come clean' with Britons
The Labour Party has called on Reform UK to "come clean" with Britons, accusing Nigel Farage's party of "endless don't know answers".
Labour has unveiled what it has called "Reform's don't know manifesto", which it said showcases the issues Reform does not have answers for.
The list of 16 topics on the manifesto, published ahead of Reform's party conference beginning on Friday, includes immigration, the NHS, tax and online safety.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: "Nigel Farage is a disgrace. All anger, no solutions.
“You can’t run a country with “don’t know” answers. It’s time Reform came clean and gave the British public the answers they deserve.
“Only this Labour Government is renewing Britain, putting money in people’s pockets, fixing our NHS and securing our borders.”
'Vladimir Putin can't be trusted', Sir Keir Starmer says at Coalition of the Willing summit
French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky chaired the meeting of the Coalition of the Willing summit today
GETTY
Sir Keir Starmer has told leaders that Vladimir Putin "could not be trusted" as Russia continues to delay peace talks and carry out attacks on Ukraine.
The Prime Minister joined the meeting of the Coalition of the Willing virtually from Glasgow this morning.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "The Prime Minister began by sharing his condolences with Portugal on behalf of the United Kingdom following the tragic crash in Lisbon last night.
"Turning the situation in Ukraine, the Prime Minister said Putin could not be trusted as he continued to delay peace talks and simultaneously carry out egregious attacks on Ukraine.
"That was further underlined by the indiscriminate attacks in Kyiv last week, causing significant damage to the British Council and EU delegation buildings, he added."
Jeremy Clarkson weighs in on Angela Rayner stamp duty scandal
The former Top Gear host has once again weighed in on the stamp duty scandal
X
Jeremy Clarkson has weighed in on the Angela Rayner stamp duty scandal for the second time in 24 hours.
In his latest post to X, the former Top Gear host wrote: "I’m puzzled. Labourites tell us that Angela Rayner was only trying to look after her child which they quite rightly say is understandable.
"But when a farmer tries to look after his children, they say he’s a tax dodger."
The Clarkson's Farm star yesterday ridiculed the Deputy Prime Minister on social media, saying: "Crikey. The deputy prime minister of the UK has admitted she doesn’t understand how tax works.
"I wonder what else she doesn’t understand."
Prime Minister kept updated 'as appropriate' on Angela Rayner's tax affairs
Sir Keir Starmer was kept informed “as appropriate” about the steps Angela Rayner had taken over her tax affairs, a No10 spokesman has said.
“The Prime Minister was kept updated on steps that the Deputy Prime Minister has taken, as was appropriate, the spokesman stated.
“As soon as that final legal opinion was received by the Deputy Prime Minister on Wednesday morning she immediately took steps to self-refer herself to the IA (independent adviser), and she updated the Prime Minister at the earliest opportunity as well.”
Asked if Sir Keir believed Ms Rayner had been transparent with him, the spokesman said: “The Prime Minister has been updated on the steps that the Deputy Prime Minister has taken – you’ve got his words from yesterday in the House when he said she has gone over and above in setting out the details.”
Graffiti at Deputy Prime Minister's property 'totally unjustifiable', says spokesperson
A spokesperson for Angela Rayner said vandalism at her Hove flat is “totally unjustifiable".
The spokesperson said: “This vandalism to residents’ homes is totally unjustifiable and beyond the pale.
“Neither Angela nor her neighbours deserve to be subjected to harassment and intimidation.
“It will rightly be a matter for the police to take action as they deem appropriate.”
GB News has contacted Sussex Police for comment.
Prime Minister condemns vandalism at Angela Rayner's flat
'Tax evader' are among the messages that have been left at Angela Rayner's flat in Hove
PA
Sir Keir Starmer has condemned vandalism at Angela Rayner’s seaside flat in Hove after she admitted underpaying stamp duty on the property.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “Some of you may have seen the photos of the vandalism of the Deputy Prime Minister’s home this morning.
“The Prime Minister condemns this vandalism in the strongest possible terms.
“Whatever scrutiny our parliamentarians may face, it is appalling that their private homes should be targeted in this way.”
Sir Keir Starmer wants to save Angela Rayner following stamp duty scandal and will do 'everything he can'
Sir Keir Starmer will do "everything he can" to save his deputy after she confessed to underpaying stamp duty on her seaside flat.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform’s Nigel Farage have both called for the Deputy Prime Minister to resign.
But Sir Keir is “determined” to save his deputy, according to the Times.
“He wants to do everything he can,” an ally of the Prime Minister told the newspaper.
Angela Rayner embroiled in freebie scandal with £1,000 Pride tickets days before stamp duty scandal
The Deputy Prime Minister was gifted five free tickets to Brighton Pride last month
GETTY
Angela Rayner accepted free tickets to Brighton pride worth £1,100 just days before her stamp duty scandal surfaced, it has been revealed.
The Deputy Prime Minister was gifted a total of five tickets to the event, according to her register of interests.
The tickets were given to Ms Rayner by BN1 Events Collective Ltd on the first day of the pride event on August 2.
They were then registered on August 27, just 24 hours before reports surrounding her new £800,000 flat in Hove emerged.
Angela Rayner could join Your Party if she was sacked from Labour, says Jeremy Corbyn
Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has said Angela Rayner could join his newly founded Your Party if she was sacked.
"I don’t think she’s any plans to join, but obviously anyone is very free to join our party and we welcome them all," Mr Corbyn told Sky News.
The Islington North MP he was "more worried" about housing policy and overcrowding than Ms Rayner's "personal living arrangements".
Mr Corbyn added: "My advice to Keir Starmer is deal with the issues of poverty, homelessness and unregulated private rented sector and tell Angela Rayner to concentrate on that job."
Education Secretary refuses to say if Angela Rayner could remain as Deputy Prime Minister
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson refused to say if Angela Rayner could stay in her job amid the stamp duty scandal
GB NEWS
When asked if Angela Rayner could stay in her job amid the stamp duty scandal, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told GB News: "Angela Rayner has acknowledged that having acted in good faith she then sought further legal advice and she concluded she had made a mistake that further stamp duty was owed.
"She was more limited on what she could say in public because of the court order that was in place until Tuesday.
"She applied for that order to be lifted so she could speak more openly. She has issued a full statement and given an interview and referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards.
"I think it's right that process now runs, he can look at all the evidence in front of him and reach a conclusion but Angela had believed she had acted appropriately at the first point, it then became clear following expert legal advice that more stamp duty was owed and she is in the process of putting that right with relevant authorities."
WATCH: 'She has got to step down', says Conservative chairman on Angela Rayner
Cabinet minister refuses to say whether Angela Rayner should resign if found in breach of ministerial standards
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has declined to say whether the Deputy Prime Minister should resign if she had been found to have breached ministerial standards amid her stamp duty scandal.
Asked whether Ms Rayner should leave her post if the Prime Minister’s standards adviser found she had broken the rules, Ms Phillipson told Times Radio: “I appreciate the answer I’m about to give will be frustrating, but there is a process, I’m not going to pre-judge it.
“It is right now that the independent adviser does his work and provides that outcome.”
She added that the row over Ms Rayner’s tax affairs was not like scandals under the previous government as she had “sought to be transparent” which "has been difficult given that it relates to her family".
Mass migration is 'wrecking British culture', warns Robert Jenrick as he joins call for mass deportations
Robert Jenrick has said mass migration is 'wrecking British culture'
GETTY
Mass migration is "wrecking British culture" and must be reversed, Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has said.
Mr Jenrick issued the dire warning in a wide-ranging interview with The Spectator - in which he attacked the Home Office, the ECHR, the "Boriswave" migration surge and both illegal and legal immigration.
"My view is that mass uncontrolled migration has and is wrecking British culture and identity," he told the magazine.
And in a challenge to Nigel Farage's recently-announced plans for mass deportations, Mr Jenrick took aim at "eye-wateringly harmful" levels of legal migration too.