Sir Keir Starmer is a "patriot" who backs people flying the flag of St George, an official No10 spokesman has claimed.
While the Prime Minister is preparing for his crunch White House summit, Downing Street appeared to reject any association with the Labour-run council of Birmingham, which is removing Union Jacks and the flag of St George from lampposts.
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“I haven’t asked him about specific cases of specific councils," the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.
“But what the Prime Minister has always talked about is pride in being British, his patriotism in that – not least with the Lionesses in the Euros – and patriotism will always be an important thing to him.”
“It’s a matter for those councils," the spokesman added. “But when it comes to the PM being a patriot, he’s been clear it’s important to him in the past.”
The spokesman continued: “The PM’s always been clear about his pride in Britain, reflected in the fact we often have the St George’s flag, and other flags, flying in Downing Street.
'Celebrating our nation' Nigel Farage weighs in on flag row as Reform UK make their stance clear
All 12 Reform UK-controlled councils across the country have today committed that they will not be removing Union and St George Cross flags from lampposts.
The turquoise councils cite both flags as symbols of unity and inclusion, and have said that they will not be taken down.
Leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage said: "Union flags and the Cross of St George should and will fly across the country. Reform UK will never shy away from celebrating our nation.”
Leader of Lancashire County Council and Chair of the Reform UK Local Government Association group Stephen Atkinson said: "Reform UK councils are clear: where done sensibly, we fully support the flying of Union and St George flags on lampposts.
"These flags are not only a sign of unity and inclusion, but also of national pride. We will never get in the way of those who wish to express love for their country.”
London branded a ‘cesspit of woke ideology’ as ex-Tory candidate lashes out at council’s opposition to St George’s Flag
Kane Blackwell, who contested Stratford and Bow in the recent general election, has condemned Tower Hamlets council for what he perceives as discriminatory treatment regarding flag displays.
The former Conservative candidate highlighted that Palestinian flags remained on display across the borough for extended periods, whilst English flags are being swiftly removed.
"During that election, there were Palestine flags strewn all over the place and on my way to work, I would see those flags all over the motorway, high street, everywhere," Mr Blackwell stated on GB News.
He expressed frustration at the apparent double standard, noting that "The Palestinian flags were up for weeks and weeks and these flags will be down in a matter of days, I expect. That's what irks a lot of people."
'Rachel Reeves' deceitful tax will leave you £82k poorer' - Kelvin MacKenzie
The chancellor has been labelled a "deceiver" by the former Editor of The Sun for her Autumn budget tax raid last year.
Kelvin MacKenzie revealed the cost that her decision will mean to your family in an opinion peice for GB News.
Writing that the average across the whole of the United Kingdom will be £82,000, he said: "The problem with Labour is that they look upon your money as everybody’s money."
From Birmingham to London - How the flag row reignited
The row made headlines after Birmingham council ordered hundreds of Union and St George's flags be removed from lampposts across the city, while lighting the library up in the colours of Pakistan and then India to mark their independence.
The council faced criticism for swiftly removing British flags while Palestinian flags continue to fly in areas such as Sparkhill, where approximately 80 per cent of residents are Muslim.
A second local authority, Tower Hamlets council, in east London, then vowed to remove the flags.
Despite being up to 25ft off the ground, the local authority claimed that the flags, which had been raised in a "patriotic outpouring", put the lives of pedestrians and motorists "at risk".
The patriotic campaign of raising flags is sweeping the nations, with British or English flags also raised in Swindon, Bradford, Newcastle and Norwich.
According to guidance published by the Government in 2021, "flags are a very British way of expressing joy and pride".
It adds: "The Government wants to see more flags flown, particularly the Union flag."
However, it also warns that flags must not "obscure, or hinder the interpretation of official road, rail, waterway or aircraft signs, or otherwise make hazardous the use of these types of transport".
Rachel Reeves 'considers scrapping stamp duty for new property tax'
Rachel Reeves is considering introducing a new tax
|PA
Rachel Reeves is considering introducing a new tax that would apply to homes valued above £500,000, potentially replacing stamp duty on owner-occupied properties.
Senior treasury ministers have instructed civil servants to analyse how such a "proportional" property tax might function and assess its potential effects ahead of Mrs Reeves's autumn budget.
The chancellor is searching for various revenue-raising options whilst maintaining Labour's pledge to maintain the triple lock.
The party were criticised for raising national insurance on employers, which many viewed as an indirect tax on working people, breaking their manifesto promise.
The proposed tax would be paid by homeowners when selling properties exceeding £500,000 in value, with rates determined centrally and revenue collected through HMRC.
Pub landlord issues harsh verdict on Rachel Reeves's National Insurance raid as over 200 pubs forced to closure in 2025
PICTURED: Keir Starmer arrives in Washington for his 27th international trip during his premiership
Sir Keir Starmer walking off the plane in Washington DC | GB NEWSThe Prime Minister has touched down in Washington ahead of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, US President Donald Trump and other European leaders.
It is the latest in Sir Keir Starmer's international trips.
Iain Duncan Smith blasts councils for favouring 'protest flags' over British flags
Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has launched a scathing criticism of local councils for taking down British flags whilst permitting Palestinian banners to stay in place, claiming they are "embarrassed to be British".
Speaking to GB News, the veteran Tory MP highlighted what he sees as inconsistent enforcement of flag regulations across councils, allowing "protest flags" over patriotic ones.
Chris Philp wades in on London flags row - 'More two tier policy!'
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has slammed a London Council's policy of taking down Union and St George's flags as "simply wrong."
Tower Hamlets Council, in east London, vowed to remove the flags which had been put up as part of the "Operation Raise the Colours" patriotism campaign "as soon as possible".
He said: "Union Flag and St George’s Cross are part of our national identity.
"Displaying these flags shouldn’t just be allowed, it should be encouraged, and they should fly with pride. Councils like Birmingham and Tower Hamlets allowed flags of other counties to be displayed for weeks or months.
"But at the first sign of our national flags and they come straight down More two tier policy. It is simply wrong."
What to expect today at the key US-Ukraine talks
The Prime Minister is en route to Washington DC | SIR KEIR STARMER/XSir Keir Starmer is set to join President Trump, President Zelensky and other European leaders later today in Washington DC.
The Prime Minister is expected to arrive at the White House around 5.15pm UK time.
We're expecting a family photo around 7.30pm, before all the leaders join President Zelenskyy and President Trump for a meeting.
The Prime Minister is expected to travel back to the UK this evening.
Grant Shapps issues damning verdict ahead of US-Ukraine talks: 'We will have failed our own continent'
Grant Shapps said Russia has fed its own people into a "meat grinder" as he claimed "we have failed our own continent".
The former Defence Secretary said: "Moscow has in many ways already lost. The blitzkrieg, meant to be over in 72 hours with the fall of Kyiv, has dragged on for three and a half years.
"Russia has fed its army into a meat-grinder of poor kit and poorer leadership, with estimates running to up to a million killed and wounded, for pitiful gains.
"Less a strategy; more industrial-scale war vandalism with epaulettes. Nonetheless, for Europe, this would be a very sobering outcome.
"We will have allowed our borders to be redrawn by force, and I believe we will have failed our own continent."
Sir Ed Davey says Keir Starmer must show 'real resolve' as PM is prepared to put 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey | PALiberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has said Keir Starmer must show "real resolve" as the Prime Minister did not rule out putting "boots on the ground" in Ukraine.
Sir Ed wrote on social media: "Trump still seems to think his job is to get President Zelensky to cave to Putin’s demands.
"Keir Starmer must show real resolve and persuade him that it’s about strengthening Ukraine and weakening Putin so he accepts Europe’s terms."
A Downing Street spokesman said: "We are ready to put UK boots on the ground in part to reassure Ukrainians but in part to secure safe skies, safe seas and regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces.
"It is obviously welcome that President Trump has paved the way for vital US security guarantees."
The Prime Minister's spokesman said Sir Keir had accepted President Trump’s suggestion that a ceasefire might not be needed to secure a lasting peace deal.
Keir Starmer urged to recall Parliament ahead of Ukraine summit as pressure mounts on PM over Gaza
Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to recall Parliament just hours before his crunch Ukraine summit at the White House later today.
The Prime Minister, who will later meet with US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders to discuss efforts to end the war in the ex-Soviet state, is facing increasing pressure to take a more hardline stance on Israel's war with Hamas.
Sir Keir was this morning urged to "impose sanctions" on Israel, with politicians from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales telling the Prime Minister to "act now".
Reform UK deputy council leader leaves job after just three months in role
Councillor Joseph Boam
|X
Deputy leader of Leicestershire County Council Joseph Boam has left his role after just three months.
Mr Boam, who was elected as Reform's representative for Whitwick at May's local elections, will be taking on a "new role" at County Hall.
The 22-year-old wrote on social media: "Despite the recent news, nothing’s changed, I’ll keep fighting for Whitwick at County Hall and doing everything I can to help get a Reform UK government and Nigel Farage as our next Prime Minister.
Speaking to LeicestershireLive, Mr Boam denied he had resigned, insisting he had not "stepped down" from his role, declining to comment on claims he had been sacked.
Jeremy Corbyn’s new hard-left party plunged into chaos as splits emerge in bitter antisemitism row
Jeremy Corbyn's Your Party has been plunged into chaos as a bitter spat appeared to break out with his co-leader Zarah Sultana.
Ms Sultana, who last month launched the new political party alongside Mr Corbyn, condemned the disgraced former Labour leader's decision to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
The Coventry South MP said: "I think we're in a very different political moment.
"We have to build on the strengths of Corbynism, its energy, mass appeal and bold policy platform, and we also have to recognise its limitations.
"It capitulated to the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which famously equates it with anti-Zionism and which even its lead author Kenneth Stern has now publicly criticised."
Eamonn Holmes grills Labour minister on 'out of hours' diagnostic centre expansion
GB News host Eamonn Holmes has cast huge doubt over Labour's expansion to Community Diagnostic Centres, stating it is simply "more for the NHS to do".
Grilling Labour's Care Minister Stephen Kinnock on the expansion, he argued that running "out of hours" treatment centres would "take the pressure off" the main healthcare hubs.
In a bid to provide more availability to patients, Britons can get checks, tests and scans done "out of hours" at 100 community-based diagnostic centres, which are now open 12 hours a day and seven days a week.
The 11 ex-Tory MPs who have defected to Nigel Farage's Reform UK
Here is a full list of the 13 ex-Tory MPs who have defected to Reform UK:
- Lee Anderson
- Lucy Allan
- Mark Reckless
- Dame Andrea Jenkyns
- Aidan Burley
- David Jones
- Marco Longhi
- Ross Thomson
- Anne Marie Morris
- Sir Jake Berry
- Adam Holloway
When will Keir Starmer arrive in Washington?
Keir Starmer reiterates 'unwavering support' for Volodymyr Zelensky after drawing a red line over Trump's deal | PAThe Prime Minister is set to join Donald Trump and other European leaders in Washington later today for support for President Zelenskyy ahead of crunch talks.
Keir Starmer is set to land in Washington around 10am local time (3pm UK time), and he'll arrive at the White House at around 12pm local (5pm UK) along with fellow EU leaders.
We'll be bringing you full coverage on GB News on our live blog here.
Sadiq Khan admits 'it hasn't been a great first year' for Labour
Sir Sadiq Khan has conceded that "it hasn't been a great first year" for Labour.
Speaking at an event in Edinburgh, Sir Sadiq said: "Those people that say it has been a great first year...I think they are letting the party down. It hasn’t been a great first year.
"There have been great things that have happened in this first year, around the rights for renters, around the rights for workers, around energy security, and I could go on. But as first years go, it has not been a great first year."
'Labour is killing our industry!' Pub landlord fears closure as hundreds of boozers shut down amid tax raid
Pub landlord Marc Bridgen has hit out at the Labour Government for "killing" the industry, as hundreds of boozers shut their doors in the first six months of this year.
Speaking to GB News, Mr Bridgen declared he plans to "keep going for as long as possible", but running a pub has not been a "stable environment" for a long time.
Following Labour's tax raid and increase in costs, more than 200 pubs closed across the UK in the first six months of this year.
Labour minister says days of Putin's 'illegal invasion' are numbered as he welcomed White House intervention
Health minister Stephen Kinnock has told GB News the days of Vladimir Putin's "illegal invasions are over."
Sir Keir Starmer will join European leaders in presenting a united front with President Zelensky at his crunch meeting at the White House with Donald Trump.
Mr Kinnock told The People's Channel: "It's a vitally important meeting today and it's very good the President has made more progress on getting these talks.
"We want to send a clear message to Moscow that the days of Putin's illegal invasions are over."
WATCH: Britons should 'no longer have to put up with' the migrant crisis, Andrea Jenkyns says
Dame Andrea Jenkyns has launched a scathing attack on "soft touch Britain" as she fiercely defended anti-migrant hotel protests this weekend.
Speaking to GB News, the Reform UK Mayor for Greater Lincolnshire stated that "Britons have had no say" in the housing of illegal migrants in hotels and HMOs across the country.
British public has 'snapped' over asylum hotels, says Robert Jenrick
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has declared that "enough is enough" as he said the patience of the British public has "snapped" over asylum hotels.
Speaking at an protest in Epping, Mr Jenrick told The Telegraph: "People are absolutely sick to their back teeth of what’s happening here and up and down the country and for good reason.
"In the last 100 days alone, there have been almost a dozen serious sexual offence allegations. This problem has been going on for six years, 170,000 people, mostly undocumented young men, have broken into our country."
Keir Starmer must not panic about Reform UK, warns former Home Secretary
Former cabinet minister Jack Straw
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Sir Keir Starmer must not "panic" about the threat of Nigel Farage and Reform UK, former Home Secretary Jack Straw has warned.
Straw, who served as Home Secretary from May 1997 to June 2001, and then Foreign Secretary from July 2001 to May 2006, said the Conservative party was "collapsing."
Reacting to poll results showing Reform maintaining a healthy lead, he said: "We have been here before in terms of an insurgent party leading in the polls. So I think it is the famous phrase, don’t panic."
When asked if he could see Nigel Farage as Prime Minister, he told The Guardian: "There is a chance. I think it’s a small chance, smaller than he thinks. The Tory party appears to me to just be collapsing."
Sadiq Khan says he is 'willing' to meet Donald Trump but says President is 'not a force for good'
London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan says he is "willing" to meet with President Donald Trump but added the US President is "not a force for good."
Sir Sadiq, who has been an outspoken critic of the Republican president in the past, had previously been targeted by Trump who called the Labour mayor a "nasty person."
Speaking in Edinburgh, Sir Sadiq said: "I can’t run away from the fact that there are some really serious challenges we face as a western society and President Trump, in my view, I speak generally, isn’t a force for good."
However, Sir Sadiq insisted that he would be “more than happy" to meet President Trump.
He added he wanted to show Trump that it is "possible to be proud to be a westerner and a proud to be Muslim, that it is possible to be British, and proud to be British, and be of Pakistani origin and be a law abiding citizen and we aren’t three headed monsters."
Sir Sadiq said: "I suspect President Trump may have formed a view of Muslims because of the actions of a small minority of really bad people who are terrorists and use Islam in a perverted way."
Keir Starmer heading to Washington for US-Ukraine talks
Sir Keir Starmer is heading to Washington
|PA
Sir Keir Starmer is en route to Washington alongside other European leaders ahead of crunch talks between President Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky.
The European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Freidrich Merz hoping in particular to lock down robust security guarantees for Ukraine that would include a US role.
The Europeans are eager to help Zelensky avoid a repeat of his last Oval Office meeting in February when Trump and Vice President JD Vance gave the Ukrainian leader a public dressing-down, accusing him of being ungrateful and disrespectful.
Health minister Stephen Kinnock told reporters this morning Vladimir Putin was dealing with a "united front" of European leaders backing President Zelensky to stop his expansionism in Europe.
He told Times Radio: "The first of all is to make it absolutely clear that any decisions taken about Ukrainian territory must be taken with the agreement of the Ukrainian government and President Zelensky.
"The other is that the pathway for Ukraine to Nato and to security guarantees cannot be dictated to them by any other country, and the other is to send a very clear message that we the British people stand firmly shoulder-to-shoulder with the Ukrainian people as we showed when we opened our homes and our hearts to the Ukrainian refugees."
Could the Greens and Your Party split the left wing vote?
Senior pollsters have issued a warning that the left-wing vote in the country could be split if the Greens and Your Party fail to come to a deal.
Research carried out in June by More in Common suggested that the establishment of a Corbyn led-party could cut the Green's nationwide vote share from nine per cent to five per cent.
It comes as the party is undergoing a leadership contest with deputy leader Zack Polanski going head to head against MPs Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns on a joint ticket.
Ramsay, the party's current co-leader and Waveney Valley MP, said Your Party would blow Polanski's pitch "out of the water".
Meanwhile, Polanski has indicated he would be willing to co-operate with a possible Corbyn-led project but believes the Greens' position as an already established party will mean he can succeed.
Labour insiders insist 'we're not going back' as they claim Jeremy Corbyn 'led the party to extinction'
Labour insiders said Keir Starmer was able to tear "anti-Semitism" out at the roots of Labour as they said the party would "not go back".
A party source told The Telegraph: "The electorate has twice made their view clear about a Jeremy Corbyn-led party.
"Keir Starmer’s Labour Party rightly tore anti-Semitism out at its roots.
"Corbyn almost led the party to extinction. We’re not going back."
Why was Jeremy Corbyn expelled from Labour?
Corbyn was expelled from the Labour Party after announcing his independent candidacy ahead of the 2024 General Election | PAJeremy Corbyn, who led Labour from 2015 to 2020, was expelled from the party after announcing he will stand as an independent candidate at last year's General Election.
His successor, Keir Starmer had banned Corbyn from standing for Labour after he claimed the scale of antisemitism in the party was "dramatically overstated".
Labour selected local entrepreneur Praful Nargund to stand against him in his Islington North seat, which Corbyn won with a majority of 7,247.
'We did this!' Tory civil war erupts over migration crisis as MP admits huge asylum hotel blunder
A Conservative MP has admitted that failures from previous Tory Governments led to a huge asylum hotel blunder.
In a Tory WhatsApp group, Broxbourne MP Lewis Cocking appeared to confess that Conservative attacks against Labour over migrant hotels were “completely unacceptable”.
Responding to a CCHQ advert which listed the perks given to asylum seekers, Mr Cocking said: “This makes us look silly as we gave them all this too, which is why we are in the mess we are in today.
“Completely unacceptable – they should be put in detention centres and deported.”