'Sheer incompetence!' Labour council leader blasts Keir Starmer over election delay U-turn

Benefits bill balloons as over £15BILLION handed to migrant households in 18 months, according to DWP figures

New research have revealed that migrant households received more than £15billion in benefit payments from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) during an 18-month period.

These figures indicate that approximately 70 per cent of this substantial sum is directed to households containing at least one unemployed foreign national.

The shocking data, obtained through Freedom of Information (FoI) requests by the Centre for Migration Control think-tank, represent the first occasion on which DWP officials have revealed the scale of welfare distributed to support unemployed migrants.

Said data covers households where at least one claimant is identified as a foreign national, not including those from the UK, Crown Dependencies, or Ireland, and had demonstrated through the Habitual Residence Test that Britain is their primary home.

Read the full story here.

Donald Trump is 'beginning to smell a rat' with Keir Starmer's 'dodgy' Chagos deal, top Tory warns

Donald Trump is "smelling a rat" with Sir Keir Starmer's "dodgy" Chagos surrender, a top Conservative MP has warned.

Speaking to GB News, Sir John Hayes hit out at the Prime Minister's deal and declared there is a "contradiction" in the legislation surrounding the territory.

The US President lashed out at the PM's plan to hand Diego Garcia over to Mauritius.

Taking to Truth Social, Mr Trump declared Sir Keir's Chagos Islands deal is a "big mistake", ordering the PM to "not give away Diego Garcia".

Read the full story here.

HMRC launches investigation into 14,000 bereaved families over inheritance tax underpayments

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has dramatically stepped up its scrutiny of bereaved families suspected of underpaying inheritance tax (IHT), with the revenue authority launching 3,636 investigations during the first nine months of the current tax year alone.

This figure represents an increase of nearly 1,000 compared with the equivalent period twelve months earlier.

Freedom of Information (FoI) data reveals that since the 2022-2023 financial year, a total of 14,027 families have faced investigation by the taxman.

More than 1,800 of these cases remain active, with 13 investigations approaching their fourth year.

Read the full story here.

Reform UK to break up role of Cabinet Secretary 

Danny Kruger, Head of Reform's Preparing for Government Unit, announced today the party will break up the role of Cabinet Secretary.

The party has proposed, instead, it will split the role into three: the Cabinet Secretary, the Head of the Civil Service and the Prime Minister’s Chief Advisor - the latter will be held by political appointee and would become the most senior person at No10 after the Prime Minister.

Mr Kruger said: “The Cabinet Secretary currently does three distinct jobs: operational management of the Cabinet and Cabinet Committees; leadership of the 500,000-strong Civil Service; and chief adviser to the Prime Minister.

“This is far too much executive responsibility for a single civil servant, and helps explain the chronic bureaucracy and misgovernment of Britain.

“Under a Reform government these three roles will be fulfilled by three different people."

He concluded by saying the the separation of the roles and recruiting the right people for them will be "vital" for "restoring good government to Britain".

Labour pauses plan to wipe court data in 'another screeching U-turn'

Labour's plans for mass deletion of court data has been paused.

The existing platform for the data, Courtsdesk, was told to wipe its archive after it shared defendants' and victims' details with an AI company.

However, in a post on social media last night, the service said the Government's legal department had told them to pause the purge.

This came following calls from journalists, opposition politicians and civil rights campaigners.

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy called it "another screeching u-turn."

He said: "Under pressure from campaigners, journalists, survivors and the Conservatives, Lammy is no longer hitting the delete button on court records.

"Courtsdesk has provided a vital service, and it is right that this vital database should be preserved.

"If we are going to stop the rape gangs and expose other patterns of criminal behaviour, we need comprehensive and accurate data.

"But the sad truth is that the archive should never have been put at risk in the first place. David Lammy needs to get a grip of his department and put the public first."

Sadiq Khan blasted as 'not fit for office' over reports girls are sexually exploited by gangs operating across London

Sadiq Khan has been blasted as "not fit for office" after a BBC investigation has uncovered evidence that vulnerable young women and girls, are being drawn into sexual exploitation by gangs operating across London.

Survivors told investigators they had been subjected to rape by multiple men as a form of "payment" for drug debts accumulated by the criminal groups controlling them. Others described being groomed specifically for sexual purposes.

The findings emerged from weeks of interviews with dozens of individuals in the capital, including five women who survived gang-related violence.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

SNP says arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is a 'very serious development'

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn described the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as a "very serious development."

The SNP MP said: "It underlines why it was a bad misjudgment for Keir Starmer to block Parliament from debating action against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as recently as October.

"The former prince should have been stripped of his titles and roles as quickly as possible – it was a mistake for the Labour Government to delay action."

Mr Flynn said it "also underlines why Keir Starmer must stop the delays and bring forward legislation as quickly as possible to remove Peter Mandelson’s titles, peerage and his taxpayer-funded payout and pension."

He insisted: "There is no excuse for further delays and inaction from the Labour Government.

"Most important of all we must remember that it was the brave victims of Jeffrey Epstein that have shone a light on all of this.

"Without the bravery of these women much of this information may never have come to light. They deserve justice."

Zack Polanski distances himself from Green activists who call for single Palestinian state

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has distanced himself from his own party's activists who called for a single Palestinian state in the Middle East.

Mr Polanski was asked about a motion from grassroots campaigners that Zionism should be treated as a form of racism, which could be put to party members at their annual conference.

The London Assembly member told LBC: "The first thing to talk about again is the Green Party democratic process: so any member can submit a policy to our conference and we have 195,000 of them.

"So I have to be a little bit careful about commenting on every motion ever that arrives. But I'll take the substantive points of what you're saying...as a Jewish person, I think it's really important that I speak out against antisemitism.

"I also think as a political leader, it's important to talk about the genocide that's happening in Gaza and to talk about my solidarity with the Palestinian people."

When pressed on if he believes in a single Palestinian state, Mr Polanski said: "No. I think it's important that it's up to the Palestinian and Israeli people ultimately what their self-sovereignty looks like.

"The reason why I said no initially is because I don't think it's for political leaders from other countries to wade in and decide what that looks like.

"I think clearly when the idea of Zionism was created, that was about making sure there was a peaceful place for people to live...I think the version of Zionism that [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli Government put forward, I would say, is racist.

"It clearly involves the extermination of the Palestinian people."

Over 80 per cent of young people would vote to rejoin EU

A new poll has found over 80 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds would vote to rejoin the European Union in a new referendum.

The Savanta poll for ITV News found just 17 per cent of young people, who were not old enough to vote in the original 2016 referendum, would vote to stay outside the EU if there was another vote, compared to 83 per cent who would vote to rejoin.

A recent survey by YouGov found 37 per cent of the UK population would vote to remain outside the EU, compared to 63 per cent who would want to rejoin.

Send pupils to have EHCPs reviewed under Government reforms

Children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) are to see plans setting out their right to support reviewed under Government reforms to the system.

The BBC and The Times have reported that from 2029, Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), which are legal documents setting out the support children with Send are entitled to, will be reassessed once children reach the end of primary school.

The Government reforms, which will be published in the Schools White Paper, are expected to introduce a plan with legal footing for all children with Send called Individual Support Plans (ISPs).

The BBC reported there will be three tiers of support – targeted, targeted plus and specialist. Specialist support plans will be the highest level of support for the most complex needs.

GB News understands the support thresholds will be needs-based, rather than naming specific conditions.

Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said EHCPs are "highly sought-after, but they are not a panacea."

Keir Starmer accused of misleading Parliament over Chagos Islands surrender

Keir Starmer has been accused of "misleading Parliament" over key legislation underpinning Labour's handover of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

Previously, ministers told Parliament they had to act on the Chagos Islands, due to a looming international ruling which would lead to Diego Garcia being "inoperable" within mere weeks.

But, joining GB News this morning, Tory Shadow Minister Alicia Kearns claimed Sir Keir had misled Parliament - with many of such cases culminating in a Prime Minister's resignation.

Ms Kearns told hosts Ellie Costello and Alex Armstrong: "We have been misled, I think, as Parliament, I’m afraid.

"We were told that there were weeks, only weeks, for which [the UK-US military base on Diego Garcia] could continue to operate safely.

"And now many, many months on, we’re now finding out that actually the entire basis on which the Labour Government said they only had weeks to negotiate and get this done was not true."

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Keir Starmer warned 'it's over' as PM urged to U-turn after Donald Trump's Chagos deal slapdown

Sir Keir Starmer has been put under pressure to make his 16th U-turn after Donald Trump last night rubbished the Prime Minister's Chagos "surrender" deal.

The US President had initially supported Sir Keir's decision to hand over the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius.

However, Mr Trump expressed grave concerns about the US losing access to its Diego Garcia military base.

He said: "Should Iran decide not to make a Deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia, and the Airfield located in Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime."

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

WATCH: Tories slap down Reform for 'talking down Britain' after Robert Jenrick rebukes Kemi Badenoch

Civil service commissioner says Antonia Romeo has 'excellent track record'

Gisela Stuart said: "I approved the comprehensive due diligence process and agreed the conclusions drawn, to form the basis for the Prime Minister to make an appointment decision.

"Dame Antonia Romeo has an excellent track record in leadership positions across the Civil Service, including three permanent secretary roles in some of the most complex operational departments in Government."

Keir Starmer says he has 'reflected a lot' on Lord Mandelson decision

Sir Keir Starmer has said "nobody has been harder on him than himself" as he says he has "reflected a lot" on the decision to appoint Lord Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US.

The Prime Minister told the BBC: "I apologised for my decision to appoint Peter Mandelson to the role of ambassador, and I apologise to the victims for believing his lies.

"I have reflected a lot on that because having worked so hard in this field, for me to have accepted his lies was a mistake, and that’s why I wanted to apologise to the victims first and foremost for having accepted his lies.

"I do so again now, if I may through you, to apologise for having believed the lies that were told to my team, and knowing the impact that that will have had on so many of the victims, and actually other people in Parliament and in my own party.

"As I said to my parliamentary Labour Party, nobody has been harder on me in relation to that than I have been hard on myself."

Dame Antonia Romeo confirmed as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service

Sir Keir Starmer has officially appointed Dame Antonia Romeo as Cabinet Secretary and head of the Civil Service.

Dame Antonia will be the first woman to hold the post in the role's history.

The Prime Minister said: "I am delighted to appoint Dame Antonia Romeo as the new Cabinet Secretary. She is an outstanding public servant, with a 25‑year record of delivering for the British people.

"Since becoming Prime Minister, I’ve been impressed by her professionalism and determination to get things done.

"Families across the country are still feeling the squeeze, and this government is focused on easing the cost of living, strengthening public services and restoring pride in our communities.

"It is essential we have a Cabinet Secretary who can support the government to make this happen.

"Antonia has shown she is the right person to drive the government to reform and I look forward to working with her to deliver this period of national renewal."

Dame Antonia said: "It is a huge privilege to be asked to serve as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service.

"The Civil Service is a great and remarkable institution, which I love. We should be known for delivery, efficiency and innovation, working to implement the Government’s agenda and meet the challenges the country faces.

"I look forward to working with all colleagues across the Civil Service to do this, in support of the Prime Minister and the Government."

Labour minister says she is 'as frustrated as anyone else' over delays to grooming gang enquiry

A Labour minister has said she is "as frustrated as anyone else" over delays to a national grooming gangs enquiry.

Victims minister Alex Davies-Jones told GB News: "We are going through a rigorous process right now. It is right this process takes place.

"We have appointed a brilliant chair in Baroness Longfield and she is establishing parameters of this enquiry.

"It has to be right as the victims deserve nothing less. As soon as the enquiry starts Baroness Longfield will be setting the parameters.

When pressed when the enquiry would start, she said: "It will be starting as soon as possible. I'm as frustrated as everyone else but it is right that we get it right."

Former Conservative leader blasts Labour for 'fairy-tale nonsense' over Chagos

Iain Duncan Smith has blasted Labour for speaking "fairy-tale nonsense' over the Chagos deal.

The former Conservative leader told GB News: "I went out there to the US to talk to Congress and members in different areas of Government to try to explain that the Government has not told them the full truth about this terrible arrangement.

"They keep on saying they're going to get all sort of legal attacks on them if they don't do this.

"That is utter ridiculous fairy-tale nonsense. It's a complete lie by the Government."

WATCH: Alicia Kearns says the Tories 'cannot condone what is criminal activity' of Chagossians in their fightback against Labour

Parliament was "misled" when the Government said there were weeks to secure the UK’s Chagos Islands deal, a shadow minister has claimed.

Shadow Safeguarding Minister Alicia Kearns has told broadcasters: "We have been misled, I think, as Parliament, I’m afraid.

"We were told that there were weeks, only weeks for which the base [UK-US military base on Diego Garcia] could continue to operate safely.

"And now many, many months on, we’re now finding out that actually the entire basis on which the Labour Government said they only had weeks to negotiate and get this done was not true."

Liberal Democrats demand Steve Reed and Lord Hermer's pay to be docked over local elections fiasco

The Liberal Democrats will table a motion to dock the pay of Housing Secretary Steve Reed and Attorney General Lord Hermer over the u-turn surrounding postponed local elections.

The party's Shadow Attorney General, Ben Maguire MP said: "Steve Reed’s handling of this May’s crucial local elections has been completely disastrous from the get go.

"Ministers should never have been allowed to deny millions of Brits their democratic right to vote on a whim, and the buck stops with him.

"He should now do the right thing and resign for presiding over this local elections fiasco.

"At the very least, he and Lord Hermer, whose legal advice led to this decision, should pay out of their own pocket instead of asking taxpayers to pick up the tab for the government’s legal costs.

"[The] Liberal Democrats have fought every step of the way to make sure these elections go ahead, and those who stood in the way of democracy should be held accountable."

Yvette Cooper brands British couple’s 10-year sentence in Iran as 'totally unjustifiable' 

The Foreign Secretary has labelled a 10-year jail sentence for a British couple in Iran as "totally unjustifiable."

Lindsay and Craig Foreman were arrested in January 2025 while travelling through the country on an around-the-world motorcycle journey and detained on charges of espionage.

The couple, from East Sussex who are being held in Tehran’s Evin prison, deny the allegations.

Yvette Cooper said: "This sentence is completely appalling and totally unjustifiable. We will pursue this case relentlessly with the Iranian government until we see Craig and Lindsay Foreman safely returned to the UK and reunited with their family.

"In the meantime, their welfare is our priority and we will continue to provide consular assistance to them and their families."

Keir Starmer blasts Reform UK's pledge to scrap Equalities Act as 'shocking'

Sir Keir Starmer has said Suella Braverman's pledge to scrap the Equalities Act is "shocking" as he said the Reform policy is "anti-British".

The Prime Minister said if a future Reform government got rid of the 2010 law it could lead to women being overtly discriminated against.

Sir Keir said it went against British values including tolerance and compassion, adding he "shuddered to think" what women would make of the policy.

On Tuesday, Reform UK’s new equalities spokeswoman Suella Braverman said she would abolish the act which was one of the last key pieces of legislation passed by Gordon Brown’s Labour government more than 15 years ago.

In response to Sir Keir, Reform UK’s new Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said he did not think anybody had benefitted from the Act.

Mr Jenrick instead pointed to earlier legislation which has given protection against discrimination on race, and gender.

In an interview with the BBC, Sir Keir said: "Can I just say how shocking it is that Reform are suggesting that we tear up the Equalities Act?

"This is decades of protection and it goes basic values, one of which is, should women be treated equally with men. That is core, that is British, that is something which was fought for, the right for women to be treated equally with men.

"For Reform to say 'no more' it’ll now, under their watch, be alright to go back to the old days where women were not treated equally, I shudder to think what any of the women watching this would think of someone who says I want to rip up the proposition that women should be treated equally with men."

Robert Jenrick is 'just trying to get a headline', says former Shadow Cabinet ally

Alicia Kearns has blasted her former Shadow Cabinet ally Robert Jenrick, accusing the Newark MP of "trying to get a headline."

Reform's newly appointed Shadow Chancellor had suggested that Britain is "broken" and that only Nigel Farage's party can fix it.

When asked if Britain is broken, the Shadow Home Affairs Minister told GB News: "Our country is not broken, the British people represent the most amazing country.

"Yes there are things that need to be fixed...Reform's narrative is consistently talking down our country, talking down our Parliament and talking down our ability to do it.

"We are focused on solutions and solving the problems. I'm not interested in Robert trying to get a headline.

"I'm interested in us doing the hard work as we're doing in Chagos, as we're doing on child cruelty and as we're doing consistently to fix the things that are not working

"I will never accept saying our country is broken. We the British people have not broken it, we're not going to and we're proud of the country we live in."

Senior Conservative blasts Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's 'appalling and vile relationship with Jeffery Epstein

Alicia Kearns has said Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should "not be above the law" as she blasted the former Royal's relationship with Jeffery Epstein.

The Shadow Home Affairs Minister told GB News: "No one should be above the law and that is most certainly true of him given his appalling and vile relationship with Epstein and the way he simpered to him.

"All support by the Government should be given to the police, but the issue with enquiries is they take years and they cost so much money.

"In this case we should be able to get to the bottom of it given the vast amount of emails and given the fact police forces are already working on the case.

"The Home Office should declare a specific operation, making sure all police forces are working to the same standards and making sure the British people get the answers they need."

Keir Starmer issues new statement on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor allegations: 'No one is above the law'

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has issued a new statement on allegations made against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor this morning, affirming that no individual stands above British law.

When pressed on whether the former prince ought to voluntarily present himself to authorities, Mr Starmer refused to be drawn, stating this was a decision for police to make independently.

The Prime Minister said: "I think that's a matter for the police, they will conduct their own investigations, but one of the core principles in our system is that everybody is equal under the law and nobody is above the law."

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Donald Trump is 'absolutely right' to call on UK to abandon Chagos deal, says Iain Duncan Smith

Iain Duncan Smith has praised Donald Trump after the President slapped down the UK's Chagos deal with Mauritius.

The former Conservative leader said: "President Trump is absolutely right to tell Starmer to abandon the terrible Chagos deal with Mauritius.

"[Mr Trump] understands how strategically important the airbase at Diego Garcia is. It is a bad deal that would cost UK taxpayers £34.7billion.

"There was never any legal reason for us to enter into any agreement with Mauritius...none at all.

"The Chagossian people should be allowed to return to their islands as British citizens, with control over their domestic affairs."

We'll be joined by the MP for Chingford and Woodford Green on GB News Breakfast from 9am this morning.

Reform plans to 'flood the zone' in coming weeks

Nigel Farage's Reform UK plans to "flood the zone" in the run up to the local elections.

The party's senior team is set to use rallies, interviews and speeches across the country after their "shadow cabinet" was unveiled, reports The Spectator.

However, the party's moves were criticised by the Conservatives, with one senior Tory saying: "It was a policy-lazy announcement. They’ve dodged the hard work on social policy."

Full timeline of Donald Trump's stance on Chagos

President Donald Trump has changed his stance on the Chagos deal multiple times over the past 12 months.

On February 27, 2025, in a meeting in the Oval Office with Sir Keir Starmer, the President indicated he would be prepared to back the deal, saying: "We're going to have some discussions about that very soon, and I have a feeling it's going to work out very well."

The deal was officially signed by President Trump on April 1.

However, fast forward to January 20 this year when President Trump described it as an "act of great stupidity" in a post on his Truth Social page.

On February 5, President Trump then said he had "very productive discussions" with Sir Keir, adding: "I understand that the deal Prime Minister Starmer has made, according to many, the best he could make."

Yesterday, Wednesday, February 18, the Department of State said it "supports the decision of the United Kingdom to proceed with its agreement with Mauritius concerning the Chagos archipelago."

Nigel Farage: PM must cancel Chagos 'surrender deal' over risk to special relationship

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has called on Sir Keir Starmer to cancel his Chagos handover deal.

Mr Farage said: “Keir Starmer risks alienating our most important ally by giving away the Chagos Islands, the worst deal in British history.

“President Trump is right to say the Prime Minister is making a big mistake. Starmer must cancel this deal.”

READ IN FULL: Donald Trump's Chagos deal slapdown

Donald Trump brutally slap down Sir Keir Starmer over the Prime Minister's Chagos handover deal last night.

In a Truth Social post, Mr Trump said: “I have been telling Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the United Kingdom, that Leases are no good when it comes to Countries, and that he is making a big mistake by entering a 100 Year Lease with whoever it is that is ‘claiming’ Right, Title, and interest to Diego Garcia, strategically located in the Indian Ocean.”

He added: “Our relationship with the United Kingdom is a strong and powerful one, and it has been for many years, but Prime Minister Starmer is losing control of this important Island by claims of entities never known of before.

“In our opinion, they are fictitious in nature. Should Iran decide not to make a Deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia, and the Airfield located in Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime - an attack that would potentially be made on the United Kingdom, as well as other friendly Countries.”