Embattled Keir Starmer told to release details on paedophile-linked peer as MPs demand: 'No more cover-ups!'

Kemi Badenoch blasts Keir Starmer's 'terrible judgement' amid latest scandal

Kemi Badenoch has blasts Keir Starmer's "terrible judgement" after Matthew Doyle was removed from Labour's parliamentary party.

Lord Doyle "did not give a full account" on his links to convicted sex offender Sean Morton, a former Labour councillor who admitted indecent child image offences in 2017, Sir Keir said at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday.

In response, the Tory leader has said: "Keir Starmer did not care about these scandals until they threatened his premiership - all too happy to stuff the Lords with his grubby cronies.

"No matter what excuses he comes up with, the facts are clear. He appointed his former Director of Communications Matthew Doyle as a peer, knew about his association with a paedophile, had the power to act, and yet he still chose to sit on his hands. All the documents must be published. No more cover up.

"Once again Starmer’s terrible judgement is on full display. The real problem is that the country has to suffer through this man’s leadership for the next 3 years, unless Labour MPs grow a backbone and deal with it."

Christian nurse suspended by NHS for misgendering trans prisoner demands answers from Labour over delay to single-sex spaces rules

A Christian nurse who was given a nine-month suspension from her role in the NHS after misgendering a transgender paedophile in a men's prison has taken her petition to Parliament.

Jennifer Melle, 41, spoke with Bridget Phillipson, Minister for Women and Equalities, and Health Minister Karin Smyth at Westminster on Wednesday, after her controversial suspension from work.

Ms Melle, from Croydon, south London, was given a nine-month suspension from her role in the NHS after misgendering a convicted paedophile - who was born a male - as "Mr" and "he" while discussing the use of a catheter.

Following a petition by the Conservatives that garnered over 60,000 signatures, the Trust dropped the disciplinary case against Ms Melle and reinstated her.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

WATCH: Matt Vickers discusses Matthew Doyle controversy with Martin Daubney 

Rachel Reeves's leaked Budget viewed nearly 25,000 times before official release, report finds

Chancellor Rachel Reeves's leaked Budget statement was viewed nearly 25,000 times before being officially delivered to MPs in parliament, a new report has found.

A newly released National Cyber Security Centre investigation has exposed the true scale of November's Budget leak, revealing the document was accessed a minimum of 24,701 times in the hour preceding the address.

This figure dwarfs the original assessment, which suggested merely 43 people had viewed the prematurely published material.

Furthermore, the Office for Budget Responsibility's (OBR) economic forecasts appeared online thirty minutes ahead of Ms Reeves' formal announcement on November 26, triggering a political storm.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

RECAP: What Kemi Badenoch demanded from Keir Starmer over Lord Doyle last week

Scottish Labour leader insists Keir Starmer must still resign

Anas Sarwar re-iterated his belief that Keir Starmer must resign, despite the PM receiving the backing of his cabinet in recent days.

The Scottish Labour leader led the calls for Sir Keir to step down on Monday. No one else followed suit.

Instead cabinet ministers publicly declared their confidence in the Prime Minister, even his Welsh counterpart Eluned Morgan, leaving Mr Sarwar adrift from the Party.

But speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he insisted that the PM must still resign.

"I stated my view and I stand by that view because I am the one who is putting myself before the public in three months' time and the people in Scotland deserve to know what my standards are, what I believe, what I am willing to tolerate and what I would do differently if I was elected as first minister," he said.

The comments come despite Sir Keir backing Mr Sarwar to win in May's Holyrood elections, claiming he was "100 per cent supportive of Anas Sarwar to be the first minister in Scotland".

Anas Sarwar says he was not part of 'wider attempt' to bring Keir Starmer down

Anas Sarwar has said he was "not part of any wider attempt" to force the Prime Minister to resign.

The Scottish Labour leader said Scots deserved to know if he was "willing to call out failure wherever I see it" and act differently as first minister.

"That for me is more important than any given relationship or anything that might matter to the Westminster bubble", he added.

Gordon Brown says Lord Mandelson should have been questioned about Jeffrey Epstein connections

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said Lord Mandelson should have been publicly grilled about his associations with Jeffrey Epstein.

Writing for the New Statesman Mr Brown, said: "We need to promote a culture change if we are to restore trust in the way we tackle abuses of power.

"In recent days I have called for a commissioned chair for an anti-corruption taskforce, with the legal authority to search and seize assets where misconduct in public office is alleged, and for a statutory ethics body with the powers to search bank accounts, for example, to vet those nominated to powerful positions.

"Such agencies could have exposed Mandelson and Epstein."

Reform seeking to uproot Labour and Tories in double by-election battle

Reform is seeking to uproot Labour and the Tories in two by-election battles happening in wards located in Bradford and Peterborough tomorrow.

In Bradford, the Conservatives are defending their seat in the Worth Valley ward and down in Peterborough, Labour is hoping to hold on to their seat in the Fletton & Woodston ward.

READ THE FULL PREVIEW HERE.

Labour MP cheered by Tories after calling for more support for hospitality 

A backbench Labour MP was met with cheers from Opposition MPs after she called on struggling hospitality businesses to get more support.

Stourbridge MP Cat Eccles demanded the Government do more to back the "vital role" of hospitality and leisure businesses, calling for a similar relief package to the one it offered pubs.

Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Ms Eccles said: "The announcement that pubs and music venues would receive a much-welcome reduction in business rates is a positive step. However, in our manifesto, we did promise root and branch reform of business rates.

"Hospitality and leisure businesses in my Stourbridge constituency are facing a projected £20,000 increase in business rates over the next three years, along with employment costs, and increases in energy costs.

"Hospitality and leisure play a vital role for our communities, providing jobs and spaces to socialise. So will the Prime Minister consider a similar rates relief package for hospitality and leisure?"

Sir Keir Starmer offered no additional support, but said: "She’s right that we need the conditions for flourishing high streets, and it underscores the importance of six interest rate cuts, the £5.8billion that we put into Pride in Place and the work to put money in people’s pockets.

"I’m pleased we’ve delivered a 15 per cent cut and a two-year freeze for pubs and live music venues that comes on top of the £4.3billion to support businesses and permanently lower rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties."

Downing Street stresses there is 'no established precedent' for stopping peerages

There is "no established precedent" for stopping a peerage after it has been announced, Downing Street has said.

Pressed on why Sir Keir Starmer did not prevent his former spin doctor from taking up his seat in the Lords after it emerged he had campaigned for a councillor charged over indecent images of children.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters: "There’s no established precedent for withdrawing a peerage nomination after the announcement stage. That’s why we’re undertaking wider reform to both vetting and appointment processes."

Lord Matthew Doyle, in his vetting, did not disclose the fact he campaigned for Sean Morton after the councillor had appeared in court in connection with indecent child images in late 2016, it is understood.

WATCH: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer lashes out at Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch

Keir Starmer hosting meeting of female Labour MPs

Sir Keir Starmer has arrived at a meeting of the women’s Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP).

It comes after Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said that Labour women "know he always puts the Downing Street boys’ club first" as she questioned him in the Commons.

Birmingham MP says rubbish is building up 'right beneath my nose' in swipe at Reform

The MP for Birmingham Perry Barr Ayoub Khan said rubbish is piling up "right beneath my nose", a comment about the ongoing bin strikes but also a veiled swipe at the Reform UK MPs sat directly in front of him.

His comment was met with laughter from some of the senior Reform MPs, including Nigel Farage and Richard Tice, as well as the Green Party MPs sat in front of them.

He went on to ask the Prime Minister about the bin strike, who insisted the Government is "doing everything we can to resolve the situation".

SNP leader in the Commons calls Keir Starmer 'The most gullible former director of public prosecutions in history'

The SNP's leader in the Commons Stephen Flynn said: "If I’ve just listened to the Prime Minister correctly, he’s essentially rolled the same pitch in relation to Matthew Doyle as he did with Peter Mandelson, that they weren’t clear with him.

"He appears to be the most gullible former director of public prosecutions in history. But he has a slight problem because some of us do read the newspapers.

"Towards the end of last year indeed on Dec 30, having written to the House of Lords Appointments Commission, I received a response from the chair, who advised me that as part of their vetting, they provide confidential advice to the Prime Minister on the propriety of a potential nominee. Will he release that advice?"

Sir Keir Starmer responded: "I’ve made my position clear, he knows how the system works."

Ed Davey calls for 'duty of candour' in fallout from Mandelson scandal

Sir Ed Davey said: "I think the whole House will agree that the Mandelson scandal has shown again why we need a duty of candour for anyone and everyone in public office.

"There should be no more delays in putting the Hillsborough Law on the statute books, after the long fight by the bereaved families and so many others like the Mayor of Greater Manchester.

"The Prime Minister once said it would be one of the first things he did in No 10. Will he finally do it now, even if it’s the last thing he does?"

Sir Keir responded: "The panel report on the Hillsborough case was when I started working on the Hillsborough case, which was in 2012, when his party were in power and they could have passed this law a long time ago and saved a lot of grief.

"I’m proud this Labour Government is bringing in a Hillsborough Law, something I have committed to for a very, very long time."

Ed Davey says he has 'touched a raw nerve' in Commons clash over austerity

The Liberal Democrat leader said that to appoint two friends of paedophiles to the Lords shows "catastrophic lack of judgement".

Sir Ed Davey repeated Sir Keir Starmer's historic claims that "things cannot get better" when Prime Ministers refuse to take responsibility, asking if he still agreed with himself.

The Prime Minister responded saying: "People in this country have been let down for years and years, and one of the reasons was austerity, which his party supported.

"He should take responsibility and accountability for what he has inflicted on this country."

Sir Ed responded saying: "I think I touched a raw nerve."

Keir Starmer says his legacy is 'changing' Labour

Kemi Badenoch said: "[Sir Keir] always puts the Downing Street boys club first. And how dare he criticise us. We weren’t the ones stuffing Government with hypocrites and paedophile apologists.

"He can’t build a team, he has no plan, he can’t even run his own office let alone the country.

"He is now dealing with a new scandal of appointing someone who campaigned for a man convicted of having indecent pictures of girls as young as 10. Isn’t the Prime Minister ashamed that that will be his legacy?"

Sir Keir responded: "My legacy is changing my party and winning a general election. And I’ll tell you this. I kicked my former leader out of my party.

"Her former leader Liz Truss broke the economy and has descended into bonkers conspiracy theories. I kicked her out of Parliament, she’s too weak to kick her out of his party."

Kemi Badenoch says Keir Starmer is 'only trying to save his skin'

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said: "The Prime Minister pretends not to know about Matthew Doyle. It was on the front page of the Sunday Times.

"He cannot explain why he gave this man a peerage and I think they should be wondering why they’re still cheering him after that.

"The Prime Minister sometimes like to claim as he just did that he cares about violence against women. The truth is he only claims about violence against women when he’s trying to save his own skin.

"He can shake his head, we saw it with grooming gangs, we saw it with Mandelson and now we see it with Doyle. Isn’t that what a former prosecutor would call an established pattern of behaviour?"

Sir Keir Starmer responded: "I’m going to take no lectures from the Tories about standards in public life. She defended partygate for months and months and months and even now she says it was overblown.

"Her former shadow justice secretary complained about not seeing enough ‘white faces’ in Birmingham and she was too weak to sack him for racism."

Kemi Badenoch asks 'what's changed?' in scathing attack on Labour

Kemi Badenoch said: "The whips have done a great job, getting them cheering. We all know they’ve been sick for the last week.

"Because let’s remember just last week he told us he had full confidence in his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney. On Sunday, he sacked Morgan McSweeney."

Following heckles, Mrs Badenoch added: "He resigned. Last week he was defending the Cabinet Secretary. Now he is sacking him. What changed?"

Sir Keir Starmer responded: "In January she said she had full confidence, 100 per cent confidence, there’d be no more defections from her party.

"48 hours later, the shadow foreign minister defected. Eight days after that, the former home secretary defected."

Keir Starmer claims the Conservative Party is 'dying'

Sir Keir Starmer said the Conservative Party is "dying" as he took aim at Kemi Badenoch.

He pointed to members of the Shadow Cabinet, asking "who's next?", a reference to high level defections to Nigel Farage's Reform UK.

Sir Keir Starmer on his feet for PMQs

Sir Keir Starmer was met with booing and cheers from across the house as he stood up to start this week's Prime Minister's Questions.

Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said: "I didn't know the Prime Minister was that popular on this side" pointing to Conservative MPs.

He started paying tribute to the two children stabbed at Kingsbury High School in Brent and conveying the UK’s "deepest condolences" to Mark Carney, the Canadian Prime Minister, in the wake of a fatal shooting in British Columbia in Canada.

PICTURED: Sir Keir Starmer heads for Prime Minister's Questions

Sir Keir Starmer has left 10 Downing Street as he heads to the House of Commons for what promises to be a feisty Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) session.

Kemi Badenoch will be hoping to stick the boot in on a variety of issues after what has already been a chaotic week for the PM.

Nigel Nelson shares personal story of the time he sacked Peter Mandelson

As the row over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador rumbles on, our Senior Political Commentator Nigel Nelson has shared the story of the time he fired the so called "Prince of Darkness."

Nigel, who at the time was the Sunday People’s Political Editor, fired Lord Mandelson as the paper's political columnist.

GB NEWS MEMBERS CAN READ NIGEL'S ANALYSIS HERE.

WATCH: Dawn Neesom tears into Labour MP over migrant crisis after 'unimaginable horror'

Liberal Democrats announce plans to break up Treasury and move it to Birmingham

The Treasury should be broken up and replaced with a "Department for Growth" based in Birmingham, the Liberal Democrats have said.

In a speech on Tuesday morning, Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper attacked the Treasury as "anti-growth" and proposed a radical shake-up of the British state.

Under the Lib Dems’ plans, the new department would set taxes, oversee economic strategy, set fiscal rules and approve major infrastructure projects with "a mandate to boost long-term prosperity, improve living standards and end the cost-of-living crisis."

Overseen by the Chancellor, it would also merge with the current Department for Business and Trade, while a separate "Department for Public Expenditure" would oversee departmental spending.

The proposal follows calls to break up the Treasury from experts including former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane in January 2024.

However, the idea stretches back decades, and was previously attempted in the 1960s, when Harold Wilson created a Department for Economic Affairs to oversee long-term economic strategy.

The Lib Dems pointed to other countries with similar arrangements, such as Australia and Ireland, where taxation and spending are managed by separate departments.

Former Conservative leader says Keir Starmer is being 'held hostage' by Labour left

Sir Iain Duncan Smith has said the Prime Minister is being "held hostage" by the Labour Left as the party haemorrhages voters to the Green Party and Reform UK.

The former Tory leader told Talk: "The reality is he’s losing voters hugely, as I understand it, to parties like the Greens and others to the Left of him, that’s what’s panicking many of his Members of Parliament.

"I’m afraid what we’re going to see now is significant drift to the Left, in some hope of hanging on."

Sir Iain added: "He’s got very little time left, but what Labour MPs are doing is they’re staying off that decision till after the by-election and even maybe the May elections.

"But they expect those to be really, really bad, and the result of all of that is that they will then be able to say, 'Well, that’s it. We can blame you', rather than having to go through that after they’ve elected somebody new from the Cabinet themselves."

Downing Street 'not aware' peer campaigned for paedophile

Downing Street was not aware Lord Matthew Doyle had campaigned for a paedophile when his peerage was announced, a minister has said.

Education minister Georgia Gould told Sky News: "Downing Street did not know before they made the decision to give him the peerage."

Challenged over the fact the Sunday Times reported on December 27 that Downing Street had investigated Lord Doyle’s continued support for Sean Morton after he was charged with indecent child image offences, Ms Gould said: "I think the decision, the announcement was made on December 10.

"I think the story was later in the month...I think the Prime Minister has looked at this afresh, given the commitment that he has made to ensure the highest standards in public life."

Lord Doyle’s appointment was formally confirmed at the beginning of January. He lost the Labour whip on Tuesday.

WATCH: Richard Holden says fare dodgers should face 'full force of the law'

London Tube fare-dodger fines hit two-year low - just months after Robert Jenrick shamed TfL into clampdown

The number of fare-dodging fines on the London Underground shot up to a years-long high - then dropped to a years-long low - in the months immediately after Robert Jenrick's viral video.

Last May, Mr Jenrick had raked in millions of views online for confronting fare evaders on the Tube.

The next month, TfL staff dished out 1,588 Penalty Fare Notices (PFNs) on the Underground alone.

But by August, that number had fallen by two-thirds to just 503, by far the lowest monthly total in the last two years, according to FOI data obtained by GB News.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Schools minister says Keir Starmer is a 'decent man'

A Labour minister has insisted Sir Keir Starmer is a "decent man" as she addressed the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador.

Georgia Gould, the School Standards Minister and MP for Queen's Park and Maida Vale told GB News: "The PM has apologised for the decision.

"He made a mistake, he believed the lies he was told by Peter Mandelson. I know him to be a decent man who cares about these issues."

Labour ministers accused of 'downgrading King' in Government rebrand

Labour has been accused of "downgrading" the King in a controversial rebrand of the Government.

Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds told MPs "a strategic decision has been made to adopt 'UK Government' as the primary identity for all public-facing communications".

Until last October, the Government used a default logo of "HM Government", which stands for "His Majesty's Government", when communicating with Britons.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Labour slumps to fourth as Plaid Cymru take key ward in crunch by-election

Labour slumped to fourth place as Fishguard North East by-election as Plaid Cymru came out on top in a key Welsh by-election.

Billy Shaw from Rhun ap Iorwerth's party won the Fishguard North East by-election on Pembrokeshire Council, with a 118 vote majority over Liberal Democrat Caleb Churchill.

Reform UK's Peter John came in third, with Labour's Paul Howe in fourth.

Richard Holden says rail fare dodgers 'drive people round the bend'

When asked about people fare dodging, Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden told GB News: "We have to take it really seriously.

"There's no point prosecuting people if the laws are not properly enforced in the first place. It really drives people round the bend when they see people dodging fares.

"If people aren't paying their way they need to be prosecuted but we need to see police officers on our trains and on our streets to ensure the law is properly enforced."

Richard Holden says Labour is 'not governing' at the moment

Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden told GB News: "We have a Government that is not governing at the moment.

"We need a Government taking action, not cabinet ministers trying to play for position in a potential future leadership contest."

John Healey to announce boost to British troops in Norway

The number of British troops in Norway will double as part of efforts to bolster defences in the High North against Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

Defence Secretary John Healey will also commit UK forces to Nato’s Arctic Sentry mission, the alliance’s initiative to improve security in the region to help address Donald Trump’s concerns over Greenland.

The promises to bolster the defence of the Arctic region came as former head of the armed forces General Sir Nick Carter called for greater European co-operation to deter Russia and support Ukraine.

Mr Healey, on a visit to Royal Marines at Camp Viking in the Norwegian Arctic, promised to increase the number of troops deployed to the country from 1,000 to 2,000 over three years.

DWP 'to reach further into YOUR lives' under bank account snooping powers, MPs warn

A parliamentary spending watchdog has warned that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) must exercise its newly acquired bank account surveillance powers with restraint, cautioning that public confidence hangs in the balance.

The Public Accounts Committee raised concerns that the DWP has yet to adequately explain how it intends to deploy these substantial capabilities in a manner that preserves trust among citizens.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Greens most popular party among 16-25 year olds

Zack Polanski's Green Party is the most popular party among 16-25 year olds, according to a new poll.

A new poll for ITV News of 1,040 young people found 34 per cent intended to vote for the Greens.

Meanwhile, Labour has support from 28 per cent of that age group, with Reform UK on 18 per cent.

The Conservatives are on 10 per cent and the Liberal Democrats on eight per cent.

More young people prefer Nigel Farage to Sir Keir Starmer, with nine per cent saying they view the Reform UK leader with strong favourability, compared with just six per cent for the Prime Minister.

Keir Starmer to face Kemi Badenoch at PMQs later today

Sir Keir Starmer will face Prime Minister’s Questions later today after fighting back against pressure to quit.

It comes after the Prime Minister pledged to "never walk away" from his mandate, and said he would lead the Labour Party into the next general election.

Sir Keir hit out at infighting within his party and said the political "turmoil" would not stop him after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for him to resign.

The Prime Minister insisted his top team was "strong and united" as he thanked ministers at a Cabinet meeting for rallying around him with public messages of support.

We'll bring you all the updates here on the Politics Live blog and on PMQs Live, where Tom and Gloria will be joined by Labour MP for Bury North James Frith and Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith.

Labour set to appoint 'Queen of Woke' as Britain’s first female Cabinet Secretary after string of departures

The so-called "Queen of Woke", Dame Antonia Romeo, is set to become Britain’s first female Cabinet Secretary - the head of the Civil Service.

She replaces Sir Chris Wormald - set to depart in a major shake-up of Sir Keir Starmer's operation who had been panned for his reluctance to bring reforms to Whitehall.

Sir Chris, the shortest serving Cabinet Secretary in history, is rumoured to have been offered a seat in the Lords in exchange for his resignation.

He is also set to receive a £250,000 payoff, in addition to his £2.5million taxpayer-funded pension.

A decade ago, Dame Antonia served as Her Majesty's Consul General in New York where she was accused of “terrorising” staff who criticised her spending.

Dubbed by some the “Queen of Woke”, she had previously served as the “Civil Service gender inclusion champion”, and previously said that diversity and inclusion policies were crucial in Whitehall.