On 7 August 2026, Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing Vicki Evans issued a statement confirming the development as part of the ongoing investigation led by Counter Terrorism Policing South East. In April 2025, the Metropolitan Police received a report of an attempted burglary at an address in the Greater London area. Enquiries were handled by the Met, supported by Counter Terrorism Policing London. No arrests were made, and the case was closed pending f

In a major policy announcement on 6 August 2026, the Conservative Party under leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged to make foreign nationals ineligible for social housing if the party returns to government. The move aims to free up homes for British citizens amid long waiting lists and ongoing debates over immigration and housing shortages. Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately outlined the plans, stating that “Making Britain your home should be earned by working, payi

In the summer of 2010 under the Conservatives , Britain’s political and energy establishment gathered in Cornwall to celebrate a world-leading project. Off the coast of Hayle, engineers lowered a yellow underwater “socket” onto the seabed. Wave Hub, they promised, would unlock the power of the Atlantic, create thousands of jobs, and put the UK at the forefront of marine renewable energy. Fifteen years later, that same asset has completed a journey that reads like a case study

New Health Secretary Yvette Cooper received almost half a million pounds over a decade from a donor with commercial ties to NHS and private healthcare recruitment, according to an investigation published by The BMJ. The report, released on 4 August 2026, details that between 2015 and 2024 Cooper accepted £248,619 directly from businessman Peter Hearn and a further £220,623 from two companies he controlled, MPM Connect and OPD Group. The combined total comes to roughly £469,00

In mid-July 2026, Andy Burnham became the UK’s seventh prime minister in a decade after succeeding Keir Starmer. Starmer had announced his resignation as Labour leader and prime minister in late June following poor local election results in May, low personal popularity, economic stagnation, internal party discontent, and controversies including the appointment (and later dismissal) of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US. Burnham, the popular former Mayor of Greater Manche

The UK Home Office announced on 4 August 2026 that its new border security partnership with France is now under way, stressing that for the first time a significant portion of the funding uplift will depend on results in stopping small boat crossings of the English Channel. In a post on X, the department outlined the core elements of the agreement: a roughly 40% increase in law enforcement, intelligence and military officers on French beaches; a new 50-strong unit of police s

Justice Secretary Alex Norris has apologised to the family of PC Andrew Harper after the government confirmed that two of the men involved in the police officer’s 2019 killing remain eligible for early release under a revised scheme to ease prison overcrowding. PC Andrew Harper, 28, died in August 2019 after being dragged more than a mile along country roads in Berkshire. He had responded to reports of a stolen quad bike near Sulhamstead when his ankles became caught in a str

Newly appointed UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to begin his first holiday in office tomorrow, 4 August 2026, according to multiple reports circulating on Monday evening. The 56-year-old Labour leader, who formally took office on 20 July after succeeding Keir Starmer, will step away from Downing Street during the parliamentary summer recess. Critics have already labelled the break a case of “bunking off for a jolly abroad,” with First Secretary of State Louise Haigh exp

Former Reform UK Party chairman Dr David Bull calls on Nigel to do a deal with Rupert in a pincer movement. He said on Jeremy Vine & Daytime on 5 "If Nigel ignores that it'll look like we've turned our back on Restore..."

Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK and MP for Boston and Skegness, is now under formal investigation by Parliament’s Commissioner for Standards over an alleged failure to declare a financial interest. The development was first reported early on Monday 3 August 2026 by political journalists and rapidly circulated across X (formerly Twitter). Multiple accounts, including Politics UK and Times Radio producer Ollie Cole, confirmed the news, noting that the probe centres on

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged to tackle small boat crossings across the English Channel with relentless focus after visiting Border Force operations in Dover on Sunday. Speaking following his tour of the Joint Command Room and related facilities, where he met officials from the Border Security Command, National Crime Agency and Home Office teams, Burnham said the government would confront the issue directly rather than treat it as a political football.“Rather than p

Andy Burnham, In 2005, while serving as Labour MP for Leigh and living in the Dolphin Square complex near Westminster (a well-known block that housed politicians and others), the property was sold. Residents received payouts to end their tenancies and leave. Burnham received about £18,200. While many MPs handed similar sums to parliamentary authorities, he arranged to add nearly all of it to his second-home allowance. This helped him and his wife purchase a two-bedroom ex-cou

In a 12-minute video released on Sunday morning, 2 August 2026, Rupert Lowe, the Great Yarmouth MP and leader of Restore Britain, made a public offer to Nigel Farage and Reform UK to set aside personal differences and explore cooperation. Lowe framed the move as a pragmatic response to recent electoral evidence. “The Greater Manchester result showed what Restore Britain can deliver,” he said. “The next step is how we maximise the chances of delivering the change Britain needs

A security officer who worked on Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch’s protection team had previously been reported to counter-terrorism police over “disturbing” videos and was allegedly caught bringing an eight-inch hunting knife onto a high-security Ministry of Defence site, according to an investigation by The Telegraph. The man, described in the report as a “fantasist,” was deployed as a security guard at the MoD site in June when colleagues raised the alarm after he

Why the by-election happened Andy Burnham had been Mayor of Greater Manchester since the role was created, winning elections in 2017, 2021 and 2024. In June 2026 he won a parliamentary by-election in Makerfield and returned to the House of Commons. Because the Greater Manchester mayor also holds Police and Crime Commissioner powers, the law disqualifies the post-holder from sitting as an MP at the same time. Burnham’s election as MP therefore automatically ended his mayoralty

In a move that has raised eyebrows across Whitehall, newly installed Prime Minister Andy Burnham has appointed Neil Amin-Smith, the 36-year-old former violinist of Grammy-winning pop group Clean Bandit, as his top economic adviser in No. 10. dailymail.com The appointment, reported on 31 July 2026, comes just days after Burnham took office on 20 July, succeeding Keir Starmer. It forms part of a sweeping reshuffle in which Burnham removed several senior figures, including forme

A story reported by The Telegraph on 31 July 2026, centres on how the Housing Secretary has described her time employed by Stockport Council. Rayner has repeatedly presented herself as having spent long periods as a frontline home help or care worker—figures that have varied publicly between roughly a decade, 14 years, and as high as 17 years in different statements and profiles over the years. Freedom of information records from Stockport Council show she was on the books as

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has disclosed that he currently smokes approximately 20 cigarettes a day, describing the figure as a reduction from his previous levels. In comments reported from an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Farage said: “I smoke far fewer than I used to. You’re probably in the ballpark [with 20 a day].” He also noted that he carries a portable ashtray in his pocket. The admission fits a long-established public image. Farage is regularly photographed w

No candidate secured more than 50% of first-preference votes in the Greater Manchester mayoral by-election, forcing a second-round runoff between Labour’s Bev Craig and Reform UK’s Sian Astley. Counting officials confirmed the result on Friday afternoon (31 July 2026), eliminating the Green Party, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Restore Britain and Independent candidates. Second-preference votes from those eliminated ballots are now being redistributed under the supplementa

The Reform UK leader made the disclosure while campaigning in the Clacton by-election, which he triggered after resigning as MP amid scrutiny of his finances. He described the timing as “spooky,” noting that Widdecombe was killed while actively defending him. The surgery revelation Farage told The Spectator and The Sun that he went “under the knife” for a routine abdominal procedure under general anaesthetic the day before Widdecombe’s death. He did not disclose the specific