The Independent

Why didn't they fire him? Police chief in fan scandal retires

West Midlands Police chief Craig Guildford is to retire after major criticism of his handling of a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a match in Birmingham. He will leave immediately, having resisted calls to resign after a report found he exaggerated...

So fire police chief who used fake AI to ban Israeli fans

Shabana Mahmood declared she has “no confidence” in the chief constable of West Midlands Police after a report found the force exaggerated evidence to justify its decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a match against Aston Villa. She is the first...

Starmer gives Musk ultimatum to end 'shameful' Al images

Sir Keir Starmer has issued an ultimatum to Elon Musk that Britain will take “fast action” to deal with the abuses of the AI tool Grok on X (Twitter). The prime minister revealed his intentions at the weekly meeting of Labour MPs on the day Ofcom...

Former lord chief justice tells PM to fix IPP scandal

A former lord chief justice has urged Sir Keir Starmer to end the scandal of cruel, indefinite jail terms, accusing ministers of ignoring “the urgency of the situation”. Comparing the cases of those locked up under imprisonment for public protection...

Yet another U-turn: Reeves set to scrap rates rises for pubs

Rachel Reeves is set to hand Britain’s ailing pubs a lifeline by reversing her plans to scrap business rates relief for hospitality, ministers have told The Independent. In another humiliating climbdown for the government, the chancellor is expected...

Britain signs deal to deploy troops inside Ukraine

Britain and France have signed an agreement committing to boots on the ground in Ukraine should any ceasefire with Russia come into place. The document, signed at a summit in Paris by Emmanuel Macron, Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelensky, was...

The West must continue to speak softly to Trump

If anything, America’s reckless and unlawful attack on Venezuela has grown even less defensible since the first bombs landed in Caracas and US special forces captured Nicolas Maduro and his wife. We now know, beyond reasonable doubt, that it is all...

We are NOT at war, US insists as it claims control of Venezuela

America is at war with drug cartels, not with Venezuela, US secretary of state Marco Rubio has insisted, as military leaders in Caracas demand the release of Nicolas Maduro. The Venezuelan president was captured in a dramatic US operation in the early...

Trump’s reckless gamble must be turned to Venezuela’s advantage

It goes without saying that Donald Trump’s regime change in Venezuela was reckless and unlawful. Yet condemning the vigilante intervention by the United States is almost beside the point. It has been done now, and it is possible that the oppressed and...

Revealed: hundreds of prisoners trapped in mental health units

By the time he was transferred to a secure hospital, Thomas White had spent 13 years in prison with no hope of release, for a phone robbery. Medical reports in 2024 laid bare the toll of the IPP jail term on his mental health, warning that it was...

HS2 blew £37m buying homes on axed part of route

HS2 has been accused of “madness” after figures reveal it spent £37m of taxpayers’ money buying up homes long after parts of the line were scrapped. The Independent can reveal that bosses continued to purchase properties along the now-axed route,...

Putin raises stakes with nuclear-ready missiles in Europe

Russia boasted it had deployed nuclear-capable missiles inside Belarus yesterday as Vladimir Putin sought to escalate tensions over Ukraine – just as peace talks appeared to be gaining momentum. The intermediate-range Oreshnik missiles can strike...

UK should seek new EU defence pact to replace Trump – poll

Britain should join forces with Europe in a new defence pact because it can no longer trust Donald Trump’s America to defend it from an attack by Russia, voters believe. That is the stark outcome of a survey by The Independent to gauge public reaction...

Teachers ready to strike over pay and school funding

Teachers could follow resident doctors and strike unless Labour hikes pay, the bosses of two teaching unions say. Matt Wrack, general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers, said talks of strikes were...

Zelensky set for Trump peace talks as Putin hits Kyiv

As Myanmar's sham vote begins, its ex-leader is still held captive Vladimir Putin continued to apply pressure on Ukraine with a huge bombardment which killed two and injured dozens, while Volodymyr Zelensky was preparing for today’s crunch meeting...

Shock poll: one third of Labour voters say should quit

The prime minister faces a potential revolt by Labour supporters after more than a third said the party would have a better chance of winning the next general election if he were replaced, according to a poll for The Independent. The survey by JL...

How you've given hope to families of missing children

Thanks to your generosity, The Independent has hit its £165,000 target to set up a SafeCall hotline to help the 70,000 vulnerable young people who vanish in Britain each year. But this Christmas these 12 young people are among thousands still missing...

Farmers cheer as Starmer U-turns U-turns on tractor tax raid

After months of fierce protests and financial anguish for many families-Labour caves in over inheritance tax grab and raises new threshold to £2.5m, meaning most farms won't have to pay

Prime minister, will you back our bid to beat HIV by 2030?

Almost 30 charities, experts and MPs sign open letter from The Independent's editor-in-chief Geordie Greig urging Sir Keir Starmer to lead the global fight against Aids, which last year claimed 630,000 lives worldwide

Revealed: huge rise in sex offences by police officers

Police sex offence convictions have soared by more than a third since the murder of Sarah Everard in March 2021, The Independent can reveal, prompting warnings that forces must do more to stop predators from joining their ranks. The Home Office said...

The Briton sentenced to death for fighting Putin - who lived to fight again

Aiden Aslin is lucky to be alive. He left his home city of Nottingham to join Zelensky's marines on the Ukraine front line. He was captured and tortured by Putin's forces and condemned to die after a show trial. But somehow he survived - and now, back...

We'll tackle violence against women like terror and gang crime

Tackling violence against girls and women will be treated as seriously as crackdowns on terrorism and organised crime, Labour said yesterday. The party vowed to make women and girls “safe at last”, as safeguarding minister Jess Phillips said that it...

Sexual consent to be taught in school to tackle misogyny

Sir Keir Starmer’s government is to tackle misogynistic, toxic influencers such as Andrew Tate with compulsory lessons on sexual consent and healthy relationships for all secondary school pupils. The flagship £36m strategy will finally be unveiled...

Trump starts $10bn court fight with BBC

The BBC could be forced to fork out licence fee payers’ money as it vowed to defend itself from a $10bn defamation lawsuit launched by Donald Trump. The US president’s lawyers argue his depiction in a Panorama documentary a week before the November...

Streeting's fury at 'self-indulgent' five day doctors' strike

Health secretary accuses BMA of 'irresponsible and dangerous' pre-Christmas walkout and 'shocking disregard for patient safety as medics vote to reject new pay offer despite wave of superflu http://127.0.0.1:8000/edition/218462/index.html Wes...

'An act of evil'

● 16 dead, including child, in antisemitic Bondi Beach gun attack ● British-born rabbi among victims of Hanukkah terror rampage ● One attacker dead, another in custody, devices found in car ● Muslim shop owner praised as hero after disarming a suspect

US Democrats release Epstein photos showing Trump, Clinton and Andrew

Nato chief: We must be ready for war like our grandparents endured

Europe must prepare for a conflict with Russia “on the scale our grandparents endured”, Nato’s secretary general has said in a stark warning to the West. Tensions have escalated following a spate of drone incursions into Nato airspace and a chilling...

Revealed: Britain's 'racist' system of stripping citizenship

The UK is stripping Britons of citizenship in a “racist two-tier system”, according to a new report that reveals it is the only G20 nation to do so en masse. Since 2010, citizenship has been revoked from more than 200 people – a total surpassed only...

Trump's blistering attack on 'weak and decaying' Europe

Donald Trump has launched an extraordinary attack on Washington’s historically close allies, accusing European leaders of being “weak” and claiming their countries are “decaying”. He said Europe has failed to control migration or take decisive action...

Britain under attack from Putin's cyber army, says Cooper

Britain and Europe must unite against rising attacks by Russia and other hostile states, Yvette Cooper will warn today. Just 24 hours after Sir Keir Starmer hosted a summit in an attempt to boost Ukraine’s position in any peace talks with Russia, the...

Probation chief warns service is in ‘perpetual crisis’

Reform of the Probation Service is setting it up for failure, warns chief inspector Martin Jones. Ministers are pushing through plans for tens of thousands more criminals to be electronically tagged and punished in the community. But with the service...

At Christmas, help us give young people a lifeline

Chereece Bateson went missing 27 times in one month and was eventually placed in a secure unit. As a teenager in the care system, she felt she had “no home, family or friends”. Now 24, she told The Independent: “I had no control over my life. My way of...

Hospitals 'force fed, drugged and abused children'

Patients and families are claiming for compensation against 35 psychiatrists who worked at the Huntercombe Group hospitals, after dozens of allegations of abuse. The families came forward to law firm Hutcheon Law following a series of investigations by...

Putin personally ordered novichok attack on Salisbury

Vladimir Putin ordered the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal, a major inquiry into the Salisbury novichok poisonings has concluded. The investigation said that the Russian president was “morally responsible” for the death of Dawn Sturgess, 44,...

Hidden scandal of NHS staff exposed to 'the new asbestos'

Thousands of NHS staff are being exposed to high levels of formaldehyde, putting their health at risk, an investigation by The Independent and Channel 4 News has found. Some staff have been forced to quit their jobs because of ill health after they...

'I'm still tormented by the horror of Sarah's final hours'

Sarah Everard’s mother has said she is still “tormented” by her daughter’s death as an inquiry warned “countless other women” have been targeted because of police failings. Lady Elish Angiolini said that forces in England and Wales have still not...

Starmer: We didn't mislead anyone on Budget black hole

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted there was “no misleading” by his chancellor after she was accused of lying about Britain’s finances in the run-up to the Budget, with questions now growing over his own future. The prime minister came out fighting...

Starmer’s defiant defence of Reeves as she denies lies

Sir Keir Starmer will issue a defiant defence of the Budget after Rachel Reeves was forced to deny having lied about the state of the country’s finances in an effort to justify £26bn worth of tax hikes. The PM will today argue Ms Reeves has provided...

Putin playing with Trump, president’s former aide warns

Vladimir Putin knows how to manipulate Donald Trump and has no intention of stopping the war in Ukraine despite the US president’s calls for peace, a top former White House aide has told The Independent. Fiona Hill, a security adviser during Mr Trump’s...

IFS: Reeves broke manifesto promise. PM: No, she didn't

The Budget will fail to boost Britain’s growth, leading economists have warned, as Sir Keir Starmer was forced to deny that Labour had misled the public over its record £26bn tax rises. In a damning assessment of Rachel Reeves’s plans, the Institute...

Millions more to pay higher income tax as Reeves puts squeeze on the middle classes

• Chancellor announces 43 tax increases to raise a record extra £26bn • One in four workers dragged into higher tax band as thresholds freeze • Two-child benefit cap scrapped - as welfare spending rises by £9bn • Pensions hit by salary sacrifice...

US and Ukraine agree 'essence' of new peace deal

Ukraine and the US appear to be edging closer to a peace deal over the war with Russia, in a significant diplomatic shift following crunch talks in Geneva. Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday that Kyiv was ready to move forward with a framework to end...

Reeves warned of growth crisis on eve of Budget

Rachel Reeves’s Budget has been plunged into another crisis just as she prepares to unveil it, with reports that efforts to grow the economy have stalled. The chancellor will deliver her second Budget tomorrow but the Office for Budget Responsibility,...

Business warns Reeves over Budget tax

Rachel Reeves has been given a stark warning from business to avoid “death by a thousand taxes” in her long-awaited Budget this week. Director general of the CBI, Rain Newton-Smith, in a speech today to business leaders, will warn the chancellor that...

Defiant BBC boss: We must fight for our journalism

Tim Davie has warned staff about the “weaponisation” of criticisms of the BBC as it faces a $1bn legal threat from Donald Trump. The departing BBC director general admitted that the organisation had made “mistakes that have cost us” but pressed his...

BBC says sorry but Trump threatens to sue for $1bn

Donald Trump has threatened to sue the BBC for $1bn over its misleading editing of his January 6 speech in an episode of Panorama, even as the broadcaster apologised for the “error of judgment”. The US president’s lawyers wrote to the corporation...

Help us to help missing children get to safety

For those living in relatively comfortable and secure circumstances, which will probably include many Independent readers, it will surely come as a surprise, if not a shock, to learn that as many as 70,000 children go missing every year. This appalling...

Nursing watchdog chief admits errors

The new chief of the nursing watchdog has admitted it got things “completely wrong”, following revelations by The Independent exposing a “toxic” culture in which rogue nurses were free to work in the NHS. In his first national interview as head of the...

The cruellest aid cut of all: UK puts 250,000 lives at risk

Sir Keir Starmer is poised to slash £150m in aid from the international fight against Aids, TB and malaria, putting 255,000 lives at risk, The Independent understands. The government will announce its contribution to the Global Fund as soon as next...

Laughing at the law: freed prisoner on run turns himself in

One of the prisoners released from HMP Wandsworth by mistake has handed himself back as pressure builds on David Lammy over the fiasco. Billy Smith, 35, was seen grinning as he gave himself up three days after being freed in a clerical error blamed on...

Two more prisoners on run after release from jail by mistake

An Algerian sex offender who was in the UK illegally is being hunted after he was mistakenly released from jail days after a similar blunder. Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, was freed from HMP Wandsworth last week, news that emerged moments after deputy PM...

Reeves puts Britain on notice of Budget income tax rises

• Chancellor finally signals readiness to break Labour manifesto pledge • She warns 'each of us must do our bit' to fill public spending black hole • Badenoch calls speech a 'waffle bomb' and pound falls to six-month low • Think tank warns 2p income...

Train stab suspect could be linked to string of attacks

Police believe the man accused of trying to kill 10 people on an express train near Huntingdon could be linked to a string of earlier knife-related incidents. Anthony Williams, 32, was charged yesterday with 10 counts of attempted murder after an...

Heroic train worker fighting for life after stabbing rampage

A rail staff member remains critically injured as police continue to question a man after a stabbing rampage on a London-bound train on Saturday, which left 11 people injured. British Transport Police said there is “nothing to suggest” the attack is...

Starmer faces cabinet backlash over plans to increase income tax

Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves will face an angry revolt if the chancellor breaks Labour’s manifesto pledge and raises income tax at the Budget later this month. It was reported earlier this week that the Treasury is looking into the possibility of...

Minister: Andrew must reveal truth about Epstein

Andrew Mountbatten Windsor is facing growing calls to answer questions in the United States about Jeffrey Epstein following his dramatic fall from grace that led to the stripping of his remaining titles. King Charles made the historic decision to...

Andrew humiliated as he’s stripped of royal ‘prince’ title

King Charles is to strip all remaining titles from Prince Andrew and evict him from the Royal Lodge as his brother’s links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein continue to embarrass the monarchy. Buckingham Palace said Andrew was yesterday given notice to...

Lammy: I was spat on for being Black, but UK is not racist

David Lammy has insisted he does not believe Britain is a racist country – despite experiencing prejudice while growing up – and he hit out at those who “would have us believe that we are more divided than we really are”. Writing exclusively for The...

Reeves must raise income tax to fill new gap in Budget

Raising income tax or slashing public spending are the only options for Rachel Reeves in her Budget, economists have warned, after a key economic indicator left her needing an extra £20bn. The chancellor already faced tough choices on 26 November, but...

Reeves is warned against Budget mansion tax plan

Rachel Reeves has been warned that her reported plans for a mansion tax would not fill the £50bn Budget black hole – and that UK property taxes need a much wider overhaul. The chancellor is said to be considering a levy on owners of properties worth at...

On the frontline with Zelensky’s killer drone units

In a hidden underground bunker, Sam Kiley watches ‘Team Grey’ deploy Typhoon drones to hunt down and pick off enemy soldiers in a deadly night-time attack and discovers why Ramzan – who arms each drone with bombs – believes ‘This is the best way to...

Reeves faces pressure to increase income tax for highest earners

Rachel Reeves is under pressure to break Labour’s manifesto pledge with a tax raid on the highest earners as calls grow within Labour to hit the wealthy. Ministerial sources say that changes to the top rate of income tax have been discussed within...

Starmer in firing line over historic by-election defeat

Sir Keir Starmer has been issued a stark warning over the direction of his government, with pollsters speculating he could struggle to turn the corner after a devastating heartland defeat in Wales. Plaid Cymru snatched the seat of Caerphilly, the first...

Streeting blasts BMA: doctors' strike is 'slap in the face' for NHS

Wes Streeting has hit out at the British Medical Association after it announced fresh strikes, calling it a “slap in the face” for NHS staff that will play into the hands of Nigel Farage. The health secretary accused the doctors’ union of trying to...

Small boats farce: one in, one out... and back in!

A migrant deported to France under Labour’s flagship “one in, one out” deal has returned to England on a small boat in a humiliating blow for Sir Keir Starmer and his promise to take back control of Britain’s borders. It came on the same day the number...

Brexit hit economy even harder than feared, says Reeves

Brexit had an even bigger impact on Britain’s economy than critics predicted, Rachel Reeves has said as ministers grow bolder in blaming the dire state of the nation’s finances on the decision to leave the European Union. There is just over a month to...

Frontrunner's on attack Starmer: we must turn Labour around

Lucy Powell has issued a major challenge to Sir Keir Starmer’s authority, insisting she that will push the PM to change Labour’s direction in a bid to rescue the party’s poll ratings. The MP for Manchester Central is widely regarded as the frontrunner...

Revealed: the true cost of letting our prisons crumble

Taxpayers are footing the bill for “eye-watering” and grossly inflated repair costs at prisons across the country as the government scrambles to maintain overcrowded jails after decades of neglect, The Independent can reveal. Private contracting costs...

Ukraine can’t beat Russia, warns top British army chief

Ukraine cannot win its war with Russia and should negotiate peace terms, according to Britain’s most senior army officer. Field Marshal Lord Richards said Kyiv will not be able to drive Moscow’s soldiers out without the help of Nato. “What we’ve...

Disgraced Andrew forced to give up Duke of York title

Prince Andrew has been forced to relinquish all his remaining titles – including the Duke of York – under pressure from his older brother, King Charles. The prince is handing back all the honours he clung to when previously stripped of his HRH title...

MI5 chief piles pressure on PM over spying crisis

The head of MI5 has revealed Britain thwarted an attack from China just this week as he issued a stark warning over the daily threat from Beijing. In an unusual intervention, Sir Ken McCallum said the China spying case was a “strong disruption in the...

Revealed: Terrible revenge of Taliban that shames Britain

Afghan security forces who fought alongside British and US troops are being targeted, tortured or even executed by the Taliban while the UK drags its heels over bringing at-risk former allies to safety, The Independent can reveal. A new investigation...

Inflation warning deals 'grim' Budget blow to Reeves

Rachel Reeves has been dealt another major blow ahead of next month’s Budget after the International Monetary Fund warned inflation will surge to the highest in the G7 in 2025 and 2026. Its latest outlook suggests British households will face the...