Better right ideas than wrong results | Brief letters

It is hard to escape the conclusion that this government is not very competent (Starmer abandons plans to delay local elections in England in latest U-turn, 16 February). However, I prefer a government that tries to do the right thing but is not very good at it, rather than one which competently does the wrong thing.Laurence GibsonStowe, Buckinghamshire We in Scotland support our national rugby team. We also read the Guardian print edition. What we can’t read, however, is a dedicated item on Scotland rugby, while we can read two full pages on England

Defence secretary says he hopes to deploy British troops to Ukraine - as it happened

The UK’s defence secretary, John Healey, has written in the Sunday Telegraph saying he wants to deploy British troops to Ukraine as it would signal an end to Russia’s war, days before the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion. Here is an extract from what he wrote:double quotation markThere is no heavier burden on any defence secretary or any government than committing our armed forces on operations.I want to be the defence secretary who deploys British troops to Ukraine – because this will mean that this war is finally over.It will mean we have negotiated peace in Ukraine. And a secure Europe needs a strong, sovereign Ukraine

‘She did kill. There’s no grey area there’: Labour MP Naz Shah on the day she and her mother were arrested for murder

The politician was 18 when she and her mum were hauled off to a police station for the killing of the man she’d considered an uncle. What happened next would shape her future. She talks Labour’s woes, making mistakes, and why it’s finally time to share her own traumatic storyRead an extract from Naz Shah’s memoirNaz Shah found it thrilling when she was arrested on suspicion of murder. “I’ll be honest with you, I had fun. It was the most excitement I’d ever had in my flipping life

Labour minister faces calls to be sacked over false claims against journalists

Politicians from across the spectrum have said a minister should be sacked after a Guardian report that he had accused journalists of having links to Russian intelligence.Their comments came after an investigation showed that Josh Simons, who was running Labour Together at the time, had falsely concluded the journalists had obtained information about the thinktank from a Russian hack.The revelation has added to the pressure on Simons, a Cabinet Office minister, who is already the subject of a departmental ethics inquiry, and prompted calls from several politicians that he should be sacked or resign.Kevin Hollinrake, the chair of the Conservative party, said Simons should be suspended from office and an independent inquiry should be carried out, adding: “The Cabinet Office cannot be left to mark its own homework.”Hollinrake said the need to act was acute because Simons, in his role as a junior minister, had a “ministerial responsibility for inquiries and whistleblowing across government” at a time when questions were being raised about his conduct

Donor suspended from Tories pays £50,000 for dinner with Kemi Badenoch

A Conservative donor who was suspended from the party after being accused of bullying and inappropriate language spent £50,000 last week to have dinner with Kemi Badenoch, the Guardian has learned.Rami Ranger was the successful bidder for the dinner at a Tory fundraising event and will attend the meal with a small group of friends, infuriating those in the party who believe he should not have been readmitted.Lord Ranger, who has given more than £1.5m to the Conservatives since 2009, was suspended in 2023 after complaints about remarks he had made to an independent journalist, and separately, about Pakistanis. He was readmitted in November 2024, but lost his CBE soon afterwards

Does Nigel Farage have a problem with women?

When Nigel Farage told a journalist this week she should “write some silly story … and we won’t bother to read it”, it provoked an instant – and divided – reaction. For some it was a “masterclass” in dealing with mainstream media, but for others it was “rude, dismissive, misogynistic, arrogant”.Behind the scenes, Farage’s treatment of the Financial Times’s Anna Gross – which was met with mirth and applause among Reform diehards in the room – provoked disquiet and anger among lobby journalists across the political spectrum.As the Reform UK leader was leaving the event, a Guardian political reporter suggested he had been rude and had upset the journalist. “Good,” Farage responded