Keir Starmer opens investigation into Josh Simons over targeting of reporters

Keir Starmer has opened a formal investigation into a Cabinet Office minister involved in falsely accusing journalists of having links to pro-Russian propaganda.The prime minister’s decision follows revelations in the Guardian that Josh Simons, who was running the thinktank Labour Together at the time, was also involved in telling British intelligence officials that another journalist was “living with” the daughter of a former adviser to Jeremy Corbyn. Officials were told by Simons’ team that the former adviser was “suspected of links to Russian intelligence”.The prime minister has asked his independent adviser on ministerial standards, Laurie Magnus, to examine Simons’ conduct. Magnus’s involvement was first reported by the Observer

The minister and the alleged smear campaign: key unanswered questions

The Cabinet Office minister at the centre of a growing scandal over an alleged smear campaign in which he falsely linked journalists to a “pro-Kremlin” network is facing mounting questions over the candour of his public statements.Josh Simons ran Labour Together, a thinktank that faced press scrutiny in November 2023 over £730,000 in undeclared political donations.Simons commissioned an American public affairs company, Apco, to investigate the sourcing of the story, which appeared in the Sunday Times. The story was based on documents obtained by the freelance journalist Paul Holden, which were due to feature in further stories published by an American journalist, Matt Taibbi.The Labour minister has conceded that Apco “never fully got to the bottom” of the sourcing of the story

Reform UK’s ICE-style deportation plan condemned as ‘sadistic’

Reform UK’s plan to create an ICE-style deportation agency has been condemned as “sadistic”, after the party’s home affairs spokesperson vowed to face down “progressive outrage”.Zia Yusuf, introduced as “the shadow home secretary” at a press conference in Dover, said mass deportations carried out by a planned UK Deportation Command would not trigger the same kind of violent showdowns seen in the US because “policing is done by consent” in the UK. He also described the number of migrants arriving in the country as an “invasion”.His remarks came as Reform set out plans to tackle immigration, including mass deportations, expanded surveillance powers and a ban on the conversion of churches into mosques.The party also wants to scrap indefinite leave to remain, replacing it with a renewable five-year work visa and dedicated spouse visa

Martin Lewis ambushes Badenoch on Good Morning Britain over student loans plan

Kemi Badenoch has faced what could be described as the stuff of nightmares for a UK politician being interviewed about a personal finance policy: being ambushed and contradicted live on air by Martin Lewis.As the Conservative leader was being interviewed on ITV about her party’s plans to cut interest rates for some student loans, Lewis, a campaigner and finance expert, marched on to the set to announce that he completely disagreed.Ed Balls, who had been interviewing Badenoch for Good Morning Britain, had challenged her on whether the Tory plan would help only former students in the highest-paying jobs. After Badenoch insisted this was not the case, Lewis began shouting from off-set before walking into shot to side with Balls, eventually ending up sitting on the sofa.While Badenoch stuck to her view, polling shows that Lewis, who styles himself as a money-saving expert, is heavily trusted by much of the public on personal finance matters

Reform would create ICE-style agency and end leave to remain, Zia Yusuf to say

Reform UK would create an ICE-style agency dedicated to deporting hundreds of thousands of people, as well as terminating the status of those with indefinite leave to remain (ILR), the party will say.It would also ban the conversion of churches into mosques and fund a radical expansion of stop and search, the party’s new home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, will also say in a speech on Monday. The deradicalisation programme Prevent would also have its mandate redrawn to focus on Islamist extremism.Labour said the plans were divisive and showed that Reform was planning “to deport people who have followed the rules, worked hard and built their lives here – our friends, neighbours and colleagues”.The Labour party’s chair, Anna Turley, said the policies were “a direct attack on settled families and fundamentally un-British”

Labour must take drastic action to regain its standing | Letters

The plans set out by Larry Elliott certainly suggest a way forward for the Starmer government (If Keir Starmer is ousted, Labour could still win the next election. Here’s how that would work, 19 February). But politics and political approval also involve a balance sheet in which there has to be some recognition of the negative ways in which support had been lost. For many liberals, “old” Labour voters and sections of the left, Keir Starmer lost credibility on three issues: the relatively trivial one of “freebies”, and the much more substantive ones of benefit cuts for the most vulnerable and policies concerning Gaza.All the political choices taken in these contexts ignored values and ideals with long histories, not least of democratic commitment to the mitigation of the abuse of power and the needs of the most powerless