Britain

Theresa May promised industrial renewal, Johnson championed levelling up and Starmer pledged national renewal. Andy Burnham argues growth will remain elusive unless power moves beyond Westminster

Britain's government said it will open safe, legal routes for eligible refugees, while also changing human rights laws to make it easier to deport people who are in the country illegally. The new routes will allow community groups, universities and employers to sponsor refugees to come to the UK. Authorities said the plan was inspired by a similar "community sponsorship" programme in Canada that has settled some 400,000 people in the country since 1979. "I will open new legal routes for genuine refugees, while closing loopholes that have been too often abused," Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said Friday. At the same time, Mahmood said, a new immigration law will seek to prevent "abuse" of human rights laws and crack down on "vexatious claims." It will tighten the definition of family so that it is restricted to immediate family members only. Critics have said the European Convention on Human Rights is often cited to prevent the deportation of people who have no right to stay in the

Most of northwest Europe is critically unprepared for a world in which heatwaves are the norm, not an exception

When Starmer led Labour into the election in 2024, he was facing down the party's traditional rivals in the Conservatives

Dutiful rather than dynamic, Keir Starmer was elected Britain's prime minister to be a safe pair of hands who would end years of political chaos under the Conservatives. His term is ending less than two years later after missteps, party infighting and one colossal error of judgment that indirectly ensnared him in the scandals surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, a man he had never met and whose sexual crimes he was not complicit in. On Monday, Starmer said in an emotional statement that he is stepping down as leader of the governing Labour Party, though he will remain caretaker primer minister until a new Labour leader is chosen in coming weeks. "The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election," he said. "I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace." Starmer's selling point was "no more soap opera politics," said Rob Ford, a political science professor at the Universit

Under mounting pressure from within the governing Labour Party, PM Keir Starmer said he would step down and ensure an orderly transition, with a successor expected to be in place by September

Simon Boyd's firm makes prefabricated steel structures on the south coast of England and ships them to customers as far away as Ghana and Barbados. Mike Hawes represents Britain's carmakers as the head of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. The business leaders were on different sides of the debate when Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016. But 10 years later they are both frustrated by Brexit. A decade ago, backers promised that Brexit would be the key to a bright new future where, freed from the edicts of EU bureaucrats, Britain would regain control of its laws and its borders and the economy would boom. But the reality failed to live up to the hype as Britain struggled to adjust to life without unfettered access to the 27-nation free trade bloc and its market of 450 million people. Economic growth is anemic, taxes are high, public services are creaking and successive governments have been unable to stem the flow of migrants who wash up on the English ...

According to the report, the pressure on Starmer has intensified in recent months and escalated sharply after Labour Party rival Andy Burnham won a parliamentary seat on Friday

An Indian man who admitted smuggling migrants from the UK to France in the back of trucks has been jailed for more than five years by a court in south-east England. Jaskirat Singh, 25, was prosecuted by the UK's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) over his role in facilitating the illegal movement of non-British nationals between December 2024 and March 2026. Earlier this month, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to facilitate illegal immigration. Singh, who was sentenced by the Canterbury Crown Court on Thursday, is believed to have earned around 185,000 pounds through the illegal operations. "The plot was exposed when 11 Indian nationals were found hiding in the trailer of a lorry stopped at Dover in December 2024. The information they provided, along with four other Indians found in a separate lorry travelling to France in January 2025, led authorities to Singh and his address in Wolverhampton," the CPS said. The CPS said an Immigration Enforcement-led investigation uncovered extensiv

Emergency services rushed to the scene of a collision between two trains north of London on Friday afternoon that killed at least one person. A passenger reported that he was thrown forward by the impact then saw fellow travellers with broken bones and bloody injuries. Both trains were traveling south to London St Pancras station when they collided outside the town of Bedford around 5:15 pm (local time), according to information on rail tracking websites. Emergency services deployed a number of resources to the scene, including an air ambulance and hazardous incident team from the East of England Ambulance Service. "We know that a number of people have been injured and one person has very sadly died," police said in a statement. "A major incident has been declared, and officers are continuing to respond at the scene alongside colleagues from Bedfordshire Police and the local Fire and Rescue and Ambulance Services." Peter Knapp said he was a passenger in the rear train when the ..

Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Britain will ban under-16s from using a range of social media apps. Starmer says he will fight back if technology companies resist. He says he is "not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children." The move makes the UK part of a growing global movement to tighten online safety for children. Australia, Canada, Brazil and Indonesia have introduced legislation or announced age-based restrictions or requirements for children's access to social media.

Britain is investigating a sanctioned tanker that is suspected of being part of the Russian "shadow fleet," shipping oil in violation of international sanctions over Moscow's war on Ukraine, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday. British armed forces boarded and detained the vessel, the Smyrtos, on Sunday in the English Channel, in what the country's Defence Ministry called "the first UK-led operation of its kind." The vessel will be held and monitored off the south coast of England for investigation, according to a statement by the Defence Ministry. The operation was carried out "in close coordination" with French authorities, who have previously intercepted a number of vessels linked to the "shadow fleet." Russia is believed to be using a fleet of hundreds of ships to evade sanctions over its war against Ukraine. "This operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fuelling Putin's war in Ukraine that they cannot hide," Starmer said. UK authorities sai

Britain's's defence and finance ministries have been locked in talks for months over how to meet rising demands to expand military spending, delaying Britain's Defence Investment Plan since last year

Aboard the RFA Lyme Bay docked off the coast of Gibraltar, hundreds of British sailors are waiting to be deployed for a mine-clearing mission to the Strait of Hormuz that is still in doubt. US President Donald Trump has lashed out at allies for not doing more to support the United States' war effort in Iran, whose chokehold on the strait has crippled international shipping and sent energy prices soaring. In March, Trump told NATO allies to "go get your own oil" and secure the strait themselves. On the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, the UK's Royal Navy is preparing to do that -- but only once a peace agreement is reached. Trump said Saturday that a deal with Iran has been "largely negotiated" after calls with Israel and other allies in the region, but it still needs finalising. Britain's Armed Forces Minister Al Carns took a small group of reporters to visit the RFA Lyme Bay as it prepares for a possible international operation,

Efforts to unseat British Prime Minister Keir Starmer from within his party broke into open rebellion Thursday, with one potential rival resigning from the Cabinet and two others positioning themselves for a future leadership challenge. Health Secretary Wes Streeting became the first senior minister to quit Thursday in what was seen as a precursor to challenging Starmer's leadership. He said he had lost confidence in Starmer, who should not serve out the rest of his term. "You have shown courage and statesmanship on the world stage - not least in keeping Britain out of the war in Iran," Streeting wrote in an excoriating resignation letter. "But where we need vision, we have a vacuum. Where we need direction, we have drift." But Streeting stopped short of saying he was the best candidate to lead the party at the next election due by 2029, suggesting Starmer should step aside to allow a "broad" field of candidates to debate the future of the party. Starmer is under growing pressure t

His announcement fell short of forcing the launch of a formal leadership contest but piles the pressure on the British leader who has so far weathered a drip feed of demands for him to step down

In the event of a contest sparked by Streeting, allies of Starmer said it was likely the premier would attempt to stand against him

All eyes were on a clutch of senior party figures, such as health minister Wes Streeting who has made little secret of his ambition to become prime minister one day

Iran's deputy foreign minister warned against a planned French-British effort that aims to support maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz after hostilities are over. "The presence of French and British vessels, or those of any other country, for any possible cooperation with illegal US actions in the Strait of Hormuz that violate international law will be met with a decisive and immediate response from the armed forces," Kazem Gharibabadi said on social media. French President Emmanuel Macron responded by saying it won't be a military deployment but an international mission to secure shipping once conditions allow. Several attacks against ships in the Persian Gulf have occurred over the past week, and a US effort to "guide" ships through the strait was quickly paused. South Korea announced initial findings from an investigation that said two unidentified airborne objects struck the South Korean-operated vessel HMM NAMU about one minute apart while it was anchored in the strait l

Airlines will be expected to consolidate schedules on certain routes with multipleflightsto the same destinationon the sameday as part of contingency measures the UK government announced on Sunday. The Department for Transport (DfT) issued a series of temporary plans amid ongoing jet fuel supply issues caused by the US-Iran conflict and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. It stressed that while UK airlines say they are not currently facing supply issues, the government is stepping in to protect travellers from the likelihood of last-minute flight cancellations over the upcoming summer holiday period in the event of significant disruption caused by the conflict. "Since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the government has been monitoring jet fuel supplies daily and working with airlines, airports and fuel suppliers to stay ahead of any problems," said UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander. "There are no immediate supply issues, but we're preparing now to givefamilies long-term