In his 59 years as front man of the Rolling Stones, Sir Mick Jagger can rarely, if indeed ever, have penned a more aptly named song that coincided so perfectly with political events than yesterday’s surprise release, Easy Sleazy. Jagger’s duet with the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl is about lockdown but its title could well […]
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The House of Lords has handed the government a major defeat over their bid to limit the prosecution of war crimes and torture by British soldiers serving overseas. Peers, supported by former military chiefs and led by former Nato secretary general George Robertson today voted 333 to 228 in favour of an amendment to exclude […]
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David Cameron has broken his month silence over his lobbying for “scandal-hit” finance company Greensill Capital, admitting he should have acted through “the most formal channels”. Cameron said “there are important lessons to be learnt” after the latest twist in his relationship with the “disgraced financier Lex Greensill” has seen “Matt Hancock dragged” into the […]
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Political campaigning for the May 6 elections has been paused following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, aged 99. Parliaments in London, Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh have been called back from their Easter recess to pay tribute on Monday to the Duke whose death was confirmed by Buckingham Palace at noon on […]
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Police used water cannon on rioters, and charged them with dogs, in Belfast last night (Thursday) after Joe Biden intervened to call for calm following a week of violence in Northern Ireland. The US president joined prime minister Boris Johnson and taoiseach Micheál Martin in trying to still the violence that saw “as many as […]
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A former leader of the Conservative party has warned that the decision to offer under 30-year-olds an alternative to the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine “plays into hands of anti-vaxxers”. Sir Ian Duncan Smith said the new advice issued by the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is “messy, confusing and very unhelpful” and risks jeopardising “all […]
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Boris Johnson has warned vaccinated people not to meet up indoors this Easter because the jabs “are not 100% effective”. The prime minister’s video message comes as politicians across party divides are uniting to oppose the possible introduction of vaccine passports that risk creating “a two tier nation of division”. More than 70 MPs and […]
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The US is threatening to impose up to 25% tariffs on UK exports as retaliation in a row over a digital services tax that has hit US tech giants like Amazon, Google and Facebook. UK companies exporting ceramics, overcoats, games consoles, furniture and make-up could be affected by the tariffs, according to a list published by […]
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A former chief constable has warned Britain is “dangerously” edging towards the type of “paramilitary policing” linked to “repressive regimes”. Michael Barton, who was chief of Durham police and the Crime Operations lead for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said ministers are “flexing their muscles via their police forces”. He and Sir Peter Fahy, another […]
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The UK’s international standing has been hammered by the explosive revelations about the Royal Family coming from the Harry and Meghan interview with Oprah Winfrey. The Queen released her address to 54 nations to mark Commonwealth Day only hours before the interview was broadcast in the US, in which the monarch stressed the importance of […]
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