Political news

• As Corbyn shifts Labour towards soft Brexit, Tory jitters grow

  24-02-2018 22:31 via theguardian.com
  Labour’s expected move on staying in a customs union will embolden its own MPs – and Tory rebels“We are going at a snail’s pace, but at least the snail is moving,” was how one Labour frontbencher described the tortuously slow evolution of his party’s policy on Brexit last week. “The question now is, can we hurry the bloody thing along to where it needs to be before it is too late?”After months of taking refuge in what has become known in Labour cir
  
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• The Labour Party Is Still Arguing About Ken Livingstone And Hitler

  24-02-2018 21:58
  Labour MPs have warned against re-admitting Ken Livingstone to the party ahead of the end of his suspension over anti-Semitism.The former London mayor was branded an “embarrassment” who would bring Labour into disrepute by prominent backbenchers.It is understood Livingstone will face a fresh investigation by the National Executive Committee (NEC) when it meets in March and he will not be reinstated until that is resolved.But his suspension from the party is due to expire in April, re
  
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• 18 Insights Into Donald Trump's World From Armando Iannucci's Interview With Michael Wolff

  24-02-2018 20:08
  Armando Iannucci sat down with Michael Wolff in London last night to discuss all things Donald Trump.The Fire and Fury author is on a world tour following the phenomenal success of the book which details a White House that barely functions as it stumbles from one crisis to another.As well as revealing some insight into the writing of the book, Wolff also gave his opinion on what will happen next in the ever-tumultuous White House (hint - it doesn’t look good for Jared Kushner). (You c
  
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• Weaving the UK’s Brexit strategy into three baskets

  24-02-2018 19:00 via ft.com
  Prime minister Theresa May will reveal the blueprint in a speech in early March
  
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• Emma Chambers Dead: The Vicar Of Dibley's Alice Tinker Dies Aged 53

  24-02-2018 17:16
  Emma Chambers, best-known for her role as Alice Tinker in ‘The Vicar of Dibley’, has died aged 53.The news was confirmed by her agency who said she passed away from natural causes and will be “greatly missed”.It added: “Emma created a wealth of characters and an immense body of work. She brought laughter and joy to many.”Our beautiful friend Emma Chambers has died at the age of 53.We're very very sad.She was a great, great comedy performer, and a truly fine ac
  
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• Michael Wolff Says Donald Trump And Jared Kushner 'Will Throw Each Other Under The Bus'

  24-02-2018 16:16
  The author of the explosive best-selling book detailing life inside Donald Trump’s White House says he believes Jared Kushner will be indicted in the “bloodiest time in this administration”.Speaking at a Waterstones event in London on Friday evening, Fire and Fury author Michael Wolff suggested the ongoing Russia investigation could trigger the President’s biggest crisis yet before November.While discussing the incredibly high turnover rate of White House staff, host
  
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• Ben Bradley apologises unreservedly for Corbyn spy claims

  24-02-2018 15:59 via theguardian.com
  Labour says Tory MP will tweet apology and has agreed to pay undisclosed sum to charityThe Conservative MP Ben Bradley has apologised unreservedly and will make a substantial donation to charity for a tweet making claims about Jeremy Corbyn’s links to cold war spies, the Labour party said.
  Bradley, who has more than 4,000 followers on Twitter, alleged on Monday that Corbyn had “sold British secrets to communist spies”. The tweet, which has since been deleted, followed newspaper
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Wins Apology And Payout From Tory MP Ben Bradley Over 'Wholly Untrue Communist Spy' Tweet

  24-02-2018 15:15
  Jeremy Corbyn has won an apology and payout from a Tory MP who tweeted a “wholly untrue” allegation that the Labour leader had “sold secrets to Communist spies”.Ben Bradley tweeted “Corbyn sold British secrets to communist spies” on Monday but then deleted it after he was threatened with legal action.It came amid headlines alleging Corbyn had met a Czech spy in his early days an MP in the late 1980s, over which the Labour leader became embroiled in a fier
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Wins Apology And Payout From Tory MP Ben Bradley Over 'Communist Spy' Tweet

  24-02-2018 15:15
  Jeremy Corbyn has won an apology and payout from a Tory MP who tweeted the Labour leader had “sold secrets to Communist spies”.Ben Bradley tweeted “Corbyn sold British secrets to communist spies” on Monday but then deleted it after he was threatened with legal action.It came amid headlines alleging Corbyn had met a Czech spy in his early days an MP in the late 1980s, over which the Labour leader became embroiled in a fierce fight with the Tories and the right-wing pr
  
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• US 'considering names' for NI special envoy role

  24-02-2018 14:40 via bbc.co.uk
  US Secretary of State says the White House is looking at a list of people for the position.
  
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• Ken Livingstone to rejoin Labour party as suspension over Hitler remarks ends

  24-02-2018 14:39 via theguardian.com
  Reinstatement of former London mayor likely to rekindle bitter internal row over antisemitismLabour could lift Ken Livingstone’s suspension and allow him to resume the status of a full party member within weeks in a move that will reopen the explosive internal row over alleged antisemitism.The Observer has been told by party sources that, unless further information comes to light, no further action is likely against the former London mayor, whose two-year suspension following controversial
  
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• Number Of Female-Led Films Dropped In 2017, Compared With Previous Year

  24-02-2018 13:35
  The number of films with women as their lead characters has fallen year on year, a new report has revealed.Despite last year’s most popular films at the US box office, ‘Beauty And The Beast’, ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ and ‘Wonder Woman’, featuring female characters front and centre, The Center for the Study of Women in TV and Film has found that 2017 saw fewer female-led films than the year before.The Center’s data, based on the top 100 highe
  
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• BBC's John Simpson Describes Being Targeted In Czech Honeytrap Plot

  24-02-2018 12:41
  The BBC’s world affairs editor has told how he was targeted in a Czech honeytrap plot.John Simpson said he was feeling “vulnerable” after the breakdown of his marriage when he received love letters from a woman he met in the country. The journalist realised he was “getting in a bit deep” so went to his bosses, who brought in MI5.Simpson had been allowed into the closed communist state to cover an international conference in 1983.Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s
  
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• 'Gogglebox' Pays Tribute To Leon Bernicoff In First Episode Of New Series

  24-02-2018 12:36
  ‘Gogglebox’ paid special tribute to cast member Leon Bernicoff in the first episode to air since his death.On Friday (23 February), the Channel 4 show returned for a brand new series, with Leon’s wife June now having bowed out of the show, following his death at the end of last year.The episode ended with a simple, but poignant, message paying tribute to the long-serving ‘Gogglebox’ cast member, which dedicated the episode to his memory.The message read: “In l
  
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• Red Cross Reveals 21 Staff Have Resigned Or Been Fired Over Sexual Misconduct Since 2015

  24-02-2018 12:03
  A total of 21 Red Cross staff have been fired or resigned over alleged sexual misconduct since 2015, the charity has said, as the aid sector reels from a sex abuse scandal.The charity also said it feared some incidents had not been reported, adding that those that were “are against human dignity and we should have been more vigilant in preventing this”.Yves Daccord, director-general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said: “Since 2015, we’ve identified
  
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• Maria Miller attacks ‘toothless’ equality regulator on gender pay

  24-02-2018 12:00 via ft.com
  EHRC approach must be reviewed, says chair of powerful oversight committee
  
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• Employers free to exploit gender pay gap reporting flaws

  24-02-2018 12:00 via ft.com
  Format of government portal allows businesses to submit fabricated data
  
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• Julian Assange: Ecuador says latest talks on release failed

  24-02-2018 11:51 via bbc.co.uk
  The country's foreign minister says Ecuador will keep looking for ways to end the Wikileaks founder's case.
  
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• 'Emmerdale' Star Danny Miller Urges Twitter To Combat Homophobic Abuse

  24-02-2018 10:36
  ‘Emmerdale’ actor Danny Miller has called for Twitter to do more to combat homophobic abuse.Danny plays Aaron Dingle in the ITV soap, whose on-off relationship with Rob Sugden has dominated the show in recent years.But while his character has been a hit with fans, he revealed on Friday (23 February) that the role has also repeatedly led him to be the subject of online abuse.After sharing a screengrab from Twitter, who claimed that a tweet he’d received calling him a “fagg
  
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• Stormzy Urges Fans To Sign Petition Calling On Theresa May To Appoint More Panel Members In Grenfell Inquiry

  24-02-2018 09:50
  Following his politically charged performance at this year’s Brit Awards, Stormzy has urged his fans to support a campaign calling for a Prime Minister Theresa May to “take action to build public trust in the Grenfell Tower inquiry”.During his Brits performance, which also lampooned institutionalised racism and the Daily Mail, Stormzy branded the PM a “criminal”, asking: “Yo, Theresa May, where’s that money for Grenfell? What, you thought we’d just
  
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• Brexit chess at Chequers and Corbyn vs the media

  24-02-2018 09:20 via ft.com
  The May government has finally decided what it wants from Brexit. But will it fly in Brussels?
  
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• Not The Royal Wedding: Meet The Couples Getting Hitched On The Same Date As Harry And Meghan

  24-02-2018 09:01
  What is it like to share your wedding day with the biggest nuptials of the year? Meet six couples who were already pretty familiar with May 19 by the time Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their wedding date – because it’s when they are also getting married. Over the next 12 weeks, we’ll be checking in with Alexia and Mike, Julie and Gary, Monica and Shailesh, Dafydd and Ceri, Emma and Rachel, and Jo and Will as they prepare for their weddings. From choosing the foo
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Has 'Questions To Answer' Over Czech Spy Claims, Says Ex-MI6 Chief

  24-02-2018 08:50
  Jeremy Corbyn has “questions to answer” over his Cold War links, a former spy chief has said.Sir Richard Dearlove said the Labour leader should have “taken care to avoid” meeting a Czechoslovakian agent and cannot just “laugh off” the claims, The Press Association reports. The ex-MI6 boss said holding only a couple of meetings with Jan Sarkocy would amount to “stupidity” but if the spy’s claims that many more took place were tr
  
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• Labour's general secretary Iain McNicol resigns

  24-02-2018 07:40 via bbc.co.uk
  Iain McNicol is standing down to "pursue new challenges" after seven years in the role.
  
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