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Keir Starmer urged to stand up to EU over new tough holiday checks on British citizens

Keir Starmer urged to stand up to EU over new tough holiday checks on British citizens

Daily Mail​a day ago
Keir Starmer was challenged to 'stand up' for Britain and fight tough new checks for UK citizens travelling to the EU.
The Prime Minister was warned that the new regime, which will require Britons to prove they have medical insurance and a return ticket, will cause 'absolute chaos'.
Nigel Farage made clear Sir Keir should not accept the incoming rules and insist on a new deal.
The Reform UK leader told the Mail on Sunday: 'The PM's got to be tough.
'He needs to stand up and say this is completely over the top.'
And Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden said 'hard-working Brits' were coming off 'second best' because Sir Keir failed to negotiate a better deal.
Mr Holden added: 'So much for Starmer's so-called reset with Brussels. We're once again a rule taker, not a rule maker, and we have nothing to show for it.'
The criticism began over details of a strict new digital system which will apply to Britons and other non-EU travellers from October 12.
As well as the medical insurance and return ticket requirements, non-EU passport holders will have to have their fingerprints and a photograph taken the first time they use travel into the EU.
Passengers are also expected to be asked a series of questions to check they have proof of accommodation and enough money for the trip.
At most airports and ferry terminals, passengers will undergo the process at automated kiosks. But those who answer no to any questions are expected to be quizzed by a border officer, who could refuse entry.
The long-awaited 'entry/exit system' (EES) will also automatically flag arrivals at risk of overstaying.
Under post-Brexit rules, Britons without the right to work or reside in the EU can only stay for 90 days in any 180-day period. The new entry system has been long in
the planning and is only due to be fully operational across the EU next April.
But there are fears that as the system begins there will be huge queues at EU airports, as well as delays at Dover, Folkestone and London's St Pancras station – where French border checks are carried out before people embark on cross-Channel journeys.
And last night, Mr Farage said Brussels had created a system that was almost as strict as 'getting into America'. He added: 'How on earth we managed to negotiate a deal as bad as this, I do not know.
'For all the travellers who go to France, to have to prove medical insurance will be a very lengthy process.
'Once again, Starmer has gaslit the public, telling us we've got a deal where we can go straight through [digital passport] gates.'
But a Home Office spokesman said the Government had 'been working closely' with the European Commission, member states, local authorities and the travel industry to prepare ports for EES.
They added: 'We are supporting ports and carriers to ensure EES registration is simple for anyone travelling to the Schengen area.'
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Labour is flooding Britain's streets with a tidal wave of dangerous criminals: PHILIP FLOWER
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time28 minutes ago

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Labour is flooding Britain's streets with a tidal wave of dangerous criminals: PHILIP FLOWER

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Alex Salmond's allies hit back at Nicola Sturgeon's claims he leaked details of sexual misconduct saga
Alex Salmond's allies hit back at Nicola Sturgeon's claims he leaked details of sexual misconduct saga

Daily Mail​

timean hour ago

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Alex Salmond's allies hit back at Nicola Sturgeon's claims he leaked details of sexual misconduct saga

Allies of Alex Salmond have hit back at Nicola Sturgeon 's claims he may have leaked details of his own sexual misconduct saga. The ex-SNP leader and Alba Party founder was cleared in 2020 of 13 sexual offence charges, including attempted rape, though his lawyer conceded during the trial that his client could have been a 'better man'. The latest extract from Sturgeon's soon-to-be published memoir, Frankly, centres around how Salmond reacted to multiple allegations of sexual misconduct levelled against him in 2018 - many of which made their way into the press. In the book Sturgeon denies any responsibility for the leaks and says that she does not know who was behind them. Controversially, she also claims in her memoir that it would have been 'classic Alex' to have made the leaks himself. Her remarks have caused fury among the Scottish political elite, with Kenny MacAskill - the man who succeeded Salmond as Alba Party leader - calling Sturgeon out for her 'hypocrisy'. 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Sturgeon took over the top job and in 2018 allegations against Salmond began to surface, following a review of the Scottish government's 'policies and processes for addressing inappropriate conduct' in the wake of the #metoo scandal. Salmond was accused of a string of sexual offences between June 2008 and November 2014, which ranged from him stroking a civil servant's hair to trying to rape a former Scottish Government official in Bute House. However, in March 2020 he was cleared of all charges, although his lawyer Alex Prentice KC famously said: 'If in some ways the former first minister had been a better man, I wouldn't be here, you wouldn't be here, none of us would be here. 'I'm not here to suggest he always behaved well or couldn't have been a better man on occasions. That would be a waste of my time. 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He said: 'But I think it shows the level of suspicion and the deep rift that had formed between Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon prior to his death.' Me Clegg said a document arrived at the Daily Record office with the claims against Salmond summarised - but described the idea that it came from Salmond as 'not credible'. He added: 'There is obviously some mystery and speculation about what went on seven years ago and how that happened. 'But if it was Alex Salmond who had leaked it, when I phoned him up that night to put the claims to him, he did an incredible acting job of seeming surprised and shocked. 'I have heard this from people close to Nicola Sturgeon before and it's always struck me as not credible and I would be very surprised if it was the case.' Salmond died of a heart attack in North Macedonia last October, aged 69 - but before his death he maintained there had been a 'conspiracy' between his accusers to bring him down. 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She added: 'That he tried to distort and weaponise genuine expressions of shock, in some cases trauma, was truly disgraceful, and it strikes at the heart of why I find it so hard to forgive him.' Retired SNP politician Alex Neil said Sturgeon should issue a retraction after journalist David Clegg categorically denied that Alex Salmond had leaked the report on his own sexual misconduct accusations At the point of realising his 'thirst for revenge' was greater than the bond between them, Sturgeon said she knew their friendship was over for good and she went through a 'grieving process'. She wrote: 'For a time after we stopped speaking I would have conversations with him in my head about politics and the issues of the day. 'I had occasional, vivid dreams in which we were still on good terms. I would wake up from these feeling utterly bereft.' And even now after Salmond's passing, Sturgeon admitted his impact on her continues and she will 'never quite escape the shadow he casts, even in death'. Ms Sturgeon ruled Scottish politics for years before she walked away from Scotland's top job in March 2023 - shortly before her husband Peter Murrell was arrested in a police probe into the SNP's finances. She was arrested in June 2023 in relation to the Operation Branchform investigation into the SNP's finances. Sturgeon was subsequently released without charge pending further investigation, while Mr Murrell - formerly SNP chief executive - was eventually charged in relation to the alleged embezzlement of party funds.

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