Question over George Cottrell and Nigel Farage campaign
Cottrell served eight months after a plea agreement that reduced his possible prison sentence from a maximum of 20 years, according to court documents at the time.
He has been seen at Farage's side on the campaign trail over the last week, including the day the Reform UK leader was hit by a milkshake thrown by a member of the public.
Many thanks,
Andrew Nutt,
Bargoed
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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Von der Leyen to meet Trump in Scotland with EU-US deal apparently imminent
The EU appears to be on the verge of signing a trade deal with Donald Trump after the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, announced she would meet the US president on Sunday during his four-day trip to Scotland. Trump was scheduled to land on Friday evening ahead of the opening of his new golf course in Aberdeenshire and was already scheduled to meet the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, on Monday. The European Commission said von der Leyen's visit was at Trump's invitation. Ireland's taoiseach, Micheál Martin, said on Friday a deal would 'hopefully be signed off before the weekend is over'. Before boarding an Air Force One flight to Glasgow, the US president had said the EU only had a '50/50' chance of a deal but later said his teams were working 'diligently' to land the 'big one' with the bloc, potentially signalling an end to the threat of a trade war. At the same time Trump heaped praise on Starmer and Scotland's first minister, John Swinney, and said the French president, Emmanuel Macron, was 'a team player' but that France's recognition of Palestine as a state would not 'carry any weight'. Trump said he was looking forward to meeting Swinney. Before boarding the presidential plane , he told journalists: 'The Scottish leader is a good man, so I look forward to meeting him.' He said he had a 'lot of love' for Scotland. Trump also hinted he was looking for more concessions from the EU, saying that Japan had had a worse chance than Brussels of getting a deal but succeeded after offering more to the US. Von der Leyen said she 'had a good call' with Trump before he landed in Scotland and they had 'agreed to meet in Scotland on Sunday to discuss transatlantic trade relations, and how we can keep them strong'. While signalling he was not yet ready to sign a deal with Brussels, Trump would not be meeting von der Leyen unless a deal was to be signed, sources have said. Trump also hinted he was ready to widen the deal he had already agreed with the UK, fuelling speculation he could finally eliminate the 25% tariff he imposed on steel. 'This week we want to talk about certain aspects [of the trade deal] which are going to be good for both countries; more fine tuning. We are also going to be doing a little celebrating together because you know we get along very well,' he said. 'We are going to have a good time I think. The prime minister and I get along very well; the Scottish leader too, we have a lot of things, my mother was born in Scotland, and he's a good man … so I'm looking forward to meeting him.' Asked about a trade deal with the EU, he said: 'I would say that we have a 50/50 chance, maybe less than that … I would have said we had a 25% chance with Japan, and they kept coming back, and we made a deal.' The EU is resigned to an agreement in principle on 15% baseline tariffs including on cars, which will make brands from Volvo to Volkswagen more costly to export than Range Rovers from Britain, which carved out a deal allowing 100,000 cars a year to be exported at a 10% tariff. On Friday, Volkswagen laid bare the cost of Trump's import tariffs saying it had taken a £1bn hit in the first half of the year as a direct result. Trump struck a deal with Starmer in May reducing tariffs on cars from 27.5% to 10% in exchange for increases in US imports of beef and ethanol. While it is now being seen as a clever move by Starmer, the ethanol industry says it is fighting for survival after the prime minister opened the sluice gates to US ethanol, which is used in E10 biofuel in filling stations around the UK. The president of the National Farmers' Union, Tom Bradshaw, told the Guardian his 'biggest worry' was that Starmer would sell farmers out by allowing US dairy products in. 'We understand the US is pushing very very hard for dairy access and for us that is a real red line as they use hormones that we stopped using in dairy production 30 years ago.' He said the farming sector could not 'give any more' and warned Starmer not to use agriculture as a sacrificial lamb. Before boarding Air Force One, Trump claimed he would have sealed deals with nearly all of the 60 countries he threatened with punitive tariffs by next Friday, his self-imposed deadline for agreements. 'Most of the deals are finished … I don't want to hurt countries but we're going to send a letter out sometime during the week and it's basically going to say you're going to pay 10%, you're going to pay 50%, you're going to pay maybe less, I don't know,' he said. He said he had not 'really had a lot of luck with Canada' but he was not focused on it, and rather was 'working very diligently with Europe, the EU' to get a deal.
STV News
2 hours ago
- STV News
Riverdance star Michael Flatley to run for Irish presidency
Riverdance star Michael Flatley is to seek a nomination to become Ireland's next president, a court has heard. The dancer and choreographer will move back to Ireland in the next two weeks and 'intends to seek nominations to run for president of Ireland,' his lawyer has announced. Barrister Ronnie Hudson made the announcement during a High Court case he has taken in relation to works carried out at his mansion in Co Cork, the Castlehyde. An affidavit, signed by Flatley's solicitor Maxwell Mooney, was submitted to the court stating that the Irish-American is 'to seek nominations to run for president of Ireland'. Lord Of The Dance star Flatley, who is eligible to run as an Irish citizen, had strongly hinted at a presidential bid last week, but said he had not made a final decision. Michael Flatley performing at Madison Square Garden in New York in 2005 / Credit: AP He said during a radio interview that he did not believe the Irish people 'have a voice – not a true proper deep voice that speaks their language'. Flatley said he hears concerns from the 'average person on the street' and they are not 'happy right now'. 'Somebody has to speak for the Irish people,' he said. He was in Ireland earlier this month where he performed on a flute at a July 4 celebration hosted at the residence of the US Ambassador to Ireland, Edward Walsh, who was recently appointed to the role by Donald Trump. An election for the largely ceremonial president role is expected towards the end of October, as it must take place in the 60 days before outgoing President Michael D Higgins's term ends on November 11. To be eligible to run, a candidate must be an Irish citizen who is 35 or older, and must be nominated either by at least 20 members of the Irish parliament or at least four local authorities. So far, two candidates have secured sufficient backing to enter the race former farming journalist and EU commissioner Mairead McGuinness, former Galway mayor Catherine Connolly. Several other figures have hinted at their intention to run, including MMA fighter Conor McGregor, who has criticised the Irish Government's policies on immigration and public safety. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Keir Starmer defers recognising Palestine amid pressure from 221 MPs
Some 221 MPs from across different political parties have joined forces to call on the UK Government to recognise a Palestinian state. The MPs urge the Government to take the step ahead of a United Nations conference in New York next week, following France's announcement it would recognise [[Palestine]] at the gathering. Their letter, co-ordinated by Sarah Champion – Labour chairwoman of the International Development Select Committee, said: 'We are expectant that the outcome of the conference will be the UK Government outlining when and how it will act on its long-standing commitment on a two-state solution; as well as how it will work with international partners to make this a reality.' READ MORE: Anti-Donald Trump banner unveiled near mother's birthplace ahead of Scotland trip Parliamentarians from Labour, the Conservatives, Lib Dems, SNP, Greens, Plaid Cymru, SDLP and independents were among those who signed the letter. Senior signatories include Labour select committee chairs Liam Byrne and Ruth Cadbury, the Lib Dem leader Ed Davey, as well as Tory former minister Kit Malthouse. Ministers have faced growing calls to recognise a Palestinian state immediately amid mounting global anger over the starving population in Gaza. Starmer, meanwhile, seemed to rule out such a declaration in the immediate future as he said on Friday evening that such a move needed to be part of the 'pathway' to peace in the Middle East. 'That pathway will set out the concrete steps needed to turn the ceasefire so desperately needed, into a lasting peace,' the Prime Minister said. He added: 'Recognition of a Palestinian state has to be one of those steps. I am unequivocal about that. But it must be part of a wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis. In a statement released on Friday alongside the leaders of France and Germany, the Prime Minister urged 'all parties to bring an end to the conflict by reaching an immediate ceasefire'. Starmer, Macron and German chancellor Friedrich Merz also called for Israel to stop restricting the flow of aid into Gaza.
