Starmer criticised over action against Labour rebels
Responding to Sir Keir's attempt to assert his authority over the party, York Central MP Ms Maskell said: 'On this occasion, I don't think he's got it right.'
She told the BBC: 'I really hope from this process there will be reflection over the summer, but also learning.
'There needs to be a better reach-out to backbenchers to ensure that we are the safeguards of our Government.'
The four MPs all voted against the Government over the welfare reform legislation, but party sources said the decision to suspend the whip was taken as a result of persistent breaches of discipline rather than a single rebellion.
Government minister Jess Phillips said the four should not be surprised by the action against them.
The Home Office minister told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'There has to be an element of discipline otherwise you end up not being able to govern.'
She added: 'I think that constantly taking to the airwaves and slagging off your own Government, I have to say, what did you think was going to happen?'
On Sky News she said: 'We were elected as a team under a banner and under a manifesto, and we have to seek to work together, and if you are acting in a manner that is to undermine the ability of the Government to deliver those things, I don't know what you expect.'
Referring to a description of the rebels by an unnamed source in The Times, she told Sky News: 'I didn't call it persistent knob-headery, but that's the way that it's been termed by some.'
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Daily Mirror
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Prince Andrew must face Congress over ties to pal Epstein, demands top victims' lawyer
Renowned US attorney Gloria Allred, who represents multiple victims of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has demanded that the Duke of York, 65, testify before US lawmakers Prince Andrew has been urged to reveal all he knows about pervert Jeffrey Epstein under oath. US lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents victims of the late tycoon, said the Duke must appear before Congress. She added: 'He can volunteer to testify. His silence is a statement that he's not willing to help.' Andrew, 65, denies sleeping with Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre. The US crook's ex, Ghislaine Maxwell, is now in a 'cushy' prison. Andrew once vowed to fight against sex trafficking amid the furore of his links to paedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein. And US lawyer Gloria Allred said the disgraced Duke should honour that pledge by finally testifying before Congress on what he knows about the late tycoon's activities and help victims get justice. Andrew, 65, is accused of refusing to co-operate with US investigators, despite giving a BBC interview in which he denied sleeping with Virginia Giuffre, a teenage sex trafficking victim of Epstein's. Ms Allred, who represents several Epstein victims, said: 'There's nothing Prince Andrew can say or do to make it go away. It is news now all over the world. People want to know, who was involved in trafficking or sexually abusing children? 'That's a legitimate question. His silence is a statement that he's not willing to help for some reason. So all I can say is, now more than ever, he should come forward. 'He could volunteer to testify publicly. He volunteered to give an interview on the BBC, why can't he now volunteer to give an interview to the Justice Department or Congress, or both? 'I called on Andrew to speak to the FBI. I would say now more than ever, it's urgent. Is he willing to testify before Congress? Is he willing to give more information to the Justice Department? And if not, why not?' Andrew reached a multi-million pound settlement with Ms Giuffre in 2022 – without admitting liability – despite his denial that he had sex with her when she was 17. A picture appearing to show the Prince with his arm round the teenager also emerged, but he has repeatedly and vehemently denied the pair ever met. At the time of Andrew's payout, a statement on his behalf read: 'He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims.' As a foreign national, Andrew cannot be subpoenaed to appear before Congress. But Ms Allred said he does not even have to visit the US to give his side of the story. And she told how she believes the Duke's name is in US government files on Epstein's sick operations, which she said should be made public. Ms Allred said: 'Many in Congress have said that they support the release of the file. I'm talking about Republicans and Democrats. 'US Attorney Geoffrey Berman called publicly on Prince Andrew to give an interview to the FBI and the Justice Department. That never happened. That's why I'm saying his name has to be in the file. You don't have to be subpoenaed to be willing to testify. He could testify. He should testify. 'I think there should be a release of all the files, which are apparently more than 100,000 pages, part of the Justice Department files, which would've included investigations by the FBI. The names of the victims or identifying information should not be released.' The Duke has not visited to the US in recent years, amid claims he fears lawsuits. But Ms Allred added: 'He shouldn't be in fear if he did nothing wrong. But he doesn't have to come back here. I would think his testimony, if Congress wanted to take it, perhaps he could do a deposition in the UK.' Andrew harbours hopes to return to royal life after being stripped of public duties in the wake of the scandal over Ms Giuffre, who took her own life in April at the age of 41. His friendship with Epstein, who died aged 66 at a New York jail in August 2019 while awaiting a trial on sex trafficking of minors, brought shame on the Royal Family. The pair were pictured together in 2010 strolling through Central Park, after Epstein's 2008 conviction for procuring girls for sex. Epstein's ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20-year jail sentence in the US after being convicted in 2021 of helping him find girls for sex. The fallout from the Epstein scandal has caused a rift among supporters of Donald Trump. The US President recently reneged on his election campaign vow to release files on the sex offender. It came after Attorney General Pam Bondi even boasted the documents were 'on her desk', only for the Department of Justice to later claim no such papers exist. The decision not to release the files followed Mr Trump's one-time best pal Elon Musk claiming the President's name appears in them. Trump had a close friendship with Epstein spanning more than three decades. The pair were pictured in 2000 with the then-businessman's future wife Melania and Maxwell.
North Wales Chronicle
3 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Fact check: Recognising a Palestinian state, misleading tsunami video and deportations vs returns
Is the Government on track with its pledge to recognise a Palestinian state? On July 29, the Prime Minister announced that the UK would recognise Palestine as a state in September, ahead of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, unless Israel meets certain conditions. Labour's manifesto committed to formally recognising a Palestinian state 'as a contribution to a renewed peace process which results in a two-state solution'. A 'two-state solution' refers to a proposed framework to resolve the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in which a sovereign Palestinian state is established alongside Israel. Previous efforts at a peace process did not result in a sovereign Palestinian state. UK governments have long been in favour of a two-state solution, as well as recognising a Palestinian state as part of a process towards that goal. All members of the G7 group of countries have pledged support for a two-state solution, as has the EU and China. Palestine is currently designated by the UN as a 'permanent observer state', a form of non-member state, meaning it cannot vote on decisions made by the UN's main organs and bodies, such as the General Assembly. However, the majority of UN member states have formally recognised Palestine. According to media reports, as of July 2025, some 147 UN member states formally recognised Palestinian statehood, not including France, which in the same month committed to recognising Palestine at the General Assembly in September. The UK is not included in this figure, although it does have a Consulate General in Jerusalem to assist British nationals in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It has been reported that a number of UK peers have questioned the legal basis for any recognition of a Palestinian state. Full Fact has contacted the Government for comment on this. How fact checkers helped set the record straight on PM's viral video When 31-year-old Abby Raworth first realised her photo and name were being shared online – falsely linked to a viral video involving the Prime Minister – she assumed it was a mix-up. Posts on social media claimed that the woman in the video was not mum-of-three Nicola but was really a 'paid actress' or 'actress and agent' named Abby Raworth. Full Fact's investigation brought to light how much was being written about her online 'without any regard for if it was correct or not.' Abby has spoken to Full Fact about her experience, telling us: 'What shocks me is how little people bothered to do regarding checks before they used someone's name and accused them of something. There is a lack of accountability for what comes out of peoples' mouths and if it had happened to any of those people they would have a different opinion on it.' We're grateful to Abby for sharing her story to help show exactly why Full Fact exists to counter the harm caused by misinformation. Old tsunami video circulates amid Pacific evacuations A video circulating online amid major evacuations across the Pacific is claimed to show a tsunami which has taken 'thousands of lives'. But this is misleading. The footage shows three people, including the person filming, narrowly escape huge waves that crash into some small boats on a shore. It was shared online following news of an 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Russia, which triggered the evacuation of almost two million people across Japan. Warnings were also put in place in other locations including Hawaii, Ecuador, Indonesia, Peru and China. A caption shared with the video said: 'Massive Earthquake triggers Tsunami taking thousands of lives in seconds with little to no warning.' But this footage is not current, or related to the earthquake in Russia or the subsequent tsunami warnings. It actually showed a tsunami which occurred on the west coast of Greenland in 2017, triggered by a landslide. That tsunami did not kill 'thousands', as stated in the social media posts. Four people were killed, and nine others were injured. The same footage has been wrongly shared in the wake of other earthquakes before. Has Labour carried out 'record deportations'? Labour MP Mike Tapp recently claimed that the Government has carried out 'record deportations'. We've frequently seen MPs and ministers using the word 'deportations' when referring to all immigration returns. Not all immigration returns are 'deportations'. We don't actually know how many meet the official definition of a deportation, which the Home Office defines as 'a specific subset of returns which are enforced either following a criminal conviction or when it is judged that a person's removal from the UK is conducive to the public good'. We do know, however, that enforced returns – the category of returns which includes deportations – account for a minority (26%) of all returns carried out under Labour during its first year in office. According to ad-hoc figures published by the Home Office, during Labour's first year in office a total of 35,052 returns were recorded. We don't have the data to compare this exact period to the same period in previous years, but official immigration statistics show that this figure is not a record for the number of immigration returns over a 12-month period, going back to 2004 when this data series began. These figures show that immigration returns over a 12-month period were consistently above 40,000 between 2010 and 2016, for example. It does appear, however, that the 35,052 returns in the first year of this Labour government represents the highest 12-month figure since 2017. While we don't know how many of these returns were official 'deportations', the figures show that the 9,115 enforced returns carried out between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025 also do not represent a record. While this figure is the highest number of enforced returns carried out over a 12-month period since 2018, prior to 2018 enforced returns were consistently above 10,000 over a 12-month period. MPs should use statistics transparently and with all relevant context and caveats, and quickly rectify oversights when they occur.
Glasgow Times
3 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Fact check: Recognising a Palestinian state, misleading tsunami video and deportations vs returns
Is the Government on track with its pledge to recognise a Palestinian state? On July 29, the Prime Minister announced that the UK would recognise Palestine as a state in September, ahead of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, unless Israel meets certain conditions. Labour's manifesto committed to formally recognising a Palestinian state 'as a contribution to a renewed peace process which results in a two-state solution'. A 'two-state solution' refers to a proposed framework to resolve the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in which a sovereign Palestinian state is established alongside Israel. Previous efforts at a peace process did not result in a sovereign Palestinian state. UK governments have long been in favour of a two-state solution, as well as recognising a Palestinian state as part of a process towards that goal. All members of the G7 group of countries have pledged support for a two-state solution, as has the EU and China. Palestine is currently designated by the UN as a 'permanent observer state', a form of non-member state, meaning it cannot vote on decisions made by the UN's main organs and bodies, such as the General Assembly. However, the majority of UN member states have formally recognised Palestine. According to media reports, as of July 2025, some 147 UN member states formally recognised Palestinian statehood, not including France, which in the same month committed to recognising Palestine at the General Assembly in September. The UK is not included in this figure, although it does have a Consulate General in Jerusalem to assist British nationals in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It has been reported that a number of UK peers have questioned the legal basis for any recognition of a Palestinian state. Full Fact has contacted the Government for comment on this. How fact checkers helped set the record straight on PM's viral video When 31-year-old Abby Raworth first realised her photo and name were being shared online – falsely linked to a viral video involving the Prime Minister – she assumed it was a mix-up. Posts on social media claimed that the woman in the video was not mum-of-three Nicola but was really a 'paid actress' or 'actress and agent' named Abby Raworth. Full Fact's investigation brought to light how much was being written about her online 'without any regard for if it was correct or not.' Abby has spoken to Full Fact about her experience, telling us: 'What shocks me is how little people bothered to do regarding checks before they used someone's name and accused them of something. There is a lack of accountability for what comes out of peoples' mouths and if it had happened to any of those people they would have a different opinion on it.' We're grateful to Abby for sharing her story to help show exactly why Full Fact exists to counter the harm caused by misinformation. Old tsunami video circulates amid Pacific evacuations A video circulating online amid major evacuations across the Pacific is claimed to show a tsunami which has taken 'thousands of lives'. But this is misleading. The footage shows three people, including the person filming, narrowly escape huge waves that crash into some small boats on a shore. It was shared online following news of an 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Russia, which triggered the evacuation of almost two million people across Japan. Warnings were also put in place in other locations including Hawaii, Ecuador, Indonesia, Peru and China. A caption shared with the video said: 'Massive Earthquake triggers Tsunami taking thousands of lives in seconds with little to no warning.' But this footage is not current, or related to the earthquake in Russia or the subsequent tsunami warnings. It actually showed a tsunami which occurred on the west coast of Greenland in 2017, triggered by a landslide. That tsunami did not kill 'thousands', as stated in the social media posts. Four people were killed, and nine others were injured. The same footage has been wrongly shared in the wake of other earthquakes before. Has Labour carried out 'record deportations'? Labour MP Mike Tapp recently claimed that the Government has carried out 'record deportations'. We've frequently seen MPs and ministers using the word 'deportations' when referring to all immigration returns. Not all immigration returns are 'deportations'. We don't actually know how many meet the official definition of a deportation, which the Home Office defines as 'a specific subset of returns which are enforced either following a criminal conviction or when it is judged that a person's removal from the UK is conducive to the public good'. We do know, however, that enforced returns – the category of returns which includes deportations – account for a minority (26%) of all returns carried out under Labour during its first year in office. According to ad-hoc figures published by the Home Office, during Labour's first year in office a total of 35,052 returns were recorded. We don't have the data to compare this exact period to the same period in previous years, but official immigration statistics show that this figure is not a record for the number of immigration returns over a 12-month period, going back to 2004 when this data series began. These figures show that immigration returns over a 12-month period were consistently above 40,000 between 2010 and 2016, for example. It does appear, however, that the 35,052 returns in the first year of this Labour government represents the highest 12-month figure since 2017. While we don't know how many of these returns were official 'deportations', the figures show that the 9,115 enforced returns carried out between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025 also do not represent a record. While this figure is the highest number of enforced returns carried out over a 12-month period since 2018, prior to 2018 enforced returns were consistently above 10,000 over a 12-month period. MPs should use statistics transparently and with all relevant context and caveats, and quickly rectify oversights when they occur.
