
UK Tory MP charged with sexual assault
LONDON: A lawmaker from Britain's opposition Conservative party has been charged with committing sexual assault at a renowned private members club in London, prosecutors announced on Tuesday.
Patrick Spencer, who was elected an MP at last July's general election, is charged with two counts of sexual assault over the alleged incidents in August 2023 at the Groucho club.
His lawyers said the MP 'categorically' denied the charges and would 'defend the allegations robustly in court'.
The allegations involved two separate women, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Spencer, 37, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday June 16, 2025, the CPS added.
A spokesperson for the Conservatives said Spencer, MP for the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency in eastern England, had been suspended from the party with immediate effect.
Last month, the governing Labour party announced it had suspended its lawmaker Dan Norris after he was arrested on suspicion of sexual offences against a girl and rape.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
2 days ago
- The Star
British girl who took life was radicalised by U.S. neo-Nazis, inquest says
LONDON (Reuters) -A British teenage girl, who had said she wanted to blow up a synagogue and became fixated with Adolf Hitler, had been sucked into far-right extremism by two American neo-Nazis, a British coroner said on Monday. Rhianan Rudd, who was 16, took her own life in May 2022 at a children's home having been investigated by police and Britain's domestic security service MI5 over extremist views. Two years earlier, Rudd's mother had referred her daughter to the counter-radicalisation scheme, Prevent. She is believed to be the youngest girl to be charged with terrorism offences in Britain after she was arrested when 14, though the case against her was later dropped. At an inquest into her death, the Chief Coroner of England and Wales Alexia Durran said she had been initially radicalised by her mother's former partner, a U.S. neo-Nazi who had convictions for violence. She was further drawn into extremism by U.S. white supremacist Chris Cook, who was jailed in 2023 for terrorism over plans to attack power grids, Durran also said. Rudd, who had autism, became obsessed with fascism, even carving a swastika into her forehead, and had downloaded material about making bombs and 3D guns, Durran said. Durran concluded that both Mallaburn and Cook were each "a significant radicalising influence on Rhianan" who had "played a material role in introducing and encouraging Rhianan's interest in extreme right-wing materials". LEARNING FROM PAIN Rudd's mother Emily Carter said she believed that the police and MI5's prolonged investigation had played a role in her daughter's death. "Whilst nothing can ever bring Rhianan back, I urge all the authorities that came into contact with her to learn from what happened so that no other family has to experience the pain we have endured," Carter said in a statement. The charges against Rudd were not dropped until August 2021, four months after social workers believed she might have been a victim of sexual exploitation. However, giving her ruling at Chesterfield Coroners' Court in central England, Durran rejected the argument that the state had played a role in her death, saying it had been appropriate to investigate and prosecute her. "I am satisfied that the missed opportunities that occurred in this case were not systemic," she said. British authorities have become very concerned about the online radicalisation of young people. MI5's Director General Ken McCallum said last year that 13% of all those they were investigating were under 18, a threefold increase in the last three years. Britain's Crown Prosecution Service offered condolences to Rudd's family. "This is a tragic case," added Nick Price, CPS director of legal services. We do not prosecute young or vulnerable people lightly. Terrorism offences are extremely serious, and these are decisions our specialist prosecutors take great care over." (Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)


The Star
04-06-2025
- The Star
Anti-Trump tide turns tables
THE Trump factor is shaping global politics, one election at a time – just not necessarily to the president's liking. In recent votes in Canada and Australia, centrists revived their fortunes while parties that borrowed from the Maga playbook faltered. Although Donald Trump has been back in power only four months, his policies – from tariffs to upending alliances – have rippled into domestic political battles worldwide. Voters seem to have Trump somewhere on their minds as they head to the polls. Canada and Australia share much in common: a political system, a major mining industry and a sovereign in King Charles III. Now they also share a remarkable political story. Before Trump's inauguration, the centre-left ruling parties in both countries seemed poised to lose power. The front-runners were conservative parties whose leaders flirted with Trumpian politics in style and substance. Yet, within weeks of Trump's return, both political landscapes flipped. The centre-left incumbents surged ahead and went on to win. In both cases, the conservative leaders lost not just the elections but even their own parliamentary seats. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney campaigned on an explicitly anti-Trump message, placing the US president's threats to Canada at the heart of his campaign. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese did not do so explicitly, but both men benefitted from an anti-Trump bump. Pierre Poilievre, head of Canada's Conservatives, and Peter Dutton, leader of Australia's opposition, struggled to shake off damaging associations with Trump. Dutton backtracked on unpopular Trump-style proposals, such as radically cutting public sector jobs. Poilievre never pivoted away, even after Trump threatened Canada's sovereignty. Charles Edel, Australia chair at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, called Australia's election a 'blowout' partly driven by Trump's implicit intrusion. 'There were enough similarities to the Canadian election to suggest the conservatives' fortunes fell as Trump's tariffs and attacks on America's allies ramped up,' he said. In Canada, some viewed the Australian result as trans-Pacific solidarity. 'Albo Up!' an online meme proclaimed, swapping Albanese's nickname into Carney's anti-Trump slogan: 'Elbows Up!' Carney capitalised on a perception that he would be a steady hand to manage Trump's unpredictable impact on Canada's economy, already hurting from tariffs and uncertainty. His background as an economic policymaker bolstered his image. Across the globe in Singapore, a similar argument for stability also helped the ruling People's Action Party. Last month, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong told his parliament that Singapore would suffer a heavier blow from US tariffs due to its reliance on global trade. Much like Carney, who declared the old Canada-US relationship 'over', Wong issued a stark warning. 'The global conditions that enabled Singapore's success over the past decades may no longer hold,' he said. On May 3, voters returned Wong's party to power – an expected outcome but one seen as strengthened by the party's 'flight to safety' strategy. 'This is another case of the Trump effect,' said Cherian George, an academic who has written on Singaporean politics. 'Deep concern about Trump's trade wars is driving many voters to strongly back the incumbent.' In Germany, the first Western ally to hold a national election after Trump's return, the effect has been less direct but still present. Friedrich Merz, sworn in as Germany's new chancellor on May 6, did not politically benefit from Trump's election the way leaders in Canada and Australia did. However, Trump's confrontations with European allies on defence and trade have helped him since. Merz successfully pushed for suspending spending limits in fiscally conservative Germany, arguing that old certainties about US commitment to mutual defence were gone. 'Do you seriously believe that an American government will agree to continue Nato as before?' he asked lawmakers in March. Meanwhile, the far-right AfD party, embraced by Maga figures and endorsed by Elon Musk, failed to capitalise. Polls suggest its ties to Trump did it no favours. An unpredictable US president can yield unpredictable outcomes abroad, as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is learning. Starmer, a centre-left leader who won office before Trump's return, initially won praise for his businesslike dealings with Washington. Unlike Carney, Starmer avoided direct criticism of Trump, seeking common ground and preventing rupture. After a seemingly successful White House visit, even Starmer's political opponents acknowledged his deft handling. At the same time, Nigel Farage – leader of the anti-immigration Reform UK party and a close Trump ally – struggled with accusations of sympathising with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Yet Starmer soon ran out of steam. He failed to parlay his pleasant US visit into exemptions from tariffs on British goods. Early last month, his Labour Party suffered a significant setback in local and regional elections. It lost 187 council seats and a parliamentary by-election in one of its strongholds. By contrast, Farage's party surged. Reform UK won that by-election, took two mayoralties and made sweeping gains across England. For the first time, it seized control of the lowest tiers of government in several areas. — ©2025 The New York Times Company This article originally appeared in The New York Times


The Star
03-06-2025
- The Star
Cartier reports some customer data stolen in cyberattack
FILE PHOTO: Visitors look at watch models at the Cartier booth at the Watches and Wonders exhibition in Geneva, Switzerland, April 9, 2024. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy/File Photo ZURICH (Reuters) -Cartier, the luxury jewellery company owned by Richemont had its website hacked and some client data stolen, it told customers according to an email seen by Reuters. The company, whose watches, necklaces and bracelets have been worn by Taylor Swift, Angelina Jolie and Michelle Obama, said "an unauthorised party gained temporary access to our system." "Limited client information", such as names, e-mail addresses and countries, had been obtained, said Cartier in the email sent to customers on Tuesday. "The affected information did not include any passwords, credit card details or other banking information," Cartier said, adding it had since contained the issue. The company said it had further enhanced the protection of its systems and data, as well as informed the relevant authorities, and was also working with "leading external cybersecurity experts." Cartier did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The attack is the latest case of a company being targeted by cyber criminals. British retailer Marks & Spencer said last month a "highly sophisticated and targeted" cyberattack in April will cost it about 300 million pounds ($405 million) in lost profits. French luxury house Dior, owned by LVMH also reported last month that hackers had stolen data from its customers, but insisted no financial data was involved, according to Le Monde newspaper. Fashion brand The North Face, owned by VF Corporation has also emailed some customers, saying it discovered a "small-scale" attack in April this year. The company told customers the hackers used "credential stuffing", trying usernames and passwords stolen from another data breach in the hope customers have reused the credentials across multiple accounts, the BBC said on Tuesday. London department store Harrods also said last month that hackers had attempted to break into its systems, following incidents at Marks & Spencer, and the Co-op Group. ($1 = 0.7406 pounds) (Reporting by John RevillEditing by Tomasz Janowski)