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  • NEWS STORY : Farage and Tice sue National Crime Agency over alleged banking leaks

    NEWS STORY : Farage and Tice sue National Crime Agency over alleged banking leaks

    STORY

    Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and deputy leader Richard Tice have begun legal action against the National Crime Agency, alleging that confidential financial information connected with suspicious activity reports was disclosed to journalists. The Financial Times reported that the claim seeks more than £25,000 in damages, an admission of fault and disclosure of who received the information.

    The case concerns banking information linked to large financial transactions involving the two politicians. Reports have referred to a £5 million gift from cryptocurrency businessman Christopher Harborne to Farage and a £1 million transfer from Fiona Cottrell to a company connected with Tice. Suspicious activity reports are submitted by financial institutions where activity requires examination and do not themselves establish criminal wrongdoing. Farage and Tice have denied wrongdoing in relation to their finances.

    The NCA has said that an internal investigation is under way and has declined to comment further on the litigation. Separate scrutiny of Reform UK finances has included a Metropolitan Police investigation into donations made through Britain Means Business. The legal action against the NCA is distinct from those inquiries and centres on the allegation that confidential banking information was improperly disclosed.

  • NEWS STORY : Arron Banks accused of hiring investigators to examine Sunday Times journalist

    STORY

    Arron Banks, the businessman and prominent Reform UK member, is reported to have hired private investigators to examine Sunday Times journalist Gabriel Pogrund following reporting about Nigel Farage’s finances. Pogrund, who edits the newspaper’s Insight investigations team, had worked on stories concerning financial support received by Farage before he was elected as MP for Clacton.

    The investigation into Pogrund was reportedly carried out by Precision Risk and Intelligence, a company previously owned by Banks. When asked whether he had paid investigators to look into the journalist, Banks did not deny the claim and said: “When you live by the sword, you die by the sword.” Banks also alleged that the Sunday Times had used hacked information in its reporting, something the newspaper strongly denied.

    The Sunday Times described the reported surveillance of its journalist as “reprehensible” and said its reporting had been based on responsible journalism rather than hacked material. Banks subsequently told the Guardian that he had not spoken to anyone at Reform UK about the matter. Pogrund’s previous reporting had included details of support Farage received from former Ukip aide George Cottrell, while wider questions over Reform UK finances are currently being examined by the Metropolitan Police. No arrests have been made in that investigation.

  • NEWS STORY : Police reopen 2025 case during Ann Widdecombe murder investigation

    NEWS STORY : Police reopen 2025 case during Ann Widdecombe murder investigation

    STORY

    Counter Terrorism Policing has reopened an investigation into an attempted burglary reported in Greater London in April 2025 as part of the inquiry into the murder of former minister and Reform UK politician Ann Widdecombe. The earlier investigation had been closed after no arrests were made.

    Police said a line of inquiry identified during the Widdecombe investigation should have been pursued during the original case. The matter has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is examining the actions of a Counter Terrorism Policing London staff member. Reports have linked the 2025 incident to a property associated with Nigel Farage.

    Joshua Kerry, 28, of Rotherham, has been charged with Widdecombe’s murder and remanded in custody. The reopening of the 2025 investigation does not itself establish a connection between the two incidents, and police have not announced any further charge arising from the earlier case.

  • NEWS STORY : TUC calls for root and branch review of Office for Budget Responsibility

    NEWS STORY : TUC calls for root and branch review of Office for Budget Responsibility

    STORY

    The Trades Union Congress has called on Chancellor John Healey to order a ‘root and branch’ review of the Office for Budget Responsibility, arguing that the fiscal watchdog’s approach can hold back public investment. The union wants the issue examined ahead of Healey’s first Budget on 28 October.

    The TUC has focused particularly on the OBR’s treatment of public investment and its assumption that some Government spending can crowd out private capital. General secretary Paul Nowak said the watchdog had become a ‘millstone preventing good growth across the country’ and argued that its economic models should be reassessed.

    The union also wants the Government to expand the mandate of the National Wealth Fund so it can support investments taking up to 15 years to generate a return. A Treasury spokesperson said fiscal discipline remained the foundation of economic stability and national security and that the Government would continue to meet its fiscal rules with a buffer against uncertainty.

  • NEWS STORY : US embassy grant scheme accused of meddling in British politics

    NEWS STORY : US embassy grant scheme accused of meddling in British politics

    STORY

    The United States embassy in London is offering up to $500,000 for public education and civic engagement programmes in the United Kingdom under a scheme called ‘Liberty Under Law: The Shared Anglo-American Tradition’. The funding opportunity, published by the US Department of State, is open to eligible US organisations and UK charities, educational institutions or non-profit bodies working with a US partner.

    The official notice says priority will be given to projects connecting principles including freedom of speech, due process, trial by jury, limited government, the rule of law and taxation by consent with contemporary civic life. It lists total programme funding of $500,000, with three awards expected and individual grants ranging from $100,000 to $500,000.

    Liberal Democrat MP Lisa Smart accused the United States of ‘meddling in British democracy’ and criticised what she described as ‘Trump’s Maga money’. The US embassy said the initiative was intended to strengthen US-UK ties and deepen understanding of constitutional principles, the rule of law and democratic norms, and the funding notice states that it is not intended to support partisan political activity or lobbying.

  • NEWS STORY : CMA proposes bringing Aldi and Lidl under supermarket land agreement rules

    NEWS STORY : CMA proposes bringing Aldi and Lidl under supermarket land agreement rules

    STORY

    The Competition and Markets Authority has proposed bringing Aldi and Lidl within rules designed to stop major supermarkets using restrictive land agreements that can prevent rival grocers opening nearby. The regulator said the change would help maintain consumer choice as the two discounters have grown their UK store networks.

    The rules currently apply to Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, the Co-op, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose. The CMA said its provisional view was that Aldi and Lidl should now be included because of the scale and geographic reach of their networks, the range of groceries they sell and their procurement model. Aldi is the UK’s fourth-largest grocer and Lidl is fifth.

    The CMA has opened a consultation running until 7 September and expects to make a final decision in the autumn. Aldi and Lidl both said the proposal would not affect their UK growth plans, with each continuing to plan further store expansion.

  • John Redwood – 2026 Comments on Train Chaos in Manchester

    John Redwood – 2026 Comments on Train Chaos in Manchester

    The comments made by John Redwood on 7 August 2026.

    A short loss of electrical supply plunged Manchester and the North into train chaos. Why did nationalised Network Rail not have a back up supply to keep the signals working ? In future with more variable renewables we could have more power cuts.

  • Kemi Badenoch – 2026 Comments to the People of Clacton

    Kemi Badenoch – 2026 Comments to the People of Clacton

    The comments made by Kemi Badenoch, the Leader of the Opposition, on 7 August 2026.

    To the people of Clacton,

    I want to speak to you plainly, not only as the leader of the Conservative Party, but as someone who calls Essex home and an Essex MP who represents many of your friends and families.

    I know that many of you are angry with the Conservatives. I understand why. Your last Conservative MP worked hard for Clacton, but at a national level things went wrong and we let people down. I am sorry for that. You were right to be angry, I was angry too. But being angry with the last Conservative government does not mean you deserve to be used by somebody else.

    Nigel Farage has called this by-election not to help you but to help himself. Mr Farage wants the people of Clacton to settle his problems for him. He wants to point to you and say: “even after the £5 million scandal, Clacton still chose me.” That may prove something for him. I cannot see what it proves for you.

    Most people cannot imagine being given £5 million. It is life-changing money. Actually, more than most lottery winners will get. But this wasn’t a lottery win. It was given to him, and the people of Clacton are entitled to ask why someone would give Nigel Farage that kind of money. More importantly, you are entitled to ask what that person expected in return.

    Above all, you are entitled to have all the facts before you are asked to pass judgement. Perhaps, when you have those facts, you will decide that Mr Farage was a bit careless. That is your right. But the proper process should be allowed to finish first.

    All MPs have to follow these rules about registering gifts, even when those rules are inconvenient. Those who do not are always investigated and usually punished, no matter who they are. Nigel Farage should not be exempt from those rules.

    Instead of getting on with his job as your MP and waiting for the investigation, he tried to kill the process by making you vote again. But this changes nothing. When the proper process finishes, it will likely lead to another by-election, and you will be asked to come and vote all over again. Three elections in two years is a lot to put Clacton through, particularly when this one did not need to happen.

    I want you to know that Conservatives want to see some common sense here. I know some of you believe the Conservatives should have put forward a candidate this time. Some might feel we left you without a serious choice. I understand why our decision may look that way, so let me reassure you.

    Conservatives will never, ever write Clacton off. We refuse to dance to Nigel Farage’s tune or play a part in his one-man show. Treating Clacton as a stage for his drama is disrespectful. It is also unfair. You are not pawns in his game, there to provide him with a round of applause when he needs one. You elected an MP to represent you, not for you to represent him when public scrutiny becomes uncomfortable.

    When the proper process has run its course and there is a genuine contest, we will be there. I will put forward a serious candidate who understands that representing Clacton is a job: someone who turns up, listens, holds meetings and works for the people who live here. You deserve an MP who puts you first, rather than making every question about himself.

    Where Clacton is about one man’s job, the by-election in Aberdeen South earlier this year was about tens of thousands of people’s jobs in an oil and gas industry that is dying on Labour’s watch. The Conservative Party fought that by-election with everything we had, and it speaks volumes that we won Aberdeen South on almost 50 per cent of the vote – the first time the Conservative Party had won a by-election in Scotland in over 50 years.

    As in Aberdeen, I will not ask you to forget why you lost faith in the Conservatives. But I am determined to earn that trust back by showing we have changed and we are different.

    For now, I ask you to look at this needless election and ask one simple question: is it really being held for the people of Clacton, or is it being held for Nigel Farage?

    You deserve better than being used to prove another man’s point. When the real choice comes, the Conservatives will be there and I hope we can earn your support.

    Yours sincerely,

    Kemi Badenoch MP, Leader of the Conservative Party

  • NEWS STORY : Conservative chairman tells Tory councils to follow single-sex spaces guidance

    NEWS STORY : Conservative chairman tells Tory councils to follow single-sex spaces guidance

    STORY

    Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake has told Conservative councillors that Tory-run local authorities should comply with Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance on single-sex spaces. His intervention followed reports that some councils led by Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens could choose not to follow the guidance.

    The guidance covers the operation of single-sex services including toilets and changing rooms under the Equality Act 2010. The Guardian reported that it states such facilities should be used according to a person’s sex at birth and sets out the circumstances in which a service remains legally separate or single-sex.

    Hollinrake said he would ensure Conservative-run authorities comply and circulated his position in a letter to Tory councillors that was subsequently posted online. The letter followed reports that some Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green-led councils could choose not to follow the guidance.

  • NEWS STORY : Scottish Labour leadership contender says party has ‘turned to rubble’

    NEWS STORY : Scottish Labour leadership contender says party has ‘turned to rubble’

    STORY

    Scottish Labour leadership contender Monica Lennon has criticised the state of the party as she continues trying to secure enough support to reach the ballot in the contest to succeed Anas Sarwar. Lennon said Scottish Labour had “turned to rubble” after 19 years in opposition and six Holyrood election defeats.

    Lennon made the intervention after Labour MP Jon Trickett publicly called for her to be included on the ballot. At the time of the latest update, she had not secured enough support to join MSPs Michael Marra and Joe Fagan in the leadership contest.

    Lennon said the party needed more time to determine its future direction before losing further members and activists. The nomination process remains ongoing as Scottish Labour prepares to choose Sarwar’s successor.