Category: News Story

STORY

The UK has called for a “safe and peaceful transition” to a legitimate government in Venezuela, telling the UN Security Council that Venezuelans “have suffered for years” under Nicolás Maduro’s rule and deserve a government that reflects their vote at the ballot box.

Speaking in New York, Ambassador James Kariuki said Maduro’s actions had fuelled poverty, violent repression and failing basic services, while also driving a displacement crisis across the region. He repeated the UK’s longstanding position that Maduro’s claim to power was fraudulent and pointed to the fact that Venezuela’s National Electoral Council has still not published full results from the July 2024 presidential election, alongside reports citing irregularities and a lack of transparency.

The remarks came as the Security Council met at what the UK described as a “pivotal moment” for Venezuela’s future, amid heightened international scrutiny of events in the country and wider debate over how external powers are responding to the crisis.

STORY

Sir Patrick Duffy, believed to be the UK’s oldest former Member of Parliament, has died aged 105 after a short illness, tributes have said. A family friend said he died on 2 January 2026 at Doncaster Royal Infirmary and would be remembered for his kindness and humour.

Born in Wigan in 1920, the son of a miner, Duffy’s family moved to Doncaster for work in the South Yorkshire coalfield. He served with the Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War and later pursued an academic career, studying at the London School of Economics and completing a doctorate at Columbia University before lecturing in economics.

After first standing for Parliament in 1950, he entered the Commons at a 1963 by-election in Colne Valley, later becoming Labour MP for Sheffield Attercliffe from 1970 until his retirement in 1992. In government he served as a defence minister under James Callaghan in the late 1970s, and in the 1980s he went on to become president of the NATO Assembly, a role that took him into the heart of Cold War era diplomacy.

STORY

The Prime Minister spoke to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday, with the two leaders welcoming what Downing Street called the US push for a just and lasting peace and agreeing that no country wanted that more than Ukraine.

Sir Keir Starmer paid tribute to the resilience of Ukrainians amid ongoing Russian missile and drone attacks, saying strikes were hitting cities and critical national infrastructure and leaving families and older people facing cold and darkness.

Downing Street said the Prime Minister welcomed national security adviser level talks taking place in Kyiv and expected further progress when leaders meet in Paris on Tuesday. The call also covered work on a multinational force that could deploy in Ukraine in the days after any ceasefire, and Starmer welcomed the appointment of Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov as head of the Office of the President.

STORY

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK will “shed no tears” about the end of Nicolás Maduro’s regime, reiterating Britain’s longstanding position that Maduro was an “illegitimate President” and that Venezuela needs a transition of power.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Prime Minister said he had reiterated the UK’s support for international law and confirmed ministers would discuss the “evolving situation” with US counterparts in the days ahead.

Starmer said the UK’s objective was a “safe and peaceful transition” to a legitimate government in Venezuela that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people.

STORY

Two people have been arrested after a police officer was attacked as she attended a report of a vehicle crashing into a wall in Dudley in the early hours of New Year’s Day, West Midlands Police confirmed.

Officers were called to Robert Street in Lower Gornal just before 05:30 following a collision involving a Ford Ranger. Police said a man was seen walking away from the scene and an officer was punched in the throat as she tried to stop him getting into a nearby Range Rover driven by a second person.

The Range Rover left the area, but officers, including traffic and drones units, later located two suspects in the Swindon area of South Staffordshire. A 46 year old man was arrested at around 07:30 on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker and drink driving, while a 48 year old woman was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

STORY

The European Court of Human Rights has formally raised questions about the UK Government’s 2019 decision to strip Shamima Begum of her British citizenship, signalling that her case in Strasbourg will be examined through the lens of the UK’s duties towards potential victims of trafficking.

Begum left the UK in 2015 when she was 15 and travelled to Syria, later being found in a Kurdish run camp in 2019. That year, then Home Secretary Sajid Javid removed her citizenship on national security grounds, arguing the move was “conducive to the public good”, a decision successive Governments have defended.

UK courts have repeatedly upheld the deprivation decision due to Begum’s support of a terror regime that threatened the lives of UK citizens. The Special Immigration Appeals Commission dismissed her appeal in February 2023 and the Court of Appeal rejected a further challenge in February 2024. The Supreme Court later refused permission for another appeal.

The Strasbourg judges have questioned whether the UK Government has an obligation to consider whether Begum was groomed before removing her citizenship. Concerns are growing that the European Court of Human Rights’ involvement in the Shamima Begum case could trigger a fresh wave of public anger, with critics framing it as ‘foreign judges’ overruling UK decisions. Ministers and campaigners fear the backlash could harden into wider hostility towards the court itself, especially in emotionally charged cases involving terrorism, citizenship and borders.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 22 December 2025.

The Government has appointed two interim commissioners to the Equality and Human Rights Commission to ensure continuity while a wider recruitment process is completed. The appointments are due to begin on 1 January 2026 and will run for a period of up to one year.

Ali Harris, chief executive of the human rights charity Equally Ours, and Professor Shazia Choudhry, a professor of law at the University of Oxford, have been named as interim commissioners. They will join the commission’s board during a transitional period as permanent commissioner roles are filled through an open competition.

The appointments are intended to support the ongoing work of the EHRC, which is responsible for promoting and enforcing equality and human rights law across Great Britain. The commission plays a key role in regulating the Equality Act 2010, advising public bodies and employers, and taking enforcement action where necessary.

The Minister for Women and Equalities said the interim appointments would help maintain stability at the regulator during a period of change, adding that both appointees bring significant experience in equality, human rights and legal expertise.

Alongside the interim roles, the Government has launched a recruitment campaign to appoint a number of permanent commissioners, including representatives for Scotland and Wales, with input from the devolved administrations. The process forms part of a broader refresh of the commission’s leadership.

STORY

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced a significant expansion of its crackdown on unscrupulous landlords, moving to protect hundreds of thousands of vulnerable tenants and claw back millions in misspent taxpayer cash. As of 20 December 2025, a successful pilot scheme that targets “rogue” operators is being rolled out to 41 local authorities across England, marking a decisive shift in the government’s efforts to uphold housing standards and fiscal responsibility.

The initiative leverages streamlined access to Universal Credit data, allowing local councils to identify landlords who are pocketing housing support payments while providing dangerous, substandard, or unlicensed accommodation. One trial area, Camden Council in North London, has already used this data to recover nearly £100,000 in public money and initiate fraud referrals against landlords who had effectively been “wrongly pocketing” taxpayer funds.

The expansion comes as the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 begins to exert its influence on the sector. Under the new legislation, the maximum penalty for Rent Repayment Orders has been doubled, allowing local authorities to recover up to 24 months of rent from non-compliant landlords, up from the previous 12-month limit. These orders are a primary tool for penalising those who ignore improvement notices or leave residents in “mouldy, dire conditions” while continuing to collect state-funded rent.

“No one should live in unsafe or unsuitable housing” said Minister for Social Security and Disability Sir Stephen Timms. He emphasised that the new tools are designed to deter “bad housing practice” and ensure better value for money by preventing the waste of public resources on properties that do not meet basic legal standards.

The government’s road-map for reform continues next week, with new investigatory powers for local councils set to take effect on 27 December 2025. These powers will grant enforcement officers the ability to demand documents, inspect premises, and access third-party data more easily.