Tag: News Story

STORY

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has dismissed Lord Peter Mandelson from his post as UK Ambassador to the United States following a flurry of damaging disclosures about his relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office confirmed that newly released emails show Mandelson’s ties with Epstein were far deeper than previously understood. These include intimate correspondence from 2008, in which Mandelson offered emotional support to Epstein after his conviction for procuring underage prostitution, and urged him to “fight for early release.”

Further stoking the controversy was a message in a 2003 birthday tribute booklet compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell, in which Mandelson referred to Epstein as “my best pal.” Downing Street had previously defended Mandelson, who was appointed ambassador in February 2025, insisting he had been vetted. However, the mounting backlash, including across-party criticism, forced the Prime Minister to act decisively.

STORY

Commuters across the capital are bracing for major travel chaos as the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union launches a rolling strike across the London Underground, causing widespread disruptions and testing London’s resilience. The strike began on Sunday 7 September and is due to last until Thursday 11 September, with minimal services reported on the first day and virtually no Tube operations expected for the following four days. The network may only begin returning to normal on Friday.

All Underground lines are affected, from the Central and Northern to the Victoria and Jubilee, while the Docklands Light Railway will also be shut on 9 and 11 September. The Elizabeth line, London Overground and trams continue to run but are expected to be heavily overcrowded as passengers scramble for alternatives. The RMT has justified the action with demands for a reduced 32-hour week, improved fatigue management, safer shift patterns and better pay, pointing to long-standing staffing shortages since 2018.

Transport for London argues it has already made a reasonable offer of a 3.4% pay rise in line with inflation, one it insists is affordable, but says that cutting working hours would cost hundreds of millions. TfL has urged the union to put its proposals to members rather than impose blanket disruption, though talks remain deadlocked. The strike has already rippled beyond commuters. Concerts by Coldplay and Post Malone have been rescheduled from this week due to the near impossibility of moving large numbers of fans safely across London. Businesses, schools and service providers are meanwhile preparing for days of chaos as staff struggle to travel.

STORY

Following the resignation of Angela Rayner, Keir Starmer has appointed David Lammy as the new Deputy Prime Minister, with Yvette Cooper moving to the Foreign Office and Shabana Mahmood becoming Home Secretary. Steve Reed becomes the new Housing Secretary, with further appointments expected later today.

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In a dramatic turn of events on the eve of Reform UK’s annual conference in Birmingham, former Conservative MP and ex-Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has officially joined the insurgent party led by Nigel Farage. She delivered a stark verdict on her former party, declaring that “the Tory Party is dead.” Dorries, who represented Mid Bedfordshire from 2005 until her resignation in 2023, said the decision to defect was made after “12 agonising months” of soul-searching. In her column for the Daily Mail, she said the Conservative Party has changed, not her core beliefs, and that only Nigel Farage has, in her words, “the answers, the knowledge and the will to deliver.”

Her announcement lands as a significant boost to Reform UK, which is currently riding high in the polls. Dorries is slated to deliver the opening speech at the party’s two-day conference, signalling immediate integration into their campaign efforts. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage warmly welcomed her, praising her experience as both a politician and broadcaster, and describing her arrival as a “great boost” to the party.

STORY

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has admitted to underpaying stamp duty on a second-flat—purchasing an £800,000 property in Hove and paying the standard rate rather than the surcharge reserved for additional residences.

Rayner, who also serves as Housing Secretary, acknowledged the error today. She explained that she had relied on legal advice suggesting she was liable only for the standard stamp duty rate when she bought the Hove flat in May 2025, because at the time she had transferred her stake in her Greater Manchester home into a trust. However, further counsel revealed that the trust’s provisions meant she—or her children—could still benefit from the Greater Manchester property, meaning the Hove flat should have been classified as a second home, triggering the higher stamp duty of up to around £70,000 rather than the approximately £30,000 she paid—a difference of roughly £40,000.

Rayner has voluntarily referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards to examine whether her actions breached the Ministerial Code. She has also contacted HM Revenue & Customs to determine and pay any additional tax owed, acknowledging the error and expressing regret. Keir Starmer has publicly defended Rayner, praising her transparency and noting that she had gone above and beyond by challenging a court confidentiality order in order to explain the circumstances fully.

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The UK has announced £1 million in emergency funding for families hit by the earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, with the money split equally between the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Ministers said the support will fund mobile health teams, emergency medical kits, dignity kits and temporary shelters, alongside IFRC search-and-rescue efforts and ambulance deployments. All assistance will be routed through humanitarian partners to ensure it reaches people in need and not the Taliban authorities.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy called the situation in Kunar province “truly tragic” and said the package would help partners deliver “critical healthcare and emergency supplies to the most hard-hit,” praising aid workers operating in difficult conditions. The government added that mountainous terrain and recent flooding have hampered access to stricken communities, compounding a wider crisis in which more than 23 million Afghans already require assistance.

The government’s press release cited a death toll of more than 800 at the time of publication, but international agencies and media now report that fatalities have surpassed 1,400 with thousands injured, as rescuers reach remote districts and aftershocks and landslides complicate relief.

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Keir Starmer has created a new Downing Street role and appointed Labour frontbencher Darren Jones as Chief Secretary (Minister of State) to the Prime Minister, tasking him with driving delivery across government and reporting directly to No 10. The post will attend Cabinet. At the same time, Starmer has brought in Baroness (Minouche) Shafik as his Chief Economic Adviser, adding heavyweight economic counsel at the centre as MPs return from summer recess.

Downing Street said the Chief Secretary will work across departments to accelerate progress on the government’s priorities and “Plan for Change” while Shafik will advise the Prime Minister on economic affairs. Shafik is a former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, Deputy Managing Director of the IMF and ex–Permanent Secretary at DFID and she later led the LSE and Columbia University before stepping down from the latter in 2024.

The move forms part of a broader shake-up at the top of government and the Cabinet Office confirmed that James Murray replaces Jones as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, with Daniel Tomlinson moving into the Treasury ministerial team, changes aligned with reports of a tighter Downing Street operation as the government prepares for an intense autumn.

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The government has unveiled a back-to-school push to cut disruption in classrooms and improve attendance, promising new support hubs for thousands of schools and a louder role for parents in getting children into lessons. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said “mums, dads and carers” must be part of a “united effort” to ensure pupils are “in class and ready to learn”. Under plans announced on Sunday, 800 schools educating around 600,000 pupils will join new RISE Attendance and Behaviour Hubs this term, sharing approaches from high-performing leaders. In total, up to 5,000 schools are expected to benefit, with the 500 most in need receiving intensive, targeted help. Behaviour specialist Tom Bennett and education leader Jayne Lowe have been appointed as Attendance and Behaviour Ambassadors to help shape the programme.

Ministers say the push responds to mounting concerns over lost learning time and staff wellbeing. A new government survey covering the 2023/24 year found 78% of teachers reported poor behaviour harmed their health, while analysis suggests “seven out of every 30 classroom minutes” are being lost to disruption. Phillipson said progress had already been made, citing five million more days in school last year and 140,000 fewer pupils classed as persistently absent, the biggest year-on-year improvement in a decade. The department says that uplift equates to roughly 1,000 classes learning full time for a year and could protect more than £2 billion in pupils’ future earnings. Further measures will be set out in a forthcoming schools white paper, with the Department for Education signalling tighter expectations on behaviour alongside continued support and accountability for schools. The package sits alongside commitments on free breakfast clubs, expanded mental-health support and capital funding to improve the school estate.

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Britain, France and Germany have formally triggered the UN ‘snapback’ mechanism to end sanctions relief for Iran, accusing Tehran of “significant non-performance” of its nuclear commitments and setting a 30-day clock for the return of UN measures unless Iran changes course. The move was announced in New York by UK ambassador Dame Barbara Woodward on behalf of the E3.

In a joint statement, the E3 said Iran has “increasingly and deliberately” stopped implementing almost all of the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPoA) since 2019, amassed a stockpile of highly enriched uranium with “no credible civilian justification”, curtailed IAEA access and reduced cooperation required under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The trio stressed the step “does not mark the end of diplomacy” noting they had offered to delay snapback if Iran took specific steps.

Those steps include resuming negotiations toward a comprehensive agreement with the United States, complying with IAEA obligations, and addressing the stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Without movement from Tehran, the E3 say UN restrictions targeting nuclear proliferation will be reimposed automatically at the end of the 30-day period under Security Council Resolution 2231. The announcement follows an E3 letter to the UN Security Council on 28 August formally notifying members of the decision to trigger snapback, a veto-proof procedure that restores earlier UN sanctions unless the Council decides otherwise. The foreign ministers’ letter argues the legal threshold under Resolution 2231 has been met given Iran’s sustained non-compliance.

Context from the nuclear watchdog has grown more stark this year. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has repeatedly urged Iran to restore transparency and cooperate fully, warning the Agency cannot assure the programme is exclusively peaceful while access is restricted.

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Ellen Thinnesen OBE has been appointed the new Further Education Commissioner, with a three-year term beginning in January 2026. The Department for Education said she will lead a national team of deputies and advisers to strengthen leadership and governance across colleges, prioritising faster improvement and support for institutions under pressure. Thinnesen is currently Chief Executive of Education Partnership North East and formerly served as Principal and CEO of Sunderland College. She led the mergers that created EPNE, bringing together Sunderland College, Northumberland College and Hartlepool Sixth Form College, and is credited with improving educational quality and financial resilience across the group.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said Thinnesen’s track record in turning around colleges would be “invaluable” as the government pursues its Plan for Change, including efforts to grow the economy in key sectors and reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training. Thinnesen called the role a privilege and said FE must adapt and align provision to future labour-market needs while re-engaging those currently out of education or work. Sector bodies welcomed the move. Association of Colleges chief executive David Hughes CBE congratulated Thinnesen and said he expects the commissioner’s office to keep focusing on sharing good practice and supporting leaders, not only intervening when things go wrong