Bell hotel in Epping was scene of violent protests after asylum seeker living there sexually assaulted girl and woman

Asylum seekers have been removed from the Epping hotel that became a flashpoint for anti-immigration protests across England last summer as the Home Office terminates its contract with the establishment.

The hotel on the outskirts of the Essex town was the scene of increasingly large protests after an asylum seeker who was living there sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a woman.

Reform had previously suggested Farage would be ‘steering clear’ of event, modelled on US conservative gathering

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Nigel Farage will be headlining at an American conservative summit brought to the UK by Liz Truss next month alongside hard-right speakers, despite his party previously suggesting he would be “steering clear”.

The Reform UK leader has announced he will speak in July at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which claims it wants to “save Britain, save the west”.

The rapid spread of footage shows how social media is pivotal in enabling far-right agitators to mobilise internationally

Filmed at about 10.30pm on Monday night on a Belfast street, bystanders captured the moment when a man, believed to be a Sudanese asylum seeker, wielded a knife over another man he had pinned to the ground.

By Tuesday, the clip had become the latest transnational “trigger event” – in the mould of the Southport killings and the case of the murdered 18-year-old student Henry Nowak – as far-right activists from Britain and beyond seized on it.

Activist, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, shared video of his meeting with Errol Musk

Tommy Robinson has travelled to Russia, where he has met Elon Musk’s father, Errol, in a Moscow hotel.

Robinson – who has been issuing calls for his supporters to take to the streets across the UK over a bloody knife attack in Belfast – shared video of his meeting with Musk, whose son has been a vocal supporter of Robinson, on Monday.

Lawyer for British women attacks ‘extraordinary spectacle’ of Tate’s arrival in Moscow

British women who have accused Andrew Tate of rape, assault and coercive control have questioned why the self-professed misogynistic influencer has appeared in Russia as UK authorities continue to hold off on seeking his extradition.

Tate admires Vladimir Putin and amplifies Kremlin propaganda online. He arrived in the same week that Russian authorities welcomed US rightwing figures at an annual conference described as Russia’s answer to Davos.

Johnson tells BBC documentary he played tennis in early 2016 with then prime minister to discuss EU referendum

David Cameron offered Boris Johnson a senior cabinet position in return for campaigning for the UK to remain in the EU during the 2016 referendum, it has been revealed

In the event, and with four months to go before the vote, Johnson transformed the terms of the debate by announcing in February 2016 that “after a huge amount of heartache” he was throwing his weight behind the campaign to take Britain out of the EU.

As ethnonationalist far right drives racist agenda, Reform UK leader felt need to weigh in on murder of Henry Nowak

The full horror of Henry Nowak’s last moments was only just sinking in on the morning after the release of police footage showing him pleading for help when Reform UK served notice that its leader would be making an “emergency address”.

Appearing via a live stream from a location with fields in the background, Nigel Farage paid tribute to the “extraordinarily dignified” response of the Nowak family, before wading in with remarks of his own.

James Roscoe had served as deputy ambassador to US since 2022 and stood in after Peter Mandelson’s departure

Britain’s second most senior diplomat in Washington, who stood in as interim ambassador after the sacking of Peter Mandelson, has abruptly left his post.

The UK government gave no reason for James Roscoe’s sudden departure, which comes amid an investigation into the leak of discussions at a meeting of the UK’s national security council.

Outcome of contest for seat just outside Wigan could change the course of British politics for years to come

Andy Burnham will face Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon in next month’s crucial Makerfield byelection in a clash that could change the course of British politics for years to come.

Reform are billing Kenyon, a plumber and army reservist who contested the seat just outside Wigan in the 2024 general election, as a local champion taking on a professional politician who is using the seat for his own advantage.

As campaigners take to the streets for what could be the most significant byelection for decades, the Reform leader’s absence remains a mystery

It has been six days since Nigel Farage cancelled a scheduled appearance at a Reform UK rally in Sunderland, a key election target in Labour’s heartlands.

The reasons given – chaos in government and what appeared to be an impending Labour leadership race – seemed logical. After all, as a quotation sometimes attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte goes: never interfere with an enemy while he is in the process of destroying himself.

Party says nobody else has been shortlisted for contest in Greater Manchester, expected to take place on 18 June

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Andy Burnham has been confirmed as the candidate for the Makerfield byelection as Labour’s national executive committee rubber-stamped the mayor of Greater Manchester.

His main rival will be Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon, a local plumber who stood in the constituency in the general election and was unveiled as the party’s byelection candidate minutes after Burnham’s confirmation.

Standards watchdog investigating money from crypto billionaire which Reform UK leader now says was ‘reward’ for Brexit

Nigel Farage bought a £1.4m property in cash shortly after receiving a £5m personal gift from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.

The revelation came as the Reform UK leader appeared to change his line on the reason for the £5m gift, saying in an interview on Thursday that it was a “reward” for campaigning for Brexit for 27 years.

Watchdog to examine whether Reform UK leader should have declared sum he received before entering parliament

Nigel Farage is facing a formal investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog over a £5m gift from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.

The Reform UK leader received the money weeks before announcing he would stand as a candidate in the 2024 general election.

Reform UK leader has used the helicopter to attend rallies across the country, most recently on Friday

Nigel Farage is facing questions about why he did not declare his use of a donor’s helicopter to travel around Britain for rallies.

The helicopter, which was used by Farage as recently as Friday after local elections across Britain, is the property of a company owned by Lorenzo Zaccheo, a businessman who gave Reform £25,000 last year.

Reform leader irritated when asked about money from Christopher Harborne on day of party’s election gains

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Nigel Farage has repeatedly refused to answer questions about a personal gift of £5m he received from the billionaire Christopher Harborne, as the Reform UK leader sought on Friday to focus attention on the party’s election gains.

Farage was clearly irritated when asked on a number of occasions on Friday about the money, which the Guardian revealed he had received shortly before announcing he would stand in the 2024 general election and which was not declared.

European observers have seen incidents of confusion over ID requirements but problem is not regarded as widespread

• 2026 election results: latest from local, Scottish and Welsh votes

Instances of voters being turned away from polling stations owing to confusion over photo ID requirements have been recorded by European election observers watching voting in England on Thursday.

While the problem is not regarded as widespread, it has been noted by the delegation from the Council of Europe, which will issue a report on the local elections in England as well as the Scottish and Welsh government elections.

With a fast-expanding membership and electoral gains in sight, the Israel–Palestine debate is testing party unity

A Green party member for more than 30 years, Elise Benjamin admits to bittersweet feelings even as fellow activists anticipate a historic breakthrough in next week’s elections.

Benjamin was involved in drawing up the party’s guidance on antisemitism, which she describes as comprehensive. But the former Green councillor in Oxford now wonders whether further guidance is needed: “Now that we have such a large membership, I think there needs to be an urgent review of how to make our complaints process fit for purpose.”

Electoral Commission considers inquiry after Tories said Reform leader should have declared money from billionaire

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• Analysis: Farage’s bid to get ahead of story only raises more questions

The UK elections watchdog is considering whether to investigate an undisclosed £5m gift received by Nigel Farage before he announced his candidacy at the last general election.

The Guardian revealed this week that the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne gave the Reform UK leader the money.

Lambeth council candidates Saiqa Ali and Sabine Mairey understood to have been detained over social media posts

Two women standing as Green party candidates in the local elections have been arrested over alleged antisemitic social media posts.

The women, running in seats for Lambeth council, south London, were arrested by the Metropolitan police on Thursday morning.

No 10 deploys full weight to block parliamentary inquiry bid as MPs warn PM running out of political capital

Keir Starmer has seen off a major Labour rebellion over a bid to force a parliamentary investigation into his appointment of Peter Mandelson, but many of his own MPs warned he was running out of political capital.

After Downing Street deployed its full weight to force Labour MPs to block a referral to the privileges committee over the scandal, some angrily accused Starmer of leaving them facing accusations of a “cover-up”.