UK politics: Labour MP calls for Starmer’s resignation to end ‘psychodrama’ – as it happened

22. April 2026 um 17:30

Jonathan Brash says ‘own goals’ are distracting from Labour’s achievements

UK inflation accelerated to 3.3% in March after the Iran war triggered the biggest jump in fuel prices for more than three years, Richard Partington reports.

Today the Liberal Democrats staged a photocall to publicise their line about this being “Trumpflation”. Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem deputy leader and Treasury spokesperson, said:

People across our country have been struggling for years with a devastating cost-of-living crisis and Donald Trump’s idiotic war in Iran has added to it. The cost of fuel is soaring, mortgage rates are rising and fixed energy deals are already going up by hundreds of pounds.

But what is utterly inexcusable is that there are politicians in this country - Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch - who are happy to cheerlead Donald Trump as he hikes people’s bills. All the while this Labour government promised to fix the country but instead we’ve got political Groundhog Day: yet more sleaze and scandal.

UK politics: Matthew Doyle claims he never sought ambassador role – as it happened

The Guardian

Von: Andrew Sparrow

21. April 2026 um 17:50

Olly Robbins told MPs he had been asked to get the ex-No 10 aide a role and not mention it to then Foreign Secretary David Lammy

Robbins v Starmer: the key Mandelson points they disagree on

The hearing has started.

Emily Thornberry, the chair, started by saying that Robbins did not tell the whole truth about this process when he gave evidence to it in November.

Starmer the Incurious asks no questions and sees no Mandy-shaped red flags

The Guardian

Von: John Crace

20. April 2026 um 19:01

Appointing an amoral narcissist was the PM’s biggest crime, but he was keen to prosecute others in his Commons statement

Things could be worse. The prime minister can still catch a break. Some had called Monday’s Commons statement Keir Starmer’s judgment day. But that was a category error. Many Labour MPs had long since made up their minds. Keir wasn’t the right person to be running the country. But it was just that now, with a war in the Middle East and the local elections early next month, was not the right time to think about replacing him. The party and the country wouldn’t thank them for turning a drama into a crisis.

You may also wonder whether the lack of interest in replacing their leader to be found among Labour backbenchers was mirrored by Starmer’s lack of interest in being prime minister. Because it’s increasingly looking as though he often fails to do the basics. I mean, I’m sure he likes being prime minister. When he remembers he is prime minister. We can’t be certain he doesn’t have to be reminded from time to time.

Starmer says it ‘beggars belief’ he wasn’t told about Mandelson vetting failure as he faces down the Commons – UK politics as it happened

The Guardian

Von: Aneesa Ahmed (now) with Andrew Sparrow (earlier)

20. April 2026 um 19:11

MPs jeered as PM said it is ‘incredible’ he was not told full story and he was wrong to appoint Mandelson as US ambassador

At his press conference Nigel Farage was asked about reports saying that Keir Starmer knew about the security concerns about Peter Mandelson that led to him failing his security vetting interview. That was a reference to the Telegraph splash, which says:

Senior Whitehall sources told The Telegraph that the UKSV [UK Security Vetting] findings largely restated security risks that had already been drawn to Sir Keir’s attention.

One senior source with knowledge of the process said: “The reality is that Starmer had already been warned about the major risks and he had waved them away.”

Sources have told The Independent that MI6 failed to clear the Labour peer largely because of concerns over his business links to China.

However, there were also worries that his past links to the disgraced financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein “would compromise him”.

It’s impossible for the prime minister to say the warning lights weren’t flashing.

And if you were prime minister and there were news reports last September that your ambassadorial choice had failed vetting, you would have thought perhaps he might have had some curiosity to try to find out whether this had really happened or not. I just find the whole thing totally incredible. Incredible. There is no way the prime minister couldn’t have known.

The Labour backbenchers are not yet of a mood to get rid of their prime minister, although after 7 May they just might be.

Man Held in Hawaii for 2 Years Over Mistaken Identity Gets $975,000 Settlement

NYT > U.S. News

Von: Hannah Ziegler

27. März 2026 um 01:47

After spending over two years in a psychiatric hospital, Joshua Spriestersbach, 54, should no longer face the risk of being rearrested or jailed for the crimes of the person he was mistaken for.

British designer Christopher Kane to take over as creative director at Mulberry

The Guardian

Von: Ellie Violet Bramley

26. März 2026 um 11:41

Response from British fashion industry has been jubilant and Kane’s first Mulberry collection is reportedly to be unveiled at London fashion week 2027

The British fashion designer Christopher Kane has been named as the new creative director of Mulberry.

The Glaswegian-born designer will relaunch the English heritage brand’s women’s ready-to-wear collection, with his debut reportedly to be launched in September at London fashion week, before landing in stores and online from January 2027.

Why Black women playing villains on screen still feels controversial

The Guardian

Von: Precious Fondren

11. März 2026 um 11:29

In the wake of discourse surrounding Teyana Taylor’s Perfidia in One Battle After Another, a familiar debate has resurfaced about what happens when Black women play morally ambiguous characters on screen

In one scene in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, Teyana Taylor’s character, Perfidia Beverly Hills, is more focused on seducing Leonardo DiCaprio’s Bob Ferguson (then still known as “Ghetto Pat”) than on the bomb exploding just feet away from them. In another scene, she holds Sean Penn’s Steven J Lockjaw at gunpoint while simultaneously provoking an erection. These are some of the perceived brazen, morally slippery choices Perfidia makes that have unsettled some viewers since the movie’s premiere.

“I absolutely hate what this means for the representation of Black women in Hollywood,” YouTuber and cultural commentator Jouelzy said in a video posted a day after Taylor won the Golden Globe award for best supporting actress. “So often the institutional powers that be only reward us for portrayals that are stereotypical characters of Black women. One Battle After Another was such an offensive film.”

MPs say Starmer’s UK-EU reset lacks ‘direction, definition and drive’

The Guardian

Von: Lisa O’Carroll

04. März 2026 um 00:00

Foreign affairs committee report finds summit improved political relationship but efforts lack ‘strategic priorities’

Keir Starmer’s efforts to reset the UK’s relationship with the EU are lacking in “direction, definition and drive”, parliament’s foreign affairs committee has said.

A report based on months of expert witness testimony found the summit between the UK and the EU at Lancaster House last May had “substantially improved the overall political relationship” after years of Brussels-bashing by the Conservatives.

Burberry is back on brand as a purveyor of the classic British coat

The Guardian

Von: Jess Cartner-Morley

23. Februar 2026 um 22:14

Designer Daniel Lee’s trenchcoats and bomber jackets fizz with urban energy in collection that embraces bad weather

In a winter of record-breaking rain, Burberry – purveyor of the stalwart British coat – is back in the zeitgeist. A season of downpours has provided an apt backdrop for a return to form, as the brand re-entered the FTSE 100 last autumn after an ignominious year out of the charts.

The classic check scarf was ranked the fourth hottest fashion item in the last quarter of 2025 on the search, sales and social media metrics of the Lyst index, with overall demand for the brand up 239% year on year.

Crime 101 review – bracing tale of master thief lifts a trick or two from Michael Mann

The Guardian

Von: Peter Bradshaw

11. Februar 2026 um 16:00

The pedal is pressed hard to the metal for this very stylish high-stakes armed robbery thriller starring Chris Hemsworth

Bart Layton is the British film-maker who previously gave us American Animals, a true-crime docudrama about the theft of rare books. That film’s title would also have applied perfectly well to this new one, an LA crime thriller adapted from a novella by Don Winslow. It is a little in the style of Michael Mann, though without the military hardware and the overhead shots of SUVs moving in swift convoy that would make it a full Mann homage.

Layton does without the distinctive indirect mannerisms and meta-commentaries of his earlier movies, but he applies his pedal to the metal for what is an enjoyable and very stylish high-stakes armed robbery film about a thief who is highly controlled, super-cool, super-groomed, and naturally looking for the “walkaway money” of the time-honoured one last job.

Starmer faces Labour MPs as cabinet ministers back PM following call for him to resign – UK politics live

The Guardian

Von: Lucy Campbell (now) · Andrew Sparrow (earlier)

09. Februar 2026 um 19:28

Prime minister addresses parliamentary Labour party amid Mandelson scandal fallout

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar calls on Keir Starmer to stand down

Tim Allan said he was standing down to allow Keir Starmer the opportunity to build a new team.

In a statement, he said:

I have decided to stand down to allow a new No 10 team to be built.

I wish the PM and his team every success.

Leute: „Deswegen bin ich auf meiner Menopause-Mission“

Panorama - SZ.de

03. Februar 2026 um 14:29

Halle Berry will auch im Alter noch eine Rolle spielen. Kristen Stewart setzt sich ein für ein Ende des Versteckens. Und Marie Nasemann postet geheimnisvolle Urlaubsbilder.

‘I was still black the next morning’: Halle Berry says Oscar win didn’t change her career

The Guardian

Von: Catherine Shoard

03. Februar 2026 um 10:04

The actor says her historic 2002 best actress Oscar did not open doors in Hollywood, as studios remained wary of stories led by black performers

Halle Berry, the only black woman to have won the best actress Oscar, says her 2002 victory “didn’t necessarily change the course of my career”.

Speaking to The Cut’s Monica Corcoran Harel to promote new drama Crime 101, Berry said that she anticipated the victory, for Lee Daniels’ Monster’s Ball, would mean “there was going to be a script truck showing up outside my front door”.

‘I have rewatched the show more than 60 times’: your favourite comfort TV

The Guardian

Von: Guardian readers and Alfie Packham

16. Januar 2026 um 10:13

From Gilmore Girls to Perry Mason, readers reveal the programmes that never fail to bring them joy

I really think Toast of London is Matt Berry’s best work. It’s hilarious. The plots are daft, the cameos are often left-field but work well, and it has loads of great nonsensical gags. It’s a shining example of a sitcom with an unlikable protagonist that you can’t help but root for anyway. I must have watched it from beginning to end at least 15 times. Every friendship and relationship in my life eventually reaches a crossroads: will they like Toast or not? Rhys, 24, Cardiff

Robots that can do laundry and more, plus unrolling laptops: the standout tech from CES 2026

The Guardian

Von: Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor

09. Januar 2026 um 14:30

Robot vacuums that can climb stairs and device for BlackBerry lovers also on display at annual Las Vegas tech show

This year will be filled with robots that can fold your laundry, pick up objects and climb stairs, fridges that you can command to open by voice, laptops with screens that can follow you around the room on motorised hinges and the reimagining of the BlackBerry phone.

Those are the predictions from the annual CES tech show in Las Vegas that took place this week. The sprawling event aims to showcase cutting-edge technology developed by startups and big brands.

UK ministers accused of ‘embarrassing failures’ in Abd el-Fattah case

The Guardian

Von: Harriet Sherwood

31. Dezember 2025 um 18:53

Government should have appointed an envoy to carry out checks on activist in citizenship row, says Emily Thornberry

The government could have avoided “embarrassing failures” in the case of Alaa Abd el-Fattah by having a special envoy deal with complex cases involving Britons detained abroad, Emily Thornberry has said.

The chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee criticised “serious shortcomings” in information sharing, which she said could have been resolved by having a dedicated official carry out background checks.