National Liberal Club distances itself from Farage
Unfortunately, the hotel's site also encompasses the National Liberal Club, the haunt of choice for that rarest of all breeds: senior Liberal Democrats. The likes of Nick Clegg and Tim Farron have made speeches here while Charles Kennedy's infamous Newsnight interview was filmed in the club smoking room. At least 25 MPs have snaffled free memberships since the last election too. And it seems that the right-on Lib Dems are not too happy at lengthy journalistic reports linking
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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Lib Dems call for urgent regulation of YouTube ads after wave of scams
The Liberal Democrats are calling for urgent regulation of YouTube advertising after scams including deepfakes, impersonated public figures and fraudulent investment claims were found to be spreading on the platform with little oversight. The party said YouTube's adverts remain largely unchecked by independent regulators, despite new data from Ofcom showing the platform has overtaken ITV in weekly UK viewership and continues to dominate children's media consumption. Among the recent scams onYouTube was a series of ads using an AI-generated voice and likeness of the consumer champion Martin Lewis to promote a cryptocurrency scheme, despite Lewis having no involvement. The videos, which have drawn thousands of complaints on Reddit and X, mislead users into thinking they are receiving financial advice from a trusted source. Other viewers have reported false product claims, scam diet pills and fake competitions. In one Reddit thread users reported being targeted with ads impersonating UK media figures or pretending to offer government-backed grants, with little clarity over how to report or block such content. YouTube adverts fall under the same Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) rules as TV, but unlike broadcasters, there is no pre-approval, real-time scrutiny or independent enforcement unless someone complains. The ASA has previously warned of a rise in 'celebrity deepfake' and 'impersonation' scams on online platforms, particularly for financial services. The lack of mandatory pre-approval or independent enforcement means that many of these adverts remain online for days before action is taken, if any is. Max Wilkinson, the Liberal Democrats' spokesperson for culture, media and sport, said the system leaves the public exposed. 'We cannot allow a two-tier system where traditional broadcasters face robust scrutiny, while a digital giant like YouTube is allowed to mark its own homework,' he said. The party is calling for YouTube advertising to be brought into line with the system used for TV and radio, including tougher oversight, clearer accountability, and the power for Ofcom to levy fines on platforms that repeatedly allow harmful or misleading ads. It also wants revenues from those fines used to support victims of online scams. YouTube ads are served through Google Ads and are regulated under a voluntary framework created by the tech industry. This contrasts with the ASA's co-regulatory model for broadcast advertising, where Ofcom retains backstop powers and many adverts must be pre-cleared before airing. Privately, some Labour MPs acknowledge that online ad regulation is 'behind the curve', but there is little appetite for major change. Others have warned that new restrictions could make it harder to target voters aged under 35, many of whom are disengaged from traditional media. Last month the Guardian revealed that Ofcom is preparing to push for new legal powers to require platforms like YouTube to give greater prominence to public service content, amid concerns that trusted news, children's programming and UK-produced shows are becoming 'invisible' to younger viewers. The Lib Dems argue that the same logic should apply to advertising, especially given the rise in misleading financial content and impersonation scams. 'YouTube is no longer a niche platform – it's one of the main ways people of all ages consume news, entertainment and information,' said Wilkinson. 'The government needs to act now to ensure that consumers are properly protected.' A YouTube spokesperson said: 'YouTube is not a broadcaster and it should not be regulated like one. 'We have strict policies that govern the ads on our platform which we enforce rigorously. When we find ads that breach our policies we take immediate action, including removing the ads and suspending the account when necessary.'
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Tory and Reform politicians endanger trials with immigration ‘hysteria', say former ministers
Conservative and Reform UK politicians are fuelling 'hysteria and anger' over immigration, with criminal trials put at risk of collapse, former ministers and police have warned. Protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers have spread across the country in recent weeks, while debate about immigration – including instances of misinformation – has intensified. At a Reform press conference on Monday, a man awaiting trial was referred to as 'the criminal' by a Reform council leader despite not yet being convicted of any crime. Questioned on whether contempt laws had been broken, the party's leader, Nigel Farage, said it was 'good' that the council leader had become 'slightly emotional'. Amid growing pressure, the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said on Tuesday that she had asked for a change in official guidance to permit police to release the ethnicity or immigration status of criminal suspects. Dominic Grieve, a former Conservative attorney general, told the Guardian he was concerned about the 'fuelling of hysteria by politicians' and said some were breaking the law by commenting on future trials in serious cases such as rape and abduction. Certain politicians 'seem to have thrown the rulebook in the bonfire', he said. Britain's former top counter-terrorism chief warned that comments from Farage and the Tory shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, risked 'unwittingly' inciting violence, accusing them of copying Donald Trump's techniques by hyping fears over immigration to try to win votes. Neil Basu, a former assistant commissioner with the Metropolitan police, said it was 'appealing to the worst kind of populist sentiment'. Asked if such rhetoric risks contributing to a risk of last summer's violence, Basu said: 'Yes … they should be very careful about the language they use. It is capable, demonstrably, of causing violence.' The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, said it was time for the attorney general, Richard Hermer, to issue a formal warning to Farage about comments on live criminal cases. 'Farage and the Conservatives are … openly trying to tear down our justice system, just as the Maga movement has done in the US,' Davey said. 'Irresponsible comments like these put prosecutions at risk and could let dangerous criminals walk free. The attorney general must step in and send a formal warning to Farage that contempt of court will not be tolerated.' Others who appealed for a change in tone included the former justice secretaries Robert Buckland, David Gauke and Charlie Falconer, as well as the former chair of the justice select committee, Sir Bob Neill, who said they were worried about the febrile environment – though several said more transparency from police over the ethnicity of suspects was also now necessary to calm tensions. The row over information withheld by police has been reignited after the 19-year-old Reform leader of Warwickshire county council, George Finch, said police were refusing to confirm details of two suspects charged after an alleged rape. Among other examples cited by critics was data used by Jenrick that 40% of all of the sexual crimes were committed by foreign nationals last year. The number of convictions is significantly lower. Grieve said he was extremely concerned about the consequence of the frenzied atmosphere on contempt of court laws, also citing the trial of two British Pakistani men over a police assault at Manchester airport. 'With social media, contempt of court has gone out of the window,' he said. 'It seems to be that it's a complete free for all, and for politicians who ought to know better to participate in this is actually scandalous. Certainly with some of the recent cases, politicians seem to have thrown the rulebook in the bonfire.' Buckland said he had supported changes to make the nationality of offenders publicly available, but he was concerned about the potential for misinformation. 'Politicians have a responsibility to use objective and tested data rather than distorted or incomplete information,' he said. Neill, a former Tory MP, said he was in favour of more transparency but alarmed at the willingness of politicians to risk undermining the courts. 'I'm afraid some people, including people in elected office, frankly do not understand the importance of the checks and balances in our system, which includes protecting the jury system,' he said. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion The former Labour justice secretary Charlie Falconer said: 'The opposition feel the need the whole time to get headlines by constantly describing things in an extremist way, all the time it's saying, 'society will be on the verge of collapse unless something is done,'' he said. 'The language is much, much worse than it ever was five years ago. There's a more angry electorate, and there's too many politicians willing to use lurid language.' A Home Office source said it was vital that there was 'greater clarity on how contempt of court laws work alongside social media and today's communication environment', but stopped short of issuing warnings to politicians. Hermer has so far declined to intervene to warn politicians on the risks of potentially collapsing criminal trials. In a sign of how far misinformation has spread, polling from YouGov found the British public 'dramatically overestimate' the number of illegal migrants to the UK. Almost half of Britons – 47% – think there are more migrants staying in the UK illegally rather than legally, including about a third who believe it is 'much higher'. There are varied estimates of the numbers of those living in the UK without formal status, which is difficult to calculate, but the Migration Observatory's most recent figures said it was up to 1.3 million. But legal migration is far higher – about 10.7 million people in the UK were born in a different country. Attitudes to migration have significantly hardened. About 45% of Britons say they would support 'admitting no more new migrants, and requiring large numbers of migrants who came to the UK in recent years to leave'. Rights groups including Amnesty International have cautioned against releasing suspects' ethnicities, accusing the government of 'choosing to pour fuel on the fire of dangerous narratives, instead of taking action to address racism and hostility'. Cooper said the government had asked the Law Commission to review the guidance six months ago and expected it to conclude in the autumn. 'We do think the guidance needs to change,' she said, adding that it was already the case that where police deemed it necessary more information on nationality was released.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Police chief hits back after accusations of ‘cover-up' regarding rape suspects
Police have denied a 'cover up' after a Reform UK councillor accused the force of withholding information following the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl. Warwickshire Police's chief constable, Alex Franklin-Smith, has asked the Home Office to confirm the full immigration status of Ahmad Mulakhil and Mohammad Kabir, who have been charged in connection with the offence. It comes after Reform UK's leader Nigel Farage and Warwickshire County Council leader George Finch claimed there had been a 'cover up' after police charged the two men, who are Afghan asylum seekers. In a letter to the Home Secretary and Warwickshire Police's chief constable, Mr Finch, the youngest council leader in the country, claimed that not publicising the pair's immigration status 'risks public disorder breaking out on the streets of Warwickshire'. Responding to Mr Finch, Mr Franklin-Smith wrote that the force 'did not and will not' cover up alleged criminality. 'I am confident that Warwickshire Police has treated this investigation seriously from the outset working tirelessly to identify, locate, arrest and charge those suspected of being responsible for this awful crime as quickly as possible.' Of the suspects, he wrote: 'The immigration status of Ahmad Mulakhil and Mohammad Kabir is now public knowledge, having been placed into the public domain by yourself. 'In light of that, I have asked the Home Office to confirm the full immigration status of Ahmad Mulakhil and Mohammad Kabir as per the information we shared with the Crown Prosecution Service and the courts as part of this case.' Of a conversation he and Mr Finch had on July 31, Mr Franklin-Smith wrote: 'You informed me you had already received a confidential briefing from your chief executive and that you knew the person charged was an asylum seeker. 'I confirmed this was accurate and we wouldn't be releasing immigration status at point of charge as we follow national guidance. 'I explained the information would become public knowledge as part of the court process and that all partners must ensure we are prepared to manage any potential protest and/or disorder at that stage. 'I explained we had a police gold commander leading the overall response to this case and that the communications plan agreed by them followed consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service. 'I also explained we had briefed the Home Office. 'To be clear, I cannot tell elected individuals what to do.' Following the reported attack in Nuneaton, Mulakhil, 23, was arrested on July 26 and charged the next day with rape, according to police. Mulakhil appeared at Coventry Magistrates' Court last Monday and has been remanded in custody. Kabir, 23, was arrested in Nuneaton on Thursday and charged with kidnap, strangulation and aiding and abetting rape of a girl under 13, the force added. Kabir appeared at Coventry Magistrates' Court on Saturday and has been remanded in custody. The issue of how much information is revealed by police regarding suspects has been the subject of fierce debate following a string of high-profile cases including the Southport killings last year. On Tuesday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said 'we do think more transparency is needed' in the information given by police and that 'guidance needs to change'. In a statement released on Tuesday evening, a Home Office spokesperson said: 'As the Home Secretary said this morning, it has been widely reported that this case involves two Afghan individuals who are in the asylum system, some of which information has already been confirmed in open court. 'The Home Secretary has made clear that there is a strong public interest in maximum transparency wherever that is possible. 'That is why the Home Office and College of Policing are working together to strengthen and clarify the guidance around how and when information is released.' Warwickshire Police previously said they do not believe anyone else was involved in the reported rape but are continuing to appeal for witnesses who may have information that could assist inquiries.
