
Counter-terror police make four arrests over RAF base break-in
Counter-terror police arrested four people in London and Newbury following damage to two Voyager aircraft at RAF Brize Norton on 20 June.
Three individuals, a 29-year-old woman and two men aged 36 and 24, were arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences, while a 41-year-old woman was arrested for assisting an offender.
The incident, which involved spraying paint on the military planes, was claimed by the campaign group Palestine Action.
The Home Secretary announced a decision to proscribe Palestine Action, which will make supporting the group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Liberty, have criticised the proscription, raising concerns about freedom of expression and the broad definition of terrorism.
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The Independent
34 minutes ago
- The Independent
Keir Starmer says he was ‘distracted' by Middle East and Nato during welfare rebellion
Sir Keir Starmer has admitted his focus was on matters involving Nato and the Middle East while a rebellion over welfare cuts took hold of his party at home. The prime minister has faced a growing backbench rebellion over proposed disability benefits cuts. Some 126 Labour backbenchers have signed an amendment that would halt the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill in its tracks when it faces its first Commons hurdle on 1 July. Responding to questions about what went wrong during the difficult week, Sir Keir claimed full responsibility for the welfare U-turn. 'All these decisions are my decisions and I take ownership of them,' he told The Sunday Times. 'My rule of leadership is, when things go well you get the plaudits; when things don't go well you carry the can. I take responsibility for all the decisions made by this government. I do not talk about staff and I'd much prefer it if everybody else didn't.' He continued that this was due to his heavy concentration on foreign affairs instead of domestic matters, first at the G7 meeting in Canada and then a Nato summit in the Netherlands. He also had to deal with the US's strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. 'I'm putting this as context rather than excuse: I was heavily focused on what was happening with Nato and the Middle East all weekend,' he said. 'I turned my attention fully to it [the welfare bill] when I got back from Nato on Wednesday night. Obviously in the course of the early part of this week we were busy trying to make sure Nato was a success.' He added: 'From the moment I got back from the G7, I went straight into a Cobra meeting. My full attention really bore down on this on Thursday. At that point we were able to move relatively quickly.' The government's original package restricted PIP eligibility, the main disability payment in England, and cut the health-related element of Universal Credit in a bid to save £5bn a year by 2030. The government has offered Labour rebels a series of concessions in an effort to head off the prime minister's first major Commons defeat since coming to power, as discontent bubbles among backbenchers surrounding welfare cuts, but campaigners have warned that these concessions could continue to cause problems Instead, the PIP eligibility changes will be implemented in November 2026, applying to new claimants only, while the existing recipients of the health elements of Universal Credit will have their incomes protected in real terms. While lead rebel Dame Meg Hillier has accepted the prime minister's £1.5bn U-turn as a 'positive outcome', Sir Keir has been warned that his decision to protect existing benefits claimants from upcoming welfare cuts would only create a 'generational divide' as hundreds of charities and campaigners urged MPs to continue their opposition to the proposed cuts. Disability charity Mencap warned that the changes will create a 'generational divide in the quality of life for people with a learning disability'. Think tank the Resolution Foundation warned earlier this week that the prime minister's U-turns on benefit cuts and winter fuel payments have blown a £4.5bn hole in the public finances that will 'very likely' be filled by tax rises in the autumn Budget.


Daily Mail
42 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: If ever we needed an effective opposition to rout Labour, it's now
Is there no limit to the price Britain must pay for having given Keir Starmer 's Labour Party a chance a year ago? This is rapidly becoming one of the worst governments in modern history. Some of its hopelessness and nastiness was predictable. Labour signalled loudly to its more militant supporters that it planned a class-war attack on private education. Other plans were buried deep in the small print. Or they were hinted at by the choice of ministers to carry them out. Chancellor Rachel Reeves, for instance, had disclosed to all who paid attention to her writings that she was gripped by Left-wing dogmas. She professed to revere the Cambridge eccentric Joan Robinson, who spent much of her career admiring the disastrous policies of Maoist China and North Korea. Later we discovered that she was inexperienced as well. Did Sir Keir Starmer realise this, or was he also beguiled by her dubious claims that she had spent a decade working as an economist at the Bank of England? It appears he has now decided to leave her in place to absorb as much as possible of the derision and dissent which her policies have brought about – a cruel revenge, if so. As her next duty will almost certainly be a huge stealth tax rise, achieved by failing to raise thresholds in line with inflation, he will no doubt prefer to let her take the punishment for that too. But this will not protect him from the general civil war which he began by permitting ill-planned attempts to slash the winter fuel allowance and cut welfare payments. Did he really not grasp that his huge new parliamentary party was full of men and women who are profoundly, emotionally committed to spending other people's money on a grand scale? Perhaps not. Sir Keir's own politics are something of a mystery, even to him. The sense of a man floundering between vague principles and a definite desire to stay in office is very strong. For example, he now says that he deeply r egrets describing Britain as an 'island of strangers', which many took as an echo of the late Enoch Powell's 1968 speech about immigration. He claims not to have read it properly before delivering it – a ridiculous thing for a Prime Minister to say. This retraction of his own scripted words must surely be the end of his attempt to save his bacon by trying to copy Reform UK. He also claims to be sorry about an earlier pessimistic speech about the economy, saying: 'We were so determined to show how bad it was that we forgot people wanted something to look forward to as well.' But do they have anything to look forward to, apart from an intensifying civil war between Sir Keir and his traditionally Leftist deputy Angela Rayner? Sir Keir and Ms Rayner are like two opponents grappling with each other on the edge of a precipice. The danger is that they will both fall together, leaving the country to suffer. As things stand, we could have four more years of this unsuccessful and increasingly divided government. It is vital that those who are opposed to its policies coalesce quickly into a coherent and effective opposition, which can both hold Labour to account and prepare to replace it with a competent pro-British government ready to step in, stop the rot and undo as much of the damage as possible.


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Gemma Collins left 'terrified' after being sent 'rat poison' in the post as TOWIE star ups security at her mansion following menacing letter earlier this month
Gemma Collins has been left 'terrified' after she was sent rat poison in the post as her stalking hell intensifies. The reality star, 44, is said to be 'reeling' after a package containing the toxicant was delivered to her Essex home. Gemma is believed to have reported the incident to police after a 'nasty' glittery note was also found inside the package. A source told The Sun: 'The package was really scary and she was terrified to receive it. 'It was delivered by the postman, but had no postage stamp on it. 'Gemma was worried as it contained rat poison, especially as she has animals at her home.' The reality star, 44, is said to be 'reeling' after a package containing the toxicant was delivered to her Essex home MailOnline has contacted a rep for Gemma for comment. It comes after it was revealed how Gemma was forced to call in police after previously being left 'terrified' by a nasty letter delivered to her home. A source close to the reality star told The Sun how the note detailed the twisted sender's strong dislike for Gemma. After the menacing letter, Gemma was said to have beefed up security at her mansion and police were investigating. Gemma, who was a car dealer before shooting to fame when she landed a role on ITV's The Only Way Is Essex, previously spoke about her experience with stalking. She told how she's had 'scary' people turn up at her shop in Essex and send her terrifying letters. She told how it 'played havoc on her mind' and was the reason she stepped away from her front of house work at her boutique in Brentwood. Appearing on the Daily Mail's Everything I Know About Me Podcast, Gemma said: 'No one would believe the bl**dy crap I've had to deal with. 'I've had a woman stalker that wrote me a letter in white gloves and wanted to kill me. 'You know, people would wish me dead. I'd get all sorts turn up at the shop. Weird. People are weird. And that's why in a way I came away from my shop in the end.' In 2019, Gemma was forced to move out of her home in Essex over stalking fears, with removal vans being pictured at the property at the time. She had been stalked by a man that previously fat-shamed her. It comes after Gemma recently told fans how she had been struck down with pneumonia as she explained her absence from social media. Gemma explained that her condition had been leaving her breathless 'really quickly' but due to medics diagnosing it as viral, antibiotics would be ineffective. She told The Mirror: 'It's shocking, I've had it now for over three weeks and I had steroids given to me by my doctor. It was DJ Fat Tony's wedding and I had to take them to get through that,' 'But I'm off them now and the sickness is really kicking back in. It's so frustrating because I normally have so much energy and I'm always loving life, but now I get really breathless really quickly and I feel like I'm dying.' Pneumonia is inflammation of the lungs, usually caused by an infection. Most people get better in two to four weeks, but babies, older people, and people with heart or lung conditions are at risk of getting seriously ill and may need treatment in hospital. Taking to her Stories Gemma shared snaps as she underwent X-rays while praising medical staff for their care. She wrote: 'Thank you to all the amazing doctors helping me your real life angels'. Announcing the news of her condition on Wednesday, Gemma shared a photo of herself in bed looking poorly in bed. She wrote: 'Hey guys sorry been quiet i have Pneumonia. I'm not as fast or on it as I usually am on the daily. 'I am still honouring my work commitments which is taking every bit of energy I have but will be back entertaining you all soon.' On her Story she added an update as she showed she was on a drip and had been visited by a doctor. One post that showed a drip in her arm read: 'I'm having to take it easy which is not like me very slow and get so out of breath and tired so quick.' WHAT IS PNEUMONIA? Pneumonia is a type of chest infection that affects the tiny air sacs in the lungs. The condition causes these sacs to be become inflammed and fill with fluid, making it harder to breathe. Pneumonia is caused by bacteria or viruses, with the most common being Streptococcus pneumoniae. It affects between five and 11 out of every 1,000 adults every year in the UK. Anyone can suffer from pneumonia, however, at-risk groups include: Babies and young children People over 65 Those with long-term heart, lung or kidney disease People with cancer, particularly those having chemotherapy Smokers Those on drugs that suppress their immune systems Antibiotics or mechanical ventilator use in hospitals also raise the risk. Symptoms include Coughing up mucus Fever Chest pain Loss of appetite Fatigue In severe cases, sufferers may cough up blood, vomit or have a rapid heart rate. Treatment is usually antibiotics, which may need to be given intravenously in hospital in severe cases.