44+ min ago (579+ words) Scotland's First Minister is not being "fully candid" about engagement with the UK Government on housing asylum seekers in Inverness, the Scottish Secretary has said. Rachel Reeves defends Budget comments amid row over headroom Prince of Wales "moved by courage' of Gazan children brought to UK for treatment Cameron Barracks asylum seeker plans "made up on back of an envelope' " Swinney The Scottish Government has consistently said there was no consultation before the decision was announced to house 300 asylum seekers at Cameron Barracks in the Highland city. The proposals caused concern on the council and in the Government before being postponed on Friday, with First Minister John Swinney telling the Press Association on Saturday that the plans had been drawn up "on the back of an envelope". Speaking on the BBC's Sunday Show, Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said: "Highland Council,…...

2+ hour, 22+ min ago (640+ words) Jeremy Corbyn faced a blow on Sunday as his new party voted in favour of collective leadership at their inaugural conference. As part of the party's first conference in Liverpool, members were able to vote on party issues, including the party name and leadership style. This gave members the option to have a single elected leader - in this case, Jeremy Corbyn - or to have a collective leadership model which would put a committee of members in charge. The results came in, and they were close, but ultimately, members voted for a committee to run the party. The new model was supported by 51.6% of over 9,000 members who voted, marking a setback for the former Labour leader. Zarah Sultana, who had been vocal in her support for co-leadership, had been blocked from consideration by other party members. When the result came in,…...

3+ hour, 8+ min ago (828+ words) Thousands of service personnel have been reunited with their families in time for Christmas as the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales and its support ships returned to their home bases. The Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier and the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless sailed into Portsmouth Naval Base where the crews were met by cheering families and friends. The arrival, which is the biggest naval homecoming in 20 years, was brought forward because of heavy winds forecast for Monday. Frigate HMS Richmond, which was also part of the carrier strike group (CSG), is also returning to Plymouth during the weekend and HNoMS Roald Amundsen also headed back to its home port in Norway. Fast jet and helicopter crews are also being reunited with their families at RAF Marham, RNAS Culdrose and RNAS Yeovilton. The naval ships are returning from a 40,000 nautical…...

4+ hour, 28+ min ago (427+ words) Sir Sadiq Khan will be in line for a gold-plated pension under Labour plans to recognise his "vital public service. The Mayor of London is expected to be granted access to a guaranteed, inflation-linked retirement scheme as part of government proposals to extend the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) to more than 16,000 elected councillors. The move, reported by The Sunday Telegraph, would cover 10 regional mayors, including Sir Sadiq. The proposals, announced by Communities Secretary Steve Reed in September, are now out for consultation. Sir Sadiq, currently in his third term at City Hall, is enrolled in a less generous pension scheme. On his "170,282 salary, City Hall pays "20,400 in employer contributions for 2025/26, while he contributes "19,400 personally. One year of contributions under the existing system would provide an inflation-linked retirement income of about "2,500. Under the proposed LGPS expansion, the same year would…...

5+ hour, 57+ min ago (752+ words) A proposal to rename Herzog Park in Dublin "should be withdrawn in its entirety and not proceeded with, Ireland's premier Micheal Martin has said. The Office of the President of Israel expressed concern on Saturday over the proposed renaming of the park in south Dublin. It is named after Chaim Herzog, who was was born in Belfast and raised in Dublin. He was the sixth president of Israel between 1983 and 1993. On Monday, Dublin city councillors are expected to vote on a motion to rename the park. In'a statement on Sunday, Mr Martin said the proposal was "divisive and wrong. He said: "The proposal to rename Herzog Park should be withdrawn in its entirety and not proceeded with. "The proposal would erase the distinctive and rich contribution to Irish life of the Jewish community over many decades, including actual participation in…...

6+ hour, 5+ min ago (473+ words) A West London council is preparing to use drones to bolster its enforcement teams as local authorities across the country quietly build aerial surveillance fleets. A report by Hammersmith and Fulham council sets out plans to deploy drones to support its 70-strong "law enforcement team, which issued more than 2,200 fines in 2024. The aircraft will be used to target "anti-social behaviour and fly tipping, even though the borough sits in a "dangerous zone because of Heathrow air traffic and includes a flight restriction area due to Wormwood Scrubs Prison. The report says police "do not have sufficient officer numbers to provide a visible deterrent in all cases or take the desired action, adding that council drones and CCTV systems " some equipped with live AI facial recognition " can "help combat crime and anti-social behaviour. Privacy groups warn the growing use of drones…...

7+ hour, 3+ min ago (548+ words) Jeremy Corbyn suffered a setback on Sunday as his new party's founding conference rejected his preferred leadership set-up. Members of the new Your Party voted narrowly against having a single elected leader, opting instead for a collective model that put a committee of members in charge. Mr Corbyn, the former Labour leader, had previously said he backed the "sole leader" model and would stand for the position. The collective model had been supported by Mr Corbyn's rival, former Labour MP Zarah Sultana, after her preferred "co-leadership" plan had been blocked from consideration by members. Welcoming the vote, Ms Sultana said she had "fought for maximum member democracy since day one" and described the decision as "exciting". She said: "Together, we're building a new socialist party " radically democratic and powered by a mass movement. "This party will be led by its…...

7+ hour, 46+ min ago (510+ words) British supermodel David Gandy has said there is not enough narrative about "good men" and that Andrew Tate pushes a "disruptive" and "immature" idea of masculinity. The 45-year old, who has his own fashion brand David Gandy Wellwear, is one of the best-paid male models and known for Dolce and Gabbana's 2007 advert for Light Blue in which he wore a pair of white briefs. He has also been backing the Centre for Social Justice's Lost Boys campaign, which aims to raise awareness on the issues boys and young men are facing. Speaking to BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Gandy said that young men need better role models and that despite the good opportunities that come with social media and its ability to share information and build community, some take advantage of it. He said: "When you've got unregulated information…...

7+ hour, 52+ min ago (538+ words) Rachel Reeves has said she was "uncomfortable" listening to Kemi Badenoch's response to the Budget, in which the Conservative leader mocked and impersonated the Chancellor. Mrs Badenoch has defended her comments and said her "job is to hold the Government to account, not to provide emotional support for the Chancellor". During her Budget response in the Commons on Wednesday, Mrs Badenoch called Ms Reeves "spineless, shameless and completely aimless", adding: "Let me explain to the Chancellor, woman to woman: people out there aren't complaining because she's female, they're complaining because she is utterly incompetent." Ms Reeves told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: "I don't like that sort of stuff. I don't do it. I try to concentrate on policies rather than personalities." She added: "So, yes, I was a bit uncomfortable listening to that, because it's not really…...

7+ hour, 56+ min ago (886+ words) Rachel Reeves has defended her handling of the Budget as opposition figures claimed she misled the public over the size of the fiscal "repair job" she faces. In media interviews on Sunday morning, the Chancellor said she "of course" did not lie to the public when she set out a gloomy economic picture at the beginning of November. She told broadcasters: "Anyone who thinks that there was no repair job to be done on the public finances, I just don't accept that. "We needed to build more resilience, more headroom into our economy. That's what I did, along with that investment in the NHS and cutting bills for families." Pre-Budget speculation had suggested Ms Reeves faced a significant gap in her spending plans, partly due to a downgrade to productivity forecasts expected to be delivered by the Office for Budget…...