Keir Starmer Accuses Elon Musk Of ‘Trying To Whip Up Division’ In UK Over Henry Nowak Murder

Posted on 04/06/2026 by Boris Clair

Keir Starmer has accused Elon Musk of “trying to whip up division” in the UK over the murder of Henry Nowak.

The billionaire owner of X has made numerous posts on social media in recent days about the teenager’s tragic death.

Henry was stabbed to death by Vickrum Digwa, who then falsely told the police that he had been the victim of racism.

Eighteen-year-old Henry was then arrested and handcuffed by police as he lay dying.

Digwa was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years at Southampton Crown Court on Monday.

Musk has offered to fund a private prosecution against Hampshire Police over their conduct, which is now being investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

But speaking on a visit to Yorkshire on Thursday, Starmer told Musk to keep out of British politics.

He said: “We need to assert who we are as a country because Musk again has been interfering in our politics in the last few days, trying to whip up division. That is not who we are in Britain.

“In Britain we are reasonable, tolerant people. When we have a terrible case like Henry’s case, Henry Nowak, we react calmly as his family has done.”

The PM also backed Labour MP Jess Assato, who is taking legal action against Musk’s xAI after she claimed its Grok tool was used to create fake images of her in a bikini.

Starmer said: “Jess Asato is absolutely right in the action she is taking. Disgusting images were created, in her particular case by Grok.”

In January, the prime minister went to war with X after the Grok bot allowed users to generate sexualised images of women and children.

Last year, Starmer also hit out at Musk’s “dangerous and inflammatory rhetoric” after the billionaire told a far-right rally that “violence is coming” to Britain.

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Trump Official Wades Into Reform’s Irate Sky News Interview Over ‘White Lives Matter’

Posted on 03/06/2026 by Boris Clair

A member of Donald Trump’s administration has weighed in on Zia Yusuf’s tense Sky News interview over the Henry Nowak murder.

The 18-year-old student was stabbed repeatedly by Vickrum Digwa last December, who then told police attending the incident that he had been the victim of racism.

As Henry lay dying on the ground, and despite telling the officers that he could not breathe and had been stabbed, he was handcuffed and arrested.

Digwa was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years at Southampton Crown Court on Monday.

Reform leader Nigel Farage controversially claimed the case was proof of “two-tier policing” in the UK, insisted: “White lives matter, too”, and called for “pure cold rage” from the public in response.

Sky’s Cathy Newman asked Yusuf, who is Reform’s home affairs spokesperson, if he thought that was incitement from Farage.

But he bizarrely deflected by asking what her emotional response to the bodycam footage from officers attending the scene of Nowak’s death.

She said it was “heartbreaking” – but pointed out that his family have asked for Henry’s death not to be used for more division.

When Yusuf asked again for the presenter’s response, she had to remind him: “I’m interviewing you!”

The two then clashed over Reform’s repeated use of “white lives matter” as the senior politician continued to side-step direct questions about racism against Black and ethnic minorities from police.

Yusuf eventually said it was “unacceptable for anyone to be discriminated against” – but went on to attack Newman for the “premise” of her questions.

He also admitted that he has not spoken directly to Henry Nowak’s family, despite their requests for no political point scoring.

Sarah B Rogers, the US under-secretary of state for public diplomacy, responded to a clip of their tense exchange on X – and took Yusuf’s side.

Ignoring Farage’s call for “pure cold rage”, Rogers wrote: “I will answer Cathy’s question: stating effectively ‘this video should outrage you’ is nowhere near incitement under any lucid standard.

“Moreover, it is true.”

This is not the first time Rogers has weighed into UK rows, accusing the UK of parroting Russia for considering a ban on X, and mocking prime minister Keir Starmer and his then-chief of staff over Christmas.

Newman later responded to the interview on X, writing: “Well that was fiery. Shame you couldn’t be on the sofa [Zia] but glad we got to chat (though I think you might have asked as many questions as I did!)”

Nicola Sturgeon: ‘I’m Serving A Sentence For A Crime I Did Not Commit’

Posted on 31/05/2026 by Boris Clair

Nicola Sturgeon has told the BBC she is “serving a sentence for a crime I did not commit” in relation to her ex-husband’s embezzlement of SNP funds.

Peter Murrell, chief executive of the Scottish National Party between 2001 and 2023, pleaded guilty to taking more than £400,000 from the SNP this week.

He has been charged with embezzling funds from the party between August 2010 and October 2022.

Arrested in 2023 and charged in 2024, Murrell has been remanded in custody and is set to be sentenced at the end of June.

He made a series of extravagant purchases while he was SNP chief, including a £124,550 campervan for his own personal use.

His then-wife Sturgeon was also arrested in 2024 and questioned by detectives, but was never charged with any offences.

The former first minister of Scotland and ex-SNP leader has faced a barrage of criticism after she claimed she was completely unaware of her then-spouse Peter Murrell’s crimes.

Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Sturgeon said: “A lot of women find themselves blamed for the men of the actions in their lives – I’m not going to contribute to that in a sense that I am responsible for somebody else’s crimes.”

She added: “I believe strongly in that accountability, but I am not responsible for the crimes my former husband committed and I’m not going to apologise for somebody else’s crimes.”

But BBC presenter Kuenssberg pointed out that Sturgeon was still leader of the party when Murrell was taking funds from the party, and asked if she therefore beared responsibility.

“He perpetrated a crime on the SNP,” the ex-first minister said. “By definition, that includes me as party leader.

“He misled, he deceived. He is serving and will be serving a sentence for a crime he committed.

“I’m out here, feeling as if I’m serving a sentence for a crime I did not commit.”

Asked why she only gave “no comment” responses to the police when she was arrested, Sturgeon said: “I was in a state of near collapse. I was terrified, I was bewildered, I was in a state of high stress and anxiety.”

She said her lawyer told her not to answer questions “in such a state of stress”, and that she prepared a detailed statement afterwards.

Sturgeon also insisted she was unaware that her husband had bought the campervan.

“My mother and father’s house has a driveway in front where we would park our car and then we would go into the house,” she said.

“Where the motorhome was was round the side of the house, which was not immediately visible in the way that we went into the house.”

She said: “I genuinely, genuinely, don’t have any conscious memory of seeing that motorhome.

“If I saw it I probably would have assumed it was a neighbour’s. My mother and father-in-law were in their mid-80s, it wouldn’t have crossed my mind that it was theirs and why would it have crossed my mind that it was the SNP’s, that Peter had bought it?”

She said it was “never” discussed, adding: “I genuinely do not recall seeing it in a way that I registered it and thought, ‘oh there’s a motorhome’.”

Top Tory Humiliated With Brutal Makerfield Poll Putting Conservatives In Last Place

Posted on 31/05/2026 by Boris Clair

A senior Conservative was left red-faced on Sunday when presented with the results of an opinion poll of the Makerfield voters.

Sky News presenter Trevor Phillips showed shadow home secretary Chris Philp the findings from a Survation survey of 369 people set to vote in the crunch by-election.

The graph showed put the Conservatives in last place on 2% in the constituency.

The Green Party were just in front on 3%, the Liberal Democrats on 4%, Restore Britain on 7%, Reform UK on 40% and Labour in the lead on 43%.

Phillips said: “Before 2024, you used to come second between 20 and 30% of the vote.

“Now there are three parties that could describe themselves as being of the right, or centre right, and you – you’re the official opposition – you’re the least popular of the three!

“Reform, Restore, Conservatives.”

Pointing to the graph, he said: “Look, there are the Tories, down there at the bottom. What the heck happened?”

Sky News' graph of the Survation opinion poll — Sky News’ graph of the Survation opinion poll

The Tory MP replied: “By-elections are very strange things. You’ve got this weird dynamic where Andy Burnham is running as a Labour candidate to basically kick out Keir Starmer.

“So this by-election is idiosyncratic, it’s incredibly unusual.”

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is hoping to win the Makerfield seat so he can challenge the prime minister’s leadership.

Phillips said: “But people of the right aren’t going to you. They’re going to Reform, they’re going to Restore, which is a party almost nobody has even heard of.

“They are polling better than you are! What has happened to the Tories?”

“Let’s just see what the actual result says,” Philp replied, claiming this was “just one little poll in one constituency in very unusual circumstances”.

He said: “If you take the [national] polls as a whole, we’re often in second place, Kemi is rated as the best leader and you can see that we’re the only party holding the failing Labour Party to account.”

Philp also noted that it takes time to “rebuild trust” with the public following their unpopular 14-year stint in government.

‘What Is Wrong With Labour?’ Trevor Phillips Scorches Minister Over Glaring Issue Within Party

Posted on 31/05/2026 by Boris Clair

Sky News’ Trevor Phillips asked a senior minister what is “wrong” with Labour as he tore into the party’s lack of female leaders.

Labour is currently in turmoil as speculation of a coup mounts.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is campaigning as the party’s candidate in the Makerfield by-election.

If he wins and becomes an MP, he is expected to challenge Keir Starmer’s leadership, sparking a contest which ex-health secretary Wes Streeting has already vowed to join.

Senior female party figures, like former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, are yet to say if they would partake in any leadership race.

Interviewing work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden on Sky News, Phillips said: “There’s a shadow contest going on. The Labour Party’s not going to have a female leader. It’s bizarre.

“This is not something you could say of any self-democratic party, most of the centre-right parties in Europe [have had a female leader] – the Tories have had four!

“Genuinely, what is about the Labour Party that makes it, as far as I can see, incapable of having a serious female contender for leadership?”

McFadden said that was a “good and serious point”, though he rejected claims there was any contest coming on right now as no one has formally challenged the prime minister.

But he added: “If there is a contest, then why should it just be with the people who so far have been mentioned?”

Phillips said: “What’s wrong with the Labour Party?”

“The Labour Party’s not perfect, like any other organisation,” McFadden replied. “There are wonderful women politicians in the Labour Party, many of them are capable of leadership, and if we ever are in a position of a contest, why wouldn’t they put themselves forward?”

Phillips’ question comes after Jess Phillips told the Hay festival this week that her party is sexist for having no permanent female leaders in its history.

The MP for Birmingham Yardley, who resigned as the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls earlier this month, said: “Like all institutions [Labour] is a bit sexist”.

She added that “every institution that every single person in this room works for is led by the patriarchy”.

However, she disputed the idea that just having a woman in power would improve the UK.

“I have to say, the idea that a woman leads and it makes it better for women is not one that I’ve recognised in this country,” she said.

“My mortgage went up by a thousand pounds a month, cheers Liz [Truss]. I shouted at her, every time I saw her, the amount that she now owed me. She has not paid me back.”

Exclusive: Reform’s Makerfield Candidate Praises Last Labour Government In Unearthed Comments

Posted on 29/05/2026 by Boris Clair

Reform UK’s Makerfield candidate previously praised the last Labour government in unearthed comments seen by HuffPost UK.

Robert Kenyon is standing against Labour candidate and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham in the crunch Makerfield by-election.

Kenyon was once pretty positive about Labour’s changes in office – which former minister Burnham had been a part of.

He claimed “god knows where I would have ended up” without the government’s apprenticeship initiatives.

In posts dating back to 2013 on a since-deleted forum for rugby fans, he wrote: “If it weren’t for the last Labour Government god knows where I would have ended up, without their Asset Training Scheme I wouldn’t have been able to complete my apprenticeship which was funded by the Government at the cost of £50 a week payed [sic] to me which they invested well and now I don’t need to rely on them.

“Like I said, the benefits system needs overhauling massively to rid the idle from the taxpayers hard earned but first the opportunity to get into work and training must be implemented but somehow I can’t see the Tories doing that.”

A Reform UK spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “Rob represents the tens of thousands of formerly loyal Labour voters in Makerfield that the party has since abandoned. Labour has completely betrayed its traditional working-class northern base who are now backing Reform UK in their droves.”

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “It’s good to hear that Robert Kenyon is proud of the work of the last Labour government. So are we.

“From lifting hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty, to introducing the minimum wage, Labour is building on that proud legacy today.

“While Reform focus on spreading toxic division and Robert Kenyon is mired in scandal, Labour’s Andy Burnham is focused on delivering on local people’s priorities and bringing communities together.”

Kenyon has attracted plenty of scrutiny after his internet presence has been unearthed in the days since he was announced as Reform’s Makerfield candidate.

He said women can’t “ref, drive or give directions” on an online rugby fan forum in the 2010s, and claimed women presenting rugby games on TV “aren’t up to the job and only there to tick a box”, adding: “I’m sexist, sorry but I am.”

He also claimed women get abortions for “vanity purposes” so they can “shag anyone they want” and described gay people as “poofs” who “mince about” on TV.

The Wigan councillor also once cast doubt on the Covid vaccine on his now-deleted X account, saying: “It’s not making people sicker, I’ve no booster and had covid last week asymptomatic.”

He suggested he did not vote for Brexit too, writing on social media in 2019: “So anyone who thinks I love Trump, voted Brexit, read the Daily Mail, live in the 1950s, a Tory and 103 is wrong. I’m none of the above.”

In another forum post from 2014, he said: “Russia are well within their rights to do what they have done as we did with the Falklands.”

Anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate also revealed that in 2021 Kenyon interacted with a social media message sent to the Countdown host, which read: “Happy birthday Carol, my God I would love to smell and lick your arsehole.”

Kenyon replied, “he’s only saying what we’re all thinking,” along with a thumbs up and a laughing emoji.

In response to the backlash about Vorderman, Kenyon told Manchester Evening News: “I’m not a polished politician.

“I am rough around the edges. I have made mistakes in my life. I’m not perfect. Nobody is. Not a single person in the world is perfect.

“I think everybody does say things that eventually they regret.”

Touching on the Vorderman backlash, Kenyon said: “It was a crude attempt at a joke to probably about 50 followers.

“No offence was meant, and it’s not something I’d do now.”

Reform Dismisses Sexism Row Around Makerfield Candidate As ‘Locker Room Banter’

Posted on 26/05/2026 by Boris Clair

Reform UK has dismissed the sexism row around its Makerfield candidate as “locker room banter”.

Wigan councillor Robert Kenyon is standing against Labour’s Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, who is hoping to oust Keir Starmer as prime minister if he wins this by-election.

Kenyon has been repeatedly accused of misogynism in recent days after multiple outlets unearthed his controversial online comments.

An account linked to Kenyon wrote women can’t “ref, drive or give directions” on an online rugby fan forum in the 2010s, adding: “I’m sexist, sorry but I am.”

The same account also made disparaging remarks about women’s appearances.

A Reform spokesperson told the Independent: “These comments, which are little more than locker room banter, were made more than a decade ago – well before Rob was in politics.”

That response only worsened the backlash on social media.

Labour MP Luke Charters replied on X: ”‘Locker-room banter’ is a pathetic excuse for blatant misogyny from a grown man.

“Reform could have called out the overt sexism and condemned it. Instead, they framed it as an ‘establishment hit job’.

“Tells you everything you need to know about them,” he added, along with a dinosaur emoji.

Many other social media accounts hit out at Reform for dismissing misogyny as “banter” – and for using the American term for changing rooms.

When approached about the backlash, Reform’s spokesperson said: “We simply don’t care about establishment hit jobs. We fully back Rob and are confident he will be an excellent MP for Makerfield.”

It comes after campaign group Hope Not Hate published a series of messages it says were sent from Kenyon’s X account last week, which include sexual and sexist language, particularly around presenter Carol Vorderman.

The former Countdown host described Kenyon as a “cowardly misogynist” over the comments and has demanded an apology.

Reform MP Danny Kruger defended those remarks on the Today programme, telling the BBC: “What you’re seeing there is obviously a private comment.

“The great challenge for social media for private people is that they use it as if they are chatting to their friends in the pub.

“It was a clearly inappropriate thing to say. I’m not going to judge people for what was intended as private conversations. Clearly that is not the kind of comment you would want an elected politician to say.”

Former SNP Chief Pleads Guilty To Embezzling £400,000 From Party

Posted on 25/05/2026 by Boris Clair

Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell has been remanded into custody after pleading guilty to embezzling £400,310.65 from the party at the High Court in Edinburgh.

The 62-year-old, who is the estranged husband of former SNP leader and Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon, admitted the charges on Monday morning. He will be sentenced on June 23.

He was charged with embezzling the funds from the party between August 2010 and October 2022.

Murrell was the SNP’s chief executive between 2001 and 2023, the same year in which he was first arrested as part of Operation Branchform, a Police Scotland probe into the party’s finances. He was charged in April, 2024.

Sturgeon was also arrested and questioned by detectives, but was never charged with any offences.

The indictment against Murrell included allegations that in 2020 he used party funds to buy a £124,550 motorhome for his own personal use.

He and Sturgeon had previously been one of the most powerful couples in UK politics.

She served for more than eight years as first minister and SNP leader, while Murrell was the party’s chief executive.

In January last year, Sturgeon announced she and Murrell had “decided to end” their marriage after nearly 15 years.

Responding to Murrell’s guilty plea, Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Houston of Police Scotland said: “Peter Murrell has shown utter contempt for the high public trust placed in him as the chief executive of a political party and his position in the wider political establishment of Scotland for many years.

“He abused his privileged position with access to Scottish National Party funds to divert cash into his own accounts and bankroll the lavish lifestyle he craved but could not afford.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Follow HuffPost UK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Nigel Farage Slams Elon Musk For Backing Rival Right-Wing Party In Makerfield By-Election

Posted on 25/05/2026 by Boris Clair

Nigel Farage has hit out at Elon Musk for backing a rival right-wing party in next month’s crucial Makerfield by-election.

The Reform UK leader accused the X owner of trying “to split the right of British politics” by supporting Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain party.

Lowe was elected as a Reform MP in 2024, but left the party to set up his own outfit following a spectacular bust-up with Farage.

Voters in Makerfield will go to the polls on June 18 in what is expected to be a close fight between Labour’s Andy Burnham and Robert Kenyon of Reform UK.

An opinion published at the weekend put Burnham on 43% and Kenyon on 40%.

Restore Britain are on 7% – a level of support which would be enough to swing the seat for Reform if those voters backed Kenyon instead.

Musk made clear his support for Restore by sharing a post on X by Rupert Lowe in which he claimed his party “is under brutal assault by the establishment”.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Farage said Andy Burnham would be “delighted” at Musk’s endorsement of Restore.

He said: “Elon Musk has decided he will try to split the right of British politics as best he can. This is supporting a party that’s one man with a social media account. Quite what he’s trying to achieve, I have no idea.”

Farage and Musk have been engaged in an ongoing feud since the tech billionaire called for him to be dumped as Reform leader last year.

Musk turned on Farage shortly after the pair met at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort amid claims he was preparing to donate up to $100 million to the party.

It came after Farage moved to distance himself from far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who has been praised by Musk.

He said: “We’re a political party aiming to win the next general election. He’s not what we need.”

Responding to Musk’s call for him to be dumped as Reform leader, Farage said: “Well, this is a surprise! Elon is a remarkable individual but on this I am afraid I disagree.

“My view remains that Tommy Robinson is not right for Reform and I never sell out my principles.”

Ukrainian MP Calls Out ‘Moment Of Weakness’ From UK Over Russian Sanctions

Posted on 24/05/2026 by Boris Clair

A Ukrainian MP has called out the UK for its “moment of weakness” after the government decided to continue allowing the import of Russian oil products.

Labour triggered intense backlash this week after it declared it was pushing back plans to close a loophole in its sanctions against Moscow.

The government unveiled a set of temporary licences which will allow diesel and jet fuel – refined in third countries but made from Russian oil – into the country.

Ministers insist the ban will come in eventually, but chief secretary to the prime minister Darren Jones refused to give any indication of a timeline when speaking to Sky News.

Ukrainian MP Kira Rudik said the announcement came as a “surprise” to her, and described it as a “point of weakness”.

“At first it was a surprise because the United Kingdom is one of the countries that first has been our strongest partner, but also a country where all the parties are supportive of Ukraine, on different levels,” she told Sky News.

“So to hear that there was this like moment of weakness, a point of weakness was surprising. And I believe this is what was discussed between the [Ukrainian] president and the prime minister.”

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Keir Starmer spoke on the phone on Wednesday evening.

She continued: “But let me tell you this, no matter what happens, Russia is always laughing that Europe is paying for the war from both pockets, from one supporting Ukraine and from another one paying for Russian gas and oil.

“Is it worthy of continuing doing that? Because it is definitely worthy of supporting Ukraine. And we really hope that all our partners, all European countries, will every day go away from purchasing Russian gas and oil rather than trying to move back a little bit.”

Jones tried to clear up some of the confusion around the controversial decision on Sunday, saying it was “totally wrong” to say the decision stemmed from concerns around jet fuel shortages linked to the war in Iran.

He said: “No, that’s totally wrong. Totally wrong.

“One of my jobs in the Cabinet Office is to chair contingency planning, and I’ve been spending many hours doing that in relation to the impact of the Middle East on the UK.”

Jones said the UK has other sources from around the world to rely on.

However, the decision still stunned shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel.

She said: “When the government says they’re introducing new sanctions, they might be introducing them – but there’s no framework for that. There’s no date coming forward. And in the meantime, they’re now allowing and enabling Russian imported oil to come into the United Kingdom.

“So they’ve contradicted themselves. And clearly that is not helpful when it comes to the Ukraine conflict at all.”

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Category Archives: POLITICS

Keir Starmer Accuses Elon Musk Of ‘Trying To Whip Up Division’ In UK Over Henry Nowak Murder

Trump Official Wades Into Reform’s Irate Sky News Interview Over ‘White Lives Matter’

Nicola Sturgeon: ‘I’m Serving A Sentence For A Crime I Did Not Commit’

Top Tory Humiliated With Brutal Makerfield Poll Putting Conservatives In Last Place

‘What Is Wrong With Labour?’ Trevor Phillips Scorches Minister Over Glaring Issue Within Party

Exclusive: Reform’s Makerfield Candidate Praises Last Labour Government In Unearthed Comments

Reform Dismisses Sexism Row Around Makerfield Candidate As ‘Locker Room Banter’

Former SNP Chief Pleads Guilty To Embezzling £400,000 From Party

Nigel Farage Slams Elon Musk For Backing Rival Right-Wing Party In Makerfield By-Election

Ukrainian MP Calls Out ‘Moment Of Weakness’ From UK Over Russian Sanctions