Keir Starmer Compares Rebuilding Britain To The Post-Riots Clean-Up Operation

Posted on by
Reply

Keir Starmer will compare the job of rebuilding Britain to the clean-up operation which followed the riots.

Hundreds of volunteers came together in the wake of the recent disorder to repair the damage done by far-right thugs.

That included rebuilding walls outside a mosque which was targeted by racists in the wake of the Southport killings.

Three young children were killed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last month.

Misinformation spread online about the identity of the alleged killer – amplified by the likes of Nigel Farage – resulted in widespread disorder across England and in Northern Ireland.

In his first major speech since becoming PM, Starmer will tomorrow tell voters that “things will get worse before it gets better” as Labour tries to repair the damage done by 14 years of Tory rule.

Referring to the aftermath of the riots, he will say: “I feel real pride in the people who cleaned up the streets — rebuilt walls, repaired the damage.

“I thought about the obvious parallels. Because imagine the pride we will feel as a nation when after the hard work of clearing up the mess is done, we have a country that we have built together. Built to last.”

The prime minister will also say that the rioters exploited the “cracks” which had developed in the country since the last wave of civil unrest which hit the UK in 2011.

“When I think back to that time, I see just how far we’ve fallen,” he will say. “Because responding to those riots was hard, but dealing with the riots this summer was much harder.

“Not having enough prison spaces is about as fundamental a failure as you can get.

“And those people throwing rocks, torching cars, making threats – they didn’t just know the system was broken. They were betting on it. They were gaming it. They saw the cracks in our society after 14 years of populism and failure – and they exploited them. That’s what we have inherited.”

Share Button

Labour Sleaze Row Deepens As Tories Demand To Know Who Gave No10 Pass To Top Donor

Posted on by
Reply

Britain’s top civil servant has been urged to investigate how a top Labour donor was given a No.10 security pass.

In a highly unusual move, Lord Alli was given the pass within days of Keir Starmer’s landslide general election victory on July 4.

He has previously donated a total of £500,000 to Labour, as well as paying for £16,200-worth of “work clothing” for the prime minister.

Downing Street sources have told HuffPost UK that the Labour peer was given the pass on a “temporary” basis and had handed it back “weeks ago”.

Senior ministers have also said they have “no idea” why he was given it in the first place.

Shadow paymaster general John Glen has now written to Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, urging him to probe who signed off on Lord Alli’s pass, which gave him unrestricted access to No.10.

He wrote: “A Downing Street pass should be a privilege reserved for those that require access for work, including civil servants and special advisers, not those requiring occasional access.

“It is therefore deeply concerning that a pass was granted to a Labour donor providing unfettered access to the heart of government after significant cash and non-cash donations were made to the Labour Party.”

On Sunday, cabinet minister Pat McFadden was unable to clear up the controversy.

He said: “I don’t think it’s unusual for people to have passes to attend political meetings, if they need to do so.

“I don’t think he has a pass now but I believe he may have had one in the past.”

He added: “He won’t have been involved in any governmental decisions, he’s not someone who holds a policy responsibility.”

McFadden also told Times Radio that the peer “does bring a huge amount to the Labour Party”.

He said: “He was an important part of the election campaign. And as I say, he’s a very highly respected peer.

“I don’t believe there’s anything being done here that’s in conflict with the rules.”

Share Button

North Korea Is Blaming 1 Country For The ‘Nuclear Threat’ – And It’s Not Russia

Posted on by
Reply

North Korea has claimed the US is to blame for the concept of the “nuclear threat” in a bizarre statement.

It comes after reports US president Joe Biden approved a classified strategic plan back in March, calling for a focus on China instead of Russia, as a strong nuclear opponent.

Supposedly US forces were urged to prepare for a possible coordinated attack between Russia, China and North Korea.

In a statement reported by the Russian state news agency TASS, North Korea’s foreign ministry appeared to respond by saying it “keeps a close eye on the behaviour” of the US.

It claimed Washington DC “continues to fabricate someone else’s ‘nuclear threat’” while being “obsessed with ensuring unilateral nuclear superiority”.

The ministry said: “We express concern about it as we strongly oppose and reject it.

“The move to update the nuclear policy of the US – a country that has the largest nuclear weapon arsenal in the world – will have a significant negative impact on the security situation and the nuclear disarmament system.”

According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Russia actually has the most confirmed nuclear weapons with over 5,889 nuclear war heads.

The US comes in second, with 5,224 nuclear weapons.

All other countries known to have nuclear weapons – including the UK and North Korea – have under 500 in comparison.

China comes in third place, with 410 nuclear warheads.

Still, the North Korean foreign ministry claimed: “The US likes to speak about ‘nuclear threats’ from others without any context, while it is the US that is the most irresponsible player and the rogue state provoking a nuclear arms race and increasing the likelihood of a global nuclear conflict.

“Had the US refrained from creating and using nuclear weapons, the concept of nuclear threat would never have emerged.”

Moscow has repeatedly threatened to deploy nuclear weapons against the West ever since invading Ukraine in 2022 – the US and Europe have offered financial and military backing to Kyiv over the last two years.

At the end of July, Vladimir Putin said it would take just 10 minutes for Russian missiles to hit their intended target.

As Reuters reported, the president claimed: “We will take mirror measures to deploy, taking into account the actions of the United States, its satellites in Europe and in other regions of the world.”

Share Button

Putin Ally Claims Any Truce With Ukraine ‘Is Certain Death For Our Children’

Posted on by
Reply

One of Vladimir Putin’s top allies has claimed agreeing to any kind of truce with Ukraine “is certain death for our children”.

According to the UK’s ministry of defence, Dmitry Rogozhin – Russia’s installed “senator” in the occupied Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia – warned against any kind of settlement to end the Russia-Ukraine war in a social media post.

He also “boasted of having burnt Ukrainian books and called for all Ukrainianess’ to be ‘burnt out at the root’,” according to the MoD.

The British intelligence added: “These comments are the latest in a long line of Ukrainophobic sentiments by senior Russian officials that undermine and threaten Ukrainian identity and culture.

“There are likely many individuals within the Russian state who retain maximalist objectives for the war, including the destruction of Ukrainian culture, identity and statehood.”

The MoD noted that such a sentiment is at odds with the “alleged Russian willingness to negotiate” expressed by presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov only last month.

However, since Peskov’s remarks, Ukraine launched its surprise incursion into southern Russia, breaching the country’s borders for the first time since World War 2.

It now occupies 1,000 sq km of Russian land – that’s just a fraction of the Ukrainian territory Russia currently holds, around 109,000 sq km.

Still, Kyiv’s bold move has enraged the Kremlin and so far does not appear to have pushed it towards negotiating an end to the war.

According to the state news agency TASS, Russia’s ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov released a threatening statement on Thursday.

He said: “I tell you sincerely that the president has made a decision.

“I am firmly convinced that everyone will be severely punished for what has happened in the Kursk region.”

And, as the MoD noted, the Kremlin has been questioning Ukraine’s sovereignty for years.

The UK intelligence also noted that in 2017 Putins said Russia is committed to the “extirpation” of Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Share Button

Minister Confirms Labour Donor Did Have A No.10 Pass But Says It Has Since Been Removed

Posted on by
Reply

A minister has confirmed that the biggest personal donor for Keir Starmer did have a security pass to 10 Downing Street, but claims it has now been removed.

It comes after The Sunday Times reported that millionaire TV mogul Lord Alli, who was at the forefront of Labour’s fundraising for the general election, had unlimited access to the head office of government.

He reportedly organised post-election reception drinks in Downing Street’s gardens.

A No.10 pass is an honour usually granted only to political advisers, civil servants, and the immediate families of the PM and the chancellor.

But the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden, told Sky News that Lord Alli – who has given £500,000 to the party since 2020 – has not got his pass “anymore”.

He said: “I don’t think it’s unusual for people to have passes to attend political meetings, if they need to do so.

“I don’t think he has a pass now but I believe he may have had one in the past.”

He added: “He won’t have been involved in any governmental decisions, he’s not someone who holds a policy responsibility.

“I don’t think he’s got the pass anymore, he may have needed it for a short time in that period immediately after the election.”

McFadden also told Times Radio that the peer “does bring a huge amount to the Labour Party”.

He said: “He was an important part of the election campaign. And as I say, he’s a very highly respected peer.

“I don’t believe there’s anything being done here that’s in conflict with the rules.”

Party sources told HuffPost UK Lord Alli’s pass was removed “weeks ago”.

However, The Sunday Times’ columnist and senior political correspondent Patrick Maguire posted on X that No.10 said the peer still had the pass on Friday.

There is no indication that Lord Alli is looking for a role or has broken the rules, but it remains unclear why he needed the pass in the first place.

The tension comes as Labour have only been in power for seven weeks.

Keir Starmer passed the 50-day mark on Saturday, which meant his time in office had officially outlasted Liz Truss’s tenure.

A flurry of questions around Labour’s donors have already arisen in that time.

Ian Corfield, who gave £20,000 to Labour and £5,000 to chancellor Rachel Reeves, has stepped down as director of investment at the Treasury.

He is now the temporary and unpaid adviser to the chancellor’s investment summit in October, according to the Sunday Times.

Share Button

RFK Jr. Suspends Presidential Bid And Endorses Trump

Posted on by
Reply

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he was “suspending” his independent presidential bid and endorsed Republican nominee Donald Trump on Friday, a day after Kennedy withdrew from the ballot in Arizona.

Kennedy was expected to announce he was withdrawing from the race at a speech in Phoenix on Friday afternoon, but a Pennsylvania court filing earlier in the day confirmed he would withdraw from that state’s ballot and endorse Trump.

In a bit of a twist, Kennedy said he was not “terminating” his campaign, only “suspending” it, and encouraged his supporters who are not in battleground states to nevertheless vote for him.

In 10 battleground states, however, including Arizona and Pennsylvania, he’s removing his name from the ballot and urged voters not to vote for him, fearing he would play the role of a spoiler candidate by siphoning votes away from Trump.

“In an honest system, I believe I would have won the election,” Kennedy told the crowd. “In a system with open debates, with fair primaries … and with a truly independent media untainted by government propaganda and censorship, everything would be different.”

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump shakes hands with Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a campaign rally, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Arizona. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump shakes hands with Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a campaign rally, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Arizona. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

via Associated Press

Kennedy thanked the campaign’s volunteers for helping the ticket make the ballot on a state-by-state basis, navigating an “insurmountable tangle of arbitrary rules for collecting signatures.”

Then, veering into conspiracy, Kennedy embarked on a long attack accusing the Democratic Party of colluding with the media to undertake a ”systemic attack on democracy.”

Kennedy also returned to familiar themes from his campaign, criticising ultra-processed foods and toxic chemicals for causing a wide variety of physical and mental health issues, from diabetes to various cancers to attention deficit disorder.

“We are mass-poisoning all of our children and adults,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy’s endorsement was immediately disavowed by his extended family, who called it “a betrayal” and endorsed the Democratic ticket of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Govenor Tim Walz.

“We believe in Harris and Walz,” Kennedy’s siblings said in a statement. “Our brother Bobby’s decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story.”

Rumors about the campaign had swirled since Tuesday, when RFK Jr.’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, said on a podcast that the two were exploring their options for the race.

“One is staying in, forming that new party but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and Walz presidency because we draw votes from Trump or we draw somehow more votes from Trump,” Shanahan told Tom Bilyeu, the host of “Impact Theory.”

“Or we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump, and we walk away from that, and we explain to our base why we’re making this decision,” she continued.

The Washington Post previously reported that Kennedy asked for a high-level role in the Trump administration in exchange for his endorsement. Trump signalled an openness to the possibility in a CNN interview earlier this week.

Kennedy tried to negotiate a similar agreement with Harris but the vice president’s team showed no interest, he told The New York Times.

The long-shot candidate saw national polling numbers as high as 16% this spring, though they’ve fallen below 5% in recent months as the campaign failed to find purchase.

Kennedy’s campaign wasn’t helped by numerous reports of past behaviour that led him to respond to accusations of sexual assault from the family’s former nanny, deny a Vanity Fair story about having eaten a dog (he says it was a goat), breathe life into 9/11 conspiracy theories, own up to having dumped a dead bear cub in Central Park, and confirm a parasitic worm ate a portion of his brain.

Share Button

‘A Load Of B*****ks’: Critics Aren’t Exactly In Love With Rylan Clark’s New Naked Dating Show

Posted on by
Reply

It was always going to happen eventually, wasn’t it?

After dating formats that have seen contestants winning one another over in elaborate animal masks, sussing out a potential date using only their singing voice and, indeed, getting engaged without ever actually clapping eyes on each other, it was only a matter of time before somebody answered the age-old question: “What if Love Island… but naked?”

Paramount+ was the one who finally to be that “somebody”, with the first two instalments of the result, the succinctly-named Dating Naked, now available to stream.

Fronted by Rylan Clark, the show sees a group of singletons moving into a Love Island-esque summer paradise, and exploring the possibility of romance while completely starkers the whole time.

So far, critics have widely panned Dating Naked, with one-star reviews in a number of outlets, and words like “tedious”, “attention-seeking” and “banal” all being thrown around.

Here’s a selection of what critics have had to say (including a smattering of positive reviews, too)…

“[The only] vaguely entertaining thing about Dating Naked is that it’s hosted by Rylan Clark, who remains clothed and only says ‘I feel a bit overdressed’ once. Otherwise, it’s one heavily constructed reality show ding-dong after another, as partnerships are thrown together and discarded quicker than a cardigan at the door… [This] is a load of bollocks.”

“There are no redeeming features here, not even host Rylan, whose perma-grin seems stapled to his face as he repeats the same few phrases on autopilot […] Save yourself the bother; even if there’s no actual underwear in sight, this show is still pants.”

“Far from injecting a new lease of life into the weary reality TV format, the nudity renders the whole thing strangely banal and mundane. It’s not really shocking, it’s just a bit tedious and attention-seeking. It’s not sexy, either – it’s too anatomical for that. It’s hard to have any sort of allure when it’s all openly displayed on a platter. If less is more, this is definitely too much.”

“Dating Naked UK isn’t necessarily awful because the contestants are naked. It’s awful and the contestants are naked. Once the novelty has worn off, it’s a dire, derivative reality contest with absolutely nothing to offer.”

“The alarming truth is that after around ten minutes of the first episode the nakedness becomes, for the viewer at least, utterly unremarkable. Honestly, by the end of episode two I’d even stopped making mental notes to not forget the pigs in blankets this Christmas.”

<div class="js-react-hydrator" data-component-name="YouTube" data-component-id="7160" data-component-props="{"itemType":"video","index":19,"contentIndexByType":1,"contentListType":"embed","code":"

","type":"video","meta":{"author":"That’s Pop Culture","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8ey_Hcm6B65xBz54-zYdCg","cache_age":86400,"description":"Brace yourself for a sizzling summer with Dating Naked UK! 🌴💋 Premiering on 23rd August on Paramount+, this is not your average dating show. Hosted by the charismatic Rylan, this daring reality series strips dating down to its bare essentials—literally! 😲✨\n\nWatch as ten fearless singles bare it all in a tropical paradise, seeking love while completely naked. With a mix of steamy dates, jaw-dropping drama, and plenty of cheeky fun, this show is set to turn up the heat! 🔥💑\n\nExpect unexpected arrivals, tantalising twists, and the ultimate quest for connection—all under the sun and in full view. Will anyone find their perfect match, or will the sparks fly in all the wrong directions? Only time will tell! ⏳💖\n\nDon’t miss out on the most audacious dating experiment ever! Tune in every Friday for two new episodes of naked romance, outrageous challenges, and epic eliminations at the Dumping Ground. 📺💃\n\nSubscribe now and get ready to watch the romance unfold—unfiltered and unblurred. 🌟🍑 #DatingNakedUK #SummerOfLove #Rylan","options":{"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"_start":{"label":"Start from","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"click_to_play":{"label":"Hold load & play until clicked","value":false}},"provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O-yg02KDvoA/maxresdefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"title":"👀 Get Ready to See It All: Dating Naked UK Trailer Revealed!","type":"video","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-yg02KDvoA","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"uk","name":"U.K.","link":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk","locale":"en_GB"},"originalEdition":"uk","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"66c898c9e4b0f75c7c15ff6e","entryPermalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/rylan-clark-new-show-dating-naked-reviews-say_uk_66c898c9e4b0f75c7c15ff6e","entryTagsList":"we-love-tv,rylan-clark,dating-naked","sectionSlug":"entertainment","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"uk.entertainment","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc140cf94592c45d7390c","disabledWithMapiEntries":false,"overrides":{"all":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4"},"whitelisted":["56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439","56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529","570278d2e4b070ff77b98217","57027b4be4b070ff77b98d5c","56fe95c4e4b0041c4242016b","570279cfe4b06d08e3629954","5ba9e8821c2e65639162ccf1","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e","5b35266b158f855373e28256","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2","60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","60d0de02b627221e9d819408"],"playlists":{"default":"57bc306888d2ff1a7f6b5579","news":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","politics":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","entertainment":"56c6e7f2e4b0983aa64c60fc","tech":"56c6f70ae4b043c5bdcaebf9","parents":"56cc65c2e4b0239099455b42","lifestyle":"56cc66a9e4b01f81ef94e98c"},"playerUpdates":{"56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439":"60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b":"60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529":"60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced":"60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e":"60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2":"60d0de02b627221e9d819408"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb","clickToPlayPlayer":"5a777b9b-81fe-41a6-8302-59e9953ee8a2","videoPagePlayer":"19654b65-409c-4b38-90db-80cbdea02cf4"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":11},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"66c898c9e4b0f75c7c15ff6e","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-uk"},"tags":[{"name":"we love tv","slug":"we-love-tv","links":{"relativeLink":"news/we-love-tv","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/we-love-tv","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/we-love-tv"},"section":{"title":"Life","slug":"lifestyle"},"topic":{"title":"We Love TV","slug":"we-love-tv","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/we-love-tv/"},{"name":"rylan clark","slug":"rylan-clark","links":{"relativeLink":"news/rylan-clark","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/rylan-clark","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/rylan-clark"},"relegenceId":6134318,"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/rylan-clark/"},{"name":"dating naked","slug":"dating-naked","links":{"relativeLink":"news/dating-naked","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/dating-naked","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/dating-naked"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/dating-naked/"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-1\", \"entry_paragraph_1\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline\", \"entry_paragraph_2\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-2\", \"entry_paragraph_3\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-infinite\", \"repeating_dynamic_display\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}”>

“Dating Naked is bonkers but extremely watchable. It’s hard to think where reality TV might take us next in the pursuit of something we haven’t seen.”

“Reality TV formats work best when they turn the volume up on real life. If I wanted to watch normal people dating, I can do that down the Slug and Lettuce any night of the week. It’s why programmes such as Dating Naked are essential.

“I have seen two early episodes of the Paramount+ show and it is fascinating what the dynamic of being nude brings to conversation.”

The first two episodes of Dating Naked are available to watch now on Paramount+.

Share Button