Alistair Carns: Labour’s ex-marine who ‘would be a nightmare’ for the Tories

He is the ex-special forces colonel talked of by some in Labour as the dark horse answer to the party’s leadership angst, even if Alistair Carns might not welcome all of the endorsements coming his way.“He’s one of the most capable individuals on the Labour benches and would be an absolute nightmare to face,” said one Conservative MP familiar with the abilities of the veterans minister, who was cast at the weekend in reports as a “decisive man of action”.Carns is a former Royal Marine commando and was later military adviser to three defence secretaries at the Ministry of Defence. He was tipped as a future chief of the defence staff prospect, and there was surprise when the Scot suddenly resigned to run as a Labour candidate, winning the safe seat of Birmingham Selly Oak in 2024.He was appointed minister for the armed forces in September 2025 and has earned praise for quiet stewardship of a portfolio also encompassing issues ranging from homeland defence to support for Ukraine

Ministers warned not to copy Wes Streeting’s release of messages with Peter Mandelson

Ministers have been warned not to publish their messages with Peter Mandelson after Wes Streeting released his private WhatsApp exchanges with the disgraced former ambassador.In a message to officials, the Cabinet Office is understood to have said members of government should not share material that could be covered by a Commons motion forcing the release of documents relating to Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador.The Met police are investigating alleged misconduct in a public office following claims that Mandelson passed market sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein when he was business secretary in Gordon Brown’s government in 2009.The Met police issued a statement on Tuesday saying it was “vital due process is followed” so as not to jeopardise its investigation.In an effort to draw a line under his relationship with Mandelson, Streeting published dozens of messages that the pair exchanged between August 2024 and October 2025

UK signed deals with US firms that were clients of Mandelson lobbying company

A lobbying firm co-owned by Peter Mandelson worked for OpenAI before the US tech company signed a wide-ranging agreement with the UK government to explore deploying AI in Britain’s justice, security and education systems.In 2024, the $500bn-valued maker of ChatGPT was a client of Global Counsel, which Mandelson co-founded and part-owned. Keir Starmer subsequently appointed Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.OpenAI last summer signed a memorandum of understanding with the UK government to develop partnerships “to expand public engagement with AI technology”.In September it signed another deal to provide 2,500 ChatGPT licences to UK civil servants, starting in the Ministry of Justice

Who could fill key No 10 vacancies – and win the battle for Starmer’s ear?

With three vacancies opening up at the very top of Keir Starmer’s operation, there is already a battle over who will win the war for his ear – and the direction of the government.The departure of Starmer’s most important political advisers – his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who was focused on the fight against Reform in Labour’s working-class heartlands; and Tim Allan, the director of communication, considered a Blairite – has immediately raised hopes on Labour’s soft left of a shift in their favour.At the same time, Starmer’s decision to get rid of the bureaucratic Chris Wormald as cabinet secretary has opened the door for a more radical replacement to drive through some of the Whitehall reforms and policy changes the prime minister has been calling for.The frontrunner for cabinet secretary is understood to be Antonia Romeo, the dynamic permanent secretary of the Home Office, who has impressed Shabana Mahmood, but other possible names floated include Minouche Shafik, Starmer’s economic adviser, and Louise Casey, the lead non-executive director for the government, who has previously said she would not be suited to the job.The one thing that everyone around Starmer agrees on is that the current void in Downing Street cannot be allowed to continue for long

Starmer says he ‘will never walk away’ as Burnham joins Labour figures backing PM – as it happened

Keir Starmer is speaking at an event in Hertfordshire.He starts with a reference to the events of yesterday – saying there has been a lot of politics around recently.But he is focused on the cost of living, he says. He says he knows what it is like to struggle, because when he was growing up his family couldn’t always pay their bills.He says he leads the most working-class cabinet in history

Steady Ed conjours up a Keir in his own image – complete with fake steering wheel | John Crace

It was a day for one of the Top Team. The safest of safe hands. A grownup. That didn’t mean the likes of Emma Reynolds. Emma looks permanently startled at the best of times