Badenoch calls Farage an ‘opportunist’ after he urges Scottish nationalists to back Reform

Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative party, has accused Nigel Farage of being an opportunist who does not believe in unionism after he urged Scottish nationalists to back Reform.Farage said earlier this week he believed “genuine nationalists” would not support the Scottish National party’s bid to rejoin the EU, and urged them to vote Reform in the Holyrood election on 7 May.He also told the Scotsman that while he believed in the UK, it was “probably quite reasonable” to hold a second independence referendum in the future, “if this issue came back”.Badenoch, speaking to reporters in Edinburgh on Thursday, said only her party was truly centre-right and unionist. “Nigel Farage doesn’t really believe in anything except Nigel Farage

No 10 claims Starmer did not know Mandelson failed security vetting until this week – as it happened

Downing Street has just issued a statement saying Starmer did not know that Mandelson had failed the vetting process until earlier this week. A No 10 spokesperson said:double quotation markThe security vetting process for Peter Mandelson was sponsored by the FCDO. The decision to grant Developed Vetting to Peter Mandelson against the recommendation of UK Security Vetting was taken by officials in the FCDO.Neither the prime minister, nor any government minister, was aware that Peter Mandelson was granted Developed Vetting against the advice of UK Security Vetting until earlier this week.Once the prime minister was informed he immediately instructed officials to establish the facts about why the Developed Vetting was granted, in order to enact plans to update the House of Commons

Orbán’s defeat threatens to halt Hungarian support of populist right

The last 16 years of Viktor Orbán’s rule have been kind to a number of British political figures – from the Tory peer David Frost to Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin and James Orr.All benefited from largesse extended by the self-styled “illiberal democracy” established by the Hungarian leader’s ruling Fidesz party, which took a particular liking for those on the harder right of British conservatism.But while Budapest channelled millions each year to thinktanks and individuals associated with the populist right, the overwhelming defeat of Orbán this week now threatens to bring that support across Europe to a shuddering halt.Change looms elsewhere, too, including for Hungary’s ambassador Ferenc Kumin, who has long been close to Orbán, and for media operations set up by his supporters, such as Remix News. It pumps out English-language coverage skewed towards amplifying hard-right, anti-immigration narratives of life in Britain

Five key questions: who overruled decision to deny Mandelson security clearance?

The revelation that Peter Mandelson failed his security vetting clearance, only for the decision to be overruled by the Foreign Office so he could take up his post as ambassador to the US, raises a number of questions.According to multiple sources, Mandelson was initially denied clearance in late January 2025 after a developed vetting process, a type of a highly confidential background check carried out by UK Security Vetting (UKSV), a division of the Cabinet Office.By that stage he had already been announced as Keir Starmer’s pick for ambassador in Washington. Within two days, the Foreign Office had overruled the UKSV decision, granting him clearance despite the recommendation from security officials. It is not known who made the decision to overrule security officials, or why

Officials debate withholding Mandelson vetting documents from parliament

Exclusive: Opinions split on ‘unprecedented’ release of files, despite demand for ‘all papers’ related to ex-US ambassador’s appointmentRevealed: Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decisionFive key questions: who overruled decision to deny Mandelson security clearance?Senior government officials have been considering whether to withhold from parliament sensitive documents that show Peter Mandelson failed security vetting before he assumed the role of US ambassador, the Guardian can reveal.Any such decision could amount to an extraordinary breach of a parliamentary vote, known as a humble address, that ordered the release of “all papers” relevant to Mandelson’s appointment.The Guardian has revealed that Mandelson did not receive vetting clearance from security officials, but that their decision was overruled by the Foreign Office to ensure he could take up his post.According to multiple sources, officials across government have been in dispute over whether to release documents that would reveal those facts, and other information about Mandelson’s security vetting, to the parliamentary intelligence and security committee (ISC).The committee has been entrusted by parliament with the role of assessing the most sensitive papers relating to Mandelson’s appointment

Revealed: Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision

Guardian investigation uncovers decision by UK security officials to deny clearance before Mandelson took up role as US ambassadorTop civil servant Olly Robbins forced out over vetting rowOfficials debate withholding Mandelson vetting documents from parliamentFive key questions: Who overruled the decision to deny Mandelson security clearance?Peter Mandelson failed his security vetting clearance but the decision was overruled by the Foreign Office to ensure he could take up his post as ambassador to the US, an investigation by the Guardian can reveal.According to multiple sources, Mandelson was initially denied clearance in late January 2025 after a developed vetting process, a highly confidential background check by security officials.Keir Starmer had by then announced he would be making Mandelson the UK’s chief diplomat in Washington, posing a dilemma for officials at the Foreign Office, who decided to use a rarely used authority to override the recommendation from security officials.Mandelson’s failure to secure vetting approval has not previously been publicly revealed, despite intense scrutiny over his appointment and the release by the government of 147 pages of documents supposed to shed light on the case.Downing Street released a statement late on Thursday confirming the Guardian’s story

As an older man, I feel for Peter Mandelson being caught short | Letter

You report that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea intends to fine Peter Mandelson for urinating in the street at 11pm one night last November (Peter Mandelson faces fixed-penalty notice for urinating in public, 10 April). I’m no fan of Mr Mandelson, but on this occasion my sympathies are entirely with him.I am a year younger than him and, like many men of similar age, what used to be quaintly called my “waterworks” aren’t as robust as they used to be.What was he supposed to do when caught short on a cold night? Wet himself and allow the stream to flow from his trouser leg? Or follow the example of the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, who refused to leave a banquet to relieve himself because it would be a breach of etiquette and, according to Johannes Kepler, died shortly after as a result?If the council proceeds with this fine, I assume that it will also fine dog owners who allow their pets to pee in the street. This would be ridiculous, but no more so than what it intends doing with Mr Mandelson

A decade on from Brexit, Britain still flounders without a place in the world | Letters

Perhaps the saddest consequence of Brexit is that it has left the UK a profoundly unhappy country (Ten years after Brexit, this is the UK: a divided nation frozen in time, 9 April). For Brexit supporters, the dream of a proud, independent Britain able to direct its own destiny in the world is nowhere near fulfilled, as if it ever could be. And they continue to grasp at the nearest proximate cause – an “invasion” of immigrants undermining British identity and draining its resources. For those who wished to remain, Brexit has left them unmoored from the security of membership of a grouping that gave them an identity and clear position in the world.Unfortunately, that unhappiness is now exacerbated by the state of the world outside the UK

SNP pledges to cap bread and milk prices if it wins Scotland’s parliamentary elections

The SNP will cap supermarket prices for essential goods such as bread and milk if it retains power, John Swinney has pledged, after describing the cost of living as “the defining issue of this election”.With polls pointing to a fifth Holyrood term for the Scottish National party, its leader said he would use devolved public health powers to fix prices on 20 to 50 items such as bread, milk, cheese, eggs, rice and chicken because their rising cost was “impacting our nation’s nutrition”.The eye-catching pledge, made at the launch of the SNP manifesto for the Scottish parliament election, was immediately dismissed as a “potty gimmick” by retailers. It could also put the party on a collision course with the UK government because it may breach the Scotland Act of 1998 that created a devolved parliament.Ewan MacDonald-Russell, deputy head of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said supermarkets already paid significantly higher rates in Scotland, £162m more over the next three years than in England