Starmer says UK sending more fighter jets to Middle East and first repatriation flight has left Oman – as it happened

The UK is sending four additional Typhoon jets to Qatar, as well as Wildcat helicopters with anti-drone capabilities being sent to Cyprus, Starmer says.He says the US has been allowed to use British airfields to carry out defensive missions and that HMS Dragon is heading for the Mediterranean.More than 4,000 people have arrived back in the UK on commercial flights, he says, with a further seven flights due to arrive in Britain today.The first charter flight from Oman took off “a few minutes ago”, the prime minister adds.double quotation markI want to be very clear; this is a huge undertaking

Transparency fears over plan to redact 2,000 staff names on Commons register

MPs are planning to redact the names of 2,000 parliamentary staff from an official register that has been in place for decades, in a move that experts say will reduce transparency around lobbying by passholders.The proposal has been put forward by the House of Commons standards committee after evidence sessions held in private with staff unions, which raised concerns about the safety of those working for MPs.It would put the Commons out of step with the House of Lords and legislatures in the EU and US, which list most staff members in the interests of transparency.Under the present system, in place since 1993, about 2,000 staff members working for MPs put their names and any financial interests on a register.Parliament had decided to widen the register to about 4,000 staff to include those who have access to the parliamentary online network and may be working in constituency offices

Crypto investor based in Thailand donates further £3m to Reform

Christopher Harborne has donated another £3m to Reform UK on top of his record £9m last summer.Nigel Farage’s party, which has been topping the polls for more than a year, brought in £5.5m in the last quarter of 2025 – outstripping all the other parties. It also included a £200,000 donation from JC Bamford Excavators – traditionally a Conservative donor – which gave the same sum to the Tories that quarter.The Harborne donations will bolster Reform UK’s war chest before the May elections, in which Farage will be hoping to make progress in Wales and across England where council seats are being contested

Wales Senedd elections are a ‘referendum’ on Starmer, claims Farage

Nigel Farage has described May’s Senedd elections as a “referendum” on Keir Starmer, as Reform UK gears up to battle Plaid Cymru for the chance to end a century of Labour dominance in Wales.Launching Reform’s election manifesto in Newport on Thursday alongside the party’s newly appointed Welsh leader, Dan Thomas, Farage said: “It’s a Welsh election, but I’m afraid, whether you like it or not, it doubles up as a referendum on Keir Starmer’s premiership. 7 May will end Labour dominance in Wales and in particular the valleys. And, if we get this right, we will get rid of the worst prime minister any of us have seen in our lifetimes.”Support for Reform in Wales has surged as Welsh Labour struggles with a 26-year-long incumbency and an unpopular leader in Westminster, although Plaid Cymru are ahead of Reform in most polls

Greens deputy leader calls for apology from Starmer over false claims that led to death threats

The deputy leader of the Green party has demanded an apology from Keir Starmer after the prime minister appeared to back false claims he protested in support of the Iranian regime, which led to him receiving death threats.Mothin Ali said he was “so scared” that the racist threats had increased to a point where “it feels like this time it might get me killed”.Multiple threatening messages sent to Mothin Ali and seen by the Guardian included “we know where to find you”, “you have no idea what’s coming” and one that told him to “pack your bags before it’s too late”.The messages were sent after Ali, a Green party local councillor, attended an anti-war demonstration in Parliament Square on Saturday that was mischaracterised by organisations such as GB News as a rally in support of the Iranian regime.“It could cost me my life, this kind of story,” he said

Asylum seekers waiting over a year for claim in UK may be allowed to work under new measures

Up to 21,000 asylum seekers who have waited for a year for their claims to be processed could be allowed to enter the jobs market so they can support themselves, the Home Office has said, as part of a package of measures to be announced on Thursday.As the government seeks to empty asylum hotels, claimants who break the law, work illegally or are found to have enough assets to live without support will from June be ejected and lose their support payments.The developments have been questioned by the Refugee Council for risking an increase in rough sleeping among those escaping war and famine.They come as Shabana Mahmood has hit back in a column for the Guardian at demands from senior labour movement figures for ministers to stop focusing on migration and to soften their attacks on the Green party.The home secretary wrote: “Restoring order at our border is not just an embodiment of Labour values, it is the necessary condition for a Labour government to do anything at all