United Kingdom

    The Cambridge Analytica scandal engulfing the official Brexit campaign reached No 10 on Sunday, as campaigners wrote to Theresa May demanding an investigation into what members of her cabinet and her own staff knew. The letter from the anti-Brexit group Best for Britain came after a whistleblower told the Observer that Vote Leave channelled money through another campaign to a firm linked to the controversial data company Cambridge Analytica in a potential breach of electoral law. The allegations immediately put pressure on the foreign and environment secretaries, Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, who were leading members of Vote Leave. May came under pressure herself over the weekend after Downing Street was accused of outing the whistleblower, Shahmir Sanni, as gay ...

    Russian Twitter trolls have been attempting to show that the British public do not believe Vladimir Putin is behind the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, it has been claimed. The potentially fake accounts, which experts say could be linked to the bot factory in St Petersburg, retweeted a poll by a British user which ended with more than 15,700 votes. Less that two weeks after the former double agent and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with a nerve agent in Salisbury city centre, Twitter user Rachael Swindon asked if people thought Theresa May has supplied enough evidence for us to be able to confidently point the finger of blame towards Russia? 77 per cent voted no, leading the blogger, who is a vocal supporter of Jeremy Corbyn and has more than 57,000 followers, to co...

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have ignored a major tradition when it comes to their upcoming nuptials as not every married guest will be able to bring their spouse as their plus one. The royal and the US actress sent out invites, crafted by London-based Barnard and Westwood to their May 19 ceremony at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, earlier this week. Six hundred people have been invited to the day do and the subsequent lunchtime reception. It's believed there'll be a more intimate evening knees-up hosted by the Prince of Wales at Frogmore House with a further 200 guests in attendance. While 600 people may seem like a very long guestlist to some, it's been revealed that the pair have only invited one half of some married couples. ITV royal editor Chris Ship ...

    As Theresa May faces the arduous Brexit negotiations abroad with the EU27 she also faces a battle on the home front in the House of Commons over the next 12 months. She has the unenviable task of getting major pieces of legislation related to Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union through the chamber. Expect Brexit to dominate the parliamentary agenda. Given the fragility of the Government, a working majority along with the Democratic Unionist Party of just 13 and a healthy pro-EU majority in the House of Lords, anything could happen in the febrile atmosphere at Westminster. Here The Independent takes a look at the key challenges the Prime Minister faces over the next 12 months in the build-up to Britain withdrawing from the EU at 11pm on 29 March 2019. EU...

    The official Brexit campaign cheated during the EU referendum, a whistleblower has claimed. The claims centre around Vote Leave's links to another campaign BeLeave which it helped fund. Shahmir Sanni, who worked on the campaign, claimed Vote Leave used it to get around strict spending limits set by the Electoral Commission. Vote Leave has strongly denied wrongdoing and said the £625,000 donated to BeLeave was within the rules. Mr Sanni was in a relationship with senior Vote Leave figure Stephen Parkinson now Theresa May's political secretary - at the time of the referendum and claimed through his lawyers he was outed by the Number 10 aide in the run-up to the Channel 4 disclosure. Mr Sanni went to the Electoral Commission with two other pro-Brexit friends on Thurs...

    Prince Charles is believed to have rowed with his mother the Queen over her desire for stability and continuity At a recent dinner with friends in Mayfair, Philip joked about his determination to live beyond 95. The reason for his and the Queen's longevity, he explained amid his friends laughter, was to keep Charles from the throne. At 91, he said, the Queen was in robust health and, he implied, could well live for another ten years. That in turn would mean Charles might be king for only a brief period and would therefore have little opportunity to damage the monarchy. Philip did not hide his scorn for his son's achievements and vision, and showed little confidence that Charles could impress himself upon history as an exceptional king. Many of those present believ...

    Downing Street has been accused of outing a gay Brexit campaigner in a row over referendum tactics. In an explosive statement last night, Shahmir Sanni said his family in Pakistan was unaware of his sexuality and instructed a law firm to take action. He said a statement made by Theresa May's close aide Stephen Parkinson had put family members at risk. Mr Sanni was set to blow the whistle over claims Brexiteers breached electoral rules during the Vote Leave campaign. In response, Mr Parkinson, one of the Prime Minister's closest advisers, gave a comment in which he said he had been in an 18-month relationship with Mr Sanni before splitting amicably in September 2017. He wrote: That is the capacity in which I gave Shahmir advice and encouragement, and I can underst...

    The future husband and wife's story is a fairy tale romance that is unlike any other. While the 33-year-old royal was among the world's most known bachelors, upon meeting Markle, he felt like needed to impress the stunning Suits actress. There's no denying that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are beyond smitten with each other. Harry said, when he walked into that room and saw Meghan for the first time, he knew he had to up his game, royal expert Katie Nicholl, author of Harry: Life, Loss, and Love, told ET exclusively about the prince's first impression of Meghan. There was this beautiful, glamorous actress, but I think it went far more than just a superficial initial connection. I was told really after those first couple of dates, he knew he had met someone very,...

    Swapping the EU’s burgundy passport for the old blue version has been hailed by Brexiteers as a symbol of Britain’s regained independence. But Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto has won the contract to manufacture the document, the Telegraph reported. The firm undercut rival bids by around £50 million, the newspaper said. Tory MP Sir Bill Cash, chairman of the Commons European Scrutiny Committee, branded such a move completely wrong and unnecessary. The tender to produce the passport was understood to have been put out across the EU under single market rules. Sir Bill said: I think it is incongruous to say the least. It is completely unnecessary and it is symbolically completely wrong. Whatever the conditions which led to the decision in terms of pricing, the fact is tha...