United Kingdom

    If you want to leave please do so, but don’t decide for the European Union. He added: It is not about institutions in Brussels, it’s about whether the British prime minister in the next years is still at the table, and the majority decided to not sit anymore on the centre of the European debate, and that is not good. The summit continues on Friday, with a meeting set to take place in the afternoon between May and the president of the European commission, Jean-Claude Juncker. On Thursday, May was given a stark warning from both Angela Merkel and François Hollande that Britain faces a rough and hard negotiation as she pursues a tough approach to Brexit negotiations including a clampdown on immigration. Late on Thursday night, the prime minister updated her fellow leaders wit...

    Prime minister angers European leaders at first EU summit by saying Britain wants to maintain central role until it leaves. Theresa May has angered European leaders by telling her first EU summit that she expects Britain to be at the centre of European decision-making until Brexit takes place. In a brief speech at the end of an EU dinner in Brussels, the prime minister said Britain wanted to continue to play a central role in meetings and decisions until it leaves the EU. The speech angered fellow leaders, according to Manfred Weber, leader of the Christian Democrats in the European parliament. He said: “When somebody wants to leave a club, it is not normal that such a member wants to decide about the future of this club. That is really creating a lot of anger about the be...

    A CRADLEY Heath religious leader who carried out sex attacks on two young girls at his Dudley mosque has fled the country using a false passport. Hafiz Rahman who was convicted by a jury on five specimen charges of indecent assault has flown to Bangladesh to avoid being slapped behind bars. Judge Nicholas Cartwright, who issued a warrant for his arrest, was told Rahman had bought a ticket through an agency for Bangladesh on Friday and he had illegally left the United Kingdom just 24 hours later. The officer said Rahman who had denied committing the offences 30 years ago had been allowed to keep his freedom because at the time he had not breached the conditions of his bail. Tariq Shakoor, who defended Rahman during the course of his trial, said an investigation would have t...

    Newsreader Fatima Manji makes stinging attack on press regulator Ipso after it clears Kelvin MacKenzie of breaking code. Fatima Manji. Ipso ruled that in the context of the Nice attack, MacKenzie had a right to question her headdress under free speech. The Channel 4 News presenter Fatima Manji has accused the press regulator of giving a green light to newspapers to attack Muslims after it cleared Kelvin MacKenzie over his criticism of her wearing a hijab while reporting on the Nice terror attacks. She said the “frightening” decision by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) in effect condoned abuse. In an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Manji said: “I am happy for people to ridicule me or offend me. I’m not happy for people to incite hatred against...

    Theresa May is to warn her 27 fellow European Union leaders over a working dinner in Brussels that Britain’s decision to leave is irreversible and there can be no second referendum. Thursday’s meeting of the European council will be the prime minister’s first opportunity to address the leaders of all the other member states since the UK voted to leave the European Union in June. Donald Tusk, the European council president, has insisted Britain’s future relationship with the EU will not be on the formal agenda for the two-day meeting, but he will give May the opportunity to set out the “current state of affairs in the country” over coffee at the end of the meal. A No 10 source said she would tell her fellow EU leaders: “The British people have made a decision and it’s right...

    Controversial plans to let hundreds of thousands of pensioners sell their retirement annuities to insurance firms for a cash lump sum have been scrapped by the Government. The scheme to create a secondary market for annuities was pushed by ex-chancellor George Osborne and aimed at allowing people more freedom to choose how to invest their pension pots. In the UK, five million people have bought annuities which give pensioners a certain, guaranteed level of income. But they have been controversial in recent years due to low rates giving people disappointing incomes. The scheme was set to be launched next April but ministers now believe consumers may not get good value for money and so it will no longer go-ahead. Under the plans, consumers would have been allowed to sell the...

    The first snow of winter has arrived in Britain with the Pennines glistening bright white this morning. Pictures show a sheet of snow covering Great Dun Fell, the second tallest mountain in the range, while more snowflakes swirl in the wind. Yesterday hikers in the Highlands reported seeing snow-capped mountains as daytime temperatures dipped to just below 8C in Scotland. The capital is set for a dry and sunny end to the week and weekend, as temperatures reach 15C during the day and just dip below 10C at night. Some forecasters have predicted winter 2016 will be the snowiest and coldest for years, with Accuweather claiming the UK is set for 15-18 storms between now and April 2017.

    Theresa May Parliament has the right to reject the final Brexit deal, No.10 has indicated for the first time – raising the possibility that Britain’s EU exit could yet be halted. Downing Street agreed it is “very likely” that MPs and peers will be given a vote once the withdrawal negotiations are finished, after the issue arose in the High Court. The statement – after the Prime Minister repeatedly refused to give ground on demands for Parliament to have a say on Brexit – immediately triggered furious debate about the possible consequences. One senior pro-EU Conservative MP called it a “victory for all those who believe in the right of Parliament to represents the interests of our constituents”. And the prospect of Parliament exerting some control over the final settlement ...

    May allows cabinet ministers to express personal views after next week’s decision, signalling it is likely to favour third runway. Theresa May will allow ministers to express their opposition to airport expansion for a period of time after the decision is made next week, in the strongest signal yet that the government is preparing to back Heathrow’s bid to build a third runway. Analysis Heathrow third runway: what does the Tory cabinet think? Where Theresa May’s team stand on the proposed expansion of the west London airport The prime minister told colleagues at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that opponents of whatever decision was made would have a set period to speak frankly about their opposition. Downing Street would not confirm whether that meant ministers would have a ...

    Tory aide Sam Armstrong A Conservative aide has been arrested over an alleged rape in the Houses of Parliament. The 23-year-old was named in reports as Sam Armstrong, who is chief of staff to Tory MP Craig Mackinlay. It is alleged that he took a woman to the South Thanet MP’s office after a drinking session in a bar within the Palaces of Westminster in the early hours of Friday morning. A source told The Sun: “There were a group of Tory advisers and female guests drinking there all night. Some were very drunk indeed." The alleged incident is said to have happened after a group were drinking in a taxpayer-subsidised bar on the House of Lords’ terrace overlooking the River Thames. A spokesman for Mr Mackinlay told the Standard: “On Friday morning Mr Mackinlay was made aware ...