United Kingdom

    Julian Assange has declined a chance to consent to his extradition to the US at a court hearing in London where the American government started pressing its case to take him across the Atlantic. Appearing by videolink from Belmarsh prison, Assange said: “I do not wish to surrender myself for extradition for doing journalism that has won many, many awards and protected many, many people.” Ben Brandon, counsel for the US government, presented details of the US case against Assange at Westminster magistrates court. He said that the charges related to one of the largest compromises of information in the history of the US. They were connected to the downloading of a “vast amount of classified documents” by Chelsea Manning, the US intelligence analyst who subsequently se...

    There is certainly an argument for a criminal investigation into the leaking of information from the National Security Council, a former attorney general has told Sky News. Dominic Grieve said the disclosure to a newspaper of an NSC discussion about Chinese telecoms giant Huawei's potential involvement in the development of the UK's 5G mobile network was corrosive and undesirable. Prime Minister Theresa May sacked Gavin Williamson as defence secretary after an inquiry found there was compelling evidence he was responsible. Mr Williamson has denied being the culprit, telling Sky News he swore on his children's lives that neither he, nor any of his staff, were behind it. © PA Gavin Williamson told Sky News he swore on his children's lives that he did not leak the inf...

    The number of first-time buyers in the property market is approaching levels seen before the financial crisis even as house prices stall. New homeowners are capitalising in a buyer's market, with April marking the fifth consecutive month that annual property inflation across the UK was less than 1 per cent, Nationwide's latest House Price Index revealed today. Since this time last year average property prices across the UK have increased by just £1,920, or 0.9 per cent, to £214,920. Jonathan Hopper, managing director of Garrington Property Finders, said: 'At a national level, house prices have made stagnation into an art form.' House prices rose 0.4 per cent in April, Nationwide said, although this figure is seasonally-adjusted, without which the £1,818 monthly ga...

    Theresa May has no option but to tear up her red lines on a customs union if she wants to pass her Brexit deal, one of Jeremy Corbyn’s closest allies said today. Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey spoke out as both Cabinet and Labour sources confirmed cross-party talks have moved significantly in recent days, pointing to a potential deal within a fortnight. Both sides agree there has been a change of tone this week, and that any deal is likely to be built around the principle that any future Tory or Labour government with a clear Commons majority would be free to negotiate changes. Ms Long-Bailey made clear, however, that Mrs May will have to make a decisive shift towards Labour’s policy for a customs union. “I think, pragmatically, that they potentially...

    The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have shared a new and unique approach as to how they will be supporting the causes they care about on Instagram. In a post shared on Sussex Royal yesterday, the couple explained that they will solely be following organisations that they wish to draw attention under an umbrella issue, which will change every month. Each month we will honour this concept and change the accounts we solely follow based on a different theme or cause. In the post, they announced that they would be kicking off by drawing attention to a number of organisations that promote mental health and wellbeing. The couple who have both been very active in supporting these issues for years shared a collage of a number of images from charities that they wish to support....

    An Ecuadorian lawyer for Julian Assange has filed a complaint alleging diplomatic staff from Ecuador spied on the WikiLeaks founder while he was at the country’s London embassy. The alleged spying uncovered information about Mr Assange’s legal defence and medical issues, Carlos Poveda said in the complaint submitted Monday to the attorney general’s office in Ecuador. The lawyer claimed diplomats and members of a security firm were involved in surveillance efforts in west London. Mr Assange had enjoyed asylum at the embassy since 2012, but Ecuador evicted him on 11 April. He is now in custody in the UK awaiting sentencing for skipping bail to avoid being sent to Sweden as part of an investigation into a rape allegation. The British government has previously said th...

    Jeremy Corbyn was hit by a growing revolt today as four union bosses ratcheted up pressure on the Labour leader to clearly back giving the public another say on Brexit. They lined up with senior MPs to urge Mr Corbyn to come off the fence and throw his weight firmly behind a confirmatory vote on any Brexit deal. Ahead of a crunch meeting of Labour’s National Executive Committee, GMB general secretary Tim Roache told The Standard: “It must be the public who have the final say on Brexit. A grubby political stitch-up to meet the needs of internal Tory party politics, rather than the best interests of our country, won’t put this question to bed for a minute, let alone a generation. Unison general secretary Dave Prentis stressed: The Prime Minister’s deal and a no-deal ...

    Labour will this week force a vote in parliament to declare a national environmental and climate change emergency as confidential documents show the government has spent only a fraction of a £100m fund allocated in 2015 to support clean air projects. Jeremy Corbyn’s party will demand on Wednesday that the country wakes up to the threat and acts with urgency to avoid more than 1.5°C of warming, which will require global emissions to fall by about 45% from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching “net zero” before 2050. The move will place Conservative MPs under pressure to back the plan, or explain why they refuse to do so, now fears over the combined problems of air pollution and climate change have risen to the top of the political agenda. On Saturday night Corbyn said the r...

    A senior member of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers has called for Theresa May to step down immediately suggesting the influential group could set a timetable for her departure. Nigel Evans, the committee’s joint executive secretary, said the process for selecting a new leader can’t start soon enough. To be honest I would be delighted if she announced today she was announcing her resignation and we could then have an orderly election to choose a new leader of the Conservative party, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. I believe the only way we’re going to break this impasse properly is if we have fresh leadership of the Conservative party … If there was an announcement today by the prime minister then of course we could start the process straight away. T...

    Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's security bill to move to Africa could reach £1 million a year, it is claimed. Harry’s advisers are reportedly working to create a role that capitalises on the couple's 'rock star' status, that could see the pair move to the continent for up to three years. But such a move would require a dedicated team of Metropolitan Police Royal protection officers each to accompany them, The Sun reports. Their as-yet unborn baby would also be entitled to its own security, the paper adds. These security details could come with a hefty price tag, met by the British tax payer. A security consultant estimates that could be in the region of £750,000 a year, according to The Sun, with a further £250,000 to cover travel, medical and insurance costs for...