Author: James Carter

Green Party candidates who won council seats in Thursday’s local elections delivered victory speeches in Bengali and Arabic rather than English, in scenes that have sparked debate about identity politics and community representation in British civic life. Footage from Newham in east London, one of the areas where the Greens made gains, shows a newly elected councillor opening with “As-salamu alaykum” — the traditional Arabic Islamic greeting meaning “peace be upon you” — before switching to Bengali to address what he described as “our Bangladesh community.” Supporters holding Green Party banners and Vote Green placards cheered throughout. The speech was…

The Kremlin has publicly acknowledged that security around Vladimir Putin has been significantly strengthened, amid mounting reports that the Russian president has abandoned his usual residences and retreated to bunkers over fears of both a Ukrainian assassination attempt and a potential coup from within his own inner circle. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the additional measures on Thursday, attributing them to what he described as “the rather complex operational situation against the backdrop of the terrorist threat posed by the Kyiv regime,” with a major military parade scheduled for Saturday. He made no comment on the coup speculation or reports…

Tony Robinson, the 79-year-old actor best known for playing Baldrick in Blackadder, has been widely ridiculed on X after posting a video urging people to vote Labour on the day of a major set of local and devolved elections across the UK. The clip, shared on polling day and amplified by broadcaster Patrick Christys among others, shows Robinson energetically dancing and jogging down a street in a green shirt, arms flailing, with bold red text overlaid reading “Vote TODAY Vote Change Vote Labour.” He points at the camera, grins and spins toward a polling station sign at the end. The…

A man has been arrested in connection with the theft of a mobile phone belonging to Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff, in a case that has raised serious questions about transparency at the heart of Downing Street. The Metropolitan Police confirmed to The Times that a 28-year-old man was detained on Wednesday 29 April at an address in Peckham on suspicion of handling stolen goods. He is suspected of receiving the phone after it was stolen and attempting to sell it on. A Scotland Yard spokesperson was clear that he is “not suspected of any involvement…

Iran has publicly mocked Donald Trump after the United States suspended its “Project Freedom” mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in less than 48 hours — as a French container ship came under attack in the critical waterway, leaving crew members injured and the vessel damaged. Iranian state media outlet INSA wasted little time in framing the pause as a humiliation for Washington. “Following Iran’s firm positions and warnings, and the failure of the United States to achieve its objectives in the so-called ‘Freedom Project’, Trump announced the suspension of this project,” the outlet said in a statement, describing…

A Green Party councillor has sparked widespread outrage after appearing to express sympathy for an Afghan asylum seeker who was convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl in her own council borough. Michele Kondakor, who represents the Weddington ward on Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, made the remarks in a video that was widely shared on social media on 6 May 2026. In the clip, the councillor referred to the rape as “the rape and what have you,” before stating: “Lives are ruined all around, you know — the asylum seekers, these very young people, their lives are ruined.” The case…

A Green Party candidate campaigning for Britain to pay trillions of pounds in slavery reparations is herself descended from a Nigerian royal family with a documented history of slave trading, it has emerged. Antoinette Fernandez, who holds the role of reparations officer within the party’s Global Majority Greens group, is standing for election in the Lea Bridge ward in Hackney, east London. She has publicly called for British taxpayers to fund reparations for the transatlantic slave trade, arguing that politicians who oppose the idea “show an appalling arrogance.” Yet through her mother, Abiola Dosunmu — the Queen Mother of Lagos…

One of America’s most storied waterfront estates — originally built for saxophonist Kenny G and later owned by telecom mogul Bruce McCaw — has finally sold after more than three years on the market, closing at $38 million, a staggering $47 million below its original asking price of $85 million. The sale of the sprawling Hunts Point mansion, reported by the Seattle Times and the Puget Sound Business Journal, represents one of the most dramatic price collapses in American luxury real estate in recent memory. The property, which had held the record as the most expensive listing in the history…

Green Party leader Zack Polanski liked several social media posts suggesting Sir Keir Starmer is financially controlled by powerful Jewish figures, — deepening an antisemitism crisis engulfing the party just days before local elections. The posts, all published on the left-leaning social network Bluesky within the past six months, included messages asking “how much does Israel pay him?” and claiming the Prime Minister’s Cabinet receives “large sums of money from Zionist philanthropists.” Polanski’s verified account is recorded as having liked each of them. One post, liked by Polanski in November 2025 and written in response to an interview in which…

Sir Keir Starmer’s hopes of using Britain’s entry into a €90 billion Ukraine loan scheme as a bargaining chip in post-Brexit reset negotiations have been firmly rebuffed by Brussels, with EU sources making clear that goodwill gestures will not translate into concessions at the negotiating table. The Prime Minister was speaking at the European Political Community summit in Yerevan, Armenia, on Monday when he suggested that Britain’s involvement in the loan programme was “very good for UK-EU relations, which is very important as we go on to the various discussions we’re going to have today.” An EU diplomat was blunt…