[ad_1] The Liberal Democrats have set out a £1.5bn plan to give patients in England a legal right to be seen in A&E within 12 hours, to end what they have called a "deadly corridor crisis".In a speech, party leader Sir Ed Davey called for a new legal duty to limit the time patients wait to be admitted, transferred or discharged after arriving in A&E.The Lib Dems say their plan
[ad_1] David DeansWales political reporterSenedd Cymru/Welsh ParliamentThe Welsh Labour government say the proposed bill will help build "stronger foundations for Welsh democracy"A proposed law to make it illegal for politicians to lie during Welsh elections contains "extraordinary" powers that would limit free speech, Senedd members have warned.The bill will be debated in the Senedd on Tuesday but members, including those in Labour, have said it could fail to get enough
[ad_1] A visit by a Jewish MP to a school in their constituency was cancelled, after concerns were raised by local pro-Palestine campaigners.Palestine Solidarity Bristol said it had opposed the visit by Damien Egan, the Labour MP for Bristol North East, due to his support for Israel. The cancellation took place in September but was highlighted by Communities Secretary Steve Reed during a speech to the Jewish Labour Movement at
[ad_1] Nicholas Watt,Newsnight political editorandHarry SekulichBBCLord Mandelson has offered a personal apology to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein over his friendship with the convicted paedophile.The intervention by the former cabinet minister came after he faced criticism for limiting his apology over the weekend to an apology for system failures that let down the women.In a statement to BBC Newsnight on Monday evening, Lord Mandelson went further. He said: "Yesterday, I
[ad_1] How significant is Nadhim Zahawi's decision to join Reform?The short answer is that it matters – but it's not without risk for Nigel Farage's party.Let's start with the case for it being an important moment.Zahawi is probably the most significant figure to make the jump from the Conservatives to Reform.In government, he helped oversee the widely praised Covid vaccine rollout. He served as education secretary. And, very briefly, he
[ad_1] Army chief Sir Richard Knighton has said the UK is "not as ready as we need to be for the kind of full-scale conflict we might face", as he avoided questions about a reported shortfall in the government's defence spending plans.Last week, The Times and The Sun reported that the Ministry of Defence believes it will need an additional £28bn to meet its costs over the next four years,
[ad_1] Damian GrammaticasPolitical correspondentBloomberg via Getty ImagesThe proposed new embassy at Royal Mint Court would be the biggest in EuropeA group of Labour MPs have urged the government to reject China's controversial plan to build a mega embassy in London, just days before the deadline for the decision.In a letter to Communities Secretary Steve Reed, the nine MPs raise security concerns about the proposed site, while warning it would be
[ad_1] Ofcom has launched an investigation into Elon Musk's X over concerns its AI tool Grok is being used to create sexualised images.In a statement, the UK watchdog said there had been "deeply concerning reports" of the chatbot being used to create and share undressed images of people, as well as "sexualised images of children".If found to have broken the law, Ofcom can potentially issue X with a fine of
[ad_1] Sonja JessupLondon home affairs correspondentGetty ImagesThe Met Police said it had taken targeted action against criminal gangsHomicide in London has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade, new figures released by the Metropolitan Police show.The force said 97 homicides were recorded in 2025, the lowest figure since 2014, at a rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people, lower than New York (2.8), Berlin (3.2) and Milan (1.6).It
[ad_1] Daniel De Simone,Investigations correspondent andTom BealSuppliedThe UK government has paid "substantial" compensation to a man who was tortured by the CIA and remains imprisoned without trial at Guantanamo Bay after almost 20 years, the BBC can reveal.Abu Zubaydah was the first man subjected to the CIA's "enhanced interrogation" techniques after 11 September 2001 attacks. It was claimed he was a senior al-Qaeda member. The US government later withdrew the
