24+ min ago (658+ words) A minister has torn into talk of a coronation for Wes Streeting to become Labour leader as the party was gripped with fresh tensions over a possible coup against Sir Keir Starmer. Health minister Karin Smyth said she was "fed up" with the latest speculation of a move to oust the Prime Minister and install Mr Streeting as Prime Minister in No10. She insisted that Health Secretary Mr Streeting, MP for Ilford North, was totally focused on driving down NHS waiting lists, improving access to GPs and other changes in the health service. But Mr Streeting's supporters were said to be plotting to push for him to have a coronation as Labour leader, rather than a fierce battle against an MP on the Left of the party, with former Cabinet minister Angela Rayner expected to stand if there was a contest....

29+ min ago (526+ words) Pre-packaged milkshakes and lattes are expected to be hit by the sugar tax in an announcement from the Health Secretary. Wes Streeting is expected to tell the Commons on Tuesday that the Government will end the exemption for milk-based drinks from the existing tax on sugary drinks. The move will affect packaged milkshakes and coffees, but not drinks made in cafes and restaurants. It follows a Government consultation on the issue looking at removing the exemption for milk-based drinks while introducing a "lactose allowance" to account for the natural sugars in the milk component of the drinks. Ministers have also been looking at removing the exemption for milk substitute drinks with "added sugars" beyond those sugars derived from the principal ingredient, such as oats or rice. The sugar tax, also known as the soft drinks industry levy (SDIL), is a…...

37+ min ago (891+ words) A jury has retired to consider its verdict in the trial of a man who allegedly chased four officers with a chainsaw and attempted to murder them following a car crash. Liridon Kastrati, 32, is accused of ramming a car into a marked police vehicle and then brandishing a chainsaw at officers in Paisley, Renfrewshire, in broad daylight on May 6 2024 at about 1.30pm. The High Court in Paisley previously heard that Kastrati, who does not hold a UK driving licence, took his brother's car, and it is alleged he drove it at "excessive speed" before mounting the pavement and colliding with a marked police car with two police officers inside. Kastrati is then alleged to have pulled a chainsaw out of a bag, started it, and wielded it at officers while shouting and swearing before eventually putting the chainsaw down and being…...

43+ min ago (978+ words) An Albanian man accused of wielding a chainsaw at police officers whom he allegedly chased down a busy street was not offered an interpreter or a solicitor before he was charged by detectives, a court heard. Liridon Kastrati, 32, is accused of ramming a car into a marked police vehicle and then brandishing a chainsaw at officers in Paisley, Renfrewshire, in broad daylight on May 6 2024. It is alleged he drove a car "at excessive speed, before mounting the pavement and colliding with a police car containing two officers at about 1.30pm. Kastrati is alleged to have pulled a chainsaw out of a bag, started it, and run at officers while shouting and swearing. Alex Ferguson backs campaign to fund 150 scholarships for disadvantaged students Daughter settles legal claim against Government over father's "degrading' death Muriel McKay "would like to come home' as family…...

45+ min ago (481+ words) Sir Keir Starmer is set to speak to Ukraine's European allies on Tuesday following the latest talks to secure peace in the war-torn nation. The Prime Minister will host a coalition of the willing call after efforts over the weekend between the US and Kyiv to broker a truce with Moscow. Sir Keir and other western leaders had pushed back against US President Donald Trump's original 28-point peace plan ahead of the talks in Geneva, Switzerland, raising concerns about the prospect of a cap on Ukraine's armed forces and land being ceded to Russia. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested after the talks ended there were fewer demands of his nation in the revised peace plan than in the original proposal. Writing on messenger app Telegram, he said: "Now the list of necessary steps to end the war can become doable....

51+ min ago (550+ words) Ousmane Dembele is expected to return to action when Paris Saint-Germain face Tottenham in the Champions League. The Ballon d'Or winner has been out for the last three weeks with a calf injury. Dembele picked up that issue in holders PSG's last Champions League match against Bayern Munich earlier this month, when he was forced off midway through the first half. That ruled him out of France duty during the international break and he did not feature in PSG's 3-0 win over Le Havre in Ligue 1 on Saturday, either. However, Dembele is now back in training and Luis Enrique indicated that the 28-year-old will be involved against Spurs on Wednesday night. "He trained well," the PSG boss said of Dembele at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday. "We'll see tomorrow. If there's no problem, he'll be in the squad." However, he…...

54+ min ago (178+ words) A man has been arrested as part of the investigation into illegal tipping of waste at a site near the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, the Environment Agency said. The dumping of a 150-metre long mountain of waste in a field alongside the A34 in Kidlington, raising risks of pollution into the nearby river, provoked widespread outrage. The Environment Agency, which was first alerted to the illegal waste dump in July, said co-operation between officers from its major investigation team and the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit has led to the arrest of a 39-year-old man from the Guildford area. Southall fire LIVE: Huge blaze rips through warehouse as smoke billows across London skyline Huge blaze rips through warehouse in west London Chelsea XI vs Barcelona: Predicted lineup, confirmed team news, injury latest for Champions League today Chelsea XI vs Barcelona:…...

55+ min ago (808+ words) Rachel Reeves has vowed to be Chancellor in two years time as she urged Labour MPs to rally around her ahead of this week's Budget. The Chancellor called for unity from her party as she spoke in front of restive backbenchers - insisting she was proud of her statement which she'll deliver in the Commons on Wednesday. She described leaks within the Labour party in the run-up to the Budget as "incredibly destabilising" and hit back at "misogyny" in public life, the Times reports. In a defiant message to Labour MPs, she said: "I'll show the media, I'll show the Tories. I will not let them beat me. "I'll be there on Wednesday, I'll be there next year and I'll be back the year after that." Ms Reeves has long suggested she will have to hike taxes to fill a black…...

55+ min ago (655+ words) Rachel Reeves has urged Labour MPs to back her forthcoming Budget, as the final day before the major Government financial statement dawns. The Chancellor is due to deliver her second budget in the House of Commons on Wednesday, in which she is widely expected to pull the lever on tax hikes in order to fill a black hole in the public finances. Ms Reeves called for unity within the Labour Party as she spoke to restive backbenchers on Monday night, urging them to support her efforts to steer the national economy. Many Labour MPs are understood to have become increasingly frustrated about the prospect of tax rises on the horizon, amid their party's opinion poll slump less than two years into a term of government. At the gathering of the Parliamentary Labour Party, Ms Reeves told MPs that politics is…...

56+ min ago (925+ words) Pre-packaged milkshakes and lattes will be subject to the sugar tax, the Health Secretary has announced. Wes Streeting told the Commons on Tuesday the Government will end the exemption for milk-based beverages from the existing tax on sugary drinks. The move will affect products such as packaged milkshakes, coffees and sweetened yoghurt drinks but not drinks made on site in cafes and restaurants. Mr Streeting told MPs: "Obesity robs children of the best possible start in life, hits the poorest hardest, sets them up for a lifetime of health problems and costs the NHS billions. "So I can announce to the House, we're expanding the soft drinks industry levy to include bottles and cartons of milkshakes, flavoured milk and milk substitute drinks." Mr Streeting told MPs the Government would reduce the maximum amount of sugar allowed in drinks to 4.5g of…...