All posts tagged: row

Politics Home | Keir Starmer Sacks Foreign Office Permanent Secretary Over Mandelson Vetting Row

Politics Home | Keir Starmer Sacks Foreign Office Permanent Secretary Over Mandelson Vetting Row

Published by Sam Flores

2 min read49 min The most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office is leaving his role over the Lord Mandelson vetting row. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper have lost confidence in Olly Robbins, who will be standing down as the department’s permanent secretary as a result, PoliticsHome understands. His departure comes after The Guardian reported on Thursday that Mandelson was appointed the UK ambassador to the US in 2024 despite failing his security vetting. No 10 later released a statement saying that the Foreign Office was responsible for the vetting process and went ahead with appointing Mandelson to the job in Washington despite the failure, without telling the Prime Minister or any other minister. Downing Street added that Starmer had been first made aware earlier this week. The Prime Minister is expected to make a statement to the House of Commons on Monday to correct previous statements he has made about the process by which Mandelson was appointed. He is expected to tell MPs that he did not unknowingly mislead Parliament when …

Pope says world ‘is being ravaged by tyrants’ as row with Trump continues – POLITICO

Pope says world ‘is being ravaged by tyrants’ as row with Trump continues – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Members of the Trump administration have portrayed the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran as a religious crusade. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last month claimed troops participating in the operation were being protected by “the providence of our almighty God.” On Thursday he erroneously cited a Bible verse while describing the rescue of a downed pilot, compared reporters to the self-righteous Pharisees of the Bible, and said U.S. troops were fighting “in the name of Jesus Christ.” The religious references have irked the pope, who has been one of the war’s most vocal opponents. “God does not bless any conflict,” the pontiff wrote on X earlier this month. “Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.” Trump lashed out at the pope last Sunday, when he took to Truth Social to call Leo “weak” on crime and “terrible” on foreign policy. The pontiff responded by telling reporters travelling with him on the papal plane on Monday …

Adrien Brody in Death Row Drama

Adrien Brody in Death Row Drama

Published by Daniella Wilson

Righteous indignation over the travesty of the American justice system and staunch advocacy against wrongful incarceration make it natural to want to applaud The Fear of 13. The same goes for Adrien Brody’s intensely wrought performance as Nick Yarris, who spent 22 years on death row in Pennsylvania for a murder and rape he did not commit.  Lindsey Ferrentino’s one-act play is based on a 2015 documentary of the same name by British filmmaker David Sington, in which Yarris proves a commanding narrator of his own frequently discursive story. But on stage, it’s an awkward mix, with a lot of monotonously earnest direct address and too few dramatized scenes to lend it vitality. The play was well-received in its London premiere two years ago at the more intimate 250-seat Donmar Warehouse in a different production that also starred Brody. Broadway director David Cromer presumably has had to scale up for a space with a capacity of just over 1,000, which does the lumpy material no favors. Sadly, nor does the casting of Tessa Thompson as Jacki Miles, the …

Epstein accusations fly in Senate after César Chávez Monument row

Epstein accusations fly in Senate after César Chávez Monument row

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah (left) and U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) Chip Somodevilla | Kayla Bartkowski | Getty Images Jeffrey Epstein allegations flew during a spat between Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., over the fate of the César Chávez National Monument. Heinrich, the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, objected to a bill on Tuesday to defund and close the monument after multiple women accused Chávez — an icon in the farm labor movement — of sexual assault. Heinrich objected to the bill, citing concerns that erasing the monument would diminish the work of other leaders in the farm labor movement. “I agree unequivocally that we should no longer have a monument named after Cesar Chavez,” he said on the Senate floor after objecting. “But we absolutely should not erase the monuments telling of the story of the farm labor movement. That is a story that belongs to many people, including the survivors of Chavez’s violence.” Chávez, who died in 1993, was accused by several women who …

UK Jewish leader speaks out after Kanye West Wireless row: ‘Nazism will never be allowed to pay’

UK Jewish leader speaks out after Kanye West Wireless row: ‘Nazism will never be allowed to pay’

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the inside track from Roisin O’Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This A Jewish leader has hit out at Kanye West during a gathering outside Parliament for the UK’s National Yom HaShoah. Phil Rosenberg, the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said Nazism ”will never be allowed to pay” after the American rapper, who has used Nazi imagery and antisemitic language, was blocked from headlining Wireless festival in July. West had previously released a song called Heil Hitler and sold swastika T-shirts. He later apologised and blamed his bipolar disorder. “Nazism does not pay. It will not pay, and it will never be allowed to pay,” Mr Rosenberg said on Monday evening at the Yom HaShoah event, marking the Jewish day of remembrance for the Holocaust. “There are also those in our own time, well known public figures, including Kanye West, who have openly described themselves as Nazis and sought to glorify …

NHS nurse wins settlement over trans patient row | UK News

NHS nurse wins settlement over trans patient row | UK News

Published by Sam Flores

A nurse warned for addressing a transgender patient with incorrect pronouns and then suspended over an alleged breach of patient confidentiality has won a settlement against the NHS. Jennifer Melle, from Croydon, London, said she was racially abused by a transgender patient at St Helier Hospital in Carshalton in May 2024 after she referred to them as “Mr”. The 41-year-old was given a written warning and continued in her role at the hospital in south London, but in March 2025 she was suspended with full pay after speaking to the media about her experience. NHS officials were concerned the patient could be identified from media reports, potentially breaching patient confidentiality. Epsom and St Helier Hospitals NHS Trust also wrote to the patient to warn them that threatening and racist language was not tolerated. Ms Melle was reinstated to clinical duties in January following a private disciplinary meeting which ruled she will face no further action over the alleged breach of patient confidentiality. She still faces ongoing investigations by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Epsom and …

Trump launches astonishing new attack on the Pope in row over nukes – ‘he likes crime’ | World | News

Trump launches astonishing new attack on the Pope in row over nukes – ‘he likes crime’ | World | News

Published by Sam Flores

A few hours after criticising Pope Leo XIV on Truth Social, Donald Trump launched into a new attack against the head of the Catholic Church. Speaking to reporters on Sunday night, the US President replied to a journalist who asked him why he had criticised the pope. Launching a scathing attack, Trump said he doesn’t think the US-born pope is “doing a very good job”, before adding that “he likes crime I guess”. He continued: “We don’t like a pope who says it is ok to have a nuclear weapon. “We don’t want a pope that says crime is ok in our cities. I don’t like it.” Concluding his rant the 79-year-old said: “I am not a big fan of Pope Leo. He is a very liberal person and he’s a man that doesn’t believe in stopping crime. “He’s a man that doesn’t think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so that they can blow up the world. I’m not a fan of Pope Leo.” It was only …

Tiffany Haddish to Host The Daily Front Row Fashion Los Angeles Awards

Tiffany Haddish to Host The Daily Front Row Fashion Los Angeles Awards

Published by Daniella Wilson

On Tuesday, April 14, the pool and ballroom at the Beverly Hills Hotel will once again turn into a peacock parade of influencers, models, actors, designers and stylists for the Daily Front Row’s Fashion Los Angeles Awards, one of the Hollywood style crowd’s favorite excuses to play dress-up. This year’s ceremony, the 10th annual, comes with an added attraction: Tiffany Haddish as host. That should help keep things lively. Haddish is not just funny, she’s also a genuine fashion obsessive. “I love love love clothes,” she’s admitted to The Hollywood Reporter. “I change as often as possible! Beyonce’ has an entire house full of clothes – that’s what I want. That’s what I aspire to.” This year’s honorees include models Brooks Nader (Breakthrough Fashion Talent award) and Carolyn Murphy (Beauty Icon); Kelsey Deenihan (Makeup Artist of the Year); Sam Woolf (Breakthrough Music Stylist of the Year); Mara Roszak (Hair Artist of the Year); Mark Holmes (Men’s Stylist of the Year); Courtney Mays (Sports Stylist of the Year); and Andrea Lieberman’s A.L.C. label (Powerhouse Brand). Lieberman, …

Starmer ally paves way for fresh row with Labour rebels over benefits cuts

Starmer ally paves way for fresh row with Labour rebels over benefits cuts

Published by Sam Flores

One of Sir Keir Starmer’s top allies has paved the way for another fight with MPs over benefits cuts, calling for “further reform” to Britain’s welfare bill. In a move that risks a repeat of last year’s chaotic U-turn, which sparked questions over the prime minister’s authority, education secretary Bridget Phillipson said there “needs to be further reform to the social security system for people to get back into work”. Last year, Sir Keir attempted to impose welfare reforms that would have saved around £5bn per year, but he was forced to U-turn on the majority of the cuts at the last minute following a furious revolt by Labour backbenchers. The government was facing a humiliating defeat, with more than 120 Labour MPs having signed a rebel amendment seeking to kill the welfare bill. There is now a growing expectation that the government will attempt fresh reforms in the autumn to slash the ballooning welfare bill. Speaking to The Independent after the government lifted the two-child benefit cap this week, Ms Phillipson insisted that the …

Islanders Fire Coach Patrick Roy After Losing 4 in a Row, Name Peter DeBoer His Replacement

Islanders Fire Coach Patrick Roy After Losing 4 in a Row, Name Peter DeBoer His Replacement

Published by Sam Flores

NEW YORK (AP) — Patrick Roy was fired as coach of the New York Islanders on Sunday, another late-season change in the NHL that comes with the team in the middle of a spring tailspin that has put its playoff chances in jeopardy. Getting outshot 40-16 and losing 4-3 at division-leading Carolina on Saturday night in another must-win game was the final straw for Darche, who took over last summer and decided at the time to keep Roy behind the bench. This is not an interim move. DeBoer is taking the job full time. The 57-year-old is fresh off serving as an assistant on coach Jon Cooper’s Canada’s staff at the Milan Cortina Olympics, serving as an advanced scout and helping a talented group reach the final before losing to the U.S. in overtime. “More of preparation was just when everybody arrived here and you’ve got basically three days to prepare, that a lot of the grunt work is done,” DeBoer said in Milan. “I was involved in the scouting selection process. That was totally …