Keir Starmer issues direct attack on Nigel Farage as he slaps down ‘pure cold rage’ reaction to Henry Nowak murder

​Yvette Cooper defended the UK and France’s proposed mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz

Yvette Cooper defended the UK and France’s proposed mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz once the Iran war ends after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the plan a “catch-22”.

Asked whether that was a fair characterisation, the Foreign Secretary told the Press Association: “I think the issue is that we want it not to be needed, but we are preparing and ensuring that we have the maritime capability ready.

“So what we want is to have a ceasefire in place, to have all the mines removed by Iran and also to have safe passage and international shipping to get back to normal.

“But the reason for drawing together the maritime mission, which we’ve discussed many times with the US and also with 50 countries across the world, is to ensure we have additional demining capability wherever it might be needed, and also to have the support there to be able to provide escorts for shipping or reassurance for shipping if it is needed.

“The most important thing is to get that international agreement in place so that international shipping can return to normal without needing any further measures in place. But in order to get there, we need to show we’ve got the maritime support.”

Russian ambassador summoned by Foreign Office over Romanian drone incident

Vladimir Putin’s representative in the UK has been summoned to the Foreign Office after a Russian drone struck a building in Romania.

The Russian ambassador in London, Andrei Kelin, was called in for a dressing down over the incident last week, which left two people injured and violated the airspace of a Nato member state.

The incident saw a drone crash into a block of flats in the eastern Romanian city of Galati, near the country’s border with Ukraine.

Keir Starmer describes Royal Navy crash as ‘utterly tragic’ 

Sir Keir Starmer has described the Royal Navy helicopter crash as “utterly tragic”.

He said: “My thoughts are with the families, friends and loved ones of the three members of the Royal Navy who sadly lost their lives this morning.

“Thank you to the emergency services responding to this horrific incident.”

Labour MP issues plea to Nigel Farage in aftermath of Henry Novak’s death

Labour MP Luke Charters has issued a plea to Nigel Farage, begging him to “show restraint” in the aftermath of the murder and police treatment of Henry Nowak.

Speaking to GB News, the York Outer representative stressed the importance of unity after the bodycam footage of the 18-year-old student’s last moment shook the nation.

Reacting to the video, Mr Farage said it was “proof we live in a two-tier country” and said it prompted “pure, cold rage”.

However, Mr Charters implored the Reform leader to heed the wishes of Henry Nowak’s father, who said he “didn’t want things to be festering to division, and hatred”.

Read Marcus Donaldson’s full story here.

Three dead after Royal Navy helicopter crash in Devon

The debris from the crash site in Sourton Down | PA

Three members of the Royal Navy have died in a helicopter crash in Devon this morning, the Ministry of Defence have confirmed.

The crash occurred in the early hours of this morning in a field near Sourton Down, in central Devon.

Emergency services rushed to the scene close to Okehampton, Devon and Cornwall Police said.

The MoD confirmed the deaths of the Navy personnel on social media, writing: “It is with deep sadness that we can confirm three members of the Royal Navy have died during a helicopter training exercise on Wednesday 3 June near Sourton, Devon.”

Read the full story here.

Pat McFadden addresses awkward Peter Mandelson messages as he vows reform to benefits system

Pat McFadden has vowed to reform Britain’ benefits system in his first interview since messages he sent to Peter Mandleson were published.

Speaking to GB News, the Work and Pensions Secretary spoke on the private exchange with the New Labour architect over his frustrations with Labour’s welfare agenda.

“Every meeting I have is ‘who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others’. They’re asking the wrong questions,” Mr McFadden said to Lord Mandelson.

The embarrassing messages were released on Monday as part of a second tranche of files relating to the disgraced peer’s short-lived appointment as US ambassador and dealings with the Government.

Read Marcus Donaldson’s story here.

Southampton MP Darren Paffey calls for Henry Nowak’s story to ‘help make our streets safer for everyone’

Southampton’s MP addressed Henry Nowak’s murder and the unrest occurring in his constituency last night, outlining the slain 18-year-old’s family called for peace.

Darren Paffey said: “Less than 48 hours ago, the family of Henry Nowak stood on the steps of Southampton Crown Court and gave a courageous and dignified statement in which they said: ‘We want to use Henry’s heartbreaking story to make change for the better. We do not want his death to create further division, hatred, or tension. We want his story to help make our streets safer for everyone.’

“Does the Prime Minister agree with me that the violence we saw whipped up on the streets of Southampton last night, the criminal damage to innocent people’s homes, and the injuries to 11 police officers are the total opposite of what Henry’s own family clearly and powerfully called for?”

Sir Keir Starmer replied: “I thank him for his question, and for the discussion we had this morning about the impact in Southampton, and for the work he has done along with his fellow MP.

“The attacks directed towards police officers last night were disgraceful and completely unacceptable. There is no justification for further disorder.”

Andrew Rosindell: The local election results ‘show people’s disillusionment with the political establishment’

Reform MP Andrew Rosindell highlighted the local election results as an indicator of people’s “disillusionment” with the Government and asked the Prime Minister if he could deliver the A&E unit at Queen’s Hospital in Romford in his “final days”.

He said: “I wonder if the Prime Minister has had the chance to study the election results in Havering, with zero Labour councillors elected in Romford, zero Conservative councillors for the first time since 1964 across Havering, and the first Reform UK London borough, which shows people’s disillusionment with the political establishment.

“But in his final days as Prime Minister, does he think he can do something for the people of Romford and give us the Accident and Emergency unit at Queen’s Hospital, which he said he would deliver, but failed to do?”

Sir Keir Starmer responded: “We put record investment into the NHS to clear up the mess that he and others left behind.

The Prime Minister continued, mentioning Reform’s Makerfield candidate, Robert Kenyon.

He said: “I have studied the candidate for Makerfield, the Reform candidate, a self-professed sexist, said women who get abortion do it for vanity purposes, encouraged people not to get the Covid vaccine, and said Russia within its rights to invade Crimea.

“Reform have got nothing to offer but grievance and division yet again.”

Nigel Farage: ‘We are living under two-tier policing’ 

Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage asked the Prime Minister if he can make sure all British citizens are treated the same by the police, referring to the force’s anti-racism commitment, which outlined ethnic minorities should be treated differently to ensure equality outcomes.

Heckling and shouting from opposition MPs could be heard whilst Mr Farage spoke.

Sir Keir Starmer responded: “Speaker, I don’t believe there’s two-tier policing in this country.

“I’m really shocked that he pretends to have respect for Henry’s family, and then acts in this way. They are a grieving family.

“They have lost their son in the most appalling circumstance. They make a simple plea of us as human beings to please not explain. exploit that. That is their plea to us.

He further accused Nigel Farage of “exploiting this tragedy to create grievance and division”, calling it “unforgivable”.

Ed Davey: ‘Labour now seems to be investing in a new weapon of war, the long form essay’

Sir Ed Davey referenced the critical essay Sir Tony Blair wrote last week, which slammed Sir Keir Starmer’s policies and other senior politicians.

He said: “Labour now seems to be investing in a new weapon of war, the long form essay – it gives another meaning to the phrase ‘drone warfare’.

“Tony Blair says the UK should suck up to Donald Trump, kowtow to US tech barons, and go slow on Europe. The Prime Minister must be grateful for this rare endorsement of his agenda.

“Blair also claims that the sensible people aren’t radical and the radical people aren’t sensible. Is the Prime Minister concerned that unless he changes course, he will be remembered for being neither radical nor sensible?”

Sir Keir responded: “‘I’m surprised he hasn’t done more to welcome the savings we’re delivering for family fun days out this summer. I really thought that he would be delighted for the cheaper tickets for soft play.”

‘The Prime Minister has given up because they have given up on him’, says Kemi Badenoch 

Kemi Badenoch defended the Shadow Chancellor with an increasing welfare bill and instead blamed Sir Keir Starmer for “giving up”.

She said: “It’s not the Shadow Chancellor who’s the problem, it’s the actual Chancellor. She’s not even here in her place.

“The reason why there is no welfare bill is because the Prime Minister has given up, and he’s given up because they have given up on him.”

Sir Keir responded: “All the measures we’re doing to reform welfare, the measures we’re taking to get young people into work, are measures to reduce the cost and the numbers of people who are unemployed.

“That’s why we’ve introduced the Youth Guarantee, so that young people can have help into work, that they can then, after 18 months, if they haven’t got a job, be given a job for six months, supported, which we know is the best way to ensure that they succeed as we go forward.

“That is the change that we’re making.”

Kemi Badenoch: ‘How much has the Welfare Bill risen since the Prime Minister came to office?’

Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch asked the Prime Minister how much the welfare bill has risen since he came to office.

Sir Keir responded: “She knows we inherited a broken system from the party opposite. We are now improving that system delivering a youth guarantee, rolling out 300,000 work experience placements and commissioned Alan Milburn Tribune into youth unemployment.

“They’re the steps that we were taking, as she will know the number on welfare went up hugely on their watch, as did the cost under the Shadow Chancellor.”

Roz Savage poses question on corruption in political donations

Liberal Democrat MP Roz Savage asked Sir Keir about financial corruption in political donations.

She said: “Will the Prime Minister now commit to restoring the faith of the British public in the integrity of our British democracy by putting a cap on all political donations?”

Sir Keir Starmer responded: “We capped overseas donations and introduced a moratorium on crypto donations, and we are taking further action as set out in the King’s speech, but the $5million question still remains. Why is the leader of Reform dodging questions about his donations, and why did he keep it secret in the first place?”

Keir Starmer: Henry Nowak’s family has ‘shown extraordinary dignity’

PMQs have kicked off this lunchtime, with Sir Keir Starmer acknowledges Henry Nowak’s murder, but condemns the unrest in Southampton in response.

He said: “Henry Nowak’s family have shown extraordinary dignity after their son’s life was stolen in appalling circumstances.

“He was clearly a kind and thoughtful and much loved young man.

“There are serious questions to answer, including how accusations of racism informed police thinking, and we’re supporting the IOPC to get to the bottom of what happened.

“The attacks directed towards police officers in Southampton last night were disgraceful and completely unacceptable. This is a time for serious work, not rage.”

PICTURED: Keir Starmer on his way to PMQs

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Sir Keir Starmer was snapped departing Downing Street as he makes his way to Parliament to attend PMQs.

PMQs: Who has been selected to ask questions today?

The following MPs have been selected to pose questions to Sir Keir Starmer during PMQs in just under half an hour.

Here is the full list:

• Dr Roz Savage — South Cotswolds (Liberal Democrats)
• Liz Saville Roberts — Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Plaid Cymru)
• Natasha Irons — Croydon East (Labour)
• Brian Leishman — Alloa and Grangemouth (Labour)
• Rosie Duffield — Canterbury (Independent, formerly Labour)
• Noah Law — St Austell and Newquay (Labour)
• Andrew Rosindell — Romford (Reform UK, formerly Conservative)
• Sarah Green — Chesham and Amersham (Liberal Democrats)
• Bob Blackman — Harrow East (Conservative)
• Dr Danny Chambers — Winchester (Liberal Democrats)
• Daniel Francis — Bexleyheath and Crayford (Labour)
• Tristan Osborne — Chatham and Aylesford (Labour)
• Victoria Collins — Harpenden and Berkhamsted (Liberal Democrats)
• Warinder Juss — Wolverhampton West (Labour)

Police anti-racism commitment is ‘racist’, says Chris Philp 

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has condemned the police’s anti-racism commitment as “immoral and dangerous” and is “itself racist”.

He said in response to police minister Sarah Jones’s comments on the commitment this morning: “The Police Anti Racism Commitment is immoral and dangerous, and is itself racist.

“It expressly calls for different ethnic groups to be treated different to artificially engineer the same arrest rates. I have been calling out this nonsense for the last year and the Home Secretary repeatedly ignored me – including yesterday in Parliament. And yesterday Number 10 were still denying there is two tier policing.

“Now we are witnessing yet another U-turn from this weak government. It should not have taken the tragic death of Henry Nowak to make Labour finally see sense. But given Keir Starmer’s enthusiasm for taking the knee, it is not surprising.

“This divisive and dangerous so-called anti racist ideology now needs to be rooted from all of policing and the whole public sector.”

The commitment was published in March 2025.

Danny Kruger: We will transition Britain from a military ‘regional heavyweight’ to global ‘super heavyweight’

Reform UK MP Danny Kruger said the party would transition the UK from a “regional heavyweight” to a “super heavyweight” on the global stage in terms of its defence capaibility.

Speaking to GB News, he blamed a “generation of underinvestment” in the forces and a misguided procurement strategy which has led the country’s military might to dwindle.

The MP for East Wiltshire said: “We need to make it less sensible for our opponents to have a crack at us, whether that’s directly through what’s called kinetic warfare, directly with military means, or in what’s called the ‘gray zone’ of civilian attacks on our infrastructure and on it.

“So we harden the target, and we invest directly in our armed forces. We need to get rapidly up to that 3.5 per cent of GDP, which is the new Nato target, but we need, crucially, to spend that money so much better than we do at the moment.”

BBC journalist apologises to Nigel Farage for misquote 

BBC journalist Matt Chorley has issued an apology to Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage after misquoting him on Newsnight yesterday evening.

On X, Mr Chorley said: “I owe Nigel Farage an apology.

“During last night’s Newsnight we covered the murder of Henry Nowak and the political reaction to the case, including discussing Nigel Farage’s comments about “pure, cold rage”.

“However I referred to “white cold rage”. This was a mistake on my part, a misremembering of the quote.

“It didn’t change the content of the interview but I should have got the quote right. I apologise to Nigel Farage for this.”

Eleven officers and one police dog injured, confirms Hampshire Police 

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Eleven officers and one police dog have been injured during the protests last night in Southampton, Hampshire Police have confirmed.

In a written statement, the force said: We understand and appreciate as police officers that we are accountable for our actions. What we ask, however, is that those actions are judged through fair and transparent processes.

“In this case, that process is already under way with the IOPC conducting their independent investigation.

“What we, as a society, cannot accept is the violent scenes we saw in Southampton last night.

“Some clearly arrived intent on causing disorder and trouble.

“We saw bottles thrown, makeshift weapons used, damage caused to the homes and vehicles of innocent residents, and threats and violence directed towards our officers.

“As a result, 11 officers and one police dog were injured, while trying to do their job to protect the communities that we serve.”

Wes Streeting defends Kemi Badenoch over Reform UK’s ‘wilful misrepresentation’ of her in advert

Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting has come to the defence of Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch, after Reform UK selectively used her quote about “white lives matter” in an advert.

Mrs Badenoch said yesterday on Good Morning Britain: “I don’t want to hear about Black Lives Matter. I don’t want to hear about White Lives Matter. Everyone matters.”

Reform UK then selectively took the quote “I don’t want to hear about about White Lives Matter” and created a poster juxtaposing a quote she said in 2020 – “black lives do matter”.

Mr Streeting took to social media to express his condemnation of the advertisement, writing on X: “I’m not going to amplify Reform’s ad by sharing it, but the wilful misrepresentation of Kemi Badenoch – selectively quoting what she said about ‘white lives matter’ – is disgraceful and dangerous.

“It needs to be challenged, including by those of us who are not Conservatives.”

Private schools revealed to have hemorrhaged 30,000 students since Rachel Reeves’s VAT raid

The number of pupils at private schools has dramatically fallen by 30,000 since the introduction of VAT on fees.

According to new figures, pupil numbers are down by 6.6 per cent in some year groups with the number of children at private schools falling by 20,000 in the past year alone.

Labour’s policy to impose 20 per cent VAT on private school fees was introduced on January 1 last year.

However, far fewer families are now choosing to enrol at the start of primary, prep school or sixth form, reports The Times.

Read George Bunn’s story here.

Policing minister: the force’s anti-racism commitment is ‘clumsy’ 

Policing minister Sarah Jones told GB News the police’s anti-racism commitment is “clumsy”.

The “values document”, introduced in March 2025, advises the police to treat people of ethnic minorities differently in order to maintain equal treatment of people in policing.

However, Ms Jones said she thought the document “was wrong” and gives “the wrong impression”.

She said: “Everyone is equal under the law – I would think this is probably everyone’s view across the country. We have to make sure that is always the case. And I think in the vast majority of cases, the police respond in the right way.”

Kemi Badenoch: Henry Nowak’s murder ‘must be a seminal moment for Britain’

Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch has said Henry Nowak’s murder “must be a seminal moment for Britain on a par with the murder of Stephen Lawrence”.

Writing in the Daily Mail, Mrs Badenoch said: “Henry’s murder and the police’s botched response must be a seminal moment for Britain on a par with the murder of Stephen Lawrence, the black teenager killed in 1993, which precipitated the Macpherson Report six years later, which found the Metropolitan Police to be ‘institutionally racist'”.

She also drew attention to how Sir Keir Starmer had bent the knee during the Black Lives Matter movement, alongside Angela Rayner.

Mrs Badenoch wrote: “Why are they not kneeling now for Henry Nowak?”

Sir Keir did address the case yesterday, saying he “felt sick” watching the bodycam footage of Mr Nowak’s arrest, concluding “serious questions need to be addressed”.

Shadow Justice Secretary condemns Southampton unrest but calls for answers over ‘mistakes’ from Henry Nowak’s murder 

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy condemned the outbreak of public disorder in Southampton last night as large crowds expressed their outrage over Henry Nowak’s murder, but called into question why the criminal justice system and its apparatus is “making mistakes of that kind”.

Speaking to GB News, he said: “Violence and public disorder is never acceptable. It’s not an appropriate way to respond to this. I don’t think there’s actually any political debate about the rights and wrongs of public disorder.

“The debate really lies in what are the reasons as to why law enforcement agencies and why our criminal justice system are making mistakes of the kind that we saw with Henry’s death.

“Why did the police respond to that situation by appearing to prioritise the murderer’s claim of racism rather than listening to Henry’s desperate pleas for help?”

Nick Timothy: ‘Our law enforcement are being corrupted by political correctness’ 

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy described Henry Nowak’s murder as “not an isolated example”.

Speaking to GB News, he said: “This is not an isolated example and our criminal justice system and our law enforcement are being corrupted by political correctness and by left-wing ideologies that talk about equity rather than equality.

“They say that we need to treat people differently on the basis of their racial and their religious identity. That has to be completely wrong.”

‘I don’t care how ceremonial your dagger is’ – Zia Yusuf outlines Reform’s Equal Treatment Act 

Reform’s spokesman for Home Affairs Zia Yusuf has drawn comparisons between the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and Henry Nowak’s killing last year.

Speaking to GB News, he pointed out how politicians and other public institutions weighed in on supporting the Black Lives Matter movement which spun out following Mr Floyd’s murder at the hands of US police, but the same response has not been witnessed for Mr Nowak’s killing.

Mr Yusuf also drew attention to Reform proposing a new policy called the Equal Treatment Act, which would see DEI policies being abolished across police forces.

He said: “Our position, Nigel’s position, Reform’s position is simple – everyone is equal.

“The other part of the act will be to end the religious exemption that allows some religious to carry deadly weapons, and as I said this morning, ‘I don’t care how ceremonial your dagger is’.

“If you’re not law enforcement under a Reform Government, you will not get to carry deadly weapons on our streets. Full stop.”

Policing minister urges people to not ‘overreact’ following Henry Nowak murder 

Policing minister Sarah Jones has urged people not to “overreact” following the murder of Henry Nowak, after two arrests were made during unrest in Southampton.

The MP for Croydon West confirmed one person had been arrested for assaulting a police officer and another for possession of a weapon, and appealed for calm, pointing to the dignity shown by Nowak’s family.

Speaking on Times Radio she said: “We can’t allow — and the family said this, and they have acted with such dignity — they have said we do not want to create further division, hatred, or tension, and I think we need to respect that.”