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Labour warned plan to jail fewer offenders undermines strategy to protect women and girls – UK politics live | Politics
Sentencing bill plan for fewer offenders to go to jail will undermine VAWG strategy, victims’ commissioner claims
Here are some more extracts from the statement about the VAWG strategy issued by Claire Waxman, the incoming victims’ commissioner for England and Wales. Here comments about funding were quoted at 9.25am. But other points are worth noting.
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Waxman says that, while elements of the plan are welcome, it remains to be seen if, overall, it will provide what is needed.
While many individual initiatives are welcome, it remains to be seen whether the overall Strategy provides the scale, pace, and leadership required to match the government’s ambition – and truly tackle this emergency.
In terms of specific measures, the national rollout of the Child House model – pioneered by Lighthouse in London – is a welcome step I have long called for. It marks vital progress towards delivering on the recommendations of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.
There is more about the Child House model here, and more on the Lighthouse here.
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She also welcomes the expansion of Operation Soteria, a police/CPS partnership to improve the prosecution of rape and serious sexual offences.
I also welcome initiatives such as the expansion of Operation Soteria to reduce the re-traumatisation too many victims experience in the trial process. Long after my 2019 rape review, ‘end-to-end’ reform of the justice system for serious sexual offences is finally in sight – but only if the government now delivers on its commitment to independent legal advice for rape survivors, and tackles the long waits for justice.
Without clear, sustainable investment and cross-government leadership, I am concerned we run the risk of the Strategy amounting to less than the sum of its parts; a wish-list of tactical measures rather than a bold, unifying strategic framework.
The Sentencing Bill underlines this lack of cohesion. Victims need confidence that the system will protect them, yet under the proposals in the bill, the reality is that many abusers will avoid prison entirely or benefit from early release – undermining the very safety this Strategy seeks to guarantee.
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Updated at 11.04 CET
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UK willing to share with EU allies risks of using frozen Russian allies to help Ukraine, No 10 suggests
Downing Street has indicated that Britain is prepared to share the risks with European allies of using frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine.
At the morning lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson was repeatedly asked if the government was willing to accept Belgium’s requests to share the risk of unlocking frozen Russian assets for use in Ukraine.
He indicated the Government would, telling reporters:
I think it’s evident within the government’s actions that what we want to see is those immobilised assets used to support Ukraine.
We believe that delivering these funds sends a very clear signal to Putin that he cannot outlast the support of the UK and our allies, that is what we remain focused on.
ShareKemi Badenoch soldering a circuit board during a visit to Evolve Dynamics, a company working on drone technology, in Farnham, Hampshire, today. Photograph: Jordan Pettitt/PAShare
Part of the VAWG strategy being announced shortly will involve getting schools to teach their pupils more about consent, misogyny and healthy relationships. One person who might not approve is Nick Gibb, the former Tory schools minister. In a memoir published recently, Reforming Lessons: Why English Schools Have Improved Since 2010 and How This Was Achieved, written with Robert Peal, he is critical of interventions like this. He says:
On the question of adding non-academic subjects to the national curriculum, calls in the media that ‘schools should really teach [insert favoured issues here]’ are the bane of life of any school reformer interested in raising standards … In 2018, Parents and Teachers for Excellence (a campaign group sympathetic to our reforms) decided to monitor this phenomenon, which they termed ‘curriculum dumping’. That year, they identified 213 such calls for the school curriculum to incorporate new topics, including knife crime, obesity, gambling, litter picking, bushcraft, sadomasochism, Love Island, sign language, the 1819 Peterloo Massacre, revenge porn, tree climbing, trampolining, and, rather extraordinarily, ‘how to swear’. In individual cases, all of these issues (well, almost all) had merit in being known, but taken together, no school in the country has enough hours in the year to cover such a panoply of fleeting media fancies.
Many ex-ministers write books, but mostly they focus on politics. Gibb was unusual because he did the same job, on and off, for more than 10 years, and he became a proper expert in his portfolio. As a political memoir, his book is exceptional because it’s a serious book about policy. For anyone at all interested in education, Reforming Lessons is a good read.
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Ash Regan faces two-day suspension from Holyrood over code of conduct breach during gender recognition row
Severin Carrell
Severin Carrell is the Guardian’s Scotland editor.
Ash Regan, a former Scottish National party minister who defected to Alex Salmond’s nationalist party Alba, faces a two-day suspension from the Scottish parliament for breaching its code of conduct in a row over gender recognition.
Holyrood’s standards committee has recommended Regan, who now sits as an independent after quitting Alba some months after losing a leadership contest, be suspended on a Wednesday and Thursday – its busiest two days. That needs to be approved by a full vote in parliament, after the Christmas recess.
It ruled she had breached the MSP’s code by posting a claim on the social media site X which attacked the Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman, over remarks Chapman made about the UK supreme court ruling on the definition of woman.
Chapman has been one of Holyrood’s most vociferous supporters of trans rights; Regan is one of its most vociferous gender critical activists.
Regan said on X: “I’ve formally reported Maggie Chapman MSP to the presiding officer and standards committee following her dangerous dismissal of the supreme court’s ruling on the Equality Act as a ‘political attack’. MSPs have a duty to uphold the law, not undermine it.”
After considering a report from Holyrood’s ethics commissioner, the committee unanimously agreed this was a breach of part 9.1 of the code of conduct, which bars MSPs from disclosing, communicating or discussing complaints about other MSPs before a report on that complaint has been published.
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VAWG minister Jess Phillips says UK will consider results of Australia’s social media ban for under-16s ‘very closely’
In interviews last week, Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, played down the prospect of the UK following Australia and banning under-16s from having their own social media accounts. She did not rule out the idea, but she said she did not believe it would be easy to enforce.
But, in her interviews this morning, Jess Phillips, the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls (VAWG) sounded much more positive about the Australian experience, saying the government would consider it “very closely”. She told Times Radio:
What I would say is that you cannot have a violence against women and girls policy that doesn’t look at the online environment, or certainly one that looks at misogyny and the behaviours of boys who grow into men without looking at an online world …
The government will be looking very, very closely at what is happening in Australia, and we would always take the best of what is available around the world with regard to the safety and security of children.
But Phillips also said the UK had been a “trailblazer” for online safety.
Today, when the full policies are announced in the violence against women and girls strategy, you will see that online harm, online harms to children, are very, very much part of that.
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Updated at 12.38 CET
MPs cheer as speaker tells them employment rights bill has received royal assent
The employment rights bill has received royal assent, which means it is now the Employment Rights Act and it is law, Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, told the Commons this morning. Labour MPs cheered when they heard the news.
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Voters overwhelmingly favour UK rejoining Erasmus student exchange scheme, poll suggests
Richard Adams
Richard Adams is the Guardian’s education editor.
The British public supports the government’s decision to rejoin the Erasmus youth education and work experience programme, according to snap polling released by YouGov.
The pollsters asked 7,300 adults about one element of the scheme – UK students spending “a year at European universities as part of their UK degrees courses without paying extra fees, and vice versa for European students” – and found that 65% would support it and only 12% were opposed, while 22% answered “don’t know”.
The good news for the government is that younger people aged 18 to 24 – those most likely to take part – were even more enthusiastic.
However the question didn’t note the £570m cost to the UK for one years’ membership, which shadow education secretary Laura Trott described as “nuts”. It also didn’t mention that the Erasmus+ programme includes far more than university students: before the UK left in 2020 schools were its most active participants.
The question’s mention of studying “without paying extra fees” suggests that the higher education element will operate as it did prior to 2020, although that remains to be set out, according to university leaders.
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Jess Phillips’s statement to MPs about the VAWG strategy will start after noon, after the business statement is over. After that, there will be two more ministerial statements – from Luke Pollard, the armed forces minister, on Ukraine, and from Alison McGovern, the local government minister, on local government reorganisation.
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Crown court backlog for England and Wales rises to almost 80,000
The crown court backlog in England and Wales has risen to nearly 80,000 cases in a new record high, PA Media reports. PA says:
Data published this morning showed the open caseload was 79,619 at the end of September, up 2% from 78,096 at the end of June.
It is also up 9% from the same point a year earlier, according to Ministry of Justice figures.
The number of cases open for a year or more passed 20,000 for the first time at 20,155 at the end of September, which is up 25% year on year and up 6% from the end of June.
Open caseload refers to the number of outstanding cases.
Ministry of Justice projections published earlier this month suggested the crown court backlog could reach a high estimate of 125,000 by the end of this parliament under current conditions. David Lammy, the deputy PM and justice secretary, says his plans to limit jury trials will help to reduce this.
Commenting on the figures today, Lammy said:
This Government inherited a system on the brink of collapse.
Victims’ lives are being put on hold as cases are kicked several years into the future.
The scale of this crisis means tinkering at the edges is not enough. We simply cannot spend our way out of this mess – only fundamental reform can give the brave survivors of crime fairer and faster justice.
Crown court backlog figures for England and Wales Photograph: MoJShare
Here is Jessica Elgot’s full story about Keir Starmer planning to hold the king’s speech more or less straight after the elections next year for the Scottish parliament, the Senedd in Wales and English councils. They take place on Thursday 7 May.
Henry Zeffman from the BBC says the king’s speech will take place either on Tuesday 12 May or Wednesday 13 May.
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Tories propose re-allocating £17bn in government spending for defence, mostly from net zero projects
Kemi Badenoch has vowed to scrap green spending to pay for a multibillion-pound fund to rearm the UK, PA Media report. PA says:
Accusing Labour of failing to invest in the UK’s armed forces, the Conservative leader has proposed reallocating £17bn to “accelerate” Britain’s “war readiness”.
She said: “We must ensure our armed forces are equipped and ready to defend our country, because defence of the realm must be the first priority of any government.”
The money includes £11bn from the national wealth fund that is currently allocated to net zero projects, with the fund itself turned into a new national defence and resilience bank.
Another £6bn over three years would be taken from the government’s research and development budget and given to the Ministry of Defence to invest in new technology.
Alongside investment from the private sector, the Tories said they expected their plan to mobilise £50bn for defence.
Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said the money would “deliver the drone revolution our armed forces require” and create a “more lethal” military.
As well as investing in UK defence firms, the money is expected to be used to build more resilient supply chains, reducing Britain’s reliance on “hostile states” such as China.
Labour has previously pledged to raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP from 2027 and to 3% by the end of the decade.
The Tories claim that, together, these measures would fund a £50b “sovereign defence fund”. In a briefing, this is how they explain it.
-£6bn (£2bn per annum over the course of this parliament) would be reallocated from the Research and Development (R&D) budget in the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology to the MOD. It is well known that defence technology and innovation can have spillover effects into other sectors, like communications and transport, causing a multiplier effect.
-£11bn ringfenced from the national wealth fund (NWF) – which will become the national defence and resilience bank (NDRB). This funding is currently allocated to many of Ed Miliband’s costly eco-projects. We would leave the remainder of financing in the fund for national resilience like water and transport.
-Approximately £33bnn of private finance via NDRB mobilisation. The existing NWF target of mobilising £3 of private investment for every £1 of public investment would remain for the SDF – so this could unlock tens of billions of pounds in private investment.
In response, a Labour party spokesperson said:
The Tories are gaslighting the British public on defence.
These are yet more fantasy figures from a Conservative party that cut defence by £12bn in their first five years in power. Look at their record: their time in office starved our forces of funding, drove down morale and left Britain less safe. They did it before, and they’d do it again.
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Labour MPs denounce plan to limit jury trials as ‘madness’ and likely to ’cause more problems than it solves’
Almost 40 Labour MPs have signed an open letter to Keir Starmer describing the government’s plans to limit access to jury trials as madness.
In the letter, organised by Karl Turner, who is normally a loyalist, the MPs say:
The drastic restriction of the right to trial by jury is not a silver bullet. To limit a fundamental right for what will make a marginal difference to the backlog, if any, is madness and will cause more problems than it solves.
Letter by Labour MPs condeming plan to limit trial by jury Photograph: Karl Turner
The government has a working majority of 167 and so, even if all 39 MPs who have signed the letter were to vote against the government when it legislates for its plans next year, they would not be enough to see it defeated.
But there are other Labour MPs who share the concerns of this group, and the government is already under strong pressure to a sunset clause on the plans – meaning the jury trial restrictions were time-limited for just a few years – as a compromise.
Ben Quinn has more on the story here.
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Schools in England warning of rise in misogyny towards teachers, says Phillips
Schools have warned of growing misogyny from pupils towards teachers and a lack of avenues to seek help about concerns over sexually aggressive behaviour, Jess Phillips, the VAWG minister, has said. Jessica Elgot has the story.
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Sentencing bill plan for fewer offenders to go to jail will undermine VAWG strategy, victims’ commissioner claims
Here are some more extracts from the statement about the VAWG strategy issued by Claire Waxman, the incoming victims’ commissioner for England and Wales. Here comments about funding were quoted at 9.25am. But other points are worth noting.
-
Waxman says that, while elements of the plan are welcome, it remains to be seen if, overall, it will provide what is needed.
While many individual initiatives are welcome, it remains to be seen whether the overall Strategy provides the scale, pace, and leadership required to match the government’s ambition – and truly tackle this emergency.
In terms of specific measures, the national rollout of the Child House model – pioneered by Lighthouse in London – is a welcome step I have long called for. It marks vital progress towards delivering on the recommendations of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.
There is more about the Child House model here, and more on the Lighthouse here.
-
She also welcomes the expansion of Operation Soteria, a police/CPS partnership to improve the prosecution of rape and serious sexual offences.
I also welcome initiatives such as the expansion of Operation Soteria to reduce the re-traumatisation too many victims experience in the trial process. Long after my 2019 rape review, ‘end-to-end’ reform of the justice system for serious sexual offences is finally in sight – but only if the government now delivers on its commitment to independent legal advice for rape survivors, and tackles the long waits for justice.
Without clear, sustainable investment and cross-government leadership, I am concerned we run the risk of the Strategy amounting to less than the sum of its parts; a wish-list of tactical measures rather than a bold, unifying strategic framework.
The Sentencing Bill underlines this lack of cohesion. Victims need confidence that the system will protect them, yet under the proposals in the bill, the reality is that many abusers will avoid prison entirely or benefit from early release – undermining the very safety this Strategy seeks to guarantee.
Share
Updated at 11.04 CET
Starmer planning to hold next king’s speech soon after May elections
Jessica Elgot
Jessica Elgot is the Guardian’s deputy political editor.
Keir Starmer is planning for a new king’s speech after the crunch May elections as a reset moment for the government amid speculation over the prime minister’s future.
Senior sources in parliament said planning was under way to end the parliamentary session the week after local elections in England, making it a significantly longer session than normal, and nearly two years since Labour first set out its legislative agenda.
Labour is facing a potentially devastating set of results in England, Wales and Scotland, with the possible loss of hundreds of council seats to Reform and the Greens in England as well as defeat for the first time in Wales, where Plaid Cymru and Reform are leading in the polls.
In Scotland, the Scottish National party are polling on course to maintain power despite pre-election hopes that Labour’s Anas Sarwar could become first minister. Critics of Starmer’s leadership have repeatedly named May as the moment when would-be leadership challengers could call for him to stand aside.
The last king’s speech was in July 2024, weeks after Labour won the general election, but a combination of parliamentary rebellions, international and economic turmoil and defeats in the House of Lords has meant the government needs more time to complete the legislation.
The relatively late end to the session will raise some hopes among supporters of assisted dying that it may be possible to complete the bill, which will fall if it does not pass by the end of the session. They expect many opponents will try to use procedure to talk out the private members’ bill and bar it from progressing.
Further changes to the House of Lords are among a number of measures expected in the king’s speech, including introducing a mandatory retirement age of 80.
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Potential lack of funding for plan to prevent violence against women ‘deeply concerning’, says victims’ commissioner
Good morning. The government is finally publishing its violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy. In its manifesto Labour said it wanted to halve VAWG within a decade, and so this is a vital policy area. Publication of the strategy has been delayed three times. In the Commons on Monday, in response to an urgent question on this, Jess Phillips, minister for safeguarding and VAWG, said the delays were down to her. “It is entirely my fault because, with every iteration, the strategy was not ambitious enough. I could have done it more quickly, and then it would not have been as good,” she said.
Although the document is being published today, the VAWG strategy is being promoted via a budget-style, week-long media strategy. We have already had announcements form the Home Office covering extra spending for abuse victims, specialist NHS help for abuse victims, and all police forces introducing specialist rape and sexual offence teams.
And, overnight, the government has been briefing on plans to tackle misogynist behaviour in schools. Alexandra Topping and Rajeev Syal have the details here.
Phillips has been giving interviews this morning and she has described these measures as particularly important because, while other aspects of the strategy deal with the consequences of VAWG, this aspect deals with prevention. She told Times Radio:
I’m a bit sick, I have to say, as somebody who’s campaigned on this for many years, of just trying to put nicer plasters onto ever growing scars, and so we’ve got to – the government is really, really focused on the prevention.
But how good is the strategy overall? Claire Waxman, the incoming victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, has issued a statement saying that, while the plan contains many welcome measures, potential lack of funding is “deeply concerning”. She says she is worried it could end up as “less than the sum of its parts”.
She says:
Ultimately, the success of this strategy hinges on whether delivery partners are equipped to succeed. Early indications around funding are deeply concerning. The strategy introduces welcome measures in schools and the NHS which will, by design, drive up disclosures and referrals to police and victim services. Yet frontline services are already overstretched and struggling to meet need, and the criminal justice system remains in crisis.
Funding is critical. Driving up demand without increasing capacity puts victims at risk and threatens to destabilise the very partners the strategy relies upon. This concern is heightened by the lack of meaningful consultation. Victim services are not an optional extra to this strategy – they must be the backbone of it.
Without clear, sustainable investment and cross-government leadership, I am concerned we run the risk of the strategy amounting to less than the sum of its parts; a wish-list of tactical measures rather than a bold, unifying strategic framework.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: The Ministry of Justice publishes its latest figures on the courts backlog.
9.30am: Emma Reynolds, the environment secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
11am: Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, and John McDonnell, the Labour MP, speak at a press conference held by relatives and supporters of the Palestine Action-lined hunger strikers.
After 11.30am: Jess Phillips, the VAWG minister, makes a statement to MPs about the government’s plan to tackle violence against women and girls.
Morning: Kemi Badenoch is on a visit in east Hampshire.
Noon: The Bank of England announces its decision on interest rates.
The government is also making announcements via 13 written ministerial statements, covering police funding, the cost of the government’s response to the Covid inquiry, the Minette Batters review of farm profitability, and the inquiry into conditions at the Manston asylum centre.
If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (normally between 10am and 3pm at the moment), or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.
If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.
I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
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Updated at 10.44 CET
WORLD NEWS
Instacart settles Federal Trade Commission’s claim it deceived US shoppers | Business and Economy News
The FTC had accused the grocery delivery giant of charging fees to consumers after promising ‘free delivery’.
Published On 18 Dec 2025
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Instacart has agreed to pay $60m in refunds to settle allegations brought by the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that the online grocery delivery platform deceived consumers about its membership programme and free delivery offers.
According to court documents filed in San Francisco on Thursday, Instacart’s offer of “free delivery” for first orders was illusory because shoppers were charged other fees, the FTC alleged.
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The agency also accused Instacart of failing to adequately notify shoppers that their free trials of its Instacart+ subscription service would convert to paid memberships and of misleading consumers about its refund policy.
“The FTC is focused on monitoring online delivery services to ensure that competitors are transparently competing on price and delivery terms,” said Christopher Mufarrige, who leads the FTC’s consumer protection work.
An Instacart spokesperson said the company flatly denies any allegations of wrongdoing, but that the settlement allows the company to focus on shoppers and retailers.
“We provide straightforward marketing, transparent pricing and fees, clear terms, easy cancellation, and generous refund policies — all in full compliance with the law and exceeding industry norms,” the spokesperson said.
The shopping platform is currently under scrutiny after a recent study by nonprofit groups found that individual shoppers simultaneously received different prices for the same items at the same stores.
The FTC is investigating the company and has demanded information about Instacart’s Eversight pricing tool, the news agency Reuters reported on Wednesday.
Instacart has said that retailers are responsible for setting prices, and that pricing tests run through Eversight are random and not based on user data.
Lindsay Owens, the executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative, an economic think tank, criticised the grocery platform for using artificial intelligence (AI) to tweak its prices.
“At a time when families are being squeezed by the highest grocery costs in a generation, Instacart chose to run AI experiments that are quietly driving prices higher,” Owens said in written remarks provided to Al Jazeera.
She also called on the administration of US President Donald Trump to take action to prevent such price manipulation from continuing into the future.
“While the FTC’s investigation is welcome news, it must be followed with meaningful action that ends these exploitative pricing schemes and protects consumers,” Owens said. “Instacart must face consequences for their algorithmic price gouging, not just a slap on the wrist.”
On Wall Street, Instacart’s stock is taking a hit on the heels of the settlement, finishing out the day down 1.5 percent.
A former Nascar driver is believed to be among seven people killed in a plane crash at a regional airport in North Carolina, an official says.
A spokesperson for the highway patrol said that people on the ground confirmed that racer Greg Biffle was among those who boarded the aircraft.
The Cessna C550 crashed while landing at Statesville Regional Airport around 10:20 local time (15:20GMT), officials investigating the incident told reporters.
“Heartbreaking news out of Statesville,” North Carolina Governor Josh Stein posted on X. “Beyond his success as a NASCAR driver, Greg Biffle lived a life of courage and compassion and stepped up for western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.”
The Cessna C550 aircraft is owned by a private company associated with Greg Biffle, a retired Nascar driver, CBS, the BBC’s US partner, reported.
Professional baseball player Mitchell Garret wrote on Facebook that Biffle and his family were on their way to spend the afternoon with him.
“Unfortunately, I can confirm Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina, daughter Emma, and son Ryder were on that plane… because they were on their way to spend the afternoon with us,” he wrote on Facebook. “We are devastated. I’m so sorry to share this.”
Statesville Airport director John Ferguson described the aircraft as a corporate jet and said that it was already engulfed in flames when he arrived on the scene.
The business jet took off around 10:06 local time and was in the air briefly before the crash.
It crashed on the east end of the runway and authorities do not yet have information on the cause of the crash.
Statesville Airport will remain closed until further notice as crews clear debris off the runway, Mr Ferguson told reporters.
Officials did not provide any information about deaths or people aboard the aircraft during the media conference.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation, said it was launching a go team to investigate the fatal crash. The team expects to arrive on scene on Thursday night.
The Statesville Regional Airport (KSVH) is owned by the City of Statesville, which is about 45 minutes north of Charlotte.
It also provides aviation facilities for Fortune 500 companies and several Nascar racing teams.
Biffle, whose racing career spanned two decades, was named one of Nascar’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023. The 55-year-old won 19 Cup Series races in the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series.
Known as The Biff, the Vancouver, Washington, native received national notice in 1995 when during that year’s Nascar Winter Heat Series, according to his Nascar profile.
He made a name for himself in the Craftsman Truck Series, winning the 1998 Rookie of Year award and the 2000 series championship.
He went on to be named 2001 Rookie of the Year in the Xfinity Series and to win the 2002 championship, becoming the first driver with championships in both the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series.
He also co-founded the organisation’s Sand Outlaws Series. Although he scaled back on racing after 2016, he seemingly came out of retirement in 2019 for a one-off race at Texas Motor Speedway, which he won.
“Racing is racing,” he told Nascar.com in 2021. “It’s that adrenaline, you want to be better than the competition, you want to build a better piece and have a faster car. I just enjoy the competition.”
A fresh batch of images from the estate of the late pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein was made public on Thursday, one day ahead of a deadline by which the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is legally required to release the so-called “Epstein files.”
The 68 images published by Democrat lawmakers from the US House Oversight Committee are taken from a cache of around 95,000 images which Congress acquired from Epstein’s estate, and which have been steadily drip-fed into the public domain in recent weeks, including last week.
The material released from the Epstein files did not indicate who sent the message aboveImage: House Oversight Committee Democrats/REUTERS
Epstein estate: Who’s in the latest photos?
Thursday’s drop includes images of high-profile public figures including billionaire businessman Bill Gates, prominent philosopher Noam Chomsky, filmmaker Woody Allen and Steve Bannon, former aide to US President Donald Trump.
Chomsky is pictured on what appears to be Epstein’s private jet while Gates is depicted posing with women whose faces have been redacted. No suggestion was made by the lawmakers who released the images that any of the people in the photos acted unlawfully.
Bill Gates was one of the people to appear in several of the lastest photos released in the USImage: House Oversight Committee Democrats/REUTERS
Other images show redacted identity documents and passports marked “female” and belonging to anonymous women from countries, including Russia, Morocco, Italy, the Czech Republic, South Africa, Ukraine and Lithuania.
One screenshot shows part of a text message exchange in which an unknown sender writes: “I have a friend scout she sent me some girls today. But she asks 1000$ per girl. I will send u girls now. Maybe someone will be good for J?”
Separate photos also show handwritten messages across the chest, neck, back and feet of a woman, including “she was Lola in slacks” — seemingly a reference to Vladimir Nabokov’s novel “Lolita,” which is about a man’s sexual obsession with a young girl.
Several of the most recently released images included handwriting on a woman’s bodyImage: House Oversight Committee Democrats/REUTERS
Why are Epstein images being published?
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said they were in possession of “thousands” more images, some “graphic,” some “mundane,” which they are continuing to analyze.
They said Thursday’s images “were selected to provide the public with transparency into a representative sample of the photos” and “to provide insights into Epstein’s network and his extremely disturbing activities.”
“As we approach the deadline for the Epstein Files Transparency Act, these new images raise more questions about what exactly the Department of Justice has in its possession,” said California Representative Robert Garcia, the senior Democrat on the Oversight Committee. “We must end this White House cover-up. The DOJ must release the Epstein files now.”
What are the Epstein files?
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What is the Epstein Files Transparency Act?
The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was passed in November with bipartisan support before being signed into law by Trump, requires the DOJ to release its Epstein-related material by Friday in a format that is searchable by the public but which also safeguards the identities of potential victims.
Tens of thousands of records relating to Epstein and his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, have already been released through civil and criminal cases in the US. Maxwell was convicted of child sex trafficking in 2021.
Epstein was found dead in his prison cell in New York City in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide, but also fueled conspiracy theories and demands for accountability — including among some of the most vociferous Trump supporters and his MAGA (“Make America Great Again”) movement.
Last week, oversight Democrats released 19 photographs, including some featuring Trump, who dismissed the images as “no big deal.”
Does the Epstein controversy matter to Trump’s base?
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Edited by: Sean Sinico
NEED TO KNOW
- A bobcat tried to break all the way into a Michigan prison — but his mission was unsuccessful
- The Chippewa Correctional Facility shared a snap of the curious cat, lurking atop a fence inside the prison grounds
- The bobcat was escorted from the premises with help from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources
A bobcat tried to make a daring escape … into a prison.
Around 2 p.m. on Dec. 16, the Michigan Department of Corrections shared that the Chippewa Correctional Facility had a “special visitor” that morning — a bobcat, who seemed especially determined to breach the prison gates. In a Facebook post, the corrections department shared a photo of the animal lurking atop a fence surrounding the prison’s grounds.
“Staff report the bobcat jumped out of the wire, ran around the perimeter, up a maple tree, and hung out for an hour,” the post’s caption read. “Then he jumped down and ran around the parking lot, where staff, with the help of Michigan Department of Natural Resources, were finally able to corral him off the grounds.”
The corrections department added, “He is now back into the forest to enjoy the snowy day!”
Bobcats in Michigan are some of the “most elusive predators” to take up residence in the state’s forests, swamps, and brushlands, per Michigan United Conservation Clubs. The bobcat spotting at the Chippewa Correctional Facility is special because, MUCC stated on their site, the feline stays out of human sight so much that “most people go their entire lives without seeing a bobcat.”
Adult bobcats can weigh 15 to 35 pounds, and are distinguished by their spotted fur and tufted ears. They generally hunt small animals, like rabbits, small birds, and squirrels.
Before the state was widely settled in the 19th and 20th centuries, bobcats thrived in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula; however, long-term human encroachment into their natural habitats has reduced the feline’s numbers. Bobcat population sizes have recently rebounded, thanks in part to hunting regulations.
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Still, bobcats face the active threats of habitat fragmentation, human interference, and climate change, as well as dwindling prey populations.
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Bondi Beach shooting LIVE updates: Islamic state praises Bondi Beach gunmen as ‘source of pride’ after 15 were killed in massacre – as Bondi hero is handed a $2.5million cheque
The Islamic state has praised alleged Bondi terrorists Naveed Akram, 24, and his father Sajid, 50, as ‘lions’ and a ‘source of pride’ in a statement.
The pair are accused of opening fire into a crowd of Jewish people celebrating the first day of Hanukkah at Bondi Beach on Sunday.
Naveed remains in hospital under police guard after being shot by officers and woke from a coma on Tuesday. He has been charged with 59 offences.
His father Sajid, a licensed firearms holder, was shot dead by police at the scene.
Fourteen of the 15 innocent people who lost their lives have been identified.
A group of over 700 surfers have paddled out at Bondi Beach in memory of the 15 people who lost their lives in Australia’s worst massacre since 1996.
Hero couple Boris and Sofia Gurman, who confronted one of the alleged gunmen before their deaths, are expected to be laid to rest today.
Up to seven men were dramatically arrested by heavily-armed officers in Sydney’s south-west on Thursday night over fears ‘a violent act was possibly being planned’.
The youngest victim was 10-year-old Matilda, who was farewelled in an emotional service in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on Thursday.
British-born Chabad Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, was also laid to rest, with some of his five children seen sobbing as they arrived at the service.
Other victims include Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, 39, French national Dan Elkayam, 27, Wellington Street synagogue assistant Reuven Morrison, Slovak citizen Marika Pogany, 82, retired NSW Police detective sergeant Peter Meagher, 61, Edith Brutman, Boris Gurman, 69, and his wife Sofia, 61, Soviet immigrant Boris Tetleroyd and Adam Smyth, 50.
Bondi hero handed massive $2.5million cheque in his hospital bed
Islamic State group heralds Bondi shooters as ‘lions’ and a ‘source of pride’
‘Whether the attackers received its guidance and support or were the result of its incitement and policies … all your heroics, O strangers, will not be surprised by the bloodshed and bloodshed,’ it read.
Bondi hero’s heartwarming tattoo revealed
Tony Burke refuses to confirm ban of three-word chant now illegal in the UK
Sydney on edge: Men dragged out of their cars and arrested over fears ‘violent act was being possibly being planned’
‘Thousands’ paddle out at Bondi in honour of the victims killed
Hero couple Sofia and Boris Gurman who confronted one of the alleged gunmen to be laid to rest today
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Bondi Beach shooting LIVE updates: Islamic state praises Bondi Beach gunmen as ‘source of pride’ after 15 were killed in massacre – as Bondi hero is handed a $2.5million cheque
Snow looks set to hit several cities including London as a blizzard from the East could bring several centimetres of the white stuff between Christmas Day and New Year
Snow hitting East Anglia at midday on December 27(Image: WXCHARTS)
Millions of Brits could soon see snow as weather maps suggest major cities are in the firing line.
The GDPS weather model shows blizzards moving across the UK from the East on December 27, primarily hitting southern and eastern regions at first. Norwich and Ipswich could both see snow as East Anglia is hit by the initial flurries at around midday.
By 3pm, the maps show snow falling in Kent as well as over London. The weather front is also expected to bring rain along the east coasts of England and Scotland.
Maps for 6pm show snow still falling in London, as well as in regions further south. Southampton could be among the cities set to see some of the white stuff.
Snow could hit London by 3pm on December 27(Image: WXCHARTS)READ MORE: UK snow forecast as Russian blizzard ‘may bury all regions on Christmas Day’READ MORE: UK snow forecast maps show cities soon buried in blizzard bringing six inches
Further north, Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester could also see flurries around this time. Snow is expected to reach Northern Ireland and Scotland too.
Snow coverage maps reveal the full extent of this blizzard, with snow covering most of Northern Ireland, East Anglia, the Midlands, the south-east, and large swathes of northern England. Snow is expected in the Scottish Highlands, but could also hit Glasgow and regions closer to the border with England. As much as 3cm could settle in the south-east of England including London, the data suggests.
Snow is expected further north at around 6pm(Image: WXCHARTS)
The Met Office expects temperatures to feel colder between now and the New Year, with some “wintry showers” on the cards in places. Its forecast for December 23 to January 1 states: “A gradual transition to more settled conditions is expected, as high pressure builds to the north of the UK and low pressure eases away to the south.
“This will bring a strengthening easterly wind over the Christmas period, making it feel noticeably colder than of late. Whilst there will be a fair amount of dry weather, a few showers will still be possible, particularly across eastern and southern parts which may be wintry in places, more especially over high ground.
Snow coverage (in purple) at 6pm on December 27(Image: WXCHARTS)
“Temperatures will likely trend below average with the potential for frost, especially in the north where winds will be lighter. Towards New Year, high pressure may become centred more towards the west of the UK, allowing a greater chance of some wet weather to spread into parts of the UK.”
Sharif Osman Hadi was a leading figure during the uprising toppled former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024.
Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, a leader of Bangladesh’s 2024 student-led uprising who was flown to Singapore for treatment after being wounded in an assassination attempt, has died, Singapore officials said.
“Despite the best efforts of the doctors … Hadi succumbed to his injuries,” Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Thursday.
According to a report by Bangladeshi daily Dhaka Tribune, Hadi, who was being considered as a potential candidate for the Dhaka-8 constituency in the country’s national elections next February, was shot in the head on December 12 in the capital, Dhaka, while travelling in a battery-powered auto-rickshaw.
The attacker shot him from a motorcycle, and Hadi was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment.
Local physicians told the Dhaka Tribune that his brain stem was damaged and he was evacuated from Bangladesh to the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) neurosurgical intensive care unit on December 15 for further treatment.
Hadi, 32, was a senior leader of the student protest group Inqilab Mancha and has been an outspoken critic of India, an old ally of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and where the ousted leader remains in self-imposed exile.
Announcing his death on Facebook late on Thursday, Inqilab Mancha said: “In the struggle against Indian hegemony, Allah has accepted the great revolutionary Osman Hadi as a martyr.”
Condolences have also poured in from leaders and political groups across the country.
The country’s interim government head, Muhammad Yunus, expressed his condolences and said his death “is an irreparable loss for the nation”.
“The country’s march towards democracy cannot be halted through fear, terror, or bloodshed,” he said in a televised speech on Thursday.
The government also announced special prayers at mosques after Friday prayers and a half-day mourning on Saturday.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson of Inqilab Manch and independent candidate for Dhaka-8 constituency,” the acting chairman of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), Tareq Rahman, said on Facebook.
In a press statement to local media reports, the National Citizen Party (NCP) said it was “deeply saddened” by Hadi’s death and expressed condolences to his family.
Police have launched a manhunt for the attackers who shot Hadi, releasing photographs of two key suspects and offering a reward of 5 million taka (about $42,000) for information leading to their arrest.
According to a report by Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star, the country’s police and border guards have arrested at least 20 people linked to the incident so far, but investigations into the murder are ongoing.
Yunus, the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner leading Bangladesh until the February 12 elections, said last Saturday that Hadi’s shooting was a premeditated attack carried out by a powerful network, without providing a name.
He said “the objective of the conspirators is to derail the election”, and added that the attack was “symbolic – meant to demonstrate their strength and sabotage the entire electoral process”.
WORLD NEWS
Australia news live: NSW treasurer says ‘globalise the intifada’ is hate speech; Islamic State ‘proud’ of Bondi terror attack | Australia news
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Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke has been speaking on Radio National.
He said no government would ever be able to say they have done enough on antisemitism:
The fight against anti-Semitism is an ancient fight that will never end, and there will never be a point, never be a point where any government of the day will have the right to say they have done enough on anti-Semitism.
He goes back to 2014, when then Aboott government minister George Brandis moved to change the hate speech laws, saying Australians had the right to be a bigot.
Burke said:
We are no longer the nation where we had the government of the day a decade ago claiming that the right that mattered was the right to be a bigot. The right that matters is the right for people to be able to be free, to have a celebration at the beach and to do so safely.
That’s the freedom that matters, not the freedom that somehow under freedom of speech you can go off and belittle and demean and dehumanise your fellow Australians.
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Surfers pay tribute to victims of Bondi attack
About 700 surfers have been out on the water this morning in Bondi, forming a massive circle to pay tribute to the victims of the Bondi attack.
Their cheers could be heard from the shore.
The community has been organising swimming tributes this week to mourn the victims and begin to reclaim the iconic beach.
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Updated at 21.20 CET
Morning everyone, this is Cait Kelly. I will be with you today, bringing you all the updates.
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Updated at 21.14 CET
Daniel Mookhey’s comments come after the Albanese government mapped out a plan to crack down on hate speech.
The five key points are:
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A new aggravated hate speech offence for preachers and leaders who promote violence.
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Increased penalties for hate speech promoting violence.
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Making “hate” an aggravating factor in sentencing crimes for online threats and harassment.
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Developing a regime for listing organisations whose leaders engage in hate speech promoting violence or racial hatred.
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Developing a federal offence for serious vilification based on race and/or advocating racial supremacy.
Read our explainer here:
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Islamic State calls Bondi terrorism attack a ‘source of pride’
Islamic State has published an article on the Bondi Jewish festival shooting calling it a “source of pride”, Reuters reports.
The article published on the group’s Telegram channel praised the attack without explicitly claiming responsibility for it, the wire service said.
Jihadist media specialist Mina al-Lami, from BBC Monitoring, wrote on X about the article:
The group appeared to take credit for inspiring the attack, rather than for directly orchestrating it or being in contact with the attackers. It referred to the attackers as ‘heroes’ and ‘lions’.
It boasted about the influence of its ideology, narratives and online messaging, claiming that governments are unable to control its reach unless they shut down the internet entirely.
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Updated at 20.52 CET
NSW treasurer: Palestinian resistance phrase should be considered hate speech
Stephanie Convery
The NSW treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, says the Palestinian resistance phrase “globalise the intifada” should be considered hate speech as governments consider tougher laws on what can be said in public.
Mookhey was responding to questions at a press conference yesterday that came after British police announced this week they would arrest anyone chanting the phrase or holding a placard saying it.
Intifada means uprising or resistance, and is the term used by Palestinians for uprisings against Israel. The first intifada started in 1987, the second in 2000. For Palestinians it means resistance against oppression, but some Israelis associate the term with violence against them.
At the press conference yesterday, Mookhey responded to the question:
I think anyone who is saying something like ‘globalise the intifada’ is committing hate speech. I think that it’s clear, as we’ve seen, that the prime minister has just announced some reforms in these areas, but I personally think that any reasonable person would just see what the consequences of that has been on Sunday night. I think a person who is chanting globalise the intifada is chanting hate speech. They are dividing the community. They are jeopardising community cohesion. I don’t think that there’s a place for that in peaceful protest.
It is worth noting that, on Wednesday, the Victorian police commissioner, Mike Bush, said that since anti-vilification laws passed Victorian parliament earlier this year, there had been 40 investigations into hate speech but “globalise the intifada” was not considered hate speech under those laws.
Leading campaigners for Palestine in the UK called the crackdown on the phrase “political repression of protest for Palestinian rights”, while some Jewish groups welcomed it, saying the phrase was “intolerable” and “violent incitement”.
You can read more here:
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Updated at 20.51 CET
Welcome
Morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories before the morning blogger takes over.
The New South Wales treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, told a press conference yesterday that the Palestinian resistance phrase “globalise the intifada” should be considered hate speech as governments consider tougher laws on what can be said in public. More coming up.
Police in Sydney detained seven men yesterday evening after an operation in Liverpool which was prompted by what police called “information received that a violent act was possibly being planned”. We’ll have more updates as they come in this morning.
And Islamic State has published an article about the Bondi attack overnight, calling it a “source of pride” but stopping short of claiming responsibility. More on that soon as well.
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President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that will expand access to cannabis, a long anticipated move that would mark the most significant shift in US drug policy in decades.
The order directs the US attorney general to reclassify cannabis from a Schedule I narcotic, to a Schedule III drug – placing it under the same category as Tylenol with codeine.
Cannabis will remain illegal at the federal level. But classifying it as a Schedule III narcotic would allow expanded research to be conducted into its potential benefits.
Several Republican lawmakers cautioned against the move, with some arguing it could normalise cannabis use.
The US Drug Enforcement Agency notes that Schedule III narcotics – which also include ketamine and anabolic steroids – have only a “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence”.
Speaking in the Oval Office during a signing ceremony on Thursday, Trump said that people have been “begging” for the change, particularly those in “great pain” from ailments including “incurable pain”, cancer, seizure disorders and veterans with service-related injuries.
The president compared cannabis to prescription painkillers that have legitimate uses “but can also do irreversible damages”.
The new classification also has tax implications for state-authorised cannabis dispensaries, as current regulations bar them from some tax deductions if they sell Schedule I products.
In addition to the rescheduling of cannabis, Trump has ordered White House officials to work with Congress to allow some Americans access to cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD.
Trump has also asked White House officials to work with Congress to allow some Americans access to cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD.
Health officials have also been tasked with developing “methods and models” to examine the real-world health benefits and risks of CBD.
A senior administration official said that the order was a “commonsense action that will let us better understand and study” cannabis and CBD.
In recent years, a majority of US states have approved cannabis for some medical use, and nearly half – 24 – have legalised recreational use. But since 1971, cannabis has been a Schedule I narcotic, which means it has no accepted medical use and a high potential to be abused.
The Biden administration proposed a similar reclassification, and in April 2024 the DEA proposed a rule change, but got bogged down under administrative and legal issues.
Trump’s order drew praise from organisations that have been working to change US cannabis regulations.
Tim Barash, chairman of the Coalition of Cannabis Scheduling Reform, said in a statement that the move represents a “fundamental shift” in government and social perceptions of the drug.
“This change will empower the 425,000 people working in the US cannabis industry and bring in new talent, capital, and awareness to an industry that has a positive impact on millions of people’s lives,” Mr Barash said.
But the reclassification order has met some resistance from Republican lawmakers.
On Wednesday, a group of 22 Republican Senators sent an open letter to the president, arguing that marijuana use would mean that “we cannot re-industrialise America”.
The Senators pointed to lingering concerns over the health impact of cannabis, as well as research suggesting that cannabis can be linked to “impaired judgement” and “lack of concentration”.
“In light of the documented dangers of marijuana, facilitating the growth of the marijuana industry is at odds with growing our economy and encouraging healthy lifestyles for Americans.”
In a separate letter sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi in August, nine Republican representatives argued that “no adequate science or data” exists to support the change.
“Marijuana, while different than heroin, still has the potential for abuse and has no scientifically proven medical value,” the letter said. “Therefore, rescheduling marijuana would not only be objectively wrong, but it would also imply to our children that marijuana is safe. That couldn’t be further from the truth.”
More broadly, polls show that a majority of Americans support efforts to legalise marijuana.
One Gallup poll released in November found that 64% of Americans believe that it should be legalised, although support had drifted slightly from previous years because of a 13-point drop among Republicans.
Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal has breached core principles of European Union (EU) law, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Thursday.
The court also found the tribunal cannot be considered independent or impartial because of serious irregularities in the appointment of judges.
The tribunal, dominated by judges appointed under the former nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government, had previously declared Poland’s constitution superior to EU law , ignoring ECJ decissions and case law.
European Council challenged Poland at ECJ
The case stems from two 2021 Polish tribunal rulings rejecting ECJ decisions as unconstitutional, claiming the ECJ overstepped by interfering in Poland’s judiciary.
Brussels challenged those rulings, and the current pro-European government says it does not recognize them.
On Thursday, the ECJ ruled that Poland cannot disregard binding EU values, which all member states must uphold.
The court also criticized the way three of the judges and the tribunal’s president were appointed under the former ruling party.
PiS drastically transformed the country’s justice system, establishing political control over top courts such as the Constitutional Tribunal and the Supreme Court.
Polish tribunal remains defiant
The PiS lost power with the election of pro-European Prime Minister Donald Tusk in 2023, but his government has so far failed to roll back the changes, blocked by two subsequent nationalist presidents who support the PiS overhaul of courts.
On Thursday, Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek wrote on social media that the ECJ judgment obliged the state to take action, and the government was prepared to act.
The tribunal itself said the judgment had no impact on its functioning and that the European court had no authority over it.
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko