Green leader said he hosted fundraisers for the Red Cross but accepts he should not have described himself as a spokesperson for it

Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, has said that Keir Starmer would fight any attempt by Labour MPs to replace him after the elections.

In an interview on Sky News this morning, McFadden, who is one of the ministers trusted most by Starmer, said:

I think this country has tested to destruction the idea that the answer to your problems is to swipe left on our prime ministers. We’ve seen too much of that in the past 10 to 15 years. It hasn’t solved our problems. It has added to political chaos and uncertainty that has economic as well as political consequences.

The prime minister was elected for a five-year term, and he should serve out that term. His job is to lead the country through uncertain times, and that’s the job I know he wakes up in the morning and wants to do.

Yes. I hope there isn’t [a challenge], because I don’t think it would be the answer to our problems.

I hope we do well tomorrow. But even if we don’t, the day after our job is to wake up, continue with doing our job and serve the country.

I think me and Jeremy are very different people, and there’s much … you know, the question was almost inviting me to condemn Jeremy Corbyn.

I think there was lots that Jeremy Corbyn was putting forward to this country that I think was really positive. We’ve talked about wealth taxes, about public ownership.

I’m not ready right now. No. I’ve been leader for eight months, and there’s lots of skills and lots of knowledge to get, and I think that’s fine. I think I’m a human being. I’m not perfect.

Well, we’ll see in two years time, won’t we? But I’ll certainly be putting in the work.

With most major European cities well-served by trains and buses, bringing US transit up to par would cost $4.6tn

The only train station in Houston, the US’s fourth-largest city and one of the fastest-growing conurbations in the country, is a diminished, morose sight. Intercity trains arrive at this squat, shed-like Amtrak building, which cringes in the shadows of roaring highways, just three times a week.

That such a meager train station could ostensibly serve a metropolitan area of about 7 million people is a stark symbol of how the sprawling, car-dominated US has fallen behind cities around the world where people can rely on extensive, high-quality public transport to get around.

Owner of Japan nightclub says ‘This is a response to a year of insults directed at us – as a country – by the United States’

A Mexico City nightclub has gone viral for charging Americans a nearly $300 cover charge, while citizens from any other country pay just $20 for access, and Mexicans and other Latin Americans pay only $14.

The Instagram announcement from the nightclub Japan in the Roma Norte neighborhood has been liked over 26,000 times and received more than 200 comments, mostly supporting the policy as part of a broader revolt in the capital against what many see as a US takeover.

US president pauses ‘Project Freedom’ to work on ‘final agreement’ with Tehran; stocks also ride high on AI euphoria

Job vacancies in the UK bounced back in March but remained near a five-year low, and openings for graduates slumped more than a third.

UK job vacancies showed signs of recovery in March, rising 3.74% month-on-month to 752,711 – the second monthly increase after an extended period of decline, according to the job matching platform Adzuna. Yet despite this tentative rebound, the overall picture remains tough for job seekers. Vacancies are still 13.60% lower than in March 2025, and the market remains near its weakest level since 2021.

Like BP last week, these are unearned windfall profits driven by Trump’s war with Iran.

Equinor now wants to cash in even more by developing the Rosebank oil field, which would be a terrible deal for the UK. This government must put the needs of the British public – for affordable energy and a safe climate – ahead of this Norwegian oil giant’s relentless pursuit of profit.

Green party leader also accuses rightwing media of politically motivated attacks as popularity grows

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Zack Polanski has said he was wrong to describe himself as a British Red Cross spokesperson, and that intensified media scrutiny of the Green party reflected fears of its rising popularity and support for wealth taxes.

Polanski described himself as a British Red Cross spokesperson while campaigning for the party leadership, the Times revealed. The claim was also mentioned on his personal website in 2020 when he said he was “really proud of the work we do”.

Jordan Linden sentenced to 18 months for string of crimes committed over 10 years between 2011 and 2021

A former SNP council leader has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after being found guilty of a string of sexual offences against young men and teenagers as young as 14.

Jordan Linden, once considered a rising star in the SNP, was convicted of five sexual assaults on young men after a trial at Falkirk sheriff court in March, which heard that the SNP had “downplayed or ignored” complaints about his behaviour.

Andes strain the cause of infection in two cases, says South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases

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A luxury cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak and marooned for days off the coast of Cape Verde with close to 150 people onboard was due to head to Spain, while South Africa confirmed it had identified among the victims a strain of the virus that can – in rare cases – spread among humans.

The Swiss government said a man who returned to Switzerland after being a passenger on the MV Hondius was infected with the hantavirus and was being treated in Zurich. It said there was no danger to the broader population.

Dozens killed despite ceasefire announced by Zelenskyy, after Moscow asked for Saturday truce for its annual military parade

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Kyiv has criticised Russia for attacking several Ukrainian cities overnight with more than 100 combat drones and three missiles, in spite of a unilateral 24-hour ceasefire called by Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ukraine’s president had announced the truce after the Kremlin said it wanted a ceasefire on Saturday during its annual military parade in Red Square – but he said he would reciprocate if Vladimir Putin broke Ukraine’s ceasefire, which ends at midnight on Wednesday.

Four women and nine children expected to return to Australia on Thursday with all apart from a mother and her child expected to go to Victoria

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Authorities in two Australian states are preparing to resettle children returning from squalid detention camps and life under Islamic State rule, as at least some of their mothers face possible criminal charges.

Four women and nine children are expected to return to Australia on Thursday, with all of them apart from a mother and her child bound for Melbourne.

Cassian Joubert was partially delivered at 25 weeks for procedure and placed back in mother’s womb before birth

A Florida infant is said to have been born twice after undergoing what was an innovative, likely life-saving surgery that involved a partial delivery weeks before his mother then gave birth to him.

Cassian Joubert’s remarkable story was recently first told publicly by his mother and father – Keishera and Greg Joubert – in a 1 May video published on social media by the Orlando Health Women’s Institute, which employs the surgeon that led the baby boy’s prenatal operation.

The third day of hearings of the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion heard further evidence from Jewish Australians

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Violent antisemitic abuse was allowed to proliferate across a Jewish political candidate’s social media as part of a broader trend designed to intimidate Jewish Australians from public life, a royal commission has heard.

Joshua Kirsh launched a campaign as an independent candidate for the New South Wales upper house in late 2025 but found his advertisements online bombarded by antisemitic tropes, abuse and threats.

US president briefly pauses ‘Project Freedom’ operation escorting ships through strait of Hormuz

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Oil prices have eased and stock markets rose as Donald Trump touted “great progress” towards a “final agreement” with Iran and the rally in AI shares stepped up.

The US president said he would briefly pause his “Project Freedom” operation escorting ships through the strait of Hormuz, which carries about a fifth of the world’s oil supplies but has been blockaded by Iran since late February, triggering a global energy crisis.