The Guardian

Starmer urged to apologise as MP says rioting by Maccabi Tel Aviv fans justifies their ban from Aston Villa game – UK politics live


Independent MP Ayoub Khan makes comments after Tel Aviv football derby between Hapoel and Maccabi called off after rioting

The SNP and Plaid Cymru have both said they would back legislation to strip Prince Andrew of his dukedom.

Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster, said:

The family of Virginia Giuffre, whose life was destroyed, are angry and aghast. The public across these isles are angry and aghast and they both deserve to know that some MPs share their outrage.

So I won’t sit silent. If an act of parliament is required to strip the likes of Peter Mandelson and Prince Andrew of their titles then there can be no justification from this Labour government as to why that is not immediately happening.

Public funds, police protection and royal privilege have long buffered Prince Andrew from the consequences of his actions. And we’ve paid for all this.

I will support any efforts to hold royals to the same standards and laws as everyone else – parliament must have the power to remove privileges from abusers of position.

The reality is that he [Starmer] has got to act quickly in order to clearly establish a direction and purpose. Now, I know he’s got it. He’s a man of high intelligence and deeply rooted principles. There’s no doubt at all about that.

But, what he’s got to do is, if you like, demonstrate that he is authentically very Labour with a set of principles that are practical in their application, under determination to put them into full effect.

There is any amount of evidence over the last 15 months of progressive developments taking place. They are unheard because they’ve been obscured by basic errors that the government has made like the withdrawal of the winter heating allowance.

Now that has got to be attended to by effective management by the prime minister. There’s nobody else to do it. What he’s got to do in the coming months – and I mean months, not over years, is demonstrate that very clearly.

I’ve got reservations about the capability of some of the people who appear to be there. I know some of them to be extremely able and effective, and they’ve demonstrated that historically, but something is not connecting effectively with the Labour party or with basic political skills and I hope it will very rapidly.

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Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2025/oct/20/uk-politics-latest-news-updates-prince-andrew-covid-starmer-labour-reform-education

Author : Andrew Sparrow

Publish date : 2025-10-20 11:48:00

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