Ireland warns that hard brexit threatens uk unity

The head of the Army today says the UK must be ready for war with Russia. Four months on from Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, General Sir Patrick Sanders is set to compare the assault to the rise of Nazi Germany . He will say that Britain is facing its "1937 moment" and must be ready to "fight and win" to ward off the threat from Russia. In his first public speech as Chief of the General Staff , Sir Patrick will say the UK must be prepared to "act rapidly" to contain Russian expansionism. Nato last night pledged to massively increase its forces available on high alert to more than 300,000 troops, a more-than seven-fold increase. Sir Patrick's intervention is likely to put pressure on Mr Johnson to maintain the size of the Armed Forces after plans were announced to reduce troop numbers in a move to a more modern military. Defence editor Danielle Sheridan reports that, in a separate speech today, Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, is to call for increased … [Read more...] about Tuesday morning news briefing: General says UK must be ready for war

Margaret Thatcher 'was not very good' as PM says Ken Clarke Sign up for our news briefing, including a daily special Russia-Ukraine edition SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info The late British Prime Minister, who died from a stroke seven years ago, would have celebrated her 95th birthday today. She was the UK’s longest serving leader and first female Prime Minister before she was forced to resign after a leadership challenge from Michael Heseltine. Her 11-year rule came under scrutiny in the years that followed her departure from politics , including bombshell disclosures from formerly secret correspondence. Trending Thousands of pages related to Mrs Thatcher were unsealed by the National Archives, in accordance … [Read more...] about Margaret Thatcher: Secret papers show former PM was advised to slash Scottish budget

The pain is still raw; the anger undiminished. Marlene Anderson breaks down in tears as she remembers watching Grenfell Tower burning, the white ash floating out of the sky and landing on her hair and clothes, while inside the building her father – although she wouldn’t officially know it for another two months – had perished in the blaze. Ray ‘Moses’ Bernard, an electrician, who had worked in the House of Lords and at Buckingham Palace, died of suffocation and cyanide poisoning killed by the acrid smoke. By the time his body was recovered, “his remains were no more than 30 per cent of who he was”. Moses, as everybody knew him, was found on the floor next to his bed, his dog, Marley, close by. On the bed were other victims who had sought refuge in the top floor flat as they tried to escape the flames. Among them was Jessica Urbano Ramirez, a 12-year-old girl, who had spent 55 minutes on the phone to 999 emergency operators begging to be rescued, and 12-year-old Biruk Haftom, whose … [Read more...] about Grenfell, five years on: ‘We know who the guilty are but they remain free’