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Suella Braverman has been accused of “sowing the seeds of hatred” by Sir Keir Starmer after her comments about the police and pro-Palestinian marches.

The Labour leader took aim at the home secretary after she branded pro-Palestinian demonstrations, including one which took place on Saturday in central London, “hate marches” and accused the police of “double standards” in the way they handle protests.

Sir Keir said few people in public life had “done more recently to whip up division, set the British people against one another and sow the seeds of hatred and distrust than Suella Braverman”.

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“In doing so, she demeans her office,” he wrote in the Sunday Telegraph.

Bringing the prime minister into view, Sir Keir said Ms Braverman and Rishi Sunak’s treatment of the police and protesters showed a “lack of respect for this country’s values and its principles” after the pair urged police to ban the Armistice Day demonstration.

It follows calls from numerous senior political figures for Ms Braverman to resign, after they blamed her for violence that broke out in the capital.

On Saturday, a total of 126 people were arrested in London.

Far right protesters clash with police

This included 92 people who were arrested in Pimlico, central London. The Metropolitan Police said they were part of a large group of counter-protesters who tried to reach the main pro-Palestinian march in the capital.

Police later said the arrests included a number of pro-Palestine protesters who were detained after a group broke away from the main demonstration.

The demonstrators were wearing face coverings and firing fireworks, some of which struck police officers in the face, Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said.

Home Secretary to consider banning Pro-Palestine marches on Armistice Day
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Suella Braverman is facing pressure to resign

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the scenes of disorder were a “direct result of the home secretary’s words”, adding that the police’s job had been made much harder as a consequence.

While shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper called for “calm”, with a swipe at Mrs Braverman for fuelling tensions.

“Everyone must reflect on the impact of their words and actions. It is the responsibility of all of us to bring people together over this weekend, not divide and inflame,” she posted on social media.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was one of those in attendance at the march.

Addressing crowds from on top of a fire engine near Vauxhall, he said Mr Sunak and Ms Braverman’s attempt to stop the march from going ahead has been “shamed”.

What unfolds today could impact Braverman’s position as home secretary

Ugly scenes are unfolding in Whitehall. As counter protesters make their way through London, fighting has broken out, dozens have been arrested and already the home secretary’s language is being blamed.

SNP leader Humza Yousaf posted on X: “The far right has been emboldened by the home secretary”, the London Mayor Sadiq Khan says the disorder is a “direct result of her words”.

These are not people who are shy of criticising the home secretary, but others will be making a link between Suella Braverman’s language and the images coming out of Whitehall.

In the last week, senior cabinet ministers have distanced themselves from the home secretary after she repeatedly called pro-Palestinian protests “hate marches” and accused the Met Police of playing favourites.

The Chancellor said her words were “not words I would have used”.

The truth is, it is impossible to know what would have happened if she hadn’t made those comments.

Right wing groups have been in Whitehall in previous weeks, scuffles have broken out and police have been injured. It was always likely there would be significant counter protests on Armistice day.

Suella Braverman’s words certainly don’t seem to have calmed the situation, however.

Last night. the home secretary took a more conciliatory tone, a source close to her confirmed she met the commissioner of the Met Police and emphasised “her full backing for the police”.

But more widespread trouble in the coming hours has to be seen in the political context: Number 10 is not happy with the home secretary for publishing an article without their clearance, her job remains in the balance.

What unfolds today could impact whether Suella Braverman is still home secretary this time next week.

“It seems that there’s one million of us here today in London showing our solidarity with the people of Palestine, so Suella Braverman and Rishi Sunak’s attempt to stop this has been shamed for what it is,” he said.

“They should be ashamed also (of) their vote on the United Nations when they wouldn’t even support a call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Shame on them.”

Ms Braverman asserted that she had given police her “full backing” at a meeting with Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley on the eve of Armistice Day.

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Despite this, Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf said the far-right had been “emboldened” by Ms Braverman in a post on X.

He wrote: “The far right has been emboldened by the home secretary. She has spent her week fanning the flames of division. They are now attacking the police on Armistice Day.

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Thousands gather for pro-Palestinian march

“The home secretary’s position is untenable. She must resign.”

Nine officers were injured as they prevented a crowd of mainly “football hooligans” reaching the Cenotaph, with Mr Twist calling their “extreme violence” towards the police “extraordinary and deeply concerning”.

Officers later clashed with protesters from both sides in Chinatown and Victoria station.

Mr Twist said “a week of intense debate about protest and policing” helped “increase community tensions”.

‘Rishi Sunak is responsible’

On Friday, Mr Sunak maintained “full confidence” in his home secretary, even after some ministers had already distanced themselves from her after she claimed some people were homeless as a “lifestyle choice”.

He defied calls from Labour and the Liberal Democrats to sack Ms Braverman, but there has been speculation that a ministerial reshuffle could see the home secretary moved.

Layla Moran, a Liberal Democrat MP who has family in Gaza, said the blame for any trouble caused by far-right groups lay with Mr Sunak.

Pro-palestinian protesters march across central London
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Pro-palestinian protesters march across central London

“As the police in central London work to contain the far-right, and everyone starts to blame Suella Braverman, just remember who chose to not only give her the job but also chose not to sack her,” she wrote on Saturday.

“Rishi Sunak is as, if not more, responsible for what happens today”.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper and SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn are appearing on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips from 8.30am today.

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Removal of Andrew’s titles is seismic – but there is another major shift in palace’s statement

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Removal of Andrew's titles is seismic - but there is another major shift in palace's statement

The public and politicians had spoken, and the King, it seems, had no choice.

As head of the institution, family bonds took second place; the survival of the monarchy and its reputation in the end was paramount.

But while the removal of the titles, styles and honours, from the man now just known as Andrew, is seismic, there are other significant shifts in this bombshell pronouncement from the palace.

Follow latest news and reaction: Andrew no longer Duke of York

The decision to publicly state that “Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse” is huge.

In all the years that the allegations have rumbled on against Andrew – accusations he denies – I have never publicly heard the royal family come out in support of the victims around this story.

Andrew himself, during his Newsnight interview, never offered any kind of sympathy or apology to Jeffrey Epstein’s wider victims.

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Can Andrew still become King?

With both Queen Camilla and the Duchess of Edinburgh working to support victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence, the family’s silence has always felt difficult to fully understand.

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I have no doubt that pressure from other members of the family will have meant now was the right time for the King to make their position clear.

We also understand this latest action was taken to acknowledge serious lapses in judgement from Andrew.

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Andrew loses titles: What you need to know in two minutes

Again, the palace has never gone this far. In the past, they have simply tried to distance themselves from the constant drip of revelations.

While this is a King mindful of the future of the monarchy, he has also worked hard to build a reputation as an empathic and socially engaged man.

The noise around Andrew was deafening, he has listened, and as a result, his actions are monumental.

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Andrew pays the ultimate price after years of public disdain

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Andrew pays the ultimate price after years of public disdain

Andrew always denied the allegations – but the repeated accusations would not go away.

And his associations risked real reputational damage to the Royal Family.

His friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, his dealings with an alleged Chinese spy, and then the posthumous publication of his accuser, Virginia Giuffre’s memoir.

Her family said she brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage.

The piling pressure was starting to overshadow the work of Andrew’s wider family. And with the Prince of Wales soon heading to Brazil for his Earthshot award, enough was enough.

We understand the Royal Family, including Prince William backed the King’s leadership on this matter.

The King made the decisions, his family supported them.

More on Jeffrey Epstein

Both Andrew, and former secretary of state Peter Mandelson's public lives have been dismantled by their relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: PA
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Both Andrew, and former secretary of state Peter Mandelson’s public lives have been dismantled by their relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: PA

Andrew will leave Royal Lodge, his large home on the Windsor estate. His ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, who also lived there, will “make her own arrangements”.

It was their family home for many years. Both daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who grew up there, will keep their titles.

Andrew's ex-wife has continued to live at the Royal Lodge estate but will now be left to make her own housing arrangements. Pic: PA
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Andrew’s ex-wife has continued to live at the Royal Lodge estate but will now be left to make her own housing arrangements. Pic: PA

As for Andrew, he will soon move to Sandringham – the King’s private Norfolk estate – where the family traditionally gathers for Christmas; and he will be funded privately by the King.

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This is all a formal process carried out in consultation with official authorities, but the government supports the decision taken.

This will not have been easy for the King, but he knew he could not ignore public opinion. The criticism and anger directed at Andrew was never going to stop – and only he had the power to take the ultimate action against his own brother.

For years, Andrew enjoyed the perks and privileges of his powerful position, but his birthright could not withstand withering public disdain.

And now he’s paid the ultimate price.

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Damning report into UK’s ‘complacent’ fast jets programme

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Damning report into UK's 'complacent' fast jets programme

Repeated delays to the UK’s multibillion-pound F-35 fast jet programme, because of a lack of cash, has increased costs and harmed the plane’s ability to fight, a report by MPs has said.

Exacerbating the problem, an “unacceptable” shortage of pilots and engineers is limiting how often the aircraft can fly, the Public Accounts Committee revealed.

It also raised questions about a major announcement by Sir Keir Starmer in June that the UK would purchase a variant of the aircraft that is able to carry American nuclear weapons, saying there did not appear to be a timeframe for when this capability would be operational nor an estimate of the additional price tag.

The strong criticism will likely make uncomfortable reading for Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, Britain’s new military chief. He was previously the head of the Royal Air Force and before that the top military officer at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in charge of capability.

The UK only has 37 out of a planned 138 F-35 jets in service – almost four decades since the programme, led by the US, was conceived and nearly a quarter of a century since Britain initially started paying tens of billions of pounds for it.

The aircraft are among the most advanced, stealthy and lethal jets on the planet, provided they have the right technology, weapons and – crucially – software updates.

A persistent squeeze on UK defence budgets, though, means military chiefs developed a bad habit of slowing down the F-35 procurement and scrimping on orders to save money in the short term – only for taxpayers to be hit with a much larger bill overall and for the RAF and the navy’s Fleet Air Arm to be left with jets that are unable to meet their full potential.

F-35B Lightning jets on the flight deck of the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales. Pic: PA
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F-35B Lightning jets on the flight deck of the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales. Pic: PA

The Public Accounts Committee laid bare the impact of this behaviour, highlighting five key issues:

One:

A short-term cost-saving decision by the MoD in 2021 to save £82m by delaying an investment in what is known as an Air Signature Assessment Facility – which is vital for the F-35’s stealth capabilities to fly undetected – will add an extra £16m when it is finally built in 2032.

More worryingly, this limits the UK’s ability to deploy the jets.

Two:

A cost-saving move to delay by six years building infrastructure for the naval squadron that operates the F-35 jets means the cost for that construction will almost treble to £154m from £56m.

Three:

A failure by the MoD to accurately update the total acquisition cost of the F-35s.

The department only this year said the whole-life cost until 2069 to acquire a total of 138 aircraft will be almost £57bn – up from £18.4bn for the first 48 jets out until 2048.

But even the new higher price tag was dismissed by the MPs as “unrealistic” – because it does not include additional costs such as fuel.

Four:

The current fleet of F-35B jets will not be armed with conventional missiles to hit targets on the land from a safe distance until the early 2030s.

This is a critical capability in modern warfare when operating against a country like Russia that has sophisticated air defence weapons that can blast jets in range out of the sky.

Five:

The military will claim its F-35B jump jets have met “full operating capability” by the end of the year – a timeline that is already years late – even though they do not have the long-range missiles and are blighted by other woes.

The report will make uncomfortable reading  for Defence Secretary John Healey (L) and Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton. Pic: PA
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The report will make uncomfortable reading for Defence Secretary John Healey (L) and Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton. Pic: PA

A ‘leaky roof’ mistake

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, the committee chair, said: “Making short-term cost decisions is famously inadvisable if you’re a homeowner with a leaky roof, let alone if one is running a complex fighter jet programme – and yet such decisions have been rife in the management of the F-35.”

The UK’s existing F-35Bs are designed to fly off the Royal Navy’s two aircraft carriers.

The nuclear weapons-capable A-variant only operate off the land.

The MoD has said it will purchase an additional 15 F-35Bs and 12 of the As at an anticipated cost of £3.2bn.

However, there is no estimate yet of the cost to certify the F-35As to join a NATO mission, carrying American nuclear warheads.

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The MPs said they were told work on becoming certified to operate with US nuclear weapons “is at an early stage and the department did not provide any indication of forecast costs”.

‘Very complacent’

The report flagged concerns about personnel shortages and how that impacted the availability of the few F-35s the UK does operate.

This included the need for an extra 168 engineers – a 20% increase in the current workforce and a shortfall that “will take several years to resolve”, the MPs said.

The report also highlighted 'substandard' accommodation at RAF Marham, home of the Lightning programme. Pic: PA
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The report also highlighted ‘substandard’ accommodation at RAF Marham, home of the Lightning programme. Pic: PA

Making the recruitment and retention dilemma even worse is “substandard” accommodation at RAF Marham, which has been the home for the F-35 force since 2013. This has again been caused by budget shortfalls, meaning insufficient funds to invest in infrastructure.

The MoD said some upgrades would be completed by 2034. The Public Account Committee said this “is very complacent and should be given greater priority”.

An MoD spokesperson said: “Many of the decisions referenced in the report were taken under the previous government, and we have set out plans to tackle historic issues with procurement, infrastructure, recruitment, and skills through the Strategic Defence Review.”

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