Police investigate £500,000 Reform donations from mother of fraudster who backed Farage 09. July 2026 (22:15) George Cottrell’s mother, Fiona, at centre of criminal inquiry over potential evasion of restrictions on donationsPolice are investigating donations worth £500,000 made to Reform UK by the mother of a convicted fraudster and ally of Nigel Farage.The investigation concerns two donations of £250,000 made by Fiona Cottrell, whose son George has often accompanied Farage to Reform events and media appearances. The May 2024 donations are under investigation over whether they were intended to conceal a donation by an impermissible donor. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Burnham’s apology over Gaza marks ‘reset moment’ as Labour seeks to win back progressive voters 09. July 2026 (22:10) It remains unclear how much of substance will change – and whether it will be enough to rebuild electoral coalition On the final day of Labour’s party conference in 2023, when the public was still reeling from the brutal Hamas attack on Israel just days before, Keir Starmer took to the airwaves for the traditional broadcast round – but gave one interview that would have particularly damaging fallout.Sitting down with LBC’s Nick Ferrari, the then opposition leader asserted Israel’s right to defend itself, a stance that was in line with the broad political consensus at the time. But then he also appeared to suggest it had “the right” to withhold power and water from Palestinian civilians. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US lawmakers urge stricter monitoring of medically assisted suicide in hospices 09. July 2026 (20:55) Bipartisan group warns HHS that older adults and people with disabilities risk being pressured to end their livesLawmakers urged the health and human services (HHS) secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, on Thursday to establish strict hospice reporting rules to prevent discrimination and coercion in medically assisted suicide.The bipartisan group of members of Congress warned that older adults, people with disabilities, or those with disaffected caregivers face a particular risk of being pressured to end their lives. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
OpenAI releases latest ChatGPT model after delay over White House cybersecurity concerns 09. July 2026 (20:48) Staggered release of ChatGPT 5.6 follows similar restrictions on rival firm Anthropic’s latest AI modelsOpenAI released its latest advanced AI model, called ChatGPT 5.6, on Thursday after earlier delaying the public rollout over US government concerns about cybersecurity. The Trump administration had requested last month that OpenAI limit the release to a small group of government-approved users.OpenAI complied with the White House’s request last month. The company stated in a blogpost that it had briefed government officials on ChatGPT 5.6’s capabilities and restricted the model to trusted partners at their behest. The product’s wider release came after additional testing by the government’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation agency, according to Axios. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Graham Linehan gets £25,000 compensation and an apology from Met police after arrest 09. July 2026 (20:41) Father Ted co-creator detained by armed officers at Heathrow airport last year over gender-critical posts on XThe Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan has been paid £25,000 in compensation by the Metropolitan police and received an apology after his arrest over his gender-critical social media posts.Linehan, 57, was detained by armed officers at Heathrow airport last September after a 10-hour flight from Arizona. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
