Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh has revealed she accepted a £1.2 million loan from Lord Waheed Alli to purchase a flat for her terminally ill sister, Baroness Margaret McDonagh.
The loan, declared in March 2023, was used to provide accommodation with ground floor access for Baroness McDonagh - Labour's first female general secretary and a close friend of Lord Alli for 25 years.
The Baroness, labelled a "tour de force" for the party, played a crucial role in Labour's 1997 landslide election victory.
She was diagnosed with a brain tumour in November 2021 and died in June 2023.
Now her sister, the MP for Mitcham and Morden has shared a statement online admitting she accepted the loan.
In a post on social media, she said: "Waheed Alli was my sister's best friend for 25 years.
"Tragically she was diagnosed with a glioblastoma brain tumour in November 2021 and died on 24 June 2023.
"He took every step of her last terrible journey with her."
She added: "The loan will be repaid on gaining probate on Margaret's Estate. It has been properly registered and Waheed wanted nothing other than his best friend being comfortable in the last months of her life."
When questioned about potential favours in return, McDonagh responded: "What can you give someone who has £200million and who has been a Labour Member of Parliament for 25 years?"
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Ed Miliband orders armed police to guard gas terminals over threat of radical eco-zealot protests
Armed police are set to protect key natural gas processing terminals across Britain amid fears of eco-protests and foreign attacks.
The new plans, pushed through by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, will see the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) expand its remit beyond nuclear sites to protect the terminals across Britain.
The CNC - an armed police force - will take over responsibilities from military police in April 2025.
GB News understands that the switch forms part of a long-established operational stance to ensure robust protections are in place.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Defence Secretary follows Lammy in dodging questions on Storm Shadow missiles
Defence Secretary John Healey has dodged questions on whether the UK will "go it alone" on arming Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles without the US's consent.
Speaking to the media following high-level Aukus (Australia, UK, US) military alliance talks in London, Healey said Vladimir Putin would be the the "only person who benefits" from debates over whether Ukraine will be allowed to use the long-range weaponry.
He said: "There really is only one person that benefits from the public debate about specific capabilities, and that's president Putin.
"America has been outstanding in its leadership in support of Ukraine and the UK, providing military aid and support for Ukraine across a wide range of capabilities, and we do that for the sole purpose to help Ukraine defend itself from this illegal invasion. And we will continue to do that."
His coyness echoed comments made by Foreign Secretary David Lammy in Kyiv a few weeks ago.
Back then, a green light from the UK for Storm Shadows was on the agenda too - and though Lammy said Britain was "listening carefully", he stopped short of a public sign-off on the missiles.
He said: "We're here to listen, to understand the plan, to understand the strategy and understand the needs across a whole range of fronts.
"Yes, of course, equipment but of course energy that has been sabotaged, the support that's needed on the humanitarian front over these next few months and how we continue to mobilise the international community on Ukraine's behalf.
"So we are listening carefully and, of course, we are having discussions on a range of issues including the military equipment that Ukraine needs to win."
Chris Whitty: Government 'overdid it' at the start of the Covid pandemic
The Government may have overstated the danger of Covid-19 to the public at the start of the pandemic, Professor Sir Chris Whitty has admitted.
Prof Whitty, appointed Chief Medical Officer by Sir Keir Starmer this year, told the Covid Inquiry that he worries about whether the Government got the "level of concern" right.
He said: "I was worried at the beginning... I still worry, actually, in retrospect - about whether we got the level of concern right.
"I think that balance is really hard, and arguably, some people would say we overdid it, rather than under, in the beginning."
Starmer used Labour donor's £18m penthouse for Covid broadcast urging Britons to stay home
Sir Keir Starmer used a Labour donor's £18million penthouse to urge the public to work from home during the Covid pandemic, it has emerged.
The video was broadcast five days after the Conservative government announced new guidance aimed at limiting the spread of a new strain of COVID-19, which urged people to work from home where possible.
Political blog Guido Fawkes reports the Christmas message was filmed in Lord Alli's flat in December 2021, when Starmer was leader of the opposition.
The room was identified from the shelves behind the future PM which had previously appeared in a video from inside Lord Alli's flat.
The re-emergence of the broadcast marks just the latest political gaffe for the Prime Minister after he was forced to repeatedly defend using the flat owned by the Labour peer while campaigning to enter No10.
In his message, the Labour leader urged people to resist the temptation to go against Government guidance over the Christmas season and work from home where they can.
He said: "Of course I understand that sticking to the rules can be inconvenient, but stick to the rules we must... It would be easy to let the festivities we've all been looking forward to divert us from our national duty."
The Prime Minister's press secretary said that no Covid rules had been broken by the use of the flat for the broadcast.
Asked whether Sir Keir was "completely confident" that all the rules at the time had been obeyed, she replied: "Correct."
Inmates will earn 'points' by taking part in workshops to cut jail time in latest prison reform
Prisoners could have their time behind bars reduced if they behave well and take part in workshops.
In new reforms modelled on the US state of Texas, prisoners can reduce the time they serve in jail by earning credit for good behaviour.
They also win points by participating in courses aimed at tackling the underlying causes of offending.
Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood plans to visit the US state later this year to see how Britain could emulate its success in reducing its high prison population and rate of reoffending.
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Lord Brady: Boris Johnson 'created his own problems' as Prime Minister
Boris Johnson "created his own problems" as Prime Minister, leading to his resignation from office, a Tory peer has said.
Following the release of his tell-all memoir, Kingmaker, former 1922 Committee chairman Lord Graham Brady shed light on his relationship with the former Tory leader, and how his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic ultimately led to his downfall.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Reform's James McMurdock SLAMS Labour's prisons 'mess'
Reform's youngest MP James McMurdock has laid into Labour after it was revealed that dozens of prisoners released early from jail were done so by mistake.
The MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock said: "I wrote to the Home Secretary before the release, urging her to protect our streets, and our taxpayer, by deporting the 10,000 foreign criminals in prison.
"Instead, we have seen dangerous criminals wrongly released onto our streets with some already re-offending.
"It's blindingly obvious that Labour are already failing to keep our streets safe.
"The Tories created this mess, and Labour have just exacerbated it.
"Only one party is serious about enforcing law and order on our streets and deporting the foreign criminals in our prisons and that's Reform."
Boris Johnson was 'absolutely determined to fight on' night before he quit
Lord Graham Brady, former chairman of the Conservative Party's 1922 Committee, has revealed fresh details of Boris Johnson's dramatic U-turn during his final days as Prime Minister.
Speaking to GB News, Lord Brady recounted a meeting where Johnson was "absolutely determined" to fight on - despite mounting pressure to resign.
He said: "I don't know how this is going to end, but it's going to be messy."
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Sir Keir Starmer: 'I'm not working class any more'
Sir Keir Starmer has said he does not "ascribe a class" to himself following his Labour conference speech in which he - once again - mentioned his toolmaking heritage.
Reflecting on his speech, LBC's Nick Ferrari asked him to which class he now belonged.
The PM said: "Well, my roots are working class... But I accept, if this is what you're putting to me, that I've been able to take advantage of huge opportunities in my life.
"I'm now Prime Minister of this country. I don't ascribe a class to myself.
"The example I gave in my speech was, and this is the story we do tell, of people from a working class background like mine and plenty of other examples who have come through the glass ceiling, if you like, because of the opportunities that they have had."
Ex-Scottish Labour leader calls for Starmer to do 'deal' with SNP on second referendum
Sir Keir Starmer should strike a deal with the SNP to lay the groundwork for a fresh independence referendum, ex-Scottish Labour Leader Kezia Dugdale has said.
A report co-authored by Dugdale, who led the party from 2015 to 2017, called for an agreement based on the UK's position on Irish reunification, placing an obligation on the UK Government to allow a new independence vote if leaving the UK had "sustained" majority support.
The report said: "We should place a legal mandate on the Secretary of State for Scotland to determine when a second independence referendum will take place.
"That's not on their whim or a party political position.
If that public opinion is sustained and in support of independence, they must… give the Scottish Parliament the power to determine how that referendum would run."
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