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Starmer’s four point plan to fight off Labour coup

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Sir Keir Starmer will pivot his political message to deliver a more left wing pitch to voters in a bid to fend off a leadership challenge in the wake of Friday’s election results, The i Paper understands. 

The Prime Minister is understood to have abandoned the election strategy that helped secure a landslide in 2024, to one that will aim to unite progressive voters in both working class and urban areas.

It marks a significant shift in tack from Starmer and his No 10 team away from trying to appeal to voters on the right and taking on Reform on issues such as immigration, as he looks to stave off threats from opponents within the party, who want to oust him.

Shorts – Quick stories

Insiders said the belief within Downing Street is that focus on “hero voters” – those that had abandoned Labour in 2019 – that served the party so well in 2024 was no longer fit for purpose. Instead, the strategy will be on the “progressive block”.

“The view is that whichever party can can unite the progressive voting block, or the right voting block, most effectively will be the one that wins the next general election,” a government source said.

Closer relations with the EU

The i Paper has been told that the Prime Minister will seek to deliver a bolder offer on the UK’s relationship with Europe and the European Union. As reported on Wednesday, Starmer is expected to make a major speech in the coming weeks setting out plans for closer ties with Europe.

While the details are not yet set in stone, he is likely to argue for expanding proposals for greater alignment with the single market. Polls suggest this is becoming an increasingly popular stance with the electorate as the economic impact of Brexit is blamed for Britain’s difficult economy and susceptibility to economic shocks. He will not breach Brexit red lines, however, that UK will not rejoing the single market of customs union.

Defence spending

Starmer’s reset plan is also expected to include a greater commitment to defence. Specifically this will include publishing the long-delayed Defence Investment Plan. This will set out how the UK will meet its defence commitments over the next ten years, based on recommendations from the Strategic Defence Review, published last year.

Originally planned to be published last autumn, it has been held up by rows with the Treasury over how much can be spent. On Thursday the FT reported that Starmer had met with Chancellor Rachel Reeves in a bid to finalise the plan, which is facing a £28bn funding gap. The Treasury is pushing for a £12bn uplift in spending over four years, the Cabinet office for £18bn, the paper reported.

The delay to publishing the review has come alongside criticism that the UK is not ready for war, amid an increasing threat from Russia, and a need for Europe to rearm. US President Donald Trump has also been critical of Nato countries for not spending enough.

Environment

Starmer is expected to double down on the Government’s commitment to the environment, and particularly on green energy. 

While full details of the policy areas were unclear, it is expected that Downing Street will signal its intent in the forthcoming King’s Speech with a new energy independence bill to provide greater energy security at a time of global turmoil.

This could include more wind turbines and small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). The first SMR was confirmed for Wylfa in Wales last year, with £2.5bn funding.

Shift in tone

Insiders also revealed that there will be a shift in “tone” from the Prime Minister, one which will see him move away from the “technocratic, legalistic” approach to one based more on his values, and “what it means to live in Britain today”.

Starmer is expected to deliver a far more “robust” response to any disruption, should pro-Gaza protests go ahead on 16 May.

“There was a sense that the Government was slow to respond to the protests, previously. It didn’t necessarily make the case for why division was the wrong approach, and make the case for a diverse and tolerant Britain,” the source added.

The expected pivot from Starmer comes as No10 is braced for a dismal set of results in the Scottish, Welsh and English local elections.

Leadeship threat

Pollsters have predicted Labour could lose up to 2,500 council seats in England, as well as being thrown out of power in the Welsh Senedd and come third in Holyrood.

The Prime Minister is expected to increase his offer to young people in a bid to see off both the Greens and Reform who are attracting younger votes .This is likely to include plans for a crackdown on social media for under-16s.

Sources said the shift in strategy shows that Starmer would rebuff any attempt to challenge his leadership. “He has absolutely no intention of going anywhere,” the insider insisted.

“No matter what the [election] results are, if anyone thinks that they’re going to be able to make a case for a transition period, or ask the PM to reapply for his own job in the middle of a global crisis, should think again.”

Millions of voters were set to cast their vote at the ballot box, in what is the closest the British electoral system gets to a “mid-term” election.

Labour is facing threats from Reform in the likes of Birmingham and in parts of the North East and West Yorkshire, as well as from the Greens in central London and in parts of Manchester.

Reform is expected to see the biggest gains in the elections, as it hoovers up voters from both Labour and the Conservatives, with Tory heartlands in Essex and outer London believed to be under significant threat.

Despite their struggles to capture the spotlight, the Liberal Democrats are also anticipated to make further gains picking up council votes in Newcastle-upon-Tyne from Labour, as well as from the Tories in the Home Counties, such as West Sussex.

Zak Crawley’s England replacement has three caps for Italy

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If, as many suspect, Emilio Gay makes his Test debut against New Zealand at Lord’s next month it’ll be a world away from his first taste of international cricket 18 months ago when he opened the batting for Italy against Tanzania in Uganda.

Gay, who qualified for Italy through his maternal grandfather, bossed that ICC World Cup Challenge 50-over encounter at the Entebbe Cricket Oval, scoring an unbeaten 96 from 84 balls.

Three more half-centuries in the tournament – against Hong Kong, Uganda and Singapore – followed. Another, in the Europe qualifier for the T20 World Cup eight months later, came against Scotland.

The 26-year-old did his part to help Italy reach this year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka but missed the tournament with a hamstring injury sustained on England Lions duty in Australia last winter.

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 04: Emilio Gay of Northamptonshire looks on during day one of the LV= Insurance County Championship match between Northamptonshire and Yorkshire at The County Ground on July 04, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Andy Kearns/Getty Images)
Gay started at Northants before moving to Durham to catch the selectors’ eye (Photo: Getty)

For Gareth Berg, Gay’s former Northamptonshire team-mate and the Italy coach who persuaded him to tap into his Mediterranean roots, the left-hander’s current elevation to the brink of England Test selection is no surprise.

“I tried very hard for a couple of years to get him involved,” he tells The i Paper. “But he always thought Italian cricket was rubbish. Eventually he realised we were pushing for World Cup status.

“He came in and absolutely bossed it. He walked away saying those few months he played for us was one of the highlights of his career so far. It opened his eyes and certainly showed he had to learn some things outside of county cricket in order to develop his game.

“It was very clear in our first conversations about Italy – was it going to put his nose out of joint trying to make England? I had to reassure him on that front. But he also made it very clear the direction he wanted to move in was to play for England.”

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - MARCH 17: Emilio Gay poses for a portrait during the Northamptonshire County Cricket Club Photocall at The County Ground on March 17, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Gay could represent England, Italy or the West Indies if he chose – but wants England (Photo: Getty)

Given Italy are not a full member of the International Cricket Council, Gay, whose father is from Grenada, is free to play for England – or the West Indies – immediately if selected.

That first foray into international cricket came in the winter of 2024, when Gay also made the move from Northants to Durham, home of Test captain Ben Stokes, that has proved transformational for his England prospects.

Now he is the frontrunner to replace Zak Crawley at the top of the order following a fine start to the season in which he has scored 473 runs, including three centuries, at 94.60.

Gay may currently be plying his trade in Division Two of the Championship – and batting at No 3 for Durham –  but his form follows a 2025 summer in which the opener scored four Division One centuries and 954 runs overall.

“This is what he’s always wanted,” says Berg. “I would liken him to Dawid Malan, who was probably in many people’s eyes not the nicest guy but actually Dawy and myself are good mates. The reason I love Dawy is because of the hard work he’d put in. Those years of grafting stood him in good stead to play for England. I see that trait in Emilio. It’s exciting knowing that journey could potentially begin now for him.”

Speaking to those who know him, a picture of a confident, hard-working and highly ambitious player begins to emerge. Berg says Gay “worked his nuts off” to break into the Northants first-team as a teenager in 2019. David Ripley, the head coach who gave him that chance, adds: “It was his appetite. He was phenomenal. He would just go and have his own nets. He would do a lot of running to give himself an extra edge. He was just very committed.”

Confidence has been key to his rise. “Emilio’s always got that air about him,” says Berg. “He used to get a lot of stick from the opposition thinking he was arrogant. But there’s a difference between arrogance and assurance. He has that belief in himself. That stands him in good stead.”

Yet his self-assuredness hasn’t always gone down well. “It didn’t all go smoothly,” says Ripley. “He was very strong-willed and confident and that didn’t always come out well with other players. His first year in particular I remember being quite a tricky one in terms of finding his place in the group. But he went off into the second team and credit to Emilio for how he adapted. He found his way. It was a big year in his development. He grew as a person.”

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 28: Emilio Gay of Northamptonshire keeps a close eye on the ball during day one of the pre-season friendly match between Northamptonshire and Middlesex at The County Ground on July 28, 2020 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Andy Kearns/Getty Images)
His confident style has sometimes rubbed opposition up the wrong way (Photo: Getty)

For Ripley, there was never any doubt Gay would get to the top. “He said very early on he was going to play for England,” he says.“That drive is probably his strongest asset. He has challenged himself, moved county to give himself, in his view, a bigger audience. I guess it helps Ben Stokes is up there. I’m sure he would have thought about that. I’m pleased to see him doing so well.”

His Italian and Caribbean heritage has also shaped him. “He’s got his West Indian style, that sort of strut, loves being the man, talks a good game and that type of stuff,” says Berg. “And he’s got the Italian side where he’s big on his food and very passionate about things. You definitely see both aspects of his heritage easily.”

Like another left-handed opener in former England captain Sir Alastair Cook, Gay also went to Bedford School.

“If he plays for England he’ll not just want to play he’ll be wanting to chase down Sir Alastair’s stats,” says Ripley. “He’ll be going in to become someone that could play 70 or 80 Tests I’m sure. Why not?”

As for whether that opportunity will come later this month when England name their squad for the first Test against New Zealand, Berg says: “As a character I don’t think there’d be anyone better.”

The fridge staple that could lower your risk of Alzheimer’s

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This is Everyday Science with Clare Wilson, a subscriber-only newsletter from The i Paper. If you’d like to get this direct to your inbox every week, you can sign up here.

Hello, and welcome back to Everyday Science.

Isn’t it great when science shows that one of your favourite foods is good for you? That has happened to me this week, as researchers announced that eggs may help keep Alzheimer’s disease at bay.

Eggs were once the original superfood, but then concerns over their cholesterol and fat content led to them being seen as bad for the heart. So, what do and don’t we know about the effects of eggs on our health – and does the way that we cook them make any difference?

Shorts – Quick stories

Eggs were seen as good for us for a long time because they are high in protein, as well as providing a range of vitamins and minerals.

Quick to prepare, they became the perfect breakfast food, with “Go to work on an egg” the Egg Marketing Board’s long-time slogan until the 1970s.

But their health halo started slipping in the 70s, because of increasing concerns about heart disease being caused by cholesterol and saturated fat, both found in eggs.

For a while, common health advice was that we should avoid eggs, or at least, not eat too many. It led to a craze for omelettes made only from egg whites, as it is the yolk that has the fat and cholesterol.

By 2007, when the board – now the British Egg Information Service – wanted to resurrect its old slogan, the advert was banned on health grounds.

Separated egg whites sold in cartons are now popular with body builders, as they are a source of low-fat protein that helps with “cutting”, when people try to lose body fat while keeping muscle, said Dr Carrie Ruxton, a dietitian and nutrition researcher.

But, as thinking about the causes of heart disease has evolved, the pendulum has swung back to be more pro-eggs. “The science has evolved quite a lot,” said Professor Tom Hill, a nutrition researcher at Newcastle University.

For starters, it turns out the original advice to avoid cholesterol in food was wrong – because most cholesterol in blood does not come from the diet but is made by the body.

Blood cholesterol levels are more affected by how much saturated fat we eat. Eggs do have some saturated fat, but it’s only about 1.5g in a large egg. To put that into context, the NHS advises that women should have no more than 20g a day and men 30g.

These days, the NHS recommends eating eggs as part of a balanced diet, without mentioning an upper limit. The British Heart Foundation says they are a “healthy, affordable source of protein and other important nutrients”.

Thanks to this bundle of nutrients eggs are thought to have a range of other health benefits, including for the brain and eyesight.

Eggs are a rich source of vitamins A, D, B12 and folate, as well as the minerals, iodine and selenium.

All of these substances are often deficient in the British diet, according to the Government’s last National Diet and Nutrition Survey, from 2025.

This survey found, for instance, that one in eight people are not getting enough iodine in their diet. And most people don’t get enough vitamin D during winter, when the body cannot make this compound by the action of sunlight on skin.

Many of these nutrients are important for brain development in the womb and in childhood. Previous research has also highlighted a vitamin-like substance called choline, rich in egg yolks, and essential for foetal brain formation, because it helps build the fatty outer membranes of nerve cells.

The latest study suggests these nutrients may also support brain functioning in later life. It found that people who ate at least five eggs per week had a 27 per cent lower risk of the condition.

It tracked nearly 40,000 middle-aged and older Americans for 15 years, and was published in The Journal of Nutrition.

The research is not clinching proof that eggs ward off Alzheimer’s because it just looked at correlations between diet and brain health, rather than being a randomised trial, the best kind of medical evidence, said Professor Hill. “It doesn’t prove cause and effect.”

But, it is “biologically plausible” that the collection of nutrients in eggs could benefit the brain, he said.

And some research supporting the benefits of eggs on the brain were in the form of randomised trials, including a trial showing that a choline supplement improved memory in older people and eyesight.

Eggs are also suspected to support eyesight function in later life for other reasons, said Dr Emma Derbyshire, a nutrition researcher. They contain other vitamin-like nutrients called lutein and zeaxanthin, which may help slow progression of an eye condition common in older people, called age-related macular degeneration.

But all these nutrients are present in the yolk – so those who eat only the white are missing out. “By just having the whites, you could be forgoing all of these beneficial nutrients,” said Dr Derbyshire.

There’s even a further reason for returning the health halo to eggs. There used to be a risk of catching the bacterial infection salmonella from raw eggs, but the Food Standards Agency said 10 years ago there was no risk from eggs stamped with the “British Lion” mark, as this shows the hens had been vaccinated. Pregnant women can even eat runny eggs, said the agency.

So, from childhood to later life, the evidence is accumulating that eggs should be seen as a health food, rather than something to be cautious about.

It seems that “Go to work on an egg” could have been good advice after all.

I’ve also written

The cruise ship hantavirus outbreak has now been confirmed as caused by the Andes strain, which can spread between people, making it more dangerous. Here’s what you need to know.

I’ve been reading

The Shock of the Light by Lori Inglis Hall is set mainly in France during the Second World War. It is about a small group of British women who risked their lives to help the war effort and were then betrayed by their own government. It is both historically fascinating and deeply moving. Keep a tissue at the ready.

The kilometre-long bridge that reveals Putin’s great weakness

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The opening of a first road bridge between Russia and North Korea shows the extent of Vladimir Putin’s dependence on the “Hermit Kingdom”, analysts say, including for foreign fighters who could help spare him from domestic unrest. 

The Khasan-Tumangang Bridge over the Tumen River is close to completion, satellite images show, after a year-long build that cost about £88m, according to Russian state media.

The kilometre-long structure sits a few hundred metres to the south of an existing rail connection between the two countries known as the Friendship Bridge.

Shorts – Quick stories

The project was signed off after a 2024 summit between Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which deepened their alliance and led to Pyongyang playing an increasingly active role in the war in Ukraine.

Noerth Korea has already supplied an estimated 15,000 soldiers, millions of artillery shells and some longer-range weapons to support the Russian war effort. The bridge is expected to increase military and trade exchanges.

Ruslan Trad, a security researcher and journalist at the Atlantic Council and Bulgarian outlet Kapital, said there was “irony” in a self-styled great power being in a “structurally dependent relationship with one of the world’s most sanctioned and isolated states”.

The new bridge is “a monument to that dependency,” he added.

Mykola Bielieskov, a military researcher at the Ukraine government’s National Institute for Strategic Studies, said the arrangement highlighted the Kremlin’s dependence on a smaller ally, which weakened its image as a major power, but suggested the potential value of the partnership was more important.

“Definitely it’s a sign that Russia needs partners in war and is not self-sufficient,” he said. “But ultimately, everything is judged by the ability to last longer than the opponent in war, and [Russia] needs to involve as much resources as it can.”

BEIJING, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 3: (RUSSIA OUT) Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) greets North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un (L) after their bilateral meeting on September 3, 2025, in Beijing, China. President Putin is visiting China and will attend a military parade in Beijing to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the end of WW2. (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images)
Vladimir Putin greets North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at a meeting in Beijing last year (Photo: Getty)

‘Artillery artery’

The speed of construction of the bridge reflects the importance of trade between the countries, said Trad: “Until now, bilateral trade relied almost entirely on a single, Soviet-era rail line and sporadic sea routes. The new road bridge would add to capacity, he said, and “in a wartime logistics context, that matters.”

The bridge will also “lower the friction and cost of transferring artillery shells, rockets, and other materiel”, he added.

Colonel Markus Reisner, an Austrian officer specialising in Russian forces, described the new supply line as an “artillery artery” that will expedite deliveries to Putin’s forces. “A lot more will go both ways,” he said.

Between late 2023 and early last year, at least 64 ships carried up to six million artillery rounds from North Korea to Russian ports, accounting for almost 100 per cent of the ammunition usage of some units, according to a Reuters study of military documents.

Russia has since scaled up its own production, from around a million shells in 2022 to seven million last year, according to an Estonian intelligence assessment.

Bielieskov said North Korean artillery is unlikely to make a major impact on the battlefield due to Russia’s expanded production and the dominance of drones. But the new bridge will “simplify the transfer of short range ballistic missiles”.

Foreign cannon fodder

Edward Hunter Christie, a former Nato official, said he expected the bridge to be used to bring in more personnel to enable Russia to continue to wage war in a high-attrition style that has led to more than a million casualties, according to most estimates.

This showed a “darker and uglier” side to Putin’s war plans, added Christie, suggesting that the Russian leader was seeking to make greater use of foreign fighters to spare residents of major cities. He pointed to a pattern of recruitment from peripheral regions of Russia as well as from abroad.

“It confirms the fundamental fact that the Putin regime pursues its neo-imperial aggression against Ukraine in a manner that disproportionately uses non-ethnic Russians as cannon fodder,” said Christie.

Large KN-23 Barrage in March 2023 This photo provided by the North Korean government shows what it says is an artillery drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea on Thursday, March 9, 2023. KCNA/AP
North Korea conducts a drill firing KN-23 short-range missiles. Pyongyang has supplied Russian forces with millions of artillery shells to aid the Kremlin’s war effort in Ukraine (Photo: KCNA/AP)

“There is a pattern of disproportionate use of soldiers from regions that are ethnically non-Russian…Tuva and Buryatia [remote regions of sourthern Siberia] have the highest casualty counts per 100,000 people. Combine that with the well-known scandals of Russia effectively abducting foreign migrant workers from Africa or South America and sending them to the front.

“And what is very clear is that the casualty rates for the cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg are extremely low.”

Ukraine claims that more than 7,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded in action to date. In an emotional ceremony last year, Kim paid tribute to those lost.

Putin has been under rare domestic pressure in recent weeks, with prominent writers publicly complaining about the impact of the war inside Russia, such as internet blackouts and high inflation. His approval rating has fallen even with the state-run pollster.

Offsetting more of the costs to North Korea could allow the Russian President to continue the war without stirring up more discontent on the home front.

The secret meeting that has blown the Labour leadership race wide open

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Two weeks ago, Angela Rayner paid a secret visit to a Labour big beast to canvas support for her exploratory bid to become prime minister.

The former deputy Labour leader travelled to Sheffield to meet Louise Haigh, the ex-transport secretary who, like Rayner, was forced to quit Sir Keir Starmer’s Government.

Since being forced out over a spent conviction, Haigh, known for her northern straight-talking and bright hair, has become a backroom power-broker by reviving the soft-left Tribune group, a talking shop that bridges Labour’s mainstream and its hard left. Securing the support of its 100 or so MPs is crucial to any leadership tilt.

Shorts – Quick stories

Rayner is hopeful that an investigation into her tax affairs will soon conclude, paving the way for her to return to frontline politics, either in Cabinet or, as her supporters are urging, with a shot at winning the big prize of the Labour leadership.

However, in a blow to her chances of securing the top job, the former deputy PM left the meeting with Haigh empty handed. No offer of support was given. And it led many MPs in the caucus to conclude support from the soft left was instead flowing towards Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, as the preferred replacement to Starmer and the salvation to Labour’s dire polling figures.

Rayner is said to have left a meeting with former Cabinet minister Louise Haigh empty handed after canvassing for support in any potential leadership race (Photo: Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu)

Haigh’s decision to withhold support came as no surprise to one ally. “Lou has always been a bit prickly about Rayner,” one said. “She’s a bit pissed off that Ange is still in the running to be prime minister after all her tax issues when Lou herself is widely seen to have been ruled out due to an historic spent conviction.”

Starmer is anticipating a bruising weekend, as pollsters predict the worst set of midterm election results ever for a government. Over the next 48 hours, Labour is expected to lose up to 2,000 seats across the country, as well as the Scottish and Welsh elections.

Louise Haigh (right) who was forced out of the Cabinet has become a backroom power-broker by reviving the soft-left Tribune group of 100 or so Labour MPs

PM ‘almost at the point of no return’

The Prime Minister is preparing to face down any attempt to topple him, but many within his party now believe his time may be up. “We are almost at the point of no return,” said one Labour MP. “The public are rightly fed up with a government that promised so much and yet have delivered so little.”

In January, Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) blocked Burnham from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election in an attempt to protect a weakened Starmer from a leadership challenge from the so-called “King of the North”.

But allies of Burnham claim he has identified a new seat and will make a fresh bid to enter Westminster immediately after the local elections.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and wife Victoria arrive at a polling station in central London, Thursday, May 7, 2026 to cast their votes in the local elections.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and wife Victoria arriving at a polling station on Thursday to cast their votes in the local elections. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

One supporter confidently predicted that the NEC would not block him again and that he would be Prime minister by September. Another ally said there would be “moral pressure” on the NEC and Starmer to let Burnham stand. However, such claims have been dismissed by other MPs as “complete bollocks” and “wishful thinking.” The makeup of the NEC is unlikely to change significantly even after July’s internal elections.

That hasn’t stopped speculation about where Burnham could stand. Bootle in Merseyside is currently held by the Labour MP Peter Dowd. He has publicly rejected suggestions that he would vacate his seat for Burnham.

However, one MP who has spoken to Dowd, said: “He thinks the Labour party is facing an existential crisis and Andy is the only one who can save it.” Other MPs thought to be under pressure to give up their seats include Charlotte Nichols, the Warrington North MP, and Marie Rimmer, the MP for St Helens South – although both deny being approached. Sources close to Burnham deny these seats were ever in contention. Another seat being watched closely is Rusholme, currently held by Afzal Khan, one of Burnham’s closest political allies and former Lord Mayor of Manchester.

Any leadership bid by Burnham faces one big stumbling block: Starmer himself. The Prime Minister has told allies that he would “never” let Burnham return to Westminster while he is in No 10.

Rayner allies: Burnham should ‘get realistic’ about his prospects

This would leave Rayner as the most popular candidate from the soft left if Burnham fails in his bid to re-enter Parliament. Her allies claim she believes that Burnham needs to “get realistic” about his prospects and get out of her way. Their message to him is to let her take the reins immediately and then Rayner will let him return to Westminster when she is installed as prime minister.

And while Rayner’s allies insist she is “genuinely undecided” about whether she will enter any leadership race, the former Housing Secretary has previously joked with friends that she will soon return to the Cabinet as its boss.

The Ashton-under-Lyne MP is also understood to have agreed a break clause in her autobiography contract that would allow her to return her paid advance in the event she became PM or returned to another prominent role. She will also pause plans for her podcast called ‘Beyond the Bubble’. One ally said: “She has to give serious consideration to the impact on her family, but if people call on her to stand in the name of public duty, then that’s another story.”

Before Rayner can mount any kind of challenge, she must first await the conclusion of a HM Revenue and Customs investigation into her alleged failure to pay the correct stamp duty on the purchase of a flat in Hove – the row that led to her resignation from Government. She expected to be cleared on 23 April and was disappointed when the outcome of the review was delayed, according to allies.

This is not the only recent setback for Rayner, whose stock appears to be waning. Last week, she was forced to deny claims that she had crashed into the entrance door of Strangers’ bar in the House of Commons after a boozy night. She told friends that she had drunk no more than four glasses of wine over the course of the evening and had eaten.

To make matters worse, Rayner has now been told by the House of Commons authorities that leftwing undercover journalists keen to expose Westminster’s drinking culture after the Green MP Hannah Spencer criticised MPs for drinking on the job, may have been secretly filming her.

Rayner stamp duty saga ‘has turned off voters’

During the local election campaign MPs have also complained that a negative view of Rayner has been coming up with voters on the doorstep and would deter Labour’s grassroots from backing her in the event of a contest.

“I’ve been surprised by how much Angela has come up as an issue on the doorsteps. People absolutely loathe her and it’s to do with the taxes,” a northern Labour MP told The i Paper. “They think she’s become ‘one of them’… and the membership is ultimately misogynistic.”

Another Welsh Labour MP said of Rayner: “I like her, but she would last six weeks. It would be fun while it lasted; the parties in No 10 would be amazing.”

A Labour MP in a London seat also reported Rayner had been mentioned by voters during campaigning, adding that neither voters or members would want to see her partner Sam Tarry, a former Labour MP who lost his seat at the last election, in Downing Street.

“That’s before we get to the tax stuff. The tax stuff completely rules her out,” the MP said. “I think she’s got loads of power. And I think she absolutely can be a kingmaker, and she can demand what role she wants, and she can bring people with her, unions and members. I just don’t think she can be number one.”

Neither Rayner or Streeting want to move first

Rayner’s closest allies believe she will only enter the race to succeed Starmer if Wes Streeting, the health secretary, enters the fray. “Then she would feel compelled to do it,” one source said. “She will not be the instigator or the first mover.”

However, allies of Streeting have suggested he will not challenge Starmer and will only enter the contest if it “all falls apart”.

Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner are both seen as frontrunners to succeed Keir Starmer (Photo: Hollie Adams/Getty)

And so a stalemate is developing. “Like in the start of the first world war, when the Russians mobilised, they couldn’t be stopped. But no one is mobilising yet. If Wes moves, then Ange has to move,” a Government source told The i Paper.

Such a stand-off could delay any imminent risk to Starmer – although some of Streeting’s supporters believe he will have to move quickly if he is to stand any chance of winning. His time is running out, they suggested.

Streeting’s time may be running out

“Wes has got to move. Because if it was Angela versus Wes for the leadership, I think Wes would win because her star is waning. If it’s Andy versus Wes, Andy would win. So, if Wes is going to go, he’s got to go quickly,” the MP ally of Streeting said.

Another MP who has been watching events carefully suggested Streeting’s window of opportunity would only last until the King’s Speech on May 13 when he would risk becoming seen as a “David Miliband figure” – a reference to the former foreign secretary who failed to challenge Brown in 2008. “The only one who benefits from delay is Burnham,” the MP added.

Earlier this week, it was reported that disgruntled backbenchers intend to send an open letter to Starmer demanding that he set out a timetable for his departure. The Times newspaper claimed the letter was being coordinated by the 2024 intake known as the “Starmtroopers”. There is also suggestions that a second letter coordinated by Burnham supporters is also in circulation calling for him to be allowed to return to Westminster. One source said: “The letter is code for delay and a ploy by Burnham’s supporters to stop any contest happening until he returns to Westminster.”

However, other Labour MPs are doubtful even about the existence of such letters.

That hasn’t stopped the temperature rising at Westminster. Labour MPs are planning on coming back to London on Sunday to be in the thick of the action even though Parliament is prorogued until Wednesday, according to sources.

No 10 clears Starmer’s diary for possible reshuffle

Perhaps they believe they may be offered a job if Starmer presses ahead with a reshuffle on Monday. The i Paper understands No 10 has cleared his diary. Starmer is understood to hate reshuffles and government sources insist that if any takes place it will “not be a big one.” Those rumoured to be in line for new jobs in the cabinet include Rayner and Lucy Powell, Labour’s deputy leader, who is close to Burnham and has rallied behind Starmer in recent weeks and days.

But Starmer may also still be firefighting after a torrid weekend. Sadiq Khan, the Labour Mayor of London, is expected to record a pool clip on Saturday morning. Support for Zack Polanski’s Green Party is expected to surge across the capital.

Starmer is set to face stinging criticism from all quarters of the Labour Party over the weekend. First minister of Wales Eluned Morgan could lose her Senedd seat and Labour leader in Scotland Anas Sarwar could repeat his call for Starmer to resign. More likely, according to some, is that Starmer is asked to set out a timetable for his own departure

“I think there will be a move to force Keir to set out a timetable, but I think this comes from a critical mass of people expressing their discontent on Friday and over the weekend,” said one Labour MP. “You’ll get a group of mayors from across the country who might come out for Andy, council leaders who have lost their seats, Eluned, Anas, MPs in Parliament, former cabinet members. They’ll all start making enough noise and asking the Prime Minister to set out a timetable for when he’ll go.”

Starmer’s allies insist he is going nowhere and that his chances of survival are underpriced. A Government source said: “He is still a lot stronger than people think and there is no clear candidate or path to change leader. Everyone says they hate Keir until they stand him next to another candidate.”

Starmer won the Labour leadership in April 2020 with a pledge to unite the party’s warring centrist and socialist factions. This weekend, he will have to show he’s capable of uniting the party again and moving forward. But there are plenty of candidates waiting in the wings should he fail.

Sunderland dream of re-signing ‘genius’ Amad Diallo as Man Utd career stalls

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Tony Mowbray will never forget the moment he first set eyes on Amad Diallo.

“When I got the call to manage Sunderland it was out of the blue so my thinking was simple: judge them on what they do on the training pitch,” he recalls. And one player was impossible to ignore – the slight 20-year-old loan signing who “seemed to just be having fun”.

“With Amad the ball was just stuck to his left foot, no-one could get the ball off him or get anywhere near him. He’s that kind of player who can beat three men in a phone box, you know? I turned to my assistant Mark Venus and said: ‘This kid is a genius. Why hasn’t he been playing?’”

It didn’t take long for Mowbray to change that. Diallo was deployed as a “false nine”, played 37 times and scored 13 goals in a season where Sunderland rediscovered themselves.

He signed for a club who had just returned to the Championship after four seasons in League One but the storm clouds were gathering. Manager Alex Neil had walked out in protest at the club’s model, which he felt wouldn’t allow them to compete in the second tier. Questions were being asked of the ownership.

The unassuming Diallo arrived off the back of a failed loan spell at Rangers – his talent was undoubted but expectations were fairly muted. He ended up becoming one of the most important loan signings in the club’s history, helping to shift the mood around the club profoundly.

SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - MAY 13: Sunderland's Amad Diallo celebrates scoring his side's equalising goal to make the score 1-1 during the Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Semi-Final First Leg match between Sunderland and Luton Town at Stadium of Light on May 13, 2023 in Sunderland, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Dodd - CameraSport via Getty Images)
Sunderland enjoyed Amad’s best years (Photo: Getty)

“At the time I don’t think Sunderland fans really knew what to expect. They’d been in League One but it’s a massive club so expectations are high,” Mowbray says.

“Amad ended up being perfect for us. Hugely, hugely talented boy but also not in the slightest bit flashy or arrogant. He’s quite insular, certainly not gregarious, not a ‘look at me’ type because he does it with his feet instead.

“Hard work is a non-negotiable at Sunderland. They loved Amad because he did all of that, put his body on the line, got into his tackles, but he was also unbelievably talented as well.”

Mowbray is typically modest about his role in Diallo’s progress but the player was moved to tears by a video message from his former manager that was shown to him in a Sky interview this week.

“As I do with all footballers, I try and encourage him to be the best version of themselves by reconnecting with their inner child,” Mowbray recalls.

“To be a professional footballer you’ve all been the best player in your school team. We’ve all been the best in the district and the county and he needed to find his inner child and believe in his talent.

“I was constantly saying ‘Give the ball to Amad, give the ball to Amad’ and it grew really. He didn’t want to let the team down, he knew he had a responsibility and he just did amazingly well.”

Diallo travels to Wearside this weekend with his Manchester United career at a bit of a crossroads. Performances since the Africa Cup of Nations have been below the standards he set early in the season and with big spending planned for the summer, there have been the first rumblings about his long-term future at Old Trafford.

Michael Carrick has talked him up and it’s understood he has support behind the scenes but an error against Liverpool last week was typical of his recent travails.

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If confidence ever wavered, The i Paper understands that Sunderland would make their pitch. Still considered a “dream signing” by key figures in the club’s recruitment department, the Black Cats have tried several times to re-sign Diallo since that first loan spell. Every time Manchester United have knocked them back but interest endures.

“We certainly wanted to bring him back and it would have happened if it was possible because he loved his time at Sunderland,” Mowbray says.

“But I remember saying to Stuart Harvey that on the back of what he’d achieved with us he would get a chance. Their loans manager was in the stands most weeks, so they knew what they had. Of course I wanted him back but I was also happy for him that he got the chance at Manchester United because I couldn’t speak highly enough about him as a person and a footballer.”

How Zack Polanski’s biggest claims stack up

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Zack Polanski has been under growing scrutiny ahead of the local elections in which the Green Party of England and Wales, which he leads, is expected to make major gains.

On the eve of polling day on Wednesday he gave his last big media interview of the campaign, speaking to ITV’s Peston, where he laid out his pitch to voters.

Polanski also addressed a number of controversies which have attached themselves to him and his party – here we fact-check his main claims.

Red Cross role

Polanski claimed to be a “spokesperson” for the British Red Cross when he was standing to be the Greens’ deputy leader – but the charity has insisted he never held that role.

He told Peston: “I hosted events for the British Red Cross. I would go on stage with them with a set of points they would want me to make around protecting refugees, around the amazing work they do with dealing with conflict zones and also in fact the climate crisis in this country. This was in 2016. I accept that the British Red Cross cannot have a spokesperson who is in a political party, so they need to have that distinction.”

There is no dispute that Polanski did raise funds for the British Red Cross, but the charity itself told The Times this week that he “has not been a spokesperson”. Polanski has also admitted he was not a spokesman.

Golders Green policing

Polanski has apologised for wrongly claiming that the suspect accused of a stabbing attack in Golders Green last week was “handcuffed” in a video which showed him being kicked by police officers.

He had previously been under fire for reposting a tweet which criticised the police for continuing to kick the man while he was on the floor.

Defending himself on Peston, Polanksi said: “Well, he was tasered and immobile and with his face down. And again, I think when you’re being honest, when things are moving quickly, again, you will make mistakes.”

It is true that the man had been tasered by officers and was lying on the ground, but the police have insisted it was necessary to continue trying to force him to drop the knife he was still holding at the time.

Antisemitism cases

The Green leader says he has no involvement in decisions over whether to expel party members who are accused of antisemitism or other breaches of internal rules. Two candidates have been arrested for allegedly posting anti-semitic remarks on social media.

Polanski told Peston: “We’re a decentralised party where the leadership doesn’t have any say over the disciplinary process.”

Disciplinary cases are dealt with by an elected committee of party members. It is usually accepted that over time, the stance taken by a party leader has a strong influence over how its rules are interpreted even if the leader has no direct influence over individual cases.

Israel Gaza conflict

Polanski declined to affirm that the state of Israel has a right to exist, telling Peston: “I don’t believe any country has a right to exist. People have a right to exist. The Israelis have a right to exist. The Palestinians have a right to exist.”

Green policy is clear, however, that there should be a Palestinian state – which appears to clash with the leader’s position.

The party’s last general election manifesto called for “recognition of the state of Palestine and an urgent international effort to end the illegal occupation of Palestinian land”.

It also called for: “A durable political solution that ensures security and equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians.”

UK involvement in Gaza

Polanski claimed that the UK Government had a policy to “continue to arm a genocidal apartheid state”, a reference to the contested argument that Israel’s military operations in Gaza constitute a genocide.

It is true that British arms companies sell weaponry to Israel, and require a licence to do so from the Government.

But the Government does not itself directly arm the Israeli military, and has repeatedly called for an end to the war in Gaza. It has also suspended some arms licences to Israel which it said could be “used in violations of International Humanitarian Law” in Gaza.

Asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees

Polanski told Peston: “The amount of people since 2018 coming over on small boats is less in terms of the asylum seekers than the refugees we have housed, quite rightly, for the Homes for Ukraine scheme. This shows when we make political choices, we can save lives and actually show compassion.”

Around 200,000 people have entered the UK by crossing the English Channel on a small boat. At least 267,000 visas have been issued under two different programmes which allow Ukrainian citizens to live in Britain while their country is under invasion by Russia.

One crucial difference is that not all small boat migrants are genuine asylum seekers, and by definition they are travelling to the UK from a country – France or Belgium – which is safe to live in, rather than coming directly from somewhere dangerous.

Reform’s tax policy

Polanski claimed that Reform UK “want to give tax breaks to their billionaire mates”.

It is true that Reform is generally in favour of cutting taxes, including for the wealthiest, although the party has not set out in detail the fiscal policies it would pursue if elected.

Reform also has a number of billionaire donors, although they all say they are supporting the party out of political conviction rather than in the hope of a policy which favours their own finances.

Andrew ‘threatened by balaclava-clad man’ near Sandringham

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A balaclva-clad man allegedly threatened Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, near his home on the Sandringham Estate, it has been reported.

According to reports, Mountbatten-Windsor was approached around 7.30pm on Wednesday near the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk while he was out walking his dog.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

The Epstein ‘suicide note’ will become Trump’s nightmare

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For months, whatever Donald Trump tried to do as President, someone would suggest it was just an attempt to “distract” the public from the Epstein files.

Kidnapping the Venezuelan president in a night-time raid? A distraction. Sending ICE en masse into Minneapolis? You guessed it. Some people even suggested Trump’s assault on Iran – by far the largest military operation of either of his presidencies – might just be a bid to move the narrative away from Trump’s ongoing entanglement with the world’s most notorious sex trafficker.

On Wednesday, the world received final confirmation – as if any more were needed – that Donald Trump will never be free of the Epstein story. Almost seven years after Jeffrey Epstein’s death, a federal court released to the public what is purported to be his suicide note. At a stroke, the Epstein story is once again back in the headlines.

Usually, suicide notes don’t surface so many years after the death of their supposed author. In this case, the long delay related to ongoing legal tussles around the man who found it, Epstein’s cellmate when – a short time before his actual death – Epstein attempted suicide.

Nicholas Tartaglione, that cellmate, said he found the note in a graphic novel shortly after the suicide attempt, and handed it over to his lawyers after Epstein claimed the ligature wounds around his neck were the result of an attempted assault by Tartaglione – possibly in a bid to avoid being placed on suicide watch. 

The note itself is sure to enrage victims almost as much as it tantalises conspiracy theorists. Epstein does not come across as a man wracked by guilt for his crimes, nor one fearfully trying to avoid the consequences of naming accomplices. Instead, he simply comes across as an arrogant, powerful man taking what modicum of control he can over his own situation, and denying his victims the power and catharsis of seeing him go through the process of justice.

“They investigated me for month — FOUND NOTHING!!!” the note begins. “It is a treat to be able to choose one’s time to say goodbye. Watcha want me to do — Bust out cryin!!”

Epstein lived a life of hedonism, making himself incredibly rich through his ability to schmooze and network with billionaires, and using the power and wealth he amassed for his own pleasure at an awful cost to hundreds of young women and girls who he trafficked through his network.

His note – which Tartaglione’s lawyers claimed to have checked as authentic, but which has not been independently verified – appears to show a rich, powerful man seeing that the life remaining to him will not be “fun” in the way it has been to date, and deciding to exit on his own terms.

For Epstein’s victims, its publication will serve as a bitter reminder that the justice they campaigned for over the course of years and decades was denied to them. When Epstein was caught in the mid-2000s, he managed to carve out a sweetheart deal that left him detained for just 13 months, with work release. In 2019, he was charged with sex trafficking, and was held in prison until his death by suicide later that year.

It feels absurd now to think that many in Trump’s orbit actively campaigned using Epstein as an issue to help elect Trump, promising that he would release the “files” in full. In practice, the White House had to be forced to do so by Congress, and has faced multiple scandals over delays and improper redactions. The disclosures are believed to have played a role in Trump’s decision to part with Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Trump faces ongoing questions over missing and redacted files.

Trump can probably shrug that off. Most people have already made up their mind about him by now, though his plummeting ratings suggest at least a few people are still capable of changing their view. But the publication of the Epstein note serves as a reminder to Trump that this story can always resurface, probably without warning, and well beyond his ability to control it.

There will always be another document. There will always be another news hook. And there will always be people who want to talk about this story, who want to see accountability, who want whatever answers are still missing.

Leaders through history have often been in need of a memento mori, a reminder that they are just a mortal man. Trump has more than that, he has memento Epstein – a reminder that he will never escape his old associations, however hard he tries.

Andrew and Molly on their Race Across the World

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It was the “across the world” element of the BBC’s popular race series that motivated Andrew Clifford, 54, and his daughter Molly, 23, to apply for the show rather than the race itself. Season six’s feel-good family contestants come from the town of Maghera, Mid-Ulster; the trip embodied “the total opposite of what we’d done previously as a family”, explains Molly.

The Clifford’s holidays had been “very standard, very traditional”, she tells The i Paper. Her father’s job as a teacher meant that summer holidays were long. “We went to France a couple of times when I was really tiny. Otherwise, we had a caravan in Donegal that we would have been in all summer, playing on the beach all day. We have family all over Ireland, so we would go down to places like Sligo and Dundalk. We had the best time.”

For Andrew, it was also about life-stage. “Jo and Kush [their 19-year-old rival contestants] have time on their hands, but at my age, it’s more about the opportunities than the outcome”, he says. “It has taken a long personal journey to realise that.” He emphasises that the pair was particularly open to meeting people. “Every opportunity that we had, it was [the desire] to stay in people’s homes.”

They applied while Molly was studying for her final exams as a junior doctor. “I found out the day before my graduation that we were going on the show. It was the weirdest ceremony”, she laughs.

Andrew and Molly in Vasiliki, trying to hitch to Lefkada on the second leg (Photo: BBC/Studio Lambert) BBC TV TV Still
Andrew and Molly Clifford in Vasiliki, Greece, trying to hitch to Lefkada on the second leg (Photo: Studio Lambert/BBC)

They had only been able to tell a very small group of close family members. For everyone else, the cover story was that they were going to Peru. That included the adventure outfitting shop in which they had to politely but firmly decline recommendations for kit suitable for Patagonia, knowing that they’d be on another continent altogether.

The eldest of three siblings, there was no question that it would be Molly who’d join her father for the trip. “There’s a joke in the family about all the reasons my wife wouldn’t do it”, says Andrew. “As a friend, Molly’s a close number two to my wife.” He explains that their relationship is one with a tacit acknowledgment of when to move on from arguments, something that would be invaluable during the more testing moments of the journey.

At a stage in life when you begin to reflect on your legacy, Andrew also has a profound sentimentality about the journey, both literally and metaphorically. He says that when Molly, his oldest daughter was born, he promised her “the sun, the moon and the stars. [Race Across the World] was me trying to fulfil that promise.”

Andrew was captivated by Mount Nemrut at dawn (Photo: Kitti Boonnitrod/Getty Images)
Andrew was captivated by Mount Nemrut, Turkey, at dawn (Photo: Kitti Boonnitrod/Getty)

They had never been anywhere like the places on their 12,000 kilometre race route from Palermo in Italy to Hatgal in Mongolia, which included Mount Nemrut in Turkey and the Kazakh port city of Aktau on the Caspian Sea. “Daddy’s a geography teacher, but I didn’t even know how to spell a lot of the places”, says Molly.

So far, they have maintained a steady third and fourth place at each of the five checkpoints, but Molly is keen to correct the assumption that they’re easy going. “We’re uber competitive. That was the fun element of the trip. We knew we only had to win one leg.”

Andrew adds that they would “race when we had to” while ensuring that they didn’t miss the invaluable opportunities of each destination.

This is evident when they hike to the summit of 2,134 metre Mount Nemrut, where they drink in the sunrise that glows on the colossal limestone statues of Greco-Roman and Persian deities around them. Andrew stands in awe, clearly moved by the ancient wonder and natural phenomenon, while a frustrated Molly wants to keep moving, keen to meet people rather than linger at the summit of the ancient mountain sanctuary.

They also learnt from one another, Molly acknowledging that she would never have hiked up the mountain without her father’s encouragement. “I would have probably followed Harrison and Katie’s path, sticking to cities. He [Andrew] dragged me out of my comfort zone.”

The ancient walls of Khiva in Uzbekistan (Photo: Izzet Keribar/Getty Images)
The ancient walls of Khiva in Uzbekistan (Photo: Izzet Keribar/Getty)

When they are set back by a missed train departure in Khiva, Uzbekistan, Molly is frustrated to tears. “I was in one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen, and I was just so deflated. The only thing I was thinking about was that it had been a nightmare to get there, and a nightmare to get out. Isn’t that such a sad way to travel, thinking about how you’re going to leave when you get there? But daddy very quickly pulled me out. And then a random guy came up to me and gave me a hug.”

Despite plenty of alien environments, such as crossing the Uzbek steppe by train from the 2,500 year-old oasis city of Khiva, with its tiled mosques and minarets, to the monumental Silk Road city of Bukhara, it was Italy that captured Molly’s imagination. “Maratea was amazing. It was the tiniest village, and so like home. We stayed with a sailor and the whole place came to life when he was there. We were high as kites when we left.”

The pair took the train from Khiva to Bukhara in Uzbekistan to make up time (Photo: Christophe Boisvieux/Getty Images)
The pair took the train from Khiva to Bukhara in Uzbekistan to make up time (Photo: Christophe Boisvieux/Getty)

Andrew adds that there were places in Kazakhstan that he’d happily go back to, and even live in. “Old women would get up on the underground and offer us their seat, just because we were visitors.”

The most profound sentiments he has taken away from the experience are that “the world is a lovely place. People are kind and helpful”, but also the journey of watching his daughter going into adulthood and becoming a friend. Watching her barter a taxi fare down from $100 among a sizeable group of men in Uzbekistan, he says that “it proved to me what I’ve known all along, that she’s a very capable young woman. I was busting to get home to my wife and tell her what a good job we’ve done with her.

“She’s got the skills, the abilities. She’s also got away with an awful lot because she’s as tight as a duck’s arse with money! Poor Harrison has been getting in the neck [about being shrewd with money]. But Molly was fastidious with the budget. She created a book with every receipt of every bit of money we spent.” Molly adds: “I think me and Harrison would have got to Mongolia with 90 per cent of the budget remaining if we’d been in control together.”

Maratea in Basilicata, Italy, was a highlight for Molly (Photo: Marco Bottigelli/Getty Images)
Maratea in Basilicata, Italy, was a highlight for Molly (Photo: Marco Bottigelli/Getty)

Similarly, Molly has seen her father in a different light: “He’s not my daddy, he’s also my friend. Those moments when I thought, ‘Okay we can do this, and work this out together.’”

However, since returning from filming last September and taking time out before her degree this autumn, Molly’s next adventure will be solo. “I’m going to Peru! The lie that I told everyone, I am actually going to live out. After filming, friends would ask me things like what the national dish was, and I’d have to Google it.” Now she’ll be able to tell them the truth.

Andrew is going back to teaching and then taking his wife on a “compensation gift” holiday as Molly calls it, to see the fjords in Norway in the summer. And after that? More of those precious journeys together, they hope.

Race Across the World is on BBC One at 8pm and also on BBC iPlayer