Luke Alsford

Metro • 23rd June 2026

Campaign calls for London Night Tube to run for England's World Cup matches

Football groups, political parties and business leaders have joined forces to demand that London’s Night Tube runs on week nights when England and Scotland have World Cup matches.
Sadiq Khan and Transport for London are being urged to expand overnight underground services to help supporters gather in the capital to watch their national sides after the late kick-offs.
The campaign – started by the Liberal Democrats – has been supported by the Football Supporters Association, the Night Time Indust...

Metro • 19th May 2026

Reform's Makerfield candidate said King should open palaces for asylum seekers

Reform UK’s candidate in the Makerfield by-election wrote about Asian men ‘assaulting white people en masse’ and ‘an invasion of foreign criminals’ on his now suspended X account, Metro can reveal
Robert F Kenyon was selected by Reform to take on Andy Burnham in the critical by-election in Makerfield, Greater Manchester, next month.
Social media commentators noticed within minutes that Kenyon’s X account, Makerfield_RFK, was suspended by X because it violated the rules of the platform.
Metro has...

Metro • 15th May 2026

Andy Burnham allowed to run in Makerfield after Labour body's decision

Andy Burnham has been granted permission to run in the Makerfield by-election by the Labour Party governing body.
Greater Manchester’s popular Labour mayor announced yesterday that he intends to stand in a by-election to bag a seat in Parliament, followed by recently resigned health secretary Wes Streeting throwing his weight behind him.
Now Burnham has cleared a major hurdle that had previously blocked him in Manchester – the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
The top ruling bo...

Metro • 13th May 2026

Corbyn leads campaign for Met chief to retract remarks about pro-Palestine demos

Jeremy Corbyn is leading a campaign for Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley to retract his ‘baseless’ claims about pro-Palestine marches.
The former Labour leader is demanding the top copper withdraw his claims that protest organisers try to walk past synagogues on their demos.
Rowley told The Times that activists behind this weekend’s Nakba pro-Palestine march wanted to go past a synagogue, which he said ‘feels like antisemitism’.
More than 30 MPs and four members of the House of Lords have j...

Metro • 11th May 2026

Labour big beast gives Keir Starmer September deadline to improve popularity

One of Labour’s leading metro mayors has given Keir Starmer a September deadline to turn around the party’s popularity or face being ousted.
Kim McGuinness, mayor for the North East, said the Prime Minister needed to improve Labour’s poll ratings by the party conference in late September.
She also said that fellow mayor Andy Burnham would be a ‘great prime minister’ but refused to say whether she backed his return to Westminster.
Follow Metro’s blog for coverage of Keir Starmer’s future as Prime...

Metro • 10th May 2026

Labour MP threatening to oust Keir Starmer reveals how he can win her over

A Labour MP who has vowed to topple Keir Starmer has said what the Prime Minister needs to do to make her change her mind.
Catherine West sparked chaos in the Labour Party by saying she will launch a leadership bid if a Cabinet member does not put themselves forward.
The backbencher will listen to Starmer’s make-or-break speech on Monday before sending an email to all her fellow MPs asking for their support.
She told Metro what she needs to hear in his address to stop her pulling the trigger – a...

Metro • 23rd April 2026

'Shabana Mahmood called me a white liberal for heckling her - I'm not white'

A heckler who was told to ‘f*** off’ and called a ‘white liberal’ by the Home Secretary has clarified he is not even white.
Joe, 32, came to the UK from Malaysia when he was four and wanted to protest Shabana Mahmood’s ‘cruel’ policies towards migrants.
He accused the Home Secretary of ‘stooping so low’ and being ‘childish’ for swearing at him and suggesting his criticisms were racist.
But the Labour politician said that the protesters were trying to ‘delegitimise’ the ‘perfectly valid’ views of...

Metro • 2nd April 2026

'Hesitant' Keir Starmer told to expel Iran's ambassador after RAF base threat

Prince Reza Palavi’s closest aide and senior MPs have called on Keir Starmer to expel the Iranian ambassador in London after he threatened to attack British bases.
MPs from across the political divide told Metro that Seyed Ali Mousavi should be kicked out of the UK after he signalled Iran could target UK military sites linked to the war in the Middle East.
Cameron Khansarinia, who is the chief of staff to the exiled prince of Iran, demanded the prime minister expel Tehran’s representative ‘at on...

Metro • 18th March 2026

More than £550,000 of taxpayer cash spent on meditation apps for civil servants

The government has been accused of ‘blowing their money’ on ‘lifestyle perks’ after they spent more than £550,000 on meditation apps for civil servants since Covid.
Government departments paid tens of thousands of pounds per year for the mindfulness site Headspace, according to contracts found by Metro.
The Department for Education (DfE) spent just shy of £65,000 in March for a contract to use the Headspace for work app from April 2026 to March 2027.
The discovery prompted a row about whether di...

Metro • 4th February 2026

'We let Nigel Farage visit our bar - now we are being called Nazis'

A popular Newcastle bar say they are shocked their staff have been horrifically abused online after Nigel Farage visited their venue.
Hibou Blanc in Newcastle’s city centre was swarmed with protesters last Friday after the Reform UK leader went to a lunchtime event there.
Activists shouted ‘shame on you’ and threw things at the restaurant, forcing the swanky venue to close its shutters.
The bar’s partner Stevie Pattinson, 56, has said the attacks have not stopped there, saying his young staff ha...

Metro • 3rd February 2026

Keir Starmer says Peter Mandelson 'betrayed our country' over Epstein

MPs have voted to release documents known as the so-called Mandelson files surrounding the decision to make Peter Mandelson the US ambassador.
No 10 said the Government would comply with a motion backed by MPs and publish documents relating to Peter Mandelson’s appointment.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: ‘Peter Mandelson’s actions were unforgivable.
‘He lied to the Prime Minister, hid information that has since come to light and presented Jeffrey Epstein as someone he barely knew.
‘We will...

Metro • 29th January 2026

Uyghurs in UK feel 'betrayed' by Starmer's 'cosy visit' to China

Uyghur activists living in exile in London have accused Sir Keir Starmer of turning a blind eye to ‘genocide’ by visiting China for trade talks.
The Prime Minister has become the first UK leader to visit China since 2018, despite backing calls five years ago for China’s treatment of the Uyghur minority to be formally recognised as genocide.
Rahima Mahmut and Aziz Isa Elkun say they feel ‘betrayed’ by Starmer’s ‘U-turn’ as he attempts to bolster economic ties with the Asian power during the three...

Metro • 19th January 2026

First calls for a boycott of the World Cup over Trump's Greenland threats

Conservative and Labour MPs have become the first voices to call for a boycott of the World Cup this summer after Trump announced new tariffs on the UK.
Simon Hoare and Kate Osborne said the government needed to ‘push every button and pull every lever’ to show its objection to the US president’s threats towards Greenland.
Mr Hoare, a senior Conservative MP, told Metro that could include not going to the World Cup, a day after he called for the King’s state visit to the US to be cancelled.
Labour...

Metro • 6th January 2026

Two Cabinet ministers 'stripped to a bikini' by Grok AI

Two Cabinet members have become the latest victims to be ‘undressed’ by Grok AI on Elon Musk’s X, Metro can reveal.
This newspaper has seen pictures of the senior politicians being shown in revealing bikinis at the request of members of the public.
A government source called the images ‘deeply disturbing’ and welcomed media regulator Ofcom’s announcement that they are in ‘urgent talks’ with X and xAI.
The Cabinet ministers are one of hundreds of examples of Grok generating images of partially-na...

Metro • 9th December 2025

Survivors panel at centre of grooming gangs inquiry to be scrapped

The survivors panel at the heart of the grooming gangs inquiry will be ditched by the government, Metro can reveal.
The victims and survivors panel will be wound down in January, the Home Office has confirmed, just a year after it was set up to ‘ensure that victims’ voices remain at the very heart’ of the inquiry.
The decision was criticised as ‘disgusting’ by grooming gangs survivors, who said it proved the inquiry would not be victim-led.
The revelation comes on the same day the Home Secretary...

Mail Online • 3rd November 2025

Estate agent was NOT to blame for Reeves' house licence fiasco

By LUKE ALSFORD and CLAIRE ELLICOTT Published: 00:27, 3 November 2025 | Updated: 03:00, 3 November 2025 An estate agent who failed to apply for a licence for Rachel Reeves to let her family home was not responsible for the oversight, his boss has revealed.The property manager has found himself at the centre of a political scandal after he originally dealt with the Chancellor's case.But questions were raised about why the agent had left the company abruptly without fulfilling the licence...

Mail Online • 25th October 2025

Grooming gangs survivor claims Starmer WANTS investigation to fail

By LUKE ALSFORD Published: 23:39, 25 October 2025 | Updated: 01:26, 26 October 2025 A grooming gang survivor who quit the inquiry into child sexual exploitation has accused Sir Keir Starmer of sabotaging the investigation to protect Labour councils.Elizabeth Harper, who was abused in Rotherham aged 14, said the Prime Minister wanted the inquiry to fail as it would damage his party.The 38-year-old left the panel last Tuesday after a chaotic meeting with possible chairmen.She said survivor...

Metro • 26th September 2025

We went to the Monster Raving Loony Party conference and it was, well, loony

It’s not every party conference where Donald Trump, Margaret Thatcher and Sir Sadiq Khan end up side by side.
Then again, the Monster Raving Loony Party’s annual conference isn’t pretending to be your typical political gathering.
Of course, those famous faces weren’t really in attendance at this year’s event, which was held in the quiet village of Ledbury in Herefordshire.
Instead it was the mask-clad members of the unmissable Loony party who turned up for their first day of fun and policy plann...

Metro • 5th September 2025

David Lammy becomes Deputy Prime Minister in reshuffle after Angela Rayner quits

David Lammy has become the new Deputy Prime Minister hours after Angela Rayner quit the role over underpaid stamp duty tax.
The former deputy Labour leader stepped down after it was found she had broken the rules over stamp duty for her second home.
The Prime Minister subsequently used Rayner’s resignation to mix up his top team, moving key figures to new posts.
Yvette Cooper has been appointed Foreign Secretary, while Shabana Mahmood has been moved from Justice Secretary to Home Secretary in a...

Metro • 24th July 2025

Keir Starmer says state is 'inalienable' right of Palestinian people

Keir Starmer has called the ‘starvation’ in Gaza ‘indefensible’, adding that the Palestinian people have an ‘inalienable’ right to a state.
The Prime Minister said the situation has ‘reached new depths and continues to worsen’ while urging Israel to change course.
In a statement shared on social media, he called for ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict that would establish a path to Palestinian statehood.
Starmer’s intervention came at the same time French President Emmanuel Macron announced h...

Metro • 15th July 2025

Girl sent home from school for wearing Union Jack dress

A dad says he’s received dozens of messages of support after his daughter was put into isolation over her choice of attire on her school’s culture day.
Courtney Wright, 12, chose to celebrate being British with a Union Jack dress, similar to the one worn by Spice Girl Geri Halliwell at the Brits in 1997.
However, teachers at Bilton School said the year seven pupil’s outfit was unacceptable and she was told to leave her class until her dad Stuart Field, 47, came to collect her.
Since revealing...

Metro • 2nd July 2025

Keir Starmer says Rachel Reeves doing 'excellent' after crying in the Commons

Keir Starmer has said Rachel Reeves is doing an ‘excellent job’ after she broke down in tears in front of Parliament’s cameras this afternoon.
The Chancellor cried during Prime Minister’s Questions as the PM failed to confirm she would still be in her job at the next election.
The tears fell as Reeves faces scrutiny over the government’s welfare bill, which was gutted before being voted through on Monday evening.
However Sir Keir rode to his Chancellor’s defence, telling BBC Radio 4’s Political...

Metro • 22nd June 2025

MP admits getting staff member to put down his Labrador with a shotgun

A former Reform MP has called himself a ‘coward’ after he had his pet dog shot to death with a shotgun.
Rupert Lowe, who was a member of Nigel Farage’s party until a high-profile clash with the leader earlier this year, decided against having his beloved 17-year-old Labrador put down at the vet after it lost the use of its back legs.
Instead he reportedly told fellow MPs that he asked his gamekeeper Kevin to put dog Cromwell out of its misery with a shotgun on his Gloucestershire estate.
Lowe, w...

Metro • 16th June 2025

More than 100,000 people sign Scope's petition against government disability cut

Volunteers from disability equality charity Scope today handed a petition to the government with the voices of 100,000 people opposing the cuts to welfare and PIP.
Today, members of the charity gathered at Downing Street after receiving the backing of people across the UK and the disabled community. 
In March, Labour announced plans to save £5bn a year by overhauling the welfare system, plans which have been called ‘barbaric’ by campaigners.
Volunteers for the charity included Rachel Batten, 53,...