Britain

Bloomberg reports: Senior politicians on the UK right have privately contacted Donald Trump’s allies, urging the US President-elect’s team not to endorse British far-right activist Tommy Robinson, after billionaire Tesla boss Elon Musk called for him to be released from prison. Several prominent Brexit-supporting politicians with links to Trump spent Thursday warning their Republican counterparts against following Musk’s endorsement of …

Axios reports: Elon Musk hijacked British politics this week with a stream of at least 60 X posts since Tuesday attacking Prime Minister Keir Starmer, defending an anti-Islam campaigner and endorsing the far-right Reform Party. The right-hand man to America’s next president has gone after the leaders of several of its closest allies in recent months. But his fight with …

The New York Times reports: King Charles III on Wednesday thanked the medical workers in Britain who helped treat him and his daughter-in-law, Catherine, Princess of Wales, after their cancer diagnoses, and praised communities that came together after anti-immigrant riots gripped the country in the summer. In his annual Christmas message, the British monarch spoke from the chapel of a …

The Telegraph reports: The Government has opened the door to blocking Elon Musk from donating millions of pounds to Reform UK with new laws. Lucy Powell, the Leader of the House of Commons, suggested the reforms could form part of government plans to tighten up rules around political donations. Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, recently revealed that Mr Musk, a …

The Daily Beast reports: Chris LaCivita [photo], who helped lead Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, called Lord Peter Mandelson “an absolute moron” after learning that the incoming U.K. ambassador to the U.S. once said Trump was “little short of a white nationalist.” In a post on X, LaCivita condemned Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s choice to replace Dame Karen Pierce, which …

Ars Technica reports: Craig Wright, the man who claims he invented bitcoin and has been filing lawsuits asserting intellectual property rights, was sentenced to a year in prison yesterday for committing contempt of court. The sentence is suspended and can be enforced if Wright continues violating court rulings—but he may be able to avoid imprisonment by staying away from countries …

The BBC reports: LGBT veterans who were dismissed from the armed forces for being gay will be eligible to receive up to £70,000 in compensation, the government has said. The Ministry of Defence said the move followed extensive engagement with LGBT veterans and campaigners. Veterans can apply to have their rank restored and discharge reason amended. The total amount available …

The Christian Post reports: Boris Johnson, former prime minister of the United Kingdom, criticized church leaders, stating that an unaddressed spiritual void has contributed to rising obesity rates. Johnson suggested that religious leaders are too focused on issues like Brexit rather than addressing the deeper spiritual needs of their congregants. Speaking as part of a national report on obesity, Johnson …

The New York Times reports: British lawmakers on Friday voted to allow assisted dying for terminally ill patients in England and Wales under strict conditions, opening the way to one of the most significant changes in the country in decades. After five hours of debate in the House of Commons, they voted by 330 to 275 to support a plan …

Politico Europe reports: Elon Musk fired the latest shots in his war with the British government over the weekend, branding the U.K. a “tyrannical police state,” boosting a petition calling for a fresh general election, and sharing a documentary by a jailed far-right activist to his millions of X followers. The X owner and adviser to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump …

The BBC reports: A woman who accused Conor McGregor of raping her has won her claim against him for damages in a civil case. A jury found that the Irish mixed martial arts fighter assaulted Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel in December 2018. He has been ordered to pay her more than €248,000 (£206,000) in damages. In a post …

Politico Europe reports: Elon Musk is beefing with British politicians again — and they’re not impressed. The X owner and Donald Trump ally brushed off a call from the House of Commons’ science and technology committee to answer questions on his role in riots that swept the U.K. this summer. Committee chair Chi Onwurah told POLITICO this week that she …

The Guardian reports: The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has announced that he will step down after facing mounting pressure to quit over his handling of an abuse scandal. Pressure on Welby has been intensifying since the publication last week of a damning report on the church’s cover-up of John Smyth’s abuse in the UK in the late 1970s and …

The Christian Post reports: Retail chain Debenhams has removed a controversial “Gay in a Manger” Christmas sweater following backlash from Christian groups in the United Kingdom. The retailer pulled the item, produced by alternative clothing brand Grindstore, after religious leaders and advocacy groups denounced it as disrespectful and called for a boycott. The purple sweater, adorned with an LGBT rainbow, …

The Telegraph reports: Donald Trump should accept the result of the US election if he loses decisively to Kamala Harris, Nigel Farage has said. In an interview with The Telegraph during a visit to the former president’s home in Palm Beach, Mr Farage said: “If it was clear and decisive then maybe it’s time [for Trump] to go and play …

CNN reports: British far-right political activist Tommy Robinson has been jailed for 18 months after he admitted to being in contempt of court by repeating false accusations about a Syrian refugee, according to court documents. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, admitted on Monday to breaching UK court rules 10 times. Robinson, the founder of the now-defunct anti-immigration English …

Politico Europe reports: Boris Johnson insisted Donald Trump wasn’t trying to “overthrow the constitution” after riots by his supporters against the 2020 U.S. presidential election result on Jan. 6, 2021. The former British prime minister, out plugging his new memoir, said the former U.S. president managed the successful transfer of power to President Joe Biden — despite contesting the result …

The Christian Post reports: The number of people in the United Kingdom who identify as atheist is greater than those who say they believe in God, according to a research project examining why people reject religion. Explaining Atheism, a three-year program overseen by Queen’s University Belfast in collaboration with other academic institutions launched in 2022, presented interim findings earlier this …

ABC News reports: Hewlett Packard Enterprise said Monday it won’t drop its U.K. claim for damages against the estate of British tech mogul Mike Lynch, who was killed when his superyacht sank last month. Britain’s High Court in 2022 ruled mostly in favor of the U.S. technology company, which accused Lynch and his former finance director of fraud over its …

NBC News reports: The body of British tech magnate Mike Lynch was recovered from the wreck of a superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC Thursday. Rescuers were still searching for Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah, the source said, the last person missing from the luxury boat that went down in what …