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Belgian PM condemns move by local mayor to shut down radical rightwing conference as ‘unconstitutional’The NatCon conference featuring Nigel Farage, Suella Braverman and the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, among its speakers will resume on Wednesday after a Brussels court overturned a local mayor’s decision to close it down on Tuesday.After moves condemned as “unacceptable” and “unconstitutional” by the Belgian prime minister, Alexander De...

Former home secretary will rub shoulders with populist right from across the globe, including Hungarian prime minister Viktor OrbánRishi Sunak is being urged to stop his former home secretary from attending a rightwing convention featuring figures who have been under investigation for extremism, in the latest sign of his waning control of his party.Suella Braverman, who has been a central plotter against the prime...

Sevington site was never designed to handle volume of imports envisaged by post-Brexit changes due in April, port’s health chief warnsAn inland facility set up to carry out checks on nearly all EU meat and dairy imports coming through Dover will be unable to cope when post-Brexit rules come in next month, the port’s health authority has warned.The Dover Port Health Authority (DPHA) said...

Nearly half of Fine Gael parliamentary party endorses 37-year-old as string of potential rivals rule themselves outThe contest to become Ireland’s next prime minister is turning into a one-horse race after the higher education minister, Simon Harris, secured the backing of nearly half his parliamentary party before he had even confirmed he was running.Within hours of nominations opening on Thursday to succeed Leo Varadkar,...

Defence secretary warned by British intelligence that Kremlin was aware of his travel plansGrant Shapps was forced to abandon a trip to Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa because of a Russian missile threat.The defence secretary aborted the visit after he was warned by British intelligence that the Russians had become aware of his travel plans. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Data shows costs have contributed to value of meat exports falling by 17% since 2019Food businesses sending products to the EU have had to fork out an extra £170m in export costs because of Brexit red tape, with the changes described as being “catastrophic” for some exporters.Data shared with the Guardian shows that in the three years since leaving the single market, exporters...

Government defends decision that opposition politicians say could put vulnerable people at riskA scheme allowing Ukrainians to join family members taking sanctuary in the UK has been unexpectedly closed, in what opposition politicians described as a cruel and “below the radar” move days before the two-year anniversary of Russia’s full invasion.The Ukraine family scheme is being shut but government officials said a separate Homes...

Leaders pay respects to former taoiseach of 1990s ‘rainbow coalition’ as he is laid to rest in DunboyneThe former Irish taoiseach John Bruton has been described as a “humbling and unassuming” man at his state funeral, attended by senior political figures including the president, Michael D Higgins, and the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar.Ministers, TDs and parliamentary ushers were among those who attended the service at...

London mayor calls for ‘youth mobility agreement’ in one of the most pro-European interventions by a Labour politician since EU exitLondon mayor Sadiq Khan has called for young people to be able to move freely to and from the EU for the first time since Brexit in order to lessen the economic and cultural damage caused by the UK’s decision to leave the European...

MEPs react to ‘tragic’ findings revealing UK falling behind EU in key environmental policies since BrexitBrexit divergence from EU destroying UK’s environmental protectionsNorthern Ireland ‘dirty corner of Europe due to lack of governance’Explainer: UK environmental protections dropped since BrexitEuropean lawmakers have lamented the UK’s decision to weaken environmental rules since leaving the EU, after the Guardian revealed it is falling behind in almost every...

Friday’s trip comes as PM stresses Britain’s continued backing for Kyiv before meeting with Volodymyr ZelenskiyRussia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesThe UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, is visiting Ukraine on Friday to meet his counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, as the UK announced it would provide further military aid to the country over the coming year.The UK has been one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters since Russia’s...

Study of European electoral data suggests social democratic parties alienate supporters by moving towards the political centre Adopting rightwing policies on issues such as immigration and the economy does not help centre-left parties win votes, according to new analysis of European electoral and polling data.Faced with a 20-year decline in their vote share, accompanied by rising support for the right, far right and sometimes...

Only one in 10 feel leaving the EU has helped their finances, while just 9% say it has benefited the NHS, despite £350m a week pledge according to new pollA clear majority of the British public now believes Brexit has been bad for the UK economy, has driven up prices in shops, and has hampered government attempts to control immigration, according to a poll...