Scrutiny

Farage was under pressure over undeclared gifts, including from crypto gambler and fraudster George CottrellUK politics live – latest updatesNigel Farage has announced he is to resign as the MP for Clacton to fight a byelection, revealing he is under a second investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog over undeclared gifts.The Reform UK leader said it was part of “sticking two fingers up at the establishment” and it would prove that the public wanted him to stay on as an MP. Continue reading...

• The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has raised concerns over the rollout of the EU Entry/Exit System, warning that potential border delays could deter international visitors. • Industry estimates suggest that 41 million trips and USD 45 billion in tourism spending are at risk if the system disrupts the travel experience. • This scrutiny comes as Europe seeks to maintain its competitiveness against growing tourism markets in North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.

Avoiding traditional questions and stilted broadcast clips, incoming PM has evolved his style of media managementHe is due to become prime minister in just over a fortnight as parliament begins its six-week summer break. But at a marquee speech this week, he took precisely zero questions. So is Andy Burnham, as opposition leader Kemi Badenoch claims, dodging scrutiny? His allies say no: he is simply going about it in his own way.The former Greater Manchester mayor is very obviously a different type of communicator from Keir Starmer, and thus always likely to convey his message in methods beyond Starmer’s traditional questions after a speech and the occasional stilted broadcast clip. Continue reading...

• Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are preparing to launch a formal scrutiny process into the far-right European Sovereignty and Democracy (ESN) grouping. • The ESN includes affiliates such as Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) and has previously cooperated with the EPP on legislation like the return regulation. • The EPP, the Parliament's largest group, indicated it would support the investigation, framing the upcoming vote as a procedural necessity rather than a political judgment on EU value breaches.

Climate campaigners question choice of James Evans for role given past criticism of green energy projectsUK politics live – latest updatesThe appointment of a Reform UK MP as the chair of a key Welsh environmental committee could “undermine the hard graft of ministerial scrutiny”, a green thinktank has warned.James Evans, a former Conservative party MP who defected to Reform UK in January last year, has been appointed chair of the Welsh climate change, environment, sustainability and rural affairs committee. Continue reading...

House committee seeks records after two agency scientists were charged over undeclared samplesThe US House committee on energy and commerce is “examining concerns” about the National Institutes of Health after two NIH scientists were charged with allegedly smuggling mpox into the United States and misleading investigators.Federal law enforcement alleges that Dr Vincent Munster, 53, a Dutch national and chief of the virus ecology section at the NIH’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) in Montana, and Claude Kwe, 38, a research fellow from Cameroon, transported vials containing monkeypox, now known as mpox, into the country without declaring them to customs and then “lying about it”. Continue reading...

• The death of former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has reignited critical debates regarding interest rates, deregulation, and overall financial stability. • This shift in focus is prompting investors to re-evaluate the Federal Reserve's role in credit growth, labor power, and risk-taking within the financial sector. • The renewed scrutiny directly impacts US bank and insurance stocks, as different business models and balance sheets may now appear more appealing or exposed.

• The Tribune critiques a political environment where the governing body faces minimal scrutiny while opposition voices are disproportionately questioned. • The author argues that the costs of dissent are rising and that alarming democratic regressions are being normalized as routine or inevitable. • The piece highlights a growing concern regarding the erosion of the judiciary's role as a constitutional counterweight intended to maintain democratic equilibrium.