2025-07-20
Independent Front Page 20th of July 2025
A catastrophic MoD email blunder has exposed the names and contact details of UK special forces personnel still stranded in Afghanistan, leaving them fearing for their safety under Taliban rule.
A catastrophic MoD email blunder has exposed the names and contact details of UK special forces personnel still stranded in Afghanistan, leaving them fearing for their safety under Taliban rule.
An urgent inquiry has been launched after the names of serving and former SAS personnel appeared on a hacker forum, drawing the defence secretary’s ire, heightening concerns over operational security, and prompting cross-party demands for tougher cyber-defences and possible prosecutions.
Fresh claims indicate the Duke of York was asked by Ghislaine Maxwell to sign a birthday card for disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th, allegedly alongside Donald Trump, prompting renewed scrutiny of their past connections.
An inquiry is examining allegations that the SAS fatally shot unarmed Afghan civilians during night-time raids, then sought to suppress scrutiny through deleted evidence, silenced witnesses, police obstruction, legal injunctions and repeated delays.
Middle-income households may face higher water bills under plans for a national tariff system that would channel extra revenue into discounts for lower-income customers and fund infrastructure upgrades.
Actor Danny Dyer labelled the PM a “nonentity”, arguing Britain needs working-class leaders rather than high-profile establishment figures such as Nigel Farage or Kemi Badenoch.
New figures indicate that so-called health tourists, comprising overseas visitors and some former UK residents, have cost the cash-strapped NHS an estimated £200 million in the past five years, fuelling renewed calls for stricter eligibility checks and faster recovery of unpaid charges.
Senior Conservatives are urging an investigation after revelations that a consultancy created by the PM’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, has been paid with public money to conduct covert diplomatic engagements with non-state armed groups and contentious regimes, prompting scrutiny over transparency and accountability.
Stephen Lawrence’s father, Neville, says he will attend convicted killer David Norris’s parole hearing next week and insists the inmate must finally reveal who else was involved in the 1993 stabbing.