Newslinks for Monday 16th February 2026

Chagos deal architect ‘considers No 10 exit’ and Starmer under fire over Labour group’s journalist smears

“The architect of the Chagos Islands deal is reportedly on the verge of stepping down as Sir Keir Starmer’s National Security Adviser. Jonathan Powell is said to be considering leaving his Downing Street post before the end of the year in a further significant departure from the Prime Minister’s team. Since last Sunday, Sir Keir has lost Morgan McSweeney, his chief of staff, Sir Chris Wormald, his Cabinet Secretary, and Tim Allan, his communications chief. All three left in the wake of the Mandelson-Epstein revelations. Mr Powell’s deal to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is highly controversial. It led to a political row after it emerged that Britain would pay £35bn over 99 years to lease back Diego Garcia, which hosts a military base. According to The Guardian, Mr Powell rejected an offer to replace Mr McSweeney as chief of staff, saying he did not want to go back to the job he had under Sir Tony Blair. He instead plans to return to a lucrative consultancy he set up in 2011. Mr Powell also helped broker Sir Keir’s closer relationship with China, which culminated in the Prime Minister’s visit last month. However, his position came under scrutiny late last year following the collapse of the trial of two men accused of spying for Beijing.” – Daily Telegraph

• Labour activists paid for smear campaign against journalists – The Times
• Jonathan Powell rejects overtures to replace McSweeney as Starmer’s chief of staff – The Guardian
• Keir Starmer faces another resignation blow as Chagos deal architect ‘considering No10 exit’ – GBNews
• Starmer facing calls for inquiry into Labour thinktank’s investigation of journalists – The Guardian

Comment:

• If Starmer goes, the Chagos Islands could remain ours – Nigel Farage and Adam Holloway, Daily Telegraph
• So much for Starmer’s ‘gentler’ politics – latest Labour scandal could be straight from Kremlin dirty tricks department – The Sun says
• Mandelson’s links to Russia dwarf those of Nigel Farage. Is it even remotely possible that Starmer didn’t know? – Stephen Glover, Daily Mail
• The state is failing — No 10 needs an overhaul – Ben Judah, The Times
• The speech that exposed Starmer’s fatal weakness – Anne McElvoy, The i
• Keir Starmer has a unique talent – to alienate absolutely everyone – Nesrine Malik, The Guardian

£500k phone compo for migrants

“More than 70 boat migrants who had mobiles seized when reaching the UK have won payouts totalling £500,000. High Court judges ruled nabbing the phones and data was illegal and in breach of European human rights laws. It is feared 1,300 migrants may apply for compensation and the sum could run to millions. So far £210,800 has been awarded to 32 asylum seekers — £6,587.50 each. Reform MP Robert Jenrick said: “It is a farce and total waste of taxpayers’ money.” Critics last night branded the decision “farcical” — as it emerged the bill could soar to millions. But government officials confirmed that another 41 cases were in the pipeline. If they receive the same via their claims, it will send the compensation bill spiralling to £480,887. It also cost the Home Office £735,000 to fight the case, a Freedom of Information probe found. High Court judges Lord Justice Edis and Mr Justice Lane delivered a 2022 ruling that the policy was illegal and breached the European Convention on Human Rights.” – The Sun

• Outrage as small boat migrants given £500k payout after ‘human rights breached’ – Daily Express
• Illegal migrants handed £6.5k each in compensation for phones seized while crossing Channel – paid for by you – GBNews
• Egyptian migrant swallows vape battery in bid to halt Home Office deportation flight from UK – Daily Mail
• Home Office cannot say how many small boat migrants pretending to be children, sparking cover-up claims – The Sun

Workers’ rights reforms from Rayner push a third of employers to cut hiring

“More than a third of employers are set to cut back on hiring because of the government’s workers’ rights reforms, a survey of employers has found. Businesses warned that new rules giving enhanced protections to workers will place a “further handbrake on job creation” after they were hit by an ­increase to national insurance last April. The survey, carried out by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), found that 37 per cent of 2,000 firms polled planned to reduce the recruitment of new permanent staff as a result of the changes. It also found that more than half of businesses expected an increase in workplace conflict… Government economists have ­estimated that the Employment Rights Act, spearheaded by Angela Rayner before she resigned over her tax affairs last year, will cost businesses about £1 billion a year. Yet the CIPD, the UK trade body for human resources ­departments, said that analysis did “not fully account” for the amount of time HR teams would spend on ­implementing the changes. Ben Willmott, head of public policy at the institute, said there was a risk that the new measures would “act as a ­further handbrake on job creation and recruitment” on top of the £24 billion increase to employers’ national insurance contributions introduced last year.” – The Times

• Third of bosses to cut hiring over Labour’s workers’ rights reforms – Daily Telegraph
• UK labour reforms to cut hiring by one in three employers, survey shows – Reuters
• Keir Starmer granted stay of execution as Labour squabbles over successor – The Times

Comment:

• Fatally weakened Starmer will not be able to resist a wealth tax – Michael Mosbacher, Daily Telegraph
• Rachel Reeves has taken Britain back to the 1970s – what happens next is terrifying – Giles Sheldrick, Daily Express

Under-16s social media ban may happen this year to appease Starmer rebels

“Sir Keir Starmer is to fast-track powers that could ban under-16s from social media in an attempt to head off a backbench rebellion. The Prime Minister has pledged measures that would allow the Government to introduce a law enacting an Australian-style social media ban as early as this summer. He is facing a rebellion by up to 60 Labour MPs who want children banned from social media. In the Lords last month, peers backed a rebel amendment forcing the immediate introduction of a ban. However, Sir Keir’s assurances over new powers may head off a major backbench revolt at a time when he is facing questions over his leadership in the wake of revelations about Lord Mandelson. He said: “As a dad of two teenagers, I know the challenges and worries parents face making sure their kids are safe online. Technology is moving really fast, and the law has got to keep up. Today we are closing loopholes that put children at risk, and laying the groundwork for further action.” … The move would allow ministers to ban social media for youngsters if it was backed by a three-month consultation due to start next month. This will mean that, instead of having to wait to draft new legislation, Sir Keir would be able to act swiftly on the issue. It comes after he was forced into more than a dozen policy about-turns, including scrapping the two-child benefit cap, ditching plans for higher business rates on pubs and agreeing to a national inquiry into grooming gangs.” – Daily Telegraph

• Social media ban for under 16s could be in force this year – The Times
• Rise in gender-questioning children fuelled by social media, says Cass – Daily Telegraph
• Social media misleads young on gender transitioning, says UK review leader – The Guardian
• Starmer pledges to close loopholes in social media crackdown – BBC News

Comment:

• I fear that Labour’s special needs revolution will instead be a catastrophic letdown – John Harris, The Guardian

News in brief:

• How Rupert Lowe’s new party could boost Farage – Samuel Rubinstein, UnHerd
• Westminster is running out of time – Lee Cain, The Critic
• Labour Together, Apco and the hell of consultancy firms – The Spectator
• Britain is getting poorer, and angrier – James Meadway, The New Statesman