just now (1046+ words) Sir Keir Starmer will use a speech backing the Budget to signal a fresh push on welfare reform, as a row simmers on about whether Rachel Reeves misled the public over the state of the public finances. 'Black hole lies' leave Reeves fighting for job in worst crisis so far for Starmer Your Party keeps name as tense first conference concludes Rachel Reeves hits back at claims she misled public on Budget headroom The Prime Minister will say an overhaul of the welfare system is needed after he was forced to abandon cuts planned earlier this year in the face of a major backbench rebellion. "We have to confront the reality that our welfare state is trapping people, not just in poverty, but out of work," the Labour leader will say on Monday, arguing reforms are not aimed at making…...

1+ min ago (1208+ words) Rachel Reeves faced a fight to keep her job as she was engulfed in a growing "lies" storm over a black hole in the public finances ahead of the Budget. Sir Keir Starmer was rallying to her support on Monday as the Government was plunged into its worst crisis so far. The Chancellor had to repeatedly deny on live TV on Sunday that she had lied to the nation about the state of the public finances in a row which goes to the heart of the Government's integrity. But in a fresh blow, The Times reported that ministers were accusing Ms Reeves of misleading the Cabinet over a hole in the public finances in order to justify tax rises. "The handling of this Budget has been a disaster from start to finish," one Cabinet minister told the newspaper. Ms Reeves…...

1+ min ago (444+ words) Mikel Arteta left Stamford Bridge disappointed after Arsenal failed to capitalise on Chelsea playing over 50 minutes with 10 men. The Blues had Moises Caicedo sent off in the 38th minute of Sunday's high-profile London derby in the Premier League after a late tackle on Mikel Merino. Arsenal were not able to take advantage, however, and had to come from behind to claim a point. Trevoh Chalobah headed Chelsea in front early in the second half, but Merino levelled 10 minutes after that. "It's been a big week, starting with the [north London] derby, how emotional [it was] and the necessity and the intention we have to win it," said Arteta. "Then to play Bayern Munich three days later. We lost players in those games. "Today, for example, we had to play a partnership [in defence] that we never played before in a really…...

6+ min ago (487+ words) Armed police, Royal Marines and the Coastguard have helped "save Christmas" after a reindeer went on the run in a seaside town. The reindeer fled a festive celebration in the coastal town of Formby, Merseyside, in the early afternoon on Saturday, sparking a huge search operation. The animal was eventually discovered on a beach, where it was located with thermal binoculars, before being returned to its owners in Wales. A spokesperson for the Southport Offshore Rescue Trust, also known as Southport Lifeboat, said they received a call at around 4.45pm asking them to assist in the search for the escaped reindeer. Merseyside Police, who had been searching for the deer for several hours by this point, had managed to track down the animal on Formby beach but lost sight of it. They were worried it might end up in a nearby…...

17+ min ago (634+ words) West Ham star Lucas Paqueta took aim at the Football Association (FA) in an angry outburst following his sending off against Liverpool. The Brazilian midfielder was shown two yellow cards inside a minute in the latter stages of Sunday's 2-0 Premier League defeat at the London Stadium. Both were issued for dissent, with Paqueta furious after a decision made by referee Darren England. He continued to argue angrily with the official after receiving a first yellow, with team-mates Jarrod Bowen and Mateus Fernandes unsuccessful in their attempts to guide him away. Paqueta's repeated protestations earned him a quick-fire second yellow and subsequent red, with the player then seen sarcastically applauding as he took time to leave the pitch, also complaining to the fourth official. Paqueta has since criticised the FA in an extraordinary outburst on social media, accusing them of providing…...

29+ min ago (686+ words) Arne Slot has explained why he chose to drop Mohamed Salah to the bench for Liverpool's win at West Ham as injury fears were also allayed over Milos Kerkez. It was a bold move from the under-pressure Slot that eventually paid off as "116million signing Wirtz delivered what club legend Jamie Carragher described as by far his best performance in English football to date and Isak finally scored his first top-flight goal since forcing a record "125m switch from Newcastle in the summer. Slot remarked ahead of the game against West Ham that Salah's demotion was purely as a result of the need to rotate his team amid a hectic fixture list and he repeated that claim after the full-time whistle, also revealing the tactical insight behind the decision. "I got this question already a lot," he said. "It's every time we…...

32+ min ago (614+ words) Old curtains from a royal residence have been recycled into festive stockings for a charity auction. Members of a sewing bee took on the task of turning the curtains from Sandringham House in Norfolk into 25 stockings ahead of Christmas. The sewing bee is based in another stately home with a royal connection " Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland. Its members meet there every week and, in recent months, their time has been spent repurposing the luxurious curtain material for the charity endeavour. Twenty-four of the individually numbered stockings are being auctioned to raise money for The King's Foundation, with the final one to be given to the King as a Christmas present. Each one took more than six hours to make, with bee members using techniques such as hand embroidery, piping and seam matching. The King's Foundation, which is based at…...

48+ min ago (300+ words) A 32-year-old man was killed in a car crash on the M4 on Sunday morning, resulting in part of the motorway being closed all day. The man was driving in a black Mercedes when his vehicle came off the road on the slip-road to Leigh Delamere services at approximately 2am on Sunday morning. Another man who was travelling in the vehicle is being treated for serious injuries in the hospital. As a result of the sad incident, a section of the M4 is shut between Bath and Chippenham, between Junction 18 and Junction 17. National Highways warned they expected the disruption to the traffic to continue into the afternoon. Wiltshire Police said: "The man's next of kin have been informed and they are receiving support from specially trained officers. Our thoughts are with them.' They have asked any witnesses or anyone possessing dash cam footage…...

51+ min ago (611+ words) Alexander Isak admitted that a weight has been lifted off his shoulders after he finally scored his first Premier League goal for Liverpool. The Swedish striker had only found the back of the net once in 10 appearances across all competitions after forcing a British record "125million transfer from Newcastle to Anfield in the summer, in a 2-1 Carabao Cup third-round win over Championship side Southampton back in September. He had not managed to notch in any of his first five top-flight outings after a delayed start to his Liverpool career owing to a lack of pre-season on Tyneside, with his ongoing struggles providing a key subplot during an abysmal run of form that had seen the Reds lose nine of their last 12 matches to pile pressure on manager Arne Slot. However, both narratives changed on Sunday, with Isak firing into the bottom…...

53+ min ago (657+ words) Lando Norris said he just wanted to go to bed after Max Verstappen cashed in on a calamitous McLaren strategy decision to win the Qatar Grand Prix and take his British rival to a mouth-watering season finale. Norris was bidding to be crowned world champion in Doha, but he finished only fourth and will head to the 24th and concluding round in Abu Dhabi guarding only a 12-point lead over Verstappen, with team-mate Oscar Piastri, runner-up to the Red Bull driver here, 16 points back. McLaren were in control of the 57-lap contest, despite Norris dropping behind Verstappen from second to third at the start. Piastri led, but both he and Norris were told not to pit when a safety car was deployed on the seventh lap after Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly collided. Of the other 18 drivers, only Haas' Esteban Ocon…...