Peers rumble Sunday newspaper's sting operation

_Updated 5.20pm:_ Peers have been warned to beware a newspaper sting operation. The whips of all three main parties were informers earlier this week that journalists from "a prominent Sunday newspaper" had approached members of the House of Lords asking them whether they would ask questions in return for payments.Some members who rumbled what the paper was doing are known to have reported the

Former MP Jimmy Wray dies aged 78

Labour pays tribute to former member for Glasgow Provan and Glasgow Baillieston, describing him as 'formidable'The former MP Jimmy Wray has died following a long illness, Labour has announced.Wray, who died on Saturday morning aged 78, served as MP for Glasgow Provan and Glasgow Baillieston for 18 years. He stepped down in 2005 after a spell of ill health. He is survived by his four childr

The House I Live In director Eugene Jarecki on America's war on drugs - video interview

Documentary film-maker Eugene Jarecki speaks to John Mulholland about his attempts to reform drug laws in the USJohn MulhollandCameron Robertson

Afghan interpreters may move to the UK – security forces have no safe haven | Jon Boone

Afghanistan's security forces are more vulnerable to the Taliban than translators based in Kabul, but they will carry on regardlessWhen I met Rahmatullah two years ago he was laid up in bed in Kabul's towering national military hospital. Gruesome rods protruded from the smashed leg of the 21-year-old soldier who had been serving in Helmand at the time with the 215 "Maiwand" Corps. His bone ha

Lucy Mangan: loved by the bad, feared by the good…

What HMRC could learn from Robin HoodWhen I was at primary school, my (deeply beloved) teacher Mrs Pugh once read us a story about Robin Hood. We professed ourselves slightly unclear about the precise nature of King John's taxation policies and why they should give rise to discontent among the medieval peasantry, thereby clearing a fertile societal space for a class warrior to colonise (or, i

Woolwich: new video shows suspect charging at police – live updates

• Suspect in killing of Lee Rigby shown running at police• Both suspects are then shot• Police raid property where Michael Adebowale is registered• Rigby family pay tribute to murdered soldier• RAF jet escorts diverted Pakistani plane• Share your photos, videos or stories• Read a summary of today's key eventsPaul OwenConal Urquhart

Oscar Pistorius: the end of the rainbow

Oscar Pistorius was more than a national hero. His success came to symbolise South Africa's triumph over apartheid. Then he shot his girlfriend and left the nation's self-image in tattersA couple of years ago, two journalist friends of mine spent an afternoon with Oscar Pistorius. For much of the time, they recall, Oscar was quiet and self-contained. And then, apropos of nothing, he told a st

Violence against women and girls: shifting culture | Editorial

It is increasingly questionable whether government policy is keeping pace with the growing dangers to women and childrenThis week we have learned the following: the police still make catastrophic mistakes in the protection of women at risk of domestic violence; that children everywhere have access to pornography, and that this is influencing behaviour in dangerous ways; and that most parents

Europe's centre-left: a programme without frontiers | Editorial

Centre-left parties across Europe could shore up their slipping credibility by tackling the big issues on a broader stageWith Munich matched against Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley tonight, today is a day to remind us once again that Germans are uncommonly good at football. But they have always been pretty decent at centre-left politics too. No centre-left political party in

Letters: Coalition is past its sell-by date

After three years of Tory-Lib Dem coalition, our economy remains in the doldrums, performing much worse than that of the US, where President Obama has achieved a deal of stimulus despite obstruction by Congress. We have a health service under increasing pressure and sliding with government encouragement into private hands; we have education being planned by the whim of a secretary of state whose

Letters: At the going down of the sun

I wholeheartedly endorse the anti-war sentiments expressed by Jude Law et al (Letters, 22 May). It may be worth reminding David Cameron, before he goes on to mark the anniversary of the first world war with a "truly national commemoration of national spirit", that the so-called "war memorials" erected throughout the land after the war were originally called "peace memorials". If you look at two

Homeless in London? Here's a train ticket for Birmingham

The plight of a mother and daughter forced to live in a hotel room 127 miles from their former home in the capitalWhen Aisha was evicted from her flat in East Ham, east London, on 15 April, she packed her belongings in a suitcase and went with her six-year-old daughter to the council's housing office in Stratford, hoping for help to find somewhere else to stay in the area.Instead she was g

Legal aid cuts: what price justice? | Zoe Williams

Chris Grayling wants to strip £220m from the legal aid bill by denying defendants a choice of representation. Do we really want to put our legal system in the hands of the lowest bidder?In Sheffield magistrates court, Mr Zahedi has just been bailed; he only speaks Farsi. He is shaking his head as if a terrible mistake has been made, not by the court, not in the charge, but that his standing i

BBC sorry for IRA gaffe on Question Time

Broadcaster apologises for 'insensitive' production error that saw Stormont minister labelled as member of Sinn Féin/IRAThe BBC has apologised for a Question Time production gaffe that saw a Stormont minister labelled as a member of "Sinn Fein/IRA".Sinn Féin education minister John O'Dowd, who was a panellist on last night's show in Belfast, was referred to by the term in a seating plan.

Universal credit 'in danger of failing'

Major Projects Authority's performance report on 170 most expensive projects gives flagship scheme same 'amber-red' status as Crossrail and HS2The first official government admission that Iain Duncan Smith's flagship plans to remake the welfare state has hit trouble emerged on Friday night when the Cabinet Office's review of all major Whitehall projects branded the universal credit programme

Vince Cable: 'The traditional high street banks have forgotten how to lend'

Business secretary expresses worry over big four's reluctance to support business lending and praises new-style banksWhen Jonathan Eddy wanted finance for his Basingstoke-based business, one of the traditional high street banks offered him a competitively priced loan - but then threw in fees that made it too expensive for him to proceed. Eddy, managing director of Asset Advantage, has a clear

GPs reject out-of-hours care proposal

Doctors at BMA conference vote almost unanimously against proposal to place them back on call at evenings and weekendsGPs yesterday overwhelmingly reiterated their opposition to taking back responsibility for providing out-of-hours care, with some predicting that many older family doctors would quit if that was imposed on them.About 400 delegates representing Britain's 40,000 GPs almost un

Rokia Traore: 'My vision for Mali' - video

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the African Union, we asked the singer Rokia Traoré to share her thoughts on Pan-Africanism, the relationship between the continent and the west and her hopes for the future of her country, Mali. What is your vision for Africa over the next 50 years?Adaobi IfeachorThibaut RemyJosh StraussRichard Sprenger

Russell Brand on parliament: 'The whole joint is a deeply encoded temple of hegemonic power'

Comedian Russell Brand explains what he found when he spent the day in WestminsterWhat does the slung-about, bounced-around adage that "Politics is show-business for ugly people" actually mean? I suppose that the narcissism and self-interest that motivates many entertainers is what lurks behind the ashen, jowly facades of most politicians. That politics is bereft of altruists, philanthropists

George Osborne is upbeat, but the squeeze shows no sign of ending soon | Larry Elliott

Despite the IMF's criticism, the chancellor is confident the UK economy will improve by 2015, but is he being too optimistic?In the middle of a week the government will want to forget, George Osborne was in upbeat mood when the International Monetary Fund delivered its verdict on the UK economy.The message from the IMF was simple. Britain had overcooked the austerity and it was time to tur

Government should reopen talks on press regulation, says Alan Rusbridger

Guardian editor-in-chief also raises concerns over use of royal charter, saying it is 'a mechanism controlled by ministers'The Guardian editor-in-chief, Alan Rusbridger, has urged the culture secretary, Maria Miller, to reopen talks on the future of press regulation and raised concerns about the use of a royal charter.In a letter to Miller's consultation on press reform, Rusbridger said Gu

Nigel Farage bombed in Edinburgh – what does that really tell us about Scottish antipathy to the English? | Ian Jack

It could be to do with class more than nationalityDo the Scots dislike the English? Overlook for the moment the lamentable generalisations inherent in any such question and think of Nigel Farage struggling with his student opponents in an Edinburgh street recently. They see Farage as a racist who should go back to England. Farage sees them as fascists who represent the ugly side of Scottish n

Sally Bercow learns the social media rules the hard way in McAlpine case | Joshua Rozenberg

Twitter users are learning what a dangerous weapon they have at their fingertips, as Sally Bercow's 46-character tweet showsThe Speaker's wife has learned the hard way that while her husband and his fellow MPs make the law, it is the judges who interpret and apply it.The outcome of Lord McAlpine's libel case against Sally Bercow is likely to have provided her with an expensive lesson on th

Croatian president urges Britain to remain in the EU

Ivo Josipovic says British exit would have negative impact on trade bloc, as Croatia prepares to become 28th member stateThe president of the EU's newest member, Croatia, has urged Britain not to leave but instead to help reform Europe from the inside."The reason for us to enter is the same as yours is to stay," Ivo Josipovic told the Guardian during a visit to London before Croatia's form

G4S contract to run sexual assault referral centres damned

Campaigners criticise 'sell-off' of sensitive services to private company that bungled Olympics security contractG4S, the controversial private security company, is to run services providing medical examinations and counselling for victims of rape and sexual assault in the West Midlands.The company has been awarded a three-year contract to take over two sexual assault referral centres (Sar

Book reviews roundup: Edmund Burke, Inferno and Five Days in May

What the critics thought of Edmund Burke: Philosopher, Politician, Prophet by Jesse Norman, Inferno by Dan Brown and Five Days in May: The Coalition and Beyond by Andrew AdonisJesse Norman's _Edmund Burke: Philosopher, Politician, Prophet_ "seeks to contest the very nature of today's Tory Party", wrote the Labour MP Jon Cruddas in the Independent. "All power to his elbow. This rediscovery of

Domestic violence victim seeks bedroom tax judicial review

Woman who lives with son in three-bedroom house with fortified loft has been told she will lose some of her benefitsA victim of domestic violence who faces losing her council home which has a secure "panic room" is to challenge the government's so-called bedroom tax.Lawyers for the woman have issued a claim against Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, after council officials

Nick Clegg: Woolwich attackers wanted to spread fear - video

Nick Clegg emphasises the importance of community cohesion in the wake of the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby

Why we pedalled on the Scottish parliament

Scotland's transport policy has done agonisingly little to encourage cycling, so hopefully our pedal protest will be heardJust over a year ago I was sitting in a remote corner of Scotland watching with a mixture of admiration and envy as cyclists in London took to the streets in a series of flash rides over cycle safety, culminating in the "Big Ride" on parliament just before the mayoral elec

George Galloway's finest moments - now available on iTunes

Download a selection of some of the combative MP's greatest political rhetoric – including the classic Galloway v Paxman and Galloway v the US SenateIf you have a long car journey or plane trip coming up and you like the sound of people being harangued in a hoarse Dundee accent then, boy, has iTunes got a treat for you. Download The Best of George Galloway, Vol 1, sit back and enjoy four hour