Newslinks for Monday 5th January 2026

Fears Starmer is plotting a ‘full-blown Brexit betrayal’

“Keir Starmer risks betraying millions of Britons after admitting he is prepared to get closer to the EU’s single market. The Prime Minister faced a fresh Brexit battle when he insisted Britain should “go further” in strengthening ties with Brussels. MPs reacted with fury to the Labour leader’s confirmation that he is prepared to align the UK even more closely with the EU. Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said: “This die-hard remainer Prime Minister, surrounded by a cabinet of fellow remainers, is hell-bent on bringing Britain back into Brussels’ orbit by any means necessary. “Closer alignment with the single market means handing over our hard-won sovereignty and accepting freedom of movement. That would shatter yet another Labour election pledge and betray the millions who voted to take back control of our borders. Why would we want to get closer to a failing EU economic model where Germany is in recession”. Labour’s 2024 manifesto promised closer ties to the EU but said that there will be “no return to the single market, the customs union or freedom of movement”. Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel said: “Labour’s Brexit betrayal is becoming clearer by the day.”” – Daily Express

• Keir Starmer is accused of new Brexit betrayal as he plots a return to the single market – Daily Mail
• Starmer plotting even softer Brexit – as leadership rivals circle – The i
• Fury over ‘Brexit betrayal’ as Keir Starmer pledges ‘closer alignment’ with EU rules – The Sun
• Starmer says UK is prepared to ‘get closer’ to the European Union – The Independent
• Starmer seeks deal for lawyers in Brexit reset – Daily Telegraph

Comment:

• Keir Starmer’s just sold out Brexit – his latest move gives 80m people a pass into the UK – Richard Tice, Daily Express

PM faces revolt by Labour’s Maduro apologists

“Labour was tearing itself apart on Sunday night as MPs demanded the Prime Minister condemn the US attack on Venezuela. Sir Keir Starmer has refused to describe the capture of president Nicolas Maduro as an illegal act in breach of international law. But he is under increasing pressure from Left-wing hardliners – who have already forced him to backtrack on major policies – to criticise the UK’s greatest ally. Labour MPs lined up to accuse Sir Keir of double standards for claiming he would ‘shed no tears’ over the capture of Maduro despite denouncing Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. They warned his decision to support Donald Trump’s devastating attack would forever ‘haunt his legacy’. It comes after Mr Trump authorised an audacious raid on the South American country on Saturday which culminated in US special forces capturing Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. It has emerged that Operation Absolute Resolve may have killed 40 people, including almost all of Maduro’s security team, but there were no US fatalities. The US President has vowed to ‘run’ the oil-rich country in the meantime – a move which has been widely condemned by other nations.” – Daily Mail

• The Labour apologists for Maduro trying to turn Starmer against the US – Daily Telegraph
• Labour tears itself apart as Maduro-apologists declare war on lame duck Starmer – Daily Express
• Starmer hedges his bets as Trump’s international gamble tests allies – The Times

Comment:

• The Left’s taste for tyrants is exposed once again – Daniel Johnson, Daily Telegraph
• No dictator in the world can sleep safely any longer – Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, Daily Telegraph
• US force is no surprise to Latin America – Trevor Phillips, The Times
• Trump has every right to confront the banana republics exporting drugs into his backyard……don’t you wish Starmer would smash the gangs with equal ruthlessness? – Richard Littlejohn, Daily Mail
• Left-wing maniacs mourning Maduro is lunacy – how can they not see the grotesque misery he inflicted upon his people? – Rod Liddle, The Sun

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Chagos deal risks security and environment, insider says

“Sir Keir Starmer’s deal to give away the Chagos Islands “permanently weakens western security” and “sells out the Chagossian people”, a senior figure in the British overseas territory has said, after warnings that Mauritius could roll back environmental protections in the area. The bill to cede sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius is set to be forced through its final stages in the House of Lords this week. The deal struck by the prime minister in May last year will involve Britain paying Mauritius £101 million a year to lease back a joint US-UK military base on the island of Diego Garcia. The islands are known as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and are overseen by an administration of about 70 people, many of whom are based in London. These officials govern the islands alongside the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office. The Times has been told that those governing the islands have consistently expressed concerns about the deal, especially over the implications for former Chagos residents. A senior figure in the BIOT told The Times the deal was being “championed by a small number of [Foreign Office] civil servants”, and said that “in multiple conversations with military and BIOT administration staff it is clear that there is no one who supports this treaty, but they have not been part of the negotiations, and their opinions have largely been ignored.” The official, who asked to remain anonymous, added: “I haven’t met a single person in the UK or US hierarchy who thinks this treaty is anything but a bad idea.”” – The Times

• Labour’s surrender of Chagos Islands risks major blow to threatened environment – Daily Express
• Labour’s Chagos deal will have ‘catastrophic’ impact on endangered species – Daily Telegraph

Trump sets sights on Greenland

“Denmark’s leader has urged Donald Trump to stop threatening to take over Greenland after the US president reiterated his wish to do so in a new interview. Mr Trump has long advocated for the mineral-rich island, a self-governing Danish territory, to become part of the United States. Speaking a day after the US captured Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, Mr Trump told The Atlantic: “We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defence.” In a statement issued on Sunday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said: “It makes absolutely no sense to ⁠talk about the US needing to take over Greenland. The US has no right to annex any of the three countries in ​the Danish Kingdom.” Ms Frederiksen continued: “I would therefore strongly urge the ‌US to stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people, who have very clearly ​said that they are not for sale.” Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has also criticised Mr Trump’s latest comments, labelling them “disrespectful”… Mr Trump’s latest comments came a day after he said Washington will temporarily “run” Venezuela following the detention of its hard-left president, which has heightened concerns that something similar could happen to Greenland.” – Sky News

• Trump sets sights on Greenland – Daily Telegraph
• After Venezuela, is Greenland the next target for Donald Trump? – The Times
• Trump aide’s wife trolls Denmark with picture of US-flagged Greenland – Daily Telegraph
• Trump says US ‘needs’ Greenland as Denmark PM urges president to stop threats – The Independent
• Trump Threatens Venezuela’s New Leader With a Fate Worse Than Maduro’s – The Atlantic

Comment:

• Trump has laid claim to an extraordinary hemispheric empire – Jeremy Black, Daily Telegraph
• China will view Venezuela raid as vindication – Cindy Yu, The Times
• Trump’s Maduro raid has given the world’s bullies and brutes a convenient precedent to justify their own terrifying ambitions – Stephen Glover, Daily Mail

News in brief:

• The Chagos Islands deal is even worse than it looks – Richard Ekins, The Critic
• The outstanding beigeness of Keir Starmer – Sam Leith, The Spectator
• Jordan Bardella’s foreign policy plan is a guide for Europe – Peter Franklin, UnHerd
• Young women are radicalising – Scarlett Maguire, The New Statesman