PM is understood not to have seen messages showing former ambassador’s support for sex offender when speaking in Commons

Keir Starmer defended Peter Mandelson in the House of Commons two days after details of the damning emails between Lord Mandelson and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were passed to Downing Street, according to reports.

The prime minister sacked Mandelson as the British ambassador to the US on Thursday after the emails were published, revealing that Mandelson told Epstein “your friends stay with you and love you” while the disgraced financier was facing jail for sex offences.

March expected to be Britain’s largest far-right rally in decades, and will include speakers from Britain, the US and Europe

Kemi Badenoch has accused the prime minister of lying about what he knew and when about Peter Mandelson ’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein .

The Conservative party leader posted on X on Saturday:

Looks like the prime minister and Labour MPs spent the week lying to the whole country about what they knew regarding Mandelson’s involvement with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

If No 10 had those emails for 48 hours before acting, it means he lied at PMQs and ministers lied again about new additional information. These are yet more errors of judgment.

The prime minister has very serious questions to answer. The only way to clear this up is full transparency about who knew what, and when.

FSA says affected items could contain shiga toxin-producing Stec strain and have been recalled as a precaution

Sainsbury’s has recalled two varieties of its own-brand hummus over fears they may contain a deadly strain of E coli, advising customers who have bought the products not to eat them.

The affected items include 315g containers of JS Classic Houmous, with a use-by date of 13 September, and 200g tubs of JS Lemon & Coriander Houmous with a use-by date of 14 September.

Phil Bellamy’s daughters refuse to ride in his electric car without travel sickness tablets. Are there other solutions?

It was a year in to driving his daughter to school in his new electric vehicle that Phil Bellamy discovered she dreaded the 10-minute daily ride – it made her feel sick in a way no other car did.

As the driver, Bellamy had no problems with the car but his teenage daughters struggled with sickness every time they entered the vehicle. Research has shown this is an issue – people who did not usually have motion sickness in a conventional car found that they did in EVs.

The American dream has never looked more seductive, with long and loose summer wardrobes and beachy jewellery

With the death of Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren became the world’s oldest major working fashion designer. The spotlight arrives with great timing for an 85-year-old on a hot streak. His brand is in better health than it has been for decades, with shares up 35% in 2025 and annual sales figures showing an 8% growth to $7.1bn (£1.25bn).

On the first night of New York fashion week, Lauren hosted the curtain-raiser for a month of catwalks with a show in his Madison Avenue design studio. Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King chatted to Lauren’s family; Usher smiled broadly behind sunglasses, lounging on a plushly cushioned front row. Champagne was served on silver trays under twinkling chandeliers. In the fractious climate, with the US reeling from the shooting of the far-right activist Charlie Kirk , Ralph Lauren’s affable, charming vision of the American dream has never looked more seductive.

Customised plates often cost more than the car – and yet the number of people queueing up to buy them is at an all‑time high. What’s the appeal?

‘Well, lot number 56 created quite a buzz, ladies and gentlemen … ” I’m sitting in a marquee in Chichester at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, sheltering from the summer heat. The auctioneer tells us that there have already been several telephone bids for this particular lot. Someone on the phone kicks things off with £180,000. The room holds its breath. Behind us are various astonishingly luxurious cars. One, an orange 1992 Mazda RX-7 FD Veilside Fortune Coupe, was used in the film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. All of a sudden the bidding for lot 56 is at £220,000. Now £230,000. Now £240,000 from someone online. Now £250,000. I can hear the distant vrooming of race cars tearing around a track. But lot 56 isn’t a car. It’s a number plate.

Until recently, the UK record for a number plate sold at public auction was £518,480, set in 2014 when Ferrari dealer John Collins beat the competition to get his hands on “25 O”. Private deals have been done for millions of pounds. In Dubai, “P7” sold for £12m in 2023, setting a world record. Number plates can dwarf the value of the cars on which they sit. The question is: why?

Combining both salty and sour flavours, gherkins act as a great elevator for many a dish or just as a standalone snack. But whose strikes the perfect balance?

• From kimchi to kombucha, it’s easy to ferment at home. Here’s all the kit you need

A jar of gherkins reminds me of the sea around the British Isles – murky, seaweed-green and mysterious – and of that bizarre marine animal, the sea cucumber (though sea gherkin would perhaps be more accurate, given how similar some species look). Gherkins also happen to be one of my favourite foods, though I usually eat them straight from the jar and rarely save any for all those recipes that benefit from their addition, from potato salads to bloody marys.

I like a gherkin that puckers the mouth with a sour smack to the gustatory cortex. It should also be salty, but not overpoweringly so – some of those I tested tasted of salt, vinegar and not much else. Aromatics such as onion, mustard and dill intensify when pickled, so how much is used needs to be well considered; too much mustard or black pepper, say, catches in the throat, while too much red pepper turns the liquor soupy. Dill, however, is essential.

Teachers, firefighters and military personnel among those who lost jobs after posting their opinion on social media

• Charlie Kirk shooting – latest news updates

Reactions on social media to the murder of far-right activist Charlie Kirk have cost multiple people their jobs as authorities in numerous states clamp down on critical commentary.

Among those to have been fired, suspended or censured in recent days for their opinions include teachers, firefighters, journalists, politicians, a secret service employee and a worker for a prominent NFL team .