Nigel Farage latest: Reform leader acted incorrectly over gifts, says new poll as approval ratings slip

Downing Street flatly rejected the Argentine foreign minister’s claim that the Falkland islanders are an “artificially implanted” population days before the World Cup semi-final.

The UK is “clear” that people on the archipelago are British and have the “right to determine their own future”, No 10 said after the intervention from Pablo Quirno ahead of England’s clash with Argentina on Wednesday.

In an essay for La Nacion newspaper, Mr Quirno appeared to suggest that a referendum showing support for UK sovereignty was illegitimate because of a population that had been “artificially implanted by the occupying power”.

In a 2013 vote the islanders overwhelmingly backed keeping their status as a British overseas territory, but the minister argued that no poll organised “unilaterally” by the UK can have “legal effect”, calling instead for negotiations on the Falklands’ future.

Asked about the intervention on Monday, Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesman said: “Well, no.

“The Falkland islanders are British with a right to determine their own future.

“The UK’s position is clear.

“The islanders have repeatedly expressed their wish to remain a British overseas territory, and their right to self-determination is paramount.”

The move comes after years of debate over the IRGC’s role and its close links to international terrorism as well as human rights abuses in Iran.

Sir Keir Starmer has authorised the decision to officially proscribe the IRGC after it was linked to recent terrorist incidents in the UK.

In a written statement, security minister Angela Eagle told that the UK has “identified activity linked to the IRGC involving threats to life and intimidation on UK soil”.

The case of the Reform leader is just the latest in a seemingly never-ending series of financial scandals in politics.

It’s time the system was cleaned up – and fast, writes Chris Blackhurst.

In other political news, the proposed Hillsborough Law is expected to clear the House of Commons this week. Full story below.

Transport secretary Heidi Alexander brokered the agreement for the increased presence with her French counterpart Phillippe Tabarot, ahead of the summer holidays.

Ministers were “doing all we can to help travellers get through these new EU security checks as smoothly as possible”, Ms Alexander said.

The UK and EU have jointly sanctioned alleged hackers linked to Russia as Britain’s cybersecurity service urged critical sectors to strengthen their online defences against the threat from Moscow.

Some 24 individuals and entities said to be behind “destructive” operations, including proxy networks connected to the Russian Intelligence Services, have been targeted by the Foreign Office.

The EU said it was imposing restrictive measures on nine individuals and four entities, including GRU officers, self-proclaimed “hacktivists” and cybercriminals, citing “close co-ordination” with the UK.

Both EU member states and the UK have also attributed a cyberattack on Poland’s energy grid in the depths of winter to Russia’s cyber-intelligence unit FSB Centre 16, the Foreign Office said.

Figures and entities targeted by Britain include senior GRU officials Vyacheslav Stafeyev, Ivan Senin and Ivan Kasyanenko, who the Foreign Office said had directed the agency’s cyber and hybrid threat operations.

It comes as the National Cyber Security Centre published a new advisory about the methods used by FSB Centre 16 actors, “exploiting vulnerable routers and opportunistically targeting” networks belonging to critical national infrastructure.

Nigel Farage has been accused of using the death of Ann Widdecombe as “political propaganda” after he said he believed the death of the former minister was “premeditated murder”.