There have been penalties for those who looked the other way when Epstein was convicted of child sex offences and decided to maintain relationships with the financier — but not for the British ambassador to Washington, reveals SOLOMON HUGHES

THE race to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister has descended into a grotesque lurch to the right, with Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak trying their utmost to outdo each other with ever-more divisive, nonsensical and damaging policies.
The two Tory leadership contenders have both outlined tax cuts that would further enrich the wealthy at a time of immense inequality and hardship, and have rolled out Thatcherite union-bashing policies which are so draconian that they prompted threats of a general strike from union leaders.
Yet perhaps most concerning is the concerted “war on woke” that has come to define this race-to-the bottom leadership contest.

The New York mayoral candidate has electrified the US public with policies of social justice and his refusal to be cowed. We can follow his example here, writes CLAUDIA WEBBE

Israel’s monopolisation of ‘aid’ to slaughter Palestinians means there is no other option: direct international intervention now, says CLAUDIA WEBBE

With missiles penetrating the air defences to strike Haifa and Tel Aviv, Netanyahu’s transparent appeal to Trump demonstrates the Israeli underestimation of Iranian retaliation, and they are desperate to drag their allies in, writes CLAUDIA WEBBE

Starmer should not need to wait for the High Court’s decision on F-35 parts in order to do the right thing, warns CLAUDIA WEBBE