More than 100 Labour MPs have backed a move to block the government’s controversial welfare reform bill, which aims to cut disability and sickness-related benefits to save £5bn annually by 2030. The MPs have signed a reasoned amendment that could potentially halt the bill’s progress if selected by the Commons Speaker and supported by a majority. Critics argue the proposed changes, which would tighten eligibility for the Personal Independence Payment (Pip), could push an additional 250,000 people—including 50,000 children—into relative poverty.

Despite mounting dissent, Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden defended the reforms, citing the projected doubling of people on long-term sickness and disability benefits by the end of the decade. He stressed the need for action to manage rising costs, which are forecast to reach £70bn annually by 2030. The government maintains that £1bn will be invested to support people back into work, though Labour MPs argue the impact assessments are inadequate and the consultation process insufficient.

Labour’s internal rift deepened after several MPs, including select committee chairs and recently elected members, joined the rebellion. The resignation of whip Vicky Foxcroft and the backlash over earlier votes on winter fuel cuts have galvanized support for the amendment. As the vote looms next week, pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with rebel MPs determined to send the government “back to the drawing board” and reconsider the reforms’ long-term consequences.

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London’s Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has expressed his “shock and frustration” over a planned protest in support of Palestine Action, set to take place in central London on Monday. The protest, backed by 35 groups including the Stop the War Coalition and MEND, follows a high-profile break-in by Palestine Action activists at RAF Brize Norton, where red paint was sprayed on military aircraft in protest against the UK’s support for Israel.

With Home Secretary James Cleverly reportedly preparing to formally proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, Sir Mark described the group as an “organised extremist criminal group”. He stressed that while the Met currently lacks the legal authority to prevent the protest, conditions under the Public Order Act have been imposed. Protesters will only be allowed to gather between 12:00 and 15:00, and not within the designated exclusion zone covering much of Westminster.

Palestine Action confirmed on social media that the protest will be held at Trafalgar Square, outside the restricted zone. Meanwhile, human rights groups including Amnesty International and figures like Baroness Shami Chakrabarti have voiced concerns over the proposed ban, warning it could criminalise peaceful dissent. The move to proscribe the group has drawn both praise and criticism across the political spectrum amid ongoing debates over protest rights and the war in Gaza.

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Revelations from recent fraud convictions of prolific ticket touts Peter Hunter and Maria Chenery-Woods have unearthed disturbing insights into the UK’s secondary ticketing market. Judges in both cases raised serious concerns about potential “connivance and collusion” or “complicity” between ticketing companies and touts, who profited massively by reselling tickets at inflated prices. Hunter, trading between 2010 and 2017, and Chenery-Woods, active from 2012 to 2017, both utilized major resale platforms, including the Ticketmaster-owned GetMeIn! and Seatwave, as well as StubHub and Viagogo. Despite Ticketmaster’s public claims of combating touting, former staff, promoters, venue managers, and court documents suggest a different story behind the scenes before the company shut its resale sites in 2018.

Investigations reveal that large-scale touts received significant inside help from ticketing platforms. Former employees of Ticketmaster’s resale sites admitted to working closely with touts, with some even buying tickets on their behalf. Court evidence highlighted allegations of financial “incentives” offered to prolific sellers by resale sites and even a proposed meeting between a top Ticketmaster lawyer and a tout to “brainstorm” ways to assist them. Furthermore, former Ticketmaster employees stated they were asked to develop software specifically to aid touts in bulk ticket sales on resale platforms. While Ticketmaster maintains these allegations refer to “long-defunct businesses” and are “outdated claims,” the evidence presented in court paints a picture of a system where primary and secondary ticketing operations were, at times, intertwined in ways that facilitated illicit gains.

The fraud convictions of Hunter and Chenery-Woods stemmed from their use of deceptive practices, such as creating multiple false identities and using numerous credit cards, to bypass primary ticketing purchase limits. These “VIP” touts, who ran sophisticated operations from their homes, generated millions in revenue, with resale sites earning substantial commissions. Although primary ticketing companies like Ticketmaster were technically victims of this fraud, none directly supported the prosecutions. National Trading Standards, while acknowledging that touting continues, currently lacks the funding and resources to pursue further investigations into these illicit activities, leaving questions about the full extent of complicity within the industry and the ongoing battle against ticket touting.

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