Why allegations of BBC bias on Israel are becoming hard to reconcile

In April 2006 I was visited in my office by Gerald Ronson, a businessman perhaps best known at the time for spending a stretch in jail on assorted charges of conspiracy, false accounting and theft.

He did not pause to take his overcoat off before launching into a diatribe: “I’ve always said opinions are like arseholes, everyone’s got one,” he pronounced, before adding: “I am in favour of free speech but there is a line which can’t be crossed and, as far as I am concerned, you’ve crossed it, and you must stop this!”

Ronson was not protesting about our analysis of his chequered business career, but about our coverage of Israel. With him was the then-president of the Board of Deputies, which is sometimes presented as representing the view of British Jews. It is not clear why anyone thought that Ronson would be a persuasive advocate.

Over time attempts to influence British media became more sophisticated. A number of “media monitoring groups” with bland-sounding names were established with the explicit purpose of microscopically examining every word, every picture, every inch of footage – and duly pronouncing much coverage to be biased against Israel.

In parallel, selected journalists would be invited on all-expenses-paid trips to Israel to be “briefed.” Not so long ago I myself was asked by a popular columnist if I’d like to go on such a trip – and gradually became aware that a number of distinguished journalists appeared to have seized a similar opportunity without declaring the source of funding or acknowledging the arrangements behind the briefings.

The BBC has been a particular target. It is close to an article of faith for some – maybe even many – that the BBC is biased. Biased against the right, biased against Brexit, biased against ordinary working people. And biased against Israel.

But not only the BBC. Sky TV is, according to one David Collier, “a pro-terrorist propaganda channel.” But then Mr Collier has a dystopian view of the future of British Jews, tweeting recently: “Relax. We will all be gone soon. British Jews, Israeli business. chased out by an increasingly hostile UK. And when you all sit here in a 3rd world country with an Islamic flag over Downing St. you can let us know whether it was a good idea or not.”

Now Mr Collier is a dogged researcher, recently shedding light on serious flaws in a BBC documentary on Gaza. For many years he worked in hospitality and tourism, but is now an investigative journalist. He told the Times of Israel recently: ”What [The BBC] have is an engine room full of activist journalists all desperately falling over each other trying to outdo each other in finding new ways to demonise Israel.”

Another prominent critic of the BBC is an English/Israeli lawyer called Trevor Asserson, who recently garnered headlines in the UK press after commissioning a report, compiled by Israeli lawyers which claimed to identify a total of 1,553 breaches of the BBC’s editorial guidelines in its coverage of Israel. The report was seized on by former BBC executive Danny Cohen, as demonstrating an “institutional crisis” at the corporation.

Cohen himself has founded, and chairs, the blandly-titled UK Media Research Council [UKMRC}, which employs a number of former Mail on Sunday and Telegraph journalists. According to Private Eye, which has been unable to establish who funds the body, it admits to “focusing particularly on antisemitism and what they consider to be an anti-Israel narrative in the media.” Cohen himself collaborated with yet another blandly-named media monitoring outfit, Camera UK, to produce yet one more report highlighting alleged BBC bias against Israel.

All this stuff is lapped up by those news organisations which instinctively rally to the Israeli cause or (an overlapping group) despise the BBC. So it was a little uncomfortable for some journalists this week when a 188-page report was published claiming to show that, far from being biased against Israel, the BBC was, in fact, biased towards Israel.

The report, published on Monday, was endorsed by a number of prominent figures, including the admirable Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, former chair of the Conservative Party and the first Muslim woman to serve in a British Cabinet. She wrote: “This is no cherry-picked critique. It is a comprehensive, evidence-based indictment that cannot be ignored.”

But, of course, it was ignored.

The findings included claims that the BBC humanises Israeli casualties and dehumanises Palestinian ones; that Palestinian deaths make fewer headlines; that there is an extreme imbalance in reporting fatalities; that the BBC doesn’t treat Palestinian sympathisers fairly; and that the context and history of the conflict is underplayed. It argues that the BBC suppresses or minimises allegations of genocide and underreports attacks on press freedom. And so on.

You may agree, or disagree, with any of the above. But it’s unlikely you will be aware of it. As far as I can tell no mainstream news organisation thought it was worth so much as an inch of coverage. It sank without trace.

The report was praised by the former Mail and Telegraph political columnist and now award-winning blogger, Peter Oborne, as “an outstanding and thorough examination off BBC coverage.” This cut no ice with David Collier, who tweeted: “It is, at best, a piece of risible, inaccurate junk.” In another post, he noted that the bland-sounding organisation which had published it , The Centre for Media Monitoring, was funded by the Muslim Council for Britain (MCB). “What a pile of absolute garbage,” he scoffed.

Some critiqued that the authors had used large language models [LLMs] to help their research. They were less bothered by Trevor Asserson’s use of ChatGPT to help produce his own report.

Now, it would be surprising if the MCB were to sponsor a report showing the BBC was anti-Israel. Equally, hell might have to freeze over before Messrs Collier, Asserson or Cohen would come to the conclusion that the BBC was institutionally biased towards Israel.

But there is some worrying asymmetry involved here. The bland-sounding pro-Israel groups are simply more numerous and better-resourced than any bland-sounding pro-Palestinian group. They have more willing amplifiers in the mainstream media.

Over the years narratives are constructed and take root. And when someone comes along with a counter-narrative they are ignored. It would be unkind to call it GroupThink but there is, at the very least, a lack of balance. Which, of course, is the accusation thrown at the BBC.

It all makes one rather nostalgic for Gerald Ronson and his homilies about arseholes. You knew where you were.

How the ‘intimidating’ martini became the most in-demand cocktail

It’s the cocktail you know how to make without even trying one. The one you see glistening on top of glitzy bars in countless films, TV shows, and music videos. The one associated with everyone from Gatsby and Bond to Don Draper and Lucille Bluth to such a degree that it’s practically a character in its own right. It can be wet, dry, clean, or dirty. It is shaken and not stirred: it is, of course, the martini.

For whatever reason, the not-so-humble Hollywood tipple has undergone a somewhat radical transformation in recent years. For a while, it was known as a bit of an elderly choice, a drink favoured at lunchtime by nostalgic boomers and the Queen. But then something shifted and the martini was suddenly everywhere, with London bars reporting a surge in demand as the classic cocktail began infiltrating our Instagram feeds and bar menus in myriad variations.

On TikTok, there are more than 183,000 posts under #martini, with some showcasing people making their own drinks at home. Some are classic gin or vodka martinis; others are fruit-based, pornstar, or espresso martinis. Quirkier bases range from tomatoes, blueberries, and pickles to matcha, chocolate, and lychee. A few are inspired by celebrities (Kris Jenner martini, anyone?), literary icons (the Hemingway martini), and others are, quite frankly, a little too creative: this one has a literal chicken wing in it — it’s made using chicken broth, olives, mayo (I know) and then the wing is used as a garnish.

At Selfridges, sales of a pre-mixed version of the martini have surged by 200 per cent in the last year, with the retailer naming the martini as one of its “obsessions” for this year’s sunnier seasons, creating a bespoke martini window display at its Oxford Street flagship. Meanwhile, bars across London have noticed a major uptick in orders. Take the Tomatini at La Petite Maison, a now-iconic cocktail at the premium Mayfair dining destination that has been spotted in the hands of everyone from Charli XCX to Beyoncé.

“Light, savoury, and effortlessly sippable, it’s made with fresh tomatoes, Ketel One vodka, white balsamic, and a pinch of salt and pepper,” explains Tibor Krascsenics, group beverage director at La Petite Maison. “We’ve seen a clear rise in martini orders across our bars. Guests are more confident and precise, often asking for very dry vodka or gin martinis with a twist. Dirty martinis remain popular, It’s no longer an intimidating drink – it’s stylish, personal, and definitely in fashion.”

At Quaglino’s, where more guests are ordering martinis than ever before, the design of the drink has evolved and become more expansive over time. “We’ve had some fun with them,” says Jonathan Ecca, bar manager at the St James restaurant. “One of our favourites was the Sakura martini, inspired by Japanese flavours. We also tried an Asparagus martini made with Japanese vodka, homemade asparagus vermouth and a pickled white asparagus garnish to finish. It sounds wild, but it worked.”

Other establishments favour more classic varieties. “People love simplicity; they don’t want to over-complicate drinks with too many ingredients that take too long to make,” says Martin Kuczmarski, founder of The Dover, where martinis are one of the restaurant’s staples; around 90 per cent of its diners order one, usually with vodka. “A martini is beautiful to look at, sophisticated, and gives a sense of occasion, showing how people are moving away from overly complicated cocktails and rediscovering the beauty of minimalism,” adds Kuczmarski. “One of the missions of The Dover was to bring back many traditional, and classic elements of hospitality. I didn’t want to follow any trends, and the martini is one of the simplest cocktails that exists. But like with anything simple, it is one of the hardest things to execute well.”

The perfect martini requires a combination of high-quality ingredients, premium glassware, balance, the appropriate garnish according to the drinker’s tastes, and of course, it must also be ice cold. Few know this quite like Alessandro Palazzi, bar manager at Dukes Bar in London, which is arguably the UK’s leading martini destination thanks to its popularity among celebrities, royals, and a mythic social media presence. Frequented by Ian Fleming himself and reportedly the place where Bond’s famous line “shaken, not stirred” was inspired, Dukes has been serving up its signature martinis since 1908, bringing them out on its famous trolley service, adding a theatrical element to the whole experience.

“Lots of people are coming in from social media these days,” says Palazzi, who has been working at Dukes for 18 years, serving everyone from Stanley Tucci to Paul Feig, a close friend who wound up casting the bartender for a cameo in his latest film, Another Simple Favour, in which martinis play a lead role – Dukes is mentioned in the first film by Blake Lively’s character. There’s almost always a queue to get into Dukes, which now serves between 300 and 400 martinis a day. “We spot the social media people right away because as soon as you arrive with the trolley, they take a camera out without asking,” adds Palazzi. “That bothers me a lot.”

The philosophy at Dukes is simple: to inspire others to make their own martinis at home, and to create a warm, discreet environment where the drinks can be sipped and savoured slowly. Famously, the bar won’t serve customers more than two martinis each. “There are five shots of pure alcohol in each glass,” explains Palazzi. “That, combined with the fact that frozen alcohol has a delayed reaction means you can’t digest it right away. So then it stays inside you and you have an explosion if you drink very quickly. Our intention is not to make you drunk but to offer an experience.”

Despite this logical and sensible guidance, the influx of attention on Dukes recently has meant that a few people try to come in and subvert it, trying their luck to order a third martini. “I call them the imbeciles,” says Palazzi. “Usually they’re classic businessmen and city boys who think they have something to prove and can handle more than two martinis.” This kind of bravado will get you nowhere at Dukes, or anywhere else, for that matter.

It’s unclear where the sudden rush for the martini came from. Palazzi suspects it began during the pandemic: “A lot of us were at home, drinking cocktails, or watching videos of celebrities making them,” he says. Dukes was actively posting clips during that time, too, while celebrities like Tucci regularly went viral for his DIY cocktail-making videos on Instagram.

But there’s also something to be said about the martini’s rise and a wider shift in alcohol consumption more generally. Consider the mini martini, an increasingly popular variation of the drink that is, obviously, smaller and more potent. “We also serve a lot of mini martinis,” says Krascenics. “They’re playful one-sip versions that let guests explore multiple styles, from classics to vegetal twists like beetroot or caperberry. It’s our way of making the martini both elegant and fun.” You can now find these minute variations across London, with popular spots like Rita’s, Dishoom, and, up until it closed in April, the Blue Bar at the Berkeley, all downsizing their drinks to cater to more moderation-concerned clientele.

“I think it ties into this wider shift we’re seeing, people are drinking less, but drinking better,” explains Agustina Basilico Miara, beverage manager at Toklas. “They’re looking for quality over quantity, and the martini, when made well, is the perfect example of that. It’s refined, simple, and all about balance and care.” Indeed it is – just don’t drink too many of them at once.

Ex-analyst guilty of £1m insider trading while WFH during Covid lockdown

A former research analyst at the investment firm Janus Henderson has been found guilty of insider trading after making around £1m during the Covid lockdown, along with his sister.

Redinel Korfuzi and his sibling Oerta Korfuzi were charged by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with conspiracy to commit insider dealing and money laundering, between January 2019 and March 2021, and were found guilty at Southwark Crown Court after pleading not guilty.

Mr Korfuzi was accused of using confidential information gathered during his work to place a particular type of complex trade, called Contracts for Difference (CFDs), through accounts owned by his sister and two other co-defendants.

Prosecutors alleged that he used lockdown as cover for his operation, keeping it “hidden from the supervising eyes and ears of his colleagues” while working from home, reported the Financial Times reported earlier this year.

In this manner, Mr Korfuzi made £963,000 in around six months and “was at the absolute centre” of matters, said the prosecutor, benefitting from share price changes of at least 13 companies, including Jet2, Daimler and THG.

Their trading was detected by FCA market monitoring systems, despite Mr Korfuzi’s apparent efforts to hide his involvement.

The brother and sister were also convicted of money laundering, with the FCA saying they received money from the proceeds of crime, with more than 176 cash deposits totalling over £198,000. The source of that money was unrelated to charges of insider dealing.

Insider trading is punishable by up to ten years in prison, but these charges predate a rule change increasing that time, meaning the pair face a maximum of seven years and/or a fine.

For money laundering, a fine and/or up to 14 years imprisonment is the maximum.

His Honour Judge Milne told the pair on Thursday: “These are serious matters of which you’ve been convicted and the sentences will reflect that.”

Steve Smart, joint executive director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA, said: “We are committed to fighting financial crime and protecting the integrity of our markets. Those who use inside information to unlawfully make profits should be aware that we will identify them and bring them to justice.”

Mr and Ms Korfuzi are set to be sentenced on 4 July and the FCA are also to apply for confiscation orders to recover the proceeds of crime.

The jury cleared their two co-defendants, Rogerio de Aquino – Mr Korfuzi’s personal trainer – and Dema Almeziad of both charges. Their accounts were also used to place trades but they said in statements they had been “hoodwinked” and “duped”.

Ms Almeziad’s lawyer Roger Sahota said in a statement: “This case should never have been brought. There was no evidence that Ms Almeziad knew anything about insider dealing and it is wrong to expect ordinary people to understand or spot complex financial conduct that even professionals struggle with.”

Janus Henderson was not involved in the case or accused of wrongdoing.

Thunderstorm warning issued in midst of 34C heatwave

The Met Office has issued a weather warning for thunderstorms in parts of England this weekend as a heatwave continues to grip the UK.

A yellow thunderstorm warning is in place on Saturday and Sunday, the forecaster said, adding that scattered thunderstorms may cause some disruption.

It is in place from 3pm on Saturday to 4am on Sunday.

The warning covers the East Midlands, West Midlands, North East England, North West England, Yorkshire and the Humber and some parts of Wales.

This includes major towns and cities such as Leicester, Nottingham, Durham, Newcastle, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and York.

The Met Office warned spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures, and there is a slight chance that power cuts could occur.

There is also a small chance that some communities become cut off by flooded roads, the forecaster said.

“Whilst many places will likely remain dry and unaffected, scattered thunderstorms may develop during Saturday afternoon, lasting through the evening hours, moving northeastwards before eventually clearing to the North Sea by the early hours of Sunday,” the warning said.

“The most intense thunderstorms could produce frequent lightning, large hail and gusty winds, along with some heavy downpours for a time. This may lead to some surface water impacts in places.”

It comes as temperatures reached as high as 30.8C on Friday amid an amber heat-health alert for all regions in England.

The alert, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for the first time since September 2023, is in force until 9am on Monday.

It warns “significant impacts are likely” across health and social care services because of high temperatures, including a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or people with health conditions.

By Friday afternoon, several areas across the country are expected to have passed the heatwave criteria, Met Office weather forecaster Dan Stroud said.

An official heatwave is recorded when areas reach a certain temperature for three consecutive days, with thresholds varying from 25C to 28C in different parts of the UK.

Temperatures will be in the low 30s, and probably be the peak of the hot spell on Saturday, as 34C is possible, still below the June record of 35.6C in 1976.

Sunday will be another very warm day in the south and east probably in the late 20s, elsewhere it will be cooler, with temperatures in the mid 20s, Mr Stroud said.

Argentina spoil Lions’ leaving party as tour begins with defeat

Perhaps the British and Irish Lions will stop inviting Argentina to their pre-tour party. 20 years on from a narrow escape and dispiriting draw kicked things off with a whimper in Cardiff for the 2005 vintage, the current crop were beaten as the Pumas had their day in Dublin. The result here, of course, is only a mere piece of a wider puzzle that Andy Farrell and his stuff will put together as they gear up for the three Tests against the Wallabies but an opening-game defeat is unique this century; to term this game portentous for the tour as a whole would be perhaps to overplay it but the Lions have set off on the wrong foot.

With a cough and a splutter, then, the steamer is sailing on its slow journey to Australia. There were plenty of good bits in a spritely performance to excite Farrell but plenty also for him to chew over as the travelling party navigate south. A surprisingly bruising affair will leave a few tourists taking bruises and balms through security at Dublin Airport tomorrow, though the head coach did not fear any major injuries. A faulty lineout, a few curious kicks and some anticipated handling errors on a sweaty night were other possible bugbears, though there is plenty of time to touch up certain areas before the more consequential business to end the tour.

That said, this was a true test if not a true Test, the intensity shown by both sides befitting a fully-fledged fixture rather than the warm-up affair it may come to be known as in retrospect. If, for some, games like this are sacrosanct to the Lions idea – the concept of a touring team perhaps betrayed by them now playing so regularly on home soil – there could be no doubting that this was some occasion, scarlet stands right around the Aviva Stadium with the sea of red flooding Dublin.

They were treated to a cracker of a contest, settled in some style by a sparkling score from Santiago Carreras and a performance from fly half Tomas Albornoz to bedazzle any occasion. As if in ruby slippers, the left-footed Argentina No 10 patrolled, controlled and sashayed with his own dancing feet. The Lions would have been happy enough with large parts of their showing yet their opponents were far from undeserving victors.

After months and months of speculation, how welcome to at last have actual action to analyse. These opening fixtures of the tour are rarely classics, the Lions still familiarising themselves one another, still translating the texts to become sacred come the Tests. A slightly shaky start is to be, somewhat, expected given the uniqueness of the enterprise, the melding and moulding only just underway.

Yet there had been a different feel about the 2025 crop, as rugby-focussed a group as any Lions assembly in recent memory. This selection had rather chosen itself given the significant crop involved in finals last weekend and thus, perfectly rightly, not risked, but there was still plenty of intrigue in Farrell’s line-up, from a backline built to bludgeon to a locking combo that may end up back stoking the fires in the engine room come Test-time. Farrell will have confidence that there are a few more cylinders still to fire but this was a bright enough performance in many ways, with plenty of invention and ingenuity on show in their attacking play.

It appeared the Friday night mass would have reason to roar inside eight minutes when Luke Cowan-Dickie showed serious strength to thrash to the line from a back of a maul, but the hooker’s hands were imprecise, fumbling as he attempted to ground awkwardly over his shoulder. Instead, there were muffled boos as Maro Itoje pointed to the posts; Fin Smith nonetheless replied to Albornoz’s early penalty.

The Lions had shown early glimpses of their attacking talent but the Pumas claws were just as sharp. A wonderful Albornoz pass, singeing Lucio Cinti’s midriff as it fizzed into the hands of Santiago Carreras beyond, set up a deft finish from Ignacio Mendy, before the Lions has a seconds score chalked off, this time for an Alex Mitchell knock-on in a tangle of limbs before Sione Tuipulotu collected. It was, however, third time lucky as an undeniable Bundee Aki bashed through.

Two more pings from the impressive Albornoz’s cultured left boot nonetheless left the Pumas in front before the fly half finished off something rather more telling. With the Lions searching for a strike before the interval down the left, the ball popped free and Argentina swarmed, Rodrigo Isgro and Carreras willing couriers before their 10 romped home to complete a special delivery.

An 11-point lead felt vital given the callowness of Argentina’s bench – but that advantage, and their resources on the pitch, were soon eroded as prop Mayco Vivas cynically inserted himself from the side to halt a driving maul a metre from the line.

The temptation would be to say that Vivas’s absence proved key as the Lions struck again quickly, though had his opposite number been on the pitch, Ellis Genge might have run over him two. Three or four would-be tacklers were scattered by a cannonball charge from the Lions loosehead, setting up the position from which Tadhg Beirne could knife in.

The South Americans were not, however, going to go away. Albornoz may lack the profile of some other sporting Argentine No 10s but he is increasingly making the shirt his own, and sparked another spectacular with a delicate dummy as Santiago Cordero applied the finishing touches.

Up went the volume as the Lions reinforcements arrived, Henry Pollock, Mack Hansen and Tadhg Furlong all on to escalating cheers; the introduction of Pierre Schoeman bringing a familiar Scottish battle cry. Argentina raised the ramparts for a last stand as Elliot Daly found the corner, and the Lions soon erred, a Beirne neck roll scuppering a penalty under the posts with the margin four points. So it would remain.

What’s the secret to a truly stress-free holiday?

High-end cruising has entered a new era. Today’s luxury travellers aren’t looking for big flashy experiences. They want slow-paced, intimate travel and authentic cultural immersion. More than anything else, they’re looking for ease: that feeling of being genuinely cared for, safe in the knowledge that they’re experiencing the best of the best.

That means excellent quality food and drink, of course – it’s got to be restaurant standard and cater to all tastes – but also onboard enrichment experiences of the highest calibre. The great beauty of cruising has always been that not a second is wasted. Savvy travellers get to explore a rich and rewarding variety of exotic, off-the-beaten track locations, but instead of spending half their holiday stuck in motorway traffic, they’re honing their swing in the golf net, or sipping on a cocktail on the upper deck as they travel from destination to destination.

When they’re onshore they want genuinely immersive experiences that get them under the hood of a destination: think cellar tours of local vineyards or speedboat cruises to hidden beaches. Done right, a high-end all-inclusive cruise is the ideal form of slow travel, offering a perfect balance of adventure and indulgence, proper pampering and a thrilling sense of discovery.

The world’s most luxurious fleet

First among equals when it comes to the new era of luxury cruising is Regent Seven Seas Cruises, which offers more than 170 different itineraries visiting over 550 ports of call worldwide. Each of the six ships in their fleet is opulently appointed with beautifully designed communal areas and a huge array of amenities, but none of them has a capacity of more than 746 guests, ensuring space and freedom for all aboard.

The all-suite accommodation means that the private spaces are similarly roomy, each having a private balcony and marble bathroom. And service is always impeccable with a crew-to-guest ratio that’s nearly one-to-one, meaning that the team can always go that mile extra for all travellers.

Across the ships, the food is uniformly excellent. As well as Regent’s signature Compass Rose restaurant, with its daily changing menu of bistro classics like lobster bisque and New Zealand lamb chops, the different ships also feature a range of speciality dining venues. These include Prime 7, a New York-style steakhouse, Pacific Rim with its pan-Asian menu (be sure to try the miso black cod), and fine-dining destination, Chartreuse, where the chefs turn out sophisticated plates of upscale French cooking like Beef Tenderloin Rossini and Seared Foie Gras.

With a number of long cruises on their roster, Regent has made sure that each of its ships is akin to an ultra-luxury, boutique floating hotel with an incredible variety of things to do during the day and top-level entertainment at night. There are courts for paddle tennis and bocce, and the onboard spa offers a range of exclusive bespoke treatments. The ships host talks by experts in their field and cooking lessons are also available on some of the ships at the culinary arts kitchens where visiting chefs guide guests in how to make wow-factor dishes that relate to the ports of call. In the evening, the Constellation Theatre hosts lavishly staged productions from a team of Broadway choreographers and artists.

Destinations that match the onboard luxury

Of course, none of this onboard luxury would mean much if the destinations weren’t up to scratch, but Regent’s superbly curated itineraries are up there with the very best. Its week-long trips include culture-packed European tours like Glories of Iberia which sails from Barcelona to Lisbon, and thrilling frontier explorations such as the Great Alaskan Adventure from Whittier to Vancouver.

Longer trips include four-week Legendary Journeys from Athens to Montreal, and fully immersive explorations of the Arctic. Long or short, these itineraries are all underpinned by a commitment to taking guests right to the heart of a destination with the kind of bespoke onshore activities and expert-led insights that mean on a Regent Seven Seas Cruises voyage, adventure is guaranteed.

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Council tax could rise in richer areas to fund struggling authorities

Council tax bills across the UK could soon see a major shake-up as a new Labour plan looks to make funding ‘fairer.’

Led by deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, the plans will ensure more government funding goes to areas with the highest need.

The new approach looks to address issues in local authorities that are enforcing large council tax hikes every year while residents repeatedly see little return for this money. By making more central funds available to areas where demand is greatest, these areas will be more able to ask for lower council tax increases.

However, this will likely mean that less funding will be available to areas where local services are not stretched, and residents have not been asked to pay such steep bill rises in recent years. As such, these councils could be forced to recoup the funding from maximising council tax revenue.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) official told The Times that the current system has resulted in “perverse outcomes, where some authorities are struggling to provide basic services whilst others are better off”.

They add that the new approach would “ensure that government doesn’t reward places that have been able to keep council tax levels low due to having stronger tax bases”, and be “fairer to local authorities and their residents where they have had to take difficult decisions historically on council tax, often due to having weaker tax bases.”

About half of all council funding comes from central government, meaning the new method marks a major reform. The MHCLG has launched a consultation over the new measures to evaluate how the new funding allocations will be made.

This will include assessing the need of councils that provide adult social care, as well as looking at how to reform children’s social care and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) funding.

Nine in ten councils enforced the maximum possible council tax rise of 4.99 per cent in April, with six given permission to raise local rates even higher. These were Windsor and Maidenhead, Newham, Bradford, Birmingham, Somerset, and Trafford.

Minister for Local Government and English Devolution, Jim McMahon OBE said: “We inherited a local government sector on its knees—councils pushed to the financial brink, facing rising demand, and working people not receiving the quality local services they rightly deserve.

“There’s broad agreement across council leaders, experts, and parliamentarians that the current funding model is broken and unfair. This government is stepping up to deliver the fairer system promised in the 2017 Fair Funding Review but never delivered.

“These reforms are urgently needed to put councils on a stable footing and ensure better services for residents — especially working people — right across the country. It’s a key part of our Plan for Change to deliver the outcomes people deserve.”

Cllr Pete Marland, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Economy and Resources Board, said: “An opaque funding system has weakened councils’ financial sustainability and vital public services, and we will be working through the details of this consultation.

“Different councils will have contrasting views on these proposals. Individual councils will need to know the implications and a transitional mechanism is crucial to avoid putting services at risk.”

Whitehall isn’t working – here’s how the PM can fix it

It never rains but it pours for Keir Starmer. He is fighting to stop the Iran crisis wrecking his one success as prime minister – a solid performance on foreign affairs in which he somehow maintains a productive relationship with Donald Trump.

Insiders tell me Starmer’s efforts are aimed at persuading Iran to enter meaningful talks on its nuclear programme and then convincing a highly sceptical US president that Iran is serious about negotiations.

But if Trump goes ahead with his threat to bomb Iran, Starmer’s special relationship with him could conceivably be stretched to breaking point.

The prime minister can’t escape his woes on domestic matters. His intense diplomacy was interrupted on Thursday by the unwelcome news that Vicky Foxcroft had resigned as a whip in protest at the government’s cuts to disability benefits. She might not be the last to quit a government post before the crunch vote on £5bn of welfare cuts on 1 July, when Starmer faces the biggest Labour revolt of his premiership.

Some parliamentary aides to ministers are on resignation watch. The government’s robotic response to Foxcroft’s departure, which failed to acknowledge her respected work as shadow disabilities minister before last year’s election, angered some Labour MPs.

Many will rebel with a heavy heart. They accept the need to reduce the ballooning welfare budget, but think the panicky cuts ahead of Rachel Reeves’s spring statement symbolise how the government repeatedly reacts to events – in this case, living from hand to mouth to stick within the chancellor’s fiscal rules – instead of having a long-term reform strategy.

For some Whitehall-watchers, Starmer will not improve matters unless he reforms the centre of government. Critics think the relationship between No 10 and the Cabinet Office isn’t working, leaving the other side of the triangle, the Treasury, to call the shots. The result: the winter fuel allowance catastrophe and now the welfare rebellion.

Even some in Downing Street admit privately a shake-up is needed. Sam Freedman, a former special adviser and author of an excellent book, Failed State, suggests loosening the Treasury’s grip by forming an Office of Budget Management, run jointly by the Treasury and Downing Street, which would oversee future spending reviews to ensure they reflect the PM’s priorities.

Freedman believes Starmer should consider a change Tony Blair introduced in his second term, which improved public service delivery. To prevent the whole operation being sucked into reacting to events, three units focused on different timescales: a policy unit on day-to-day oversight of Whitehall departments; a delivery unit on a small number of the PM’s priorities (in Starmer’s case, that would be his five missions); and a strategy unit on difficult long-term challenges. This ensured a more strategic state.

One problem today is that the “missions delivery unit” is based in the Cabinet Office rather than No 10. The Institute for Government (IFG) think tank has made a sensible proposal to abolish the Cabinet Office and set up an expanded “Office of the Prime Minister”, which would then take charge of the missions.

Do such structures really matter? Yes. They are even more important when a PM makes a virtue out of his pragmatism and lack of ideology, as Starmer does. Like many predecessors, Starmer complains the Whitehall machine is slow to crank into life when he demands action. Often fair – but civil servants also have a point when they grumble that this government does not give them clear enough marching orders.

For example, the government’s own commitment to Starmer’s missions – later relaunched as six milestones in his “plan for change” – is now being questioned in Whitehall. Ministers promised the missions would be the “guiding star” of the government-wide spending review unveiled by Reeves last week, and that cabinet ministers would collaborate on cross-departmental working and budgets. Only one problem: there was little money to go round. So the review again became a trial of strength between the Treasury and individual ministers trying to protect their departments.

Starmer’s “mission-driven government” was caught in the crossfire and some Whitehall officials think the idea suffered serious damage. The IFG calculates that two of the missions – on economic growth and clean energy – did well out of the spending review, but the other three – on health, safer streets and opportunity – look difficult to achieve.

Another reason why the missions matter is that this government doesn’t have the option of pumping in extra cash to secure the improvements to public services voters want, as Blair and Gordon Brown enjoyed. Although Reeves won headlines for her big boost to building projects, her squeeze on day-to-day budgets is viewed in Whitehall as a “standstill settlement”. So reform and efficiency savings will be needed to secure tangible improvements – not least in the NHS.

The missions can play a part in prioritising these goals. With many public services still struggling in the voters’ eyes, standing still will not win Labour a second term.