BBC is ‘determined to fight’ Trump legal challenge, says chair Samir Shah

BBC chairman Samir Shah has said the broadcaster is “determined to fight” Donald Trump after the US president said he would sue the corporation for between $1bn and $5bn over the editing of a 2021 speech broadcast by Panorama.

It had been reported that Sir Keir Starmer was planning to call Mr Trump over the weekend where he would tell the president that the BBC must get its house in order, as well as defending the broadcaster as a British institution – but it is understood the call did not take place.

In an email to staff, Mr Shah said there is “no basis for a defamation case”.

“There is a lot being written, said and speculated upon about the possibility of legal action, including potential costs or settlements”, he said.

“In all this we are, of course, acutely aware of the privilege of our funding and the need to protect our licence fee payers, the British public.

“I want to be very clear with you – our position has not changed. There is no basis for a defamation case and we are determined to fight this.”

Asked about the legal threats, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “I think we have been very clear that this is a matter for the BBC, whose lawyers are now dealing with this.

“We’re not going to comment on an ongoing legal matter. The BBC is independent of the UK government. It is a matter for them and the US administration.”

It came after the US president on Saturday told reporters on board Air Force One that the prime minister was “very embarrassed” by the scandal and had already tried to “put a call in to me” about it.

Mr Trump said he would sue the corporation for “anywhere between one billion dollars (£759.8m) and five billion dollars (£3.79bn), probably sometime next week”.

His comments followed an apology from the BBC on Thursday in which it said the edit of Mr Trump’s speech on January 6 2021 had given the “mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action”.

The broadcaster apologised and said the splicing of the speech was an “error of judgment” but refused to pay financial compensation after the US president’s lawyers threatened to sue for one billion dollars in damages unless a retraction and apology were published.

On Saturday, a BBC spokesperson said: “We have had no further contact from President Trump’s lawyers at this point. Our position remains the same.”

In an interview with GB News broadcast on Saturday, Mr Trump said he had an “obligation” to sue the BBC, adding: “This was so egregious. If you don’t do it, you don’t stop it from happening again with other people.”

On Thursday, Mr Shah sent a personal letter to the White House to apologise for the editing, and lawyers for the corporation wrote to the president’s legal team, a BBC spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added: “While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim.”

The Panorama scandal saw the resignations of two of the BBC’s most senior executives: director-general Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness.

The programme, broadcast a week before the 2024 US election results, spliced two clips together so that Mr Trump appeared to tell the crowd: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”

The BBC has said it will not air the Panorama episode Trump: A Second Chance? again, and published a retraction on the show’s webpage on Thursday.

It’s obvious Trump is targeting Venezuela for one thing above all else

The United States has killed 90 people this year in “extrajudicial executions” – state sponsored murders – largely targeting people on alleged smuggling boats from Venezuela.

Now Donald Trump has an American aircraft carrier group steaming though the Caribbean threatening an invasion – based on lies.

The US justification for killing suspected drug smugglers is that they’re flooding America with deadly fentanyl.

Aside from the obvious legal issues; such as not firing warning shots at the smugglers, not arresting them (as has been the norm) and forever cutting the victims out of any due process of law, America’s justification for the killings is nonsense.

According to the Drugs Enforcement Agency in the US, and every other relevant source of information on the scourge of fentanyl in America, NONE of the deadly opiate comes from, or via, Venezuela.

It gets to the US from Mexico. The precursor chemicals to make it come from China.

Mexicans aren’t being bombed. There’s no threat to invade Beijing.

In the New Rogue Order – that Trump did not invent but is amplifying – international law and ethics mean nothing. It is might that is right in Trump’s book, and invasion a form of real estate acquisition by other means.

He has notably hosted Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin on American soil and ignored international arrest warrants for both men who have been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

Putin claimed to be invading Ukraine to save its Russian population from Kyiv’s Nazi dominance. That was a lie and now vast numbers of Ukraine’s Russian speakers are refugees, or dead, killed by Russia.

But Trump has acknowledged that he believes Russia has a “right” to Ukrainian territory because so many Russians have died fighting for it.

Trump has also enthusiastically suggested that Gaza should be emptied of Palestinians and turned into a seaside resort. Lately he’s reported to be backing a plan to turn it into a colony under Tony Blair.

These are terrible ideas and illegal under international law which forbids the forced displacement of populations.

No matter.

Meanwhile, Trump doesn’t like the regime of Nichola Maduro who has ruled the oil-rich country since 2013.

Maduro is a dictator and stole the July election last year from opposition leader Eduardo Gonzalez who later fled to exile in Spain.

The securocrats who support him have been allowed to run sidelines in smuggling drugs and gold. The rotten system may extend all the way to the top – amid US sanctions and international isolation.

Trump likes strongmen who disregard democratic norms. Victor Orban, Putin, and China’s Xi Xing Ping are the men he appears to most admire or consider peers. They are authoritarian capitalists. Maduro’s sin may be his claim to be a “socialist”.

The Venezuelan leader says he believes Trump wants to depose him. The White House says this isn’t true.

But there is no immediately obvious reason why Trump would be killing small teams of Venezuelans on motor boats and sending a fleet to intimidate Caracas – except regime change.

The White House has justified its killings of alleged drug smugglers, and fishermen from Venezuela, because the US is in a “non-international conflict” with “narco-terrorists” who are killing Americans with drugs.

The UN says the killings are “extrajudicial executions” – and Amnesty International agrees. The UK and Colombia have reportedly suspended intelligence sharing in the Caribbean over the targeting of the alleged smuggler boats.

But now Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, has said Cartel de los Soles, a group the US alleges is led by Maduro, will be designated a terrorist organisation.

Al Qaeda, the so-called Islamic State, Hamas, the Real Irish Republican Army and others have all been designated terror groups. So have several Mexican drug cartels.

But in designating Venezuela’s president as being at the helm of a narco-terrorist organisation, the head of state is now firmly in America’s cross-hairs.

There has been consternation in the top echelons of the US military over the killings in the Caribbean. Admiral Alvin Holsey, the US commander in the region is to step down next month – two years early.

It is understood he raised legal and ethical objections to the use of the Pentagon’s assets in killing civilians under doctrine usually reserved for attacks on armed operators posing an immediate violent danger to America or her citizens.

In a statement to The Independent, a Justice Department spokesperson said: “The strikes were ordered consistent with the laws of armed conflict, and as such are lawful orders.

“Military personnel are legally obligated to follow lawful orders and, as such, are not subject to prosecution for following lawful orders.”

The crews of some 75 US aircraft, 5,000 troops, spies, and special forces are now gearing up as they approach Venezuela.

They better hope they’ve got good lawyers.

Bangladesh’s ousted PM sentenced to death for ‘crimes against humanity’

A war crimes court on Monday sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death after finding her guilty of ordering a deadly crackdown on last year’s student-led uprising.

Prosecutors in Bangladesh were seeking the death penalty for Hasina in a trial that lasted months, accusing her of ordering the use of lethal force against student protesters, resulting in up to 1,400 deaths.

The tribunal also sentenced the former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan to death, and a third suspect – a former police chief – was sentenced to five years in prison after he became a state witness against Hasina and pleaded guilty. The deliberation of the verdict from the tribunal in the capital, Dhaka, was broadcast live.

Hasina’s Awami League party has called for a nationwide shutdown to protest against the verdict.

Last month, she told The Independent that she would “neither be surprised nor intimidated” if Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced her to death, calling the proceedings “a sham trial” driven by political vengeance.

Hasina has been in exile in India since fleeing Bangladesh on 5 August last year.

There were cheers and applause in the courtroom as the death sentence was announced, according to Reuters. The ruling can be appealed against before the Supreme Court. However, Hasina’s son and adviser, Sajeeb Wazed, told the news agency on the eve of the verdict that they would not pursue an appeal unless a democratically elected government, with the Awami League participating, is in place.

After sentencing, Hasina said the verdict against her was delivered by a “rigged tribunal” that she claimed was set up and run by an “unelected government with no democratic mandate”. She also called the verdict “biased” and “politically motivated”, adding that she had been denied any fair opportunity to defend herself in court.

“I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where evidence can be weighed and tested fairly,” Hasina said.

Bangladesh’s interim government had tightened security in the capital and beyond as the country awaited the verdict. Paramilitary border guards and police fanned out across Dhaka and other regions as Hasina’s Awami League called for a nationwide shutdown on Monday, denouncing the tribunal as a “kangaroo court”.

Chief prosecutor Tajul Islam called Hasina the “mastermind and principal architect” of the alleged crimes against humanity committed during the uprising against her.

The ruling comes just months before parliamentary elections scheduled for early February, with the tribunal’s governing law allowing the maximum sentence of death.

Dhaka police chief Sheikh Mohammad Sazzat Ali authorised a “shoot-on-sight” response against anyone attempting to torch vehicles or throw crude bombs, as the country reeled from nearly 50 arson attacks and dozens of bomb blasts reported in the last week. Two people have been killed in the violence, according to local media.

Earlier, Hasina, in an audio message, had urged her supporters not to be “nervous” about the verdict.

Last month, when The Independent asked her if she would apologise to the families of protesters killed last year, she said she mourned “each and every child, sibling, cousin and friend we lost as a nation” and would “continue to offer my condolences”. But she rejected the allegation that she ordered police to shoot demonstrators, and said the unelected interim government, led by the Nobel peace prize laureate Muhammad Yunus since August, was unfairly denying her party the opportunity to contest new elections.

At the heart of the student protests that began in July last year was the demand to scrap a quota system that reserved up to 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971 against Pakistan.

Tensions escalated when students at Dhaka University, the country’s largest, clashed with police and a counter-protest inflamed the situation. The movement claims the protests were peaceful until the student wing of Hasina’s ruling Awami League party attacked them.

Thomas Kean, a senior consultant on Bangladesh for the non-profit International Crisis Group, said: “The political repercussions of this verdict are significant. The prospect of Sheikh Hasina mounting a political comeback in Bangladesh now appears very slim. But as long as she refuses to give up control of the Awami League, the party is unlikely to be allowed back into the political arena.

“A spate of recent bombings and the Awami League’s call for a nationwide ‘lockdown’ have put the country on edge as it nears much-anticipated national elections scheduled for February 2026. The Awami League should desist from acts of violence, and the interim government must avoid heavy-handed crackdowns against party supporters.”

Parents ‘get £20k payout’ after unlawful arrest over school WhatsApp row

A couple who were arrested after they complained about their daughter’s primary school on WhatsApp say they have agreed a £20k payout from the police after it admitted their arrest was unlawful.

Rosalind Levine and her partner Maxie Allen were detained by six Hertfordshire police officers in front of their young daughter on 29 January before being held at a police station for 11 hours over complaints about the school.

They were arrested on suspicion of harassment, malicious communications, and causing a nuisance on school property. The couple said the arrest came after their nine-year-old daughter Sascha’s school, Cowley Hill Primary School, in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, raised objections over them sending multiple emails and raising criticisms on a parents’ WhatsApp group.

The offending messages were never disclosed to the couple, who said that when they looked back on the parents’ group chat, the “spiciest thing” they could find was when Ms Levine called a senior figure in the school a “control freak”.

Hertfordshire Police originally defended the arrest but they have now admitted it was unlawful and agreed a £20,000 payout in damages, plus costs, according to the couple.

Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, Mr Allen said: “For us, the main thing really was the liability that the arrest was unlawful.

“That’s what mattered most to us, because that for us is the recognition that this is something which shouldn’t have happened, and the events really put a lot of people through the ringer. I mean, apart from us, there was our three year old daughter who was there when the police came to our house, our other daughter who missed her parents for the day, our neighbours who were left in tears, and our family members.

“So this is vindication for quite a lot of people, not just us”, he said.

When asked how the children had coped since the incident, Ms Levine told The Independent: “The girls are doing OK, however, it has been a stressful time for them as well. At the centre of all this, which at times gets forgotten, is a young vulnerable child, who was forced to move schools and leave all of her friends behind.

“Thankfully she’s settled in nicely to her new school, and they’ve all been incredible there. Francesca, our youngest, is doing well too. She started school in September and is getting on amazingly. I hope that within time we all put this nightmare behind us. In the meantime, we are pleased that the police have admitted that this arrest was unlawful and should never have happened.”

Ms Levine described the moment she opened the door to a “swarm of officers” because she thought they might be calling to tell her that their daughter Sascha was dead.

“She has epilepsy, and people can die from epilepsy, and I just felt certain that’s what they were about to tell me. They wouldn’t tell me immediately why they were there. They asked me to go in the house, which I went in, then they asked me to go in the living room.

“It was probably no more than about 30 seconds. But those 30 seconds were, I would say, the worst of it all, because in that moment I knew that Sascha was dead. Thank God I was wrong, and I was relieved when I was just being arrested.”

The couple had been in dispute with the school for a number of months, according to The Times, after they had been banned from entering the premises, including being blocked from attending the parents’ evening for their daughter Sascha, who suffers from epilepsy and is neurodivergent and registered disabled.

The force’s lawyers admitted this month that the criteria for arrest, under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, were not made out, which rendered the arrest unlawful. Hertfordshire Constabulary agreed a payout of £10,000 each to Mr Allen and Ms Levine, noting the sum was significantly above that required by the case law, according to the newspaper.

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire Constabulary said: “Whilst there are no issues of misconduct involving any officer in relation to this matter, Hertfordshire Constabulary has accepted liability solely on the basis that the legal test around necessity of arrest was not met in this instance.

“Therefore Mr Haddow-Allen and Ms Levine were wrongfully arrested and detained in January 2025. It would be inappropriate to make further comment at this stage.”

Five young people killed in crash on night out named and pictured

Five young people who died in a two-vehicle crash in Co Louth, Ireland, on Saturday night have been named and pictured by police.

Shay Duffy, 21, from Carrickmacross, Chloe Hipson, 21, from Lanarkshire in Scotland, Dylan Commins, 23, from Ardee, County Louth, Alan McCluskey, 23, from Drumconrath, County Meath, and Chloe McGee, 23, from Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, died in a collision while on their way to a night out in Dundalk on 15 November.

Three other people, one of whom is also in his early 20s, were injured in what Irish police described as a “shocking and devastating” crash.

Gardai said it would have “a deep impact” on families and communities in Carrickmacross, Dromconrath and Scotland.

The crash, which involved a Volkswagen Golf and a Toyota Land Cruiser, happened on a road near Dundalk just after 9pm.

The five people who died, and one man in his early 20s, were in the Volkswagen Golf and are believed to have been on their way to socialise in Dundalk, gardai said.

Two other people, a man and woman from the other vehicle, were taken for treatment to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda.

Ireland’s premier Micheal Martin said he was “numbed and shocked” at the news, and deputy premier Simon Harris said a “veil of deep sadness” had come over the country.

An investigation has begun into the accident on the L3168 at Gibstown.

Speaking near the scene on Sunday, Superintendent Charlie Armstrong said: “Yesterday evening, just after 9pm, there was a serious road traffic collision involving two vehicles, a Volkswagen Golf and a Toyota Land Cruiser.

“Five occupants of the Volkswagen Golf, three males and two females, all in their early 20s, are deceased at the scene.”

He said family liaison officers have been appointed to each of the families and gardai will keep them updated.

Mr Armstrong said: “I want to express my condolences and sympathies and the sympathies of every member of An Garda Siochana to the families of the five young adults who lost their lives yesterday evening in this road traffic collision.”

He said a major incident response was initiated last night by gardai and emergency services, including Dundalk Fire Brigade, HSE paramedics and hospital staff.

He said the scene on the L3168 remained closed on Sunday as gardai carried out a technical and forensic examination.

He said post-mortem examinations would be carried out.

Mr Armstrong added: “I want to acknowledge and express my gratitude to my colleagues in An Garda Siochana and the other emergency services who attended the scene last night.

“The scene was very difficult, in adverse weather conditions, and the professionalism shown by all first responders and the care and respect shown to the five deceased was exemplary.

“This tragedy, with the loss of five young adults, will have a deep impact on families and local communities in Carrickmacross, Dromconrath and in Scotland.

“This is a shocking, devastating event for these families, their communities and the community here in Dundalk.

“I want to take the opportunity to appeal to any person with any information on this road traffic collision to contact the investigation team at Dundalk Garda Station.

“I am appealing to any person who was on the L3168 between 8.30pm and 9.15pm last night, Saturday, November 15 2025, to contact the Garda investigation team.

“I am appealing to any person who might have any camera footage or images from the L3168, Gibstown area, between 8.30pm and 9.15pm last night, to give that footage or images to the investigation team at Dundalk Garda Station.

“The investigation team can be contacted at Dundalk Garda Station on 042 9388400, the Garda confidential line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.”

He added: “Finally, I once again want to express my sympathies to the families of the five young people who lost their lives yesterday evening.”

Taoiseach Micheal Martin said: “I am numbed and shocked at the horrific road crash that has led to the loss of five young lives in Dundalk, Co Louth.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of these young people, and those injured.

“We also think of our first responders, who worked so professionally in truly devastating circumstances.”

Tanaiste Mr Harris said: “A veil of deep sadness and shock has come over our country this morning with the news emerging of the devastating loss of five young lives overnight in a road traffic accident in Co Louth.

“This morning, my thoughts, and I know the thoughts of people right across our country, are with the families of those who have lost loved ones, their friends, and their communities.

“We keep them in our prayers and in our thoughts now and in the time ahead.

“I also want to pay tribute to the emergency services.

“One cannot even imagine the extraordinarily difficult and tragic circumstances in which they found themselves working last night as they set about trying to help in the most harrowing of situations.”

Superintendent Liam Geraghty said it was particularly stark that they were speaking on the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

“The events that occurred here last night again are a very, very clear reminder for us of how things can change dramatically on our roads in a split second, and the tragedy that that brings to families, to communities and to loved ones.

“As we stand here today, 157 people have lost their lives on Irish roads so far this year in 2025. That is a slight increase, unfortunately, in the number who lost their lives on roads in 2024.”

Irish president Catherine Connolly said she was “deeply saddened and shocked” at the loss of five young lives.

She said: “I am thinking of them, their families and of those injured.

“May I acknowledge also all those first responders who have worked to support all involved.”

Ten compelling reasons to have your next adventure in Missouri

Missouri is the true heart of America, surrounded by eight states and roughly halfway between the north and south of the country. Known for its breathtaking national parks, sizzling barbecue, and even hotter jazz and sports scene, Missouri has more than meets the eye.

Springfield celebrates 100 years of the “Mother Road” in 2026. The birthplace of the famous 2,448-mile highway will host a music concert, vintage car parade and family events. Missouri’s Route 66 highlights include Meramec Caverns (once a hideout for the infamous Jesse James), St. Robert Route 66 Neon Park, where refurbished original neon signs are on display, and Red Oak II, which is both an art installation and living museum.

visitmo.com/in-the-spotlight/route-66

You’d be forgiven for not knowing that sliced bread was invented in Chillicothe, Missouri, which is why this charming museum celebrates the pioneers who brought sliced bread to the world in 1928. The Sliced Bread Innovation Center includes a replica of the first slicing machine and a bread-themed escape room. Located on the “Way of American Genius,” or Highway 36 as your Sat Nav might call it, the scenic 200-mile route connects picturesque towns linked with American innovation, including Walt Disney’s childhood home and the town that inspired many of Mark Twain’s novels.

thehomeofslicedbread.com

americangeniushighway.com

St. Louis Gateway Arch might be the tallest arch in the world at 192m, but it’s located in America’s smallest national park of just 91 acres. Completed in 1965 in the heart of downtown St. Louis, the arch symbolises the westward expansion of the United States. A tram of small cylindrical pods carries visitors to the apex where they’re greeted with panoramic views across the Mississippi River and state of Missouri beyond.

gatewayarch.com

Ozark National Scenic Riverways is one of Missouri’s best spots for spending the day on the water. The riverways are comprised of 134-miles of federally protected winding river, springs, caves, and forests. Wallow in the crystal-clear waters of the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers and camp at the beautiful Alley Spring Campground. While you’re there, hike to see the beautiful spring and the big, red, century-old mill that sits on its bank. Go to a local outfitter to get a canoe, kayak or inflatable tube to float downstream.

nps.gov/ozar

Illegal gambling, prohibition speakeasies and a rowdy jazz scene christened Kansas City as the “Paris of the Plains” in the 1920s, but these days the grand boulevards and Beaux-Arts architecture combine with modern additions that give Kansas City a spirit of its own. Follow the bassline to 18th and Vine Jazz District or seek out a potent Rendezvous cocktail and live jazz at VOO Lounge, inside the historic Muehlebach Hotel.

vookansascity.com

Kansas City and St. Louis are known for their legendary barbecue joints, but you can get mouthwatering meals outside the big city. Roadside shacks like Missouri Hick BBQ in Cuba, Missouri, serve pulled pork and slaw on Route 66, or stop for slow cooked ribs at Wabash BBQ in Excelsior Springs, housed in the old train depot. Missouri is renowned for its spicy rub and thick, sweet and smokey tomato-based barbecue sauce, especially slathered over the “burnt ends” of beef brisket.

missourihick.com

wabashbbq.com

Known as “The Cave State,” with more than 7,500 caves hidden within its limestone rocks, Missouri’s landscape holds many treasures. At Mark Twain Cave in Hannibal, wander the subterranean labyrinths that inspired part of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Marvel Cave, located under Silver Dollar City in Branson, is the state’s deepest cave. It’s main cavern, the Cathedral Room, is so massive it once held three hot air balloons.

marktwaincave.com

With over 115 wineries and eight wine trails, you won’t get thirsty. Van Till Winery in Rayville is Missouri’s first regenerative vineyard and sustainably produces around 25 wines, including a full-bodied dry red pressed from the official state grape, Norton. Make a day of it and sip your way along the Northwest Missouri Wine Trail, visiting nine wineries nearby.

vantillfarms.com

missouriwine.org

The Pony Express, America’s first horsepowered mail delivery service, originated in Missouri, but RS Ranch Trail Rides in Bourbon offers more leisurely horseback fun. Follow outlaw trails on a native Foxtrotter horse, hop aboard a hayride, or get back to nature with a cowboy-style Chuckwagon cookout under the stars.

rsranchrides.com

Missouri and sports go together like ribs and sauce, which means baseball, hockey, American football and even soccer are a big deal. As Kansas City gears up to host World Cup 2026, you can catch a game every season at one of the state’s two professional soccer teams or many league matches. Kansas City Current proudly plays in CPKC Stadium, the first stadium in the world purpose-built for a women’s professional sports team.

kansascityfwc26.com

kansascitycurrent.com

stlcitysc.com

Trump is playing a dangerous game with the Epstein Files

Europeans woke to the news that Donald Trump had executed one of the sharpest U-turns of his presidency and is now arguing that Republicans should vote to release the so-called Epstein files.

His decision followed months in which he had resisted calls to release the files, which are lodged in the Department of Justice, and after a week in which he had turned against one of his hitherto closest Republican allies, the Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, calling her “wacky” and a “traitor” for demanding the files’ release.

He explained the change by saying that the issue had become a distraction from the Republican Party’s work (which is true), and because “we have nothing to hide” (which remains to be seen).

U-turns are hardly unheard of in Trumpworld, nor is their unapologetic execution. Recent precedents include his attitude to Ukraine and his continual flip-flopping on trade tariffs, and it has been said that he simply adopts the view of the last person he spoke to.

On the morning after the night before his latest reversal, however, the central questions are why, and why now. After all, if he had nothing to hide, why did he not support the release of the files before the issue became a weapon in the hands of congressional Democrats and gained a political head of steam? He could have saved himself – and stalwart allies-turned-enemies such as Taylor Greene – a lot of trouble.

Trump is the supreme political pragmatist. He will have weighed up the political damage to himself, to his presidency and to his party from continuing to oppose the release of the files and concluded that this had become greater than any possible benefits. This either constitutes a big gamble on his part or confidence that the documents will leave him in the clear.

If the three most recently released emails are the most damaging his political enemies can find, any damage could well be limited. None of these was from or to Trump. One suggested that Trump may on one occasion have spent time with a woman, identified as the former Prince Andrew’s accuser, Virginia Giuffre, at Epstein’s New York residence, and another that Trump “knew about the women”. But there is still no evidence that, after Epstein’s conviction, the future president was close to him or consorted with him.

It might be added that for Trump, as a prominent player on the New York business scene, to have had nothing whatsoever to do with Epstein in his pre-politics years would also stretch belief.

Assuming the complete files soon see the light of day – which is not a foregone conclusion, as their release could yet be blocked by the Senate even if approval sails through the House – there are several possible answers to the question of what comes next.

The first is that Trump is as absent from the documents as he has maintained, and there is nothing to see. Essentially, he is vindicated, although this would not prevent his opponents from claiming that the files were somehow sanitised or selected to spare him.

The second is that, while Trump may be personally in the clear, associates and political allies may not be, with the risk of political damage to Trump’s immediate team or to the Republicans in next year’s mid-term congressional elections or the presidential election in 2028. This could be another reason why Trump resisted the files’ release for so long.

Thus far, the one name being bandied around is that of the former president Bill Clinton. But this is a name that stands to inflict no damage whatsoever on either Trump or the Republicans, or even the Democrats, given both the time that has elapsed since Clinton was in political contention and what is known about him.

The third possibility is that the files indeed contain evidence, or at least strong suggestions, that Trump was on much closer terms with Epstein, and for longer, than has so far been revealed. The women’s and victims’ groups that have been doing the hard yards by calling for the release of the files will have their cause immeasurably strengthened, and the political pressure could be such as to force Trump’s resignation or his impeachment.

Trump’s facility for keeping his personal behaviour and his political fate in separate boxes, however, should not be underestimated. Without incontrovertible evidence of a closer and more recent relationship to Epstein than has so far emerged, it is more than likely he could bluster his way out.

Trump’s opponents during his first presidential campaign made efforts to discredit him over his relations with women and the language he used, but they made little progress, with some of his older female supporters arguing that this was just how men at a certain time, or a certain age, behave.

Times may have changed – a little, with Jeffrey Epstein being the arch-criminal of our day and victims/survivors’ groups, not just in relation to Epstein, riding high. But it is far too soon to forecast that the files could claim this presidential scalp. Trump’s Teflon qualities, his limited time left at the White House, and the slowness with which the wheels of US politics and justice often move, all mean that the 47th president of the United States will probably serve out his term.

Reform council ridiculed after repainting road markings outside school that closed in 2016

Reform UK’s flagship council have been ridiculed after it repainted road markings outside a school which closed nine years ago.

Kent County Council (KCC) have apologised for the “error” which saw it repaint yellow zigzags and “School Keep Clear” warnings outside the former site of Halfway Houses Primary School in Sheerness.

The school moved to another location in October 2016, and has been closed since.

The mistake has sparked confusion and criticism from residents and opposition councillors, who have labelled the paint “a farce”.

Mike Whiting, an independent councillor for Swale Borough Council, said the council’s departments out to “talk to each other more” as he wrote on Facebook: “What on earth is going on at cash-strapped Kent County Council?

“Rather than saving money, they have just repainted the yellow ‘School Keep Clear’ lines in Southdown Road, Halfway, almost 10 years after the school closed.

“How many times are we told there’s not enough money for really important projects, yet they waste money like this, painting irrelevant signs, both sides of the road.”

Local residents expressed their disbelief, with one saying: “This has really tickled me. I live in the same road and this school hasn’t been open all the time I’ve lived here.”

The council sold the disused school buildings and grounds to Government agency Homes England in March.

Zigzags and other markings are used outside most school entrances and exits to keep them clear when pupils are crossing the road.

Peter Osborne, cabinet member for highways and transport for KCC, said: “The repainting of the ‘School Keep Clear’ markings on Southdown Road was carried out in error, and we’re sorry for any confusion this may have caused.

“We deliver an annual programme of signs and lines replacement in the order of £1 million and the cost of painting these lines was £350 from this budget.

“We take our financial responsibilities seriously to ensure public money is spent carefully and mistakes like these are exceedingly rare.”

It is the latest furore KCC has faced in the months since they won 57 out of 81 seats at the local elections in May, overturning a 30-year Tory majority.

It now has 48 councillors after removing nine, most through decisions which appear to be related to a leaked video of KCC leader Linden Kemkaran shouting and swearing at her members.

Several members of the party in Kent were suspended after footage of the meeting was leaked last month, in which council leader Linden Kemkaran could be seen berating backbench councillors when they questioned her.

Ex-Reform councillor Bill Barrett has called the expulsions “operation clean sweep” and claimed the KCC hierarchy wanted to get rid of councillors who challenged them.