Nato drops plans to appoint female leader over fears of Trump's 'misogyny'

Plans to have a woman leading Nato have been dropped following accusations of former President Donald Trump's misogyny.

There are fears that Trump will cause more damage to transatlantic relations if he returns to the White House.

Jens Stoltenberg, 64, who has had the job since 2014 is set to step down in the spring. His most likely successor is current caretaker Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte.

It is a blow for Estonian PM Kaja Kallas, who was expected to take up the reigns and had hoped to be the first woman and east European ally to hold the top job.

During his time as President from 2016 to 2020, Trump was criticised for a series of comments made about female world leaders at the time.

Trump described Theresa May, while she was Prime Minister and after he made a state visit to Britain, as "foolish" and a "disaster".

His relations with then German chancellor Angela Merkel were fraught with difficulties. In 2017, at Nato headquarters in Brussels, he told one Prime Minister that he could not "stand" Merkel because "that woman embodies everything that I hate."

One American diplomat told The Times: "Trump has a history with women that many see as misogynist. It might be best to avoid putting a woman into the role."

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Tensions have been rising between Trump and Nato after the 77-year-old former President suggested the US might not protect NATO allies who aren't spending enough on defense from a potential Russian invasion.

Trump, speaking during a political rally in South Carolina and appearing to recount a meeting with NATO leaders, quoted the president of "a big country" that he did not name as asking, "Well sir, if we don't pay, and we're attacked by Russia - will you protect us?"

"I said: 'You didn't pay? You're delinquent?' He said: 'Yes, let's say that happened.' No I would not protect you. In fact I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay."

More than two dozen women have accused Trump of sexual assault or harassment over the years, and Biden and other European leaders are unwilling to take risks.

The US and British had made attempts to persuade president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen to take up the role as Nato lead in order to "Trump-proof" as his election to a second term appears increasingly likely.

Meanwhile Rutte, 57, is expected to be chosen "probably in the first quarter of this calendar year."

His selection is pencilled in for April 4, meaning he will have to leave office as caretaker Dutch leader during protracted coalition talks to find his successor.

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Sir Keir Starmer urged to suspend Labour members who attended meeting at centre of antisemitism row

Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to suspend any Labour member who was present at a meeting of activists where antisemitic comments were allegedly made.

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‘This is a DISGRACE!’ Property expert lashes out as Home Office ‘builds up stock of 16,000 houses’ for asylum seekers

Property expert Russell Quirk has lashed out at the Home Office after it was revealed they have built up a stock of 16,000 properties for asylum seekers.

Despite a shortage of homes for young workers and families, contractors working for the Home Office are offering landlords five-year guaranteed full rent deals to take over the management of properties in a desperate bid to transfer asylum seekers out of hotels.

The properties are being used to house more than 58,000 asylum seekers across England, Wales and Scotland, according to the Telegraph.

Speaking on GB News, Quirk blasted the Government, branding them “haphazard, wayward and incompetent” in a scathing rant.

“This is not just asylum seekers, this is often people coming over on dinghies with no ID”, he said.

“They are then given priority by these idiotic councils and this haphazard, wayward, incompetent Government over and above those paying into the tax system.

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“The average rent in the UK is about £1,000 a month. The calculations just for this particular initiatives mean we’re still paying half a million pounds per day to rent these homes.

“Rishi Sunak’s ridiculous prophecy that he would appeal to the masses by taking asylum seekers out of hotels, all he has done is taken rental houses away from those paying into the system.”

Quirk went on to say that some councils are buying homes, which is stiffening up the market even further for first-time buyers.

“Winchester, Preston, North Norfolk, North Yorkshire, Waltham Forest, Portsmouth, Basingstoke are actually buying homes specifically for the purpose of housing asylum seekers”, he said.

“This is taking stock away from first-time buyers and stock away from renters who have very little choice right now.

“This is a disgrace.”

A Home Office insider told The Telegraph: “The department’s strong preference is for dispersal accommodation because it is so much cheaper and much more discreet than hotels. That’s not to say it’s not unpopular.

“Some of the contractors are taking properties in pretty normal streets. You can buy yourself a £300,000 house and suddenly find your next-door neighbour is a house full of asylum seekers. MPs are starting to report problems as a result of this.

“It has also been very heavily clustered in places where property is cheap – Hull, Bradford and Teesside. It is potentially damaging to these places because it creates ghettos which are terrible for integration.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “We continue to work across Government and with local authorities to identify a range of accommodation options to reduce the unacceptable use of hotels which cost £8 million a day.

“The Government remains committed to engaging with local authorities and key stakeholders as part of this process.”

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‘Raises questions’: Tom Harwood explains why Azhar Ali case may expose HUGE Labour flaws

GB News presenter Tom Harwood says the vetting process in place for Labour’s prospective candidates could be flawed.

It comes as controversy surrounds Azhar Ali, who was stood down as Labour candidate for the Rochdale by-election over comments he reportedly made about Israel and Jewish people.

The affair has left the party embroiled in yet another antisemitism row which has been compounded by a resurfaced image of Ali.

He was spotted shaking hands with George Galloway, who was expelled from Labour in 2003 after being found guilty of four charges of bringing the party into disrepute.

Speaking to GB News members, Harwood believes the whole affair has thrown Labour’s handling of how it selects its MPs into question.

“Had this tweet been uncovered by the Labour Party, which was made in 2015, there is no way this individual would have been selected”, he said.

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“It raises huge questions about the Labour Party vetting process and other candidates as well.

“There a very few people who would say he would get through even onto the shortlist if this photo came through before the selection.

“It raises big questions about what the selection process is like for so many different elements of Labour selections.”

Emily Carver waded in to add it would perhaps have been unfair to not allow Ali to run as a result of the photo, a “fair point”, according to Tom.

“You should be able to shake hands with whom you disagree”, he said.

Despite this, Tom believes Labour would undoubtedly still not have allowed Ali to run had the photo been spotted beforehand.

Keir Starmer said he took “tough” and “decisive” action to withdraw support for Labour’s Rochdale by-election candidate.

Ali had apologised after he was recorded in a meeting of the Lancashire Labour Party suggesting that Israel had taken the October 7 Hamas assault as a pretext to invade Gaza.

But Labour said it moved to end its backing of the candidate “following new information about further comments”.

Speaking as he campaigned in Wellingborough, Sir Keir Starmer said: “Certain information came to light over the weekend in relation to the candidate. There was a fulsome apology. Further information came to light yesterday calling for decisive action, so I took decisive action.

“It is a huge thing to withdraw support for a Labour candidate during the course of a by-election.

“It’s a tough decision, a necessary decision, but when I say the Labour Party has changed under my leadership I mean it.”

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Has Starmer been 'decisive' over Rochdale? - and the battle for The Body Shop

Labour is no longer backing its candidate in the Rochdale by-election.

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‘APPALLING!’ Aaron Bastani demands Great British clean-up as litter-ridden high streets ‘let down’ small businesses

Aaron Bastani wants a radical clean-up on the streets of Britain, saying small businesses have suffered as a result of the scourge of litter and graffiti.

The Novara Media co-founder accused the Tories and Labour of failing to set out their stalls on the matter.

Speaking on GB News, he addressed a recent post he made to X about Waterlooville, in Hampshire.

He said “economic malaise” has made high streets “look like a zombie film” in many cases as politicians in London “live in a parallel universe”.

Bastani told Michelle Dewberry that it should be a key matter for politicians in the lead up to the general election.

“It’s appalling”, he said.

“High street businesses, particularly owned by families, have collapsed.

“They’ve been killed by the internet, by these giant out of town stores. Of course we like convenience but go to other countries.

“Go to Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, it’s not this bad.

“We really have let down small businesses in this country and on that particular point, I hear nothing from either the Tories or the Labour Party.”

Bastani said the housing crisis plays a role in Britain’s messy streets, with many more to an address than ever before.

“We have a house building mechanism with is turn a house into five or six bed sits.

“You can have a street of these where ten years ago, you’d have five of these on a street.

“You have five to six people living in one house. They can all be good as gold but one can be bad right now. Think of the fly-tipping, think of the rubbish outside ones not taking the bin in.

“That is the Government’s housing policy and it feeds into a general sense of decay and malaise.”

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Rishi Sunak to take YOUR questions in hours as PM faces up to voters in GB News People's Forum - live updates

Rishi Sunak will field questions from the public this evening as the Prime Minister gears up to host the People's Forum, live on GB News from 8pm.

All eyes will be on the Prime Minister this evening in the first event of this year's General Election campaign.

The audience members and their questions have been selected by polling company Survation, so even GB News doesn't know whats coming.

Survation have selected an audience made up of undecided and swing voters - meaning the PM is braced for questions on a wide variety of topics.

Speaking ahead of the event, GB News’ Editorial Director Michael Booker said: “It’s time for the people of this country to have their say and the People’s Forum is the perfect place for that to happen.

"Politicians have been telling the Prime Minister what he should be doing for a long time – now it’s time for the people who really matter to put their questions to him. As an election looms, it’s going to be a fascinating night.”

People’s Forum presenter Stephen Dixon added: “This is exactly what GB News was created for - bringing those in power before the people of this great nation.

"The Prime Minister will come face to face with the voters who lent the Tories their support. Can he keep them?"

The event, held in County Durham, will kick off at 8pm.

With the Conservative Party sitting more than 20 points behind Labour in most polling, this evening's event is a key opportunity for Sunak to persuade voters that the Tories time in office is not yet over.

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