Trump, Musk and a financial headache - Starmer's triple troubles
Welcome to the ITV News digest bringing you the best of our original journalism, insight and analysis from across the nation, regions and the world.
Hello! I’m Robert Peston, Political Editor with ITV News. The Prime Minister, like most of us, must feel that his seasonal holiday is a lifetime away. Returning from a few days on the island of Madeira, he has been confronted with three quite serious challenges.
The first was the onslaught from the world’s richest man and Donald Trump confidant Elon Musk - who said on his social media platform X to 211m followers that Starmer should be put in prison for failing to initiate a new national review into the scandal of child sexual exploitation by gangs of predominantly Pakistani origin.
Starmer held his ground, saying the priority should be to finally implement the safeguarding recommendations of the last national inquiry. For the first time he directly criticised Musk, in particular for his abusive criticism of the home office minister Jess Phillips.
But this is not the end of the matter for Starmer, because the Tory and Reform parties support Musk’s position and will continue to campaign for a new national inquiry.
Starmer‘s second headache was the rise in the government‘s long-term borrowing costs, the interest it pays on new 30-year loans, to levels we haven’t seen since the late 1990s. Also, the interest rate on 10-year government debt rose back to where it last was in 2008.
This squeezes the government, resources because of its self-imposed fiscal rules – and means Starmer and his chancellor Rachel Reeves may have to make the highly unpopular decision either to cut public spending or increase taxes again.
Finally, Starmer’s hopes of a close and collaborative relationship with the new president of the United States, Donald Trump, look much harder to achieve following the president-elect’s extraordinary remarks - when he expressed determination to seize control of the island of Greenland and of the Panama Canal, and would not rule out the use of military force to achieve those ambitions.
Quite how such Putinesque sentiments are conducive to what is traditionally called the “special” relationship between our nations is a mystery…
Don’t forget to tune into our Talking Politics podcast where this week Robert discusses all this and more with Deputy Political Editor Anushka Asthana and presenter Tom Bradby.
California wildfires have turned a slice of paradise into a hellscape
When I first arrived in Pacific Palisades yesterday it was not the smoke or the heat that startled me, writes ITV News Correspondent Robert Moore, from California.
It was the noise. The deafening sound of hundreds of homes going up in flames - fanned by ferocious wind - was something I have never experienced.
It is difficult not to feel immensely sorry for the firefighters. They are doing their best to save some properties. But they are being overwhelmed by the forces of nature.
Watch Robert walking through a “hellscape” here.
ITV News has also been speaking to people who’s lives have been ruined - watch their stories here.
And you can watch our special report on the wildfires on ITVX.
‘It led to 30 years of trauma’: Dame Kelly on being an LGBTQ+ soldier
Steve Purves was dishonourably discharged from the Air Force in 1985, when he was found to be in a relationship with a man.
Court marshalled and dismissed with disgrace, he lost all his financial benefits and served six months in prison.
Lieutenant Caroline Paige knew she was transgender from a young age, but had to hide who she was to serve in the Air Force.
Twenty-five years since the ‘gay ban’ was lifted, the veterans' stories resonate with Olympian and former Army Sergeant Dame Kelly Holmes. Despite being made an Honorary Army Colonel, she lived in fear of coming out for decades.
The Love Island star taking on deepfake porn creators
Former Love Island contestant Cally Jane Beech was stunned to learn one of her photos was edited to look as though she was naked.
"The real stressful part was to find that nothing could really be done because when I did contact the police, they said it was a real grey area," she told ITV News. "They practically said if it was a real image more could've been done."
She’s supporting a crackdown on sexually explicit deepfake images, making the practice a criminal offence.
You can see more of Cally’s interview on ITVX.
Storming the Capitol four years on - the debate still rages
Four years ago, a furious and aggrieved crowd surged towards the US Capitol. The police lines quickly gave way.
Donald Trump's supporters took control of the building for 90 tumultuous minutes, as members of Congress barricaded themselves in their offices.
Correspondent Robert Moore - who was at the heart of that chaotic scene - reports this week on how your view of what happened - and its significance - depends on what tribe you belong to.
You can watch our award-winning report from inside the Capitol on ITVX.
Don’t forget, you can catch up on the latest insight from the States on our Talking Politics USA podcast every week.
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Water, water, everywhere…
It’s been a miserable new year for thousands of people up and down the country as widespread flooding wrecked hundreds of homes.
ITV News Central produced a special programme from Leicestershire as the rising River Soar burst its banks.
They also spoke to Roy Frisby, from Leicester, who was flooded out of his home in January 2024 and returned just three weeks ago - only to be flooded out all over again.
Watch Roy’s heartbreaking tale on ITVX.
Victim who 'lived in fear' warns others to avoid using loan sharks
"(He was) lovely, when I first started. I actually thought they were a friend…"
And then the threats began. One young woman, struggling to make ends meet, has told ITV Wales of how she fell victim to a loan shark.
Her story is a stark illustration of those people who operate illegally on the edges of money lending, looking to exploit often all-too vulnerable families and individuals.
Catch up with ITV Wales' Consumer Affairs Reporter Kate Lewis’ investigation on our Instagram account.
What’s coming up…
Monday January 13: Eleven men due to go on trial for Rochdale grooming offences. The 103 charges relate to incidents involving three teenage girls in Rochdale between 2000 and 2006
Wednesday January 15: Launch of Netflix series With Love, Meghan, in which, Netflix says, the Duchess of Sussex “reimagines the genre of lifestyle programming”
Wednesday January 15: EE Bafta Film Awards 2025 nominations announcement
And finally… ‘I couldn’t look in the mirror for months’
Dilara Koc, 25, was eight years old when scalding hot cooking oil burnt her face and body.
“I didn’t look in the mirror for months. It felt like my identity was stolen," she tells ITV News Anglia.
Ms Koc has been under the care of a world-leading medical team at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford in their specialist St Andrew's Burns Centre, to which ITV News Anglia was given rare access - check out what happens there on ITVX.