General election – latest: Labour party member suspended after being arrested over Westminster honeytrap scandal

The government awarded a £1.2m contract to AtkinsRéalis, a company that pleaded guilty to bribing the son of Muammar Gaddafi with tens of millions of dollars to win contracts in Libya in the decade before the dictator’s downfall between 2001 and 2011.

Department for Transport documents reveal the firm bid for the contract for the provision of specialist technical and commercial advice to support its oversight of rail fares, ticketing and retailing policy.

AtkinsRéalis, which rebranded from its previous trading name, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., was awarded the contract in September 2023 and it is set to run until December 2025. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by the company.

You can read The Independent full exclusive story below

Reform chairman Richard Tice has reiterated his support for the oil and gas industry during the party’s Scottish manifesto launch.

Mr Tice claimed Scotland is the only nation with “energy” treasury that thinks it’s a good idea not to use it.

He criticised opting for renewable energy as it would make the country “poorer” and less energy secure.

Slamming net zero, he said it would be  “negligence of the most extraordinary kind” and the“greatest act of financial negligence ever imposed on a nation by its leaders”.

Labour has been criticised for posting a campaign ad on X, formerly Twitter, featuring a jump scare.

The video shows a car driving down a hill and then the face of Rishi Sunak suddenly pops up.

It read: “Change will only happen if you vote for it.”

But users have slammed the video for being “childish” and asked the party to “grow up”.

A poll by WeThink has predicted the Conservatives will only secure 76 seats at the general election.

The survey of 18,595 voters, conducted between May 30 and June 21, predicted a 139-majority for Labour winning 465 seats.

Lib Dems are forecasted to win 52 seats, the SNP 29 and the Greens and Reform only three each.

The Independent is giving readers the chance to chat directly with candidates from some of the major political parties in a special general election series of Ask Me Anything events.

One question and answer session will allow our community can chat exclusively with Reform UK’s Howard Cox, who is hoping to be elected MP for Dover and Deal, in Kent, a key battleground for the party.

Mr Cox is the founder of the Fair Fuel UK campaign, lobbying to freeze fuel tax and keep petrol prices down.

He calls himself a “lifelong Conservative voter” who felt compelled to run for Reform “because it no longer represents my values: low taxes, a small state, sound defence, effective border control, sensible transport, strong law and order, and supporting small businesses.”

If you have a question about Reform’s manifesto, pledges or policies submit it here.