Tuesday briefing: Why Labour banned Burnham – and what the ‘King of the North’ might do next

In today’s newsletter: By putting out one fire, Labour might have ignited several othersGood morning. The “King of the North” will not be marching south – at least not for now.Andy Burnham has been barred from standing as an MP in the forthcoming Gorton and Denton byelection, after a 10-strong “officers’ group” of Labour’s ruling body, which includes the prime minister, voted overwhelmingly to reject his request to stand. It has left the party, once again, in turmoil.US news | Donald Trump’s efforts to deploy militarised immigration agents in US cities may finally be reaching a reckoning as he faces widespread opposition across the US, dissenting lawmakers in his own party, and impending court rulings after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.UK news | Former home secretary Suella Braverman has defected to Reform UK, making her the third sitting Conservative MP to join Nigel Farage’s party in little more than a week.Europe | As many as 380 people may have drowned attempting to cross the Mediterranean last week during Cyclone Harry, as a shipwreck that killed 50 is confirmed by Maltese authorities.Saudi Arabia | A judge has ordered Saudi Arabia to pay more than £3m in damages to London-based dissident Ghanem al-Masarir, whose phones were targeted with Pegasus spyware.Ukraine | A US security agreement for Ukraine is “100% ready” to be signed, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, after two days of talks involving representatives from Ukraine, the US and Russia. Continue reading...