https://www.scmp.com/rss/199037/feed Gordon Brown is a former British prime minister and leader of the British Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. Brown previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour government from 1997 to 2007 and has been a member of parliament since 1983. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com dpa dpa Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has called for former British prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to be removed from the royal line of succession over his “deplorable” links to Jeffrey Epstein. The former duke was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office following allegations he shared sensitive information with the paedophile financier while serving as the UK’s trade envoy. Speaking to reporters in Tokyo, Carney said: “I certainly think his actions are deplorable and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345792/canadas-carney-wants-andrew-removed-uk-line-succession-over-epstein-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345792/canadas-carney-wants-andrew-removed-uk-line-succession-over-epstein-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Mar 2026 05:00:13 +0000 Reuters Reuters Britain’s ⁠government has agreed a framework with the police on which documents relating to the late 2024 appointment of former ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson ‌can be released, the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) said on Thursday. Mandelson, 72, was released from custody after the Metropolitan Police arrested him on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, following revelations over his ties to ⁠Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein is at... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344789/uk-government-agrees-framework-publishing-mandelson-vetting-documents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344789/uk-government-agrees-framework-publishing-mandelson-vetting-documents?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 20:18:48 +0000 Reuters Reuters Former British ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson was arrested ⁠by London police on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, following revelations over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson, 72, was fired from the most prestigious posting in Britain’s diplomatic service in September, when the depth of his friendship with Epstein started to become clear. Police earlier this month began a criminal investigation into Mandelson after Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344381/uks-peter-mandelson-arrested-london-after-revelations-over-his-ties-epstein?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344381/uks-peter-mandelson-arrested-london-after-revelations-over-his-ties-epstein?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Feb 2026 17:42:28 +0000 Reuters Reuters British Labour Party politician Andy Burnham was on Sunday blocked from trying to return to parliament, with lawmakers on the ‍left of the party accusing Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his allies of a political move to keep out a potential leadership rival. Burnham said he was disappointed at the decision and, while he called for unity in the Labour Party, criticised the way the situation had been handled. One of the party’s most high-profile politicians and an elected mayor in the ⁠northern... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341182/row-erupts-within-uks-labour-party-after-manchester-mayor-blocked-coming-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341182/row-erupts-within-uks-labour-party-after-manchester-mayor-blocked-coming-election?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Jan 2026 16:50:50 +0000 Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he wanted to counter the rise of the far-right in the UK by delivering fundamental change to the economy, despite having to make unpopular choices along the way. A week after Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a state election in eastern Germany, Starmer said he was worried about the rise of the far-right across Europe. “We can see what’s happening in Germany with the recent election, and we can see what’s happening in France and other countries, and I’m... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3277700/uk-pm-starmer-wants-counter-rise-far-right-delivering-economic-change?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3277700/uk-pm-starmer-wants-counter-rise-far-right-delivering-economic-change?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Sep 2024 20:49:16 +0000 When your own house is on fire, would you ignore your own very real existential crisis and instead, keep lecturing how someone else should run his own household? Do British lawmakers really think they matter to the world? This week they issued a report that describes Taiwan as “an independent country” for the first time. Published by the cross-party British House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, it coincided with British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly’s visit to Beijing. The report... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3233170/sun-has-already-set-nation-they-call-great-britain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3233170/sun-has-already-set-nation-they-call-great-britain?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Sep 2023 15:16:33 +0000 Almost half of the public think Boris Johnson has done a bad job as prime minister, the worst rating of any post-war British leader, a new poll has found. Asked to rate the performance of British prime ministers since 1945, some 49 per cent of people told pollster Ipsos that Johnson had done a bad job during his time in Downing Street. The figure was worse than those for both his immediate predecessors. Some 41 per cent of people thought Theresa May had done a bad job, the second highest total,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3190900/boris-johnson-tops-list-bad-british-pms-poll-uk-public?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3190900/boris-johnson-tops-list-bad-british-pms-poll-uk-public?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Aug 2022 19:16:51 +0000 The European Council meets on Thursday for the last summit of the year amid growing Brexit turmoil following British Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to postpone Tuesday’s vote in Parliament on the UK’s withdrawal treaty. The fresh uncertainty is also knocking business confidence, with the Confederation of British Industry asserting on Monday that the UK “risks sliding towards a national crisis”. In financial markets, the pound on Monday slipped to its lowest levels since April 2017. The... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/world/article/2177394/theresa-mays-vote-failure-leaves-her-brink-and-uk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/world/article/2177394/theresa-mays-vote-failure-leaves-her-brink-and-uk?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Dec 2018 09:00:00 +0000 The sister-in-law of former British prime minister Gordon Brown has said she was deported from a Malaysian state whose powerful leader is widely accused of massive corruption. Clare Rewcastle Brown, an activist journalist who runs a website and radio station fiercely critical of Sarawak's chief minister, Abdul Taib Mahmud, said she was turned away at an airport in the state on Wednesday. Sarawak-born Rewcastle Brown, who this year won an award from the International Press Institute for her work,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1275499/ex-british-pm-gordon-browns-sister-law-deported-sarawak?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1275499/ex-british-pm-gordon-browns-sister-law-deported-sarawak?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jul 2013 16:00:00 +0000 I resigned for the Jiang Zemin incident ... I tried my very best but I could not stop this piece of news from being broadcast Leung Ka-wing, ATV's senior vice-president of news and public affairs If you look back into recent Chinese history, inflation could be a very destabilising element World Bank president Robert Zoellick, in Beijing, saying it's too early to conclude China's inflation threat has passed It was hellish. It left a scar on me ... You just can't get over it Alistair... https://www.scmp.com/article/978226/who-said-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/978226/who-said-it?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Sino-British ties were free of historical disputes and burdens after Britain recognised Tibet as part of China, Premier Wen Jiabao told former British prime minister Gordon Brown yesterday. Wen met Brown (pictured), his predecessor Tony Blair and Chinese people living in London on Sunday after visiting the MG car plant in Birmingham and the birthplace of playwright William Shakespeare - Stratford-upon-Avon, where he was treated to a short theatrical performance. Wen described Brown and Blair as... https://www.scmp.com/article/971970/uk-nod-tibet-cemented-ties-wen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/971970/uk-nod-tibet-cemented-ties-wen?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:00:00 +0000 British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has invited the mainland's sovereign fund to invest heavily in his country, despite global worries that the mainland's ample cash could be a source of controversy. 'This is a very substantial fund. It can invest positively,' Mr Brown said in Beijing after a meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao. 'I realise that in some countries it is controversial, but I have talked to Premier Wen about that.' Mr Brown suggested that China Investment Corp, which manages the... https://www.scmp.com/article/623509/brown-extends-hearty-welcome-mainland-sovereign-fund?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/623509/brown-extends-hearty-welcome-mainland-sovereign-fund?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jan 2008 16:00:00 +0000 British Prime Minister Gordon Brown discussed the environment, human rights and democracy with Chinese leaders on the first day of a three-day visit yesterday. He also secured an invitation to the Olympic Games in August. Mr Brown met Premier Wen Jiabao at the Great Hall of the People for talks, with Mr Wen saying they had thorough discussions on the situation in the Darfur region of western Sudan, and other issues, such as climate change and energy security. Before setting off on his trip, ... https://www.scmp.com/article/623481/brown-wen-discuss-darfur-climate-issues?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/623481/brown-wen-discuss-darfur-climate-issues?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jan 2008 16:00:00 +0000 Britain's new prime minister, Gordon Brown, is not as good a talker, nor as charismatic, as the man he succeeded yesterday, Tony Blair. He has a reputation for being dour and brooding, genial and private - attributes that seem out of step with the economic vibrancy he has endowed his nation with during the decade he has just ended as its finance chief. Pigeon-holing Mr Brown as the opposite of Mr Blair based on his character would be wrong, though. He is, after all, from the same political... https://www.scmp.com/article/598486/new-style-no-10-and-possibly-world-stage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/598486/new-style-no-10-and-possibly-world-stage?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Jun 2007 16:00:00 +0000 Tony Blair famously won power on a pledge that New Labour's priorities in government would be 'education, education, education'. It was an agenda that appealed to the swing voters in middle England and an acknowledgement that in the age of knowledge economies the schools agenda had to take centre stage. But what legacy will he leave to his successor, Gordon Brown, when he hands over the keys to 10 Downing Street on Wednesday? 'Overall, Blair has achieved a great deal,' said Mary Bousted,... https://www.scmp.com/article/597772/blair-legacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/597772/blair-legacy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:00:00 +0000 When British Chancellor Gordon Brown rose in parliament last month to deliver his budget speech there was undeniably an air of drama in the chamber - not merely because of any new measures he might introduce, but because this was almost certainly his final budget before taking up the reins as prime minister. With a move to 10 Downing Street imminent and an urgent need to woo the electorate, overseas investors in British property were probably the last thing on his mind. Nevertheless, some of the... https://www.scmp.com/article/589338/taxable-surplus-extra?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/589338/taxable-surplus-extra?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Apr 2007 16:00:00 +0000 'Gordon Brown ended the freeze on petrol duty, doubled air passenger duty and announced a raft of initiatives to combat climate change today as he laid out what is expected to be his final Pre-Budget Report as Chancellor.' The Times, December 6 IT IS A study in contrasts. In Britain chancellor Gordon Brown has just changed course on his tax policies and introduced a detailed schedule of green taxes to cut carbon emissions. In Hong Kong Financial Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen has just changed... https://www.scmp.com/article/574969/britain-setting-gold-standard-changing-brown-green?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/574969/britain-setting-gold-standard-changing-brown-green?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Dec 2006 16:00:00 +0000 'It is the rich countries hearing the voice of the poor' Gordon Brown, British Chancellor of the Exchequer I WOULD ORDINARILY have missed it except that every day, the front page of As Seen From New York, a daily American news magazine, is posted in the men's room of the Foreign Correspondents' Club and, while otherwise occupied, my eye chanced on a headline - 'G-7 weighs debt write-off for poor'. How heart-warming. The finance ministers of the Group of Seven countries have decided to wave... https://www.scmp.com/article/488642/debt-relief-poor-response-calls-those-loudest-voices?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/488642/debt-relief-poor-response-calls-those-loudest-voices?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Feb 2005 16:00:00 +0000 British deputy leader Gordon Brown is emerging as one of the most prominent advocates of debt relief for poor countries. He will be in a prime position to champion this agenda in the coming year, as the country takes on leadership of both the Group of Eight and the European Union. His opening salvo came this week, with a pledge to write off Britain's share of the debt owed by 32 of the world's poorest countries to the World Bank and African Development Bank. The annual #100 million ($1.41... https://www.scmp.com/article/472286/debt-relief-buys-time-improve-governance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/472286/debt-relief-buys-time-improve-governance?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Sep 2004 16:00:00 +0000