UK News

Tottenham Hotspur v Brighton: Premier League – live | Premier League

Published

2 months ago

April 18, 2026

info@oxinfo.co.uk

Key events

10 mins: Udogie goes down in the area after nipping in front of Minteh. He wants a penalty, but again the referee is happy for play to continue and VAR isn’t going to overrule him. Looks like there’s a brief tug of his shorts as he breaks into the area, but it would have been an extraordinarily generous penalty decision if given.

7 mins: Absolutely excellent what-me-guv innocentface from Gomez after he concedes a free-kick. Beautiful technique.

5 mins: A big punt forward from Kinsky towards Solanke, who seems to pretty deliberately take out van Hecke. They both go down and the ball bounces forward, with Simons haring after it. He’s not far away from getting it, either, but Verbruggen comes out to huff it away in the nick of time. Again, the referee lets play continue.

3 mins: Lots of people running around as the game starts with a high tempo. But then Danso stops Minteh completing a one-two and thereby concedes a free-kick on halfway.

Xavi Simons tries to get around Mats Wieffer. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

1 min: Peeeeeep! Action time! Brighton kick off, with at least one Spurs player several yards into their half. The referee lets it go.

Right then. Action time (almost).

The players are on their way out. The home fans have been given flags to wave, and they are doing so enthusiastically. It’s quite a sight. Now they need their players to show similar commitment.

Fabian Hurzeler has a chat!

It’s very important, I just said to the group, it’s not about being in form it’s about habits, it’s about showing the right habits today. I expect Tottenham to have a clear style of play, Roberto is known for that. He did a brilliant job here but today it’s Brighton against Tottenham, it’s a focus on trying to get three points and that’s the only focus we’ve got.

The relegation trapdoor is ready to swing into action: Wolves’ defeat today means they will go down if Spurs win today. Roberto de Zerbi has had a quick chat, and this is what he said about Maddison’s return:

James is one of the leaders, of the most important players in the squad. I think he can give us energy, quality, because when he is available to play his quality is amazing, and in this moment we need everyone. We need all players focused on Tottenham, and especially an important player like James.

James Maddison returns to Spurs squad for first time this season

Look who’s back! As it happens, Roberto De Zerbi was asked yesterday about James Maddison and the possibility of him returning from injury. This is what he said:

I don’t know yet. I don’t want to push too much. I’m used to waiting for the players when they are available, totally available to play and to restart the training, because it’s better to lose one game more than to take a risk for another new injury.

Which sounded to me like a no. And yet, here he is.

James Maddison of Tottenham Hotspur (centre) during the pre-match team walk on before the game against Brighton and Hove Albion. Photograph: Chloe Knott/Tottenham Hotspur FC/Shutterstock

The teams!

The team sheets have been handed in to the referee and can no longer be changed unless someone asks very nicely. And here are those teams:

Tottenham Hotspur: Kinsky; Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Gallagher; Kolo Muani, Simons, Bissouma; Solanke. Subs: Austin, Bergvall, Dragusin, Gray, Joao Palhinha, Maddison, Spence, Tel, Richarlison.
Brighton & Hove Albion: Verbruggen; Wieffer, Van Hecke, Boscagli, Kadioglu; Gomez, Ayari, Hinshelwood, Gross, Minteh; Welbeck. Subs: De Cuyper, Kostoulas, Mitoma, O’Riley, Baleba, Rutter, Steele, Veltman, Igor Julio.
Referee: Stuart Attwell.
VAR: Jarred Gillett.

Hello world! And welcome to today’s episode of Who Wants to Win a League Game in 2026!

Spurs are very close to using all their lifelines and they’ve still had no lucky, but with the two teams immediately above them, West Ham and Nottingham Forest, playing on Monday and Sunday respectively today is an opportunity to turn up the heat in the relegation dogfight, or indeed to deflate the pressure in the relegation dogfight balloon, depending how it goes.

The bad news for Spurs is that, well, they’re rubbish. Since that last league win, a 1-0 success at Crystal Palace on 28 December, they have taken a shameful five points from 14 games, by a massive margin the worst record in the division, while in the same period and also playing 14 times Brighton have 22 points, the fifth-best record in the land (above Everton on goal difference).

The good news is that Brighton begins with the letter B. Even while letting Bournemouth do the double over them Spurs have overperformed against B-sides this season, averaging 1.29 points per game, the record of a solidly mid-table side. Against non-B-sides they’ve taken just 0.84 points per game. But Brighton have won their last three and five of their last six, and ride into this reunion with their former coach Roberto De Zerbi on a wave of form.

Here’s what De Zerbi had to say about this game:

I’m positive. I’m ready to fight. I believe to keep the Premier League, I believe in my words, what I said the last week was the focus is to win one game. I don’t know if tomorrow we are able to win, I hope and I think we have the quality enough to win a game.

I think it’s crucial to win a game, not just for the table – OK, one part for the table for sure – but because we have to feel again what is nice to win a game and what they can do, because I have no doubt about the qualities of the players. OK, now is a tough moment, but to achieve the great target you have to pass through difficult times.

So here’s to a fun couple of hours, and an end to difficult times.

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UK News

PM accuses Farage of exploiting Nowak case to sow ‘division’ and denies ‘two-tier policing’ claim

Published

46 minutes ago

June 3, 2026

info@oxinfo.co.uk

The incident, which is being investigated by the policing watchdog, prompted a wave of political reaction on Monday, including a video clip filmed by Farage in which he said the police response was evidence of “two-tier Britain,” and called for an end to “anti-white prejudice”.

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UK News

Farage exploiting Nowak’s murder against wishes of his family, says Starmer – UK politics live | Politics

Published

2 hours ago

June 3, 2026

info@oxinfo.co.uk

Starmer condemns Farage at PMQs, condemning his ‘rage’ response to Nowak murder as ‘unforgivable’ snub to victim’s family

Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, also asked about the Nowak murder.

He said:

Following the horrendous circumstances of Henry Nowak’s death, can I urge the prime minister to consider this?

It is now clear to growing millions in this country that we are living under two tier policing.

The instructions that are given to police officers from police bosses are clear and written down in ink. It says you must treat different ethnic groups in different ways.

Farage suggested that was behind “the upset and the anger at the circumstances of his death, the anger that you saw spilling out in Southampton last night”.

Some MPs jeered at Farage, saying he should condemn the violence.

Farage went on:

If the public lose trust in being treated fairly by the police, can he take some action to end this divisive practice of two-tier policing and make sure that all British citizens are treated the same?

Starmer said: “I don’t believe there’s two-tier policing in this country.”

And he said that he was “really shocked” by Farage’s approach. He said Farage pretended to respect Nowak’s family. But he was acting like this.

Starmer went on:

The grieving family have asked us not to respond in the way that the leader of Reform has responded. They’ve asked us not to. They have lost their son in the most appalling circumstance. They make a simple plea of us as human beings to please not exploit that.

That is their plea to us. We all need to reflect on those words of Henry’s father.

My response – and the response of others, to be fair – has [been focused] on the lessons to be learned so we can deliver justice.

His response has been to appeal for rage.

That’s his response to a father who’s lost his son and asked for that not to happen.

Exploiting this tragedy to create grievance and division would be wrong in any circumstances, but to do it when the family are expressly saying please don’t is unforgivable. It shows who he is.

Key events

Ben Habib winds up his Advance UK party to create more space for Restore Britain to take on Reform UK

Ben Quinn

Ben Quinn is a Guardian political correspondent.

Advance UK, the hard-right outfit set up by former Reform UK deputy leader Ben Habib, has announced it is stepping aside to make way for Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain to become the main force trying to emerge as a rival to Nigel Farage’s party.

Habib used a video message on X to announced that Advance UK would be de-registering as a political party and was “taking a step back” to prevent “confusion” on the party of voters looking for a right-wing alternative to Reform.

Advance UK has a few dozen councillors around England, mainly those who have defected from Reform and other places, while the far-right activist known as Tommy Robinson has identified himself as a supporter in the past.

The move now potentially opens up the potential for Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, to team up with Restore Britain, which was set up by the former Reform MP Rupert Lowe.

Lowe used X to praise Habib’s announcement, adding that his one-time Reform UK colleague and the Advance UK membership would be welcome in Restore Britain, but he added that it was a decision for them to make.

PMQs – snap verdict

In terms of the exchanges between the PM and the leader of the opposition, that was not quite a consensus PMQs. Kemi Badenoch asked about welfare, taunted the PM over his record, and came out with an OK jibe about Starmer being a “caretaker”. But it was all quite gentle, and Badenoch did not really score any hits. Her key decision was not politicise the central news of the day. In fact, Starmer even commended her for her stance on the Henry Nowak murder. (See 12.15pm – did he know in advance she was going to lead on welfare?) Badenoch’s choice of subject matter seems to have come as a disappointment to GB News (aka Reform UK TV), but it meant the Starmer/Badenoch exchanges felt more mature and sensible than they normally do.

One consequence of that was that the most important confrontation of the session came when Nigel Farage asked a question, and Starmer responded. (See 12.46pm.) In PMQs terms, this was a resounding win; Farage was knocked out of the park. But not because Starmer was particularly aggressive, or funny, or because he blindsided Farage with a clever argument; it was a victory of tone. Starmer got it right, and Farage got it wrong. (Unless you are a GB News viewer, perhaps.)

It is hard to imagine that Badenoch is particularly comfortable with being seen as constructive and non-partisan in her dealings with Starmer (particularly if, in doing so, she helped him grind down Farage). This is definitely not her default mode. No doubt normal service will resume next week.

Calvin Bailey (Lab) said that, as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on prostate cancer, he welcomed the news that more black men are being invited in for checks.

He said this was justified because black men have double the risk of getting prostate cancer. But, he said, Reform UK had responded to this news with “divisive weasel words and race baiting”.

Bailey was referring to this social media post from Zia Yusuf, the Reform UK home affairs spokesperson, last night.

On the day the whole political establishment claims we do not live in a two tier country, they announce this.

Note, the NHS makes NO drugs available exclusively to white people.

Starmer said the government was determined to improve cancer care.

Bob Blackman (Con) asked the government to proscribe the IRGC and to take action against Iran-backed charities operating in the UK.

Starmer said proscription-type powers were being introduced for state entities, and he said the government would announce “further steps in coming days”.

Starmer says Reform just offering ‘grievance and division’ in Makerfield byelection

Andrew Rosindell (Ref) asked about Havering, where Reform won the council in the local elections.

That gave Starmer a chance to have a go at the Reform UK candidate in Makerfield, Robert Kenyon. He said:

I have studied the candidate for Makerfield, the Reform candidate, since he brings up election. A self-professed sexist said women who get abortions do it for vanity purposes, encouraged people not to get the Covid vaccine, and said Russia was within its rights to invade Crimea.

Reform have got nothing to offer but grievance and division yet again.

Starmer criticises Farage for past comments opposing taxpayer-funded NHS

Tristan Osborne (Lab) asked Starmer about NHS treatments for memory loss.

He went on:

A very distressing case was recently brought to my attention by a constituent in a village in my constituency, of a man who could not remember his own words, even though he said it on television that the NHS should not be funded through general taxation.

What can we do to ensure my constituents to ecure clarity on future Kent and Medway NHS funding? And what can we do to help the leader of Reform UK [Nigel Farage – the person who claims not to remember previously proposing a different way of funding the NHS].

Starmer replied:

The Reform leader wants everyone to forget that he called for our NHS to be replaced with an insurance based system. You might want to jot it down to jog his memory.

And then he said that if people can pay, they should pay for NHS treatment. So we can help him by jolting his memory here.

You cannot trust Reform with our NHS. The only way to protect it is to vote Labour.

Liz Saville Roberts, the Plaid Cymru leader at Westminster, asked Starmer if he would give more powers to the Senedd.

Starmer said that he had spoken to Rhun ap Iorwerth, the new first minister, and that he would “work constructively, with the first minister and with the government in Wales, because that’s the right thing to do to deliver for Wales”.

Starmer condemns Farage at PMQs, condemning his ‘rage’ response to Nowak murder as ‘unforgivable’ snub to victim’s family

Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, also asked about the Nowak murder.

He said:

Following the horrendous circumstances of Henry Nowak’s death, can I urge the prime minister to consider this?

It is now clear to growing millions in this country that we are living under two tier policing.

The instructions that are given to police officers from police bosses are clear and written down in ink. It says you must treat different ethnic groups in different ways.

Farage suggested that was behind “the upset and the anger at the circumstances of his death, the anger that you saw spilling out in Southampton last night”.

Some MPs jeered at Farage, saying he should condemn the violence.

Farage went on:

If the public lose trust in being treated fairly by the police, can he take some action to end this divisive practice of two-tier policing and make sure that all British citizens are treated the same?

Starmer said: “I don’t believe there’s two-tier policing in this country.”

And he said that he was “really shocked” by Farage’s approach. He said Farage pretended to respect Nowak’s family. But he was acting like this.

Starmer went on:

The grieving family have asked us not to respond in the way that the leader of Reform has responded. They’ve asked us not to. They have lost their son in the most appalling circumstance. They make a simple plea of us as human beings to please not exploit that.

That is their plea to us. We all need to reflect on those words of Henry’s father.

My response – and the response of others, to be fair – has [been focused] on the lessons to be learned so we can deliver justice.

His response has been to appeal for rage.

That’s his response to a father who’s lost his son and asked for that not to happen.

Exploiting this tragedy to create grievance and division would be wrong in any circumstances, but to do it when the family are expressly saying please don’t is unforgivable. It shows who he is.

Noah Law (Lab) asked about the murder of Henry Nowak.

Starmer said he felt sick watching the video of Nowak being arrested.

He went on:

Henry’s father said this we do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension.

There are the words of a grieving father who’s lost his son.

We do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension.

I think those words have resonated with people across the country.

We must not allow this tragedy to be hijacked by anyone who seeks to divide us.

His final words seemed designed to set up the next MP to ask a question – Nigel Farage.

With his second question, Davey turned to Labour internal politics. And he delivered a very good joke.

With our armed forces overstretched, Labour now seems to be investing in a new weapon of war – the long-form essay.

It gives another meaning to the phrase drone warfare.

Davey went on:

Tony Blair says the UK should suck up to Donald Trump, kowtow to US tech barons and go slow on Europe.

The prime minister must be grateful for this rare endorsement of his agenda.

Blair also claims that the sensible people aren’t radical and the radical people aren’t sensible.

Is the prime minister concerned that unless he changes course, he will be remembered for being neither radical nor sensible?

Starmer said Davey spoilt what had been a good joke.

And he said he was suprised that Davey was not welcoming the tax cuts for theme parks.

Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, used his first question to ask about Henry Nowak.

The murder of Henry Nowak was an evil crime made much worse by the lies of the killer and the police response. The investigation must uncover all things that went wrong, and all police forces must act on its conclusions.

Outside court, Henry’s father made a powerful plea that his son’s murder should not be used to create further division, but should be used to treat knife crime as a national emergency.

Does the prime minister agree that the victims of knife crime and their families deserve a politics where we come together to solve these problems and not use them as a political football?

Starmer thanked Davey for his approach and said that it was the duty of politicians “to bring people together at a time like this, not seek to divide people”.

Badenoch says Starmer just ‘caretaker’ PM, ‘keeping seat warm’ for Burnham

Badenoch said Labour MPs were cheering for Starmer even though he released their text messages.

He is more than happy to release all their text messages while all of his have disappeared.

Disappearing messages from a disappearing PM.

There is a conservative solution benefits bill down, taxes down, growth up.

Badenoch said that Starmer was now just “a caretaker, keeping the seat warm for the mayor of Manchester”.

Starmer replied:

Forgive me if I don’t take too much notice of the leader of the opposition.

For 14 years they broke our welfare system, lost control of our borders, presided over the biggest fall in living standards on record, broke the economy, prisons, the NHS. I could go on and on.

No wonder she and they are totally irrelevant.

Starmer backs McFadden over his position on welfare reform

Badenoch said McFadden also said that in all meetings with Labour MPs, they wanted to raise taxes to pay benefits. She asks if Starmer will take the advice in Tony Blair’s essay and work with the Tories on welfare reform.

Starmer replied:

They introduced a system that’s broken and they put the bill through the roof. And now they want to give us advice on welfare. No thanks, no thanks.

The question should always be not what benefits people are entitled to, but what help we can give people to change their life.

That’s what the work and pensions secretary was arguing. And he’s right about that.

Referring to revelations in the Mandelson files, Badenoch asked Starmer if he agreed with Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, that the failure of the welfare reform act last year was “the moment he lost his authority”.

Starmer said he was proud of his record.

Despite the war in the Middle East, the OECD forecast UK growth is up and inflation is down.

Net migration, which reached nearly one million under them, and the leader of the opposition was the cheerleader, down by a staggering 82%.

The asylum backlog down by 46%.

We’re delivering the fastest reduction in waiting times in the NHS in the history of the NHS. That’s on top of free school meals, free breakfast clubs and free childcare.

And of course, we’re lifting half a million children out of poverty.

I’m very proud of the work of this Labour government.

Badenoch said the welfare bill went up under the last government because of Covid.

She said Starmer had given up on welfare reform.

On Sunday, the welfare secretary was asked 12 times on national radio if he would make cuts to the benefits bill and 12 times he could not answer. So I will ask the prime minister, is he going to cut the benefits bill?

Starmer said Labour is reforming the system to get young people into work. The Tories left the system broken, he said.

Badenoch said the welfare bill had gone up by £20bn under Labour. She asked why there was no welfare bill in the king’s speech.

Starmer said the government was reforming the welfare system “so it no longer pushes people away from work”.

That’s what we’re doing. They voted against it.

Welfare reform is introducing a right to try, to incentivise people to take up opportunities. That’s what we’re doing. They voted against it.

Welfare reform is providing record funding on apprenticeships. That’s what we’re doing. Apprenticeship starts fell by 40% on their watch.

Under the Tories, welfare spending soared, Starmer said.

Starmer thanks Badenoch for ‘tone’ she has taken in relation to Nowak tragedy

Kemi Badenoch, after paying tribute to Alan Haselhurst, asked Starmer how much the welfare bill has gone up under Labour.

Starmer started by thanking Badenoch for her “approach and tone” in relation to the Henry Nowak tragedy.

On welfare, he said

We inherited a broken system from the party opposite. and we are now improving that system, delivering a youth guarantee, rolling out 300,000 work experience placements.

He said the benefits bill went up under the Tories – when the welfare secretary was Mel Stride, now shadow chancellor.

Roz Savage (Lib Dem) asked Starmer to impose a cap on political donations.

Starmer said the government has capped donations. He went on:

But the $5 million question, £5m question still remains. Why is the leader of Reform dodging questions about his donations? And why did he keep it secret in the first place?

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