Exclusive: Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch and members of her shadow cabinet were among more than 100 high-profile figures named in a dossier discovered at the home of the man accused of murdering Ann Widdecombe, The i Paper can reveal. Shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat, and his immediate predecessor Priti Patel, who is a former Home Secretary, are also on the list found during a search of Joshua Kerry’s home. The dossier is understood to contain the names of senior Reform figures, Independent MP Rosie Duffield, and a large number of former and serving MPs and peers, as well as potentially other prominent public figures. Story 👇 inews.co.uk/news/politics/ba…

Exclusive: Education Secretary Lucy Powell has been accused of presenting teachers’ 3.5 per cent pay rise as fully funded despite relying on pension savings that schools had already built into their budgets, The i Paper has been told. The move has left schools warning they still face funding pressures, with the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) saying there is “no new money for schools” and that the Government cannot “spin its way out of a funding gap”. Story 👇 inews.co.uk/news/politics/sc…

Exclusive: Britain’s nuclear chiefs want to axe mandatory armed escorts for some nuclear waste shipments despite the rising risk of Russian escalation.

Exclusive: Andy Burnham is leaving the door open to a snap general election next year, The i Paper has been told. Multiple sources close to the No 10 operation have suggested that an early general election in May has not been ruled out, despite the Prime Minister publicly insisting that there will be no early poll. In a round of interviews last week, Burnham appeared to shut down the prospect of an election, saying: “No, no election any time soon. I’m focused on the job as prime minister doing what I said I would do.” Asked by ITV Calendar whether the next general election would be in 2029, he was even more emphatic: “Yes, that’s when the next election will be. All of this speculation on an early election, I can knock that dead.” He went on to say that calling an election would mean putting “self-serving politics” ahead of delivering for the public, adding: “I’m not going to do that.” However, behind the scenes, some of Burnham’s closest advisers concede there is still a chance he could go to the country in May. A source close to the PM told The i Paper: “There is a growing school of thought that there might be a ‘sweet spot’ for an early general.” The argument is that Burnham could call an election before the right has a chance to reunite, given Labour’s much weaker performance in 2019 when the right was more united than it was in 2024. Another No 10 source suggested Burnham would “give the country time to get to know the new PM” before making a final decision, which would likely depend on how well the Budget lands and the size of any “Burnham bounce”. Labour officials have also been instructed to “be ready” for an early election, although a senior party source stressed that no decision has been made. Story 👇 with @whazell and @singharj