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Athena Stavrou image

Athena Stavrou

Political Reporter

Athena Stavrou is a political reporter at The Independent. She started her role in January 2026, having been a general reporter since September 2023 covering a wide range of UK news.

Home News

Timeline of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s scandals as royal arrested

<p>The UK government remains committed to advancing the Chagos Islands deal despite Trump’s opposition</p>
UK Politics

Trump Chagos U-turn after ‘row over using RAF bases for Iran strikes’

News

Trump’s Chagos U-turn ‘in response to UK not helping US against Iran’

UK Politics

Antonia Romeo is appointed as UK’s top civil servant

<p>Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should speak to the authorities in the UK and US about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, Sir Keir Starmer has said</p>
UK Politics

Starmer says ‘no one above the law’ over Andrew-Epstein allegations

<p>Tech firms could face massive fines if they don’t remove ‘revenge porn’ quickly enough under proposed new rules</p>
UK Politics

Tech firms must remove ‘revenge porn’ in 48 hours

News

‘No one is above the law’ says Starmer over Andrew-Epstein allegations

<p>Robert Jenrick makes his first speech as Reform UK's Treasury spokesman, in London, on Wednesday</p>
UK Politics

What are Reform’s economic pledges – and how sensible are they?

UK Politics

Plans to equalise minimum wage could be delayed

<p>Kemi Badenoch</p>
UK Politics

PM’s local election U-turn could hit Tories hard, top pollster says

UK Politics

Who is running in the Gorton and Denton by-election?

<p>Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch</p>
News

Why local election U-turn could be worse for the Tories than Labour

Young people could be auto-enrolled on the voting register (Yui Mok/PA)
UK Politics

The 30 local councils which will now have elections in May

UK Politics

The 30 local councils which will now have elections in May

Young people could be auto-enrolled on the voting register (Yui Mok/PA)
<p>Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Suzanne Plunkett/PA)</p>
UK Politics

Every Labour U-turn as Starmer rows back on postponing local elections

News

Labour set for punishing local elections after Starmer’s U-turn

<p>The prime minister is under pressure to order an inquiry </p>
UK Politics

Cabinet Office probes Labour group over journalists’ smear campaign

<p>The former prince’s relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein has been under intense scrutiny</p>
UK Politics

Former minister joins calls for police to investigate Andrew

<p>The former prince’s relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein has been under intense scrutiny</p>
UK Politics

Former minister joins calls for police to investigate Andrew

<p>REINO UNIDO-EPSTEIN</p>
News

Pressure mounting on police to probe Andrew’s Epstein links

<p>Nicola Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell in 2016 </p>
Crime

Sturgeon’s estranged husband accused of embezzling £459,000 from SNP

<p>Sir Tony’s name was listed alongside high-profile Trump administration officials</p>
UK Politics

Reverse ban on new North Sea oil drilling licences, Blair tells Labour

More than 90,000 people were waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application in the UK at the end of June 2025 (Alamy/PA)
UK Politics

Britain leads world when it comes to migration concerns, poll finds

<p>The prime minister is facing continued questions over his judgment in appointing his former spin doctor, Matthew Doyle, to the House of Lords</p>
UK Politics

Starmer ‘knew Lord Doyle supported paedophile councillor’

<p>Lord Doyle has apologised</p>
News

Starmer was aware Lord Doyle backed paedophile, ex-comms chief admits

UK Politics

Will Starmer resign as prime minister and who could replace him?

News

Starmer’s potential replacements as prime minister faces huge pressure

<p>Lord Doyle has apologised</p>
News

Starmer was aware Lord Doyle backed paedophile, ex-comms chief admits

UK Politics

Will Starmer resign as prime minister and who could replace him?

News

Starmer’s potential replacements as prime minister faces huge pressure

<p>Sir Keir Starmer and Lord Peter Mandelson during a welcome reception at the ambassador’s residence in Washington</p>
UK Politics

Government figures forced to hand over private messages with Mandelson

UK Politics

Government figures forced to hand over private messages with Mandelson

<p>Sir Keir Starmer and Lord Peter Mandelson during a welcome reception at the ambassador’s residence in Washington</p>
<p>Sir Keir Starmer said he was ‘sorry’ for believing Peter Mandelson’s ‘lies’ about his connections with Jeffrey Epstein (Carl Court/PA)</p>
News

Top Government members to be made to reveal private Mandelson messages

<p>Keir Starmer, with his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, whom some Labour MPs are urging the prime minister to sack</p>
UK Politics

I’m sorry for appointing Mandelson and believing his lies, PM says

News

Starmer makes admission as he apologises for Mandelson appointment

<p>Reform UK leader Nigel Farage poses for a picture during a visit to Kent County Council</p>
UK Politics

Reform council member quits cabinet after saying it made ‘no cuts’

<p>Reform UK leader Nigel Farage poses for a picture during a visit to Kent County Council</p>
UK Politics

Reform council member quits cabinet after saying it made ‘no cuts’

<p>Sir Keir Starmer and Lord Peter Mandelson during a welcome reception at the ambassador’s residence in Washington</p>
UK Politics

Starmer vows to defend ‘decent Britain’ amid fury over Mandelson

<p>Sir Keir Starmer has made a dramatic U-turn over the release of full vetting documents relating to Peter Mandelson’s<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/politics-explained/peter-mandelson-jeffrey-epstein-files-b2913255.html"></a> appointment as the UK’s ambassador <a href="/topic/ambassador"></a>in the US</p>
UK Politics

Labour rebels force PM into humiliating climbdown on Mandelson files

<p>Matthew Fraser Moat</p>
News

Reform cabinet member resigns after ‘lapse of judgement’

<p>Recent polling has found that Reform UK’s polling gap has shrunk amid doubts over their readiness for government</p>
News

Nigel Farage admits Reform only ‘halfway ready’ for power

<p>Nigel Farage speaks at a press conference in London on Tuesday, as Reform UK’s polling gap has shrunk amid doubts over the party’s readiness for government<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/nigel-farage"></a></p>
UK Politics

Reform isn’t ready for government, Nigel Farage admits

<p>Keir Starmer says Angela Rayner has a ‘future role to play’ in government</p>
UK Politics

Keir Starmer hints at comeback for Angela Rayner

<p>Labour have said their commitment to delivering free breakfast clubs in primary schools will save parents more than £400 a year and cut almost half a million days of school absence (David Parry/PA)</p>
News

Parents open up over stigma surrounding free breakfast clubs

<p>Angela Rayner</p>
News

Starmer gives hint on whether Angela Rayner could make a comeback

<p>Lord Mandelson sacked as the US ambassador last year after revelations of his continued contact with Epstein (PA)</p>
News

Mandelson ‘to be summoned’ to give evidence in US about Epstein links

<p>Lord Mandelson resigned his Labour Party membership on Sunday (Jonathan Brady/PA)</p>
UK Politics

Mandelson expected to be ordered to give evidence in US about Epstein

<p>The government started trialling free breakfast clubs in 2025 with an initial scheme for around 180,000 pupils</p>
UK Politics

Low income and single parents warier of stigma around breakfast clubs

UK Politics

Low income and single parents warier of stigma around breakfast clubs

<p>The government started trialling free breakfast clubs in 2025 with an initial scheme for around 180,000 pupils</p>
UK Politics

Polanski condemns Starmer’s ‘high on drugs, soft on Putin’ jibe

<p>Scotland’s First Minister hit out at the ‘absurdity’ of Lord Peter Mandelson remaining as a Labour peer (Jonathan Brady/PA)</p>
UK Politics

Minister refuses to say if Mandelson should be kicked out of Labour

<p>Zack Polanski has taken a fresh swipe at Keir Starmer</p>
News

Polanski brands Starmer jibe ‘disgraceful’ in fresh swipe at PM

News

Keir Starmer indicates support for Trump’s potential strikes on Iran

News

Keir Starmer indicates support for Trump’s potential strikes on Iran

<p>Prime minister Keir Starmer during a visit to Yuyuan Gardens in Shanghai, China</p>
UK Politics

Starmer brushes off Trump’s comments on UK doing business with China

<p>A move to proscribe the IRGC by the EU would mark a shift in how the bloc interacts with Iran’s leadership</p>
UK Politics

No 10 welcomes EU move to label Iran’s Revolutionary Guards terrorists

<p>Sir Keir is battling a growing rebellion over the decision to block the Manchester mayor</p>
UK Politics

Burnham says he was in a ‘better position than anybody’ to beat Reform

<p>Andy Burnham has expressed disappointment at the move</p>
News

Why Burnham thinks he was best person to beat Reform in by-election

<p>Campaigners warn the delay will leave renters ‘trapped in poor-quality homes with nowhere to turn’</p>
News

New decent homes standard delayed until 2035

Average advertised rents have hit a new record high, but there are signs that the pace of the increases is slowing, according to Rightmove (Yui Mok/PA)
UK Politics

Fury as PM’s clampdown on damp and mouldy homes delayed to 2035

News

Defecting Tories had a ‘tantrum dressed up as politics’, says Badenoch

UK Politics

Badenoch mocks defectors as she tries to get Tories back on track

<p>Sir Keir Starmer during a bilateral meeting Xi Jinping (PA)</p>
UK Politics

Starmer and team ‘to take burner phones to China to prevent spying’

<p>Sir Keir Starmer and his team are undertaking a five-day visit to Beijing</p>
News

Keir Starmer to make key security precaution during China visit

<p>Matt Goodwin said the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election was a ‘referendum’ on Keir Starmer</p>
UK Politics

Reform UK unveil candidate for Gorton and Denton by-election

UK Politics

Reform UK unveil candidate for Gorton and Denton by-election

<p>Matt Goodwin said the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election was a ‘referendum’ on Keir Starmer</p>
<p>Matt Goodwin – Reform UK's newly announced candidate for the Gorton and Denton by-election</p>
News

GB News presenter named as Reform by-election candidate

<p>Suella Braverman announced she has defected from the Conservative Party to Reform UK at a Veterans for Reform press launch in London, on Monday</p>
UK Politics

Tories forced to retract Braverman mental health claim

News

Conservative Party criticised over ‘nasty’ Suella Braverman statement

<p>Suella Braverman told the crowd that Nigel Farage was the only man in UK politics who has been ‘courageously consistent’</p>
UK Politics

Former Tory home secretary Suella Braverman defects to Reform

<p>Suella Braverman told the crowd that Nigel Farage was the only man in UK politics who has been ‘courageously consistent’</p>
UK Politics

Former Tory home secretary Suella Braverman defects to Reform

News

Reform’s Laila Cunningham copies Trump’s bizarre Greenland image

<p>US President Donald Trump AI-generated image, left, was recreated by Reform UK’s candidate for the London mayoralty, Laila Cunningham</p>
UK Politics

Reform mayoral candidate replicates Trump’s Greenland penguin image

<p>Prime minister Keir Starmer has signalled that the US president should apologise for his remarks about British troops in Afghanistan</p>
UK Politics

‘Appalling’: Starmer demands Trump apologise for false UK troops claim

<p>No 10 says that the delays were due to a lack of capacity amid an ongoing overhaul of local government structures</p>
UK Politics

Mapped: Which councils have postponed May’s local elections?

<p>Andy Burnham </p>
News

How Andy Burnham’s ‘path back to Westminster’ could be blocked

<p>Stephen Kinnock called Trump's comments 'deeply disappointing' and 'plainly wrong'</p>
News

UK minister ‘deeply disappointed’ by Trump’s false Afghanistan claims

<p>Sir Keir Starmer’s allies are planning to block potential leadership rival Andy Burnham’s route back to Westminster, according to reports</p>
UK Politics

Starmer allies ‘plan to block Burnham’s route back to Westminster’

<p>Labour MP Andrew Gwynne, who has said he regrets making ‘badly misjudged’ comments in a WhatsApp group after Sir Keir Starmer sacked him as a minister</p>
UK Politics

Ex-minister quits as MP with Burnham tipped to stand in his seat

<p>Sir Keir Starmer has not travelled to Davos (Leon Neal/PA)</p>
UK Politics

Starmer snubs Trump’s Gaza board of peace ceremony over Putin role

<p>Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has launched a consultation on restricting social media for under-16s. (PA)</p>
UK Politics

PM closer to social media ban for u-16s after Lords vote

<p>An aerial photograph of the former site of the UK's Royal Mint, now owned by China and set to be its new ‘super embassy’ in London </p>
UK Politics

US ‘deeply concerned’ after Chinese ‘super-embassy’ approved in London

<p>Energy secretary Ed Miliband has admitted the situation between the UK and US ‘has changed’ </p>
UK Politics

Miliband admits ‘situation has changed’ between UK and US

<p>US President Donald Trump has criticised the UK’s Chagos Islands deal with Mauritius </p>
UK Politics

Trump’s latest attack on UK ‘not normal’, says top Starmer ally

<p>An aerial photograph of the former site of the UK’s Royal Mint, now owned by China and set to be the site of its new embassy in London</p>
UK Politics

Starmer approves Chinese ‘super-embassy’ despite MI5 security fears

<p>Opponents of the new Chinese embassy have said they will continue their campaign through the courts </p>
News

MI5 issue warning over new Chinese embassy in London

<p>US President Donald Trump has criticised the UK’s Chagos Islands deal with Mauritius (Leon Neal/PA)</p>
News

UK government hits back at Trump’s Chagos Islands deal criticism

<p>An aerial photograph of the former site of the UK’s Royal Mint, now owned by China and set to be the site of its new embassy in London</p>
UK Politics

Starmer approves Chinese ‘super-embassy’ despite MI5 security fears

<p>Opponents of the new Chinese embassy have said they will continue their campaign through the courts </p>
News

MI5 issue warning over new Chinese embassy in London

<p>US President Donald Trump has criticised the UK’s Chagos Islands deal with Mauritius (Leon Neal/PA)</p>
News

UK government hits back at Trump’s Chagos Islands deal criticism

<p>Dozens of Labour MPs have signed an open letter urging the prime minister to back a ban.</p>
UK Politics

Labour opens door to Australian-style social media ban for under-16s

<p>An aerial view of Diego Garcia in the Indian ocean (Alamy stock photo)</p>
UK Politics

Trump calls Starmer’s Chagos Islands deal act of ‘great stupidity’

<p>Protesters gathered outside Royal Mint Court, London, the site of the proposed new Chinese embassy </p>
News

Controversial plans for Chinese ‘mega-embassy’ approved by government

News

Could we be edging closer to a social media ban for under-16s?

<p>The former minister has said the Tory leader’s refusal to banish Ms Truss is one of the reasons he eventually decided to defect to Nigel Farage’s party</p>
UK Politics

Jenrick: I told Kemi Badenoch to kick Liz Truss out of the Tory Party

<p>Robert Jenrick defected from the Tories (PA)</p>
News

Robert Jenrick ‘told Badenoch to kick Liz Truss out’ of the Tories

<p>Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer</p>
News

The huge sum that government U-turns are predicted to have cost the UK

<p>Chancellor Rachel Reeves will say that people were ‘wrong’ to say the City is flagging (Ben Birchall/PA)</p>
UK Politics

Labour U-turns ‘have cost Britain £8.2 billion’

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