Day: 1 April 2025

There is a lot of politics in the news today, with many headlines (around the world) reporting on the US tariffs set to be announced on Wednesday – tariffs that Trump has said will impact every country. The UK had been hoping to secure an exemption from the tariffs, but yesterday, the prime minister confirmed the UK is set to be impacted by Wednesday’s announcement. 

In more bad news for Britain, ‘awful April’ has begun as water bills, energy bills, and council tax have all risen. But today also marks the National Minimum Wage increase that starts today. 

Several newspaper headlines report on Virginia Giuffre, the woman who accused Jeffery Epstein of sex trafficking her to Prince Andrew when she was a teenager. Giuffre said via her Instagram that she is in hospital following a serious car accident and only has four days to live. Her spokesperson said she is receiving medical care after a “serious accident” whilst Western Australia police and ambulance services said their records show a “minor crash” between a bus and a car on 24 March, but that no injuries had been reported as a result. 

In 2022, Ms Giuffre reached an out-of-court settlement with the Duke of York over a civil sexual abuse claim filed in the US. She accused Prince Andrew of allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was 17 years old. Ms Guiffre had claimed the abuse took place while she was travelling with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted financier and Andrew’s former friend.

There is widespread coverage of France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s political career after she was found guilty of embezzling EU funds and banned from running for public office for 5 years. It means her hopes of running in the 2027 election – in which she was considered one of the favourites – are now in tatters.