Rochdale by-election: Labour's handling of Azhar Ali row 'shambolic', inquiry head says

The Labour Party have slammed George Galloway as 'only interested in stoking fear and division' after he cruised to victory in the Rochdale by-election.

Voters across Rochdale have gone to the ballot box to elect their new MP following the death of Sir Tony Lloyd.

There are 11 candidates standing the Rochdale by-election on Thursday (February 29). Labour selected Lancashire County councillor Azhar Ali to stand in the race to become an MP but withdrew support for him after he made 'deeply offensive' comments about Israel.

Michelle Keegan told fans she was "sorting her life out" ahead of her next big TV gig. The actress started the year with a bang by appearing in Netflix hit Fool Me Once.

The heartbreaking murder of heiress Joanna Simpson is to be explored in a new ITV documentary, titled The British Airways Killer. Joanna was killed by her husband, British Airways pilot Robert Brown, in 2010. The documentary will give an in-depth insight into the Thames Valley Police Major Crime Unit’s complex investigation into Joanna's murder.

An awkward mix-up occurred on the red carpet for the stars of Netflix's The Crown, during an interview with Loni Love. Famous US TV presenter Loni, reporting alongside Laverne Cox on E's Live From The Red Carpet at the SAG Awards, got into a spot of bother while chatting to the cast of the popular TV series, The Crown, which is based on the British Royal family. At first, Loni talked to Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki, who played Princess Diana on the show and scooped up the SAG award for Female Actress in a Drama Series for her role on the night - all while completely barefoot.

Rochdale has found itself at the centre of a national political storm. What was expected to be a straightforward by-election for Labour has turned into one of the strangest and most chaotic in recent memory.

Prior to American Fiction, Sterling K. Brown was best known as Randall Pearson in the long-running, award-winning NBC family drama series This is Us. The part that director Cord Jefferson was offering him couldn’t have been more different: in Jefferson’s adaptation of the satirical novel by Percival Everett, Brown plays Clifford ‘Cliff’ Ellison, a caustic plastic surgeon and brother to the film’s protagonist, Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison (Jeffrey Wright). After divorcing his wife, Cliff comes out as gay, further estranging him from his uptight family. This nuanced role allowed Brown to explore the many facets of Blackness and the challenges of the LGBTQ+ community.

Love Island stars Chloe Burrows and Millie Court have shared a look inside their ski holiday to Val Thorens.The BFFS have hit the French Alp to celebrate after they were announced as ambassadors for Australian brand White Fox Boutique. On Friday, February 23, the pair shared a snap in the back of a cab on the way to the airport, wearing White Fox tracksuits as they pouted and flashed a peace sign for the camera.

“Say It Loud — I’m Black and I’m Proud.”But the “Super Bad” singer was also super proud of his hair — whether he wore a natural Afro or a straightened conk.In fact, after the Godfather of Soul was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2004, his tresses were foremost on his mind in his treatment.“He was like, ‘I can’t do chemo, ’cause I don’t wanna lose all my hair.’ I mean, this was a real thing,” says his daughter Dr. Yamma Brown in the four-part A&E documentary “James Brown: Say It Loud,” which premiered Monday and is now available to stream and on demand.“Thank God it was in the early stages enough that all he really needed was radiation.

Naman Ramachandran A key audience participation segment of the London West End adaptation of Henrik Ibsen‘s 1882 play “An Enemy of the People” left people in tears, star Matt Smith told the BBC. In “An Enemy of the People,” when Dr. Stockmann (Smith) makes an unbelievable discovery about the healing waters in his local baths, he holds the future of the town in his hands, but those with everything to lose refuse to accept his word.

Police are investigating after a person was caught on camera tearing down a banner calling for support for George Galloway in the Rochdale by-election. They were seen putting it in their car and driving away.

EXCLUSIVE: An actress who featured in the final season of The Crown and a series regular in Jack Whitehall’s Bad Education have said they are owed thousands in unpaid fees by scandal-hit agency Bodhi Talent.

James Brown: Say It Loud” — a four-part series that premieres Monday and then continues Tuesday on A&E — the Godfather of Soul himself breaks down exactly why his 1968 anthem “Say It Loud — I’m Black and I’m Proud” changed the way African-Americans saw and spoke of themselves as “black.” “‘Black’ is a [bad] thing that was basically put on …the black man in America,” says an Afroed Brown in archival footage.“And hey, I’m black and I’m proud, but I really don’t want to have to say, ‘I’m black,’ [as if] you had to say, ‘You’re white.’ I want to say that we’re people and that we’re brothers and that we got the same fight.”But after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

You've heard of friends in high places, but these pairs of totally unlikely celebrity pals give that saying a whole new meaning.. MARK WRIGHT AND MILLIE BOBBY BROWN As random showbiz friendships go, Millie, 19, and Mark, 37, are up there! The former TOWIE star met the Stranger Things actress when he was working in LA and she spotted him at a press event.

Natalia Bryant is making a name for herself in the modeling industry while a full-time student at the University of Southern California. The 21-year-old is the eldest daughter of Vanessa and the late Kobe Bryant, proving to be a dedicated and successful woman.Natalia made her runway debut with Versace at Milan Fashion Week, and while people tell her what to wear when on the job, she’s been finding her unique style. In a recent interview with PEOPLE, the model revealed how her mom Vanessa, has inspired her style.

Sir Keir Starmer says he has done something no other leader of the Labour Party has ever done before by 'giving up a Labour seat' in Rochdale. But the Labour leader fell short of saying that he acted quickly enough over comments made by its by-election candidate.

A Manchester Labour MP drew applause from the BBC Question Time audience as she blasted a Conservativeover his party's history of 'misbehaving' MPs. When confronted with criticism over Labour's recent handling of anti-Semitic comments from prospective MPs, Lucy Powell said: "You know what Graham, I honestly won't take lectures from you."

Steven Ostrow, the actor and singer best known as the creator of The Continental Baths gay men’s bathhouse where Bette Midler, Barry Manilow, and other stars launched their careers, has died. The Brooklyn native passed away on Feb. 4 at a rest home in Sydney, Australia, where he has lived since the 1980s.

Over the weekend, it emerged that Labour's candidate in the Rochdale by-election made 'deeply offensive' comments about Israel at a meeting last year. Azhar Ali apologised 'unreservedly' for the comments, and the party stood by him - until last night (February 12).