The UK and Spain are close to agreeing a deal on the post-Brexit status of Gibraltar, the Spanish foreign minister has indicated. A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said Lord Cameron had underlined the UK’s desire to get “a UK-EU treaty on Gibraltar as soon as possible” during his discussion with counterpart Jose Manuel Albares. Mr Albares first revealed he had been in crunch talks with Rishi Sunak’s new foreign secretary David Cameron on resolving the long-running row over trade and immigration arrangements. He told Spanish media that he had spoken with Lord Cameron over the phone on Monday, and they had also agreed to meet in person during a Brussels summit on Tuesday. The Spanish minister suggested the outline of a deal was now in place for a “zone of shared prosperity” in the Spanish area next to the British territory to avoid a hard border on the flow of people and goods. “I would sign a deal with Britain over Gibraltar tomorrow,” Mr Albares told the television channel Telecinco – saying both sides “agree that we have to move forward as soon as possible”. A UK-EU deal on arrangements for Gibraltar’s border – primarily on trade and free movement – was not struck in time for the Brexit deal worked out by Boris Johnson’s government. Conservative ministers have been nervous about signing any bilateral deal that could be viewed as reducing British influence over the territory. The Spanish foreign ministry has said the deal would allow Spain to use the Schengen agreement – which allows for the free movement of EU citizens around the bloc – to ease controls on the movement of people. Spain, the UK and the EU have previously agreed to the principle that Gibraltar should remain part of EU agreements on free movement. Mr Albares suggested the UK was also now keen on a frictionless border when it comes to the movement of goods – something akin to the thorny arrangements for Northern Ireland His ministry said a “zone of shared prosperity” deal would see limited checks “without increasing the risks for the EU internal market” – meaning the UK would have to agree to alignment on Brussels regulations. The Spanish foreign minister told reporters in Brussels: “I think this deal … is better for everyone than the application of European legislation after British citizens democratically decided to leave the European Union.” “There’s already been political will on the part of the Spanish government for many months,” Mr Albares said on the “generous and balanced deal on the table”. He added: “What’s needed now is that political will on the part of the United Kingdom to move forward decisively, which is what I’ve seen so far. But we won’t know until the end. Nothing will be agreed until it’s all agreed.” Despite optimism that a deal is now close, there was no word from Lord Cameron’s team on the prospects of an agreement being signed within days. Britain’s decision to leave the EU was very unpopular in the British overseas territory, where thousands of people cross the border with Spain every day for work. Just over 95 per cent of the territory’s population voted to stay in the EU in the 2016 referendum. The territory’s business leaders have been keen for a deal to be struck. Brian Reyes, editor of the Gibraltar Chronicle wrote: “Seven years on [from the Brexit referendum], the Brexit levanter still hangs over our heads.” Meanwhile, Lord Cameron is expected to try to meet EU Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic during his Brussels summit visit – his first trip to the EU capital since his fateful Brexit referendum. The foreign secretary is reportedly ready to raise the issue of post-Brexit tariffs set to be imposed on the automobile industry into force in January if he meets Mr Sefcovic this week. Mr Sunak’s government is pushing the EU Commission to agree to delay the costly new “rules of origin” set to damage the electric vehicle (EV) market due to come in at the start of 2024 as part of Mr Johnson’s trade deal. The Independent has contacted Lord Cameron’s team and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for comment. Read More ‘History and justice’ on side of Greek claim to Elgin Marbles, says minister Brexit red tape risks extending inflation crisis, retailers warn ‘Terrible legacy’ left by death of Bloody Sunday Parachute Regiment commander Hamas to release more hostages as thousands set for Gaza ceasefire march Lord Cameron says UK needs to engage with China Israeli safety depends on long-term Palestinian ‘security’, warns Cameron

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More than 60 Senate and House Democrats are pressing President Joe Biden to leverage "the full power of the executive branch" to combat gun violence in a new letter calling for a number of immediate actions to make the process of purchasing firearms safer and hold firearms dealers accountable.

Alex Murdaugh’s accomplice and friend Corey Fleming is now cooperating with the FBI over the convicted killer’s scheme to steal millions of dollars from his dead housekeeper’s family. Fleming, a longtime friend and law school classmate of the disgraced legal scion, accepted a plea deal with federal prosecutors this week over his involvement in Murdaugh’s financial fraud schemes. He appeared in federal court in South Carolina on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. At the court hearing, Fleming confessed that he had taken part in one of Murdaugh’s financial schemes – and admitted that he knew what he was doing when he did so. Prosecutors allege that Murdaugh orchestrated a financial fraud scheme which included stealing almost $4.3m from the estate of Gloria Satterfield and its insurance carriers. Satterfield was the Murdaugh’s longtime housekeeper who died in a mysterious “trip and fall” accident at the prominent family’s 1,700-acre Moselle estate in South Carolina in 2018 – the same property where Murdaugh shot dead his wife Maggie and adult son Paul three years later. Following her death, Murdaugh recommended that Satterfield’s sons hire his friend and fellow attorney Fleming to represent them in bringing a wrongful death claim against him, so that they could collect from his homeowner’s insurance policies. The insurance companies ultimately settled the estate’s claim for more than $4m – two payments of $505,000 and $3.8m. Murdaugh and Fleming then stole the settlement money for themselves and the housekeeper’s sons didn’t get a dime. Much of the stolen money was funneled through a fake “Forge” bank account which sought to imitate the legitimate and totally unrelated business Forge Consulting. In accepting the plea deal, Fleming admitted that he helped Murdaugh steal the insurance money meant for Satterfield’s sons and has agreed to cooperate with the FBI and US Attorney’s office in the case. He has also agreed to submit to polygraph tests and to turn over his law licences in South Carolina and Georgia. He faces up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when he is sentenced at a later date. He was released Thursday on a $25,000 unsecured bond. He is also facing separate state charges over the Satterfield case. Ronnie Richter, an attorney representing the Satterfield family, welcomed Fleming’s guilty plea. “This was a good day for justice because this is the first time anyone associated with the Satterfield case has pleaded guilty to anything,” he said. Fleming’s plea deal comes the same week that Murdaugh was indicted on a slew of new charges over their scheme. The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office announced on Wednesday that a federal grand jury had returned a 22-count indictment against the 54-year-old disgraced legal dynasty heir, charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. The convicted killer was already awaiting trial on more than 100 financial crimes charges over a decade-long multi-million-dollar fraud scheme where Murdaugh stole millions from his law firm and legal clients – a scheme he confessed to orchestrating when he took the stand at his murder trial. But, now he has been hit with a further 22 charges for what prosecutors describe as three separate schemes to steal money from personal injury clients he represented through his law firm. As well as the scheme with Fleming, prosecutors allege that Murdaugh ran a second scheme from at least September 2005 to September 2021, where he allegedly routed and redirected clients’ settlement funds into his own pocket including by directing his law firm colleagues to pay the funds directly into his personal account. In the third scheme, Murdaugh and his banker Russell Laffitte allegedly conspired from July 2011 to October 2021 to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. Laffitte, who was CEO of Palmetto State Bank at the time, acted as Murdaugh’s personal banker and as a custodian or conservator for some of his law firm clients. Laffitte then conspired to defraud those clients, with the two men diverting the money to themselves. Laffitte was convicted in November of financial fraud charges in connection to Murdaugh’s alleged white collar fraud schemes. Murdaugh faces up to 30 years in prison on the highest charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the new indictment. His other financial charges already amount to more than 700 years in prison if convicted. Even without the financial charges, Murdaugh will already spend the remainder of his life in prison after he was found guilty on 2 March of murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul on the family’s Moselle property back on 7 June 2021. Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison the day after the verdict. Satterfield, who worked for the family for more than 20 years, was found at the bottom of the steps leading into the family’s home. She never resumed consciousness and died from her injuries three weeks later on 26 February. At the time, Murdaugh claimed that she had tripped over the family’s dogs and hit her head, and her death was regarded as an accidental fall. However, her death certificate cited her manner of death as “natural” and no autopsy was ever carried out. Questions have been swirling around Satterfield’s death for the past few years as the string of deaths, stolen money and corruption surrounding Murdaugh came to light. In September 2021, an investigation was reopened into her death and investigators said they planned to exhume her body. Satterfield’s death isn’t the only mystery death tied to the South Carolina legal dynasty. A homicide investigation has also been opened into the 2015 death of Stephen Smith, who was found dead in the middle of a road in Hampton County. The openly gay 19-year-old had suffered blunt force trauma to the head and his death was officially ruled a hit-and-run. But Smith’s family have long doubted this version of events, with the Murdaugh name cropping up in several police tips and community rumours. At the time of his murder, Paul was also awaiting trial for the boat crash death of Mallory Beach. Read More Alex Murdaugh indicted on 22 new financial fraud charges for stealing money from dead housekeeper’s family Audio reveals Alex Murdaugh blaming dogs for housekeeper’s death – after he walked back claim five years later Stephen Smith’s body is exhumed after murder near Murdaugh home – as family offers $35k reward to catch killer

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Donald Trump pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday after being arrested and arraigned for conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election, the latest in his third – and potentially most serious – criminal case. The former president was indicted Monday on four charges as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the alleged conspiracy and the 6 January Capitol riot. The indictment also described six unnamed co-conspirators, though observers have credibly guessed most of their identities. The former president has railed against the indictment, calling for the “fake” case to be moved out of Washington DC where he claims it is “IMPOSSIBLE to get a fair trial”. The case has been assigned to US district judge Tanya Chutkan, a Barack Obama appointee. The next hearing is scheduled for 28 August. Read Trump’s full indictment from the January 6 grand jury Read More Trump appears to stumble over his name and age at arraignment Will Donald Trump go to prison? Trump was told not to talk to witnesses in 2020 election conspiracy case. That could be a challenge. What is an arraignment? Here’s what to expect following Trump’s indictment

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