Politics (Page 41)

R ishi Sunak has praised Joe Biden’s “experience” on China and foreign policy as “particularly valuable” after the signing of a new UK-US partnership. The Prime Minister reportedly noted the age difference between himself and the US President, describing his counterpart’s time in politics as “incredibly helpful” to “someone who is newer to this”. At 43, Mr Sunak is the youngest leader in the G7 group of industrial democracies, while Mr Biden is the oldest at 80. In an interview with CNN before returning to the UK on Friday morning, the Prime Minister said: “I find that President Biden’s experience is incredibly helpful, particularly on issues like China. I think there are, you know, few leaders anywhere who have spentContinue Reading

Former US president Donald Trump said he has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate. The Justice Department did not immediately publicly confirm the indictment which would ignite a federal prosecution and provide arguably the most perilous of legal threats against the former president. US media outlets said the indictment covered seven counts, Mr Trump said he is due in court in Miami on Tuesday afternoon – making him the first former US president to face federal criminal charges. He has already been indicted in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records and faces additional investigations in Washington and Atlanta that could lead to criminal charges. Former US president Donald Trump Mr TrumpContinue Reading

B oris Johnson’s resignation honours list could be published as soon as Friday, according to reports that also suggest two Tory MPs have been struck from it to avoid potentially damaging by-elections. An opposition party urged Rishi Sunak to put the list “through the shredder” following reports the Prime Minister has accepted his predecessor’s recommendations for peerages. But the Times reported that the long-awaited list has been trimmed, with casualties including former culture secretary Nadine Dorries and Sir Alok Sharma, president of the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow. The buck stops with Sunak – he must ensure that Johnson’s honours list is put through the shredder The pair were expected to stand down to take peerages, which would have leftContinue Reading

R ishi Sunak and Joe Biden stressed their “unwavering support” for Ukraine, with the president saying the US will help Kyiv for “as long as it takes”. The two leaders emphasised the need for long-term security arrangements for the war-torn nation as deterrence against aggression from Russian president Vladimir Putin. At a joint press conference at the White House on Thursday, Mr Biden was asked about hesitation about more funding for Ukraine among some lawmakers in the rival Republican Party. The Democratic US president said: “I believe we’ll have the funding necessary to support Ukraine as long as it takes. “And I believe that that support will be real, even though you hear some voices today on Capitol Hill aboutContinue Reading

Ministers have agreed to pay out €1.5 million to a refugee relocation scheme instead of following through with a past commitment to take in 350 additional international protection applicants. Ireland had agreed to take in the 350 applicants two years ago as part of a Europe-wide initiative to ease the burden on Mediterranean countries dealing with an influx of refugees from Africa. The Government has now opted to make the financial contribution of €1.5 million to the Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism instead of taking in the refugees. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the move reflected how circumstances had “changed fundamentally” in two years, with Ireland now under intense pressure having taken in about 100,000 refugees, from Ukraine and other countries, in theContinue Reading

P ermission to berth a barge housing asylum seekers at an east London docks has been rejected, it has been confirmed. London’s Royal Docks said it had informed the Home Office last month that water beside City Airport would not be appropriate as a potential location to moor one of its floating accommodation vessels for refugees. The use of barges is part of Government efforts to deter migrants from embarking on dangerous Channel crossings in small boats and to reduce the amount spent on hotels for those arriving in Britain via unlawful routes. Labour Mayor of London Mr Khan had set out his objections publicly to the suggestion a location in the capital could be chosen for such a vessel.Continue Reading

A legal challenge to the UK Government’s effective block on glass in Scotland’s deposit return scheme (DRS) is “unlikely to be fruitful”, according to Deputy First Minister Shona Robison. The UK Government’s decision to offer only a partial exemption to the Internal Market Act – the trade rules governing the countries of the UK – for the scheme, excluding glass and imposing other conditions, resulted in the DRS being delayed again. Lorna Slater, the Scottish Government minister tasked with implementing the initiative, announced on Wednesday it will be delayed until the English scheme is due to go live, which she said will be October 2025 at the earliest. Ms Robison said the possibility of a legal challenge had been exploredContinue Reading

A wave of price cuts announced by Tesco could mark a significant turning point for consumers in Ireland, the finance minister has said. Michael McGrath expressed confidence other retailers will follow suit after Tesco Ireland moved to reduce prices, by an average of 10 per ccent, on 700 products. Mr McGrath predicted grocery prices will begin falling across the board after 18 months of soaring inflation. “These reductions are very good news for consumers,” he told RTE Radio One. “And I think they’ll be warmly welcomed. Everybody has seen the really significant spike in prices over the last 18 months or so, so this could be a significant turning point in relation to grocery prices for consumers. “We know thatContinue Reading

The Prime Minister watched Washington Nationals take on Arizona Diamondbacks during his trip to the US. Fans were treated to a military flypast and both God Save the King and the Star Spangled Banner played by Royal Marines and US military bands. Mr Sunak mingled with players before the game and wore a Nationals jacket as he was cheered onto the pitch – although Nationals Park was far from full. The ceremonial first pitch at the UK-US Friendship Day was thrown by British army veteran Stuart Taylor after Downing Street rejected the idea of Mr Sunak throwing the ball in front of thousands of spectators. POOL/AFP via Getty Images “These sorts of things are pitched to us from time toContinue Reading

L ondon Mayor Sadiq Khan has said he opposes “in the strongest possible terms” any Home Office plans to moor another barge housing asylum seekers at the city’s Royal Docks. The east London docks, beside City Airport, was named in reports this week as a potential new site to house asylum seekers as part of Government efforts to crack down on Channel crossings. The Home Office has not confirmed any such plan, but Mr Khan said his office had been “recently made aware of Home Office proposals to use the Royal Docks”. The mayor said he opposed such plans “in the strongest possible terms”. The Government’s approach to asylum seekers is cruel and unworkable, and will be made worse byContinue Reading