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☆ Britain's Sunak boosts defence spending to try to silence critics
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Elizabeth Piper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

With his government unveiling the update to Britain's national security and international policy, Sunak, on a visit to the U.S., will also set out an "ambition" to increase defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product in the longer term. He said his previous increases to defence spending showed he was a man of his word, and described the new commitments as a "strong and positive statement". COUNTERING CHINAMeeting U.S. President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Sunak will want to underline that the increase in spending will only bolster the AUKUS pact. Instead, Britain will seek to engage China and be robust in defending the things it cares about, he said. The island, increasingly concerned about the threat from China, was left out of the earlier document which was published in 2021.

☆ Britain denies plan to expel asylum seekers breaks law
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We are confident that we are complying with the law, domestic and international," she told the BBC. Under the government's plans, almost all asylum seekers who reach Britain in small boats will be detained without bail before they are deported to their home country or, if this is not safe, another destination such as Rwanda. They will also lose the right to challenge their deportation while in Britain, and once deported will be automatically banned from returning. Last year, a record 45,000 people came to Britain in small boats across the Channel, mainly from France. If everyone who arrived in small boats last year were detained, this would be equal to about half of Britain's total prison population.

☆ EX-UK leader Boris Johnson nominates father for knighthood - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Times said Johnson had put forward as many as 100 names for awards. The newspaper did not specify what service Stanley Johnson's nomination was in acknowledgement of. All departing British leaders are entitled to draw up a "resignation honours" list that bestows knighthoods and other titles. Opposition Labour's health policy chief Wes Streeting told the BBC: "I think (his resignation honours list) speaks to a pattern of Boris Johnson's behaviour around cronyism." As prime minister, Johnson in 2020 elevated his brother Jo Johnson to the House of Lords, the upper chamber of parliament, where he has a seat for life.

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - British former Prime Minister Boris Johnson will give evidence later this month to an inquiry into whether he intentionally misled parliament about illegal parties at his Downing Street office and residence during COVID-19 lockdowns. "Mr Johnson has accepted the Committee's invitation to give oral evidence in public in the week beginning 20 March," the Committee of Privileges said in a statement. He argues he was not aware that any of the events taking place at Downing Street broke COVID-19 rules. 'OBVIOUS'The committee said the evidence "strongly suggests that breaches of guidance would have been obvious" to Johnson at the time he was at the gatherings. There is evidence that those who were advising Johnson were concerned he was breaking the rules, it added.

☆ UK to extend energy bill help for 3 months - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Government subsidies are scheduled to be scaled back from next month, meaning average annual bills would rise to 3,000 pounds ($3,600) from 2,500 pounds now. Hunt is due to deliver a budget statement on March 15, when any extension to the level of support could be announced. "The Chancellor has been clear that we will keep all our support under review... we are already doing all we can to support people struggling with high energy bills," a spokesperson for prime minister Rishi Sunak said on Friday. Hunt can count on a roughly 30-billion-pound windfall as he prepares his budget, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). Keeping the current level of energy subsidies would cost 2.7 billion pounds until the end of June, based on current energy price forecasts, the IFS estimated this week.

☆ UK's Sunak in Belfast to start selling his new Brexit deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Sachin Ravikumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sunak struck a deal with the European Union on Monday to ease restrictions on trade between Northern Ireland and Britain, and to give lawmakers on the ground a greater say over the rules and regulations they follow from Brussels. Its success is likely to hinge on whether it convinces the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to end its boycott of Northern Ireland's power-sharing arrangements. These were central to the 1998 peace deal which mostly ended three decades of sectarian and political violence in Northern Ireland. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers a statement on the Northern Ireland Protocol, at the House of Commons in London, Britain, February 27, 2023. UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via REUTERS"We listened very, very carefully to the people, the businesses and the elected representatives in Northern Ireland," he said.

☆ A risk taken, UK's Sunak announces the Windsor Framework
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Elizabeth Piper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

But it was secrecy that fostered suspicion among two big hitters in the years-long Brexit debate - the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Northern Ireland's biggest unionist party, and the pro-Brexit Conservative European Research Group (ERG). "I am pleased to report that we have now made a decisive breakthrough, together we have changed the original protocol and are today announcing the new Windsor framework," Sunak told a news conference. Then both former leaders had threatened to rip up the Northern Ireland protocol with legislation in parliament and their administrations had regularly criticised the EU for being overly legalistic and inflexible. Pressing pause on the Northern Ireland Protocol bill which would all but rip up the earlier agreement, he saw solving the Northern Ireland standoff as a concrete "win" for his administration which has struggled to establish itself. But Sunak still has to win over not only some of his lawmakers in the ERG, but more importantly the DUP.

☆ Setting out growth plan, UK opposition Labour warn Britain is in downward spiral
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Britain's Labour Party leader Keir Starmer prepares for his speech to delegates at Britain's Labour Party's annual conference in Liverpool, Britain, September 26, 2022. Labour has promised to ensure Britain has the fastest growing economy among the G7 on a sustained basis if it wins power. Britain's economy narrowly avoided a recession according to data published earlier this month, but faces a difficult 2023 as the effects of double-digit inflation hit households. Labour cited the latest available World Bank data showing Gross Domestic Product per capita in Britain at $44,979 in 2021 and $34,915 in Poland. The party said that, based on average 0.5% annual growth between 2010 and 2021 in Britain, that figure would fall behind Poland's per capita GDP by 2030 if Poland kept up its 3.6% average annual growth.

☆ EU's von der Leyen to travel to UK for Northern Ireland Brexit talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The leaders of Britain and the European Union will hold face-to-face talks in London on Monday as they seek to finalise a new deal for Northern Ireland's post-Brexit trading arrangements, the two sides said on Sunday. "President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak agreed to continue their work in person towards shared, practical solutions for the range of complex challenges around the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland," the joint statement said. "President von der Leyen will therefore meet with the prime minister in the UK tomorrow." London and Brussels have been engaged in talks for months to ease trading frictions in the British province but the test will be whether the changes will satisfy some Brexit supporters in the governing Conservative Party or the biggest unionist party in Northern Ireland. Reporting by William James; writing by Kate Holton, editing by Elizabeth PiperOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Sturgeon, in office since 2014, unexpectedly announced last week she was resigning as first minister of Scotland’s semi-autonomous government, saying she had become too divisive. The frontrunner to succeed her and become the next leader of her Scottish National Party (SNP) is Humza Yousaf, a Sturgeon loyalist who faces criticism for his record in government. The campaign so far has been dominated by a debate about views on social issues such as gay marriage, transgender rights and abortion. "The big fundamental question of facing the party... is how it's going to acquire majority support in Scotland for independence: That question has not been addressed." Reporting by Alistair Smout, Andrew MacAskill and Elizabeth Piper; editing by John StonestreetOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Britain 'warming up' weapon output to help Ukraine, says defence minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Elizabeth Piper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is helped off a tank during a visit to Bovington Camp, a British Army military base in Dorset, to view Ukrainian soldiers training on Challenger 2 tanks, Britain February 22, 2023. In an interview with Reuters in southwest England where officers are training Ukrainian crews on Challenger-2 tanks, Wallace said he believed Britain was in a good place to help Ukraine but needed to sustain the provision of weapons. 'REASSURED'Standing at a tank training ground surrounded by armoured fighting vehicles and tanks, Wallace spoke to Ukrainian soldiers who were training to use Britain's Challenger tanks which the defence minister said would arrive in Ukraine in "the spring". London has also offered to train Ukrainian soldiers on war planes rather than delivering fighter jets as yet. Wallace said Britain could offer additional Challenger tanks to the 14 already promised, but that it would depend on the threat level and also the country's defence needs.

☆ Scottish finance minister Kate Forbes to run for country's leadership
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Scottish finance minister Kate Forbes said on Monday she would run in the leadership contest to replace Nicola Sturgeon as Scottish National Party (SNP) leader and Scotland's first minister. Forbes, who was elected to the Scottish parliament in 2016 and became finance secretary in 2020, is the third candidate to enter the race since Sturgeon's surprise resignation last week. Forbes, a Christian, was among senior politicians who urged the Scottish government in 2019 not to rush into gender reform legislation. Health minister Humza Yousaf and former minister Ash Regan have said they will run in the contest to replace Sturgeon. Two other possible contenders, 53-year-old culture minister Angus Robertson, a former deputy leader of the party, and John Swinney, the 58-year-old deputy first minister, have ruled themselves out.

☆ Explainer: Talks on post-Brexit Northern Ireland trade edge closer to deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

WHAT IS THE NORTHERN IRELAND PROTOCOL? Northern Ireland also remains part of the UK's customs territory. That effectively created a customs border in the sea between Britain and Northern Ireland, which pro-British communities say erodes their place within the UK. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Northern Ireland's biggest unionist party, also says the province should not have to follow laws without having a say. According to so-called dynamic alignment, this also means that any new EU acts may also be added to those that apply in Northern Ireland.

☆ Explainer: What is the Northern Ireland protocol?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] A truck parked beside a 'money changed' sign is seen on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland near Jonesborough, Northern Ireland, October 13, 2021. WHAT IS THE NORTHERN IRELAND PROTOCOL? Northern Ireland also remains part of the UK's customs territory, effectively creating a customs border in the sea between Britain and Northern Ireland. The protocol specifies those EU regulations and directives with which Northern Ireland must remain aligned, and means new EU acts may be added to those that apply in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Protocol bill, if passed by parliament, would give the British government the power to unilaterally decide to all but renege on the agreement.

NATO has just completed an extraordinary survey of the remaining munition stocks, a NATO official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "Those NATO (munitions targets) that we set, and each ally has a specific target, those were not being met for the most part (before the Ukraine war)," the official said. "I would be absolutely gobsmacked if the targets…were not increased," said the NATO official. After the Cold War, the production of ammunition had turned "quite artisanal", said the NATO official. "I don't necessarily think that within the next year our stockpile levels will increase massively," the NATO official said.

☆ Factbox: Will Ukraine get Western fighter jets and what are the challenges?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday several Western countries were ready to provide Kyiv with aircraft to defeat Russia's invasion. Ukraine has been asking allies to provide modern fighter jets - dubbed "wings for freedom" in Zelenskiy's speech to British lawmakers this week - to replace its ageing fleet of Soviet MiG and Sukhoi planes. WILL UKRAINE GET THE FIGHTER JETS? Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson did not rule out sending fighter jets but played down expectations, saying the issue was not on Stockholm's agenda at the moment. The Kremlin has said that Western countries would be moving towards direct conflict with Russia if they send jets.

Zelenskiy will arrive in London for only his second foreign visit since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, after Sunak pledged to expand the training of Ukrainian troops to include fighter jet pilots and marines. Britain said the training would ensure Ukrainian pilots were able to fly "sophisticated NATO-standard fighter jets in the future". In London, he is expected to tell Zelenskiy he will accelerate the delivery of military equipment to Ukraine. Britain has trained 10,000 Ukrainian troops brought to battle readiness in the last six months and will upskill a further 20,000 soldiers this year, the government said. London has so far refused to deliver fighter jets, saying it was not "the right approach" for now.

☆ UK PM Sunak expected to launch reshuffle to better suit his priorities
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to launch a mini reshuffle on Tuesday, breaking up two departments to better suit his pledge to spur the economy and turn around his party's fortunes before an election expected next year. Sources confirmed reports from the Sun and the Times newspapers late on Monday that there were plans to break up the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)and the department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). He was also expected to name the new chair of the party, a position made ever more important before the next national election expected in 2024, after Nadhim Zahawi was sacked over his tax affairs. He has so far failed to reduce the commanding lead in the opinion polls held by the opposition Labour Party, which is increasingly presenting itself as Britain's next government. Reporting by Elizabeth Piper and Sinead Cruise; Editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK PM Rishi Sunak may announce mini cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak may announce a mini reshuffle of his Cabinet on Tuesday and is considering breaking up the government's business department into three separate ministries, a source familiar with the discussions said on Monday. The reshuffle of ministers comes just over a week after Sunak sacked Conservative Party chair Nadhim Zahawi over his tax affairs, and as the government has fallen further behind the main opposition Labour Party in opinion polls. Sunak's office declined to comment on the possible reshuffle, which was first reported by The Sun. The government's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) could be broken up to see a new energy department, with business and trade merged. The governing Conservative party is currently around 20 percentage points behind Labour in most polls.

☆ UK's shortest-serving PM Liz Truss blames economic 'orthodoxy' for downfall
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Former British prime minister Liz Truss blamed on Sunday the economic "orthodoxy" in the country's finance ministry, other nations and in parts of the governing Conservative Party for derailing her premiership and "plan for growth". But she was not successful, she wrote, because she had underestimated "the blob of vested interests" and orthodoxy. "As I had spelled out during the leadership campaign, I wanted to go for growth ... But this was not in line with the instinctive views of the Treasury (finance ministry) or the wider orthodox economic ecosystem." Grant Shapps, business minister, said everyone wanted lower taxes but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government had to focus on reducing debt, bringing down inflation and boosting growth first.

☆ Britain faces largest ever healthcare strikes as pay disputes drag on
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Sachin Ravikumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Unfortunately, we've been seeing a situation with the ambulance unions where they refuse to provide that information," he said. Ambulance workers have denied Shapps' allegation. Sharon Graham, leader of the Unite union, told the BBC on Sunday she wanted Sunak to come to the negotiating table, accusing the government of lying about ambulance workers. Not all ambulance workers will strike at once and emergency calls will be attended to. In Wales, nurses and some ambulance workers have called off strikes planned for Monday as they review pay offers from the Welsh government.

☆ Bank of England and Treasury think UK is 'likely' to need digital currency, the Telegraph reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The Bank of England (BoE) and Britain's finance ministry think the UK is likely to need to create a central bank digital currency (CBDC) later this decade, the Telegraph newspaper reported on Saturday, citing an unreleased government report. The BoE declined to comment on the Telegraph article, but said a joint consultation on CBDC issues would be published shortly. BoE Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe is due to give a speech on Tuesday to update the finance industry on the BoE's CBDC work. The European Central Bank is working on a digital version of its currency and is in the process of outlining the broader design. Last month it said it would not offer personal bank accounts but would allow person-to-person payments.

☆ 'No magic wand' in Ukraine war, says UK's Wallace on question of supplying jets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Elizabeth Piper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PORTSMOUTH, England, Feb 2 (Reuters) - British defence minister Ben Wallace said there was "no magic wand" that could help Ukraine in its fight against Russia, when asked on Thursday about the possibility of supplying British fighter jets to be used by Ukrainian forces. "There is no magic wand in this horrendous conflict," Wallace told reporters at Portsmouth in southern England, home to a naval base. Earlier on Thursday, Sunak's spokesman said the quickest a pilot could learn to fly a British fighter jet was 35 months. "Even if tomorrow morning we announce that we were going to put them in fast jets, that would take months," Wallace said. On Wednesday, Wallace said Britain had not made a "solid decision" not to send its fighter jets to Ukraine but does not think it is the right approach at the moment.

☆ UK and EU reach post-Brexit customs deal for N.Ireland-The Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A 'no entry' sign is seen near the Stormont Parliament Buildings in Belfast, Northern Ireland June 13, 2022. The EU has accepted a plan that would avoid the need for routine checks on products going into Northern Ireland, the newspaper reported on Tuesday. Both sides were also hammering out details of a veterinary checks deal, The Times said. A UK government spokesperson said its priority is to protect the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and to preserve political stability in Northern Ireland and the UK internal market. After months of tensions between London, Brussels, Belfast and Dublin, progress has recently been made in the dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

☆ 'I acted pretty decisively', says UK's Sunak after sacking party chair
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday he had acted "pretty decisively" by sacking Conservative Party chair Nadhim Zahawi over his personal tax affairs, moving to quell criticism that he had acted too slowly. He said he had moved quickly to sack Zahawi, who was briefly finance minister last year under former prime minister Boris Johnson, when his independent adviser ruled that the party chair had broken the rules guiding the behaviour of ministers. The opposition Labour Party has described Sunak as being too weak to deal with his party, which ousted two prime ministers last year over scandal and economic chaos. Sunak now faces a challenge to appoint a new chair to the Conservative Party, a position made ever more important before an election widely expected next year. Late last year, Gavin Williamson resigned from Sunak's cabinet team of top ministers over bullying allegations, while Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab is under investigation on bullying charges.

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