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Business secretary hints UK could join European trade area | Politics News

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Business secretary hints UK could join European trade area | Politics News

The government has hinted it is open to joining a tariff-free trading scheme as part of its plan to “reset” its relationship with Europe.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds suggested that joining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention (PEM) could be acceptable as it “is not a customs union”.

Politics latest: Minister ‘hopes’ Southport killer dies in prison

The cabinet minister was speaking to the BBC following a meeting on Thursday with Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s trade commissioner responsible for post-Brexit negotiations.

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Mr Sefcovic had earlier told the broadcaster the EU would consider the UK joining the PEM, which allows for tariff-free trade of goods across Europe as well as some North African and Levantine nations.

Mr Reynolds described his comments as “incredibly positive” and “helpful”.

He added: “We can improve the terms of trade with the EU in a way which doesn’t revisit customs unions or single markets or the arguments of Brexit, and we can do that whilst pursuing closer trade links around the world.”

Mr Reynolds also declined to rule out a deal on food and farm products that would involve mirroring EU rules, known as “dynamic alignment”, saying this too didn’t cross any of the government’s “red lines”.

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Sir Keir Starmer has ruled out a return to the customs union or single market as part of his ambition for closer ties with Europe following the fractious post-Brexit years.

Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds MP
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Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds says joining the PEM could be acceptable

Labour’s 2024 manifesto instead pledged to “negotiate a veterinary agreement to prevent unnecessary border checks and help tackle the cost of food”. However, details of this have remained vague.

Mr Reynolds’ comments go further than Downing Street yesterday, when a spokesperson said the government did not “currently” have plans to join the PEM and would not “provide a running commentary”.

The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) told Sky News they would support the move, saying their research “indicates it would have majority support among UK businesses who trade in the European region”.

Read More:
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Labour MPs told to back EU youth mobility scheme

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Head of trade policy, William Bain, said: “Joining would reduce paperwork and costs for many UK firms as it would align rules and regulations on both sides in relation to the sourcing or components and raw materials used in exports.

“This would cover a wide range of markets for our exporters and give greater flexibility across supply and sourcing chains. “

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He added that new PEM rules are due to apply in 2026, which could make the transition easier, and recommended a cost-benefit analysis of the deal beforehand “as the advantages will vary by sector”.

The Lib Dems have also been pushing for closer ties with Europe, amid looming concerns over potential Trump tariffs.

Party leader Sir Ed Davey, who ultimately wants a return to the customs union, said ruling out the PEM proposal would be an “act of economic negligence”.

But on the other end of the political spectrum, the Conservatives accused Labour of “bending the knee” to the bloc.

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Dame Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, said: “These latest reports that the government might shackle us to the European Union are deeply concerning, and once again make clear that Keir Starmer and his chums are all too happy to put their ideology ahead of our national interest, no matter the cost.”

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David Lammy accused of ‘misleading’ MPs over ‘bonkers’ deal as Labour revolt looms

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Foreign Secretary David Lammy has been accused of misleading MPs over his “bonkers” agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

The draft agreement has faced a number of setbacks since it was announced in October, with Donald Trump poised to veto the deal as Mauritius demands even more concessions from the UK.


However, the latest row appears to have created a divide on Labour’s own benches.

Speaking at a Chagossian meeting at Portcullis House, Crawley MP Peter Lamb claimed there is “certainly evidence” that statements made in the Commons by the Foreign Secretary “do not appear to be true”.

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David Lammy

David Lammy

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The campaign group Chagossian Voices claimed Lammy has not met with them thoroughout negotiations concerning the archipelago.

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Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty reportedly met with the group twice after the accord was agreed but refused to discuss the negoations.

Doughty met with members of the Chagossian community on September 30 and October 3.

However, Foreign Office sources have insisted that officials remain in regular contact with Chagossians.

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Jean-Francois Nellan, who was present at both meetings, said the second discussion was just 10 minutes long.

Chagossians who attended the recent meeting also disagree with the Government about how Lammy considers indigenous interests.

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Carl Buckley, a lawyer working with Chagossian Voices, told the meeting: “We have a Secretary of State who is on the record saying, all of these [people] have been consulted when they have not.

“There is a refusal to correct the record, there is a refusal to respond to correspondence that they have sent. There is an utter refusal to engage with these people. So their humanity, their individuality, is being ignored.

Diego Garcia, Chagos IslandsDowning Street has defended the deal around the Chagos ArchipelagoREUTERS

“They were forcibly removed from their homes, but they are again being ignored now over 50 years later when we are discussing their homeland.”

Lamb added: “I’ve forwarded their [Chagossian Voices] correspondence again and asked for a response. Freedom of Information requests are going largely unanswered, the argument being national security, which I find very difficult with the questions that I was asking.”

He added: “There is certainly evidence that statements made in the house by the foreign secretary do not appear to be true.”

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Clarifying the situation, a Chagossian Voices spokesman told The Independent: “There has been no engagement. We never met with Lammy. And we only spoke to Stephen Doughty after the negotiations were over.”

David LammyForeign Secretary David LammyReuters

Shadow Armed Forces Mark Francois also said: “The Foreign Secretary’s benighted Chagos deal just staggers from one disaster to another. Not only are president Trump’s team clearly very unhappy with it, but now even Labour backbenchers are speaking out against it too.

“If David Lammy had any sense he would stop digging and abandon the whole bonkers plan, sooner rather than later.”

A Government spokesman said: “The negotiations were between the UK and Mauritius with our priority being to secure the full operation of the base on Diego Garcia.

“We recognise the importance of the islands to Chagossians and have worked to ensure this agreement reflects their interests. The UK government, under both the previous and current administration, has been engaged with Chagossians at both official and ministerial level during negotiations which first started in November 2022.

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“As part of the agreement, we will finance a new trust fund for Mauritius to use in support of the Chagossian community. We will work with Mauritius to start a new programme of visits for Chagossians to the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia. And Mauritius will be free to develop a programme of resettlement on the islands, other than Diego Garcia.”

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Truss told to ‘take a holiday’ as ex-PM’s Maga reinvention alarms Tories

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Truss told to ‘take a holiday’ as ex-PM’s Maga reinvention alarms Tories

Senior Tories want former prime minister Liz Truss to “take a holiday” and get out of the public gaze for “at least a year.”

The comments came after Ms Truss became a popular feature for Donald Trump’s Maga supporters and donors on the inauguration party circuit in Washington DC last week.

On Monday night just hours after Mr Trump was sworn in, the former prime minister, who lasted just 49 days in Downing Street, stood up at one of the official balls celebrating the inauguration and gave an impromptu speech.

Ms Truss is said to have repeated the line that Britain needs its own Trump and praised the incoming US president for “saving western civilisation”.

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Liz Truss at an event during the inauguration

Liz Truss at an event during the inauguration (REUTERS)

A source from the ball packed full of rightwing backers of the new administration said that “she got a huge ovation for her words”.

But the interventions are causing alarm in the Conservative Party with a number concerned that she is “becoming an embarrassment.” On Thursday, The Guardian reported that that current Tory leader Kemi Badenoch suggested at a shadow cabinet meeting she “wants Liz Truss to shut up for a while”.

Two Conservatives visiting DC for the Trump inauguration this week told The Independent: “She needs to take a holiday”, with one suggesting that it should be “for at least a year.”

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The scars left by the former prime minister’s disastrous mini-Budget and memories of The Daily Star’s lettuce campaign still linger.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has reportedly had enough of Ms Truss (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has reportedly had enough of Ms Truss (Jordan Pettitt/PA) (PA Wire)

Ms Truss is not commenting on the suggestions she should disappear from the public gaze for a while although an ally suggested that the comments would likely have the opposite effect.

When The Independent caught up with Ms Truss at an inauguration event she said she had “no intention of joining Reform” and would be staying with the Tories arguing “party support is a distraction at the moment.”

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However, her conversion to Trumpian Maga politics has astonished some observers, particularly on culture war issues.

Now posing as a hardliner against trans and LGBT rights and diversity issues it was pointed out by one former civil servant who worked for her when she was a senior minister in charge of these issues that she used to be described as “the Queen of woke”. When she held the equalities brief some trans rights reforms took place under her watch.

Ms Truss is a regular visitor to the powerful Heritage Foundation in Washington DC which led the way in developing the ultra-conservative Project 2025 policy manual for the Trump administration. But her presence there has caused division among senior members who are split over her past record as a minister.

One source noted: “Liz was originally against Brexit and was for David Cameron. She was the Queen of woke.”

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Tributes paid to woman who died after Plymouth attack

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Tributes paid to woman who died after Plymouth attack

Tributes have been paid to a woman, who died following a serious assault in Plymouth.

Claire Butler was pronounced dead in the early hours of Thursday having been taken to hospital after she was found injured on West Hoe Road, just before 21:00 GMT on Wednesday.

Her family paid tribute, describing her as an “energetic and beautiful soul, someone who cared for everyone”.

Devon and Cornwall Police arrested Paul Antony Butler, 53, on suspicion of murder on Thursday.

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A large police cordon was set up in the area and extensive searches were carried out on Thursday with dozens of officers involved.

On Friday, the cordon was lifted and officers were deployed to Marsh Mills, which the force confirmed was “part of ongoing inquiries into the Plymouth murder investigation”.

Ms Butler was in her forties and a lecturer at the University of Plymouth.

Hundreds of comments have flooded social media from her students, both past and present.

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Trump Team Is “Very, Very Sceptical” Of UK Government, Says Labour Peer Invited To Inauguration

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Trump Team Is “Very, Very Sceptical” Of UK Government, Says Labour Peer Invited To Inauguration

President Trump speaks at a ball after his inauguration, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington (Credit: AP Photo/Ben Curtis)


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Lord Glasman, the only UK Labour Party figure to be invited to President Trump’s inauguration, has told PoliticsHome that the team around Trump is “very, very sceptical about the Labour government”.

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“They want an alliance with the UK, à la Churchill or Thatcher,” Glasman said. “They are pro-worker, so they hate globalisation. A big part of MAGA square is working-class, and people like Steve Bannon and [JD] Vance are very engaged with that. 

“They are looking for the government to be their partner, but they don’t see any indication that they are.”

Labour peer Maurice Glasman is a founder of the Blue Labour movement, which combines a left-wing stance on the economy with conservative views on cultural issues.

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In an exclusive interview with PoliticsHome, he said he received his invitation to the inauguration from the Republican National Committee. “It was an invitation from the Republican Party, really, in the name of transatlantic dialogue,” he said.

Asked why he had been singled out for an invitation, Glasman explained that JD Vance, now US Vice-President, had sent the peer his book Hillbilly Elegy eight years ago and said he admired Blue Labour.

“I had no idea who he was. So we had two or three email exchanges that were very polite and measured, discussing globalisation and the status of workers who would be best-placed to represent that,” Glasman said.

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When he arrived in the US, Glasman said the Trump team were “extraordinarily friendly” to him. “They even presented me with a handmade pair of cowboy boots,” he added.

In attending the inauguration and Nigel Farage’s party overlooking the White House, Glasman confirmed that he met Vance, the Vice-President; Bannon, the former Trump strategist; and Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State. “They really opened the doors,” he said.

Glasman spent a significant amount of time with Farage in the US. “He is a Republican politician superstar over here. The queues were lined up, shaking his hand, offering him money, saying, ‘Any support you need, Nigel, we’re with you.’”

The peer said: “Nigel, I’ve got to say, was extremely generous in introducing me to people. I just had a chat with him and said, ‘We’re patriots, right? So, let’s just represent our country as best we can.’ He did that. He wasn’t partisan at all.“

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Asked how No 10 has felt about his attendance, Glasman replied: “It’s too early to judge. I’m obviously trying to communicate with them as best I can. 

“I’m not expecting them to do cartwheels when the Prime Minister wasn’t invited, the Foreign Secretary wasn’t. It’s a difficult moment for them, and I’m just doing my best to represent Labour and the government in the way that I can.”

While there have been many comments on social media about the significance of Keir Starmer not being invited to the inauguration, no UK prime minister appears to have visited the United States at the time of any presidential inauguration since records of visits began.

It was notable, however, that Glasman as a Labour figure was invited. And in a break with tradition, Trump did invite selected world leaders to join him on his inauguration day.

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The peer told PoliticsHome he had spent his visit “defending the Labour Party” by telling those around Trump: “You’ve mistaken us – we’re not a liberal party, we’re the Labour Party.”

Glasman also said he is planning to start a show on GB News – “Blue Labour versus Reform” – which will see him debate with Farage on a weekly basis.

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Tourist tax for Edinburgh visitors one step closer as council considers 5% levy | UK News

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A high angle view over central Edinburgh, with Princes Street busy with pedestrians on a sunny afternoon. Pic: iStock

People staying overnight in Edinburgh could face a tourist tax from next summer under plans being considered by the city’s council.

Council members are considering introducing a 5% levy on people staying in hotels, bed and breakfasts and other accommodation, including holiday lets.

A full council meeting is scheduled for Friday but due to the red weather warning in place for parts of Scotland, it will be held remotely rather than in person.

Council leader Jane Meagher has previously described the levy as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to invest in the city as it has the potential of raising up to £50m a year for the authority.

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It comes after Holyrood last year approved legislation giving councils across Scotland the ability to introduce such a charge.

Under the plans, the charge would be applied to bookings made after 1 May this year for stays from 24 July next year.

But the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) warned councillors against a “headlong rush to be the first” to introduce the charge.

Garry Clark, FSB’s development manager for Edinburgh and the East of Scotland, said: “Edinburgh’s small accommodation providers haven’t yet been given all the information necessary to plan for the potential impact on them.”

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He added: “It’s not too late for the council to make the sensible decision to pause the scheme and plan properly for its smooth implementation, rather than engaging in a headlong rush to be the first to implement the levy.”

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Ms Meagher said last week she was “focused on delivering a scheme that will be both fit for purpose and workable” and that would also “benefit our city, our residents and our visitors for many years to come”.

The council leader said: “At all stages of this process, we’ve listened to, and taken account of, the views of residents, industry and other stakeholders – and we mustn’t lose sight of just how much positivity there is for the scheme across all of these groups.”

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NFU President launches fresh attack on Labour over ‘abhorrent’ inheritance tax raid on farmers: ‘Completely inhumane!’

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President of the National Farmers’ Union Tom Bradshaw has launched a fresh attack on the Labour Government, claiming their inheritance tax raid on farmers is “unfair” and “abhorrent”.

Today, Bradshaw and NFU Cymru President Aled Jones handed in their petition on behalf of the union to 10 Downing Street, calling for a change in the proposed legislation.


Over 270,000 people have signed the petition in support of farmers, with Bradshaw warning on the petition’s official page that the tax will “deal a hammer blow to farming families” across Britain.

Speaking to GB News, Bradshaw told reporter Katherine Forster that the Government “are the only ones” who believe the raid is a “fair deal”.

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Tom Bradshaw

Bradshaw launched a fresh attack on Labour, claiming the inheritance tax changes are ‘completely inhumane’

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Bradshaw told the People’s Channel: “Over 270,000 people have supported our petition. We’d like to thank every one of them for their support.

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“It means so much to the farming industry, but food production is something that everyone in this country relies on.”

Detailing the impact on the farming industry, Bradshaw declared that confidence in the agricultural industry has been “completely broken”.

He explained: “Nobody wants to invest for the future and without that investment, there is no food security.

Tom Bradshaw and Aled Jones

Bradshaw and NFU Cymru president Aled Jones handed in their petition to 10 Downing Street today

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“We’ve seen the supermarkets all come out saying they’ve got serious concerns for the resilience of our food supply systems.”

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Expressing particular concern for elderly farmers, Bradshaw warned Labour that giving them “no time to plan” in how they will pass their farms on before the changes come into place is “completely inhumane”.

Bradshaw fumed: “These people that are in our community, that have given a lifetime to producing this country’s food, have no ability to plan. We’ve got 94-year-olds that still own the farm because until October 30, the very best tax advice was to keep the farm until death.

“They have no ability to plan their way through this. The abhorrent changes proposed are completely inhumane.”

He stated: “Putting those people in that position is completely unfair, and we have to get the Government to urgently look at changing the proposals so that we can take them out of the eye of this storm.”

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Tom Bradshaw

Bradshaw told GB News that confidence in the agricultural industry is ‘completely broken’

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Revealing the union’s next steps in their campaign against Labour’s changes, Bradshaw told GB News that more than “100 events” are planned for tomorrow, for farmers to “thank the public for their support” and get their message across to Government.

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Delivering his verdict on the tax raid, NFU Cymru president Aled Jones claimed that there is a “sense of betrayal” felt by farmers, following the Labour Goverment’s announcement in October’s Budget.

Jones said: “We were told a while ago that family farms were integral to this country, and farming and delivering food security was an essential part of national security. And farmers really took those messages and they were proud to deliver for this country.

“But there’s a sense of betrayal. It’s this utter sense of betrayal at the moment to think that those historic contributions that farmers made to this country is now being taken away from them. The breakup of family farms will be devastating for this country.”

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Ukraine claims strike on Russian oil refinery in huge drone attack

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Ukraine claims strike on Russian oil refinery in huge drone attack

Ukraine reportedly hit a Russian oil refinery and targeted Moscow during an attack involving a wave of at least 121 drones, one of the largest single operations of its kind during the war.

Video footage verified by the BBC shows a fireball rising over the refinery and pumping station in the Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow, which Ukrainian officials said was a target.

Russia said it had shot down 121 drones that had targeted 13 regions, including Ryazan and Moscow, but reported no damage.

Elsewhere, Ukrainian authorities said three people were killed and one was injured when a Russian drone hit a residential building in the Kyiv region.

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Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s centre for countering disinformation, said on Telegram that an oil refinery in Ryazan had been hit, as well as the Kremniy factory in Bryansk that Kyiv says produces missile components and other weapons.

Bloggers on Telegram posted images and videos of fires raging at the Ryazan facility, which covers around 6sq km (2.3sq miles). Verified footage shows people fleeing from the site in cars and on foot as a fireball rises into the sky.

BBC Verify used video footage to establish the location of two fires at the refinery. One video shows a fire near the northern entrance, whose location was matched by the road layout, signs and fences.

Two other videos show a larger fire on the eastern side of the refinery, around 3km (1.6m) away from the first. The location was identified by matching trees, pylons, road and path layouts.

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Russian state-owned news agency RIA cited a statement from the Kremniy factory in Bryansk, which said work had been suspended after an attack by six drones. Pavel Malkov, the regional governor, said emergency services were responding.

The Kremlin acknowledged the attacks but made no mention of damage or casualties.

It claimed to have destroyed 121 Ukrainian drones, including six over the Moscow region, 20 in the Ryazan region, and a number over the border region of Bryansk.

Sergei Sobyanin, Moscow’s mayor, said the city’s air defences had intercepted attacks by Ukrainian drones at four locations.

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He said air defences southeast of the capital in Kolomna and Ramenskoye had also repelled drones, without specifying how many. He said there was no damage.

Russian news agencies quoted Rosaviatsiya, the federal aviation agency, as saying two Moscow airports, Vnukovo and Domodedovo, had resumed flights after suspending operations for a time. Six flights were redirected to other airports.

In the city of Kursk, Mayor Igor Kutsak said overnight attacks had damaged power lines and cut off electricity to one district.

In Ukraine, officials said that its air defences had destroyed 25 of 58 drones launched overnight by Russia.

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The interior ministry said debris from one of the drones had killed two men and a woman in Hlevakha, Kyiv region, and that another person had been injured.

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John Healey confirms law change to force offenders to face sentencing after ‘cowardly’ decision

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Defence Secretary John Healey has confirmed the Labour Government will move to introduce legislation this year forcing criminals to attend their sentencing hearings.

Healey, who appeared on GB News this morning, made the announcement following the absence of Southport killer Axel Rudakubana during his sentencing at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday.


Speaking to the People’s Channel, Healey said it was “cowardly” and “contemptible” of Rudakubana to not attend.

Healey added: “He should have been in court to look them in the eye and face the justice that he has deserved.”

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Axel Rudakubana sketch, John Healey

John Healey confirmed that the law ‘will change’ to ensure offenders are in court to hear their sentencing handed to them

PA / GB News

The new legislation is expected to allow courts to require attendance in extreme cases and may include measures such as extending sentences for non-compliance.

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Detailing the legislation, Healey told GB News that offenders will be “forced if necessary” to attend their sentencings, and “other measures” will be considered including “extending their sentences”.

However, when pressed on whether the law will be changed to reduce the age in which offenders under the age of 18 can be handed a whole life order, Healey asserted that the current legislation is “in line with international law”.

Healey explained: “On the technicality of the whole life sentences, I think it’s important to know that the last government did reduce it to 18, in line with international law, after the Manchester Arena bombings, and that still stands.

“It is consistent with the international law that still stands, but there are a range of other aspects of law, of agencies who have failed in this case to step in. They knew about this man’s extreme violence, but they failed to take any steps that might have prevented it.”

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Axel RudakubanaRudakubana, 18, was sentenced to a minimum term of 52 years in prison on ThursdayPA

Delivering his verdict on the Southport attack, Healey admitted that he “struggled to get his breath” as he read the impact statements of the surviving victims and their families.

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The Defence Secretary told the People’s Channel: “This is a day of horror, and for all of us reading the reports from the court yesterday and the sentencing, quite honestly, I struggled to get my breath as I read about the savagery and the horror and attack.

“It was quite clear Rudakubana would have killed all 26 of those young girls in that dance class if he could.”

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Offering his “respect” to the judge Justice Goose for the sentence given, Healey added: “He’s made clear that this man is unlikely ever to be let out, and that’s something that I would like to see – I’m happy to see him in jail for the rest of his life.”

Citing the national inquiry into the Southport attack and the apparent failings of several agencies in preventing Rudakubana from committing his crime, Healey hoped that “changes will be made” to those agencies in light of the inquiry’s findings.

John Healey

Healey told GB News that they will ‘use force if necessary’ to ensure offenders are in court for sentencing

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Healey concluded: “There may be changes in the programs that are designed to deal with this sort of extremism, and that’s what the inquiry now will do.

“Keir Starmer has said that inquiry is open and any changes that it looks to make will be considered, because it’s a way not just of honouring the memory of the victims to ensure they get justice, but in their memory, we make and deliver the changes required.”

Rudakubana was repeatedly removed from court during his sentencing hearing for disruptive behaviour.

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The 18-year-old then refused to be present for the victim impact statements and the sentencing itself, in which he was given a minimum of 52 years in prison.

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Prince Harry told to ‘spend less’ by judges in case against Daily Mail publishers

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Prince Harry has been told that he and fellow claimants taking legal action against the Daily Mail publishers must spend £14m less on costs.

The Duke of Sussex is among a group of people – including Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, actor Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley, and politician Sir Simon Hughes – who are bringing legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over alleged misuse of private information.

ANL firmly denies the allegations and is defending the legal action.

The two sides had proposed to spend more than £38.8m in the legal claim combined, with the claimants proposing to spend around £18.7m.

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But Judge Cook said he and Mr Justice Nicklin “had little difficulty concluding that such sums were manifestly excessive and therefore disproportionate”.

On Friday, the two High Court judges ruled that the claimants could instead spend around £4.1m, and ANL around £4.5m, in the case.

ANL, which firmly denies the allegations, previously told the court that the accusations are “lurid” and “simply preposterous.

ANL, which firmly denies the allegations, previously told the court that the accusations are “lurid” and “simply preposterous. (PA Archive)

Judge Cook said: “Costs management is not an exercise of reducing the parties’ costs to an irreducible minimum but setting reasonable and proportionate parameters.”

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The Duke of Sussex has accused the publisher of allegedly commissioning unlawful activities, including hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, recording private phone conversations “blagging” private records, and even burglaries to order.

ANL, which firmly denies the allegations, previously told the court that the accusations are “lurid” and “simply preposterous.

During the hearing last November, Mr Justice Nicklin said his “objective” was to progress the claim to trial, which he said could start on January 14 2026. He stated that the “anticipated length of the trial will be 45 days”.

The Duke of Sussex has accused the publisher of allegedly commissioning unlawful activities,

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The Duke of Sussex has accused the publisher of allegedly commissioning unlawful activities, (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

In a 10-page ruling, Judge Cook said the legal claims were “really rather simple” and wrote: “The claimants will either succeed or fail in demonstrating the proposition. If the relevant claimant fails, that will be the end of the claim in respect of that article.

“If the claimant succeeds, the question of remedy will arise and on this issue the law is clear.”

Judge Cook continued: “This is not to downplay the complexity of the factual issues that may arise in the litigation, but it puts these claims in the context of the sorts of litigation that come before the courts.

“The fact that these claimants are well-known, and the litigation high-profile, does not affect the issues that must be resolved.”

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The ruling comes days after Prince Harry settled his legal action against the publishers of The Sun newspaper, receiving a rumoured eight-figure settlement and a “full and unequivocal apology” for intrusion into his private life.

The Duke of Sussex settled his claim against News Group Newspapers, which offered a full and unequivocal apology (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

The Duke of Sussex settled his claim against News Group Newspapers, which offered a full and unequivocal apology (Jordan Pettitt/PA) (PA Archive)

The duke and Lord Tom Watson, the former deputy Labour leader, had taken legal action against the publisher over allegations of unlawful information gathering.

It has been described as a “monumental victory” for Prince Harry against the British press and came after he secured a separate victory against the publishers behind The Mirror in 2023.

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Premier League: Erling Haaland, Kevin de Bruyne, Son Heung-min – best Bundesliga transfers

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Premier League: Erling Haaland, Kevin de Bruyne, Son Heung-min - best Bundesliga transfers

Following Manchester City’s signing of Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush, BBC Sport looks back at some of the players that have had the biggest impact in the Premier League after moving from Germany’s Bundesliga.

WATCH MORE: Shearer, Aguero, Welbeck – best Premier League debut goals

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