US debt ceiling: Joe Biden expected to sign legislation two days before deadline June 3, 2023 President Joe Biden is expected to sign legislation to raise the US debt ceiling, just two days before the US Treasury warned that the country would struggle to pay its bills. The bipartisan measure, which was approved this week by the US house and senate, eliminates the potential for an unprecedented government default. “Passing this [...]
Boris Johnson sends ‘all unredacted WhatsApps’ to Covid inquiry – going around the cabinet office June 2, 2023 Boris Johnson said he has sent “all unredacted WhatsApps” directly to the Covid-19 inquiry ahead of a legal clash between the probe and the Cabinet Office over access to the messages. The former prime minister told the inquiry’s chairwoman Baroness Hallett he would “like to do the same” with messages that are on an old [...]
Government preparing for legal fight with Covid inquiry (it set up) over Boris Johnson WhatsApp messages June 2, 2023 Ministers are preparing for a high-profile legal battle with the Covid-19 inquiry as the Government seeks to challenge the request for Boris Johnson’s unredacted WhatsApp messages and notebooks. Bereaved families and opposition parties hit out at the Government after the Cabinet Office took the highly unusual step of seeking a judicial review of inquiry chairwoman [...]
US Senate approves debt ceiling bill narrowly avoiding traumatic default June 2, 2023 The US Senate approved a deal to lift the debt ceiling yesterday, avoiding a traumatic federal default by a matter of days. 63 senators backed the proposals on Thursday night after the deal secured bipartisan support in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said ahead of voting that the Bill’s [...]
Watch: US President Joe Biden, 80, falls over after a speech June 2, 2023 US President Joe Biden fell over after giving a speech thanking US air force academy graduates for choosing “service over self”. He said they now have the “great privilege” of leading in a world that will only get more confusing in the years to come, and then stumbled on stage after handing out diplomas to graduates. “Graduates, [...]
Gordon Brown leads new campaign for radical UK reform – with focus away from London June 1, 2023 A group of leading Labour politicians has banded together to campaign for reform of the UK – with the focus on political and economic centres outside of London. Led by former prime minister Gordon Brown, Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin and Scottish Labour leader Anas [...]
‘Ukraine’s rightful place is in Nato’: Rishi Sunak promises Kyiv ‘security arrangements’ June 1, 2023 Ukraine’s “rightful place” is in Nato, Rishi Sunak has said. The Prime Minister is in Moldova for a gathering of European leaders, with his comments coming after a meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. Kyiv has long called for Ukraine to be admitted to Nato, but allies are divided about when and how any accession [...]
Sunak ‘putting tackling legal migration top of the agenda’ at European summit June 1, 2023 Rishi Sunak is seeking to put “tackling illegal migration top of the international agenda” at a gathering of European leaders in Moldova. The Prime Minister is stressing the need for collaboration on the “global issue” at a meeting of the European Political Community. While there, he is expected to announce the start of negotiations on [...]
Labour MP Geraint Davies suspended over ‘incredibly serious allegations of unacceptable behaviour’ June 1, 2023 Labour has suspended MP Geraint Davies pending an investigation into reports of “incredibly serious allegations of completely unacceptable behaviour”. The decision to administratively suspend the Swansea West MP means he will have the whip removed in Westminster while a review is carried out. It follows claims against the veteran politician, which were reported by the [...]
Zahawi, Patel and Rees-Mogg lead calls to abolish ‘morally wrong’ inheritance tax June 1, 2023 Senior Tory MPs including former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi are calling for inheritance tax to be abolished. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt face a call from more than 50 of his MPs to scrap the tax, according to The Telegraph. Writing in the newspaper, Mr Zahawi suggested scrapping the tax and said it [...]