Biden agrees to meeting with Putin while 7,000 more Russian troops arrive on border with Ukraine February 21, 2022 US president Joe Biden has agreed “in principle” to a meeting with Vladimir Putin, provided Russia holds off on what American officials believe is an imminent assault on Ukraine. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the US administration has been clear that America is “committed to pursuing diplomacy until the moment an invasion begins”. [...]
Disbelief Home Office is scrapping ‘Golden visas’ for wealthy foreign as scheme raked in £17bn February 21, 2022 Industry experts have responded with disbelief to last weeks’ news that the Government is set to scrap a visa scheme that offers investors fast-track residency in the UK as ministers come under mounting pressure to sever economic ties with Russia. The fast-track investor scheme, introduced in 2008, was designed to tempt wealthy investors from outside [...]
Boris Johnson to outline next phase of Covid plan as England drops all restrictions February 20, 2022 Boris Johnson will tomorrow bring forward the government’s plan for the next phase of Covid as England prepares to drop all pandemic restrictions. Johnson today told the BBC that it was time to change England’s Covid strategy to his “living with Covid-19 plan” and that “now is the moment for everybody to get their confidence [...]
Government opens consultation into Huawei switch-off following six month Covid delay February 20, 2022 The government have launched a consultation with telecoms firms on controlling the use of Huawei in the UK following the announcement this week that it had delayed the removal by six months due to Covid. Ministers had originally planned to cut the share of Huawei equipment to 35 per cent of the full fibre and [...]
The Queen has ‘mild’ symptoms after testing positive for Covid-19 February 20, 2022 Buckingham palace has announced Britain's monarch has tested positive for Covid-19 and is experiencing "mild cold-like symptoms."
Major Tory donors offered access to ministers through secret ‘advisory council’ February 20, 2022 Leaked documents have revealed that major Tory donors, including several billionaires, have been offered wide-ranging access to ministers through a secret “advisory council”. The Sunday Times reports that the 14 permanent members of the group, who have all donated at least £250,000, were given access to ministers to lobby on behalf of their companies throughout [...]
Lufthansa suspends all fights to Ukraine amid invasion fears February 20, 2022 Lufthansa has announced it will be suspending all flights to the Ukraine capital Kyiv from tomorrow as fears of a Russian invasion grow. The German airline said it will also stop flights to Odessa, a key port city on the Black Sea. The response contrasts to the Irish budget airline Ryanair and the Hungarian Wizz [...]
Gazprom’s European gas supplies drop to decade low amid fractured unity over sanctions February 20, 2022 Gazprom's European gas supplies has fallen to 10-year lows, while Germany and Italy fret over sanctions reducing their energy reserves.
Russian invasion of Ukraine ‘very, very likely and very, very imminent’, says minister February 20, 2022 A Russian invasion of Ukraine is “very, very likely and very, very imminent”, Europe minister James Cleverly has said. Cleverly said today that “at the moment, an attack, an invasion seems far more likely than unlikely but we will continue to work to try and avert that”. Boris Johnson last night said Russia was planning [...]
‘Leave it alone’: Tory MPs push back against Channel 4 privatisation plans February 20, 2022 Senior Tory MPs have urged the Prime Minister to drop the Channel 4 privatisation push this morning. In a letter to Boris Johnson, the MPs, including former culture secretary Karen Bradley and ex-cabinet minister Damian Green, said that a case for privatisation had not been made and the move would undermine the founding vision of [...]