India launches air strikes on Pakistan, as UK ready to ‘support’ deescalation Politics The UK is ready to “support” both India and Pakistan to de-escalate tensions following an exchange of fire between the two nations, a minister has said. Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the situation in Kashmir was “hugely worrying”, just hours after signing a billion pound trade deal that had been three years in the making. [...]
Exclusive: City firms matched with UK diplomats in growth push Politics Top City firms including Big Four consultancies are hosting Foreign Office diplomats as part of the department’s efforts to become the “salesforce for UK plc”. More than 100 diplomats and representatives from professional services firms, including KPMG and EY, have been paired up in a bid to improve British business representation overseas. The scheme was [...]
UK ambassadors to have growth ‘KPIs’, foreign secretary tells trade summit Politics The UK’s ambassadors will have “KPIs that contribute to our economic growth” as diplomats shift to a more economic mindset, the foreign secretary has said. David Lammy told an audience of businesses that he wants the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to become the “international delivery arm of the government’s missions, the first of [...]
‘Trump is right’: Lammy says defence spending must rise January 9, 2025 With Russia on the march and the end of post-Cold War peace, David Lammy has argued that Europe’s defence spending must rise. The foreign secretary said for the UK to be “taken seriously… we must put our money where our mouth is” in his first major speech of 2025. Lammy told an audience of diplomats [...]
UK will launch sanctions against people smugglers, David Lammy to say January 9, 2025 The UK government is set to launch sanctions against people smugglers in a bid to disrupt irregular migration, David Lammy will announce. Ministers are launching a new sanctions regime designed to cripple the people smuggling crime rings and starve them of illicit finance fuelling their operations. Described as a world-first, it will aim to prevent, [...]
Russia expels UK diplomat over spying claim November 26, 2024 Russia has expelled a British diplomat and accused him of spying. The UK’s ambassador to Moscow has also been summoned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The moves come amid escalating tensions between Moscow and western countries over Ukraine. The UK diplomat has had his accreditation revoked and must leave the country, news agency Tass [...]
Starmer appoints Jonathan Powell as UK national security adviser November 8, 2024 Sir Keir Starmer has appointed Tony Blair’s former chief of staff Jonathan Powell as his national security adviser. The Cabinet Office confirmed the former Foreign Office diplomat and No10 chief operator would take on the key role advising the Prime Minister in an announcement today. It comes amid the re-election of Donald Trump as US [...]
‘Dangerous and destructive’ Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida October 10, 2024 Hurricane Milton has made landfall as a Category Three storm, with the Met Office warning it will be “dangerous and destructive” as thousands of UK holidaymakers had their flights to Florida cancelled. Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, at about 8.30pm local time. The US National Hurricane Centre reports the hurricane had maximum sustained [...]