Peer pressure: Starmer admits former aide was considered for diplomatic role Politics Sir Keir Starmer has admitted that he considered appointing Lord Matthew Doyle for an ambassadorial role without the foreign secretary knowing, amid growing questions over the Prime Minister’s judgment in key decisions. The Prime Minister appeared to accept that Doyle, who recently had the Labour whip removed following revelations about his relationship with a sex [...]
Robbins: Starmer’s team was ‘dismissive’ about Mandelson vetting Politics Former Foreign Office permanent secretary Sir Olly Robbins has criticised Number 10’s “dismissive attitude” to security vetting for Lord Peter Mandelson, who accessed classified files before Robbins, who was recently sacked from his key civil service post, told the Foreign Affairs Committee that there was “constant pressure” on the Foreign Office to give Mandelson clearance [...]
‘It beggars belief’: Starmer insists he was not told about Mandelson’s vetting fail Politics Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he was not told that Lord Peter Mandelson failed a security vetting before telling MPs that “due process” around his appointment as US ambassador was followed. Starmer told MPs on Monday that he asked Whitehall officials to review whether due process was followed last September on whether the security vetting [...]
Future of Bank of England’s Venezuelan gold back in spotlight after Maduro capture January 6, 2026 The foreign secretary has signalled the Bank of England will continue to withhold $4.8bn of Venezuelan gold being held in its vaults, despite the dramatic toppling of the country’s autocratic ruler potentially paving the way to the reserves being returned. Addressing lawmakers late on Monday, Yvette Cooper suggested the government would continue its refusal to [...]
China’s London mega-embassy plan in limbo amid site security fears October 12, 2025 China’s plans for a new mega-embassy in central London have been thrown into doubt amid mounting national security concerns that the proposed site sits directly above critical fibre-optic cables linked to the UK’s financial networks. The £750m project at Royal Mint Court, the former home of Britain’s coin-maker, located next to the Tower of London, [...]
China spying scandal: What the hell is going on? October 9, 2025 The head of MI5 warns that Chinese spying in the UK is taking place on “an epic scale” – yet the government can’t bring itself to describe China as a threat. What the hell is going on? Sir Ken McCallum, the Director General of MI5, doesn’t make many speeches in public. As one of Britain’s [...]
China spy row reveals a divided Whitehall October 7, 2025 The UK’s relationship with China has swung through various degrees of warmth in recent years, but there have been some recurring themes. When David Cameron and George Osborne hailed the “golden era” of UK-China relations more than a decade ago, critics accused the pair of naivety and even recklessness. Nick Timothy, who would go on [...]
Business chiefs would be ambassadors if Tories re-elected October 4, 2025 Business chiefs would be made ambassadors to represent the UK’s interests abroad if the Tories were re-elected into government. Leaders from the private sector would be part of a “cultural revolution towards commerce” under a Conservative government, according to shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith and shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel. In an article for the [...]
Keir Starmer pressed to ‘come clean’ on Mandelson sacking September 16, 2025 Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been pressed to “come clean” on how the sacking of former ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson unfolded and the process that led to his appointment last year. Starmer, who was not present at an emergency debate on Mandelson’s sacking on Tuesday, said on Monday that he would not have [...]
Rachel Reeves’ matchmaker moment July 23, 2025 Finance bros and gals are often seen oozing confidence as they strut their stuff around the streets of the City of London, imagining they’re the main characters on hit show Industry. But it would be a mistake to assume these investor strategists, expert consultants and risk analysts are libertarian dreamers, swashbuckling Reagan fanatics and small-state [...]