Who watches the Watches? February 19, 2025 As a newly minted Picture Editor and thus part of the management team of a then-popular left-wing national newspaper, I sat in on a discussion about why the poor ate so badly. Having only recently landed the job and as keen as mustard – and oh so naive – my feet were still planted firmly [...]
Bill Browder: ‘Bad bet’ to return to Russia after ceasefire February 17, 2025 Firms that choose to re-open operations in Russia after a peace agreement has been reached would be “making a bad bet” and “deserve to lose their money”, a former hedge fund manager dubbed ‘Putin’s number one enemy’ has said. Speaking to City AM from the Munich Security Conference (MSC), Sir Bill Browder launched a scathing [...]
Munich summit: Ukraine on ‘irreversible path to NATO’, Starmer tells Zelenskyy February 14, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer told Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the UK remains committed to Ukraine “being on an irreversible path to NATO.” Speaking to the Ukrainian President this morning, the Prime Minister “began by reiterating the UK’s concrete support for Ukraine, for as long as it’s needed”, a Downing Street spokeswoman has said. Sir Keir was “unequivocal [...]
Russian drone and missile attacks kill eight in Ukraine February 1, 2025 At least eight people have died overnight as Russian drone and missile strikes continued to pound Ukraine’s towns and cities, local officials said. Meanwhile, Moscow’s troops continued their grinding advance through the country’s east. A Russian missile strike on an apartment block in the Ukrainian city of Poltava killed at least seven people and injured [...]
London law firm ‘acted appropriately’ for Putin’s warlord Prigozhin January 28, 2025 The legal regulator is reported to “have decided to take no further action” against law firm Discreet Law which acted for the former leader of leader of Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin. As revealed by Democracy for Sale, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) decided that London-based Discreet Law “acted appropriately” when representing the sanctioned Wagner leader. [...]
‘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 [...]
Emergency declared in Crimea as oil spill reaches Sevastopol January 4, 2025 Officials in Moscow-occupied Crimea have announced a regional emergency after oil was detected on the shores of Sevastopol, the peninsula’s largest city. Fuel oil spilled out of two storm-stricken tankers nearly three weeks ago in the Kerch Strait, close to eastern Crimea – some 155 miles from Sevastopol, which lies on the south-west of the [...]
Starmer vows to put Ukraine ‘in strongest possible position for negotiations’ with Russia December 2, 2024 The Prime Minister will say that Ukraine must be put in the “strongest possible position for negotiations” with Russia, addressing the possibility of a negotiated settlement for the first time. Speaking at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet, Sir Keir Starmer will tell attendees at the white tie Guildhall dinner that the eastern European nation must be [...]
UK ‘not at war’ Starmer insists as he rebukes Putin’s ‘irresponsible rhetoric’ November 22, 2024 Sir Keir Starmer has insisted the UK is “not at war” and criticised Russian leader Vladimir Putin for his “irresponsible rhetoric”. The Prime Minister asked during a round of regional radio interviews about concerns over escalation in the conflict in Ukraine. On Thursday, Russia used a new ballistic missile in Ukraine, which Putin said was [...]
Defence secretary refuses to confirm whether UK missiles were used against Russia November 21, 2024 The defence secretary has insisted he “won’t be drawn on operational details” of the conflict in Ukraine amid reports UK-made missiles have been fired into Russia. Russia’s military said it has shot down two UK-made Storm Shadow missiles, following reports that debris from the weapons had been discovered in the country’s Kursk region, which borders [...]