Ukraine: Russia ‘does not hold all the cards’, Starmer tells Kyiv conference February 24, 2025 Keir Starmer has insisted “Russia does not hold all the cards in this war” to a conference in Kyiv to mark the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. The Prime Minister has promised further “sweeping sanctions” to push the Russian president towards concessions in peace talks and called for a US backstop [...]
Defence spending: 2.5 per cent of GDP is ‘ambitious,’ minister says February 23, 2025 Raising UK defence spending to 2.5 per cent of national income is “ambitious”, a cabinet minister has insisted as the government faces pressure to increase investment. It comes amid uncertainty over the future of the war in Ukraine, as the US began negotiations with Russia, excluding Kyiv from talks. Education secretary Bridget Phillipson sought to [...]
Starmer to set date to increase defence spending during Trump visit – report February 23, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer is expected to confirm a timeline to raise defence spending and give Donald Trump an invitation for a state visit when he visits Washington next week, per a report. The Prime Minister will have to walk a tricky line when he meets President Trump, balancing the UK’s support for Ukraine with the [...]
NATO members will ‘fight together’ if needed, defence secretary says February 20, 2025 NATO member states will “fight together” if needed, the UK’s defence secretary has pledged during a visit to Norway. John Healey told a press conference with his Norwegian counterpart Tore Sandvik that Russian leader Vladimir Putin “wants to divide NATO” and “wants to divide Europe” as he warned that a ceasefire in Ukraine “must not [...]
Healey urges ‘maximum pressure’ on Putin, as Trump blames war on Ukraine February 19, 2025 The defence secretary John Healey has warned that forgetting about the war in Ukraine while talks take place between the US and Russia risks “jeopardising the peace”. It came as Healey countered US President Donald Trump’s claim that Kyiv started the conflict amid a visit to Norway, near its border with Russia. The cabinet minister [...]
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 [...]
Global investors shun UK market amid stagflation fears February 18, 2025 Britain has become the least attractive market to invest in among global fund managers, with sentiment towards UK stocks slumping. Stock pickers held 18 per cent less UK shares than their benchmarks suggested they should in February, compared to a 12 per cent overweight position on European stocks, according to Bank of America’s latest Global [...]
Boulter and Raducanu to play historic HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club February 18, 2025 British stars Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu have joined former world No1 Naomi Osaka and Australian Open champion Madison Keys in committing to the new HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club this summer. Russian world No11 Daria Kasatkina has also signed up to play the event, which sees elite women’s tennis return to the west London [...]
UK jumps to fifth for M&A attractiveness globally February 17, 2025 The UK has been ranked fifth for the most attractive destination for merger and acquisition (M&A) investors internationally, beating out all but Germany across Europe. The UK climbed two spaces from last year with an index score of 71 per cent, compared to the top US score of 78 per cent, according to the latest [...]
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 [...]