UK Politics

Sir Keir Starmer has announced a £2bn agreement to fund carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the UK, which he said would create 2,000 jobs across north Wales and the North West. Speaking at an energy summit in London, the prime minister said the British government and Italian energy group Eni had reached an agreement which will see the company invest billions in facilities that take harmful carbon from the atmosphere and bury it deep underground in order to reduce the impact of emissions. Announcing the deal, which will see investment in the Liverpool Bay Carbon Capture and Storage Project, the prime minister said: “Our plan for change is working – we said we’d deliver jobs and growth through carbon capture technology, and now we have. Shovels ready for the ground, supporting over 2,000 new jobs and supporting thousands more, transforming the lives of hard-working people.” Sir Keir Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen at Thursday’s energy summit More

The top international official in Bosnia on Thursday cut all budgetary financing for ruling political parties in the Serb-run part of the country, increasing the pressure on the entity’s pro-Russian president who is wanted over his separatist policies.Christian Schmidt, a German diplomat tasked with overseeing peace in Bosnia, accused the leadership of the Serb-run Republika Srpska entity of undermining the Dayton accords that ended the 1992-95 war in the country.Schmidt announced his move a day after Bosnian state police officers attempted to detain Milorad Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska, but were prevented by armed Bosnian Serb police.Schmidt’s Office of the High Representative has the authority to change and impose laws in Bosnia.Dodik is wanted for undermining Bosnia’s constitution with a series of laws boosting the independence of the Serb-run half of the country. Bosnian courts issued an arrest warrant for Dodik in March after he failed to appear for questioning.Schmidt said his decision on Thursday “supports the efforts by institutions of Bosnia-Herzegovina to counter the ongoing flagrant attacks … against the fundamental principles of the Dayton peace agreement and the constitutional and legal order.” Dodik has repeatedly called for the separation of the Serb-dominated territory from the rest of Bosnia, fueling fears of instability. He has faced U.S. and British sanctions for his separatism, but has had the support of Moscow.The suspension of budgetary funds for Dodik’s Alliance of Independent Social Democrats and allied United Srpska parties applies to all levels of government in Bosnia, Schmidt said. Those who fail to apply it will be held accountable, he added.Dodik on Thursday rejected Schmidt’s moves as illegal, threatening to arrest the German official if he came to Republika Srpska. “It is impossible to accept this. Republika Srpska will not accept it,” Dodik said.Wednesday’s botched attempt to detain Dodik reflects ongoing tensions in Bosnia years after the war which killed more than 100,000 people and displaced millions. The country is formally seeking European Union entry but progress has been stalled.The Bosnian State Investigation and Security Agency, or SIPA, said its officers gave up on their attempt to detain Dodik at a Republika Srpska government building east of the capital Sarajevo on Wednesday to avoid any incidents with the Serb armed police. Dodik left the building on Thursday under heavy security. The Bosnian war erupted in 1992 after Serbs staged an armed rebellion against the country’s independence from the former Yugoslavia and moved to unite with neighboring Serbia. More

Robert Jenrick has fuelled speculation that he is preparing a leadership campaign to replace the beleaguered Kemi Badenoch with just a week to go before the local elections.A letter to local election candidates offering his support was revealed just 24 hours after a recording emerged of him laying out a pledge to unite the Conservative Party and Reform UK.In the letter Mr Jenrick said: “I firmly believe that the best way to defeat our opponents is to champion Conservative values. We must not only stand by our Conservative principles but also put them into action.”Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick told the UCL Conservative Association last month he wanted the ‘fight’ against Labour to be ‘united’ (Lucy North/PA) More

Video game controllers used by Moscow to pilot drones in Ukraine are among the items which the Government has banned from being exported to Russia, the Foreign Office has announced.Some 150 new trade sanctions introduced by the UK are aimed at choking off the Kremlin’s war effort.Technology used in the Russian defence and energy sectors are among the items which can no longer be exported to Russia, including software used to search for and tap new oil and gas wells.Some chemicals, metals and machinery are also facing export bans in order to limit Russia’s military capability.Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin had been “buying harmless goods and turning them into tools of war”, but he added the the UK is “exposing and acting on this sinister trade”.“Today’s action clamps down on Russia’s sneaky trading and deprives Putin of the goods he desperately needs to fight his barbaric war,” the minister said.He added: “Cutting off Russia’s energy revenues will drain Putin’s war chest – that’s why we’re shutting down the sale of sophisticated software used to cash in on new oil and gas reserves, preventing UK expertise from being used to pour fresh fuel into Russia’s war machine.“We’re also banning outright video game controllers going to Russia, preventing them from being used to pilot drones on the front line, meaning gaming consoles will no longer be repurposed to kill in Ukraine.“And our tough new measures will also degrade Russia’s military machine – new export sanctions mean Putin will no longer be able to get his hands on specialist technology used to produce weaponry for his illegal war.”The fresh wave of sanctions comes a day after 15 MPs and six peers were banned from travelling to Russia, in retaliation against the UK’s ongoing response to the invasion of Ukraine.US President Donald Trump is currently pushing both Russia and Ukraine to accept the terms of a peace deal.Kyiv is resistant to the proposal, which would require it to give up vast swathes of territory currently occupied by Russian forces.The UK has meanwhile stepped up demands on Mr Putin to agree to an immediate unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine after a “brutal” overnight strike on Kyiv.Sir Keir Starmer said the attacks were a reminder that Russia is the aggressor, after Mr Trump lashed out at Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky and suggested he was the barrier to peace. More

The UK Government would not support an Australia-style blanket ban on under-16s using social media, the Technology Secretary has said.Peter Kyle said he believes decisions about when children should access social media should be left to parents.Last year, he had suggested such a ban in the UK could be “on the table” if companies did not take action to protect children, but has since softened his stance on the issue, suggesting in January he had “no plans” for such a ban.Australia introduced the world’s highest age restriction on social media use last year, barring children under 16 from creating accounts.But Mr Kyle has said the UK should not follow suit.Speaking to Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: “Parents need to have the flexibility to parent in a way that’s suitable for their children and circumstances.“I’m trying to get the balance right between giving parents the freedom to be parents but also having absolute backstops.“Porn going into young children’s hands – that’s a backstop. Violent misogynistic content – that’s a backstop.“If government can get the fundamentals right, that can give parents the freedom to introduce children to social media and some of the developmental potential.“Most platforms are available from 13 plus – parents should decide if it’s 13, 14, even up to 18.”In November, Mr Kyle told the Telegraph newspaper that the UK could move to to “another level of regulation” if tech companies do not get together to enforce the Online Safety Act.At the time, he said he did not want to pursue further law changes until he sees how the Online Safety Act works.But he signalled he had been speaking to politicians from Australia where social media restrictions for under-16s have been approved by its parliament.Asked if the UK could push its age limits up to 16, Mr Kyle told the Telegraph: “When it comes to keeping young people safe, everything is on the table.”Mr Kyle’s latest comments came on the day Ofcom published its final codes of practice, under the Online Safety Act, laying out how tech firms must protect children from harmful content.It includes requiring firms to make their algorithms safe for children by not recommending them harmful material, and pushing firms to implement age verification tools – such as ID or credit card checks – to ensure children do not access inappropriate or harmful content. More

Ed Miliband has confirmed the government is looking at plans to charge homes in the South more for electricity after critics dubbed the plans a “postcode lottery”.The ‘zonal pricing’ system would mean different regions are charged different rates for energy, with prices being determined by supply and demand in each area. With Scotland benefitting from greater wind supplies, its likely that homes in the South could face higher bills as a result of the scheme. The energy secretary said ministers will “make a calm and considered decision” on the issue, arguing the government’s main priority is to “cut bills” in a “way that’s fair”. Ed Miliband confirmed ministers are considering the system More

Ofcom’s new online safety rules to protect children will be “transformational” and will force tech firms to “do things in a different way”, the regulator has said.Ofcom published its final children’s codes of practice on Thursday, setting out rules for how websites and apps must protect children from harmful content, including by using age assurance tools and reconfiguring algorithms to prevent young people accessing illegal and harmful material.However, some online safety campaigners have argued the rules do not go far enough and give tech firms too much control over their approach and to define what content is harmful, rather than forcing them to block it.Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation – set up in honour of Molly Russell, who chose to end her life, aged 14, after viewing harmful content on social media – said Ofcom’s proposals are a “whole series of missed opportunities” that were “giving far too much weight to industry – rather than focusing on how it builds measures or how it sets objectives that can actually tackle the problem”.But Almudena Lara, Ofcom’s child protection policy director, said she disagrees with that assessment, insisting the new rules will completely change the landscape of social media.She told the PA news agency: “We need to start from the position of absolute respect for all these campaigners and the lived, horrific experiences that many of them have gone through, and I would, if I were in their shoes, always want to go further and faster, I take that as a given, but I disagree that these are not an ambitious set of rules.“These are completely transformational. When implemented, all companies need to do things in a different way to where they are now – no company is at present meeting the requirements that we are putting out there when it comes to protecting children.“Of course, we all want to go further and faster, and we will continue to work on this, and we have already announced that we are going to put out further rules.“But that doesn’t detract from the fact that this is a very important moment, and this will be transformational.”Under the codes, any site which hosts pornography or content which encourages self-harm, suicide or eating disorders, must have robust age verification tools in place in order to protect children from accessing that content.Those tools could be the use of facial age estimation technology, photo ID matching, or credit card checks to verify age more reliably.In addition, platforms will be required to configure their algorithms to filter out harmful content from children’s feeds and recommendations, ensuring they are not sent down a rabbit hole of harmful content, as well as giving children more control over their online experience through tools to block and filter out content and connection requests.In total, the codes set out 40 practical measures firms must meet by July in order to fulfil their duties under the Online Safety Act.As well as fines, which can be up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying global revenue – which could reach billions of pounds for the largest firms – Ofcom will also have the power to seek a court order banning access to a site in the UK, in the most extreme cases.The NSPCC said the rules mark a “major step forward” for online safety, but added it wants to see Ofcom and the Government go further.Rani Govender, policy manager for child safety online at the children’s charity, said: “This is a pivotal moment for children’s safety online. After seven years of campaigning, today marks a major step forward towards holding tech companies accountable for protecting children from harm on their platforms.“However, unless Ofcom goes further to deliver the strong protections children need and deserve, they will continue to face preventable harm online. Private messaging platforms remain especially concerning as unmoderated harmful content can spread like wildfire.“While Ofcom have looked to add some protections, end-to-end encrypted services will continue to pose an unacceptable, major risk to children under the current plans.“We look forward to reviewing the codes further, but it’s crucial to remember these measures are an important stepping stone rather than the end solution.“Both Government and Ofcom must act with urgency to build on these codes to ensure children are successfully protected from harm online.”Campaigners have also previously raised concerns that tech giants, predominately based in the US, could pressure President Donald Trump to demand carve-outs for big platforms as part of any trade deal with the UK.Speaking to Sky News, Mr Burrows said: “I don’t think any parents watching this morning would expect that our children’s online safety be at the whims of geopolitics.“It shouldn’t be determined by Elon Musk and (US vice-president) JD Vance in the White House, rather than the UK’s independent regulators and politicians.“The reality is, children’s lives and children’s wellbeing just should not be jeopardised for the sake of trade deals or a particularly distorted view of economic growth.”Peter Kyle, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, has said US tech firms “must adhere to British laws” if they are to operate in the UK.Speaking to Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio 5 Live, he said Silicon Valley bosses such as Mr Musk and Mark Zuckerberg must “adapt to the different territories they have access to”.He added: “I’ve had the pleasure of visiting these companies, both in Silicon Valley and at their offices here in the UK.“I do explain to them how brilliant Britain is – but actually being active in our society is a privilege, not a right.“If you have that access, you must obey and adhere to British laws, and you must pay heed to keeping people safe.” More

For years, UK households have paid roughly the same price for electricity, no matter where they live – a system built on the idea that access to energy should be fair and equal.But is that about to change?The government is now considering a controversial new “zonal pricing” plan, which would see electricity bills vary by region based on local supply and demand. That could mean cheaper energy in wind-rich areas like Scotland, and higher bills in the South of England, where energy supply is more limited.Supporters argue it’s a smarter, greener way to reflect how energy is actually produced and used. But critics, including Labour donor and green energy tycoon Dale Vince, have called it “madness”, warning it could create a postcode lottery where millions end up paying more.Ed Miliband has insisted that no decision has been made on what he called “a very complex and important issue.” Speaking on the Today programme, the energy secretary said both zonal and reformed national pricing are being considered, but stressed: “Whatever route we go down, my bottom line is bills have got to fall – and they should fall throughout the country.”He also ruled out introducing a “postcode lottery”, but with pressure mounting from all sides, the debate is heating up fast.So, we want to hear from you. Should where you live decide how much you pay for electricity – or is that just unfair?Vote in our poll and let us know your thoughts in the comments. More