UK Politics

Perfidious Albion, in modern terms, means that when it comes to international affairs, Britain is seen as treacherous and unreliable – and has turned mendacity into an art.Students of imperial history will recall the hundreds of treaties signed with local chiefs, kings and leaders that were waved aside in the interests of the empire. The French call their deep distrust of Les Anglo-Saxons “Fashoda syndrome” – named after a sordid episode of British duplicity that delivered an obscure bit of southern Sudan to the UK in the 19th century, and triggered the enduring distrust of our closest neighbour up to this day.Now we have the Kabul cock-up. It will inevitably serve to undermine Britain’s woeful and feeble international reputation – and drive some of those who have been betrayed into the arms of our enemies.Afghan special forces soldiers are waiting on help from the UK More

The European Union is seeking updates from Israel on implementation of a new deal to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, according to Kaja Kallas, the bloc’s foreign policy chief.Foreign ministers from the EU’s 27-member nations are meeting Tuesday in Brussels in the wake of a new aid deal for Gaza largely forged by Kallas and Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar.Saar met with EU leaders on Monday after agreeing last week allow desperately needed food and fuel into the coastal enclave of 2.3 million people who have endured more than 21 months of war.“We have reached a common understanding with Israel to really improve the situation on the ground, but it’s not about the paper, but actually implementation of the paper,” Kallas said before the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council.“As long as it hasn’t really improved, then we haven’t all done enough,” she said, before calling for a ceasefire.Kallas said the ministers will also discuss Iran’s nuclear program, concerns over developments in Georgia and Moldova, and new sanctions on Russia. The EU is readying its 18th package of sanctions on Russia, with holdouts within the bloc arguing over the keystone policy of capping oil prices to cut into Moscow’s energy revenues.European nations like Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain have increasingly called for the EU’s ties with Israel to be reassessed in the wake of the war in Gaza. A report by the European Commission found “ indications ” that Israel’s actions in Gaza are violating human rights obligations in the agreement governing its ties with the EU — but the block is divided over what to do in response. That public pressure over Israel’s conduct in Gaza made the new humanitarian deal possible even before a ceasefire, said Caspar Veldkamp, the Dutch foreign minister. “That force of the 27 EU member states is what I want to maintain now,” he said.“The humanitarian deal announced last week shows that the Association Agreement review and use of EU leverage has worked,” said one European diplomat.Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manual Albares Bueno said details of the deal were still being discussed and that the EU would monitor results to see if Israel is complying with those.“We don’t know whether it we will know how it works,” he said. “It’s very clear that this agreement is not the end — we have to stop the war.”The war began after Hamas attacked Israel in 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage, most of whom have been released in earlier ceasefires. Israel responded with an offensive that has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.The ministry, which is under Gaza’s Hamas-run government, doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants. The U.N. and other international organizations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.The EU has observed some aid trucks entering Gaza, but “not enough,” said Hajda Lahbib, the EU Commissioner for humanitarian air and crisis management.“The situation is still so dangerous, so violent, with strikes still continuing on the ground, that our humanitarian partners cannot operate. So, this is the reality we need to have a ceasefire,” she said. More

According to Treasury sources, Rachel Reeves wants the public to start taking risks again.The analysis she is working from is that the financial crash of 2008 – which saw several banks go under or need to be nationalised – has made the country too risk-adverse.But the biggest risk taker may well be the chancellor herself, with her plans to free up the mortgage market and slash red tape for financial services in the City.Like many gamblers, though, Ms Reeves’ spin of the financial services roulette wheel, to be announced in her Mansion House speech this evening, is largely prompted by the fact that she is running out of options.Chancellor Rachel Reeves said her fiscal rules were ‘non-negotiable’ (Anthony Devlin/PA) More

Workers on average incomes will not see their taxes go up as Rachel Reeves seeks to find billions in the autumn Budget, a minister has promised.With a series of U-turns having blown a major hole in the public finances, roads minister Lilian Greenwood said “people who earn around average income” will not be targeted. She was asked to clarify comments by transport secretary Heidi Alexander, who said on Sunday that the government would not increase taxes for those on “modest incomes”. Ms Greenwood told Sky News: “I think it means people who earn kind of around average income.Transport minister Lilian Greenwood said those on average incomes will not face higher taxes More

Donald Trump said Britain’s implementation of Brexit has been “sloppy” ahead of his second state visit to the UK in September. But the US president said it is “getting straightened out” and heaped praise on Sir Keir Starmer. “I really like the prime minister a lot, even though he’s a liberal,” Mr Trump declared. Donald Trump said he ‘really likes’ Keir Starmer More

Rachel Reeves is set to bet the house on hopes of finally achieving economic growth by easing rules on mortgages to make more loans available at lower salaries and at 4.5 times a buyer’s income.The chancellor will use her keynote Mansion House speech in the City of London on Tuesday evening to unveil plans to create up to 36,000 additional mortgages for first-time buyers over the first year.Just one lender – Nationwide – will give mortgages to 10,000 more first-time buyers as a result of the changes.Changes will include lowering the minimum salary needed for a mortgage to £30,000 from £35,000 for an individual and to £50,000 from £55,000 for a couple on a joint income.It is part of a wider package of reforms which will see a bonfire of red tape for financial services as Ms Reeves urges businesses and investors to “take risks again”, according to a Treasury source, following the caution which settled in after the 2008 banking crash.Chancellor Rachel Reeves said her fiscal rules were ‘non-negotiable’ More

Former prime minister Baroness Theresa May’s husband is involved in a row over the latest defection to Reform amid anger over candidate selection under Kemi Badenoch’s leadership.Ipswich based businessman John Howard, who was chairman of the Ipswich Conservative Association for a decade, had put himself forward to run as the Tory candidate for mayor of Norfolk and Suffolk next year.The property developer, who is a well known figure in local media, believed that his business skills and experience as an active member of the party made him a strong contender for the shortlist.But after an interview with a panel of two assessors, including Baroness May’s husband Sir Philip May, he was rejected.Baroness May with her husband Sir Philip More

Wes Streeting has accused the British Medical Association (BMA) of advocating “unconscionable” behaviour after the union told junior doctors they do not need to inform their employers if they are planning to strike next week.The health secretary described the advice as “shockingly irresponsible”, adding that he “cannot fathom” why any doctor would make it more difficult for managers to “make sure we have safe staffing levels”.Resident doctors, as junior doctors are now known, are set to strike for five days from 7am on 25 July as part of a pay dispute with the government.Leading doctors have warned that the “highly dangerous” industrial action risks harming the public’s trust in the profession.But the new leader of the BMA has said that the doctors’ 29 per cent pay demand is “non-negotiable” and that strikes could go on for years.On Monday, the union said the strike will go ahead even if a health warning is issued over rising temperatures next week. Senior BMA leaders posted messages on social media over the weekend to tell doctors they do not have to alert their NHS trust if they are planning to strike, sparking fears over patient safety. On X (Twitter), Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, co-leader of the BMA’s resident doctors committee, wrote: “You do NOT have a legal responsibility to disclose whether you are striking.”Mr Streeting told MPs: “Their leaders seem to be telling their members not to inform their trusts or their employers if they’re going out on strike. “Now, I might not agree with the BMA strike action, but I do accept they have a right to strike … What I cannot fathom is how any doctor, in good conscience, would make it harder for managers to make sure we have safe staffing levels.” Failing to inform hospitals would also “make it harder for other staff who are going to be turning up to work that day … many of whom are paid less than resident doctors”, he added.Mr Streeting said that the BMA’s approach “from start to finish has been completely wrong”.The “idea that doctors would go on strike without informing their employer … I think is unconscionable”, he said, as he urged resident doctors to “do the right thing”.The health secretary is due to meet with the BMA this week in hopes of averting the strike. Health secretary Wes Streeting said the government ‘can’t go further on pay’ for resident doctors More