UK

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA German company hopes to launch rockets into space as often as once a month from the island at the northernmost tip of the UK.Rocket Factory Augsburg’s (RFA) chief commercial officer said excitement is building ahead of their “Olympic gold medal” moment this summer – when they will try to achieve Europe’s first-ever launch delivering satellites into orbit.The company is one of several planning to use launch pads at SaxaVord Spaceport on the island of Unst, the most northerly of the Shetland Islands.In December, SaxaVord was granted the UK’s first vertical launch spaceport licence, allowing up to 30 launches each year.Jorn Spurmann spoke to the PA news agency about RFA’s plans for the first launch of their RFA One launcher – a 30m-tall three-stage rocket which can deliver a 1,300kg payload to a sun-synchronous orbit around Earth.He said “everything looks positive” for the first launch taking place in the summer but much will depend on their testing process.Mr Spurmann said: “We plan to be on pad in the summer and start the (testing) campaign.“Then we have an anticipated first launch attempt and we see how it goes.”He added: “We have on the Shetland Islands a dedicated launch pad purely for RFA. So, there’s no time pressure for us.”He said people on Unst, which has a population of around 600, were supportive of the project, saying: “The locals, they pretty much realise what a big opportunity it is for them.”After testing in Germany and elsewhere, the various components of the rocket and its cargo of satellites will be shipped to Lerwick in around a dozen containers before being driven north to Unst.Mr Spurmann said: “We do a full assembly and checkout testing in Augsburg.“And then we put it into a dozen containers roughly.“Then the final remating of these stages and encapsulation of the fairing, final testing – that all happens on site at the launch pad.”A “hot test” of the rocket’s first-stage engines at the launch pad is expected in the months ahead of the first flight.Ultimately, RFA wants to re-use the lower stage of its rockets in order to generate savings, similar to the Falcon series of rockets used by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.While this will not take place on the initial flights, the first stage of the RFA One rocket would be parachuted back to splash down in the sea after propelling the upper parts of the vehicle high into the atmosphere.The nine Helix engines on the lower part of the rocket make up the bulk of the vehicle’s cost.Mr Spurmann said: “We’re planning mid-term to get to a launch cadence of once a month, so 12 a year.“That should happen over three years. Then it really depends where the market is – if the market needs more, we have flexibility to do more.”RFA’s team of about 300 people will see the first successful launch as an “Olympic gold medal” moment, Mr Spurrmann said, as the project has been years in the making.However, if the attempt ends in failure, he said RFA would be ready with a second vehicle “as soon as possible” for another try.Last year, RFA’s British subsidiary received £3.5 million from the UK Space Agency to support its launch plans. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailNadine Dorries has pledged to pay back more than £16,000 she was mistakenly given during the turmoil that followed Boris Johnson’s departure from Downing Street. Ms Dorries was sacked as culture secretary by Mr Johnson’s successor, Liz Truss. But in a blunder she was later given the payment, the equivalent of three months’ salary in lieu of notice. She was not eligible for the payout, however, which according to the rules should only be given those under 65. Ms Dorries had turned 65 several months earlier. Ms Dorries promised to pay the money back “on Monday morning” as she said she was only made aware of the mistake on Friday.And she joked that as a result “everybody knows I’m not 49″. Government accounts show she received £16,876 as an exit payout as she departed the cabinet. Ms Dorries later quit as an MP in protest at her exclusion from Mr Johnson’s resignation honours list.She blamed Rishi Sunak for her lack of a gong and triggered a by-election in her Mid Bedfordshire seat. Wiithin weeks Labour had overturned a huge Tory majority to win the constituency. The Mirror revealed earlier this week that disgraced ex-MP Peter Bone had also wrongly been paid almost £5,600 after he spent just 82 days as the deputy leader of the Commons under Mr Johnson. He was 69 at the time.Baroness Stedman-Scott also got £17,442 when she stood down as a Department of Work and Pensions minister in 2022. She was 67. And Sir David Evennett also received £4,479 when he left his role as a Government whip in October 2022, at the age of 73. Labour has pledged to reform the rules on ministerial severance pay if it wins the next election this year after it emerged that last year’s political turmoil cost the taxpayer nearly £1 million.Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart said earlier this month that the payments “should not apply where a person has attained the age of 65.”If a former minister was incorrectly given a severance payment, the relevant department will contact the individual to recover the over-payment.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak fasts for 36 hours at the start of each week, it has emerged. The prime minister survives on a diet of water, tea or black coffee from 5pm on a Sunday afternoon to 5am on Tuesday morning, his friends say.One said: “He is incredibly disciplined.”A source close to the PM told The Sunday Times: “It’s true, he doesn’t eat anything at all on a Monday.“It’s remarkable really given that he is often on visits or doing PMQ prep on a Monday. It’s a real testament to the discipline, focus and determination that he shows in all aspects of his life and work.”Mr Sunak, 43, has spoken before about the practise – a key part of the Hindu religion – but the full extent of his fasting has not been revealed until now.He previously told how his morning routine consisted of an early rise and a gruelling Peloton workout, followed by either no breakfast at all or a small one, such as Greek yoghurt and blueberries. In an appearance on the Twenty Minute VS podcast last year, Mr Sunak revealed his preferred time to wake up in the morning is 6am.Mr Sunak, 43, has spoken before about the practise but the full extent of his fasting has not been revealed until nowHe said he is a “huge fan” of Peloton workouts, namely those led by Cody Rigsby, one of the brand’s most popular instructors and a huge fan of Britney Spears. “I’m a huge Cody Rigsby fan. He has been my long-term favourite, which means you do have to listen to a lot of Britney,” Mr Sunak said, adding: “But you know, no bad thing in trying to get you motivated, I guess.”When he is not taking part in a Peloton class, Mr Sunak opts for a run on the treadmill or a high-intensity interval training session at his local leisure centre. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe chair of the Post Office has been forced out of his role amid government frustration over the Horizon IT scandal. Henry Staunton has been in the job for just a year but will leave following tensions with ministers. His departure follows a conversation with Kemi Badenoch, the business and trade secretary, on Saturday. Ms Badenoch said she “felt there was a need for new leadership” at the Post Office as it was announced outgoing chairman Mr Staunton was stepping down.Business secretary Kemi Badenoch spoke to Henry Staunton before his departure was announced The Business Secretary said: “The Post Office is rightfully under a heightened level of scrutiny at this time. With that in mind, I felt there was a need for new leadership, and we have parted ways with mutual consent.”The state-owned company has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks following a public outcry over what Rishi Sunak described as “one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history”.Hundreds of subpostmasters were prosecuted by the Post Office for theft and false accounting because of a faulty computer system made by Fujitsu, Horizon.The prime minister announced he would bring forward legislation to exonerate them after an ITV drama, Mr Bates vs the Post Office, highlighted the scandal. It has since emerged that the government estimates the total compensation bill paid to subpostmasters will top £1bn. ITV drama ‘Mr Bates vs the Post Office’ highlighted the scandal One source of tension between Mr Staunton and ministers is reported to be the bonus given to chief executive Nick Read and linked to the Post Office’s cooperation with the Horizon inquiry.A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson told Sky News: “The secretary of state today had a phone call with Henry Staunton, the chair of Post Office Limited (POL).“Following this call, we can confirm that he has been dismissed as POL chair. An interim will be appointed shortly.“It is important the Post Office continues the essential work to implement the necessary operational and cultural changes needed within the business.”Insiders told Sky Mr Staunton’s exit was not directly related to the Horizon scandal.Campaigning Labour MP Kevan Jones said: “The Government needs to explain why it has sacked the Post Office chair. This should be the start of a number of changes at the top of the Post Office. The government will need to ask whether the board and senior management are fit to handle the scale of this scandal.”An interim chair will be appointed shortly and then the process to find a permanent replacement will begin. Tory peer Lord Arbuthnot, who also sought justice for the subpostmasters, ruled himself out of running for the role as new chair.He said: “There is a need for dramatic cultural and governance change which can be brought in only by someone with experience of doing that sort of thing.”Mr Staunton was appointed as chair by the former business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng in September 2022. He had previously been chair of WH Smith, the retail chain. The official announcement unveiling his appointment said he would “lead the board of directors as the business looks to the future as well as working to right the past wrongs of the Horizon IT dispute”. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe US has said it has destroyed a Houthianti-ship missile in Yemen that posed an “imminent threat” to its Navy. The strike comes after the Iran-backed rebels claimed an attack that left a fire raging on a British-linked oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden.In response, the UK government said Britain and its allies, which include the US, reserved “the right to respond appropriately”. Announcing the latest strike, the US said the missile had been aimed towards the Red Sea and was ready to launch. It “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region,” US central command said in a statement on X.The US said it had destroyed the missile “in self-defence”, adding that this “action will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US Navy vessels and merchant vessels.”Earlier this week, Rishi Sunak warned the UK would not hesitate to launch further airstrikes against the Houthi rebels if attacks on ships in the Red Sea continued. His warning came hours after RAF jets took part in a second wave of joint US-UK action on Monday night. The Houthis claim their attacks have been prompted by the war in Gaza.But the UK has rejected that suggestion, pointing out that the group have hit ships with no links to Israel.After the first set of US-UK strikes the foreign secretary, Lord Cameron said that the decisive action had also sent a very clear message to Iran. Houthi fighters during a rally against the US government designating Houthis as a terror group and against the US-UK air strikes (AP/Osamah Abdulrahman )But the Houthis vowed bloody revenge and have continued to attack vessels in the Red Sea. After the oil tanker attack, a UK govermment spokesperson said: “We are aware of reports that the M/V Marlin Luanda, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, has sustained damage from attack in the Gulf of Aden. Current reports suggest no casualties and nearby coalition vessels are on the scene.“We have been clear that any attacks on commercial shipping are completely unacceptable and that the UK and our allies reserve the right to respond appropriately.” The Ministry of Defence said the UK was not involved in the latest strike. Meanwhile, efforts to put out a fire on the British-linked oil tanker continued through the night on Thursday. The ship, operated on behalf of trading giant Trafigura, sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands but is managed by Oceonix Services Ltd, a company registered in the UK.In a statement on Saturday, Trafigura said the safety of its crew remained the “utmost priority” as it battles to control the blaze. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailDavid Cameron faces growing pressure over his attitude to China after the former deputy head of MI6 warned British intelligence is unable to deal with escalating threats from Beijing. Nigel Inkster said MI6 “clearly (has).. difficulties”, while China has “industrial-scale cyber espionage operations directed against advanced Western countries.” And he pointed to the Cameron government’s attempts to develop friendlier relations with China. “In 2015, the British government was talking about a ‘golden era’ of UK-China relations… Given that situation, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the security service isn’t where it might be,” he told the I newspaper. In a bid to develop close economic ties with the Asian superpower, Lord Cameron even hosted a state visit for President Xi Jinping in 2015.The Sunak government has been clear it takes a tougher stance with China. In November the prime minister said Lord Cameron’s return as foreign secretary did not mean the return of his “golden era” approach. Mr Inkster said the UK’s blind spot extends to “all the UK intelligence community”, which includes MI5 and GCHQ.MI6 “clearly does have difficulties, in terms of language expertise and collective general historical and cultural awareness” when it comes to China, he said. He added: “We’re seeing a significant increase in human intelligence collection operations, with the Chinese services essentially seeming to be operating under no political constraints – incentivised to take risks and to do whatever it takes to get the intelligence that is required.”The current head of MI6 Sir Richard Moore told Politico in July that the intelligence agency now has more resources devoted to China than any other mission. This “reflects … the crucial need to understand both the intent and capability of the Chinese government”, he said. David Cameron shakes hands with the then Chinese Prime Minister, Premier Li KeqiangMr Inkster warned that may not be enough to counter Beijing’s capabilities, however.“I know that there is a big effort underway to remedy those deficiencies,” he said. “A lot of resources are now being put into getting the UK intelligence community in a better state… but it does take a certain amount of time.”But he welcomed the new National Security Act, which he said would make it easier to prosecute Chinese spies, replacing “an Official Secrets Act that was derived from the First World War”. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailPolice use of live facial recognition surveillance is being expanded without clear legal grounds, peers have warned.The Lords’ Justice and Home Affairs Committee has called into question the lawfulness of the deployment of the technology by forces across England and Wales.In a letter to Home Secretary James Cleverly published on Saturday, the committee has called for tightened regulation and independent scrutiny of how the equipment is used.Live facial recognition (LFR) cameras are used by police in some areas to analyse the faces of passersby and search for specific people.We are an outlier as a democratic state in the speed at which we are applying this technology. We question why there is such disparity between the approach in England and Wales and other democratic states in the regulation of LFRBaroness HamweeThe committee said it acknowledged the technology may be a valuable tool in catching criminals but that it was “deeply concerned that its use is being expanded without proper scrutiny and accountability”.There are “no rigorous standards or systems of regulation” in place for the deployment of LFR and “no consistency” in approaches to training officers in its use, peers said.Baroness Hamwee, chairwoman of the committee, said: “Does the use of LFR have a basis in law? Is it actually legal? It is essential that the public trusts LFR and how it is used.“It is fundamental that the legal basis is clear. Current regulation is not sufficient. Oversight is inadequate.“Technology is developing so fast that regulation must be future-proofed. Police forces may soon be able to link LFR cameras to trawl large populations, such as Greater London, and not just specific localities.“We are an outlier as a democratic state in the speed at which we are applying this technology. We question why there is such disparity between the approach in England and Wales and other democratic states in the regulation of LFR.”Privacy campaigners and politicians have previously called for police to stop using facial scanning technology, citing concerns over human rights and potential for discrimination.Civil liberties group Big Brother Watch has branded the tool “Orwellian” and suggested that any widening of its use would lack a clear democratic mandate.But the Government last year announced it was considering expanding its use of the surveillance across forces and security agencies.The Home Office argues that the technology frees up officers to spend more time out on the beat and working on complex investigations.A Government spokesperson said: “Facial recognition, including live facial recognition, is a powerful tool that has a sound legal basis, confirmed by the courts. It has already helped the police to catch a large number of serious criminals, including for murder and sexual offences.“The police can only use facial recognition for a policing purpose, where necessary, proportionate and fair, in line with data protection and human rights laws.”The National Police Chiefs’ Council said it welcomed the committee’s scrutiny and would consider its recommendations, but that LFR is always used “proportionately and transparently”.Individual chief constables are also held to account by their police and crime commissioners and mayors who examine operational decisions on LFR, the council added.NPCC lead for facial recognition and the Metropolitan Police’s director of intelligence Lindsey Chiswick said: “The High Court and the Court of Appeal have previously recognised the existing legal basis for the police to use (LFR) technology – namely under common law in the UK.“LFR is a tool which helps police to identify wanted individuals and it is always used proportionately and transparently, with communities told when it will be deployed.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email The British government has called off post-Brexit trade talks with Canada after discussions broke down over disagreements related to the import and export of beef and cheese.The two countries have been negotiating a new trade deal over the past two years since Britain fully left the European Union. Trade between the two has largely continued under the same deal that was originally brokered when Britain was a member of the bloc. In a statement late Thursday, the U.K. government said it “remains open” to restarting talks in the future but that there was no progress so far. Annual trade between the two countries is valued at around 26 billion pounds ($33 billion).Over time as the discussions pushed ahead, Canadian negotiators came under mounting pressure from their beef industry and domestic cheesemakers. The beef industry wanted access to the United Kingdom for its hormone-fed beef while the cheesemakers warned about the economic impact of tariff-free cheese from Britain, primarily cheddar. Tariff-free cheese exports from Britain stopped at the end of 2023 after a time-limited side agreement expired, leaving British producers facing higher duties of 245%.Canada’s trade minister, Mary Ng, said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the Canadian government “will never agree to a deal that isn’t good for our workers, farmers and businesses.”#Minette Batters, president of the Nation Farmers’ Union of England and Wales, praised the British government, especially its apparent refusal to allow hormone-linked beef to be allowed into Britain.“Trade on agricultural products is always the first thing to be discussed and the last thing to be agreed,” she said. “I am pleased the government has stuck to its line and not given way,”One of the main benefits that was being pushed during Britain’s 2016 referendum on its membership of the EU was that it would allow the country to pursue its independent trade policy. However, few new trade deals have been negotiated since Brexit, and any ensuing benefits are widely considered to be modest when put against the impediments to trade that have now been put in place between Britain and the EU. Before Brexit, Britain could trade freely within the bloc.Britain’s Conservative government, which negotiated the post-Brexit trade deal with the EU, sought to downplay the breakdown in the talks with Canada.“It is a benefit of our independent trading status that we are able to insist on the detail of each and every deal to ensure that it works, specifically in the U.K. interests,” said Camilla Marshall, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.“We are open to restarting talks with Canada in the future where we can build a trading relationship that benefits businesses and consumers on both sides,” she added. “There is no schedule for those.”With the talks breakdown, there are renewed worries British cars could see higher tariffs from April on exports, when another temporary tariff-free agreement — similar to the one involving cheese — is due to expire.The British Chambers of Commerce said the breakdown in the talks was “unwelcome news” and urged the government to help sectors affected.“For our dairy exporters and parts of our manufacturing industry the loss of key trade preferences puts them in a worse position than before 2020,” said William Bain, the chamber’s trade policy chief.Britain’s main opposition Labour Party, which is far ahead of the Conservatives in polls ahead of a general election sometime this year, said the collapse of the talks was another “significant failure” by the government to deliver on its post-Brexit promises. More