Keir Starmer refuses to apologise to pensioners over winter fuel cuts
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Sir Keir Starmer is due to meet President Donald Trump as part of bilateral talks in New York, ahead of addressing world leaders at the UN General Assembly.
In her speech tonight, the Prime Minister is expected to say the UK will return to “responsible global leadership” as it is in Britain’s interests to tackle problems around the world.
The 79th UN summit takes place as the Middle East teeters on the brink of all-out conflict and a bloody war continues in Ukraine.
Sir Keir will also meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels next week to discuss “resetting” Britain’s relationship with the EU post-Brexit and strengthening trade and security cooperation.
This came after he spoke at the UN Security Council in which he slammed Russia’s actions in Ukraine and said President Vladimir Putin was treating his own people in the conflict like “pieces of meat to be thrown into a grinding mill”.
Sir Keir has been embroiled in a charitable donations controversy after renting a penthouse worth £18m from Labour donor Sir Waheed Ali to film a coronavirus video during the general election, but Downing Street insists he did not break any rules.
The Prime Minister defended the move, suggesting he received the donation towards accommodation costs because his son needed somewhere to study for his GCSEs.
Key Points
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Elon Musk ‘not invited’ to UK-hosted international investment summit
Elon Musk has been disinvited from an international investment summit hosted by the British government in October because of social media posts he made during last month’s riots.
Following a stabbing incident in Southport that left three children dead and sparked riots across the UK, X owner Musk posted false claims on his platform attacking the Prime Minister, suggesting a civil war in the UK was “inevitable”.
Billionaire Musk was not invited to attend the summit in October because of social media posts he made during the unrest, the BBC reported.
Sir Keir Starmer will host an international investment summit on 14 October, two weeks before the Autumn Budget.
The government expects hundreds of leading CEOs and investors to attend the summit, part of efforts to show the UK is “open for business” after a period of political and economic turmoil.
The Treasury Department said BNY, Blackstone and CyrusOne have confirmed they will attend, but has not released an official list of attendees.
(Reuters)
Salma Waghira September 26, 2024 10:25
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Keir Starmer meets Donald Trump today
Sir Keir Starmer is due to meet President Donald Trump as part of his visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
The prime minister has previously said he would like to meet both Senator Kamala Harris and Trump before the US presidential election in November.
During the visit, he said: “As far as the candidates are concerned, it would be very good if possible to meet with both of them at some stage before the elections. We’ll just have to see what’s possible.”
“But I will be at the General Assembly and there is no doubt that a lot of time will be spent on the Middle East and Ukraine.”
“It will be very important for us to have a dialogue with our allies about the situation in both regions,” he added.
(Associated Press)
Salma WaghiraSeptember 26, 2024 10:10
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Tugendhat: Invading Iraq was the ‘worst thing’ I’ve ever done
Tom Tugendhat has come under fire for claiming that the worst thing he ever did was invade Iraq in 2003.
When asked by The Spectator, he said: “I have invaded a country before. It was a few years ago, in 2003. I was part of the army that invaded Iraq.”
The Conservative leadership candidate served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a soldier and a Foreign Office civilian.
He gave the same answer when asked by Sky News during the 2022 Conservative leadership election, adding: “I’m actually not that mischievous. I don’t plough cornfields or anything like that. I’m not a born rebel.”
Responding to the remarks, the director of the UK Foreign Policy Group slammed the Conservative MP for his “deeply offensive” comments.
Evie Aspinall posted: “Describing invading a country as a ‘bad thing’ is deeply offensive and trivialises conflict at a time of great instability in the world.”
Salma WaghiraSeptember 26, 2024 10:04
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In a subtle way, the coronavirus lockdown has turned Boris Johnson into Oliver Cromwell
Conservative leadership candidate James Cleverley said Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s response to the pandemic was the least Conservative policy in 14 years.
Speaking to The Spectator, he said the steps taken by the then prime minister were “far, far, far too excessive”.
The former Home Secretary, who was an MP at the time, said: “I think we all have to recognise that the social restrictions we introduced in response to Covid were interventionist in nature. I think we all look back now and say they went far too far. The Conservatives cancelled Christmas. Boris Johnson and Oliver Cromwell, the two national leaders in our history who cancelled Christmas, but you would never have expected there to be so much overlap in the Venn diagram of Oliver Cromwell and Boris Johnson.”
(Getty Images)
Salma Waghira2024/09/26 09:55
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Photo: World leaders attending the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York
US President Joe Biden poses alongside European Commission President von der Leyen, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during an event bringing together world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York (AFP via Getty Images)
Salma WaghiraSeptember 26, 2024 09:43
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Prime Minister tells investors: ‘Britain is open for business’
Salma WaghiraSeptember 26, 2024 09:25
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Starmer to meet EU leaders for post-Brexit ‘reset’ talks
Sir Keir Starmer is due to visit Brussels in an attempt to “reset” Britain’s relationship with the European Union.
The visit comes as part of the Prime Minister’s plans to repair post-Brexit ties to strengthen trade and security cooperation.
Trump held bilateral talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in New York on Wednesday and is due to meet again next week.
After the meeting, Sir Keir said he wanted to “reset our relationship with the EU and ensure that Brexit works for the British people.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in conversation with Keir Starmer during the 79th UN General Assembly at the United Nations (via Reuters)
Salma WaghiraSeptember 26, 2024 09:10
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Pictured: Keir Starmer meets with Volodymyr Zelensky at the UN General Assembly
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Keir Starmer embrace before a summit at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City (via Reuters) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Keir Starmer attend a summit at the United Nations General Assembly (via Reuters)
Salma WaghiraSeptember 26, 2024 09:00
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Labour chairman defends Starmer for using donor’s flat during pandemic
Labour’s Tan Dhesi took to the media rounds this morning to defend Sir Keir Starmer following allegations he received a £20,000 donation from Sir Ali.
Sir Keir reportedly used the flat, rented from a donor, to accommodate his son’s GCSE exams and to film a video encouraging people to work from home during the coronavirus pandemic.
Asked whether this was acceptable, the chairman of the Defence Select Committee told Sky News that Sir Keir was “worried about the safety of his family” and worried his son would fail his exams.
But when pressed about the Prime Minister having also stayed there during the pandemic, he said: “The important thing for me about accommodation is the fact that there were people camped out outside Downing Street.”
Dhesi added: “We need to keep in mind that the opposition leader’s home at the time was under constant attack by protesters, journalists and investigators.”
“As the prime minister said, there was no illegal activity and all rules were followed. I will take him at his word. He is a man of integrity.”
Tan Dhesi defends Sir Keir Starmer’s claim that he filmed a coronavirus video in a donor’s apartment (Sky News)
Salma Waghira2024/09/26 08:44
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POLITICAL COMMENTARY | Can Starmer ignore Labour conference defeat on fuel subsidies?
After Labour’s rank and file conference voted against the government’s decision to means-test pensioners’ winter fuel payments, John Lentoul explained why the cuts will still go ahead:
Salma Waghira2024/09/26 08:30