Tag: News Story

STORY

The UK and Japan are expected to agree investments and partnerships worth more than £18 billion as the Prime Minister meets Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The Government said the package would support jobs in technology, clean energy, infrastructure, life sciences and defence related industries.

The agreement includes a proposed offshore wind compact intended to unlock up to £9 billion of Japanese investment into UK projects. The Government said the projects could support the development of 5.9GW of floating offshore wind capacity, including schemes off Scotland and in the Celtic Sea.

The two countries are also expected to agree a new frontier technology partnership covering artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing, civil nuclear and defence technology. Ministers said the visit would strengthen the UK Japan relationship ahead of the G7 summit.

STORY

The Prime Minister has told NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that the Government will publish its Defence Investment Plan before the NATO summit in Ankara. The call followed the resignation of John Healey as Defence Secretary over the level and timing of defence spending.

Downing Street said both leaders agreed that NATO allies needed to strengthen collective defence and deliver more quickly in response to shared threats. Starmer said national security would remain the Government’s top priority and repeated his commitment to reaching defence spending of 3% of GDP in the next Parliament.

Rutte welcomed the UK’s increased defence investment, according to the Government readout. The forthcoming plan is expected to set out how ministers intend to fund military readiness, procurement and long term capability after recent criticism from former defence ministers.

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UK forces have boarded a sanctioned Russian oil tanker in the English Channel in the first UK led operation of its kind against Russia’s shadow fleet. The Government said Royal Marine Commandos and National Crime Agency officers boarded the vessel Smyrtos after it entered UK territorial waters.

The Ministry of Defence said the operation lasted six hours and was supported by Royal Navy and RAF assets, including HMS Sutherland, HMS Ledbury, Maritime Air Group aircraft and an RAF P 8 aircraft. The vessel is to be held and monitored off the south coast while investigations continue.

The Prime Minister said the action was intended to disrupt Russia’s war economy. Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis said the operation had been carried out by armed forces personnel and law enforcement officers and formed part of wider UK action against Russian sanctions evasion.

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The Prime Minister and Taoiseach Micheál Martin have agreed to continue work to strengthen the integrity and security of the Common Travel Area. Downing Street said the two leaders discussed enhanced data sharing and joint intelligence operations during a call on 12 June.

The Prime Minister also raised the attack in Belfast earlier in the week and said his thoughts were with Stephen Ogilvie and his family. Downing Street said he condemned the violence that followed the attack and praised the response of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

The leaders also discussed UK-EU relations ahead of Ireland’s upcoming EU Presidency and a second UK-EU summit later this year. Downing Street said they reflected on progress towards closer cooperation intended to support business, the economy and shared interests.

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The Government has announced plans to roll out Dutch-style employment support across Britain as part of efforts to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training. The Department for Work and Pensions said almost 180 Youth Hubs would begin opening from next week.

The hubs are intended to bring education, welfare and employment support together in one place. The Government said the programme had been informed by the Dutch Jongerenpunt model, which provides integrated support for young people and has been linked by ministers to the Netherlands’ lower NEET rate.

The Work and Pensions Secretary said the Government wanted to build a system in which inactivity was a last resort. The announcement comes as ministers seek to expand localised employment support and increase access to work-study pathways, employer partnerships and apprenticeships.

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The Government is preparing restrictions that would prevent children under 16 from accessing high-risk social media apps. The Guardian reported that the measures are expected to include additional restrictions on platforms considered safer, including limits on disappearing messages, livestreaming and chats with adult strangers.

The plans follow a consultation on online safety for children. The Guardian reported that under-18s would also be banned from using romantic or sexual AI chatbots, while the Government is expected to set out further details of which platforms will be affected at a later date.

The proposals are expected to place renewed attention on age assurance and the duties of technology companies. A Government source told the Guardian that ministers did not comment on speculation, while the report said Downing Street had received more than 116,000 responses to the consultation.

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The UK Government has said a full ban on diesel and jet fuel made in Russia will take effect by 1 January 2027. Reuters reported that the announcement sets a timeline for ending a temporary licence covering Russian oil products refined in third countries.

The Government had previously allowed imports of diesel and jet fuel refined from Russian crude in third countries after citing supply pressures linked to the Iran war. Ministers said existing sanctions were not being lifted and that the new restrictions were being phased in.

The Department for Business and Trade said the temporary licence would continue to be reviewed every two weeks. The Government said it intended to lift the licence earlier if conditions allowed.

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Downing Street has announced a series of ministerial appointments following changes in the Government after the resignation of John Healey as Defence Secretary. The Prime Minister’s Office said the King had approved the appointments on 12 June.

Dame Angela Eagle has been appointed Minister of State as Security Minister, jointly in the Home Office and the Cabinet Office. Stephen Morgan has been appointed Minister of State in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, while Calvin Bailey has become a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Defence.

Other appointments include Jade Botterill as a Junior Lord of the Treasury, Emma Foody as an Assistant Whip and Lord Leong as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Business and Trade. The Prime Minister has also appointed Sir Alan Campbell, Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council, to the Cabinet.

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Sir Keir Starmer has said he has not lost authority and will fight any leadership challenge after the resignation of John Healey as Defence Secretary. Reuters reported that the Prime Minister made the comments after Healey quit over the Government’s defence spending plans and said ministers had not committed the resources needed to keep the country safe.

Starmer said he was not prepared to walk away from office and argued that any successor would face the same financial constraints. He said defence and security remained his priorities and pointed to decisions already made to move spending from other departments into defence investment.

The comments came during a period of renewed speculation about Labour’s leadership and the Government’s spending choices. Healey’s resignation has increased pressure on Downing Street ahead of international meetings where defence spending and support for Ukraine are expected to remain central issues.

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The Common Travel Area has come under renewed political scrutiny after reports that large numbers of asylum seekers in Ireland may have entered through the land border with Northern Ireland. The Guardian reported that Irish Government data suggests up to 90% of asylum seekers in Ireland may have entered via the Northern Ireland border in the last three years.

The UK Home Office said it had apprehended more than 900 immigration offenders abusing the open land border in the past year. The issue has gained attention after the Belfast knife attack, where the suspect was reported to have travelled through Dublin before going to Northern Ireland.

British and Irish ministers have held discussions about cross-border cooperation and the operation of the Common Travel Area. The Irish Government said arrangements for re-operationalising a post-Brexit returns agreement would be developed in consultation with the UK.