Tag: News Story

STORY

The UK has announced co-ordinated sanctions with international partners against individuals and entities accused of financing or enabling settler violence in the occupied West Bank. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said the measures targeted networks involved in supporting violence, intimidation and forced displacement of Palestinians.

Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, said settler expansion and violence were illegal and represented a fundamental threat to the viability of a two-state solution. The Government said the latest action came amid continued settlement expansion, including the E1 project, and record levels of settler violence.

The UK has urged the Government of Israel to end settlement expansion, act against settler violence, prosecute those responsible and lift restrictions affecting the Palestinian economy. Ministers said further action could follow if the situation did not improve.

STORY

Armed Forces personnel will receive a 3.6% pay rise after the Government accepted the recommendations of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body in full. John Healey, the Defence Secretary, said the award would be backdated to 1 April 2026 and funded from existing departmental budgets.

The Government said this would be the third consecutive above-inflation pay rise for service personnel, following awards of 6% in 2024 and 4.5% in 2025. Ministers said the latest settlement meant most personnel had received a cumulative pay award of 14.1% since April 2024.

Healey said the decision formed part of efforts to address recruitment, retention and morale problems in the Armed Forces. The announcement comes alongside wider defence spending commitments, with the Government saying it is moving towards defence spending of 2.6% of GDP from 2027.

STORY

Political leaders have appealed for calm after a serious knife attack in north Belfast left a man in his 40s in hospital with severe injuries. Police arrested a 30-year-old Sudanese man on suspicion of attempted murder after the incident on the evening of 8 June, which was partly filmed and then circulated widely on social media. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said a knife had been recovered and that the attack was not being treated as terrorism-related at this stage.

Sir Keir Starmer condemned the attack as “sickening”, while political leaders in Northern Ireland urged the public not to allow anger over the incident to spill into disorder. PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said people should not share footage of the attack, both because of the distress caused to the victim’s family and because of the ongoing investigation. He also warned against people outside Northern Ireland using social media to stir up tensions.

The case has prompted wider political debate because of the suspect’s immigration status, with some politicians calling for deportation if he is convicted. Naomi Long, Northern Ireland’s Justice Minister, said the incident should not be used to stigmatise communities, while Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly both condemned the violence and appealed for a measured response. Police said members of the public who intervened helped save the victim’s life, and officers have increased their presence in the area amid concerns about possible protests and online misinformation.

STORY

The Government has opened the grant application window for the national rollout of its Jobs Guarantee scheme. Pat McFadden, the Work and Pensions Secretary, told Parliament that phase one of the scheme had already started in six areas, with the first young people beginning work in May.

Applications are now open to organisations able to deliver job opportunities for young people, with the window running from 9 June to 13 July 2026. The Government said it wanted delivery partners with the capability and local expertise to help expand the programme across the country.

McFadden described the national rollout as a significant step in delivering the Government’s commitment that every young person should have the opportunity to succeed. The announcement links the welfare agenda with the Government’s wider labour market reforms, especially its efforts to reduce youth worklessness.

STORY

Leading chefs and restaurant figures have backed Andy Burnham’s call for a lower VAT rate for hospitality. The intervention follows the launch of a campaign arguing that VAT should be cut from 20% to 10% for pubs, restaurants and other hospitality businesses under pressure from rising costs.

Supporters of the campaign argue that hospitality venues are closing at an alarming rate and that tax reform is needed to help protect jobs, high streets and local economies. Burnham, who is standing in the Makerfield by-election, has made the issue part of a wider pitch about practical economic support for working communities and struggling businesses.

The issue also has clear national political implications. Reform UK has also backed a VAT cut for hospitality, making the policy part of a wider argument about who can speak most directly to small businesses, town centres and voters frustrated by the cost pressures facing everyday social life.

STORY

A senior trade union leader has criticised Labour’s net zero approach, warning that the transition risks damaging jobs in traditional industrial and energy communities. Gary Smith, the general secretary of the GMB union, reportedly accused the Government of pursuing policies that could cost employment in North Sea oil and gas and related sectors.

The criticism is politically awkward for Labour because the GMB is one of the party’s most important affiliated unions. Smith argued that clean energy policy must create secure domestic employment rather than rely heavily on imported infrastructure, and warned that some working-class voters were being pushed towards Reform UK by economic insecurity.

The Government has argued that clean energy investment will create new jobs and strengthen Britain’s long-term energy security. However, the intervention highlights the challenge facing ministers as they try to combine climate commitments with industrial policy, union support and the politics of communities that fear being left behind.

STORY

Peers are set to begin detailed consideration of the Financial Services and Markets Bill as the legislation starts its passage through the House of Lords. The Bill forms part of the Government’s wider attempt to update financial regulation and support growth in one of the UK’s most important economic sectors.

The second reading debate will allow members of the Lords to examine the main principles of the Bill, including how far ministers should go in changing regulatory rules while maintaining stability, consumer protection and confidence in the financial system. The legislation is expected to attract close scrutiny from former ministers, regulators and members with financial sector experience.

The Government has repeatedly argued that financial services reform is central to its growth agenda. However, the Bill also raises broader questions about the balance between competitiveness and caution, particularly after previous crises in which weak oversight was blamed for exposing consumers and taxpayers to risk.

STORY

MPs are due to continue scrutiny of the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill as the legislation moves through its committee stage in the House of Commons. The Bill would give ministers powers to nationalise steel companies where a public interest test is met, with British Steel among the companies potentially affected by the framework.

The Government has argued that the legislation is needed to protect strategically important industrial capacity and safeguard the long-term future of UK steelmaking. Ministers have said the powers would be used only where necessary, but the Bill has become part of a wider debate over industrial policy and the proper role of the state in supporting key sectors.

Opposition MPs are expected to press ministers on cost, compensation, commercial risk and whether nationalisation would address the underlying challenges facing the industry. The legislation is one of the Government’s clearest interventions in heavy industry and is likely to remain politically prominent as it moves through Parliament.

STORY

The Timms Review into Personal Independence Payment is expanding its public engagement work after the closure of its call for evidence. The Department for Work and Pensions has launched new resources designed to help organisations run workshops with disabled people and people with long-term health conditions.

The materials are intended to gather views on what PIP is for, people’s experiences of applying and how decisions are made. The Government said the review had already received 38,000 responses through its call for evidence, with the new toolkit designed to reach groups whose views may not otherwise be heard through formal consultation routes.

Sir Stephen Timms, the Minister for Social Security and Disability, said disabled people’s experiences were vital to the review. The work is politically significant because welfare reform remains one of the most sensitive areas facing Labour, with ministers seeking to present the process as co-produced rather than imposed from Whitehall.

STORY

The Government is considering new restrictions on access to harmful social media platforms for children under 16. Reports suggest ministers are looking at an Australian-style approach, although the immediate package may focus first on tighter rules around dangerous online content, addictive features and the misuse of sexualised material involving young people.

The proposal follows pressure from bereaved parents, online safety campaigners and MPs who argue that existing protections do not go far enough. Earlier this year, the Government consulted on possible measures including time limits, curfews and controls on platform design features that encourage prolonged use by children.

The issue is likely to become one of the most contested parts of the Government’s technology agenda. Supporters argue that stronger intervention is needed to protect children from harm, while critics have warned that any age-based restriction would raise practical questions around enforcement, privacy and the ability of young people to bypass controls.