Tag: News Story

STORY

The Council of the EU has imposed restrictive measures on six Russian individuals over alleged involvement in the development of chemical weapons. The Council said the decision was linked to substances found in samples taken from Alexei Navalny’s body after his death in a Russian penal colony.

The individuals listed include scientists and researchers in the military sphere, with some linked to work on epibatidine. The Council said EU measures under the chemical weapons sanctions regime now applied to 31 individuals and six entities.

Those listed are subject to asset freezes and travel bans, while EU operators are prohibited from making funds or economic resources available to them. The Council said the EU remained committed to countering the use and proliferation of chemical weapons.

STORY

The European Commission has proposed five major cross-border defence projects intended to strengthen cooperation between member states and partners on complex military capabilities. The proposals include drone and counter-drone systems, an eastern flank project, maritime and seabed defence, air and missile defence and space-based defence capabilities.

Reuters reported that the projects fall under the European Defence Projects of Common Interest framework and involve EU member states, Norway and Ukraine. The Commission said the aim was to improve long term collaboration and strengthen the competitiveness of Europe’s defence industry.

The proposals now require approval by the Council of the EU. The Commission has allocated initial funding through the European Defence Industry Programme, with larger investments expected over the longer term if the projects move forward.

STORY

The Trade Remedies Authority has opened an anti-dumping investigation into imports of Linear Low-Density Polyethylene from the United States. The investigation will examine whether imports of the product are being dumped in the UK and whether they are causing injury to domestic industry.

Linear Low-Density Polyethylene is used in a range of plastic products and packaging applications. Trade remedy investigations can lead to duties where dumped or subsidised imports are found to damage UK producers.

The authority said the investigation had been opened through its public file system. Its recommendations are made independently before being considered by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade where final decisions are required.

STORY

HM Revenue and Customs has published an update to its Transformation Roadmap, saying 5.6 million taxpayers checked their pay in the HMRC app a total of 100 million times last year. The department said the figure was equivalent to an average of 18 checks per user across the year.

HMRC said the app had 7.6 million unique users in 2025 to 2026, including 2.8 million new users. The department said digital services were increasingly being used as part of its wider effort to modernise how taxpayers interact with the tax system.

Exchequer Secretary Daniel Tomlinson said the Government wanted to make tax easier to understand and simpler to engage with. HMRC said its transformation programme remained on track, with outdated communications being phased out.

STORY

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has approved semaglutide, sold as Wegovy, for the treatment of metabolic-associated steatohepatitis in adults with moderate-to-advanced liver fibrosis. The regulator said the approval applied to a form of liver disease involving scar tissue in the liver.

Semaglutide already has authorisations for weight management in adults and adolescents, as well as for reducing cardiovascular events in adults. The MHRA said its role was to ensure that medicines worked and were acceptably safe, with decisions based on evidence of benefits and risks.

The decision adds a further authorised use for the drug in the UK. The MHRA said patients should speak to healthcare professionals about treatment options and should follow prescribing advice for any medicine they are given.

STORY

The Government has published the latest update from the Keep Britain Working programme, saying nearly 200 workplaces have signed up as Vanguards to help prevent people leaving work because of ill health. The Department for Work and Pensions said employers, mayoral authorities and devolved administrations had worked with Sir Charlie Mayfield on the review.

The report said shared responsibility between employers, Government and individuals would be needed to improve support for people with disabilities and health conditions. It also identified better data, earlier intervention and more personalised plans as central to helping people stay in or return to employment.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said employers had shown strong interest in improving support. Ministers said the programme was intended to reduce economic inactivity linked to ill health while improving outcomes for workers and businesses.

STORY

The Government has announced a £4.6 billion international contract for the next stage of the Global Combat Air Programme, the joint UK, Italy and Japan project to develop a sixth generation fighter jet. Ministers said the contract, awarded to industry joint venture Edgewing, would advance the aircraft’s design and support skilled manufacturing jobs in Britain.

The Ministry of Defence said the aircraft was targeted to enter service from 2035 and would work alongside Typhoons, F-35s and autonomous systems as part of the future Royal Air Force. The programme is expected to use digital engineering, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing techniques.

Defence Minister Luke Pollard said the agreement was a major step towards delivery of the future aircraft. The announcement follows the Defence Investment Plan, which confirmed that the UK would invest £8.6 billion in the programme over four years.

STORY

The UK and France have issued a joint statement with Oman on efforts to restore safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz, describing the waterway as a vital artery for the global economy. Downing Street said Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Emmanuel Macron were working with the Sultanate of Oman to support freedom of navigation in the region.

The statement said Oman had agreed to work with the United Kingdom and France to ensure that its sovereign territorial waters were safe for navigation. The UK and France also said they stood ready to deploy the wider Multinational Military Mission to support safe transit through the Strait.

The Government said the UK and France remained committed to regional stability, respect for state sovereignty and international law. The statement follows earlier talks between Starmer and Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik Al Said of Oman in Downing Street on efforts to reassure shipping using the route.

STORY

Keir Starmer has said Labour should be able to win the next general election under Andy Burnham, saying his successor would inherit a platform built during his time in Government. In his first major interview since announcing that he would stand down, the Prime Minister said he bore no personal animosity towards Burnham and wanted the next administration to succeed.

Starmer pointed to Labour’s 2024 general election victory, work on child poverty, improvements in NHS waiting lists and efforts to stabilise the economy as areas on which the next leader could build. He also defended his wider record as Labour leader, including the party’s recovery after its 2019 defeat and action on antisemitism.

The Prime Minister said he intended to remain an MP until the next election and rejected speculation that he was preparing to become NATO secretary general. He also warned that any future Prime Minister would still have to spend significant time on diplomacy because domestic and international issues could not be separated in modern Government.

STORY

The Government has appointed Professor Sir Anthony Finkelstein CBE to lead an independent review into the use of non-corporate communications channels in Government. The review will examine how officials, advisers and Ministers use personal messaging apps, personal emails and similar channels for Government business.

The Cabinet Office said the Government was committed to maintaining high standards of information security, transparency, propriety and record keeping. It said these standards were needed to ensure public trust in how decisions are made.

The review was announced by Darren Jones, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Sir Anthony will consider the human, organisational, legal and technical factors involved in the use of non-corporate communications channels across Government.

The Cabinet Office said there was a need for greater clarity over the use of non-corporate communications channels, including personal messaging apps and emails, for Government business. It said the aim was to ensure communications remained secure and that decisions were recorded appropriately.

The review will define non-corporate communications channels in the context of Government business. It will also cover the use of disappearing messages and similar auto-deletion features. The Cabinet Office said the review would identify security risks linked to the use of these channels. It will also make practical and actionable recommendations intended to improve Government record keeping.