Category Archives: Foreign policy

Fresh US/UK airstrikes ‘send clear message’ to Houthis, says Cameron

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Foreign secretary defends continued campaign in Yemen, while Labour says it was not briefed beforehand

A fresh set of US and UK airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen were intended to “send the clearest possible message that Britain backs its words and our warnings with action”, David Cameron has said.

The foreign secretary insisted he was confident that attacks carried out 10 days ago by Britain and the US had had an effect on degrading the Houthis’ abilities to attack shipping in the Red Sea.

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Families of four Israeli hostages urge Rishi Sunak to push for their release

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UK PM urged to apply pressure on Qatar to help free Liri Albag, Eliya Cohen and Ziv and Gali Berman

The families of four Israeli hostages have urged Rishi Sunak to apply pressure on Qatar to help free their loved ones.

The father of 18-year-old Liri Albag, the older brother of 26-year-old twins Ziv and Gali Berman, and the girlfriend of Eliya Cohen, also 26, pleaded with the prime minister to do everything in his power to secure their release after 108 days in captivity.

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UK sends UN experts photographs of North Korean shipments to Russia

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Exclusive: Report shows Russian ships loading at North Korean port, amid accusation that Pyongyang supplies missiles and shells

The UK has provided satellite photographs of North Korean cargo shipments to Russia to a panel of UN experts as part of an attempt to trigger an official investigation into arms deals in violation of international sanctions.

North Korea has been accused of supplying ballistic missiles and hundreds of thousands of artillery shells to the Russian government for its war in Ukraine since Vladimir Putin met with Kim Jong-un in Russia’s far east in September.

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New Brexit checks ‘pose existential threat’ to UK fruit and flower growers

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Exclusive: NFU warns blanket import checks from April could fuel long delays and damage future crops

The UK’s fruit and flower growers face an “existential threat” from new post-Brexit border checks that could damage business and affect next year’s crops, the country’s biggest farming body has said.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) warned that changes to import rules in April, which will impose checks at the border for nearly all young plants coming into the country, could cause long delays and result in plants being damaged or destroyed.

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Cameron to be asked to clarify claim he took no decision over Israel arms sales

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Foreign secretary told MPs he had not made formal decision to continue, but papers reveal he recommended move

The chair of the foreign affairs select committee is writing to the foreign secretary, David Cameron, asking him to clarify his claim that he had not taken any formal decision to allow arms sales to Israel to continue amid the Gaza crisis.

Written evidence presented by the UK Department for Business and Trade shows the foreign secretary on 8 December recommended arms sales licences be allowed to continue when presented with three options: stopping arms sales, pausing them, or allowing them to continue.

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Sadiq Khan: ‘Free young people from Brexit work and travel ban’

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Mayor calls for ‘youth mobility agreement’ in one of the most pro-European interventions by a Labour politician since EU exit

London mayor Sadiq Khan has called for young people to be able to move freely to and from the EU for the first time since Brexit in order to lessen the economic and cultural damage caused by the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.

Speaking to the Observer in one of the most pro-European interventions by a senior Labour politician since the 2016 referendum, Khan said he backs either a bespoke “youth mobility” agreement with EU countries, or changes to post-Brexit visa rules that currently restrict travel and the ability to work in other European countries.

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Netanyahu’s rejection of Palestinian state unacceptable, says David Lammy

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Shadow foreign secretary says Israeli president must explain how post-conflict Gaza will operate

The shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, has described Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state when the war in the Middle East ends as “unacceptable”.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he echoed Keir Starmer’s reaction to Netanyahu’s stance. Lammy said: “We are committed to the recognition of a Palestinian state. We want to work with international partners to achieve that.”

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EU silver filling ban could lead to dental care crisis in Northern Ireland, says BDA

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Dental union says region will be ‘disproportionately’ affected by EU amalgam phase-out as health service is weakest in UK

Concerns have been raised about the future availability of silver dental fillings in Northern Ireland due to an imminent phasing out of the amalgam across the EU.

The plan to phase out amalgam by 1 January next year will apply in Northern Ireland as a result of Brexit trading arrangements and will also affect dental care in other parts of the UK, dentist representatives said.

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Keir Starmer says Netanyahu ‘wrong’ to reject Palestinian state

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Labour leader says Israeli PM’s comments are unacceptable and Palestinian statehood not in his gift

Keir Starmer has criticised Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he is “wrong” to reject moves to establish a Palestinian state.

The Labour leader stepped up criticism of Israel’s government, after Netanyahu told the White House that he rejects any moves to establish a Palestinian state when Israel ends its offensive in Gaza, and that all territory west of the Jordan River would be under Israeli security control.

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Foreign Office lawyers ‘unable to conclude if Israeli bombing was lawful’

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Documents reveal humanitarian law investigation was far more intensive than David Cameron suggested

UK Foreign Office legal advisers were unable to conclude that Israel was in compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL) in its bombardment of Gaza, court documents reveal.

After reviewing specific potential breaches of IHL cited in a report by Amnesty International, the Foreign Office initially concluded it had “serious concerns” about breaches.

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Middle East conflicts and the Rwanda bill – Politics Weekly UK podcast

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As tensions in the Middle East continue to rise, this week John Harris speaks to Niku Jafarnia of Human Rights Watch about the regional conflicts. The Rwanda bill passed its third reading and Pippa Crerar, the Guardian’s political editor, reveals what happened behind the scenes. And the former No 10 adviser Gavin Barwell talks about the increasingly vicious struggles within the Conservative party

Archive: GB News

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Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda deportation bill passes third reading in Commons

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Flagship policy passes committee stage after tense lead-up in which Tory divisions came to the fore

Rishi Sunak has survived a damaging row over his flagship Rwanda bill after a Conservative rebellion melted away and dozens of rightwing MPs balked at further undermining the prime minister’s authority.

After a crucial 11th hour meeting of more than 45 Tory rebels, the group’s leaders concluded that defeating the bill by voting alongside Labour during an election year could risk collapsing the government.

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Rwanda president: efforts to implement asylum plan cannot ‘drag on’

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Paul Kagame also says he would be happy for the scheme to be scrapped

Rwanda’s president has said there are limits to how long attempts to implement an asylum deal with Britain can “drag on”, indicating he would be happy for the scheme to be scrapped.

Paul Kagame’s comments on Wednesday came before Rishi Sunak faced a potentially leadership-ending rebellion by Conservative MPs threatening to vote down his Rwanda deportation bill on Wednesday night.

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Rishi Sunak: UK willing to take further military action against Houthis

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Prime minister addresses MPs hours after Yemen-based group fires on another container ship in Red Sea

Rishi Sunak has said the UK is willing to take military action against Houthi rebels again, hours after the Yemen-based group fired another missile at a container ship in the Red Sea.

The prime minister addressed MPs on Monday for the first time since the UK took part in airstrikes on the Houthis on Friday night, which he said destroyed 13 targets at two sites, including drones, an airfield and a cruise missile launcher.

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UK ‘will wait and see’ before deciding on further Houthi strikes

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Grant Shapps says UK has no interest in wider Yemen conflict as Rishi Sunak prepares to address MPs

The UK has no interest in taking part in any wider conflict in Yemen but is “waiting to see what happens” before deciding whether further military strikes against Houthi forces might be needed, the defence secretary has said.

Discussing the US-led strikes on the Yemen-based rebels in the early hours of Friday, which were aimed at stopping Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, Grant Shapps said the aims of the military operation were always limited.

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Houthi missile targeting US warship intercepted, says US, amid Red Sea tensions

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US Central Command says missile from Houthi-controlled area of Yemen was launched towards USS Laboon before being shot down by fighter jets

US fighter aircraft shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen at one of its warships in the Red Sea, the US military said on Sunday night.

The missile was fired towards the USS Laboon which was operating in the Southern Red Sea, US Central Command said in a statement, in what appears to be the first such attempt on a US destroyer. No injuries or damage were reported, Central Command said.

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Red Sea crisis could shatter hopes of global economic recovery

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World Bank warns of surging energy prices, slower growth and higher inflation as threat rises of disruption to world trade

A prolonged conflict in the Red Sea and escalating tensions across the Middle East risk having devastating effects on the global economy, reigniting inflation and disrupting energy supplies, some of the world’s leading economists warn this weekend.

Before a statement expected on Monday by Rishi Sunak in the House of Commons about UK and US airstrikes on Houthi sites in Yemen, economists at the World Bank say the crisis now threatens to feed through into higher interest rates, lower growth, persistent inflation and greater geopolitical uncertainty.

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Rishi Sunak says UK acted in ‘self-defence’ with Yemen airstrikes

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PM defends lawfulness of military action against Houthis as MPs call for parliamentary scrutiny

The prime minister has said the UK acted in “self-defence” with military strikes in Yemen intended to “de-escalate tensions and restore stability to the region”, as he faced calls for greater parliamentary scrutiny.

Speaking from Ukraine, Rishi Sunak said that in the face of this aggression “we will always stand up for the rule of law” after a series of attacks by Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea.

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Sunak seeks stature on the global stage – and to keep trouble away from home

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Foreign policy displays in Yemen and Ukraine may win PM reflected glory – but capping inflationary pressures will be his foremost wish

Returning from an overseas trip last year that had been broadly seen as a success, Rishi Sunak was heard privately observing that a truism of foreign policy is that even when you get things right, voters tend to not especially notice or care.

Time will tell whether Sunak’s decision to throw in the UK’s lot with US-led attacks on Houthi forces will stem a spate of attacks on international shipping. But for now, the strike has won support from the bulk of British MPs, despite a few qualms about a lack of prior parliamentary consultation.

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Yemen strikes: Commons speaker calls for MPs to be urgently updated

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Lindsay Hoyle says he will recall parliament if necessary as minister says no immediate plans for more attacks

The Commons speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, has called for MPs to be updated on military strikes in Yemen “at the earliest possible opportunity”, saying he would recall parliament before Monday if needed for this to happen.

In a statement released by his office following UK involvement in attacks against Houthi forces, Hoyle said: “I was invited to a meeting at the Cabinet Office last night to be briefed about the airstrikes on Houthi rebel bases. I made representations to the deputy prime minister [Oliver Dowden] about the need for the house to be informed at the earliest possible opportunity and that I would be happy to facilitate a recall at any time.”

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