Category Archives: Foreign policy

White House warns Truss over efforts to ‘undo’ Northern Ireland protocol

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Biden administration says undoing the protocol would not be ‘conducive’ to a trade deal between the UK and US

The Biden administration has sent Liz Truss a message on her second day in office warning against “efforts to undo the Northern Ireland protocol”.

The warning came from the lectern in the White House briefing room, where spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about new British prime minister Truss’s first phone call with Joe Biden and whether a US-UK trade deal was discussed.

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Boris Johnson accused of intelligence tipoff that led to British Sikh’s alleged torture in India

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Labour raises questions in the Commons over Johnson’s alleged actions as foreign secretary in the case of activist Jagtar Singh Johal

Labour has accused Boris Johnson of authorising the sharing of intelligence that led to the imprisonment and alleged torture of a UK-based Sikh activist in India.

A Foreign Office minister refused to confirm or deny Johnson’s alleged involvement – during his time as foreign secretary – in the case of Jagtar Singh Johal, who has been detained for five years without trial.

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Ukraine war and energy crisis on Truss agenda as British PM speaks to Biden

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The new British prime minister also spoke to Volodymyr Zelenskiy on her first day in office, pledging UK ‘assistance for the long term’

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing global energy crisis have emerged as a leading foreign policy priorities for Britain’s new prime minister Liz Truss, as she and her US counterpart Joe Biden promised to strengthen their relationship in face of Vladimir Putin’s aggression.

Truss’s call to Biden on Tuesday night followed a conversation with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and focused on what she called “the extreme economic problems caused by Putin’s war”. Biden and Truss “reinforced their commitment to strengthening global liberty, tackling the risks posed by autocracies and ensuring Putin fails in Ukraine”, according to Downing Street.

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Refugees minister who refused to endorse Rwanda policy quits

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Richard Harrington declares his job ‘essentially complete’ day before Liz Truss expected to be named new PM

Richard Harrington, who distanced himself from the government’s policy of sending migrants to Rwanda, has quit as refugees minister a day before Liz Truss is expected to be confirmed as the next prime minister.

He claimed he was stepping down because his job was essentially complete, but the timing of his departure suggests he expected his role was not likely to be renewed by the incoming administration.

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EU and UK could ‘have another go’ at Brexit talks, says NI minister

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Meeting of Conor Burns and Maroš Šefčovič a promising sign as taoiseach says dispute is ‘testing and fraying’ Anglo-Irish relations

Hopes that Brexit talks between the EU and the UK could restart after nine months of paralysis were raised over the weekend after Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns held talks with the European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič.

He spoke as the Irish prime minister, Micheál Martin, said the deepening row over the Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland was “testing and fraying” Anglo-Irish relations, but that the arrival of a new prime minister offered a chance for a fresh approach to break the impasse.

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EU to invite next UK PM to summit on new pan-European security body

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European leaders will head to Prague on 6 October to forge European Political Community

The EU will offer an olive branch to the new British prime minister with an invitation to a summit to discuss a new organisation uniting the democracies of the European continent.

Britain’s next prime minister, widely expected to be Liz Truss, will be invited to join fellow leaders across Europe at a summit in Prague on 6 October to forge a European Political Community, a body dedicated to advancing security across the continent.

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EU warns next PM unilateral action on Brexit deal is of ‘great concern’

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European Commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič, says it is ‘legally and politically inconceivable’

The EU has warned the incoming British prime minister, likely to be Liz Truss, that any unilateral action to scrap part of the Brexit deal is legally and politically of “great concern” across the continent.

The warning by the European Commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič, comes just days before the new prime minister is expected to confirm they will press ahead with new laws to dismantle the arrangements for Northern Ireland.

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Ex-UK ambassador and her husband jailed for a year in Myanmar, reports say

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Vicky Bowman and Htein Lin were arrested last week accused of violating immigration laws

Britain’s former ambassador to Myanmar and her husband, a prominent artist, have been sentenced to one year in prison by the country’s military-controlled courts, reports say.

Vicky Bowman, who was the ambassador in Myanmar from 2002 to 2006, and her husband, Htein Lin, a veteran democracy activist, were arrested last week in Yangon and accused of violating immigration laws.

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Eurostar to axe direct trains from London to Disneyland Paris over Brexit

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High-speed rail firm blames departure from EU and Covid for decision to halt service next summer

Eurostar has decided to stop direct services from London to Disneyland Paris from next summer, citing the fallout from Brexit and Covid.

The high-speed train operator said on Tuesday it was scrapping trains running from the British capital to the Disneyland site in Marne-la-Vallée, in the eastern Paris suburbs.

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UK’s former Myanmar ambassador arrested in Yangon, report says

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Vicky Bowman and Burmese husband Htein Lin detained and charged with immigration offences

Myanmar’s military junta has detained Britain’s former ambassador to the country, as well as her husband, a prominent artist, in Yangon.

Vicky Bowman and Htein Lin, a renowned painter and former political prisoner, were arrested in Yangon on Wednesday and charged with immigration offences, Reuters reports. They were taken to Insein prison, a notorious facility where many political prisoners are held.

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Chinese ambassador warns UK not to cross ‘red lines’ over Taiwan

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Zheng Zeguang says Britain would face serious consequences if it were to ‘follow in the footsteps of the US’

China’s ambassador to the UK has said Britain would face “serious consequences” if it crossed the “red lines” over Taiwan and warned against following in the footsteps of the US.

In a Guardian opinion piece that comes days after Liz Truss said China’s actions “threaten peace and stability in the region”, Zheng Zeguang wrote that Taiwan had become a “touchstone” for bilateral relations that he warned were “at an important juncture”.

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UK treatment of Afghan refugees ‘continues to be source of shame’

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MoD sources accuse other parts of Whitehall of failing to do enough to help Afghans who worked with British forces

Two RAF flights carrying as many as 500 Afghans who worked with British forces and their relatives are landing in the UK each month from Pakistan but there is deep frustration within the Ministry of Defence about how the rest of government is struggling to accommodate arrivals.

It comes as the Taliban and western allies mark the first anniversary of Nato’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

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Number of EU citizens moving to UK plunges post-Brexit – report

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Data shows just 43,000 EU citizens received visas for work, family, study or other purposes in 2021

The number of EU citizens moving to the UK has plunged since Brexit closed the doors to low-paid workers, according to a report.

The dramatic decline in migration from the EU has hit hospitality and support services hard. But the Migration Observatory (MO) at the University of Oxford and ReWage, a group of independent experts, have said that while Brexit “exacerbated” chronic labour shortages in Britain, it was not the only cause.

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Police chief quit after abuse by British colonial troops in Kenya covered up

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Documentary reveals how Britain was not only involved in rape and torture but tried to suppress evidence

A former police commissioner resigned after attempts to expose rape and torture by British colonial forces in Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising were covered up, a documentary shows.

During the 1950s, Britain fought a war in Kenya against the Mau Mau, a movement that fought for independence from colonial rule. The movement was brutally suppressed through the use of widespread detention camps and systemic violence.

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Ryanair boss blames Brexit for airport chaos and says era of €10 airfares over

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Michael O’Leary warns of rising cost of fuel and says policymakers need to get inflation back to about 2%

The boss of Ryanair has warned the era of ultra-low airfares is over and said Brexit is partly to blame for a shortage of airport workers that has created chaos during the peak holiday period.

The airline’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, said surging oil prices would make it impossible to keep offering promotional tickets for less than €10 (£8.50). He added that Ryanair’s average fare would rise from about €40 towards €50 over the next five years as the company adjusted to rising inflation.

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Truss-Sunak contest leaves Brussels pessimistic about relations with UK

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EU officials see little hope of escape from post-Brexit low under either Tory candidate

European officials are pessimistic about a reset in post-Brexit relations with the UK, whoever becomes Britain’s next prime minister in September.

Whether it is Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak who is handed the keys to Downing Street on 5 September, officials in Brussels have little hope of a rapprochement with the new government.

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British farmers face paying for border checkpoints in EU after Brexit halts exports

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Pedigree livestock breeders in Britain could be forced to spend millions of pounds to build facilities in France for ‘red tape’ checks by vets so their animals are allowed to enter the single market

British farmers are trying to set up red tape and border checks in France costing millions of pounds – and may even pay for it themselves.

Breeders in Britain are unable to export their pedigree cattle, sheep and pigs to the EU because no one has built any border control posts where vets can check the animals before they enter the single market.

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Truss hits out at China’s ‘inflammatory’ reaction to Pelosi’s Taiwan visit

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UK foreign secretary calls US House speaker’s trip ‘perfectly reasonable’ and urges China to de-escalate

Liz Truss has criticised China’s “inflammatory” response to a senior US politician visiting Taiwan and called for a de-escalation ahead of military drills expected over the coming days.

Hours after the US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, ended a historic trip to the island about 100 miles east of China, the UK foreign secretary said her meetings with human rights activists and others were “perfectly reasonable”.

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Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan risks upsetting Beijing to no advantage

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Analysis: House speaker’s arrival is likely to inflame relations between the US and China without making Taiwan safer

In the era of US-China geopolitical competition, Joe Biden has been keen to ensure great power politics do not lead to uncontrollable escalation. Yet the trip to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, is threatening to break what administration officials call “guardrails”. She is the highest-ranking member of Congress to visit the island since 1997.

The move, which is a welcome and a bold assertion of democratic principle to Pelosi’s supporters, has certainly rattled Beijing in a politically sensitive year for China’s ruling Communist party. Xi Jinping is expected to be anointed for an extraordinary third term in the party’s five-yearly congress in the next few months. It also comes as the People’s Liberation Army is celebrating the 95th anniversary of its founding.

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British MPs plan visit to Taiwan as tension with China simmers

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Exclusive: Tom Tugendhat likely to lead trip later this year as London’s relationship with Beijing deteriorates

Britain’s House of Commons foreign affairs committee is planning a visit to Taiwan later this year – probably in November or early December – despite rising tensions in the region, the Guardian has learned.

Sources say the trip – which was originally scheduled for early this year but was postponed due to one member of the delegation testing positive for Covid – was intended to show Britain’s support for the democratically run island, which China considers its own.

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