Category Archives: Foreign policy

US election: what a Biden or Trump victory could mean for Britain

Posted on by

It could be the most significant election for US foreign policy since 1940, with huge implications for the UK

The British government has a long history of misreading America – from Lord Palmerston expecting the Confederacy to survive the civil war, to Ernie Bevin being shocked that the US would not pay the UK’s postwar bills, to Tony Blair believing in 2003 that he could ride the US military tiger in Iraq and create a democracy.

Few serving or former British diplomats are confidently predicting the outcome of this November’s presidential election, or even whether an increasingly erratic Donald Trump will accept the result as legitimate. The collective delusion about the 2016 election hangs heavy.

Continue reading...

EU deal still possible, PM to be told, as potential fisheries plan emerges

Posted on by

UK negotiator to tell Boris Johnson that two more weeks of talks could lead to breakthrough

Boris Johnson will be advised by his chief negotiator that a trade deal with the EU is still possible should the prime minister ditch his deadline and continue to negotiate with Brussels as tentative signs of a compromise on fisheries emerged.

David Frost, who has been in talks with the EU team led by Michel Barnier this week, will inform the prime minister that a further two weeks, at least, of daily talks could result in the remaining gaps being bridged.

Continue reading...

MI5 boss says Russian and Chinese threats to UK ‘growing in severity’

Posted on by

Ken McCallum also pledges to boost diversity in the service as response to Black Lives Matter movement

MI5’s new boss has said the spy threats posed by China and Russia to the UK are “growing in severity and complexity” while the terrorist threat from Isis and the far right “persists at scale”.

Giving his first speech since his domestic spy agency’s director general in April, Ken McCallum focused on risks from hostile states, including undermining “the integrity of UK research” on a coronavirus vaccine.

Continue reading...

Brexit: Barnier mocks Johnson’s ‘third deadline’ on talks

Posted on by

Chief negotiator says little prospect yet of EU and UK entering ‘tunnel’ negotiations

Michel Barnier has mocked Boris Johnson for issuing a “third unilateral deadline” during a meeting with EU ministers, warning that the Brexit talks remain difficult with little prospect yet of the two sides entering a decisive “tunnel” negotiation.

With 48 hours remaining before an EU leaders’ summit in Brussels, by which time the British prime minister has demanded a breakthrough moment, the bloc’s chief negotiator suggested a deal was “very difficult but still possible”, according to diplomatic sources.

Continue reading...

Iain Duncan Smith calls for review of Chinese investment in UK

Posted on by

Former Conservative leader says government should assess China’s influence in areas from 5G to Covid-19 research

Chinese ownership of British businesses should be subject to a national security review by the UK government to assess the impact of Beijing’s growing economic power, according to the former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith.

The senior backbencher – a leading figure in the rebellion that forced Downing Street to introduce tougher controls on Huawei – believes ministers have failed to deal with the scale of China’s influence on strategic industries in the UK.

Continue reading...

Johnson and Macron hold talks on coronavirus and Brexit

Posted on by

UK and French leaders spoke as British and EU negotiating teams engage in eleventh-hour trade deal meetings

Boris Johnson has held Brexit telephone talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, as the clock ticks down to the deadline for a deal.

The two leaders spoke on Saturday with seemingly just days remaining for an agreement on a future trade deal to be reached, after UK and EU negotiating teams met on Friday for what sources said was a positive meeting.

Continue reading...

EU does not believe UK will walk out on Brexit talks, diplomat says

Posted on by

Boris Johnson has publicly suggested a Brussels summit next week is his deadline for a deal

Brussels does not believe Boris Johnson will walk out on the Brexit talks next week despite repeated threats from London, with negotiations set to continue deep into the month.

The prime minister has publicly suggested that an EU summit next Thursday is his deadline for a deal. He said in September that without agreement it would be time to “accept and move on”.

Continue reading...

Italian PM urges UK to do right thing on Brexit deal

Posted on by

Giuseppe Conte under pressure from Italian exporters to ensure favourable outcome on withdrawal agreement

Italy’s prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, has urged the British government to come good on a Brexit deal but admitted it was currently “difficult to feel optimistic” amid legal wrangling over the withdrawal agreement.

“Obviously the legislative move in the UK creates tension,” said Conte, referring to Boris Johnson’s tabling of a bill that violates key elements of the agreement reached with Brussels last year.

Continue reading...

UK MPs and lawyers request Saudi visit to check on missing princes

Posted on by

Mohammed bin Nayef and Ahmed bin Abdulaziz have not been seen in public since March

A group of MPs and lawyers have asked to visit Saudi Arabia to discover the fate of two high-profile Saudi princes, the former crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef and Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz.

The panel has been set up to investigate and report on the detention of the princes as well as other key political figures detained in the region. The princes have reportedly been denied legal advice, medical care and contact with their family since they disappeared in March.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson set for compromise on Human Rights Act – EU sources

Posted on by

UK prepared to retain act in order to secure security ties with EU, sources say

Boris Johnson is prepared to make a major compromise to secure security ties with the EU by pledging in a deal on the future relationship not to rip up the Human Rights Act.

The UK is said by EU sources to be “moving” in negotiations on the issue in Brussels after previously insisting that the government would not tie its hands in any agreement on the future relationship.

Continue reading...

EU needs clear sign UK will get real in Brexit talks, says Irish minister

Posted on by

Simon Coveney says talks will not progress without signal that UK is ready to show some realism

The EU’s Michel Barnier will not move Brexit talks into the so-called “tunnel” of more intense negotiations “unless he gets a very clear signal from the UK that they are willing to show some flexibility and realism” in its approach to a deal, Ireland’s foreign affairs minister has said.

Simon Coveney, who played a significant role in the first three years of talks, also said the talks would blow up completely if the UK went ahead with clauses in the yet-to-be-tabled finance bill giving ministers unilateral powers over the Northern Ireland protocol for a second time.

Continue reading...

UK court overturns ruling on $1.8bn of Venezuelan gold

Posted on by

Appeal court sets aside ruling that gold could not be released to Nicolás Maduro-backing bank

A battle for the control of more than $1.8bn worth of Venezuelan gold stored at the Bank of England has swung in favour of the government of Nicolás Maduro after an appeals court in London overturned an earlier high court ruling concerning whom the UK recognised as Venezuela’s president.

The court of appeal granted an appeal by the Banco Central de Venezuela (BCV) and set aside July’s high court judgment, which had found that Britain’s recognition of the opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the “constitutional interim president of Venezuela” meant the gold could not be released for the Maduro-backing bank.

Continue reading...

Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of rocket attack

Posted on by

At least one person killed in Ganja incident, as former Soviet republics move closer to war

Fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh has escalated dramatically after Baku accused Armenian forces of firing rockets at Ganja, which lies outside the contested territory.

At least one civilian was killed and four more injured in the attack on Sunday on Ganja, Azerbaijan’s second largest city, 100km (60 miles) north of the Karabakh capital, Stepanakert.

Continue reading...

America is having a code red moment. Which of its enemies is likely to strike first? | Simon Tisdall

Posted on by

With Trump in hospital and the election campaign in chaos, the US has never been more vulnerable to foreign threats

US presidential elections and the uncertain transition periods that follow have traditionally been viewed by military, intelligence and security officials as moments of maximum national vulnerability. They will be especially worried now.

The fact that Donald Trump is ill in hospital, presidential advisers and Republican senators are also unwell, or self-isolating, and the election campaign is in chaos will intensify a sense of dangerous exposure at the Pentagon, CIA and state department.

Continue reading...

Johnson and Von der Leyen extend Brexit talks by a month

Posted on by

UK and EU leaders instruct chief negotiators to work harder to close gaps on deal

Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen have approved a further month of Brexit negotiations after agreeing that enough progress has been made to justify a last push to reach a deal on trade and security.

The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, will travel to London this week for talks with his British counterpart, David Frost, and the two sides will then hold follow-up talks in Brussels the week after.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson to set fishing ultimatum in crunch EU summit

Posted on by

Buoyed by support for idea from Angela Merkel, PM hopes to overcome French opposition

Boris Johnson will demand that the increasingly isolated French president, Emmanuel Macron, caves in to UK demands on fishing as the price for a trade and security deal at a key meeting with the European commission president on Saturday.

The prime minister will speak to Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday afternoon in a video-conference call to “take stock of negotiations and discuss next steps”.

Continue reading...

Brexit: EU launches legal action against UK for breaching withdrawal agreement

Posted on by

UK put on formal notice over internal market bill, which ministers admit breaks international law

The EU has launched legal action against the UK after Boris Johnson failed to respond to Brussels’ demand that he drop legislation that would overwrite the withdrawal agreement and break international law.

Ursula von der Leyen, the European commission president, announced that the UK had been put on formal notice over the internal market bill tabled by the prime minister last month.

Continue reading...

Confidence in UK’s global role plunges after Brexit, poll finds

Posted on by

Belief that Britain is force for good in world is down 10 points from April 2019 in UK

Belief that Britain is a force for good in the world has plunged in the last 18 months, a national poll has found, with under half of the UK now convinced of the country’s positive impact.

As negotiations on the UK’s future relationship enter a key week in Brussels and with the country set to leave the EU’s single market and customs union at the end of the year, a poll by Ipsos Mori suggests there is a lack of confidence in Britain’s global role.

Continue reading...

Theresa May says ‘reckless’ Brexit bill risks UK’s reputation

Posted on by

Ex-PM says internal market bill could lead to a united Ireland and undermine trust in UK

Theresa May has launched a blistering attack on the government’s plan to give itself powers to renege on the special arrangements for Northern Ireland in the Brexit deal.

She described the plans as “reckless” and “irresponsible” and said they “risked the integrity of the United Kingdom”, as they would not only tarnish Britain’s reputation globally as an upholder of the law but could contribute to a reunited Ireland.

Continue reading...

Sadiq Khan urged to boycott Saudi-hosted G20 mayors summit

Posted on by

Rights coalition calls on mayors to withdraw from U20, which coincides with anniversary of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder

Mainly leftwing mayors of some of the world’s biggest cities are being urged to boycott a G20 urban summit hosted by Saudi Arabia on the 2nd anniversary of the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Urban 20 (U20) is being held as part of the Saudi Arabian chairmanship of this year’s G20. Among the mayors slated to attend include, Berlin’s Michael Müller, London’s Sadiq Khan, New York’s Bill de Blasio, Paris’s Anne Hidalgo, Rome’s Virginia Raggi as well as the mayors of Los Angeles and Madrid.

Continue reading...