Culture Secretary says Queen’s funeral was ‘taxpayers’ money well spent’
The failure to secure an imminent free trade deal between the UK and the US is a “shame” for Liz Truss, Labor has said.
The Prime Minister admitted that negotiations for a post-Brexit free trade deal with the United States will not restart for years as she flew to New York ahead of a meeting with Joe Biden.
The Conservative leader will attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York on her first trip abroad as prime minister.
Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “After being snubbed by the Biden administration in her first weeks in office, Liz Truss urgently needs to wake up to the damage her reckless approach to foreign policy is doing to the national interest of the United Kingdom.
A spokesman for the Liberal Democrats added that “Mrs Truss’s diplomacy” was to blame for the failure to reach a deal.
Mrs Truss will also hold talks with Emmanuel Macron, the first since he asked if he was a “friend or foe” of the UK.
key points
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BREAKING: Labor MP Rosie Cooper resigns to take up NHS manager role
Labor MP Rosie Cooper has resigned to accept a role as chair of Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust.
The West Lancashire MP said it had been an “incredible privilege and honour” to serve her constituents for 17 years.
“I’ve loved every minute of it, even in the hardest times,” Ms Cooper said.
He added: “I appreciate that this will come as a surprise to many people who recently won re-election as the West Lancashire Labor Party candidate for the next general election. This was before the recruitment process for the position by Mersey Care.
“The decision to apply for the role was made after a considerable period of research and reflection. The events I have faced over the past few years are well documented and have certainly taken their toll.”
Mrs Cooper was the victim of a plot by neo-Nazi pedophile Jack Renshaw who wanted to kill the MP with a machete.
Thomas Kingsley September 20, 2022 11:26 am
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The sale of Channel 4 could be abandoned, says the new Culture Secretary, after the protests
The new Culture Secretary has cast doubt on the future of the Government’s plans to sell Channel 4, saying he is re-examining the “business case” to make sure “we are still on board with this decision”.
The decision to take Channel 4 out of public ownership was announced under the tenure of Michelle Donelan’s predecessor, Nadine Dorries, who led the controversial move during her time under Boris Johnson.
Ms Dorries announced she was stepping down as Culture Secretary following Johnson’s departure earlier this month, and her successor as Prime Minister Liz Truss appointed Donelan as the new Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that Ms Truss’s government is re-examining the “business case” for selling Channel 4.
“We’re particularly looking at the business case for the sale of Channel 4 and making sure we’re still on board with that decision, and that’s what I’m doing,” he said.
Read the full story from our deputy political editor, Rob Merrick:
The sale of Channel 4 could be abandoned, says the new culture secretary
Michelle Donelan will also look again at the future of the BBC’s license fee, after Nadine Dorries outlined the review
Thomas Kingsley September 20, 2022 11:20 am
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Liz Truss ‘hands-on diplomacy’ behind ‘challenged’ US free trade deal
Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who was also attending Unga, said: “After being snubbed by the Biden administration in her first few weeks in office, Liz Truss urgently needs to wake up with the damage that his reckless approach to foreign policy is causing to the UK’s national interest.
“The Prime Minister must use the UN General Assembly to bring the UK back from the cold and start rebuilding our country’s diplomatic influence.”
The Liberal Democrats blamed Ms Truss’ “shameless diplomacy” for failing to get a trade deal.
“Any competent political party would have made sure that the business secretary and then the foreign secretary responsible for this series of failures was held accountable. Instead, the Tories have appointed her as prime minister,” the spokeswoman said Foreign Affairs, Layla Moran.
Thomas Kingsley September 20, 2022 10:54 am
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Key government meetings and announcements this week
- Tuesday: Liz Truss will meet French President Emmanuel Macron at 4.15pm at the UN.
- Wednesday: The UK Prime Minister will meet US President Joe Biden at the UN on Wednesday.
- Wednesday: Nationally, the government is expected to announce further measures to support businesses affected by the energy crisis.
- Thursday: New Health Secretary Therese Coffey is expected to announce measures to support the NHS, particularly looking at support to tackle treatment delays.
- Friday: Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng will announce the government’s mini-budget to tackle the cost of living crisis.
(Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Thomas Kingsley September 20, 2022 10:45 am
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Liz Truss does not need to apologize to Emmanuel Macron, says the Culture Secretary
Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said Liz Truss does not need to apologize to French President Emmanuel Macron when she meets him at a United Nations summit in New York.
Ms Truss sparked a diplomatic row during the Tory leadership contest when she refused to give a straight answer when asked whether the allied nation’s president was a “friend or foe”.
“The Prime Minister has a right to comment on any subject she sees fit to do so, so I don’t think she should apologise,” Michelle Donelan told Times Radio.
Donelan added that it was important not to “overplay” the prime minister’s previous comments about Emmanuel Macron.
The Culture Secretary described France to LBC as an “important ally and an important relationship we have with France”. Pressed on how the UK could break the impasse over the Northern Ireland Protocol, she said: “This is something we are obviously committed to.
“Northern Ireland is an integral part of the United Kingdom and it was this Prime Minister who has been very open about this and is determined to make sure we act and we will see more work on this in the coming weeks.”
“We’re back to business in a public forum and it’s been worked on behind the scenes, I can assure you.”
Thomas Kingsley September 20, 2022 10:30 am
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Government ditches windfall tax ‘wrong’, says Labour’s shadow minister
Shadow Treasury Secretary James Murray criticized the government for not using a windfall tax on surplus profits from energy companies to fund help for households during the cost of living crisis.
In describing the work plan, Mr. Mr Murray said: “What we have set out is a plan for the next six months which is fully calculated, which explains exactly who pays, which does not require any borrowing and which shows that the windfall tax will contribute to paying for this help.
“We said this will get us through the next six months and then we’ll look at what’s needed beyond that. The real dividing line here is who’s going to pay for it.
He added: “When we look at the excess profits from the oil and gas giants that we see in the Treasury papers, we know about £170bn of excess profits for the next two years and that the government is ruling out asking them for a contribution of these excess profits, we believe is wrong. Every penny not collected from a windfall tax falls on the taxpayer.”
Thomas Kingsley September 20, 2022 10:15 am
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Watch: Culture secretary refers to BBC license fee withdrawal
The Culture Secretary refers to the removal of the BBC license fee
Thomas Kingsley September 20, 2022 10:00 am
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Former NATO commander calls on Liz Truss to step up support for Ukraine
Making Ukraine a NATO member is “the only definitive security guarantee” for the country, a former alliance commander said as he called on Liz Truss to match her words of support with action.
Retired General Sir Richard Shirreff, a former NATO deputy supreme allied commander in Europe, said he was “delighted” by the prime minister’s support for Ukraine but called for “significant defense spending”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Now is the time for NATO to take risks, to increase the support that Ukraine needs.”
He added: “But as NATO takes risks, it has to manage that risk and the way NATO manages that risk is to be prepared for the worst case, and the worst case is war with Russia.” .
Mrs Truss is pledging to spend at least £2.3 billion next year on military aid to help Ukraine stave off Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
Sir Richard said: “I note that the Prime Minister, as Foreign Secretary, said that 2% of GDP on defense was the floor and not the ceiling in her Mansion House speech. She has called for 3 per percent of GDP and I’d like to see it match that with action.”
Thomas Kingsley20 September 2022 09:50
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ICYMI: Former UK prime ministers and world leaders pictured at Queen’s state funeral
(AP)
(via REUTERS)
(AFP via Getty Images)
(via REUTERS)
(PA)
Thomas Kingsley20 September 2022 09:35
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Purpose of Biden-Truss talks ‘not to get a trade deal’, culture secretary says
Liz Truss will not use her next meeting with Joe Biden to try to get a trade deal, the Culture Secretary has indicated.
It comes after the Prime Minister admitted that negotiations for a post-Brexit free trade deal with the United States will not restart for years, as she traveled to New York for a visit that will include a meeting with Biden.
Michelle Donelan told Sky News: “The Prime Minister and the President are meeting this week, they’re going to talk about a range of different issues, including possible trade deals. So we’re going to see what comes out of that meeting.”
Pressed on the subject of the meeting, she said: “The purpose of this meeting is not to secure a trade deal. This is the first bilateral meeting between the newly elected Prime Minister…