3 h. ago Starmer takes playful jab at Musk in DC reception speech: ‘taking out a chainsaw isn’t my style’

Keir Starmer took a playful dig at Elon Musk while speaking at the UK Embassy in Washington DC on the eve of the Prime Minister’s meeting with US President Donald Trump on 27 February.

Politics

4 h. ago Minister meets with EU to discuss ‘red tape’ which touring musicians face

Liberal Democrat culture spokesman Max Wilkinson urged Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy not to ‘go breaking my heart’ over the issue.

Politics

22 h. ago Russia accuses UK and France of ‘heating up’ Ukraine war amid defence push

The accusation comes as the Prime Minister flies to the US to meet Donald Trump after promising a dramatic increase in defence spending.

Events

27 h. ago New Zealand's foreign minister holds talks in China as concern grows over military drills

New Zealand’s foreign minister is meeting senior officials in China just days after New Zealand and Australia said that Chinese warships should have given more warning before live-fire exercises in waters between their countries

Politics

39 h. ago As Starmer meets Trump – what challenges face the UK’s prime minister?

The Labour leader faces a diplomatic balancing act as he heads over the Atlantic this week

Politics

39 h. ago Keir Starmer warns Britain is entering an 'era of hard power' over foreign aid

EXCLUSIVE: The Prime Minister announced the Government will meet its manifesto pledge to raise the military budget to 2.5 per cent of GDP two years early.

Events

43 h. ago Starmer denies Trump is setting UK policy as defence spending is increased

The Prime Minister announced the increase ahead of a meeting with US president this week

Politics

49 h. ago Sir Keir Starmer announces cuts to UK aid budget to fund defence spending increase

The Prime Minister announced the increase ahead of a meeting with Donald Trump

Economics

50 h. ago Donald Trump talks call for 'strong' Keir Starmer to save Europe from wider war

Keir Starmer will meet with Donald Trump in Washington DC this week in what has been called one of the most important meeting between a UK Prime Minister and a US President in decades

Politics

50 h. ago Tusk says European leaders heading to London to discuss joint plans on defence – Europe live

Polish prime minister says EU leaders will meet on Sunday and calls for greater defence mobilisation across EuropeThe London summit is understood to be still in planning and would serve as a forum for European leaders to get debriefed on both Macron and Starmer’s conversations with Trump during their respective visits to the White House and to consider implications for European and Ukrainian security.It so happens that Starmer is due to speak in UK parliament in the next half hour, so we could get an official confirmation of what Tusk said.I hope that this greater [defence] mobilisation of Europe, of member states and Europe more broadly, will become a fact.[Before meeting at the next European Council,] we will be in London on Sunday, together with our British friends and a group of leaders, to talk about these joint plans on defence. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago M23 militia’s advance in eastern DRC has killed 7,000 since January, UN told

DRC prime minister tells human rights council fighting has left about 450,000 without shelter after camps destroyedAbout 7,000 people have died in fighting in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since Rwanda-backed M23 rebels started renewed advances in January, the DRC’s prime minister has said.At a high-level meeting of the UN’s human rights council in Geneva on Monday, Judith Suminwa Tuluka also said the war had left about 450,000 people without shelter after the destruction of 90 displacement camps. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Keir Starmer to have 'very good and constructive' talks with Donald Trump later this week

The Prime Minister will meet the US President when he goes to Washington DC later this week

Politics

3 d. ago Keir Starmer to push Donald Trump on Ukraine peace deal during Washington visit

The Prime Minister is set to meet Donald Trump in Washington

Politics

3 d. ago Ukraine war live: Zelenskyy hails ‘three years of resistance’ on anniversary of Russian invasion

Ukraine president pays tribute to ‘absolute heroism’ of Ukrainians as EU leaders arrive in KyivSee all our Ukraine coverageHungary’s foreign minister Péter Szijjártó has chosen the third anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine to post to Facebook to announce that his country is unwilling to press ahead with the extension of sanctions on Russian individuals at the European Union’s foreign ministers meeting on Monday.Reuters reports he added that Hungary would also not consent to the EU committing tens of billions of euros for more arms supplies to Ukraine. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Starmer and Macron agree to show ‘united leadership in support of Ukraine’

UK prime minister and French president will separately meet Donald Trump this weekKeir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have agreed to show “united leadership in support of Ukraine” when they separately meet Donald Trump this week.The UK prime minister and the French president spoke on Sunday afternoon to reiterate the importance of Ukraine being at the centre of any negotiations to end the war, Downing Street said. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Preparations under way for meeting between Trump and Putin, Russia says

Russian and US leaders will meet face to face in move towards normalising relations, deputy foreign minister saysPreparations for a face-to-face meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are under way, Russia’s deputy foreign minister has said.The event would mark a dramatic shift away from western isolation of Moscow, which has been in place since Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Speaking to Russian state media, Sergei Ryabkov said a possible Putin-Trump summit could involve broad talks on global issues, not just Ukraine. “The question is about starting to move towards normalising relations between our countries, finding ways to resolve the most acute and potentially very, very dangerous situations, of which there are many, Ukraine among them,” he said. But he said efforts to organise such a meeting were at an early stage, and that making it happen would require “the most intensive preparatory work”. Ryabkov added that US and Russian envoys could meet “within the next two...

Politics

5 d. ago Starmer will not challenge Trump on his attack on Zelenskyy when the pair meet

UK prime minister aiming to cool escalating transatlantic row over war in UkraineKeir Starmer will not risk riling Donald Trump by challenging him over his attack on Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, when the pair finally meet next week, as the prime minister seeks to cool an escalating transatlantic row.Starmer will fly to the US in the coming days for what could be a defining moment for his leadership, as Europe and the US trade accusations and insults about the origins of the war in Ukraine and the best way to end it. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Keir Starmer urged to ramp up defence spending – UK politics live

This is ‘probably one of the most alarming times for Britain’s defence since the second world war’, says Lib Dem leader Ed Davey as he calls for more spendingHello and welcome to our rolling coverage of UK politics.The Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has said the government must swiftly ramp up defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP).I’ve never known a time like this, it is probably one of the most alarming times for Britain’s defence and security since the second world war, with our closest ally changing their position. So we have to debate it, it is going to be difficult.I don’t think there’s an easy solution, but we have put some ideas on the table. One idea we have put is to increase the digital services taxes, a tax on about 20 multinational companies with turnovers of over £500m and we would raise it from the current 2% to 10%.Foreign secretary David Lammy is in South Africa for the second day of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting.Scottish Labour leader Anas ...

Politics

6 d. ago Starmer facing pressure to be bold with Trump in Washington visit

The Prime Minister will meet US President Donald Trump next week amid a deepening feud between Kyiv and Washington.

Politics

6 d. ago Macron and Starmer to lead Europe’s Trump charm offensive when they travel to US – Europe live

French president and UK prime minister are due to meet Donald Trump next weekGoing briefly to a number of different false claims made by US president Donald Trump about Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine, we have looked at some of them in detail and produced this short video explainer.French president Emmanuel Macron and UK prime minister Keir Starmer will lead Europe’s charm offensive next week as they both travel to the US to meet with president Donald Trump in an increasingly desperate bid to change his mind on Ukraine and European security. Continue reading...

Politics