UK politics live: Boris Johnson claims he considered raid into Holland to recover ‘kidnapped’ Covid vaccines
Boris Johnson promises ‘the unfiltered truth about Brexit, Covid and the Conservative Party’ in his new book, Unleashed
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Boris Johnson has claimed he considered sending the British Army on a daring raid to snatch Covid-19 vaccines from an EU warehouse, although he rejected the idea, saying: “The whole thing was nuts.”
The former prime minister demanded of senior military leaders whether he could launch a mission to a warehouse where the EU had stowed five million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, with global supplies dwindling in the height of lockdown.
Mr Johnson Johnson’s book, Unleashed, is being serialised in the Daily Mail and as well as defending his actions during “Partygate” and writing about his experiences in hospital with Covid, he discusses his wranglings with the EU after his post-Brexit deal was put in place.
He wrote: “I was angry enough to contemplate this clandestine operation, because after two months of futile negotiation I had come to the conclusion that the EU was treating us with malice and with spite; not because we had done anything wrong – we had not, far from it; but because we were vaccinating our population much faster than they were, and the European electorate had long since noticed.”
Two million older people in England have unmet social care needs, says Age UK
Some two million older people in England are living without the social care help they need, according to estimates a charity has branded “deeply worrying”.
Many are likely to be struggling with things including getting out of bed and washing, Age UK said, warning that not getting help with these basic tasks increases their risk of falls and serious injury.
The charity said its analysis of data from the latest English Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Office for National Statistics (ONS) population figures had led it to an estimate of two million people aged 65 and over who are living with unmet needs for care and support.
This is up from its previous estimate of 1.6 million last year.
The latest figure includes hundreds of thousands of people who are unable to complete basic self-care tasks and are getting either no help or help that does not meet their needs, Age UK said.
The charity’s analysis also suggested that, of the approximately 11 million people aged 65 and over in England, around 10 per cent have difficulty dressing, and six per cent have difficulty getting in and out of bed.
It said while the number of people aged over 75 has grown by almost a fifth since 2017, fewer older people have been receiving long-term care through their local authority over this period.
A major review of the health service published this month described the state of social care as “dire” and noted the “profound human cost and economic consequences” of a long under-resourced area of healthcare.
The report by independent peer Lord Darzi was focused on the NHS but said a growing gap between people’s needs and those getting publicly funded social care in England is placing “an increasingly large burden on families and on the NHS”.
Watch: Kemi Badenoch explains why she feels ‘sympathy’ for Labour MPs
Kemi Badenoch explains why she feels ‘sympathy’ for Labour MPs
Kemi Badenoch has suggested she feels sympathy for Labour MPs because they “had no idea what they were getting themselves into”. During an appearance on LBC, the Conservative leadership hopeful discussed the stark difference between being in opposition and being in government. “We’re not in charge anymore, we lost the election, but we understand what it is like,” Ms Badenoch explained. “Sometimes I actually feel very sympathetic for Labour MPs and ministers, because they had no idea what they were getting themselves into and you can see they’re making a horlicks of so much.” Ms Badenoch went on to suggest she would be a strong communicator if elected as the new Tory leader.
COMMENT | What does the future of The Spectator look like with ‘arch schemer’ Gove at the helm?
If he resists the temptation to simply preach the gospel of his friend and proprietor Sir Paul Marshall, the former Tory minister may find that he thrives in the role, writes Alan Rusbridger:
What does the future of The Spectator look like with ‘arch schemer’ Gove at the helm?
If he resists the temptation to simply preach the gospel of his friend and proprietor Sir Paul Marshall, the former Tory minister may find that he thrives in the role, writes Alan Rusbridger
Watch: Who will be the next leader of the Conservatives?
Who will be the next leader of The Conservatives?
Following on from their election defeat and Rishi Sunak departing, the Conservatives have been locked in a leadership campaign to pick the next party leader. Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat are the final four vying to win the leadership and return a fractious party back to power from Kier Starmer’s Labour. But who will win and who’s most likely to succeed? Kate Devlin and John Rentoul cast an eye over the field of candidates and pick who they think is next face Kier Starmer at the dispatch box in Westminster.
Starmer and Palestinian president urge immediate ceasefire in Middle East
Sir Keir Starmer has been busy meeting world leaders at the annual United Nations General Assembly ahead of his keynote speech today.
He held bilateral talks last night with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas as Israel’s war on Gaza continues.
Both leaders have condemned the attacks of 7 October and agreed on the need of an immediate ceasefire across the Middle East.
In a read out, No 10 said: “He also highlighted the civilian death toll in Gaza since then, with 41,000 killed and 100,000 injured, plus 70 per cent of infrastructure devastated.
“The prime minister agreed that the loss of civilian life had been intolerable.”
Downing Street added: “The president and prime minister also condemned the increase in settler violence and settlement activity there has been on the West Bank.”
What was announced in Starmer’s Labour conference speech?
Sir Keir Starmer’s address to the 2024 Labour Party Conference saw him promise to rebuild Britain “brick by brick” after fourteen years of Tory government, telling conference delegates his government will create a “Britain that belongs to you”.
But what exactly was announced? We look at the key developments from the prime minister’s speech below.
Everything that was announced in Starmer’s Labour conference speech
From a Hillsborough law to new legislation to tackle benefit fraud, what exactly was announced in Sir Keir Starmer’s speech to the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool?
Starmer wraps up 2-hour dinner with Donald Trump
Sir Keir Starmer has finished a two-hour dinner meeting with Donald Trump in New York, according to reports.
The PM and Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with the former president before flying back to the UK.
Topics discussed included the importance of retaining the close partnership between the UK & US, according to Downing Street.
Sir Keir Starmer says he wants to “reset” the UK’s relationship with the EU.
Sir Keir Starmer will visit Brussels as he steps up efforts to “reset” the UK’s relationship with the European Union.
The Prime Minister wants to repair the damage caused by years of Brexit wrangling in an effort to boost trade and security co-operation.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen revealed that Sir Keir would visit Brussels next week after the pair met in New York.
Sir Keir has met a string of EU leaders since taking office and has spoken about his “ambitious” plans for a new relationship.
Sir Keir said: “I want to reset our relationship with the EU and make Brexit work for the British people.”
He said he was “looking forward to visiting Brussels next week to start discussions” with the commission president.
Tory leadership candidate Labour most fears revealed
Senior aids have revealed that Labour wants to “avoid” James Cleverly as future Tory leader.
According to the i newspaper, Downing Street officials said it was the former home secretary who they would least like to win the contest.
A Labour party figure said: “I think Cleverly could be a problem. He sounds quite reasonable,” a No 10 aide added: “James Cleverly – that’s who we want to avoid.”
Another government aide said Kemi Badenoch does not represent a threat as the party is “not sure she’d take our votes”.
£10bn data centre investment shows UK ‘open for business’, says Starmer
A £10 billion US investment in a new artificial intelligence data centre will create 4,000 jobs in the UK, the government has announced.
The deal with private equity giant Blackstone will create Europe’s biggest AI data centre in Blyth, Northumberland.
You can read the full story below:
£10bn data centre investment shows UK ‘open for business’, says Starmer
The deal with private equity giant Blackstone will create Europe’s biggest AI data centre in Blyth, Northumberland.
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