6:33 am, May 17, 2023
European leaders must ‘stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes’, Sunak says
Rishi Sunak has called on European leaders to ‘stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes’ as it fights against Russia’s invasion.
The PM told the Council of Europe summit that ‘the UK may have left the EU, but we have not left Europe’ and Russia must be held ‘accountable for the horrendous war crimes that have been committed’.
The comments come a day after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky met Sunak at Chequers and Downing Street announced that the UK is set to provide war-torn Ukraine with air defence missiles and attack drones.
Government announces long-promised plans to end ‘no-fault’ evictions
Long-promised plans to abolish so-called no-fault evictions will be introduced to Parliament on Wednesday, the government has announced.
Housing secretary Michael Gove said the Renters’ (Reform) Bill will allow tenants to challenge poor landlords without losing their home.
A new ombudsman will be established to oversee dispute resolutions while a digital ‘property portal’ will be set up to assist property managers in understanding their obligations, the government said. Renters will also be given the legal right to request a pet in their home which landlords must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse, according to the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).
UK and EU to ‘strengthen co-operation’ on migration – Downing Street
The UK and the EU agreed to build a new working arrangement to ‘strengthen co-operation’ on migration at a European summit, Downing Street said, despite the host country downplaying the event’s focus on border issues.
Rishi Sunak and Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, underlined a ‘shared interest’ in tackling cross-border crime and people trafficking during a bilateral talk at the Council of Europe meeting in Iceland on Tuesday, according to No 10.
The arrangement would see British agencies working with Frontex, the EU border force, on ‘critical operational and strategic challenges including the situation in the Channel’, a Downing Street spokesman said.
Sunak to announce defence collaboration on G7 trip to Japan
Rishi Sunak will fly to Japan to unveil a new defence and technology collaboration before seeking to galvanise support for Ukraine during talks with world leaders.
The prime minister will join allies including the US’s Joe Biden and France’s Emmanuel Macron as the G7 group of industrialised democracies meets in Hiroshima.
Japan’s Fumio Kishida is hosting the summit in the city hit with an atomic bomb during the Second World War to highlight the dangers of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sunak will seek to focus on economic security and support for Volodymyr Zelensky’s fight against Russia.
Bird flu detected in two poultry workers in the UK
Bird flu has been detected in two poultry workers in England, though there are no signs of human-to-human transmission, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said.
The cases are believed to be linked to exposure to sick birds on a single poultry farm where the two people were known to have recently worked. Neither worker suffered symptoms of infection and both cases were found during routine asymptomatic screening.
The UKHSA said the H5 virus had been detected in the two workers, but further sequencing would be carried out.
Government extends £2 bus fare cap for second time to help with cost of living
The government has extended the £2 bus fare cap for a second time to ensure bus travel remains ‘accessible and affordable for everyone’.
The cap will remain for bus services outside London until October 31 after which it will increase to £2.50 until November 30 2024 before fares are reviewed, the Department for Transport (DfT) said.
Transport secretary Mark Harper said the government will invest £200m to extend the cap and a further £300m to support bus services until 2025 – £160m for local transport authorities to improve fares, services and infrastructure, and £140m for operators to protect essential services across England.
More than 10m UK adults struggling with bills and credit repayments – FCA
Around one in five adults were finding bills and credit commitments a heavy burden by the start of this year, according to the City regulator.
The number of adults struggling this way is estimated to have increased by 3.1 million since May 2022, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said, jumping from around 7.8m (15 per cent) in May last year to 10.9m (21 per cent) in January 2023.
The number of UK adults who had missed bills or loan payments in at least three of the previous six months is also estimated by the regulator to have increased by 1.4m, from 4.2 million (eight per cent) in May 2022 to 5.6m (11 per cent) in January 2023. The regulator released the latest figures after gathering more than 5,000 responses as part of its UK-wide survey of people aged 18 and over.
Tuesday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Cazoo completes continental European exit as share price fall sees firm valued at just £40m
- Auto Trader analysis finds used EV prices have plummeted by over £4,500 this year despite general market strength
- JLR to concentrate on more profitable models for next few months
- Thieves stole vehicles worth £30,000 and made off with £6,500 in cash as more details are revealed about break-in at AJC Cars
- GardX strengthens UK operations with new group director
Farm shop planning rule easing not targeted at Jeremy Clarkson row, says No 10
A move to relax planning rules around setting-up farm shops is not targeted at TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson’s run-ins on his own agricultural land, No 10 has said.
Rishi Sunak and environment secretary Therese Coffey unveiled a package of measures to boost the farming sector ahead of Tuesday’s UK Farm to Fork summit.
It comes as former Top Gear presenter Clarkson finds himself embroiled in a row over his plans to allow greater visitor access to his farm and its attached shop.One of the measures included plans to cut red tape to make it easier to repurpose farm buildings to use as shops.
Renault set to head upmarket with new Rafale coupe-SUV
Renault has teased a new coupe-SUV that is set to head up the brand’s range of cars.
Called the Rafale, it has been teased in a single disguised image showing the model’s sleek look, elongated shape and bold LED lighting at both the front and rear.
We don’t know too much about the new car yet, but the Rafale will be built on Renault’s CMF-CD platform, and essentially serve as the coupe version of the firm’s new Austral SUV – a rival to the Nissan Qashqai.
Weather outlook
Sunny spells and patchy cloud for most of the UK today, reports BBC Weather. The far north of Scotland will see heavier outbreaks of rain. Highs of 17 degrees celsius.
Showers in the south will clear later leaving a dry night but a cloudy one. Scotland will see patchy rain.
