Page 13 - Rishi Sunak

Will only agree an India trade deal that works for Britain: PM Sunak

"He said negotiations around a free trade deal were progressing and that he would only agree an approach which worked for the whole UK," his spokesperson told reporters

Claire Coutinho: Newest Indian-origin minister in UK PM Rishi Sunak Cabinet

Claire Coutinho, a close aide of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, got a big promotion as his new Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary in a mini reshuffle on Thursday. Coutinho, 38, becomes the second Goan-origin minister after Home Secretary Suella Braverman in the Sunak Cabinet and has a tough brief ahead of her as energy costs have been soaring in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. She has committed herself to work on safeguarding energy security and reducing bills for families struggling with a cost-of-living crisis. In her first Cabinet role, Coutinho replaced Grant Shapps after he was promoted to the post of Defence Secretary following the resignation of Ben Wallace. "I am delighted to have been appointed Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. I will work with the Prime Minister to safeguard our energy security, reduce bills for families, and build cleaner, cheaper, homegrown energy," she tweeted. Like Sunak, UK-born Coutinho grew up in a family conne

UK PM Sunak appoints Grant Shapps as new defence minister in mini reshuffle

Grant Shapps, one of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's staunchest Cabinet allies, was named UK defence secretary on Thursday as Sunak began a Cabinet reshuffle ahead of a general election that is expected to take place next year. The move came after Ben Wallace formally submitted his resignation earlier in the day, honouring a promise made last month. Wallace was defence secretary for four years, overseeing Britain's military response to the war in Ukraine. Shapps, who supported Sunak during his campaign to become Conservative Party leader and prime minister last year, has been a Cabinet member since 2019, most recently serving as secretary of state for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero. Wallace used his resignation letter to press for increased funding for the military, long his primary issue. I genuinely believe that over the next decade the world will get more insecure and more unstable," Wallace wrote in his letter to Sunak. We both share the belief that now is

Sunak faces questions over wife Akshata's shares in FTA with India: Report

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak could face some transparency questions related to wife Akshata Murty's Infosys shares, worth an estimated 500 million pounds, in a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with India, according to a media report. The Observer' claims the Opposition Labour Party and trade experts are questioning the full financial impact as Infosys, the Bengaluru-headquartered software service major co-founded by Akshata's father Narayana Murthy, stands to benefit from any such trade deal. India and the UK have been negotiating an FTA, now in its 12th round of negotiations, as Sunak prepares for his first visit to India as British Prime Minister for the G20 Leaders' Summit next month. As the Prime Minister recently learned, it's important he declares any interests properly. I expect him to do so in respect of the India trade deal too, said Darren Jones, Labour MP and chair of the cross-party House of Commons Business and Trade Select Committee which has been scrutinisin

Sunak apologises for inadvertent code breach over wife Akshata's shares

Rishi Sunak has apologised to the UK parliamentary watchdog after an investigation concluded that the British Prime Minister's failure to declare wife Akshata Murty's relevant business interest arose "out of confusion" and was "inadvertent". The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Daniel Greenberg, had opened an inquiry into allegations that when discussing the government's financial incentive scheme for people joining the childminding workforce, Sunak failed to declare that his wife held shares in one of six childminding agencies selected by the government to provide its new members with an enhanced financial incentive. Sunak, 43, told the parliamentary watchdog that he had declared the interest on the Ministerial Register and Greenberg concluded that he was satisfied that Sunak had confused the concept of registration with the concept of declaration of interests. I formed the view that the failure to declare arose out of this confusion and was accordingly inadvertent on the

UK PM Sunak unveils tech partnership to crack down on illegal migration

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has unveiled a voluntary partnership between social media companies and the UK government to accelerate action to tackle people smuggling content online, such as criminals sharing information about illegal English Channel crossings. In an announcement over the weekend, Sunak said the move would help meet his stop the boats target of clamping down on illegal migrants being charged large sums by human traffickers to make dangerous crossings across the high seas. The online content being targeted by the new partnership would cover discount offers for groups of people, free spaces for children, offers of false documents and false claims of safe passage all of which the government says target vulnerable people for profit and put people's lives at risk through dangerous and illegal journeys. To stop the boats, we have to tackle the business model of vile people smugglers at source, said Sunak in a statement released by 10 Downing Street. That means clamping do

PM Sunak very much looking forward to G20 summit in September: UK envoy

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is very much looking forward to attending the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September, UK High Commissioner in India Alex Ellis has said. Interacting with PTI on Friday on the sidelines of a preview of an art exhibition here, Ellis said he thought it was "great" that India is in the chair of the G20. India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1, 2022. About 200 meetings under different tracks of the bloc will be hosted across the country, culminating in the September 9-10 Summit. "I think it's great, I think it's great that India is in the chair of the G20," Ellis told PTI when asked about India's role as G20 chair. "Because, the world is quite divided at the moment, unfortunately, because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine," he added. Praising the "vibrant" culture and diversity of India that has been attracting people from all over the world, the UK envoy, said, "India is a unique country to bring the world to it. And, India has always fascinat

UK opens second ballot for Young Professionals Scheme visas for Indians

The British government on Tuesday opened its second ballot under the UK-India Young Professional Scheme for Indians aged between 18 and 30 years with graduate-level qualifications for visas to the UK. The ballot, which closes on July 27, offers eligible young Indians the opportunity to live, work or study in the UK for up to two years. The second ballot of the Young Professionals Scheme is now OPEN, the British High Commission in New Delhi tweeted. If you are an Indian national between 18-30 years of age with a graduate or postgraduate qualification, consider applying for the India Young Professionals Scheme visa. Ballot closes at 1.30 pm on July 27, it said. There are a total of 3,000 places available under the scheme for the year 2023 and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) said that most places were given in the first ballot which took place in February. The remaining places will be chosen at random from this month's ballot. While it's free to enter the ballot, applicants are told

UK Conservatives suffer big defeats but avoid wipeout in special elections

Britain's governing Conservative Party avoided a drubbing Friday in a trio of special elections, managing to hold onto former premier Boris Johnson's seat in suburban London. Though the main opposition Labour Party and the smaller centrist Liberal Democrats overturned massive Conservative majorities to win a seat apiece, the Conservatives found some crumbs of comfort in their narrow success in Uxbridge and South Ruislip in west London. Labour won the seat of Selby and Ainsty in northern England while the Liberal Democrats took Somerton and Frome in southwest England, with voters from both parties clearly backing the party most likely to beat the Conservative candidate. Facing this level of tactical voting by voters, the defeats will leave many Conservative lawmakers rattled ahead of the likely national vote next year. The defeats don't mean a change of government, since the Conservatives still have a big majority in the House of Commons. Opinion polls have been giving Labour a ...

Rishi Sunak's popularity sinks to lowest since UK premier took power

Some 65% of Britons now have an unfavorable view of the prime minister compared with 25% who see him in a positive light, according to a YouGov poll of 2,151 British adults published Wednesday

UK PM Rishi Sunak's Illegal Migration Bill clears Parliament hurdle

The British government's Illegal Migration Bill, instrumental to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's pledge to stop the boats of illegal migrants entering the country's shores, has cleared its long-drawn parliamentary hurdle and will soon become law after Royal Assent from King Charles III. Under the bill, the UK's Home Secretary will have a legal duty to detain and remove anyone entering the UK illegally. In a late-night debate in the House of Lords on Monday, further amendments to the bill were dismissed and it passed after a standoff between both Houses over the issue. In the last few weeks, the bill passed between the House of Commons and House of Lords a number of times in a process often dubbed as parliamentary ping-pong in British politics until a consensus is reached. In the Commons, former prime minister Theresa May led a series of backbench rebellions over plans to restrict access to the UK asylum system for victims of modern slavery. May, who as home secretary introduced the ...

UK defence minister Ben Wallace to quit at next reshuffle, step down as MP

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Sunday that he will step down from the Cabinet at the next reshuffle, expected in a few months' time, after serving four years in the job. The 53-year-old Conservative Party member of Parliament since 2005 also told The Sunday Times' that he will not stand as an MP at the next general election, expected next year. Wallace has served as defence minister under three British prime ministers Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak and has played a high-profile role in the UK's response to the Russia-Ukraine war conflict. "I went into politics in the Scottish parliament in 1999. That's 24 years. I've spent well over seven years with three phones by my bed," Wallace told the newspaper. "While I am proud to have worked with so many amazing people and helped contribute to protecting this great country, the cost of putting that ahead of my family is something I am very sad about," he said. The minister is believed to have informed Prime Minister

UK visa fees, health surcharge to rise to meet higher costs, says PM Sunak

The fees and health surcharge paid towards the UK's state-funded National Health Service (NHS) by visa applicants from around the world, including Indians, are set to rise "significantly to meet the country's public sector wage increase, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Thursday. The British Indian leader, who was under pressure to accept the recommendation of an independent review of pay for teachers, police, junior doctors and other public sector workers, confirmed a hike between 5 and 7 per cent across the board. However, he stressed that this would not be met with higher government borrowing for fear of further stoking high inflation and therefore the costs would need to be found elsewhere. If we're going to prioritise paying public sector workers more, that money has to come from somewhere else because I'm not prepared to put up people's taxes and I don't think it would be responsible or right to borrow more because that would just make inflation worse, Sunak told reporters a

WATCH: UK PM Rishi Sunak sledges Australian PM amid Ashes 2023 fever

During the traditional photoshoot, Albanese humorously held out a piece of paper depicting Australia's 2-1 lead in the ongoing Ashes series.

Indo-Pacific region on agenda for talks between Biden, Sunak in UK

The Indo-Pacific region and the broader geopolitical context were among the topics on the agenda for talks when British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hosted US President Joe Biden at 10 Downing Street in London on Monday. The US leader arrived in the UK ahead of a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) summit in Lithuania, with the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the West's support for the latter central to the talks. Biden, who was received by King Charles III at Windsor Castle later, hailed the UK-US relationship as rock solid ahead of his discussions with Sunak. Looking ahead to this week's NATO Summit, the Prime Minister and President Biden agreed on the need to strengthen our alliance and maintain our support for Ukraine, a Downing Street spokesperson said in a readout of their discussions. They discussed the progress of the counter-offensive and emphasised the importance of the country's international partners committing to its long-term defence, providing the support Ukraine need

Biden kicks-off three-nation visit ahead of Nato summit in Lithuania

The US president will hold a meeting with King Charles of the UK on Monday for the first time since his coronation, according to the White House, to discuss environmental issues

Ukraine, environment to top agenda when Biden meets UK politicians, royalty

A dash of pomp and a dose of politics are on the agenda during a stopover visit to the UK where President Joe Biden will discuss the environment with King Charles III and the war in Ukraine with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Biden flies to London on Sunday on his way to a NATO summit in Lithuania. He is scheduled to hold talks with Sunak at 10 Downing St on Monday before heading to Windsor Castle to meet Charles for the first time since the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September. Though this is not a full state visit with military honours and palace banquet, the royal imprimatur and backdrop of the 1,000-year-old castle help underscore the importance of the trans-Atlantic special relationship - tested by Brexit but reinforced by unity over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Sunak and the president will hold Ukraine-focused talks before both attend this week's NATO meeting in Vilnius, which will discuss how far the military alliance should open the door to Ukraine. NATO leaders said in

UK PM Rishi Sunak taps Scholz to help delay EU's looming EV tariff

The UK has raised the issue directly with Berlin, one of the people said

Ashes 2023: Australia didn't play by spirit of the game, says UK PM Sunak

UK PM Rishi Sunak is the latest one to jump into the controversy over Jonny Bairstow's dismissal in Lord's Test and slammed the Aussies for playing against the spirit of the game

PM Rishi Sunak speaks of 'sting' of racism growing up in Britain

I haven't experienced that in cricket, but of course I've experienced racism growing up, says Sunak.