Page 16 - Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak declares wife's shareholding in childcare firm amid probe

The UK Prime Minister is being investigated by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, over whether he properly declared his wife's shareholdings

UK PM Sunak faces parliamentary probe over wife Akshata's business interest

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing a watchdog inquiry under his parliamentary declaration of interest obligations related to a Budget policy that could benefit his wife, Akshata Murty, through her business interest in a childcare firm, it emerged on Monday. The inquiry has been opened by the UK's Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, an independent officer of the House of Commons in charge of looking at evidence if individual British members of Parliament are feared to have broken a rule under the Code of Conduct'. The active inquiries on the watchdog's list include one opened on Sunak, 42, last Thursday under Paragraph 6 of the rules of conduct, as Downing Street said ministerial interests were "transparently declared". Members must always be open and frank in declaring any relevant interest in any proceeding of the House or its Committees, and in any communications with Ministers, Members, public officials or public office holders, states Paragraph 6. According to t

Sunak, Modi to expedite progress on India-UK FTA: Downing Street

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday and agreed to expedite progress to resolve outstanding issues in the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations. In a readout of the call between the two leaders, Downing Street said that Sunak reiterated his condemnation of the unacceptable violence outside the Indian High Commission in London last month and updated Modi on the steps being taken to ensure the security of Indian diplomatic staff. The leaders agreed to follow up their discussions at the G7 meeting in Japan next month and the G20 Summit being hosted by India later in the year. The leaders reflected on the close friendship between the two countries, and agreed great progress was being made on the 2030 UK-India Roadmap," a Downing Street spokesperson said. "Discussing ongoing negotiations on a UK-India Free Trade Agreement, the leaders reflected on the huge opportunities a deal would offer to Indian and British businesses and ...

PM Modi holds talk with Sunak, calls for action against anti-India elements

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday raised the issue of security of Indian diplomatic establishments in the United Kingdom in a telephonic conversation with his British counterpart Rishi Sunak and called for strong action against anti-India elements, officials said. Modi also sought progress on the return of economic offenders wanted in India, they said. Pro-Khalistan protestors had recently smashed windows at the Indian mission in London and targeted the national flag as well. The two leaders reviewed the progress of a number of bilateral issues, particularly in trade and economic sectors, officials said. During the talks, Sunak reiterated the UK's full support for India's ongoing G20 presidency.

UK PM Rishi Sunak's wife earned Rs 68 cr in dividend income from Infosys

Akshata Murty, the wife of Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, stands to earn Rs 68.17 crore in dividend income from her shareholding in India's second-largest IT firm Infosys. Murty, daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, held 3.89 crore shares of Infosys at the end of December, according to company filings with the stock exchanges. Infosys declared a final dividend of Rs 17.50 per share for FY23 (April 2022 to March 2023). If she retains her shareholding till the record date, June 2, she would get Rs 68.17 crore. Together with an interim dividend of Rs 16.50 a share declared in October last year, she would get Rs 132.4 crore. For the previous fiscal, Infosys paid a total of Rs 31 per share dividend, giving her a total of Rs 120.76 crore. Her holding is worth just over Rs 5,400 crore at Thursday's closing price of Rs 1,388.60 per share on the BSE. Infosys is among the best dividend-paying companies in India. Sunak, 42, in October last year became Britain's first prime

Labour attack social media ad targets Rishi Sunak family over tax status

Campaign, seen as a precursor to general election expected next year, has become heated with Labour accusing Sunak of being responsible for tough consequences of cost-of-living crisis

UK economy set for smaller hit in 2023 than previously feared: IMF

British gross domestic product will contract by 0.3% in 2023, the IMF said in its latest set of global forecasts, a smaller shrinkage than the 0.6% contraction the Fund predicted in January

UK PM Rishi Sunak creates new taskforce to go after 'vile' child abusers

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday vowed to do whatever it takes as he condemned the political correctness which has prevented action against vile criminals behind the sexual abuse of children and young women and launched a new taskforce to go after such gangs. Sunak's announcement comes a day after his Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, said that the perpetrators of such crimes are groups of men, almost all British Pakistani, but that authorities have turned a blind eye to these signs of abuse out of political correctness, out of fear, of being called racists, out of fear, of being called bigoted. Asked about the ethnicity of the criminals during a visit to Rochdale one of the cities with a history of British Pakistani grooming gangs, Sunak told reporters: All forms of child sexual exploitation carried out by whoever are horrific and wrong". "But with the specific issue of grooming gangs, we have had several independent inquiries look at the incidents here in Rochdale, bu

UK PM Sunak releases tax returns showing over GBP 1 million paid since 2019

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has released his tax returns, revealing that the British-Indian leader paid more than GBP 1 million to the Exchequer since becoming a frontline politician in 2019. The tax release is part of a transparency commitment the UK premier made in November last year. Sunak, among the wealthiest British politicians, on Wednesday, revealed that he earned a total of GBP 4.766 million between 2019 and 2022 and paid GBP 1.053 million in tax - at a tax rate of around 22 per cent. Over the last tax year, when he was the finance minister, the 42-year-old leader paid GBP 325,826 in capital gains tax and GBP 120,604 in UK income tax on a total income of GBP 1.9 million. "I published my tax returns in the interests of transparency, as I said I would, and I am glad to have done that," Sunak said during a visit to north Wales on Wednesday. "I think ultimately what people are interested in is what I am going to do for them," he added. Sunak came under pressure to publish his

UK boosts defense spending by $6 bn in response to Russia and China

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged Monday to increase military funding by 5 billion pounds (USD 6 billion) over the next two years in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the epoch-defining challenge posed by China. The increase, part of a major update to U.K. foreign and defense policy, is less than military officials wanted. Sunak said the U.K. would increase military spending to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product in the longer term, but didn't set a date. Britain currently spends just over 2 per cent of GDP on defense, and military chiefs want it to rise to 3 per cent. The extra money will be used, in part, to replenish Britain's ammunition stocks, depleted from supplying Ukraine in its defense against Russia. Some will also go towards a U.K.-U.S.-Australia deal to build nuclear-powered submarines. The world has become more volatile, the threats to our security have increased, Sunak told the BBC during a visit to the U.S. It's important that we protect ourselves ..

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hikes country's defence spending on US tour

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is on a tour of the US on Monday for a trilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, during which he confirmed a hike in Britain's defence budget of an extra GBP 5 billion over the next two years. The world leaders will agree on details of a UK-US agreement to supply Australia with nuclear-powered submarines as part of the AUKUS pact, which was signed in 2021 as part of a joint effort to counter Chinese military power in the Indo-Pacific region. Downing Street said GBP 3 billion from the extra defence spending would be earmarked to support the pact, along with boosting industrial infrastructure and servicing UK submarines. As the world becomes more volatile and competition between states becomes more intense, the UK must be ready to stand our ground, said Sunak. By investing in our armed forces for the long-term, we will be ready for the challenges of today and of the future. As I will discuss with

UK PM Rishi Sunak takes nuanced approach to China threat in defence plan

It's a regime that is increasingly authoritarian at home and assertive abroad and has a desire to reshape the world order," Sunak told reporters on his way to the US Sunday

No risk of UK contagion from SVB collapse: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

Asked if the Treasury will come up with a solution by the time the London markets open on Monday morning, Sunak replied: "The Treasury is working at pace."

UK to pay France $576 mn over next 3 years to combat illegal immigration

As per Illegal Migration Bill, people who come to UK illegally cannot claim asylum, benefit from UK's modern slavery protections, make spurious human rights claims and also cannot stay in the country

Rishi Sunak unveils new framework to make UK science & tech superpower

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday launched a new framework through his newly created ministry the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology as part of a vision to cement the UK's place as a science and technology superpower by 2030. The British Indian leader said the new Science and Technology Framework is designed to challenge every part of government to better put the UK at the forefront of global science and technology this decade through 10 key actions, creating a coordinated cross-government approach. Downing Street said that the framework will work alongside a raft of new measures backed by over GBP 370 million in funding to boost investment in innovation, bring the world's best talent to the UK, and seize the potential of ground-breaking new technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI). "Trailblazing science and innovation have been in our DNA for decades. But in an increasingly competitive world, we can only stay ahead with focus, dynamism and ...

Illegal immigrants will not be able to apply for asylum: UK PM Sunak

Sunak's government is expected to push legislation cracking down on illegal immigration later this week, with a special emphasis on illegal immigrants arriving in boats across the English Channel

UK PM travels to Belfast to convince his toughest audience on Brexit deal

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak traveled to Belfast on Tuesday to sell his landmark agreement with the European Union to its toughest audience: Unionist politicians who fear post-Brexit trade rules are weakening Northern Ireland's place in the United Kingdom. The UK and the 27-nation EU announced Monday that they had struck a deal to resolve a dispute over Northern Ireland trade that has vexed relations since the UK left the bloc in 2020. The agreement will ease customs checks and other hurdles for goods moving to Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K. that were imposed after Brexit to maintain an open border between the north and its EU neighbour, the Republic of Ireland. The deal, dubbed the Windsor Framework, was hailed by London and Brussels as a breakthrough. But Northern Ireland's British unionist politicians have yet to give it their blessing. Their support is key to restoring Northern Ireland's semi-autonomous government, which has been toppled by the trade feud, leaving 1

UK, EU conclude new post-Brexit trade arrangement for Northern Ireland

The agreement - dubbed the 'Windsor Framework' - was struck over the Northern Ireland Protocol, aiming to ease the trading issues created by the Protocol

British PM Rishi Sunak, EU strike deal over trade in Northern Ireland

A government source said Sunak had agreed the terms with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as they met in London

'Decisive breakthrough': UK PM Rishi Sunak declares new Brexit pact

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday unveiled a decisive breakthrough in achieving a new deal with the European Union (EU) to resolve the post-Brexit trade dispute related to Northern Ireland. After weeks of intensive negotiations, Sunak was joined by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for a final set of in-person talks in Windsor, south east England, after which the duo addressed the media to confirm a new Windsor Framework. It replaces the previous Northern Ireland Protocol, agreed by Sunak's former boss Boris Johnson to prevent a hard border between UK territory Northern Ireland and EU member-state Ireland but eventually proving unworkable and causing much tension between the UK and EU. I'm pleased to report that we have now made a decisive breakthrough. Together we have changed the original protocol and are today announcing the new Windsor framework, Sunak told reporters. Today's agreement delivers smooth-flowing trade within the whole United Kingdom, ..