Page 2 - Uk Prime Minister

UK PM Sunak proposes raising legal age to buy cigarettes in England

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday proposed raising the legal age that people in England can buy cigarettes by one year, every year until it is eventually illegal for the whole population and smoking will hopefully be phased out among young people. Setting out his plan at the annual Conservative Party conference, Sunak said he wanted to stop teenagers taking up cigarettes in the first place." It is currently illegal for anyone to sell cigarettes or tobacco products to people under 18 years old throughout the UK. Sunak's office said the incremental changes would stop children who turn 14 this year and those younger than that now from ever legally being sold cigarettes in England. If Parliament approves the proposal, the legal change would only apply in England not in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. People take up cigarettes when they're young. Four in five smokers have started by the time they're 20," he said. Later, the vast majority try to quit ... if we could bre

Akshata Murty makes UK political stage debut for 'best friend' UK PM Sunak

Britain's Indian First Lady, Akshata Murty, made a surprise debut on the political stage on Wednesday when she stepped out to introduce best friend Rishi Sunak for his maiden speech as UK Prime Minister to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester. Murty, during her light-hearted and personal speech, claimed her husband was unaware of her gate-crashing as the warm-up act to the centrepiece of the annual conference and that her decision had also surprised their daughters, Krishna and Anoushka. The 43-year-old daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayan Murthy went on to share her pride in Sunak's many achievements and how it was his honesty and integrity that had first attracted her to him when they met as students at Stanford University in their 20s. Rishi and I are each other's best friends; we are one team and I could not imagine being anywhere else than here today to show my support to him and to the party, said Murty. Rishi and I met when we were 24 when we were both studying

UK Parliament researcher held by UK police for China spying, says report

Hours after the arrest was made public, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi

UK PM Rishi Sunak, wife Akshata offer prayers at Akshardham Temple

Jyotindra Dave, Akshardham Temple official, said that the couple spent around 40 minutes at the temple premises

Time of challenges, world looking to G20 to provide leadership: UK PM Sunak

Sunak, who is taking part in G20 Summit here, expressed confidence that the leaders will be together able to address the challenges

Will only agree India trade deal approach that works for UK: Rishi Sunak

The free trade agreement (FTA) talks with India are progressing and Britain will only agree to a pact that works for the whole of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told his ministers. Ahead of his first visit to India as UK Prime Minister to attend the G20 World Leaders' Summit in New Delhi later this week, Sunak updated his top team on the ongoing trade talks, which have completed 12 rounds of negotiations, during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. The British Indian leader described India as an indispensable partner of the UK across all spheres of bilateral cooperation, which he is keen to strengthen further. He said negotiations around a free trade deal were progressing and that he would only agree to an approach which worked for the whole of the UK, notes a Downing Street readout of the Cabinet meeting. The Prime Minister said India was an indispensable partner of the UK, both economically and in addressing the global challenges all democracies are facing. He said we mu

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

Rishi Sunak lands in the eye of the storm due to his pen; here's why

Rishi Sunak's office maintains that the PM has never used the pen's erasing feature and will never do so

UK PM Rishi Sunak, wife to host Coronation Big Lunch for community heroes

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and wife Akshata Murty will host a Coronation Big Lunch at Downing Street in London on Sunday for community heroes to celebrate the crowning of King Charles III and Queen Camilla as part of the country's long celebratory weekend. Among the invitees is British Sikh entrepreneur Navjot Singh Sawhney, who won the UK PM's Points of Light Award earlier this year for his eco-friendly hand-cranked Washing Machine Project, which is benefitting over 1,000 families without access to an electric machine in underdeveloped countries or refugee camps. The event is one of an estimated 50,000 Big Lunches or street parties being organised up and down the United Kingdom to celebrate the Coronation at Westminster Abbey in London on Saturday. Also joining the Downing Street party will be Ukrainians forced to flee the war-torn country amid its conflict with Russia. Come rain or shine, thousands of friends and neighbours are coming together this weekend to put up the ..

My daughter made her husband a PM: Rishi Sunak's mother-in-law Sudha Murty

Akshata Murty married UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in 2009 and the latter made a quick rise to power in the years that followed

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 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

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 PM Rishi Sunak set for his biggest political test yet with Brexit deal

Sunak oversaw a diplomatic flurry in recent days, holding meetings with parties in Northern Ireland and with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to lay the groundwork

UK First Lady Akshata Murty, daughters spotted holidaying in south Goa

Akshata Murty, the wife of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, their two daughters and her mother Sudha Murty were spotted holidaying at Benaulim beach in south Goa, about 40 km from state capital Panaji. A fisherman named Francis Fernandes, locally known as Pele, said he immediately identified the UK First Lady when she approached him on Monday inquiring about water sports at the popular tourist attraction. In a video shot by locals, Pele can be seen interacting with Akshata, whose father Narayana Murthy co-founded Infosys. Later, he also uploaded his picture with her and Sudha Murty on social media. She (Akshata) asked me, is water sports safe in Goa? I told her, Ma'am, it is 100 per cent safe and I will keep you and your family safe if they wish to enjoy water sports, he said. Sharing a few more snatches of his conversation with the 10 Downing Street resident, Pele said, Before they got on our speed boats, I told her that there are many Goans living in the UK and I want her to see th

UK ex-PM Truss attempts dramatic political comeback with swipe at Sunak

Britain's former prime minister Liz Truss, who has the ignominy of being the country's shortest serving in the top job at just 49 days, on Sunday made a dramatic attempt at a comeback to frontline politics with an indirect swipe at successor Rishi Sunak's policies. Truss, whose mini-budget in September last year was widely blamed for setting the UK on a spiralling economic downturn, claims she was never given a "realistic chance" to implement her tax-cutting vision for growth. In a lengthy essay in 'The Sunday Telegraph', the former party leader admitted she was not "blameless" but argued that her mandate as the Conservative Party leader was not respected and that her premiership was the casualty of the "left-wing economic establishment". "I wanted to become prime minister to change things, not to manage decline or to preside over our country sliding into stagnation," she writes. "In the medium term, I believed my policies would have increased growth and therefore reduced debt. ...

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak much more liked than UK governing party: Poll

One month on since Rishi Sunak took charge as Britain's first Indian-origin Prime Minister, indications on Friday are that his popularity with the UK electorate remains on stronger ground than that of the governing Conservative Party. The 42-year-old former chancellor had pitched himself as a steady hand to steer the country's economy through a tumultuous cost-of-living crisis in the wake of the COVID pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. With predecessor Liz Truss making the dubious history of being Britain's shortest incumbent at 10 Downing Street after a disastrous unfunded mini-budget, his message of clamping down on inflation on a war footing seems to have inspired faith in his leadership. According to the "November Ipsos Political Monitor", a survey conducted earlier this month, Sunak started his premiership relatively liked and even overtook Opposition Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer for having what it takes to be a good Prime Minister. However, the opinion poll also fo

UK PM Sunak, wife Akshata Murty figure on 'Asian Rich List 2022' in UK

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty have made their debut on the UK's 'Asian Rich List 2022' topped by the Hinduja family. Sunak and his wife, whose father N R Narayana Murthy co-founded Indian IT major Infosys, are ranked 17th on the list, with an estimated wealth of 790 million pounds. The combined wealth of this year's list sits at 113.2 billion pounds, an increase of 13.5 billion pounds over that of last year. The list is topped by the Hinduja family for the eighth consecutive time with an estimated wealth of 30.5 billion pounds, an increase of 3 billion pounds from the last year. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan presented a copy of the 'Asian Rich List 2022' to Ritu Chhabria, daughter of Gopichand Hinduja, Co-Chairman of the Hinduja Group at the 24th annual Asian Business Awards at the Westminster Park Plaza hotel on Wednesday night. Hinduja Group is an Indian transnational conglomerate. The group is present in eleven sectors. Addressing the gathering, C

UK PM Rishi Sunak unveils new scheme for world's 100 most talented in AI

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday unveiled a new scheme for the world's 100 most talented young professionals in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) as part of his vision to make the UK a "beacon" to attract the brightest and best from around the world. Addressing the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual conference in Birmingham, Sunak told an audience of business chiefs and professionals that control over the country's post-Brexit immigration policy remains crucial. However, he pledged to create one of the world's most attractive visa regimes for entrepreneurs and highly skilled people and make use of the Brexit freedoms to strike trade deals with "the world's fastest-growing economies". The UK is currently negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with India, which Sunak has previously told Parliament he wants to get done as quickly as possible. We cannot allow the world's top AI talent to be drawn to America or China, said Sunak. That's why, building o