Latest news with #SundayMorningWith
Evening Standard
a day ago
- Climate
- Evening Standard
Military pause not enough to ease Gaza suffering, Lammy warns
'Until the restrictions are lifted, until aid is able to get in at the scale and quantity that is needed, we need to be doing everything we possibly can to help,' he told Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips show.
Daily Record
a day ago
- Politics
- Daily Record
Keir Starmer set to push Donald Trump for new Israel and Hamas ceasefire talks
The Labour leader is set to meet up with the US President during his visit to Scotland. Keir Starmer is expected to press Donald Trump on the revival of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas as the UK joins efforts to airdrop aid into Gaza. The Prime Minister will travel to meet the US president during his five-day visit to Scotland amid mounting global anger over the humanitarian conditions in the war-torn enclave. Ceasefire talks in Qatar ground to a halt this week after America and Israel withdrew negotiating teams from the country, with US special envoy Steve Witkoff accusing Hamas of a "lack of desire" to reach an agreement. The deal under discussion was hoped to include a 60-day ceasefire, and aid supplies would be ramped up as conditions for a lasting truce were brokered. Sir Keir will raise Washington's work with partners in Qatar and Egypt during his talks with Trump and attempt to discuss what more can be done to urgently bring about a ceasefire, it is understood. They will also chat about the recently agreed US-UK trade deal and the war in Ukraine. The UK is working with Jordan to airdrop aid into Gaza and evacuate children needing medical assistance, with military planners deployed for further support. However, the head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency has warned that such efforts are "a distraction" that will fail to properly address deepening starvation in the Gaza strip, and could in some cases lead to civilians being harmed. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said: "A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will. "Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need." Israel has now said it will pause fighting in three populated areas of Gaza and establish humanitarian corridors to enable UN convoys to transport aid to desperate Palestinian citizens, as well as allowing airdrops. In a statement, the country's military said it would enable "safe movement of deliveries of food and medicine" but that it "emphasises that combat operations have not ceased". The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) also said that there was "no starvation" in Gaza, despite increasing accounts of malnutrition and starvation-related deaths. Speaking to broadcasters on Sunday, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury James Murray acknowledged that airdrops come with "real limits and drawbacks" but that the situation was "desperate and urgent." "Until the restrictions are lifted, until aid is able to get in at the scale and quantity that is needed, we need to be doing everything we possibly can to help," he told Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips show. He declined to say whether he was confident that Israel's promise to allow UN convoys to reach Gaza would help to feed its population. "Let's see what happens with that," the minister said. "What we are not going to lose sight of is the importance of lifting restrictions on aid getting in so that it can get in at the quantity that is needed to make sure that we can move things forward." Sir Keir will chair a Cabinet meeting next week and is expected to present a UK peace plan to allies, with Foreign Secretary David Lammy due to attend a UN conference on a two-state solution in New York in the coming days. He also held talks with French and German counterparts on Saturday, during which Number 10 said they agreed "it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently-needed ceasefire into lasting peace". A Downing Street readout of the call made no mention of Palestinian statehood, which Sir Keir has faced calls to immediately recognise after French President Emmanuel Macron announced his country would do so in September. Some 221 MPs from Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Greens, Plaid Cymru, SDLP and independents have signed a letter pressuring the Government to follow suit at a UN meeting next week. The majority of those who have signed, 131, are Labour MPs. The Government says it is a question of "when, not if" statehood is recognised but that its immediate focus should be on getting aid into the territory. Mr Murray said on Sunday: "As a Government, we're committed to the recognition of Palestine, but we need to work with international partners and we need to use that moment to galvanise change. "It needs to be part of a pathway to peace." Sir Keir and Mr Trump, who is in South Ayrshire on a private visit to his Turnberry golf course, are expected to meet on Monday.
Powys County Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Powys County Times
Gaza ceasefire must be secured, PM to tell Trump amid stalled negotiations
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to press Donald Trump on the revival of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas as the UK joins efforts to airdrop aid into Gaza. The Prime Minister will travel to meet the US president during his visit to Scotland amid mounting global anger over the humanitarian conditions in the war-torn enclave. Ceasefire talks in Qatar ground to a standstill this week after America and Israel withdrew negotiating teams from the country, with US special envoy Steve Witkoff accusing Hamas of a 'lack of desire' to reach an agreement. The deal under discussion was expected to include a 60-day ceasefire, and aid supplies would be ramped up as conditions for a lasting truce were brokered. Sir Keir will raise Washington's work with partners in Qatar and Egypt during his talks with Mr Trump and seek to discuss what more can be done to urgently bring about a ceasefire, it is understood. They will also discuss the recently agreed US-UK trade deal and the war in Ukraine. Britain is working with Jordan to airdrop aid into Gaza and evacuate children needing medical assistance, with military planners deployed for further support. However, the head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency has warned that such efforts are 'a distraction' that will fail to properly address deepening starvation in the strip, and could in some cases harm civilians. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said: 'A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will. 'Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need.' Israel has now said it will pause fighting in three populated areas of Gaza and establish humanitarian corridors to enable UN convoys to transport aid to desperate Palestinians, as well as allowing airdrops. In a statement, the country's military said it would enable 'safe movement of deliveries of food and medicine' but that it 'emphasises that combat operations have not ceased'. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) also said that there was 'no starvation' in Gaza, despite increasing accounts of malnutrition and starvation-related deaths. Speaking to broadcasters on Sunday, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury James Murray acknowledged that airdrops come with 'real limits and drawbacks' but that the situation was 'desperate and urgent.' 'Until the restrictions are lifted, until aid is able to get in at the scale and quantity that is needed, we need to be doing everything we possibly can to help,' he told Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips show. He declined to say whether he was confident that Israel's promise to allow UN convoys to reach Gaza would help to feed its population. 'Let's see what happens with that,' the minister said. 'What we are not going to lose sight of is the importance of lifting restrictions on aid getting in so that it can get in at the quantity that is needed to make sure that we can move things forward.' Sir Keir will chair a Cabinet meeting next week and is expected to present a UK peace plan to allies, with Foreign Secretary David Lammy due to attend a UN conference on a two-state solution in New York in the coming days. He also held talks with French and German counterparts on Saturday, during which Number 10 said they agreed 'it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently-needed ceasefire into lasting peace'. A Downing Street readout of the call made no mention of Palestinian statehood, which Sir Keir has faced calls to immediately recognise after French President Emmanuel Macron announced his country would do so in September. Some 221 MPs from Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Greens, Plaid Cymru, SDLP and independents have signed a letter pressuring the Government to follow suit at a UN meeting next week. The majority of those who have signed, 131, are Labour MPs. #Gaza: airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation. They are expensive, inefficient & can even kill starving is a distraction & screensmoke. A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will. Lift the siege, open the gates & guarantee safe movements… — Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) July 26, 2025 The Government says it is a question of 'when, not if' statehood is recognised but that its immediate focus should be on getting aid into the territory. Mr Murray said on Sunday: 'As a Government, we're committed to the recognition of Palestine, but we need to work with international partners and we need to use that moment to galvanise change. 'It needs to be part of a pathway to peace.' He added: '140 countries have already recognised Palestine. The suffering is still continuing.' Sir Keir and Mr Trump, who is in South Ayrshire on a private visit to his Turnberry golf course, are expected to meet on Monday.
The National
2 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Pictures of starving children haven't shifted my support for Israel, says Kemi Badenoch
Asked about Israel's engineered famine in [[Gaza]], Badenoch claimed that Israel was 'trying to defend itself' during an interview with Sky News on Sunday. Her comments come amid widespread international condemnation of Israel for blocking aid from entering the besieged Palestinian territory, which has resulted in children starving to death. READ MORE: Pressure grows for Keir Starmer as SNP threaten to force Palestine recognition vote Speaking on Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips show, Badenoch said: 'War is a difficult situation and what I see when I see Israel is a country that is trying to defend itself, mostly from Iran and a lot of its proxies, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis. I think they are in a very difficult situation. (Image: .) 'What worries me is that the length of time that this war has been going on is making it very difficult for the people in the Palestinian territories and also for Israel. 'We need to bring things to an end.' Her comments came as Israel announced a 'tactical pause' in its assault on Gaza to allow humanitarian aid into the territory beginning on Sunday. Israel has said it had allowed aid packages to be dropped into the territory from the air, which has been criticised by humanitarian agencies. Ciaran Donnelly of the International Rescue Committee said last week: 'Aid drops are a grotesque distraction from the reality of what's needed on the ground in Gaza right now. They can never deliver the volume, the consistency or the quality of aid and services that's needed.' READ MORE: Keir Starmer fiercely criticised over Gaza speech Asked about the policy on Sky News on Sunday, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury James Murray said: 'I absolutely accept and recognise that there are real limits and drawbacks with airdrops when it comes to aid, but I also think that until the restrictions are lifted, until aid is able to get in at the scale and quantity that is needed, we need to be doing everything we possibly can to help.' Keir Starmer is expected to press the case for a ceasefire when he meets US president Donald Trump in Scotland later on Sunday.
Rhyl Journal
20-07-2025
- Business
- Rhyl Journal
Water bills to see ‘small, steady' rise despite reform plans, says Reed
Steve Reed is expected to set out plans for 'root and branch reform' of the water sector on Monday, following the publication of a landmark review of the industry. Those plans are thought to include action to tackle sewage spills, invest in water infrastructure and the abolition of the industry's beleaguered regulator Ofwat as ministers seek to avoid a repeat of this year's 26% increase in bills. But while Mr Reed has promised that families will never again see 'huge shock hikes' to their bills, he was unable on Sunday to rule out further above-inflation increases. Although he told Sky News's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that bills should be 'as low as possible', he added that there needed to be 'appropriate bill rises' to secure 'appropriate levels of investment'. He said: 'A small, steady increase in bills is what people expect.' Government sources have argued that the recent large rise in bills was necessary to pay for investment in long-neglected infrastructure, but expect Mr Reed's promised reforms to make further rises unnecessary. Asked about the possibility of expanding social tariffs to help households struggling with bills – a move that could see wealthier families pay more – Mr Reed said he had 'not been convinced yet' that this was necessary. Earlier on Sunday, Mr Reed had pledged to halve sewage pollution in England by 2030, after the Environment Agency said serious pollution incidents had risen by 60% in 2024. Mr Reed said the measures the Government was taking would enable it to significantly reduce pollution, with the aim of completely eliminating it by 2035 should it be re-elected. He also suggested to the BBC that he would resign if the 2030 target was not achieved, provided he was still in the same job by then. His comments come before a major report by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe, which is expected to recommend sweeping reform to water regulation on Monday. Sir Jon has been widely reported to be preparing to recommend the abolition of Ofwat, which has faced criticism over its handling of sewage spills and allowing water companies to pay large dividends while taking on significant debt and missing targets for investing in infrastructure. On Sunday, Mr Reed would not say whether he would scrap Ofwat, but also declined to say he had confidence in the regulator. He told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: 'The regulator is clearly failing.' Sir Jon's interim report criticised regulation of the water sector, which is split between economic regulator Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate. But on Sunday, Conservative shadow communities secretary Kevin Hollinrake said he would be concerned any changes 'might just be shuffling the deckchairs on the Titanic'. He told the BBC: 'It's really important the regulator's effective, and we put in a lot of measures to give Ofwat more powers to regulate the water industry and a lot of those things were very effective.' Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said he backed scrapping Ofwat, calling for a new Clean Water Authority to 'hold these water companies to account'. Sir Ed has also called for the Government to go further and aim to eliminate sewage pollution entirely by 2030, saying voters were 'fed up with empty promises from ministers while Britain's waterways continue to be ruined by sewage'. He added: 'For years water companies have paid out millions in dividends and bonuses. It would be deeply unfair if customers are now made to pick up the tab for this scandal through higher bills.' Although sweeping regulatory reform is likely to be on the table, full nationalisation of the industry will not be after the Government excluded it from Sir Jon's terms of reference. Smaller parties such as the Greens have called for nationalisation, while on Sunday Reform UK's Nigel Farage said he would look to strike a deal with the private sector to bring 50% of the water industry under public ownership. But Mr Farage was unable to say how much this would cost, leading Labour to accuse him of having 'nothing to offer apart from bluster', and shadow Treasury minister Gareth Davies to say he was 'flogging billion-pound promises with no plans to deliver them'. Mr Reed argued nationalisation would cost 'upwards of £100 billion', diverting resources from the NHS and taking years during which pollution would get worse.
