Trump claims UK’s aircraft carriers are just ‘toys’ as he renews his assault on Nato allies for doing ‘nothing’ over Iran
Donald Trump has claimed that the UK’s two aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, are little higher than “toys”.
The president hit out as he spoke on digicam at the beginning of a cupboard assembly within the White House.
In a rambling tackle, that coated a spread of topics, Trump revived his grievance in regards to the UK not providing navy assist with the Iran battle.
He mentioned that Nato had carried out “absolutely nothing” to help the US and he went on:
Now all of them wish to assist. When they’re annihilated, the opposite aspect is annihilated, they mentioned ‘we’d like to ship ships’.
Actually made an announcement, a few them, that ‘we want to get involved when the war is over’. No, it’s speculated to become involved with the battle’s starting, and even earlier than it begins.
We had the UK say that ‘we’ll ship’ – that is three weeks in the past – ‘we’ll ship our aircraft carriers’, which aren’t one of the best aircraft carriers by the best way. They’re toys in comparison with what we have now.
But ‘we’ll ship our aircraft provider when the battle is over’. I mentioned ‘oh that’s great, thanks very a lot. Don’t hassle. We don’t want it’.
This will not be the primary time Trump has claimed that the UK has supplied to ship aircraft carriers to the Gulf. Downing Street has mentioned this is not true.
On Monday, requested about Trump’s repeated insults in regards to the UK just lately, Starmer mentioned he thought they have been designed to place stress on him. He told MPs that he had chosen to reply just by specializing in doing his job and appearing within the nationwide curiosity.
Key occasions
Early night abstract
Downing Street has mentioned it is “categorically untrue” to recommend that there was a hyperlink between Morgan McSweeney’s telephone being stolen and the standard tackle movement handed by MPs saying messages with Peter Mandelson must be exchanged. (See 12.28pm.)
For a full listing of all of the tales coated on the weblog right this moment, do scroll via the listing of key occasion headlines close to the highest of the weblog.
Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
Almost 900 Afghan ex-special forces members given path to UK resettlement
Almost 900 former members of the Afghan particular forces have been given a path to resettlement within the UK after a authorities evaluate of beforehand rejected circumstances, the Press Association experiences. In a written ministerial statement, Luke Pollard, a defence minister, introduced 884 choices, affecting ex-soldiers from two elite models identified as the “Triples”, had been overturned. They shall be eligible to remain in Britain below the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (Arap), topic to visa checks.
Trump says Iran battle will not cease king’s state go to to US going forward
In his Q&A within the White House earlier, Donald Trump insisted that the Iran battle wouldn’t cease the king’s state go to to the US happening subsequent month.
In the UK some politicians say it needs to be cancelled, or postponed. Asked if the battle would have an effect on plans for the journey, Trump replied:
Trump insisted the King’s state go to would go forward.
No. He’s going to be right here very quickly, as you realize, we’re going have a state dinner. It’s going be nice.
UK has paid greater than £25bn to EU since it left below Brexit liabilities deal, Treasury says
Britain has paid greater than £25bn to the European Union since it left in 2020, the Treasury has revealed in a report printed right this moment. As a part of the withdrawal settlement, the UK agreed to cowl liabilities accruing from commitments made when it was a member and this meant a promise to pay some prices going forward, in response to an agreed method. The authorities publishes a report yearly saying what these funds have been and right this moment says £25.7bn has been paid because the EU left.
The report says the ultimate worth of the funds made to the EU below the withdrawal settlement is predicted to be £30.9bn. But it additionally says that is decrease than the orginal estimate of the price, which was put at between £35bn and £39bn.
Campaigners welcome figures displaying gas poverty fell in 2025
Fuel poverty fell in 2025, in response to authorities statistics.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has printed its annual fuel poverty statistics and it says:
In 2025, there have been an estimated 9.4% of households (2.36 million) in gas poverty in England below the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) metric. This is a discount from 9.9% of households (2.47 million) in 2024.
DESNZ says the autumn is “driven primarily by the expansion of the Warm Home Discount scheme from 2025/26 and energy efficiency improvements to households, but also by decreases in energy prices”.
The LILEE measure of gas poverty utilized by the division takes into consideration the gas effectivity of houses, disposable earnings, and the price of heating houses. Campaigners use a different definition.
Peter Smith, director of coverage and advocacy at National Energy Action, welcomed right this moment’s figures. In a statement, he mentioned:
It is welcome to see the variety of households now falling, albeit far too slowly.
‘More than 100,000 households in England now not face the just about inconceivable process of attempting to outlive on the bottom incomes, on the identical time as trying to maintain heat in an expensive-to-heat dwelling. It is especially welcome and important that this progress is being made for households who are most liable to a chilly dwelling, households with youngsters or households with long-term sicknesses or disabilities.
Recent progress, significantly to cut back charges of gas poverty for individuals who personal their very own house is, nevertheless, slowing. This is a significant concern as owner-occupiers are by far the best variety of households residing in gas poverty in England. Unless the UK authorities supplies extra help within the Warm Homes Plan, this worrying pattern may be very prone to proceed and it may take one other 20 years to fulfill the UK authorities’s authorized requirement to make sure that as many households are free from the worry of not with the ability to preserve heat.
Cabinet Office unveils ‘sludgebusting’ plan which it claims will ‘rip up session tradition’
The Cabinet Office has right this moment introduced plans to hurry up authorities decision-making by decreasing session necessities.
In its news release, which is headlined “Ministers rip up consultation culture”, the Cabinet Office says:
As the subsequent step in a wider programme of clearing out Whitehall’s layers of pointless forms, ministers have right this moment introduced instant measures that can:
• End the introduction of pointless reporting and session necessities via introducing a better bar to their inclusion in laws.
• Use AI to establish current disproportionate reporting and session duties that are slowing down supply.
• Take motion to make sure Equalities Impact Assessments are proportionate and truly enhance coverage and outcomes.
• Replace Environmental Impact Assessments with Environmental Outcomes Reports as a part of a major step in decreasing forms round new infrastructure tasks.
But that doesn’t imply the top of all consultations. The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has right this moment introduced a public consultation on banning trail hunting.
UPDATE: In a written ministerial statement on this, Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Cabinet Office minister, calls this “sludgebusting”.
New counting technique implies poverty decrease than beforehand thought – however IFS says it’s too quickly to say for positive
Today’s poverty figures (see 10.38am) incorporate a brand new technique of measuring poverty. The DWP makes use of a survey however, as a substitute of counting on what folks inform researchers about the advantages they are getting, it makes use of the precise figures, by cross-referencing to official data.
In a briefing note, the Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank says this technique produces a decrease headline poverty determine than the outdated system. It explains:
Since this transformation significantly will increase incomes for poorer households, it means measured relative poverty over 2021–22 to 2023–24 is decrease by 2 proportion factors on common. Reductions are significantly giant for baby and pensioner poverty (2 and three proportion factors respectively). This is as a result of pensioners and households with youngsters obtain extra profit earnings than different households. Using the brand new methodology, relative poverty (measured after accounting for housing prices) in 2024–25 was 20% general (13.4 million folks), 27% for kids (4.0 million) and 14% for pensioners (1.7 million).
But the IFS says it is just too quickly to say whether or not this implies the precise poverty actually is decrease than beforehand thought. It explains:
DWP’s enhancements to the supply of earnings information used for measuring poverty and earnings inequality imply some beforehand uncounted profit earnings will now be mirrored in official statistics. Unsurprisingly, this leads to decrease estimates of poverty. But there are additional welcome enhancements to the information on the horizon, and we don’t but know what the impact of those shall be – some might push in the wrong way.
In Wales Neil Roberts has stood down as a Plaid Cymru candidate for the Senedd, the BBC reports. It was over an offensive remark he made about youngsters in a social media put up 5 years in the past. (It is just too impolite for the BBC, however you will discover it on X with out a lot problem.)
Reform in Wales highlighted the Roberts put up. But Reform can be being urged to droop one of its own candidates photographed sooner or later prior to now making a Nazi salute.
Ministers vow to spend document £8.4bn on highway upkeep in England
Ministers have pledged to spend document quantities on highway upkeep as a part of a £27bn five-year funding plan for England’s main roads and motorways, Gwyn Topham experiences.
Trump says Starmer ‘pretty man’ who ‘did one thing stunning’ by not serving to US in Iran
Donald Trump remains to be chuntering away within the White House. It is a really stream of consciousness, and 98% a compilation boast, slanders and falsehoods that we’ve heard earlier than.
He has just been requested about Keir Starmer. He mentioned Starmer was “a lovely man”, however he “did something that was shocking”. That was not serving to the US in Iran, he mentioned.
Scottish Tories solely occasion that ‘basically help the union’, their chief Russell Findlay says
The Scottish Conservative have claimed that they are the one occasion that “fundamentally supports the union”.
Speaking at his marketing campaign launch, Russell Findlay, the Scottish Tory chief, mentioned:
[John Swinney, the first minister] has mentioned that an SNP majority is a mandate for an additional divisive independence referendum and he’ll push relentlessly for it. This risk is actual.
We are the one occasion that basically helps the union and we have now a monitor document of standing as much as this dismal SNP authorities.
Reform are not a unionist occasion. They area pro-independence candidates, court docket nationalists and Lord Offord has offered a roadmap to a different referendum.
An SNP majority is the nightmare state of affairs dealing with Scots – and it’s as much as the Scottish Conservatives to cease it, like we did in 2016 and 2021.
Findlay was referring to Offord suggesting that, after 10 years, he is likely to be open to a different independence referendum.
Labour criticises Farage for hinting James McMurdock is likely to be allowed to rejoin Reform UK
Labour has criticised Nigel Farage for suggesting in an interview with the BBC that he may let James McMurdock rejoin his occasion.
McMurdock was elected for Reform UK in 2024 in South Basildon and East Thurrock, a seat the occasion by no means anticipated to win. He was quickly embroiled in controversy when it emerged that, as a youngster, he had been jailed for assaulting his then girlfriend. Last 12 months he left the party over allegations about his enterprise conduct in the course of the coronavirus pandemic. Later an inquiry opened into claims he racially abused a female journalist on X.
A Labour spokesperson mentioned:
McMurdock remains to be below investigation for alleged racism and if Reform are intent on letting him again into their occasion, it will let you know every part you want learn about Farage’s judgement. Reform merely can’t be trusted to uphold the excessive requirements anticipated in public life.
NS&I boss changed as financial institution faces document payout over lacking financial savings
The boss of National Savings and Investments has stepped down after it emerged that the financial institution should repay lots of of hundreds of thousands of kilos to its prospects over lacking financial savings, Lauren Almeida experiences.
