
David Lammy repeatedly declines to say whether British government believes US strikes on Iran were illegal
Update:
Date: 2025-06-23T07:53:06.000Z
Title: Welcome and opening summary …
Content: Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of UK politics. Here are the headlines …
Foreign secretary David Lammy has repeatedly declined to say whether the British government believes US strikes on Iran were illegal. Prime minister Keir Starmer has warned of a 'risk of escalation' in the Middle East and beyond, backing the strike on Iran's nuclear facilities and calling on Tehran to return to negotiations
The government has promised electricity costs for thousands of businesses will be cut by scrapping green levies as a key part of a 10-year industrial strategy. Starmer said the plan marks a 'turning point for Britain's economy'
Reform UK are to offer wealthy foreigners and returning British expats a bespoke tax regime in exchange for a one-off payment of £250,000 with all funds collected redistributed to Britain's lowest-paid workers, the party claims
There are quite a few things in the diary for the day. Chancellor Rachel Reeves and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds will be out promoting the government's industry strategy. Health secretary Wes Streeting is giving a speech in London, while opposition leader Kemi Badenoch is appearing at a Policy Exchange event at lunchtime.
Minister Stephen Doughty will be appearing before the foreign affairs committee discussing the Chagos agreement, while Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn faces the Northern Ireland affairs committee. In the Commons there are questions on work and pensions and a general debate on Pride month.
It is Martin Belam with you today. You can reach me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Times
38 minutes ago
- Times
Investment trust battles Fuji Media Holdings over sex assault scandal
A London-listed investment trust that branded a Japanese TV group embroiled in a sex assault scandal 'a total disgrace' has stepped up its campaign for the entire board to be replaced. Nippon Active Value Fund (NAVF), with its ally Los Angeles-based Dalton Investments, upped their stake in Fuji Media Holdings from 7.19 per cent to 7.51 per cent last week before the proxy fight on Wednesday. The shareholder revolt follows a scandal at the broadcaster that triggered public outrage and the departure of Masahiro Nakai, its star presenter, and is seen as a key test for the push to more accountable and shareholder-friendly governance standards in Tokyo-listed companies. Paul ffolkes Davis, chairman of Rising Sun Management, which manages NAVF, urged other shareholders in Fuji to vote against the company's 11 proposed board candidates and back instead its own slate of 12 nominees.


Reuters
40 minutes ago
- Reuters
Bank of England's Bailey defends bond programme after Reform UK criticism
LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey defended the central bank's programme of government bond purchases and sales which has come under fire from some politicians for its cost. In a letter to Richard Tice, deputy leader of the Reform UK party which is led by former Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, Bailey said claims that the programme was more expensive than those run by other central banks did not tell the full story. Britain's government issued more long-term debt than other countries at a time when the BoE's bond-buying - or quantitative easing - was keeping borrowing costs low, giving the country a longer-lasting benefit, Bailey said. "Put simply, the cash flow cost of QE/QT is not therefore what it seems, and the outcome in these terms will be better," he said in the letter published on Monday. Reform - which is leading Britain's more established political parties in opinion polls - has said the government could save as much as 40 billion pounds ($53.6 billion) a year by stopping payment of interest to banks on reserves held at the BoE. Most of those reserves were created as a byproduct of the central bank's bond purchases which began in 2009 and reached a peak of almost 900 billion pounds in holdings in 2021. Since then, the BoE has sold much of its bond portfolio - known as quantitative tightening - and the programme is due to incur losses for the public finances because of a rise in interest rates and a subsequent fall in the value of the bonds. In his letter, Bailey said the bond purchases shielded Britain's economy from a string of economic shocks over the past 16 years. "It is easy to forget the severe problems we faced with these shocks," he said. "Although the counterfactual is unknowable with any precision, most estimates indicate that QE provided very significant support to the UK economy, protecting both jobs and tax revenues." Bailey said that ceasing paying interest on reserves was tantamount to increasing taxes on banks and would lead to lower interest payments for savers or higher interest rates for borrowers. He also disputed Reform's view that British banks were making excess profits. "Interest paid on reserves is not free money for the banks, not least as most of it is paid on to customers in the form of interest on their deposits," Bailey said.


Powys County Times
43 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Farage says non-dom policy ‘very attractive' despite tax expert cost warning
Nigel Farage has insisted Reform UK's proposed change to non-dom tax rules was 'very attractive' despite an expert warning the policy could cost the UK £34 billion. The party leader said he was 'not clever enough' to answer questions about the suggested hit to Britain's economy but dismissed criticism as 'off-the-wall nonsense' as he held a press conference on Monday. Mr Farage also batted away suggestions that his plan for a so-called Britannia Card was a 'profoundly left-wing concept' as he was asked whether the announcement was a bid to win votes from low-income workers. Reform has said it would reinstate non-dom status for wealthy individuals in exchange for a £250,000 one-off fee which would be given to Britain's poorest workers. Under the 'Britannia Card', non-doms would be offered a 10-year renewable residence permit and a return to the controversial arrangement whereby overseas income can be shielded from UK tax. They would also avoid inheritance tax, with the one-off payment then being distributed to Britain's bottom 10% of earners. Announcing the policy in central London on Monday, Mr Farage said: 'Many talented people are leaving, and we want as a party as many entrepreneurs, as many risk-takers, as many job creators, as many people paying lots of tax, as many people investing huge sums of money – we want as many of them as possible to be in our country.' Reform chairman Zia Yusuf added: 'The reality is that even the term non-dom has become, you know, these people have been made to feel persona non grata… there's a narrative that has been created that these people contribute nothing. 'So we have to set right that, too.' It comes as Dan Neidle, founder of Tax Policy Associates, claimed the policy would cost the UK £34 billion, warning that some highly skilled and highly paid professionals would not be able to afford the £250,000. The Office for Budget Responsibility has assessed that recent Labour and Conservative reforms to the non-dom status raise a net £33.9 billion from 2026/27 to 2029/30. Reform UK's Britannia card will bring thousands of wealthy job creators back to the UK and directly benefit working people. ✅ — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) June 23, 2025 This sum is generated from a small number of very wealthy people who Mr Neidle said would opt to buy a Britannia Card and pay no tax, meaning the revenue would be lost. Because the £250,000 one-off payment would be redistributed, none of the money raised would reduce the impact on the public finances, he said. The Labour Government abolished the non-dom tax status in April, which is where UK residents whose permanent home or domicile for tax purposes is outside Britain. Mr Farage was asked about the analysis on Monday and was also pressed on whether he had an overall costing for the policy. 'Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. I'm not clever enough to answer any of that,' he said. 'That just sounds completely off-the-wall nonsense. I'm really sorry, but I think what we've got here is a very attractive offer. 'People are fleeing this country in droves. Our economy is in trouble. There are fears of wealth taxes coming in. All the mood music is bad.' Watch me speak LIVE as Reform UK announces the Britannia Card. 🇬🇧 — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) June 23, 2025 The party leader said he believed 'tens of thousands of people' would come to the UK 'on this ticket' if Reform is successful. 'Even if after lots have come, we're going to get a trickle, not a flood, provided they're still paying their average £120,000-a-year income tax, provided they're still investing the billions that they do in business, in job creation, in risk – I tell you what, we'll be in a much better place than we are right now,' he said. Asked if he was attempting to give low-income workers free money to win over their votes, the Reform UK leader told reporters: 'Nice try, but the idea that I'm somehow putting forward a profoundly left-wing concept today could not be further from the truth. 'We're saying we want people who make loads of money to come in to Britain in huge numbers and pay lots and lots of tax and buy lots of houses and spend lots of money.' Rachel Reeves said Reform's announcement amounted to 'a tax cut for foreign billionaires'. Speaking during a visit to the West Midlands, the Chancellor said: 'That would mean either taxes on ordinary working people would have to go up to compensate for those lack of revenues, or Reform would have to cut public services, including the NHS. 'So, this is a tax cut by Nigel Farage and the Reform Party for foreign-born billionaires. Labour's priority is easing the pressure on ordinary working families and investing in our public services, including the NHS.'