
Times letters: Healthy dose of pragmatism in UK-EU reset
Write to letters@thetimes.co.uk
Sir, The prime minister's reset is an important step in the right direction. If it goes well in practice further renegotiations will surely follow that work in the economic interests of both the UK and our European neighbours. So just for once it would be pleasing if the Tories and other opposition parties responded positively to a government initiative that acts in the best interests of the country at large, instead of reacting with kneejerk critical comments about 'betraying' the electorate ('Rapprochement', leading article, May 20). The only betrayal that took place in 2016, and subsequently, was the one perpetrated by Boris Johnson, who placed personal ambition and political capital above the interests of the British people. Kemi Badenoch would
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Telegraph
15 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Starmer has made Britain utterly irrelevant
Two weeks is a short time in politics. In a bid to halt Israel's bombing campaign in Iran, Foreign Secretary David Lammy flew to Washington DC on Friday. Following meetings with secretary of state Marco Rubio and Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss 'how a deal could avoid a deepening conflict', Lammy emerged to declare: 'A window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution.' Less than 48 hours later, Iran's uranium enrichment and nuclear technology facilities are in smoulders. Far from two weeks to negotiate, there were two days until the bombs went off. Donald Trump's decision to target the sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan has shaken the regime in Tehran, but the tremors extend far beyond the Islamic Republic. The US president has demonstrated in emphatic fashion exactly what he thinks of the UK Government and the people who lead it. Just three days ago, Keir Starmer said that while a nuclear Iran was a major threat, it was 'better dealt with by way of negotiation than by way of conflict' and that 'we need to de-escalate'. It is being briefed that the UK took no part in the overnight bombing – boasting of your bystander status as a new world order is being born is certainly a choice – and that the Prime Minister was informed in advance. That latter crumb-searching looks especially pitiful. If there was a relationship between Trump's White House and Number 10, beyond the formal and functional, the administration would not have allowed Starmer to embarrass himself by giving on-the-record quotes about the risks of a course of action the president was days away from taking. Starmer and Lammy favoured yet more talks with Tehran, a regime that demonstrated with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that it regards negotiations and even agreements as a stalling tactic to gull naive Western leaders while its nuclear ambitions continue unabated. There are few leaders as naive as Starmer and Lammy, two men keenly interested in foreign and military affairs but fantastically out of their depth in both. If the UK has been swept aside in Trump's decision to hit Iran, it is not the US president but Britain's own Prime Minister who has made his nation irrelevant. It makes little sense to speak of a Starmer foreign policy, for Starmer's policy is merely a copy and paste of the various positions of the European Union. But the world does not belong to the likes of Ursula von der Leyen, Friedrich Merz or Emmanuel Macron anymore, and it certainly does not belong to their eager echoes Starmer and Lammy. Israel and the United States have not only exploded Iran's nuclear capabilities; they have blown to smithereens the delusions of liberal multilateralism. Those delusions appeal to Starmer because they regard negotiation as an end in itself, rather than a means to achieving an outcome. They are about process, and if there is anything the Prime Minister believes in, its process. Process is always the answer, even when it does not work, because process is the god of lawyers. The god of lawyers is dead, at least on the international stage. Peace through strength is back, with the United States and Israel in its vanguard.


The Guardian
15 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Thousands of UK government laptops, phones and tablets have been lost or stolen
Thousands of UK government laptops, phones and tablets worth more than £1m have been either lost or stolen, freedom of information disclosures have revealed, triggering warnings of a 'systemic risk' to the nation's cybersecurity. The Department for Work and Pensions recorded 240 missing laptops and 125 missing phones in 2024; while in the first five months of this year the Ministry of Defence recorded 103 missing laptops and 387 missing phones. The Cabinet Office, which coordinates government activity, lost or had stolen 66 laptops and 124 phones in 2024. The replacement cost of the more than 2,000 missing devices recorded across 18 Whitehall departments and public authorities in the last year for which figures are available is running at about £1.3m annually, according to Guardian analysis of freedom of information responses. The Bank of England, HM Treasury and the Home Office were among other departments where dozens of phones and laptops went missing. Cybersecurity experts said the losses could enable hackers to create backdoors into government systems even if large parts of the hardware were encrypted. One called it 'a huge national security risk', but the government downplayed the danger, saying that encryption prevented access to bad actors. 'These are surprisingly large numbers,' said Prof Alan Woodward, a cybersecurity expert at the University of Surrey. 'When you are talking about so many [it creates] a large attack surface [for hackers]. If 1% were system administrators who had their phones stolen, that's enough to get in.' He said that if devices were open when stolen, as frequently happens with phones snatched on the street, criminals could keep them open and 'drill down into the device and once the phone is open, by design it is readable and accessible'. The Ministry of Defence said it had robust policies and procedures to prevent losses and thefts. It said: 'Encryption on devices ensures any data is safeguarded and prevents access to the defence network.' The Bank of England said it 'takes the security of devices and data very seriously and has suitable protection in place'. A government spokesperson said: 'We take the security of government devices extremely seriously, which is why items such as laptops and mobile phones are always encrypted so any loss does not compromise security.' It added that every loss or theft was investigated. 'The device loss seems quite high,' said Nick Jackson, the chief information security officer at Bitdefender, a cybersecurity firm. 'It only takes one lost [device] to compromise a network. It poses a systemic risk and is something that could potentially be taken more seriously especially given the access and connections that department will have.' Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion He said laptops were likely to have encryption, but tablets or phones presented a greater risk. Jackson said: 'The biggest risk is that the devices themselves will have access to sensitive information and authentication tokens. If someone was able to gain access to those they would be able complete authentication processes on any government application or government website that they shouldn't be able to access.' The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which is responsible for cybersecurity, recorded 83 phones and 18 laptops lost or stolen in the year to May 2025. In 2024, the Home Office, which oversees policing, had 147 devices go missing at an estimated replacement cost of more than £85,000. An MoD spokesperson said: 'We treat all breaches of security very seriously and we require all suspected breaches to be reported. All incidents are subjected to an initial security risk assessment, with further action taken on a proportionate basis.' David Gee, the chief marketing officer of Cellebrite, a digital forensics and cybersecurity firm that works with the Metropolitan police, said: 'Missing devices pose a huge national security risk, especially coming from public sector departments where they hold vast amounts of sensitive data. From healthcare departments to defence, staff phones and laptops must be protected at all costs, and keeping data safe in these government agencies should be a top priority.'

The National
15 minutes ago
- The National
Keir Starmer accused of 'gaslighting' statement on US bombing of Iran
The Prime Minister posted on social media following news of the attack, with his comments gathering 1.7 million views and thousands of furious comments. Starmer said the US bombing was taken to 'alleviate' the threat of Iran developing a nuclear weapon. 'The situation in the Middle East remains volatile and stability in the region is a priority,' he wrote. READ MORE: 'I spent 16 months in Gaza amid Israel's genocide. Here's what I saw' 'We call on Iran to return to the negotiating table and reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis.' Starmer's comments prompted a furious response from politicians and social media users. Former first minister Humza Yousaf said: 'An awful statement from the PM, which ignores our collective responsibility to uphold international law. 'Supporting illegal military action in Iran, and gas-lighting us about an imminent nuclear threat, is hauntingly reminiscent of the lies told in the run up to the Iraq war.' (Image: PA) Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said: 'This is a deplorable response, but all too predictable. 'Israel expanding its war, by attacking Iran when negotiations were imminent, was an outrage. The US is now escalating the conflict. 'Instead of being a voice for de-escalation, the UK is siding with the aggressors.' Green party deputy leader Zack Polanski said: 'I don't think anyone expected him to say anything better. 'But he'd probably have been better maintaining his usual silence. 'Iran were negotiating - when Israel launched a war on them. The US joined in - and now our Prime Minister basically says 'well they were asking for it'.' READ MORE: Laura Kuenssberg slammed live on air for platforming Israeli president SDLP MP Colum Eastwood said simply: 'Utterly pathetic.' Social media users also criticised the PM's comments. One wrote: 'I have never despised a prime minister more. You've drenched every British citizen in blood. The vast majority reject your support for Israel, its genocide, and its constant violations of international law. Shame on you.' Another added: 'Are you dumb? Iran was bombed whilst at the negotiating table. Stop gaslighting your electorate and start telling the truth.' Elsewhere, First Minister John Swinney called for a 'diplomatic solution'. It comes after Cabinet minister Jonathan Reynolds would not say the UK supported the military action nor whether he believed the US strikes were legal. Asked on the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg if the US action was a good thing, he said: 'The outcome. It isn't the means by which anyone in the British Government would have wanted to see this occur.' Pushed on whether the US strike was legal, he said: 'It is where we are today.' The US attacked Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz which are linked to Iran's nuclear programme. The Tehran regime has insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful but its uranium enrichment process has gone far beyond what is required for power stations. In an address to the nation from the White House, Donald Trump warned there could be further strikes if Iran retaliates: 'There will either be peace or there will be tragedy for Iran.'