Newslinks for Sunday 6th April 2025

April 6, 2025

PM vows to protect British business from storm of Trump’s trade war

“Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to “help shelter British business from the storm” of US tariffs as he lays the ground for state interventions to shore up the worst-affected industries. The Prime Minister pledges to “do everything necessary” to defend the national interest and reveals the Government will step in to protect people’s jobs. Writing for The Telegraph, he also says he will “continue to make the case for free and open trade” despite America’s retreat into protectionism. His intervention over Donald Trump’s tariff announcements comes as Jaguar Land Rover announced it was pausing all exports to the US and JP Morgan warned there is now a 60 per cent chance of a global recession.” – Sunday Telegraph

Jaguar Land Rover halts US exports worth £6.5bn as Trump’s tariffs bite – Sunday Telegraph
Starmer to admit globalisation has failed as tariff war rages – Sunday Times
PM orders UK economic reset amid Trump’s tariff mayhem – Observer
Anti-Trump protests erupt in all 50 US states – Sunday Telegraph

Comment

Labour MP arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences

“A Labour MP has been arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences. Dan Norris, a former minister and the serving MP for North East Somerset, was arrested and taken into custody after police raided his constituency home on Friday. Mr Norris, who previously worked as a teacher and child protection officer, has been immediately suspended from the Labour Party pending the outcome of the police investigation. A party spokesman confirmed his arrest on Saturday night, saying: “Dan Norris MP was immediately suspended by the Labour Party upon being informed of his arrest. We cannot comment further while the police investigation is ongoing.” Mr Norris is currently the Mayor of the West of England as well as an MP. He won the seat from Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former business secretary, at the general election in July by more than 5,000 votes.” – Sunday Telegraph

Labour mayor arrested over rape, abduction and child abuse claims – Sunday Times
MP Norris arrested over rape and child abuse allegations – Observer
Starmer rocked as Labour MP is held in rape and child abuse probe – Mail on Sunday

Reeves faces legal action over tax raid on care homes

“Care homes are taking Rachel Reeves to court over her National Insurance rise, threatening to blow a £1billion hole in her wafer-thin budget headroom. Private providers are set to launch a judicial review of the Chancellor’s decision to hit them with the full cost of the increase to employer’s contributions. They warned the policy risks sparking a collapse in the sector which would ultimately cause the NHS to “crumble” under the weight of extra demand. It comes as the controversial £26billion National Insurance Contributions (NICs) raid comes into force on Monday amid warnings it will spark mass job losses and business closures.” – Sunday Telegraph

Truss calls for mother jailed for Southport X post to be freed

“Senior Conservatives, including a former prime minister, have called for the release of the mother jailed for a social media comment made in the wake of the Southport murders. Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, said the 31-month jail sentence imposed on Lucy Connolly, a childminder from Northampton, was “excessive” and claimed that she was the victim of a “politicised two-tier justice system”. She said she should not be in prison, with her comments later supported by Liz Truss and Bob Blackman, the chairman of the influential 1922 Committee. Connolly, 42, was jailed last October after admitting inciting racial hatred over her post on X made hours after the Southport killings in which she spoke of mass deportations and setting fire to asylum hotels “for all I care”. – Sunday Telegraph

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MPs denied entry to Israel over suspected ‘anti-Israel hatred’

“Two Labour MPs have been denied entry to Israel and deported as they were suspected of plans to “document the activities of security forces and spread anti-Israel hatred”, according to a statement from the Israeli immigration ministry. Yuan Yang, who represents Earley and Woodley, and Abtisam Mohamed, the MP for Sheffield Central, boarded a flight from Luton airport on Saturday. Foreign Secretary David Lammy, in a statement to Sky News on Saturday, said: “It is unacceptable, counterproductive and deeply concerning that two British MPs on a parliamentary delegation to Israel have been detained and refused entry by the Israeli authorities.” – Sunday Telegraph

Revealed: Putin’s secret war in UK waters

“Russian sensors suspected of attempting to spy on the UK’s nuclear submarines have been found hidden in the seas around Britain. The discovery by the British military was deemed a potential threat to national security and has never been made public. Several were found after they washed ashore, while others are understood to have been located by the Royal Navy. The devices are believed to have been planted by Moscow to try and gather intelligence on Britain’s four Vanguard submarines, which carry nuclear missiles.” – Sunday Times

Britain’s hypersonic missile test hailed as ‘critical advance’ for defence – Sunday Telegraph
Brits should prepare a 72 hour ‘survival kit’ as Putin plots to sabotage gas pipelines and cause mass blackouts – Mail on Sunday

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Speaker on his foreign trips: ‘I’m speaking truth to power’

“Sir Lindsay Hoyle has defended his travel expenses as he insisted that growing global instability made building international relationships more important than ever. Hoyle, who has recently visited Ukraine, was criticised after it was claimed he spent more than £250,000 in two years on 19 foreign trips. The Daily Mail also reported last month that the Speaker of the House of Commons had racked up a bill of more than £180,000 on first-class and business-class plane tickets, with thousands spent on chauffeur-driven cars and hotel stays since October 2022.” – Sunday Times

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BBC accused of ‘Islamist propaganda’ for calling Muslim converts ‘reverts’

“The BBC has been accused of parroting “Islamist propaganda” after describing Muslim converts as “reverts”. The controversial term was used throughout an article about Eid – the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan – published by BBC News on Friday. The term “revert” is used by some to back claims that Muslim converts are merely returning to the faith all humans are born into before being corrupted by Christianity, other religions or atheism. But it is not used by all Muslims and is especially associated with Islamist fundamentalism. Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative MP and former security minister, said the use of the term was “sectarianism” that had “no place on the BBC”. – Sunday Telegraph