Starmer and Trump call for Iran to return to negotiating table after US strikes
The Prime Minister spoke to the US President on Sunday night after an air raid by B-2 stealth bombers and a salvo of submarine-launched missiles hit Iran's nuclear facilities.
Downing Street said the leaders agreed Tehran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and called for Iran to return to negotiations.
'The leaders discussed the situation in the Middle East and reiterated the grave risk posed by Iran's nuclear programme to international security,' Downing Street said.
'They discussed the actions taken by the United States last night to reduce the threat and agreed that Iran must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.
'They discussed the need for Iran to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible and to make progress on a lasting settlement.
'They agreed to stay in close contact in the coming days.'
Earlier, Sir Keir – whose previous calls for restraint appear to have been ignored by the American leader – said there was a 'risk of escalation', adding: 'That's a risk to the region. It's a risk beyond the region, and that's why all our focus has been on de-escalating, getting people back around to negotiate what is a very real threat in relation to the nuclear programme.'
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Glasgow Times
41 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
British father-to-be feels like ‘second class citizen' over family visa rules
David Todd, 33, is calling on the Government to reform the policy, including to scrap or lower the minimum income requirement (MIR) for British citizens to bring their partners to the country, as ministers mull over updating the visa route. His plea comes as charities Reunite Families UK and Coram published reports on Monday documenting the 'significant emotional and psychological harm' to families from the policy, particularly for children who grow up under long separation from one of their parents. Mr Todd had hoped to move back to the UK from Germany with his American wife, Claire Todd, 32, before the birth of their first baby which is due in October. But the couple are facing being split up for Mr Todd to return to the UK alone to build up enough income proof as the British citizen in the relationship, or raise savings of more than £88,500 dictated by the visa rules to allow them to return as a family. Mr Todd told the PA news agency: 'There's been lots of times where I've stayed awake at night worrying about it and how it's all going to work out, because you feel completely helpless. 'It's like we're second class citizens because we married someone who fell in love with someone who wasn't British.' Earlier this month the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) set out its recommendations after a review requested by the Home Secretary to look at how to set an MIR for family visas that balances economic wellbeing and family life. It warned against raising the threshold for family visas to the same level for skilled workers, as planned by the previous government. Skilled workers are only eligible to come to the UK if they earn a salary of £38,700 or more, compared to £29,000 required mainly for family visas. The UK's current £29,000 threshold, which was set in 2024, is high compared to other high-income countries reviewed by the MAC. It was previously set at £18,600 since 2012. Mr Todd, from Solihull, West Midlands, added increasing the level to £38,700 would be 'devastating'. 'Even with this MAC report now, we don't know what the Government's going to do, how they're going to react,' the classical music conductor said. 'It's this feeling that you're kind of helpless, you're stuck in limbo, and you're desperately trying to contort yourself into this position where you can make it work just because you want to live with your wife or husband.' The couple, living in Wurzburg, Germany, first left the UK after Ms Todd's student visa ended and moved to the European nation so they could be together seven years ago. After building 'good careers' as classical musicians on the continent, the couple began trying to make a return to the UK up to a year ago, wanting to be near family as they start their own. For Mr Todd, he said the Government should at least make the ways to prove income easier, and to include the spouse's salary to contribute to the income threshold. He said it is 'ridiculous' his wife's income cannot be used to meet the salary requirement despite her remote job as a content creator paying enough to mean they 'could move to the UK tomorrow'. Mr Todd said he wants to 'avoid at all costs' the prospect of being separated from his wife and child, adding: 'It just feels wrong, am I going to have to turn to my child when she's older and say to her: 'Well, sorry, the reason I wasn't with you for the first year of your life was because I was trying to get work for the family to move.'' Ed Moon with his wife Amber and daughter Maya, currently living in Taiwan and are trying to move back to the UK (Ed Moon/PA) British father Ed Moon, currently living in Taipei with his Taiwanese wife Amber Moon and four-year-old daughter Maya, is also applying to the family visa route to move back to the UK as Maya reaches school age. He told PA the most difficult thing is the 'extremely extensive' documentation you need to provide with any errors meaning the visa is denied and the process must be started again, with visa fees costing around £2,000. 'We're having to dip into every ounce of our savings to do this,' the 36-year-old from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, said. 'You feel just unwanted by your country essentially. It's been especially tough, really like from a personal perspective.' The journalist also said it is a waste of money for the taxpayer for him to grow up and be educated in the UK, to then not let him and his family live there, adding: 'I want to be able to contribute to the UK.' The research by Reunite Families and Coram found that British citizens face exile, increased financial pressure and separation from their partners often for long periods of time from the family visa policy. For children separated from one of their parents, the charities warned they can face life-changing trauma and distress. The report also highlighted how the rules particularly discriminate against those including British mothers, who are more likely to experience hardship, working class and low income partners and black and ethnic minority workers, who are more likely to earn less than their white counterparts. Reunite Families UK executive director Caroline Coombs said 'simple and practical changes' from the Home Office could make significant differences to families, starting with scrapping the MIR and simplifying the rules and application process to stop the need for expensive legal advice. 'These rules have become the tax on love. People are suffering and want to be heard.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We understand the minimum income requirement for family visas needs to balance a respect for family life while also maintaining the UK's economic stability, which is why the Home Secretary commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee to undertake a review. 'We are now considering its findings and will respond in due course.'
Powys County Times
an hour ago
- Powys County Times
Energy costs to be cut for industry as Starmer seeks economic ‘turning point'
Electricity costs for thousands of businesses will be cut by scrapping green levies to help them compete with foreign rivals. The plan, which could cut bills by up to 25%, forms a key part of Sir Keir Starmer's 10-year industrial strategy which he hopes will address stuttering economic growth and transform the business landscape. The Prime Minister said the plan marks a 'turning point for Britain's economy' by supporting key industries where there is potential for growth. Manufacturers have warned 'crippling' power costs are far higher for UK businesses than competitors overseas. From 2027, a new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will cut costs by up to £40 per megawatt hour for over 7,000 manufacturing firms by exempting them from levies on bills including the renewables obligation, feed-in tariffs and the capacity market. Around 500 of the most energy-intensive firms, including the steel industry, chemicals and glassmaking, will also see their network charges cut – they currently get a 60% discount through the British Industry Supercharger scheme, which will increase to 90% from 2026. The plan also promises measures to speed up the time it can take to connect new factories and projects to the energy grid. Sir Keir said: 'This industrial strategy marks a turning point for Britain's economy and a clear break from the short-termism and sticking plasters of the past.' He said the decade-long plan would deliver 'the long-term certainty and direction British businesses need to invest' during an 'era of global uncertainty'. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband blamed 'our reliance on gas sold on volatile international markets' for the high electricity costs for businesses. He said 'doubling down' on wind and nuclear power would 'bring down bills for households and businesses for good'. The industrial strategy focuses on eight areas where the UK is already strong and there is potential for further growth: advanced manufacturing, clean energy, creative industries, defence, digital, financial services, life sciences and professional and business services. Plans for five of the sectors will be published on Monday, but the defence, financial services and life sciences strategies will come later. Other measures include: – Increasing the British Business Bank's financial capacity to £25.6 billion, including £4 billion for sectors in the industrial strategy. – Raising research and development spending to £22.6 billion a year by 2029/30. – An extra £1.2 billion a year for skills by 2028-29 to train Britons to do jobs in growth industries and reduce reliance on foreign workers. – Attracting 'elite' overseas talent through visa and migration reforms. – Cutting the administrative cost of red tape by 25% and reducing the number of regulators. – Reducing the time it takes to get planning permission by hiring more planners, streamlining pre-application requirements and combining environmental obligations. – Increasing the supply of locations for investment around the country with a £600 million strategic sites accelerator. The strategy comes after the latest figures indicated the economy shrank by 0.3% in April, the biggest monthly contraction in gross domestic product for a year-and-a-half, as businesses felt the impact of Donald Trump's tariffs and domestic pressure as a result of hikes to firms' national insurance contributions. There are also concerns in industry about the impact of the Government's Employment Rights Bill, which could add to business costs. Confederation of British Industry chief executive Rain Newton-Smith said: 'More competitive energy prices, fast-tracked planning decisions and backing innovation will provide a bedrock for growth. 'But the global race to attract investment will require a laser-like and unwavering focus on the UK's overall competitiveness.' Manufacturers' organisation Make UK's chief Stephen Phipson said the three major challenges facing industry were 'a skills crisis, crippling energy costs and an inability to access capital for new British innovators', and the strategy 'sets out plans to address all three'. TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: 'We welcome ministers taking action to reduce sky-high energy costs for manufacturers – something unions have been calling for as a matter of urgency. 'For too long, UK industry has been hamstrung by energy prices far above those in France and Germany. It's made it harder to compete, invest, and grow.' Acting shadow energy secretary Andrew Bowie said: 'It is astonishing that Labour are finally admitting that the costs of net zero are so high that they're having to spend billions of pounds of taxpayers' money subsidising businesses' energy bills to stop them going bust.' Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith has written an open letter to firms warning they are being 'sleepwalked into disaster' by the Employment Rights Bill.
Western Telegraph
an hour ago
- Western Telegraph
British father-to-be feels like ‘second class citizen' over family visa rules
David Todd, 33, is calling on the Government to reform the policy, including to scrap or lower the minimum income requirement (MIR) for British citizens to bring their partners to the country, as ministers mull over updating the visa route. His plea comes as charities Reunite Families UK and Coram published reports on Monday documenting the 'significant emotional and psychological harm' to families from the policy, particularly for children who grow up under long separation from one of their parents. Mr Todd had hoped to move back to the UK from Germany with his American wife, Claire Todd, 32, before the birth of their first baby which is due in October. But the couple are facing being split up for Mr Todd to return to the UK alone to build up enough income proof as the British citizen in the relationship, or raise savings of more than £88,500 dictated by the visa rules to allow them to return as a family. Mr Todd told the PA news agency: 'There's been lots of times where I've stayed awake at night worrying about it and how it's all going to work out, because you feel completely helpless. 'It's like we're second class citizens because we married someone who fell in love with someone who wasn't British.' Earlier this month the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) set out its recommendations after a review requested by the Home Secretary to look at how to set an MIR for family visas that balances economic wellbeing and family life. It warned against raising the threshold for family visas to the same level for skilled workers, as planned by the previous government. Skilled workers are only eligible to come to the UK if they earn a salary of £38,700 or more, compared to £29,000 required mainly for family visas. The UK's current £29,000 threshold, which was set in 2024, is high compared to other high-income countries reviewed by the MAC. It was previously set at £18,600 since 2012. Mr Todd, from Solihull, West Midlands, added increasing the level to £38,700 would be 'devastating'. 'Even with this MAC report now, we don't know what the Government's going to do, how they're going to react,' the classical music conductor said. 'It's this feeling that you're kind of helpless, you're stuck in limbo, and you're desperately trying to contort yourself into this position where you can make it work just because you want to live with your wife or husband.' The couple, living in Wurzburg, Germany, first left the UK after Ms Todd's student visa ended and moved to the European nation so they could be together seven years ago. After building 'good careers' as classical musicians on the continent, the couple began trying to make a return to the UK up to a year ago, wanting to be near family as they start their own. For Mr Todd, he said the Government should at least make the ways to prove income easier, and to include the spouse's salary to contribute to the income threshold. He said it is 'ridiculous' his wife's income cannot be used to meet the salary requirement despite her remote job as a content creator paying enough to mean they 'could move to the UK tomorrow'. Mr Todd said he wants to 'avoid at all costs' the prospect of being separated from his wife and child, adding: 'It just feels wrong, am I going to have to turn to my child when she's older and say to her: 'Well, sorry, the reason I wasn't with you for the first year of your life was because I was trying to get work for the family to move.'' Ed Moon with his wife Amber and daughter Maya, currently living in Taiwan and are trying to move back to the UK (Ed Moon/PA) British father Ed Moon, currently living in Taipei with his Taiwanese wife Amber Moon and four-year-old daughter Maya, is also applying to the family visa route to move back to the UK as Maya reaches school age. He told PA the most difficult thing is the 'extremely extensive' documentation you need to provide with any errors meaning the visa is denied and the process must be started again, with visa fees costing around £2,000. 'We're having to dip into every ounce of our savings to do this,' the 36-year-old from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, said. 'You feel just unwanted by your country essentially. It's been especially tough, really like from a personal perspective.' The journalist also said it is a waste of money for the taxpayer for him to grow up and be educated in the UK, to then not let him and his family live there, adding: 'I want to be able to contribute to the UK.' The research by Reunite Families and Coram found that British citizens face exile, increased financial pressure and separation from their partners often for long periods of time from the family visa policy. For children separated from one of their parents, the charities warned they can face life-changing trauma and distress. The report also highlighted how the rules particularly discriminate against those including British mothers, who are more likely to experience hardship, working class and low income partners and black and ethnic minority workers, who are more likely to earn less than their white counterparts. Reunite Families UK executive director Caroline Coombs said 'simple and practical changes' from the Home Office could make significant differences to families, starting with scrapping the MIR and simplifying the rules and application process to stop the need for expensive legal advice. 'These rules have become the tax on love. People are suffering and want to be heard.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We understand the minimum income requirement for family visas needs to balance a respect for family life while also maintaining the UK's economic stability, which is why the Home Secretary commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee to undertake a review. 'We are now considering its findings and will respond in due course.'
