ANDREW PIERCE: Londoners have the Tube, Sadiq Khan has a gravy train
Latest figures reveal City Hall racked up a £2billion expenses bill in the past financial year.
This includes a jaw-dropping £4.6million on printing, £805,000 on hotel accommodation and £57,000 on photography. Then there's the £48,000 spent on postage and another £31,000 for European and domestic flights.
The Mayor himself also received tickets worth almost £8,000 to football matches and Taylor Swift concerts (he was last month cleared of wrongdoing in relation to the gifts).
And, not to be outdone, his aides have cashed in to the tune of £11,000 with tickets to Glastonbury, the Brit Awards and the UEFA Champions League football finals.
Nice work if you can get it...
In the Spring Statement, Rachel Reeves announced the formation of the Defence Growth Board to oversee investment in our Armed Forces. Five months later, how many times has it met? Not once. Yet more window-dressing from a Chancellor woefully out of her depth.
Cotswolds locals weren't the only Britons amazed by Mr Vance's 24-vehicle entourage during his trip to Britain. BBC grandee John Simpson tells how the late Queen Elizabeth would travel around Britain by train. 'She and her companions would have four seats in a first-class carriage, plus two more for her detectives, leaving the rest of the carriage for the public,' he notes. '[They] were always stunned to see her with so little security.'
All eyes will be on London's Guildhall on October 13 when Tory big beasts gather for the tenth anniversary dinner of the Margaret Thatcher Centre – dedicated to the legacy of Britain's greatest post-war leader. But there'll be one notable absence – that of party leader Kemi Badenoch, who will be attending a fundraising event elsewhere on the same night.
Lammy's angling is rather fishy...
It seems that David Lammy has never held a fishing rod in his life, to judge from his laughably unconvincing fishing pose with US Vice-President JD Vance.
The Foreign Secretary, whose Tottenham constituency borders the favourite spot of many London anglers, the Walthamstow Wetlands, could have made more of an effort. I doubt his photo opportunity will have hooked their votes.
If Keir Starmer needs advice, he might try Tory MP Esther McVey's words of wisdom. ''Never-here Keir' has clocked up a massive 100,000 air miles in just over a year – more than any prime minister this century – while suffering the steepest drop in approval ratings for any recent election-winning leader,' she says. 'Maybe if Keir spent more time in the UK he might improve his ratings!'
Police minister Dame Diana Johnson advised victims of crime to dial 999 if they're in trouble or '111' for less serious issues. She ought to know 111 is for NHS matters. The police are on 101.
Labour MP Afzal Khan, fired as trade envoy to Turkey, once overdid the henna while dying his hair, giving him alarmingly ginger roots. From the Press seats above, he looked like Rita Hayworth.
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Reuters
18 minutes ago
- Reuters
Oil prices steady as Russia supply concerns ease after Trump-Putin meet
SINGAPORE, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Oil prices were largely unchanged on Monday after a drop in early trade, as the United States exerted no further pressure on Russia to end the Ukraine war through measures to disrupt its oil exports following a meeting of the leaders of both nations. Brent crude futures dropped 6 cents, or 0.09%, to $65.79 a barrel by 0342 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $62.82 a barrel, up 2 cents, or 0.03%. U.S. President Donald Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday and emerged more aligned with Moscow on seeking a peace deal instead of a ceasefire first. Trump will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders on Monday to strike a quick peace deal to end Europe's deadliest war in 80 years. On Friday, Trump said he did not immediately need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for buying Russian oil but might have to "in two or three weeks", cooling concerns about a disruption in Russian supply. "A non-outcome was largely priced in, the market remains in wait-and-see, more in a bearish context, if more Russian barrels can arrive into the global crude supply pool should hostilities end in Ukraine," said independent energy analyst Gaurav Sharma. China, the world's biggest oil importer, is the largest buyer of Russian oil, followed by India. "What was primarily in play were the secondary tariffs targeting the key importers of Russian energy, and President Trump has indeed indicated that he will pause pursuing incremental action on this front, at least for China," RBC Capital analyst Helima Croft said in a note. "The status quo remains largely intact for now," Croft said, adding that Moscow would not walk back territorial demands while Ukraine and some European leaders would balk at the land-for-peace deal. Investors are also watching for clues from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's comments at this week's Jackson Hole meeting regarding the path of interest rate cuts that could boost stocks to further records. "It's likely he will remain noncommittal and data-dependent, especially with one more payroll and Consumer Price Index (CPI) report before the September 17 FOMC meeting," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note.
Reuters
18 minutes ago
- Reuters
EUROPE Geopolitics dominates, before Fed takes the stage
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Wayne Cole. You know it's crazy times, when speculation Putin sent his body double to Alaska doesn't sound so outlandish. What does seem clear is that President Trump has shifted back to echoing Moscow's line, tweeting Kremlin talking points about Crimea and Zelenskiy. Putin's position seems to be that Ukraine should give up all the land Russia has taken, and much that it has failed to take in more than three years of fighting. This has been repeatedly ruled out by Zelenskiy and European leaders, and it's notable they will be by his side in Washington when he meets Trump later today. Markets have judged there is a diminished threat of further U.S. sanctions or tariffs on Russian oil exports, and oil prices are down modestly with Brent off 0.3%. Share markets are mostly firmer as Japan and Taiwan make more records, and Chinese blue chips scale a 10-month top. European stock futures are up 0.2% or so, as are Wall St futures. Valuations have been underpinned by a solid earnings season as Goldman notes S&P 500 EPS grew 11% on the year and 58% of companies raised their full-year guidance. This week's results will provide some colour on the health of consumer spending with Home Depot (HD.N), opens new tab, Target (TGT.N), opens new tab, Lowe's (LOW.N), opens new tab and Walmart (WMT.N), opens new tab all reporting. For monetary policy the main event will be the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole jamboree where Chair Powell speaks on the economic outlook and the Fed's policy framework on Friday, though there doesn't seem to be a Q&A as yet. ECB President Christine Lagarde and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey are on panel discussions. Futures are about 85% priced for a Fed rate cut in September so anything less than dovish from Powell would be a setback for debt markets. While Fed expectations are anchoring short-term yields, the long end continues to fret about inflation, budget deficit and the politicisation of monetary policy, so steepening the yield curve. European bond yields have also been on the rise, perhaps in part on a realisation of how much governments are going to have to borrow to cover increased defence spending. Key developments that could influence markets on Monday: - EU trade figures for June, US NAHB housing survey
Daily Mirror
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Donald Trump's outburst over Putin 'defeat' before Zelensky meeting
Donald Trump slammed the "Fake News" media and other politicians in his tirade, also putting the onus on Zelensky to seal a ceasefire deal - it comes after Trump's meeting with Putin on Friday President Donald Trump has vented his frustrations over his summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, just a day before he is due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. Trump's meeting with Putin took place in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, where they discussed the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Despite Trump describing the meeting as "productive", the two leaders failed to reach an agreement on a ceasefire. "There's no deal until there's a deal," Trump told journalists during a press conference following the summit. Putin, on the other hand, referred to their discussions merely as a "reference point" for ending the war and a starting point for future diplomatic and economic relations between the U.S. and Russia. "The Fake News has been saying for 3 days that I suffered a 'major defeat' by allowing President Vladimir Putin of Russia to have a major Summit in the United States," the president wrote, reports the Mirror US. "Actually, he would have loved doing the meeting anywhere else but the U.S., and the Fake News knows this. It was a major point of contention! If we had the Summit elsewhere, the Democrat run and controlled media would have said what a terrible thing THAT was. These people are sick!" he continued. In another post, Trump targeted Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, who claimed that Putin "got everything that he wanted" from the three-hour meeting. "Murphy is a lightweight who thinks it made the Russian President look good in coming to America. Actually, it was very hard for President Putin to do so," Trump blasted. "This war can be ended, NOW, but stupid people like Chris Murphy, John Bolton, and others, make it much harder to do so." John Bolton, the former National Security Advisor, commented on CNN that Trump "looked very tired" post-summit. Trump essentially passed the buck to President Zelensky after the summit, stating that Putin had proposed a ceasefire if Kyiv surrendered all of Donetsk - an industrial region that Moscow has its sights set on. Zelensky dismissed the proposal. "President Zelensky of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight," he posted on Truth Social. Zelensky, along with leaders from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Finland, are scheduled to meet Trump at the White House on Monday. This marks the first meeting between the Ukrainian and U.S. leaders since February. "Big day at the White House tomorrow. Never had so many European Leaders at one time. My great honour to host them! ! !" Trump tweeted. Minutes later, Trump took a swipe at the media, alleging that reports have labelled his hosting of the European leaders as a "big loss. "Actually, it is a great honour for America! ! !" he retorted. Zelensky's allies have welcomed Trump's efforts to reach a deal with Putin but promised to support Ukraine and tighten sanctions on Russia. Zelensky himself has said he can't concede territory without changes being made to Ukraine's constitution and insisted on security guarantees to stop Russia from invading again. After the summit, Trump told Putin, "We'll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon."
