Trump's man in London backs Aukus partnership with UK and Australia
Donald Trump's new ambassador to the UK has used his first public speech to back the Aukus partnership with Britain and Australia.
Warren Stephens highlighted how 'vital the US-UK relationship is to our countries and to the world' at an event in Parliament attended by Sir Keir Starmer.
Mr Stephens said the Aukus partnership, which is developing a new fleet of nuclear-powered hunter-killer submarines for the UK and Australia, would help maintain a 'free and open Indo-Pacific'.
On my first day at the Embassy, I had the chance to meet the incredibly talented team at @USAinUK. Every day they are working hard to make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous as we carry out the agenda of @POTUS. I fully appreciate the importance of my role as Ambassador… pic.twitter.com/OGjlJ3WHGL
— Ambassador Warren Stephens (@USAmbUK) May 12, 2025
The ambassador's decision to make his first public address in support of the project is symbolically important, given it is a legacy of Joe Biden's term in the White House.
The alliance, which also covers collaboration on other advanced technologies, is seen as an attempt to counter the influence of China in the region.
Mr Stephens said Aukus was based on 'peace, security and prosperity'.
'Those three ideas lie at the heart of our partnership promoting peace by developing our technologies and deterring our adversaries, bolstering security by training and trading together to fend off threats from cyber attacks to submarines and boosting prosperity by maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, while creating jobs and investment from Brisbane to Barrow and to Newport News.'
He said Aukus was a 'partnership built on trust, and the United States is proud to stand alongside Britain and Australia, two of our closest allies, as we deepen our collaboration to respond to a changing world'.
Mr Stephens also highlighted the economic opportunities from the project: 'Government works best when we get out of the way and let our businesses innovate, compete and collaborate to improve people's lives.
'President Trump and I know this to be true, as it has been repeatedly proven throughout history. That fact is built into the Aukus partnership, which sees great American, British and Australian companies innovating and investing to maintain our critical technological edge.'
The Prime Minister told the event in the House of Lords, organised by the all-party parliamentary group on Aukus, that 'when we talk about security and stability, we mean it – in the Indo-Pacific and here at home'.
He said Aukus was already creating thousands of jobs in Barrow, where the submarines will be built and Derby, where Rolls-Royce produces the nuclear reactors to power the boats.
'This is transformational, an investment in our collective security and a reminder today, and every day of the service out there, of people who are risking their lives to keep us safe,' Sir Keir said.
Australia's high commissioner Stephen Smith told the event: 'What underpins economic growth is, of course, security and the Aukus trilateral partnership is, at its very heart, ensuring we continue to have peace and security, not just in the Indo-Pacific, but in the Euro-Atlantic as well.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What we know about the Minnesota shooting suspect
The man accused of shooting Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota on Saturday while impersonating a police officer worked for a security company that advertised a fleet of 'police type vehicles,' and other equipment that could potentially have aided him in appearing to be law enforcement. Vance Boelter was also an outspoken evangelical Christian who traveled to Africa to tell his faith story and, in at least one sermon, pointedly questioned American morals on sexual orientation, according to videos and social media posts reviewed by CNN. Boelter was a conservative who was strongly against abortion rights, a longtime friend told CNN on Saturday. But Boelter never mentioned any particular anger with the lawmakers who were shot, said David Carlson. 'It wasn't the thing that defined him,' he said of his religious and political beliefs. Carlson added, 'He wasn't a hateful person. But he needed help.' Boelter, 57, was arrested Sunday night in the city of Green Isle, Minnesota, where he lived, according to authorities. He's accused of killing one lawmaker and her husband and wounding another and his wife early Saturday. Officials said he left behind an apparent hit list with dozens of names in his car after exchanging fire with police outside the home of one victim and fleeing the scene. Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said the attack 'appears to be a politically motivated assassination.' State officials said authorities early on Saturday encountered what appeared to be a police vehicle with emergency flashing lights in the driveway of Rep. Melissa Hortman's home. Officers at the home 'saw (Boelter)…dressed as a police officer, shoot an adult man' through the open front door, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Minnesota Star Tribune. The suspect 'exchanged gunfire' with police and ran into the house, ultimately disappearing from the area, according to the complaint. Hortman – the top Democrat in the Minnesota House – and her husband were both killed. At a nearby home, Minnesota State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were also shot but are in stable condition after surgery. Police said they are still investigating a motive for the attacks. The names on the list, which CNN obtained, are largely Democrats or figures with ties to Planned Parenthood or the abortion rights movement. The list included prominent lawmakers like Rep. Ilhan Omar and Sen. Tina Smith as well as Planned Parenthood leaders. Police said Boelter also had fliers for anti-Trump protests in his car, raising fears that he may also have intended to target those rallies. Boelter largely shied away from political posts in his publicly available social media feeds and did not discuss abortion rights in any religious speeches reviewed by CNN. In one talk he gave in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023, he appeared sharply critical of LGBTQ rights. 'There's people especially in America, they don't know what sex they are, they don't know their sexual orientation, they're confused. The enemy has gotten so far into their mind and their soul,' he said in a sermon at a Pentecostal church in eastern DRC. Carlson said Boelter was recently having financial problems, possibly due to his regular travels to Africa. The security firm had failed to find traction, Carlson said, leaving Boelter scrambling to find work, including at a funeral home. 'Problem is, he quit all his jobs to go down there,' he said. 'And then he comes back and tries to find new jobs. Wasn't working out that good.' Those who knew Boelter from his church work said they were stunned that he was linked to the violence on Saturday. Pastor McNay Nkashama, who said he knew Boelter as a volunteer who preached Christianity, said he was struggling to reconcile the allegations with the man he knew. 'Of all the people I know, he would not hurt a fly,' Nkashama said in a brief telephone interview. 'I just cannot believe it.' Although Boelter lived in the small town of Green Isle about an hour outside Minneapolis, he often crashed in Carlson's rented home in the city. Carlson, 59, spoke with reporters Saturday night in front of the small home after returning from the lumber store to buy plywood for the windows, which had been busted open by a SWAT team earlier in the day. Carlson said he last heard from Boelter around 6:30 pm on Friday night. He said he knocked on Boelter's door, and when Boelter said he was tired, Carlson watched TV and went to bed. He said he awoke around 6:30 am Saturday and soon after he saw a text message from Boelter. It's unclear when the text was sent. Carlson declined to read it to reporters on Saturday night, but Reuters had reported earlier that Boelter told Carlson that he might be dead soon. After seeing the text message, Carlson said, he called the police. 'I thought he would do self-harm; I didn't think he was … ' his voice trailed off. Boelter served on a state board with Hoffman, records show. In 2019, Walz put Boelter on the Governor's Workforce Development Board – a group of business owners who recommend policies to the state government. In a letter, Walz said the post was in recognition of Boelter's 'integrity, judgment, and ability.' According to a spokesperson for the governor, the development board, which has more than 60 members, is one of many external boards and commissions whose members are unpaid and come from 'all parties.' The spokesperson said the governor does not interview applicants to the boards. It's unclear how closely Boelter and Hoffman interacted in that role, if at all. 'We are still exploring that,' Drew Evans, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension superintendent said in a news conference Saturday afternoon about whether Boelter knew the victims directly. 'There's certainly some overlap with some public meetings, I will say, with Sen. Hoffman and the individual, but we don't know the nature of the relationship or if they actually knew each other.' Boelter has worked as director of security patrols for Praetorian Guard Security Services, which provides 'random armed patrols' of customers' properties, according to the company's webpage – which also suggests he could have had access to uniforms and equipment that could aid in impersonating a police officer. The firm was registered to Boelter's home address and listed a woman who is apparently his wife as president and CEO; she did not respond to messages from CNN. The site advertised that the firm had 'police-type vehicles' and noted, 'We drive the same make and model of vehicles that many police departments use in the U.S. Currently we drive Ford Explorer Utility Vehicles.' The firm's website boasted of Boelter having experience in foreign conflict zones. It said that he was 'involved with security situations in Eastern Europe, Africa, North America and the Middle East, including the West Bank, Southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.' Video from outside Hortman's home on Saturday showed law enforcement towing a black Ford Explorer equipped with police lights. Archived photos from a home previously owned by Boelter show a similar vehicle in the driveway. In speeches reviewed by CNN, Boelter described his deep faith and said he was born again into the church as a teenager. 'I met Jesus when I was 17 years old and I gave my life to him,' Boelter told the church in the DRC in February 2023. 'And I just wanted to tell everybody about Jesus.' Records also show that Boelter once launched a Christian nonprofit called Revoformation Ministries. An archived website under that name includes a biography of him, describing Boelter as having traveled extensively to preach Christianity, including in the Middle East, where the site says he had sought out 'militant Islamists in order to share the gospel and tell them that violence wasn't the answer.' That website described Boelter as a reverend and an author, noting that he had written a book that presents a 'different paradigm on the nature of man and our relationship with God.' CNN reviewed numerous videos of Boelter preaching in the DRC from 2021 to 2023. Boelter appears emotional when describing his religious devotion. He also frequently talked about his connection to the DRC and what he perceived as the suffering the country has endured due to decades of internal conflict and meddling of other countries. 'I've been to North and South America, I've been to the Middle East, I've been to Eastern Europe, and I've been in the DRC. I've never been in a country before like the DRC that has had so much taken away. I hear the history, and it hits my heart. So many people, so many countries have taken, taken, taken,' he said in 2022. Boelter said he worked at major food brands such as Nestlé, and was the general manager of a 7-11, according to an online resume. Boelter registered to vote as a Republican in the early 2000s, state records show. Carlson said he was a Trump voter. In a post six years ago on LinkedIn, Boelter encouraged people to vote and wrote, 'I think the election is going to have more of an impact on the direction of our country than probably any election we have been apart of, or will be apart of for years to come.' A state document that listed his 2019 appointment to a development board noted he had 'no party preference.' Boelter's LinkedIn page claims he had a doctorate in educational leadership and a masters of science in management, both from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, and he used the prefix Dr. on his website and social media. Social media posts also indicate he has multiple children. A search of Minnesota criminal records showed no cases against Boelter aside from some traffic charges. Boelter had a property outside the small town of Green Isle, about 50 miles west of Minneapolis, according to records. A sheriff's deputy was blocking a gravel road leading to the home on Saturday afternoon. In the town's restaurants and bars, no one who spoke to CNN knew Boelter or his family. Carlson said he thought Boelter's recent financial struggles may have pushed him into violence. 'He was looking around, but maybe things didn't work out and he just gave up and decided to go out in the blaze of glory,' he said. 'I have no idea what he was thinking.' This story has been updated with an interview with David Carlson. CNN's Majlie de Puy Kamp and Bob Ortega contributed to this report.
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Iran sought US pressure on Israel for ceasefire via Gulf states, sources say
By Parisa Hafezi, Samia Nakhoul and Andrew Mills DUBAI (Reuters) -Tehran has asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to press U.S. President Donald Trump to use his influence on Israel to agree to an immediate ceasefire with Iran in return for Iranian flexibility in nuclear negotiations, two Iranian and three regional sources told Reuters on Monday. Gulf leaders and their top diplomats worked the phones all weekend, speaking to each other, to Tehran, Washington and beyond in an effort to prevent a widening of the biggest ever confrontation between longstanding enemies Israel and Iran. Iran is willing to be flexible in the nuclear talks if a ceasefire is reached, one of the Iranian sources said. The Gulf states are deeply concerned the conflict will spin out of control, a Gulf source close to government officials told Reuters. Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia have all appealed to Washington to press Israel to agree to a ceasefire and to resume talks with Tehran towards a nuclear deal, the Gulf source said. A regional source and an official briefed on Iran's communications with the Gulf said Tehran had reached out to Qatar and Oman to mediate a return to nuclear talks, but insisted that a ceasefire with Israel be put in place first. Iran made clear to Oman and Qatar that it would not negotiate while it is under attack and will only begin serious negotiations once it has finished responding to Israeli strikes, the official said. Iran's foreign ministry was not immediately available to respond to Reuters' request for comment. Qatar's foreign ministry, Oman's ministry of information, Saudi Arabia's international media office, the White House and the U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office did not respond to a request for comment. When asked if a diplomatic mechanism was being worked out to end the campaign, Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told Army Radio on Monday: "It is a little early for that. You don't go to war and look to end it three days later." Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran on Friday morning that wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command and damaged its nuclear sites, and says the campaign will continue to escalate with the stated goal of eliminating Tehran's ability to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran insists its nuclear programme is civilian, not military. PUSH TO RESUME TALKS Mediator Oman is drafting a ceasefire proposal designed to restart talks between the U.S. and Iran on Iran's nuclear programme, another regional source said. A sixth round of US-Iran that had been planned in Muscat last Sunday was cancelled a day after Israel's surprise attacks on Friday. The Omani draft calls on the U.S. to accept Iran's suspension of all nuclear enrichment for a minimum of one to three years while allowing firm inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the regional sources told Reuters. The proposed deal would aim to build trust so Iran could enrich uranium up to a purity of 3.67% and allow an international uranium consortium to take part in Iran's program. That proposal overlaps with what one of the Iranian sources said Tehran could accept if Israel agreed to an immediate ceasefire: a one-year suspension of nuclear enrichment, full access to IAEA inspectors and confidence-building measures. In return, the Iranian source said Iran expects the U.S. to recognise its right to a peaceful nuclear program and to lift sanctions. The two Iranian sources said that Tehran had also asked Turkey to appeal to Trump and that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to speak both to Trump and to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It is unclear if Russia would play a broader diplomatic role. The Turkish president's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Iran has vowed to "open the gates of hell" in retaliation for Israeli attacks, but the two Iranian sources said that Tehran had also signaled its willingness to halt its strikes if Israel stopped attacking. Tehran is serious about pursuing a ceasefire because of fears the war could spread across the region with consequences that could last for decades, one of the Iranian sources said.
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
EU dismisses reports that it is ready to accept flat 10% U.S. tariff
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Commission dismissed on Monday reports suggesting it was willing to accept a broad U.S. tariff of 10% on EU goods as speculative and said they did not reflect current discussions. "Negotiations are ongoing, and no agreement has been reached at this stage. The EU has from the start objected to unjustified and illegal U.S. tariffs," the Commission said in a statement. German newspaper Handelsblatt had said earlier on Monday that Brussels negotiators were prepared to accept the flat 10% U.S. tariff on most EU imports to avert higher duties on EU cars, drugs and electronics. The Commission, which negotiates trade deals for the 27-nation EU, responded by saying "reports suggesting that the EU accepts a US tariff of 10% across all our exports are speculative and do not reflect the current state of discussions." The next step in negotiations is a planned meeting between European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at this week's G7 meeting in Canada. U.S. President Donald Trump has announced wide-ranging tariffs on trade partners, and wants to reduce the U.S. goods trade deficit with the EU, which he has said was "formed in order to screw the United States". European Union exporters are currently contending with U.S. tariffs of 50% for steel and aluminium, 25% for cars and car parts and a 10% tariff on most other goods, which could rise in July after a 90-day pause announced by Trump in early April. Britain accepted a limited bilateral trade agreement in May that retains Trump's 10% tariffs on British exports, while cutting higher rates for steel and cars. EU trade ministers subsequently said that would not be acceptable for the 27-nation bloc. However, U.S. officials have said in public and told EU counterparts in private that the 10% flat rate is a minimum it will not drop below for any trading partner. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
