Hampers, cufflinks … and a lot of alcohol: 20 gifts kept by Lindsay Hoyle
Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of the House of Commons, has declared hundreds of gifts he received from foreign dignitaries and others since 2021. Here is a small selection of the items he kept.
1) Bottle of rum
Cayman Islands government office (30 January 2025)
2) Bottle of whisky
Mr Vikram Doraiswami, high commissioner of India (20 December 2024)
3) The Whoo skincare products
Mr Yoon Yeocheol, ambassador of the Republic of Korea (13 December 2024)
4) Hamper containing coffee, fudge, tea, hot chocolate, chocolates, ginger and butterscotch pudding, shortbread, biscuits, jam, honey, chutney and a Qatar magazine
Embassy of Qatar (18 December 2024)
5) Model of HMS Bounty
Mr Simon Young, mayor of the Pitcairn Islands (20 November 2024)
6) Hamper containing a bottle of champagne, two bottles of wine, tea, marmalade, strawberry preserve, chutney, brandy butter, Christmas pudding, shortbread, fudge and tea towel
Anguilla UK representative office (17 December 2024)
7) A bottle of Smidgin gin and a bottle of wine
Ms Katerina Stavreska, ambassador of the Republic of North Macedonia (19 November 2024)
8) Mosaic portrait of the speaker
Mr Ahmed Mohammad Ali Safadi, speaker of the house of representatives of Jordan (5 August 2024)
9) Fountain pen in presentation box
King Abdullah II of Jordan (26 May 2024)
10) Three candles, two perfumes
Mr Badr Mohammed Badr Almantheri, ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman (19 December 2023)
11) A bottle of vodka
Mrs Rukhshona Emomali, ambassador of Tajikistan (19 December 2023)
12) Bottle of champagne and book on Bangladesh churches
Ms Saida Muna Tasneem, high commissioner of Bangladesh (21 November 2023)
13) Ararat brandy (20 years), Ararat brandy (10 years), red wine (Van Ardi reserve 2019)
Mr Varuzhan Nersesyan, ambassador of Armenia (7 June 2023)
14) Cufflinks and two commemorative coins
Mr Washington Misick, premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands (17 November 2023)
15) Bottle of mezcal and tie
Ms Josefa González-Blanco Ortiz-Mena, ambassador of Mexico (17 October 2023)
16) White wine (Auxerrois Vin de Paille 2013)
Mr Georges Friden, ambassador of Luxembourg (14 June 2023)
17) Ron Varadero 15-year-old gran reserva rum
Mrs Bárbara Montalvo Álvarez, ambassador of Cuba (16 May 2023)
18) Churchill's 20-year-old tawny port
Mr Nuno Brito, ambassador of Portugal (21 March 2023)
19) Tie, panettone and sparkling wine
Mr Inigo Lambertini, ambassador of Italy (13 December 2022)
20) Bottle of cognac
Mr Elin Suleymanov, ambassador of Azerbaijan (14 December 2021)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
12 hours ago
- Reuters
UK and India discuss 'counter-terrorism' cooperation after Pakistan ceasefire
NEW DELHI, June 7 (Reuters) - Britain and India on Saturday discussed expanding their "counter-terrorism" collaboration following recent fighting between India and Pakistan, Britain's foreign minister told Reuters after meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. British foreign minister David Lammy is the highest-profile Western official to have visited both New Delhi and Islamabad since the South Asian neighbours agreed to a ceasefire last month after their worst fighting in nearly three decades. The latest tensions began in April after the killing of 26 men in Indian Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on "terrorists" backed by Pakistan, a charge Islamabad denied. India then attacked what it called "terrorist infrastructure" in Pakistan, leading to escalation from both sides until a May 10 ceasefire. "We want the situation to be maintained, but of course we recognise fragility, particularly in the backdrop of terrorism, terrorism designed to destabilise India," Lammy said in an interview at the residence of the British High Commissioner in New Delhi. "We are keen to continue to work with our Indian partners on counter-terrorism measures." He said he discussed the next steps with both Modi and Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, but gave no specifics. Last year, India and Britain discussed, opens new tab combating the financing of terrorism, cooperation between law enforcement and judicial bodies and information sharing. Lammy said he also discussed boosting trade between the world's fifth and sixth largest economies. The countries concluded talks for a free trade deal early last month. "I know that Prime Minister Keir Starmer is very much looking forward to coming to India very soon to sign the free trade agreement," Lammy said. "There is so much that our two nations can continue to do together."
The Sun
18 hours ago
- The Sun
World's tallest railway bridge higher than Eiffel Tower opens in India as £200million project hailed as ‘crown jewel'
INDIA has unveiled the world's highest railway bridge - built with 30,000 tonnes of steel and towering 359 metres above the river bed. The Chenab Bridge, linking India to Kashmir, has been hailed as the 'crown jewel of India' amid major tensions over the disputed region controlled by rival neighbours India and Pakistan. 5 5 5 India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the £200 million bridge in his first visit to Kashmir since the conflict between India and Pakistan in April. The bridge's inauguration comes just a month after a shooting in the resort town of Pahalgam, Indian-controlled Kashmir, which killed 26 people. Waving the national flag over the bridge, Modi said: "Pakistan will never forget… its shameful loss.' He added: 'Today's event is a grand festival of India's unity and firm resolve.' Dubbed by Indian Railways as one of the most challenging tracks in the world, the bridge is seen as a symbol of India's economic strength. Stretching 0.8 miles long, the structure has been built to withstand 165mph winds and high-intensity earthquakes. The idea for the railway was first floated in 1892 by the then ruling Maharaja Hari Singh, who brought in British engineers to survey the rugged terrain. But given its complexity, the plan was ultimately shelved. The 169-mile railway line starts in the garrison town of Udhampur in Jammu and winds its way through Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir. It ends in Baramulla, near the heavily militarised Line of Control that divides the Himalayan region between India and Pakistan. India & Pakistan accuse each other of breaking ceasefire as explosions heard hours after deal The bridge is the focal point of the £3.7bn Udhampur-Katra-Baramulla project - set to connect Jammu and Kashmir with 36 tunnels and 943 bridges. It is expected to slice in half - to around three hours - the time taken to travel from Katra, a town in Kashmir's Hindu-majority Jammu region to Srinagar, Kashmir's main city which has a Muslim majority. Around 16 million people live in Kashmir, split between the Indian-controlled and Pakistani-controlled areas. When India and Pakistan gained independence from British rule in 1947, Indian troops took control of two-thirds of Kashmir, while Pakistan seized the northern third. Since then, the dispute between the two nuclear-armed neighbours has evolved into one of the world's most intense geopolitical rivalries. India accused Pakistan of backing the recent Pahalgam massacre - a claim Islamabad firmly denies. US President Donald Trump said: "The United States stands strong with India against terrorism. "We pray for the souls of those lost, and for the recovery of the injured. "Prime Minister Modi, and the incredible people of India, have our full support and deepest sympathies." In response to the terror attack, India launched "Operation Sindoor", striking nine sites across Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan officials said the "unprovoked" strikes killed at least 31 people, including several children, as well as injuring 46 others. The fraught period also saw India and Pakistan cancelling visas for each other's citizens. 5 5
New Statesman
a day ago
- New Statesman
The eco-centrists want the Green Party back
In last year's General Election, the Green Party quadrupled its representation in parliament (from one in 2019 to four in 2024, albeit). Caroline Lucas, elected in 2010, was for a long time the party's only MP. After years of the Green's representation in Parliament resting solely on Lucas's shoulders, July 2024 was a turning-point. 'I spoke in the House of Commons five times yesterday, on a range of topics,' Ellie Chowns, the Green MP for Northwest Herefordshire told me when we met on a drab evening at a café in St James's Park. 'We as Greens have got a much stronger voice [in Parliament] speaking day in day out on the issues that really matter,' Chowns said. Alongside her, Adrian Ramsay, the Green MP for Waveney Valley nodded. During our 45-minute interview, we were all variously forced to dodge the pigeons who kept flying dangerously close overhead. Ramsay has been the current co-leader of the party, alongside Carla Denyer, the Green MP for Bristol Central since 2021. But their term is almost up; the party will hold a leadership election later this year. While Denyer has decided not to re-contest, Ramsay, who has been a Green Party politician since 2003 felt he isn't done yet. He is running once again to be co-leader of the party once again, with Chowns as his co-star. Chowns and Ramsay's pitch to Green Party members is simple: a vote for them is a vote for two experienced leaders, who already have a position inside parliament and a proven track-record of winning elections .'We're the only candidates in this [leadership] election who have won under first-past-the-post,' Ramsay told me, 'and we want to build on that success, it is about substance.' He added: 'Anyone can say that they want to be popular,' Ramsay said, 'we've shown how you actually do it.' Chowns agreed: 'The only way to change politics is by winning more seats in the system,' she said, 'and Adrian and I have shown how to do that. You build the biggest possible coalition of voters.' The pair have received backing for precisely this reason from Green Party Grandees such as Lucas and Baroness Jenny Jones. This is all no uncertain dig at the pair's main competition: current deputy leader, Zack Polanski. Shortly after the May local elections, in which the party won an additional 181 councillors, current Polanski, launched a (not so surprise) solo-leadership campaign. His platform of 'eco-populism' has exposed a split in the party between the radical left wing (which Chowns and Ramsay indirectly describe as 'loudhailer politics') and those who want to appeal to a wider base, including former Conservative voters. Ramsay is irked by Polanski's decision to run. The current co-leader, who wrote the Green Party's handbook on how to win council elections, has spent most of his political career working out how to turn the party from a fringe group into a force capable of winning Parliamentary elections. The election of an additional three Green MPs last year, was the culmination of this, or so he says. Polanski's wants to position the Greens as a left-wing mirror to Nigel Farage and Reform. In fact, when I spoke to him shortly after he launched his leadership bid in May, Polanski said he may even actually 'agree' with some of 'Nigel Farage's diagnosis of the problems' . Chowns and Ramsay think this is the wrong approach. 'We've already demonstrated how ecological ideas can be popular,' Chowns said. She added: 'I don't aspire for the Green Party to ape Reform in any way neither in its content, not its style…We can't out shout Reform.' Polanski is a member of the Greater London Assembly, but if he is elected he will sit outside the machinations of Westminster; an arrangement which could cause more trouble than it's worth. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe 'There are some major pitfalls that would need to be addressed here,' Ramsay said, 'journalists look to what's happening in parliament to see where each party stands on the issue of the day because parliament is the centre of British political debate.' Having a leader outside of Westminster could become particularly troublesome if there is a disagreement between the party's leadership and its MPs. In some ways, this has already happened. Polanski has said the UK should withdraw from NATO, a policy which neither Ramsay nor Chowns support. 'If on that day you had the leader, who was outside parliament, speaking for the party saying I want to leave NATO and then our foreign affairs spokesperson in Parliament saying that the Green party want to stay there and reform NATO, then who do you look to as giving the Green Party's position?' This could get messy. Members of other parties are looking at this race, curious about where it could leave the Green Party (one sympathetic Labour MP told me they thought it would be a 'disaster' and would alienate much of the party's more moderate base). Polanski did not inform Ramsay or Chowns of his intention to run before going public with his campaign. When I ask the pair how things will work if Polanski does win, Ramsay said: 'I think that's for Zack to set out… he's certainly had no conversations with the MPs about whether that would work or how he would make it work.' As I went to ask my next question, Ramsay shot back, 'he's made no attempt to talk to us about it at all.' Though Chowns and Ramsay's campaign may not have landed as loudly as Polanski's, they have election-winning credentials. As Ramsay said, it took time to build the 'broad coalitions' which have pushed the Green Party to where it currently sits. With polling for the leadership election opening in a matter of months, the pair may need to ramp up the volume in order to win the fight; it won't take much time for that 'broad coalition' to be unpicked. [See more: Did Zia Yusuf jump, or was he pushed?] Related
