Plaid Cymru leader calls for 'urgent action' in Gaza
Rhun ap Iorwerth said: "The deepening horror unfolding in Gaza demands urgent action.
"It is clear that food and water are being used as weapons of war in the most deplorable manner.
"With over a million people at imminent risk of famine and no sign of the Israeli government's bombardment easing, the UK Government and international community must stop sitting on their hands."
He begged for Keir Starmer to call for an immediate and unconditional reinstatement of humanitarian aid as well as to suspend arms sales and export licences to Israel.
This, he says, is in line with the UK's legal obligations under international humanitarian law.
"The Israeli government's actions are clearly in contravention of these laws."
He said that history will judge if the governments fail to recognise 'this appalling genocide' and fail to respond to end such 'unconscionable suffering.'
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Telegraph
36 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Starmer's family business death tax won't help keep us safe
To govern is to choose. And this week we have heard ad nausem from Sir Keir Starmer about the tough choices he claims he is having to make to fund our islands' defence. Or rather presumably would have to make in order to get to a firm 3 per cent of GDP in this Parliament rather than the equivocal 3 per cent at the end of the next one he will not even commit to. But amidst the menu of choices, like the Chagos surrender costing our forces £100 million a year, there's one very easy choice that would pay back on many levels. To reverse his family business (and family farm) death tax. This prejudiced decision may turn out, according to new analysis, to cost more money than it raises, punishes aspiration and risks wiping out centuries-old businesses in a single parliamentary term. New independent research published by CBI economics confirmed in another example of Rachel Reeves 's dodgy accountancy that this one tax will put 200,000 jobs at risk and lower the size of the wider economy by £15 billion. The Prime Minister must not go ahead with it. Family businesses represent years of work, skills and investments made, passed down carefully through generations. They currently receive relief on inheritance tax when passing it down to the next custodians. This is a feature introduced by a previous Labour government to ensure the success of a constituent part of the economy providing 14 million jobs in the UK. But this is an anti-business government, driven by what works in socialist screeds rather than the shop floor. So, it's no wonder Starmer and his ministers are intent on attacking them. 'Working people will pay the price' The Cabinet don't have any real business experience between them – the Business Secretary [Jonathan Reynolds] embarrassingly lied on his CV even about being a qualified lawyer – and it shows. Labour came into the general election promising not to tax working people, but that is exactly what they are doing. This is a small business death tax, which will be paid for in the jobs of working people. While some businesses' assets may be valuable on paper, they don't equate to hard cash. There are plenty of family businesses for whom being forced to sell assets (like machinery) on the factory floor will mean emptying the factory floor. They're asset rich but cash poor – and they'll be forced to shut up shop. This is the latest in a long line of decisions aimed squarely at punishing wealth creators and risk takers by a government that at the most charitable interpretation doesn't know about business interests, nor foresee the outcome of their assaults on business. All the more reason to listen when independent forecasters say your numbers are wrong. More shockingly, what started as a pre-election prawn cocktail offensive aimed at charming business has become an all-out war on private enterprise. Because this is only the start. The Employment Bill, which will do the exact opposite of what it says on the tin, is costing businesses £5 billion and allows trade unions to reconquer private businesses. Many of those who won't be able to cope with its hundreds of pages more regulations will be the same small, family businesses already suffering under the burden of the death tax. As part of my role as shadow business secretary, I have been going around the country engaging with businesses from the biggest automotive firms to village shops. 'Millionaires are fleeing UK' All seriously worried about what this government will do next. It is no wonder that there has been an exodus of wealth creators since Starmer has taken office. Last year, over 10,000 millionaires fled Labour's socialist attacks on businesses and wealth creators. The tax bills they took with them are the equivalent of losing 300,000 average taxpayers. These are ambitious, courageous people, many of them entrepreneurs who have choices – and they're not choosing Labour's Britain. These people create jobs, drive growth, and pay for our public services. We will all be worse off without them. But still, Reeves dogmatically ploughs on, not paying attention to the warning lights on the dashboard flashing red or the millionaires leaving every 45 minutes. It is a stark reminder of what socialists are capable of when they get their hands of the levers of power. The Conservatives understand family businesses and wealth creators because so many of us have worked in the private sector. While other parties fight over who can spend the fastest more taxpayers' money we cannot afford, we continue to advocate for government that spends only within its means and balances its books without fiddling the rules. That means making the genuinely tough choices that will prioritise defence over ballooning welfare costs. We know that those who start businesses are taking a risk. We need to create a society where people aren't afraid to fail and are rewarded for those risks when they pay off. At the very least, those who start family businesses should know that they are able to pass their business down to the next generation. Unless the Prime Minister sees sense soon, Britain's legion of quietly successful family business will be consigned to the dustbin of history and our future with them.
ITV News
39 minutes ago
- ITV News
Ensure no UK-made weapons used to ‘ethnically cleanse' Palestinians, MP urges
The UK Government must suspend all arms exports to Israel to remove the risk of British-made weapons being used to 'ethnically cleanse' Palestinians, the Commons has heard. Labour MP Steve Witherden said Gaza is 'already a slaughterhouse' as he urged ministers to detail their 'red line' which would halt further exports. The MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr added the 'true scale' of UK military exports to Israel 'remains unknown and unaccountable' before raising questions over the supply of 'crucial' components to Israel connected to the F-35 fighter jet programme. We cannot condemn atrocity whilst simultaneously fuelling the machinery that enables it. Labour MP Steve Witherden Business minister Douglas Alexander said the UK Government is not selling F-35 components 'directly to the Israeli authorities' and the export licence prevents 'direct shipments for Israel for use in Israel'. MPs were told the UK's exports of spare F-35 parts are part of a global supply network and exporters have 'no sight and no control over the specific ultimate end users for their export'. In September last year, Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced the suspension of around 30 arms sale licences to Israel amid concerns a 'clear risk' exists that they could be used to breach international humanitarian law. The Government said exports to the global F-35 programme would be excluded from the suspension decision, except where going directly to Israel, to avoid 'prejudicing the entire' scheme. Al-Haq, a Palestinian human rights organisation, which has brought a legal action against the Department for Business and Trade over its decisions, said the 'carve-out' gives 'rise to a significant risk of facilitating crime'. Mr Witherden, leading an adjournment debate on arms and military cargo export controls and Israel, told the Commons: 'The Foreign Secretary's recent condemnation of Israel's action as 'monstrous' was welcome but incomplete for my very same Government continues to facilitate such actions. 'We cannot have it both ways. We cannot condemn atrocity whilst simultaneously fuelling the machinery that enables it. We cannot claim to uphold international law while profiting from its breach.' Mr Witherden raised several issues, including asking the Government to explain how it defines 'defensive' weapons and what makes an F-35 component compatible with this definition. He said: 'It's the Government's position that the need to continue to supply F-35 components outweighs the risk of genocide and, if so, is there any circumstance that would lead to the UK stopping that supply? 'The Government has claimed that there are red lines that would trigger a halt to exports, but Gaza is already a slaughterhouse. 'Children are emaciated or dying of hunger. Hospitals have been intentionally destroyed. Israel's leaders vow to wipe out Gaza and still the weapons flow. 'So finally I ask the minister where is our red line? I call on this Government to suspend all arms exports to Israel to ensure that no British-made weapons are used in Israel's brutal plans to annexe, starve and ethnically cleanse the Palestinian population. 'The credibility of this House depends not just on what we condemn but on what we enable and history will remember we enabled too much.' Mr Alexander began by condemning the 'act of barbarism' by Hamas in Israel on October 7 2023, which killed around 1,200 people, before he warned that Israel's operations have been 'indefensible', 'disproportionate' and 'counterproductive to any lasting peace settlement'. The minister reiterated that the UK Government in September last year suspended arms exports licences for items to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) that could be used in military operations in Gaza. He said: 'This measure is still in place and I'd like to reiterate that based on our current assessment of potential breaches of international humanitarian law, we are not licencing military equipment provided directly to the IDF that could be used for military operations in Gaza. 'It is right to acknowledge that our export licences granted in relation to Israel cover a wider remit than simply those items that may be used in Gaza. 'There are a relatively small number of licences for the IDF relating to equipment which we assess would not be used in the current conflict, including – for example – parts of air defence systems that defend Israel from acts such as the major aerial attack from Iran in April 2024. 'We also think it is right for us to continue providing military grade body armour used by non-governmental organisations and journalists and to provide parts to the supply chain which are ultimately re-exported back out of Israel to support the defence of our Nato allies.' Mr Alexander also said: 'Undermining the F-35 programme at this juncture would, in the view of the Government, disrupt international peace and security, Nato deterrence and European defence as a whole. 'In relation to components for the F-35 aircraft, our exporters provide these to a global spares pool and the common production line for new aircraft where they have no sight and no control over the specific ultimate end users for their export. 'Put plainly, it is not possible to suspend licencing of F-35 components for use by one F-35 nation without ceasing supply to the entire global F-35 programme. It was therefore judged necessary by the Government to exclude F-35 components from the scope of the suspension. 'But let me be very clear, the UK Government is not selling F-35 components directly to the Israeli authorities and the licence that allows the export of F-35 components was amended in September to specifically make clear that direct shipments for Israel for use in Israel are not permitted.'
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Pensioners could have their winter payments restored from NEXT WEEK after Labour's U-turn
Winter fuel payments could be restored to all but the wealthiest pensioners as soon as next week, Keir Starmer hinted yesterday. The Prime Minister, who announced a major U-turn on the controversial cut last month, suggested the details could be unveiled in next week's comprehensive spending review. Ministers are looking at a range of options for restoring the payment to most pensioners following a furious public backlash and warnings from Labour MPs that means-testing the vital payment has hurt the party at the polls. Under the leading option, the payment would be restored to all pensioners except those who pay higher rate tax. Around 10million pensioners lost the payment last year after Rachel Reeves used her first major act in government to restrict it to those with incomes of less than £1,000 a month. Campaigners have warned failure to say who would have their payments restored and when is causing further anxiety for pensioners. Dennis Reed, of campaign group Silver Voices, said it would be 'completely unacceptable' to leave pensioners in limbo until the autumn Budget, as No 10 originally suggested. 'Leaving it to the Budget would be far too late to get payments out this winter, which would be seen as yet another betrayal,' he said. Sir Keir declined to comment on the detail of the proposed changes yesterday. But he indicated the Chancellor could release the plans next week. The PM told BBC Radio Four's Today programme ministers 'need to be absolutely clear where the money is coming from' before they set out full details of the U-turn. He added: 'The sooner we have clarity on that, the better', but said there were still 'lots of moving parts' before the review is finalised.
