Latest news with #PhilipHammond
Daily Tribune
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Tribune
UK Praises Bahrain's Progressive Policies at House of Lords Event
Bahrain's voice on the global stage was celebrated at the prestigious Bahrain Society's Annual Summer Reception, held at the House of Lords in London, where several prominent British figures praised the Kingdom's enduring friendship with the United Kingdom and its growing reputation as a dynamic and open partner. The reception took place on the sidelines of the official visit of His Excellency Ahmed bin Salman Al Musallam, the Speaker of Bahrain Parliament, and was attended by senior UK dignitaries, diplomats, and members of the Bahrain Society. Lord Philip Hammond, former UK Foreign Secretary, commended Bahrain for its consistent advocacy of openness and its push for deepening trade and diplomatic ties with the UK. He acknowledged Bahrain's proactive role in strengthening bilateral cooperation, particularly in commerce and investment. Lord Francis Maude, former Senior Cabinet Minister, echoed these sentiments, describing the relationship between Bahrain and the UK as 'strong, deep-rooted, and historic,' stretching back over two centuries of mutual respect and cooperation. Sir Liam Fox, former Defence Secretary, highlighted the responsiveness and flexibility of Bahrain's economic ecosystem. 'Bahrain is open for business and well-positioned for global partnerships,' he remarked, pointing to the Kingdom's economic reforms and investor-friendly policies. Lord Tariq Ahmad, former Minister for the Middle East, praised Bahrain's diplomatic finesse and strategic influence in the region. 'Bahrain is an incredible Kingdom on so many fronts,' he said, underscoring its quiet yet impactful approach to international relations and regional stability. The event not only showcased the depth of UK-Bahrain relations but also reaffirmed shared values of dialogue, development, and diplomacy. It underscored the Kingdom's growing recognition as a trusted ally, a forward-thinking economy, and a voice of moderation in an evolving global landscape.
Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Britain 'is secretly preparing for an attack by Russia' - and updating decades-old emergency plans
The UK is reportedly secretly preparing for a direct military assault by Russia as senior officials warn the country is ill-equipped for a modern conflict on home soil. The Cabinet Office is reviewing whether to update Britain's 20-year-old 'homeland defence plan' that sets out how the Government responds to a declaration of war, according to The Telegraph. The move comes after a series of chilling threats from Russia and mounting concerns in Whitehall over the nation's civil and military readiness. Security officials have warned that Britain would be 'outgunned' by the Kremlin and its allies in a full-scale conflict. Chancellor Philip Hammond recently declared the country is 'massively under-strength' and said more needed to be done to prepare civilians, who he feared were woefully unprepared, for the potential risk of conflict. Not only would Britain be the weaker side on the battlefield, but it is also vulnerable to an attack on its critical national infrastructure, including gas terminals, undersea cables, nuclear power plants, and transport hubs, experts say. The updated strategy is expected to detail how the Government would respond to a full-scale attack by a hostile state, including missile strikes, large-scale cyber disruption, and even the use of nuclear weapons. It will also include contingency plans for safeguarding ministers, evacuating the Royal Family, and coordinating emergency services during a national security crisis. A senior government source told The Telegraph that the plan would update the dormant War Book to account for the 'new realities of warfare'. That includes cyber attacks, satellite sabotage, and hypersonic missile strikes that could evade existing defences. An update to the classified 'homeland defence plan' will set out a strategy for the days immediately after a strike on the UK mainland by a hostile foreign state. The plan, by the Cabinet Office's Resilience Directorate, will direct the Prime Minister and Cabinet on how to run a wartime government and when they should seek shelter in the Downing Street bunker or outside London. The war strategies for the rail and road networks, courts, postal system and phone lines are all expected to be reviewed. A risk assessment published in January warned that such a successful attack was 'likely to result in civilian fatalities as well as members of the emergency services,' while also causing serious economic damage and disruption to essential services. Last month a simulation run in the wake of Vladimir Putin 's full-scale invasion of Ukraine showed Britain could not prevent all strikes getting through. The scenario from 2022 was revealed by Air Commodore Blythe Crawford, the former head of the RAF Air and Space Warfare Centre. The simulation - part of the RAF's £36million Gladiator programme - looked at how 'day one' of the conflict would unfold. The UK faced 'hundreds of different types of munitions' attacking from various directions. Air Commodore Crawford said the outcome was 'not a pretty picture', with some missiles making it through. He stressed that significant work had been done since then to bolster the defences. 'We [loaded] night one of Ukraine into that synthetic environment and played it out against the UK and, as you can imagine, it was not a pretty picture,' he said. 'It reinforced the fact that we really need to get after this.' Kremlin officials have repeatedly threatened to attack the UK over its support for Ukraine and last month Putin's propagandists declared British blood 'must be spilled' after they accused Britain of supplying the explosives that killed a top general in a Moscow car bomb. Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik died in Moscow near his home in the eastern suburb of Balashikha after a Volkswagen Gold filled with explosives was detonated in his presence. The dead military man was a deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff of the Russian army. While the Kremlin previously blamed Ukraine for the attack, Putin's propagandists have now turned their ire on Britain. So-called military expert Andrei Klintsevich told Russia 1 that Britain's security service handed explosives to the perpetrators 'by the ton.' Propagandist Vladimir Solovyov angrily added: 'We do realise that someone is creative a network of planted explosives and [transporting] these explosives. 'When we say that British security services are behind every terrorist attack, it means that the blood of the British who authorised the killings on Russian soil must be spilled. 'They must realise that they will pay personally. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.'
The Guardian
10-03-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Philip Hammond has made millions from 30 roles while member of Lords
The former chancellor Philip Hammond has made millions from 30 directorships and consultancy jobs while being a member of the House of Lords. He has worked for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait, regimes widely criticised for their human rights records. He has also been hired by a string of diverse commercial enterprises such as investment companies, technology businesses and tax advisers. He has received millions of pounds through these jobs, although the overall total is not known. The Tory started picking up clients in 2020 when he became a peer. That year Lord Hammond set up his own consultancy, Matrix Partners, which has generated pre-tax profits of at least £3m since it was established, official records show. He has been paid more than £800,000 by the three Middle Eastern governments alone. Before becoming a lord, Hammond was successively the defence secretary, the foreign secretary and the chancellor between 2011 and 2019, and in some cases he had met individuals connected to his current posts while in the government, according to official documents. One of his post-government jobs was advising the Japanese bank Nomura. While he was chancellor, he formally met Nomura's senior executives at the British ambassador's Tokyo residence in 2019 to discuss official business. The Guardian's Lords debate project has raised questions about the appropriateness of peers acting as consultants while also voting on government legislation. The House of Commons rules were tightened last year after a series of scandals, and MPs are banned from taking on any form of consultancy that involves providing political advice. But House of Lords rules do allow peers to take consultancy roles. Democracy campaigners argue that at the very least this risks a perception that peers can benefit from their position. Hammond, 69, said: 'I have a diverse portfolio of outside interests, none of which is related to my membership of the House of Lords.' He said the Lords had rigorous rules to prevent potential abuses. He added: 'All my roles are fully compliant with both the letter and the spirit of the Lords' rules and guidance, and I have engaged extensively with the Lords' authorities over the years to ensure that each new role is fully compliant.' Before he became an MP in 1997, Hammond was involved in businesses including property development, and was often described as one of the richest MPs in the Commons. In the five years since entering the Lords, Hammond has voted regularly but spoken only three times. The last time he spoke was in August 2021. During that time he has been rebuked by a Whitehall watchdog for contacting a senior civil servant on behalf of a bank he was paid to advise, as his actions were judged to be 'not acceptable'. The watchdog, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), ruled in 2021 that it had been an 'unwise step' for Hammond to have contacted a senior Treasury official about a project developed by OakNorth bank. Hammond said he had acted correctly as the bank was offering to help the UK government for free during the Covid crisis, and therefore would not have obtained any financial benefit. Hammond is the chair of a crypto startup, Copper Technologies, in which he has a small shareholding that at one point was notionally valued at £15m. Whitehall documents show Hammond was involved in setting up a meeting between Copper's chief executive and a Treasury minister in 2021. Hammond told the Financial Times that his actions did not amount to lobbying as he did not facilitate Copper's meeting with the minister. The House of Lords rules require peers to declare all roles they hold, to avoid any actual or perceived conflicts of interest. However, they do not have to state how much they are paid for this work. There is one exception to this rule: peers are required to declare how much they are paid if receiving money from foreign governments. As a result, Hammond has declared payments of £503,000 from the Saudi Arabian government for advising on economic issues. He had regular contact with Saudi ministers while in government. He was paid £288,000 by Bahrain's ruling regime for advising on fiscal issues, and the Kuwait Investment Office, which handles the country's government-owned investments, has paid him £31,250. Other clients have included the insurance company Mitsui Sumitomo, the specialist tax advisers RCK Partners, and Arora, a hotel and property business. Some of his advisory posts are unpaid but he holds shares in the companies. As well as Copper Technologies, the former chancellor is chair of three other businesses: Innovo, a property company that operates in the UK, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, among other countries; the fintech company Embedded Finance; and Municipal Partners, a non-profit that provides affordable housing.
The Guardian
10-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Foreign states including repressive regimes pay peers over £3m in two years
Members of the House of Lords have been paid more than £3m in the last two years by foreign governments including repressive Middle Eastern regimes. Many of the states paying peers have human rights records that have been highly criticised, such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. In total, 27 peers have been paid by foreign states for services including consultancy and legal advice. They include Philip Hammond, the former chancellor and foreign secretary, who has declared payments totalling £816,000 during the last two years from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait. The findings have drawn criticism from campaigners who say peers should not be working for any state whose 'priorities or values on issues such as human rights are at odds with the UK's'. There are no restrictions under the House of Lords rules on members taking up such consultancies, provided they declare who they are working for and how much they are being paid. In general, peers are not required to register the fees they receive for their consultancies and directorships. But in 2021 the Lords tweaked the rules and since then peers have had to declare how much they are paid if they are receiving money from foreign governments or institutions that are, or even appear to be, controlled by foreign states. This tightening of the rules followed worries that overseas governments, particularly Russia, were meddling in British democratic processes. The Lords authorities warn peers to be 'especially cautious when coming into contact with representatives of corrupt or repressive regimes'. Tom Brake, the director of the reform group Unlock Democracy, said: 'There should never be any doubt that a UK legislator's top priority is to defend UK interests. But UK politicians, paid by foreign states, will crash into unavoidable conflicts of interest, where their loyalties will be tested. 'To avoid any such risk, they could do worse than follow a self-denying ordinance and avoid working for any foreign state, particularly those whose priorities or values on issues such as human rights are at odds with the UK's.' The analysis is part of the Lords debate, a Guardian investigation into members of the Lords, at a time when the Labour government has made moves to raise standards and reduce the size of the upper chamber. Lord Hammond, the peer who has received the most money from overseas governments, said: 'I have a diverse portfolio of outside interests, none of which is related to my membership of the House of Lords.' He emphasised there were 'rigorous' rules that he closely followed and added: 'All my roles are fully compliant with both the letter and the spirit of the Lords' rules and guidance, and I have engaged extensively with the Lords' authorities over the years to ensure that each new role is fully compliant.' Fourteen peers have received payments from five authoritarian Middle Eastern regimes, including five peers who were paid nearly £700,000 by Bahrain. Gerry Grimstone, who was the minister of state for investment in Boris Johnson's government, was paid £150,000 to advise the Bahraini regime on its 'modernisation and reform efforts'. He works through a consultancy, Equilibrium Global. Before his two-year stint in the government, he had been a banker for many years, with jobs in the Middle East. When he took on the Bahrain post last year, Lord Grimstone said he saw the role as 'restarting my private sector career after a period of unpaid public service, and returning to a part of the world which I know well and where I believe I have been highly respected for many years'. Qatar, another Middle Eastern state with a poor human rights record, paid at least £100,000 over the last two years to Alex Carlile, the former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation. The peer has a consultancy with John Scarlett, the former head of Britain's spying agency MI6, providing advice on UK foreign and public policy. Lord Carlile told the Lords that he 'takes no part in any parliamentary proceedings relating to any client'. Peers who were paid by states in other parts of the world included Archie Hamilton, a former defence minister. He receives £60,000 a year as a director of FM Capital Partners, a UK investment company controlled by the Libyan government. It manages frozen assets that are under British sanctions and therefore needs to apply for official licences to operate in some cases. Hamilton is paid an extra £1,000 for every board meeting he attends. Mark Sedwill, a former cabinet secretary and national security adviser, has been paid at least £100,000 a year for advising Temasek, an investment fund owned by the Singapore government. Five peers who work as barristers have received payments from foreign regimes. David Pannick, a well-known barrister, has given legal advice to the Bahamas, and in the past has advised the Cayman Islands, a tax haven. Asked whether he thought this was appropriate, Lord Pannick said: 'It depends on what the peer is paid for. In my opinion, there can be no objection to a member of the House of Lords who is a lawyer advising and representing clients, including foreign governments, on legal issues provided that – as the code of conduct now requires – that interest is declared in the register.' Peter Goldsmith, the attorney general in Tony Blair's administration, was paid just over £95,000 in the last two years for legal work for the governments of Azerbaijan, Israel and South Korea. Grimstone, Carlile, Hamilton and Goldsmith declined to comment.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Net Zero was never a good idea. Now it's a dangerous one
Can we make Rishi Sunak prime minister again? I ask this not because he was any good at it, obviously. But because, now that he's no longer in the job, he's finally figured out how to do it. Or so we must conclude from his big interview on Radio 4 this morning, in which he argued that Britain should abandon its legal commitment to deliver Net Zero. This is, of course, something that he himself could have done during the 20 months in which he was running the country. Only now, however, has he realised that we simply can't afford it. Well, at least he's got there in the end. Because the truth is: Net Zero was never a good idea. But now it's a dangerous one. Even before the Government started frantically rummaging down the back of the Treasury sofa to find some extra pennies for defence, it looked far beyond our means. In fact, we were never even certain how huge the bill could grow. Back in 2019, Philip Hammond – the chancellor at the time – predicted that by 2050, pursuing Net Zero would cost Britain more than a trillion – yes, trillion – pounds. Downing Street rejected his claim. But even today, no one truly knows what the cost will climb to. All we do know is that, with our economy continuing to flatline, and our energy bills continuing to soar, this reckless commitment – made law by Theresa May in the delusional dying days of her own premiership – could ruin us. And what will we gain, in return for our noble economic self-sacrifice? Not much. Even if we magically achieved Net Zero by three o'clock tomorrow afternoon, this triumph would have a negligible impact on global temperatures – for the obvious reason that we're a very small country, responsible for less than 1 per cent of the planet's annual greenhouse gas emissions. So, unless China, the US, India, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, Iran and all the many other countries with far greater emissions magically achieve Net Zero too, we'll have impoverished ourselves for nothing. Climate change will still have made British beaches as balmy as the Caribbean's. And yet, none of us will even be able to afford an ice cream. Funny, isn't it. Labour ministers spent their first months in office loudly complaining that the Tories had left them a '£22 billion black hole'. Yet they seem hell-bent on making that 'black hole' even bigger. First with their £18 billion handout to Mauritius as part of their bonkers Chagos Islands deal. And then with Ed Miliband's exciting plans to destroy our remaining industries, deface our countryside and freeze our living rooms. Still, there is a tiny sliver of hope. Rumour has it that Miliband may be for the chop in a spring reshuffle, with the Government allegedly plotting to dial back on some of his more extortionate schemes. At least by a little, anyway. So maybe, if we're lucky, Net Zero will end up costing us only half a trillion pounds, instead. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
