Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrived in Dubai overnight, where he will attend the COP28 weather summit alongside Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and King Charles III.
But the king’s presence was tarnished after he and the Princess of Wales were named in the Dutch edition of a new e-book as members of the royal circle of relatives who wondered what color skin Prince Archie would have.
When this baseless allegation first surfaced two years ago, Buckingham Palace called it fiction. And since then no evidence has been published that this is true.
But the dispute resurfaced Tuesday after the names of the two royals appeared in a Dutch translation of an e-book written by Omid Scobie.
Asked about the allegations against the king, Sunak said it was unconventional to “talk about the royal circle of relatives in any way. “
However, the Prime Minister said he was “delighted” that the King is attending COP28.
“He’s calling to arms in his opening and I think Array . . . it says a lot about our kind of leadership as a country that we have our head of state there, calling to arms in his opening.
“We have the head of international relations in me and we have our head of international relations in the foreign minister.
“Very few countries will say what I just said.
“This is further testament to our leadership in this regard and Her Majesty’s long record of championing this aspect. “
Matt Hancock has already spent a day at the helm of the COVID investigation, despite all having the chance to respond to the allegations made against him through a series of witnesses.
Crucially, the former health secretary accused Dominic Cummings of offering “inaccurate” evidence to the COVID investigation, while refuting accusations that he himself was a liar.
In an escalating war of words, the former fitness secretary accused Boris Johnson’s former senior adviser of being an “evil actor” who created a “toxic culture” in Downing Street during the pandemic.
The setback came when Hancock was questioned about allegations that he had a history of saying things that weren’t true when he held the most sensible position in the Department of Health.
Investigating solicitor Hugo Keith said several witnesses, adding that Cummings, former clinical adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and former under-cabinet secretary Helen MacNamara, referenced Hancock “lying”, “getting overexcited and just saying things” and saying things. That surprises other people because they knew the evidence wasn’t there. “
Mr Hancock said: “I wasn’t.
“They’ll realize that there’s no evidence from other people I’ve worked with in the branch or in the physical care formula that those allegations are false. “
Read about yesterday’s discussions here:
Former fitness secretary Matt Hancock will appear before the COVID inquiry later, after criticising some of the responses to the pandemic yesterday.
The former minister accused Dominic Cummings of a “culture of fear” that undermined the ministers’ reaction, calling him an “evil actor”.
He also revealed that he wished he had driven during a national lockdown earlier and that his only “biggest regret” is not addressing asymptomatic transmission.
Mr. Hancock is due to report to the COVID investigation at 10 a. m.
We’ll bring you updates right here on Politics Hub.
Rishi Sunak will call for “pragmatic” climate action at COP28, as he seeks to reassure his partners following his climate change earlier this year.
Sunak repositioned a number of plans put in place by his predecessors over the summer, phasing out the sale of petrol and diesel cars until 2030. The deadline is now set at 2035.
Some £4 billion of green investment was announced through the Chancellor in last week’s autumn statement.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will also attend the UN meteorological convention in Dubai as he seeks to build bridges ahead of next year’s general election.
And he used his trip to Dubai to claim that Mr Sunak’s government is “sending the wrong signals” on the path to net zero.
Ahead of his visit, Sunak said: “The UK has led the way in making pragmatic, long-term decisions at home, and at COP28 we will lead foreign efforts towards the world’s forests, boost renewable energy and harness the full weight of Personal Finance”.
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Join us from 6 a. m. m. for the latest political news, as well as day two of Matt Hancock’s testimony at the COVID inquiry from 10am. m.
By Alexandra Rogers, Political Journalist
The number of families and young people temporarily housed in England has reached “shameful” record levels: according to new figures, around 139,000 young people are living without a permanent home.
Government statistics on homelessness show that between April and June this year, 105,750 families were in transitional accommodation, a new record since records began 25 years ago and a 10. 5% increase since the end of June last year.
Overall, 64. 4 per cent of families housed included dependent children, and 138,930 were living in transitional accommodation, up from 131,500 at the end of March.
The charity Shelter said the figures showed the country had reached “another shameful record high in housing emergencies”, warning that up to 139,000 young people “are now in danger of spending Christmas without a safe position to call home”.
Read the full story here:
By Tim Baker, Political Reporter
Rishi Sunak will call for “pragmatic” climate action at COP28, as he seeks to reassure partners following his climate change earlier this year.
Sunak has amended a number of plans put in place by his predecessors over the summer, phasing out the sale of petrol and diesel cars until 2030. The deadline is now set for 2035.
Some £4 billion of green investment was announced through the Chancellor in last week’s autumn statement.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will also attend the UN meteorological convention in Dubai as he seeks to build bridges ahead of next year’s general election.
And he used his trip to Dubai to claim that Sunak’s government is “sending the wrong signals” on the path to net zero.
Ahead of his visit, Mr Sunak said: “The UK has led the way in pragmatic and long-term decision-making domestically, and at COP28 we will lead foreign efforts into the world’s forests, boost renewable energy and harness the full weight of personal investment. “
The Prime Minister will announce a £1. 6 billion investment in the UK for weather projects that will remain in Dubai.
This includes £500 million for sustainable forests and lands, £316 million for green energy projects around the world and systems to be announced at a later date.
About £40 million will be donated to a new global programme to tackle loss and damage: Germany and the United Arab Emirates will donate around £79 million, while the United States and Japan will donate less than the United Kingdom.
As well as climate change, the minister has also been criticized for his government’s patience in granting oil and fuel licenses in the North Sea.
Sunak said: “The world has made ambitious commitments at previous COP summits to limit global warming to 1. 5 degrees. But the time for compromises is over: it’s time to act.
“We know that the technologies and inventions we want for the planet are within our reach, from the resilient offshore wind farms that power the UK to the solar power that transforms electricity in Africa.
“The transition to net 0 deserves to make us all safer and better off. It deserves to provide advantages to families, not a burden. “
In life and politics, Alistair Darling is a shrewd Scot.
At a dinner with Sky News journalists when he was chancellor, I told him I’d just bought a new car.
“Never buy a new car,” he told me. They depreciate immediately. Buy one that’s a few months old. “
Good advice, no doubt. But it showed that the country’s finances were under control.
Like many prominent politicians of the Blair-Brown years, Alistair Darling was a left-winger.
Blair used to talk about ministers like Darling, Alan Milburn and Stephen Byers who had “made the journey” from the left. He lamented that Jeremy Corbyn “never made the trip”.
Darling, a connoisseur of the elite Loretto public school in Edinburgh (Blair went to Fettes, known as Eton in Scotland) and great-nephew of a Conservative MP.
By the late 1970s, Darling was a staunch critic of James Callaghan’s Lib-Lab pact. Veteran leftist George Galloway claims to have flirted with the foreign Marxist group.
In the early 1980s, as a member of the Lothian Regional Council, he challenged Margaret Thatcher’s tariff cap laws.
And when he tried to get elected to Parliament, he became known as the “bearded trot. ” And Neil Kinnock is said to have called it “that dear trot”.
But once elected to Parliament in 1987, he effectively made the adventure of being a bearded leftist to a key member of Blair-Brown’s inner circle. He even got rid of his beard.
Read about Jon Craig here:
In case you missed tonight’s Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge, he covered Matt Hancock’s testimony as part of the COVID investigation, the debatable sale of The Telegraph newspaper, and the death of former chancellor Lord Alistair Darling at the age of 70.
Sophy was joined by former Downing Street adviser Alastair Campbell and former Scottish Conservative leader Baroness Ruth Davidson to talk about Lord Darling’s life and legacy.
He also spoke to Orit Meir, the mother of 21-year-old Almog Meir-Jan, who was kidnapped by Hamas and filmed in captivity inside Gaza in a video released by the group.
Tonight, Nimco Ali, a former adviser to the Ministry of Interior, and Sonia Sodha, editor-in-chief of The Observer, were part of its panel.
Watch the full screen below: