Keir Starmer says he ‘deeply regrets’ island of strangers speech
Keir Starmer has said he “deeply regrets” a speech in which he described the UK as being in danger of becoming an island of strangers without tough curbs on immigration.In an interview with the Observer, the prime minister said he should have read the speech more carefully and “held it up to the light a bit more”.The speech, delivered in May to unveil Labour’s immigration policy, was criticised for seeming to echo Enoch Powell’s infamous 1968 “rivers of blood” speech in which Powell claimed Britain’s white population would be “strangers in their own country”.After the speech, Starmer’s official spokesperson said the prime minister “absolutely stands by” his language, including claims that mass immigration had done “incalculable damage” to the British economy.However, in the interview with his biographer Tom Baldwin, Starmer said: “I wouldn’t have used those words if I had known they were, or even would be, interpreted as an echo of Powell.
I had no idea – and my speechwriters didn’t know either,But that particular phrase – no, it wasn’t right,I’ll give you the honest truth: I deeply regret using it,”In the interview, he also talked about a firebomb attack on the door of his family home in London hours before the speech,However, he stressed he was not using the attack as an excuse for the language, or blaming his advisers, saying he himself should have paid more attention.
He also acknowledged there were “problems with the language” in his foreword to the policy document that said the record numbers of immigrants entering the UK under the last government had done “incalculable damage” to the country.He said it was the case that Labour had “become too distant from working-class people on things like immigration”, but he said: “This wasn’t the way to do it in this current environment.”In his speech in mid-May, Starmer said: “Let me put it this way: nations depend on rules, fair rules.Sometimes they are written down, often they are not, but either way they give shape to our values, guide us towards our rights, of course, but also our responsibilities, the obligations we owe to each other.“In a diverse nation like ours … we risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.
”Afterwards, several Labour MPs questioned whether Starmer’s policies were fuelling racism.Sarah Owen, the Labour chair of the women and equalities committee, who is of Malaysian-Chinese heritage, said: “Chasing the tail of the right risks taking our country down a very dark path.The best way to avoid becoming an ‘island of strangers’ is investing in communities to thrive, not pitting people against each other.”Nadia Whittome said anti-migrant rhetoric from the government was “shameful and dangerous”.The Labour MP for Nottingham East said: “To suggest that Britain risks becoming ‘an island of strangers’ because of immigration mimics the scaremongering of the far right.
”Sign up to Headlines UKGet the day’s headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morningafter newsletter promotionIn the wide-ranging conversation, Starmer also acknowledged it was wrong of him to have appointed Sue Gray, the former senior civil servant, as his chief of staff – only for her to depart a year later and be replaced by the campaigns chief Morgan McSweeney,He said: “Not everyone thought it was a good idea when I appointed her … It was my call, my judgment, my decision, and I got that wrong,Sue wasn’t the right person for this job,”The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know,If you have something to share on this subject you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.
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SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and postSee our guide at theguardian.com/tips for alternative methods and the pros and cons of each.He also discussed the death of his brother Nick on Boxing Day last year, saying he had personally gone up to Leeds to sort out his brother’s belongings, with his security detail waiting outside.“The previous day I had been taking calls on the future of European security and there I was, on my hands and knees with a brush scrubbing out the back of the bog,” he said.“That’s quite a good leveller … I didn’t want anyone else there.
He was my brother – I didn’t want to let him down.”Starmer has spoken in the past about his protectiveness towards Nick, who had developed learning difficulties after complications during his birth, and who died of cancer aged 60.
US reaches deal with China to speed up rare-earth shipments, White House says
The US has reached an agreement with China to speed up rare-earth shipments into America, officials confirmed on Friday. The news sent US stock markets to fresh highs amid news of wider efforts to end the trade wars between the US and the world’s biggest economies.Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US had signed a deal with China the previous day, without providing additional details, and that there might be a separate deal coming up that would “open up” India.But the trade news was complicated on Friday afternoon when Trump announced he had called off talks with Canada over a digital sales tax. The S&P and the Nasdaq turned negative before recovering their losses
M&S boss slams ‘bureaucratic madness’ of products requiring ‘not for EU’ labels
The boss of Marks & Spencer has called on the government to rapidly reset relations with the EU and criticised new rules which demand extra checks and labelling on products headed from the UK mainland to Northern Ireland as “bureaucratic madness”.Stuart Machin, the chief executive of M&S, which has 25 stores in Northern Ireland, said that from next week the retailer would have to label 1,000 more products destined for the UK country with “not for EU” while another 400 items would require “additional checks”.The “not for EU” labelling is designed to prevent products intended for sale in Northern Ireland being moved to the Republic of Ireland, which is an EU member.In a post on X, he said the change in rules added “yet another layer of unnecessary costs and red tape for food retailers like M&S”.“Quite frankly it’s bureaucratic madness, confusing for customers, and completely unnecessary given the UK has some of the highest food standards in the world
Lotus plans to end UK sportscar production, putting 1,300 jobs at risk
Lotus is planning to end production of its sportscars in the UK and shift it to the US, a move that would put 1,300 jobs at risk and represent a major blow to the British car industry.The carmaker’s Chinese owner, Geely, is looking at options including manufacturing its Emira sportscar in the US, and permanently stopping production at its factory in Hethel, Norfolk, according to a person with knowledge of the company’s thinking. No final decision has been made.Workers at the factory, in a former second world war bomber facility, have not been informed of the plans. Lotus declined to comment on “rumours and speculation”
Wall Street hits record high on trade deal hopes; UK car exports to US halve due to tariffs – as it happened
UK car production has slumped to a 76-year low, as Donald Trump’s trade war hurt the British auto industry.Shipments to the US fell by 55.4% last month, according to new data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.The SMMT says:This was primarily due to the imposition by the US administration of a supplementary 25% Section 232 tariffs on cars from March which depressed demand instantly forcing many manufacturers to stop shipments.However, with the trade agreement negotiated by government due to come into effect before the end of June, this should hopefully be a short-lived constraint
Barclays and Jes Staley face fresh lawsuit in US over Epstein link
Barclays and its former chief executive Jes Staley are facing a class action lawsuit in the US over claims they defrauded and misled investors over Staley’s relationship with the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.A judge in a Los Angeles court denied Staley’s request to dismiss the case this week, paving the way for a fresh hearing that continues a long-running legal saga emanating from Staley’s statements to regulators and investors over the nature of his ties to the disgraced financier.It is a bruising outcome for the American banker, who lost a legal challenge in the UK on Thursday against the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which in 2023 had banned him for life from holding senior management roles in the City for misleading the watchdog over his history with Epstein.The US class action suit, led by pension funds in New York and Missouri, alleges that Barclays, its chair, Nigel Higgins, and Staley repeatedly misrepresented Staley’s history with Epstein to media and investors, starting in July 2019, weeks after Epstein was arrested on charges of trafficking underage girls for sex.Court documents allege that this was done in an attempt to protect Barclays’ reputation and share price
Superdrug to add more stores as demand for weight loss drugs soars
An increase in demand for weight loss drugs, including Mounjaro and Wegovy, as well as demand among its generation Alpha customer base for beauty products is driving expansion at Superdrug.The retailer plans to add 25 more stores to its 800-plus strong chain this year as well as extending existing outlets, despite troubles across the high street that have led to the closure of hundreds of stores at its rival Boots and downsizing at chains from Poundland to River Island.Superdrug is bouncing back from difficult times during the coronavirus pandemic as demand for its weight-loss services almost 300% in the first half of this year compared with last year.While many of the drugs are ordered online via its private GP service, the retailer is looking at how it can adapt and expand in-store services to cater for demand so that its team of nurses can offer help with the potential side-effects, such as hair loss, for example. More serious problems, including with the pancreas, have also been flagged up in some cases
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