Starmer says he is ‘fed up’ with Trump and Putin’s impact on UK energy costs
Keir Starmer has said he is “fed up” with the effect that Donald Trump’s actions in the Middle East are having on the British public, while appearing to draw a comparison between the US president and Vladimir Putin.Speaking to ITV’s Robert Peston on Thursday, the prime minister said: “I’m fed up with the fact that families across the country see their bills go up and down on energy, businesses’ bills go up and down on energy because of the actions of Putin or Trump across the world.”Starmer, who has been heavily criticised, and at times mocked, by Trump for not committing British forces to the war on Iran, also appeared to condemn Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel’s continued strikes on Lebanon, despite Iran calling for Lebanon to be included in the ceasefire that was agreed on 7 April.“That should stop – that’s my strong view – and therefore, the question isn’t a technical one of whether it’s a breach of the agreement or not,” Starmer said.Starmer and Trump spoke on Thursday about the need for a “practical plan” to get shipping going through the strait of Hormuz after the Middle East ceasefire.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The prime minister spoke to President Trump from Qatar this evening.The prime minister set out his discussions with Gulf leaders and military planners in the region on the need to restore freedom of navigation in the strait of Hormuz, as well as the UK’s efforts to convene partners to agree a viable plan.“They agreed that now there is a ceasefire in place and agreement to open the strait, we are at the next stage of finding a resolution.The leaders discussed the need for a practical plan to get shipping moving again as quickly as possible.”Starmer also said on ITV that although Britain did not have “access to all the details of the ceasefire”, he disagreed with the attacks on Lebanon: “Let me be really clear about it: they’re wrong.
”Writing in the Guardian on Thursday, Starmer said he wanted Britain to be “a country where people are not at the mercy of events abroad”.He added that while the responses of previous governments to world events were to simply “manage the crisis, find a sticking plaster and then desperately try to reassert the status quo”, he promised his government would do better.“This time, it will be different.The war in Iran must now become a line in the sand, because how we emerge from this crisis will define all of us for a generation.”The prime minister’s relationship with Britain’s allies has been noticeably strained since the US and Israel’s war with Iran began in late February.
Starmer and other European leaders have been repeatedly chastised and belittled by Trump and other prominent members of his administration.These have included Trump sharing a video from the sketch show SNL UK in which Starmer is portrayed as being scared of the US president and trying to avoid his call, and stating that he is “no Winston Churchill”.Others on the receiving end of Trump’s ire include the French president, Emmanual Macron.Trump claimed Macron’s “wife treats him extremely badly” and even suggested that she hits him, claiming that Macron was “still recovering from the right to the jaw” when he spoke to him earlier in the month.The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, who has been outspoken in his disapproval of the wars in Iran and Gaza, has been one of Trump’s most vocal detractors.
In response, the president has threatened to cut off all trade and suggested that if the US wanted to use Spain’s bases in the region, they would take them by force, stating: “If we want, we can just fly in and use it.Nobody is going to tell us not to use it.”
Sue Wright obituary
My sister, Sue Wright, who has died aged 57, devoted her life to raising awareness about fostering and adoption as well as practising as a child protection barrister and becoming a successful businesswoman.Our upbringing was unhappy and Sue went into foster care aged 16, but the placement did not work out; by the age of 17 she was living in a Salvation Army-run establishment with a 17-year-old flatmate, living on a £40 a week allowance. From 1982 to 1984 she found part-time work cooking and cleaning in a nursing home in Southport. It was owned by a Mrs Smythe, who welcomed her in, saying: “There’s always more room at the table.”This became Sue’s own mantra and the title of the speech she delivered to conferences and corporate audiences to raise awareness of the need for more foster carers and adoptive parents
Four in 10 UK parents struggle to afford essentials for newborns, study says
Four in 10 parents across the UK are struggling to afford essential items for the care of their newborn babies, according to research.The survey of 2,000 parents with children aged under five by the charity Barnardo’s found that almost half (49%) felt their child had missed out on opportunities to learn or play because of the cost of living.Meanwhile, 44% said financial pressures had affected their child’s development, including speech, socialising and physical play. More than half (54%) said they wished they had been able to provide more essential items for their newborn.In Scotland, all parents are eligible for a box of baby essentials that includes clothes, books, a changing mat and a bath towel
Alarm in health service over Palantir staff being given NHS email accounts
Health service staff have expressed alarm that engineers working for controversial tech company Palantir have been given NHS email accounts.Employees using NHS.net email accounts have access to a directory with the contact details of up 1.5 million staff. Sources believe Palantir staff were granted the same access
Scientists develop AI tool to spot heart failure risk five years before it strikes
Oxford scientists have developed a simple AI tool that can predict the risk of heart failure five years before it develops.More than 60 million people worldwide have the condition in which the heart cannot pump blood around the body as well as it should. Spotting cases before they develop into heart failure would be a big step forward, experts say. Doctors could prepare better for and manage the condition at an earlier stage or even prevent it entirely.The AI tool, developed by a team at the University of Oxford, looks for signs in fat around the heart that indicate whether it is inflamed and unhealthy
Doctors’ strike timed to cause havoc over Easter break, says NHS England chief
The latest strike by resident doctors in England has been “deliberately timed to cause havoc” by coinciding with hospital staff’s Easter holidays, the head of the NHS has claimed.Hospitals have struggled to find enough doctors to replace those who have refused to work during the six-day walkout, Sir Jim Mackey, the chief executive of NHS England, said.Many thousands of resident doctors belonging to the British Medical Association were on strike on Wednesday, the second day of a six-day walkout – that is the longest yet in their long-running dispute with the government over pay and jobs. It is the union’s 15th strike since March 2023.In a letter to NHS bosses on Monday night, Mackey said that the doctors’ stoppage risked setting back the health service’s recent progress at improving waiting times for care and the public’s satisfaction with it
Landlords evicting tenants before law to prevent practice comes into force in England
Increasing numbers of landlords are evicting tenants at the last minute before the law changes to outlaw the practice in next month, charities have said.The renters’ union Acorn told the Guardian that no-fault evictions made up one in five of the reports they received from members in October, rising to nearly one in three by January.The Renters’ Rights Act, which was in development last year and will come into effect on 1 May 2026, will abolish section 21 of the existing Housing Act, which allows landlord to evict without providing a justification to the court.“This isn’t a coincidence. Landlords are clearly rushing to force through last-minute evictions before the ban comes into force
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