British Council cuts are a false economy that would erode the UK’s global influence | Letters

Soft power takes decades to build and no time to squander. As we ramp up defence spending, it would be incoherent to try to part-pay for it by hollowing out the British Council.The British Council is at the heart of Britain’s global influence – fostering education, English-language skills, cultural exchange and mutual understanding in more than 100 countries.Yet funding pressures and the burden of a £197m loan now mean that it may close its doors in as many as 60 countries (British Council ‘may have to close in 60 countries’ amid cuts to aid budget, 8 June).As the United States retreats and rival states expand their global presence, this is the moment to invest in institutions such as the British Council and the BBC World Service, not to make false economies

Labour cutting farming budget in England by £100m a year, figures shows

Labour is cutting the farming budget in England by £100m a year, spending review figures show.Despite the decrease, the budget has been cautiously welcomed by nature and farming groups, as there were fears the Treasury had wanted to reduce the funding further.Farmers have felt squeezed by the Labour government’s policies over recent months, with mass protests over the introduction of inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1m. Extreme weather and rising input prices have increased financial pressures on the sector, which has meant that a cut to the budget could have serious impacts.Ministers have also indicated that larger farms could be ineligible for the nature-friendly farming fund in future

Keir Starmer makes U-turn mid-air over grooming gangs inquiry

The news emerged in a notably low-key way: a speculative question to Keir Starmer during his Q&A with reporters on the way to the G7 summit in Canada. Yes, he said, speaking carefully while wedged in the aisle of the cramped jet, there would be a full statutory inquiry into grooming gangs.This was, it should be remembered, not just one of the most toxic debates in British politics during 2025, but one where Starmer and his ministers had continually pushed back against demands for such an action.So why now? At first sight this might seem similar to the recent U-turn over eligibility for pensioners’ winter fuel allowance – a belated acknowledgment that the original decision had been mistaken, masked by words about circumstances changing.But in this instance things are arguably more nuanced, despite the notably furious reactions from Kemi Badenoch and the shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, who were swift to accuse the prime minister of delay without reason

‘Labour has made me feel like a scrounger’: disabled people urge welfare cuts rethink

Ministers are facing a backlash over planned disability welfare changes, but Rachel Reeves on Thursday resisted calls to abandon the cuts.After ruling out a U-turn, pressure is building on the UK chancellor to tweak qualification rules to protect many disabled people from being stripped of their benefits. On Thursday, she said the government was “reviewing the criteria”, but ministers are yet to release details.This week, the Guardian revealed that ministers were to offer mutinous Labour MPs an olive branch to help avert a major rebellion over the plans.Under the Pip plans, which will introduce a “four-point rule”, claimants would not qualify unless they score a minimum of four points on a single daily living activity

Government’s welfare plans must be pushed through, Starmer says

The government’s welfare plans have to be pushed through, Keir Starmer has said, indicating that there will be no further concessions in the face of a potentially significant Labour rebellion over cuts to disability benefits.Speaking to reporters on his way to the G7 summit in Canada, the prime minister set out his determination to get the plans through parliament, after ministers warned mutinous MPs about the consequences of voting against the government.Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, has sought to offer some concessions before a Commons vote next month, with a large number of Labour MPs particularly worried about the tightening of eligibility rules on personal independence payments (Pips) for disabled people.“We’ve got to reform the welfare system,” Starmer said when asked about the prospect of a rebellion, with some estimates saying as many as 170 MPs could oppose the plans.“Everybody agrees with that proposition, so we’ve got to do that basic reform,” he said

UK ‘woefully’ unprepared for Chinese and Russian undersea cable sabotage, says report

China and Russia are stepping up sabotage operations targeting undersea cables and the UK is unprepared to meet the mounting threat, according to new analysis.A report by the China Strategic Risks Institute (CSRI) analysed 12 incidents in which national authorities had investigated alleged undersea cable sabotage between January 2021 and April 2025. Of the 10 cases in which a suspect vessel was identified, eight were directly linked to China or Russia through flag-state registration or company ownership.The involvement of “shadow fleet” commercial vessels in these incidents is consistent with China and Russia’s broader “grey zone” strategy – a space between war and peace – which aims to coerce adversaries while minimising opportunities for response, the report claims.The patterns of activity – such as the involvement of Chinese vessels in suspicious incidents in the Baltic Sea, and Russian vessels near Taiwan – suggest possible coordination between Moscow and Beijing on undersea cable attacks, it says