The king’s state visit to the US is to go ahead next month as planned, Buckingham Palace has finally confirmed.The Press Association says:double quotation markCharles and the queen’s long-expected historic trip to see Donald Trump will take place in late April despite calls for it to be postponed because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.It will be the king’s first visit to the US as monarch and the first state visit by a British sovereign to America for nearly 20 years, since Queen Elizabeth II’s tour in 2007.Charles and Camilla will commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence, attend a glittering state dinner at the White House, and the king will address Congress, the Palace confirmed.But exact dates and details have yet to be disclosed.

Buckingham Palace said:double quotation markOn advice of His Majesty’s government, and at the invitation of the President of the United States, the king and queen will undertake a State Visit to the United States of America,Their Majesties’ programme will celebrate the historic connections and the modern bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States, marking the 250th anniversary of American Independence,The king will then continue to Bermuda to undertake His Majesty’s first Royal Visit as Monarch to a British Overseas Territory,King Charles will go ahead with a state visit to the US in April, Buckingham Palace has confirmed, despite some politicians saying the trip will be a “humiliation” while Donald Trump’s war with Iran is ongoing,The UK is sending more military support to the Gulf taking the total deployment to 1,000 troops, amid more jibes from Donald Trump about Britain’s refusal to get involved in offensive operations against Iran.

The MP Karl Turner has lost the Labour whip after making a series of interventions criticising Keir Starmer and No 10, especially on changes to jury trials.For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.The Foreign Office has defended its decision to stop automatically voting against motions at the UN human rights council (UNHRC) under a procedure that singles out Israel.Last week the Conservatives said it was “disgraceful” that the government was changing its stance on so-called item 7 motions.The UNHRC has a permanent feature on its agenda, called item 7, set aside for matters relating to the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories.

Israel claims this is discriminatory because no other country is singled out in this way in UNHRC debates.When Jeremy Hunt was foreign secretary in 2019, the UK adopted a policy of always voting against item 7 motions as a protest against this process – even though it was still happy to vote for motions criticising Israel’s record on human rights tabled under other parts of the agenda.Last week, after it was revealed that the UK is dropping this policy, and will in future abstain on item 7 motions, Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, attacked this as a concession to sectarianism.She said:double quotation markIt’s disgraceful that Labour are ditching the longstanding cross-party commitment to vote against item 7 resolutions unfairly targeting Israel.By abandoning this principle, Labour are surrendering to those who wish to single Israel out for special punishment.

Questions will rightly be asked about whether this is an attempt to pander to sectarianism here in Britain.The Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies have also criticised the Foreign Office’s shift in position.But today Eleanor Sanders, the UK’s ambassador at the UNHRC, defended the new approach.In a speech at the council, she said:double quotation markToday the UK has abstained on all three resolutions tabled under this agenda item.This represents a change in our voting position since we were last members of the council, when the UK by default voted no on all resolutions under Item 7, including where those votes contradicted stated UK policy and whilst conditions on the ground worsened.

Our abstentions today reflect our continued objection to the unfair procedural mechanism by which these legitimate issues are raised.However, the UK remains resolute in its support for the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and we are proud to have taken the historic decision to recognise Palestine in September 2025.A second Reform UK candidate for the Senedd in Wales has stood, complaining about the way the party has selected to be MSs (members of the Senedd).At the weekend Patrick Benham-Crosswell, who had been a candidate in the Gŵyr Abertawe constituency, said he was quitting because he felt the party had sunk “into the sewer”.In a post on Facebook, he said:double quotation markHaving been an active member of Reform since it was founded, and the Brexit party before that, it is with some sadness that I resign.

In truth, Reform has left me.The party I joined and helped build had a clear vision of how to solve our country’s problems: better politicians who care more about the people they serve than their careers.That’s how we fought the 2024 general election, winning 14.3% of the vote across the UK.In Swansea, I came in second, with 17.

5% of the vote,The “professionalisation” of the party has led it to take its members and candidates for granted,Communications that once began “Thank you” now more often start “You are required to …” The party’s employees in Millbank forget that branch officers and candidates are unpaid volunteers,Some will call my resignation petulance or sour grapes at my lowly placing on the list (fifth to an ex-Tory on the make and three novices),That rankles, but it has also confirmed to me what I feared; Reform is no longer open or honest.

Politics is a dirty game, but Reform has sunk deep into the sewer when it should have been a beacon of decency.Today Owain Clatworthy has announced that he is resigning too.He has also criticised the candidate selection process.He has posted this on social media saying he has “significant concerns” about how people have been chosen, and that some of them will have “little or no connection” to the communities they want to represent.Clatworthy, an independent councillor in Bridgend, was a Reform candidate for the Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg.

Under the new electoral system being used in Wales, there will be 16 constituencies, each electing six MSs using the closed proportional list system,Under though Reform is doing well in Welsh polls, any candidate not in the top two or three has next to no chance being elected on the party,Clatworthy was in sixth place on his list, just as Benham-Crosswell was in fifth place on his list,Another Reform UK candidate in Wales has resigned after a photograph was published of him giving a Nazi salute in the past,The party defended Corey Edwards, but he decided to stand down in the interests of his mental health.

In Scotland Reform UK’s candidate problems have been even worse; five of the party’s candidates have either withdrawn or been suspended since the list was unveiled less than a fortnight ago.Here is Jessica Elgot’s story on Karl Turner being suspended from the PLP.And this is from Aubrey Allegretti at the Times on the suspension.double quotation markThe MP Karl Turner is said to have been emailed this afternoon and told he was having the Labour whip suspended.It was put in writing rather than communicated via phone call to ensure there was an official record.

The decision was said to have been taken after multiple previous warnings.Apparently concerns were raised about him making disparaging comments about MPs, and colleagues feeling he was behaving in an “intimidating way” in the chamber.Earlier this month, Turner told Times Radio: “I’m not going to be threatened with suspension.I’m already on a conduct warning for having the audacity to say that these proposals are ludicrous.I’m not going to be bullied around.

“If my parliamentary Labour party chief, Prime Minister, leader of the party or whatever else doesn’t want me in the party anymore, fine,I don’t mind walking and causing a by-election,”Donald Trump has posted this on Truth Social welcoming the news that the state visit has been confirmed by Buckingham Palace,Labour has defended the increase in air passenger duty (APD) taking effect from April that was criticised by Reform UK at their press conference this morning,(See 11.

23am.)The party said APD rates are set in advance using inflation forecasts and that, because inflation in the past been higher than expected, it had fallen in real terms.The increase announced in the budget for 2026-27 was to compensate for this, the party said.Labour said:double quotation markFor those travelling short-haul in economy class, this will be an increase of £2 per passenger per flight.This is a proportionate adjustment and a very small increase relative to average ticket costs, equal to about one per cent.

For example, a family of four (two adults and two children) travelling to Spain would see a total increase of £4, given that under 16s are exempt from APD if travelling in economy class.For passengers taking domestic economy flights the increase is £1, and for passengers travelling economy to long-haul destinations it is £12.Labour said the budget also included a 50% increase in the APD for private jets.But Reform UK opposed this, a Labour spokesperson said.The spokesperson said:double quotation markLabour took the fair choice to hike tax on big private jets, which Farage opposed.

Only this Labour is delivering a serious plan to ease the cost of living for families.From this week, the lowest earners will get a pay rise, pensions are going up, and energy bills being cut.Keir Starmer and Ahmed al-Sharaa, the president of Syria, discussed Syria taking back more Syrians refused asylum in the UK, Downing Street has signalled.The two leaders met in Downing Street today and, in a readout of their talks, a No 10 spokesperson said:double quotation markOn the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, they both affirmed the importance of avoiding further escalation and restoring stability in the region.They discussed the need for a viable plan to reopen the strait of Hormuz, in the face of the severe economic impact of prolonged closure, and agreed to work with others to restore freedom of navigation.

The prime minister welcomed the Syrian government’s action against Da’esh to date and the progress made on cooperation between the UK and Syria on counter-terrorism.He set out how he hoped to make further progress on the issue of migration, including closer work together on returns, on border security, and on tackling people smuggling networks.They agreed that regeneration of infrastructure would be vital for Syria’s economic transition, and discussed opportunities for British businesses across several sectors to play a role in this.Al-Sharaa is the former leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist rebel group that had been designated as a terrorist organisation by the UK and other countries.He took power after Bashar al-Assad was deposed at the end of 2024.

While the civil war was taking place, Syria was one of the main countries producing people coming to the UK to seek asylum.But over the last year those numbers have fallen.And, whereas Syrian asylum seekers used to have a very high success rate when applying for asylum in the UK, Syria is now deemed a safe country and “the grant rate has since plummeted from 98% in the year ending December 2024 to just 9% in the year ending December 2025”, according to this briefing on the Free Movement website.And this is what Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, has said about Reform UK’s proposal to scrap air passenger duty.(See 11.

23am,)double quotation markBefore coming out with yet more half-baked announcements, Reform should explain the vast £10,5bn black hole in their pubs ‘plan’,A Reform government would be an economic catastrophe,Serious times, call for serious thinking – not gimmicks and economic illiteracy.

The Green party has criticised Reform UK’s proposal to get rid of air passenger duty (see 11.23am) as a “giveaway” for rich.Rachel Millward, a co-deputy leader of the Greens, explained:double quotation markAbolishing air passenger duty is another unfunded giveaway which would largely help wealthier people but dressed up as a special offer to families flying off to Spain for their summer hols.This policy would mostly benefit the 15% of people who take around 70% of flights from the UK and offer no support at all to the estimated 50% of people who take zero flights in any given year.A much fairer solution for both people and climate, advocated by the Green party, is to offer one flight a year at low or zero tax and then apply a frequent flyer levy on any additional flights – a levy that would increase with each extra flight taken in any given year.

Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, has been holding a press conference, and, taking a lead from his boss (see 12,31pm), he has also engaged in a bit of Brit-bashing,As Sky News reports, he said:double quotation markI think the president was clear this morning in his Truth that there are countries around the world who ought to be prepared to step up on this critical waterway [the strait of Hormuz] as well …Last time I checked, there was supposed to be a big, bad Royal Navy that could be prepared to do things like that as well,Here is more on the suspension of Karl Turner,This is from the Press Association.

double quotation markThe Press Association understands the Kingston upon Hull East MP was informed by chief whip Jonathan Reynolds that he was suspending the whip “following his recent conduct”.And these are from my colleague Jessica Elgot.double quotation markI understand several MPs complained about an interview criticising No10 that Turner gave to Jody McIntyre for his X account.McIntyre is a campaigner who stood against Jess Phillips at the general election in a campaign she heavily criticised.double quotation markLabour sources say the suspension is not about Turner’s opposition to jury reform or criticism of figures in Number 10 but suggest it relates to conduct online and towards other MPs.

Turner has been one of the most vocal critics of jury reform as a former barrister.In 2025, after four Labour MPs had the whip suspended, a party source was quoted in the Times as saying they were being punished for “persistent knobheadery”.That was last year, but the term may still be helpful in explaining what sort of behaviour can get you kicked out of the PLP.Karl Turner says, while the media have been told he has lost the Labour whip (see 1.52pm), he has not been notified about this by the party.

In a post on social media he says:double quotation markI am being told that I have had the whip suspended but I have not had any notification from the whips about this,It seems journalists have been told but I have not,UDPATE: Ollie Cole from Times Radio says Labour sources dispute this,double quotation markParty sources pushing back on this claim,Insisting Turner was informed in a form of writing ahead of the decision being published by press