Proposed UK cuts to global aid fund could lead to 300,000 preventable deaths, say charities

The UK is expected to slash its contribution to a leading aid fund combating preventable diseases, with charities warning this could lead to more than 300,000 otherwise preventable deaths.If confirmed, the anticipated 20% cut in the UK contribution to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, would be announced on the sidelines of next month’s G20 summit in South Africa, which Keir Starmer is due to attend.Aid groups said such a reduction, on top of a 30% cut to the UK contribution at the previous funding round for the group three years ago, would further risk years of progress in combating the disease after Donald Trump slashed US aid.No decision has been publicly announced before the Global Fund’s “replenishment” summit, covering 2027-29, and one government official said this did not recognise the extent of the cut predicted.However, aid groups say a proposed reduction in UK funding from £1bn to £800m is being widely discussed by senior government officials

Ministry of Justice ‘has failed to file spending receipts of nearly £11bn’

The Ministry of Justice, the Whitehall department in charge of a £13bn annual budget for prisons, probation and courts across England and Wales, has failed to file spending receipts of nearly £11bn, a report has said.Tussell, the public spending analyst firm, said the government department was more than two years behind on publishing receipts for multimillion pound contracts, weakening scrutiny around public money.The last time the government department filed receipts from its suppliers was May 2023, Tussell said. The industry standard is to allow leeway of two months to publish receipts.A spokesperson for Tussell said: “This gap in publication is deeply concerning and highlights that the government is failing to meet its own transparency standards

No 10 moves to end China spy row – but threat of further fallout lingers

When Keir Starmer finally read the witness statement from his deputy national security adviser for the trial of two British men accused of spying for China, some of his frustration about the collapse of the case began to dissipate.His government had been besieged by the Tories for two weeks over its role, being accused of “secretly sabotaging” the trial, “blocking” key witnesses and “hiding behind process”, all to avoid having to tell a court that China was an enemy.Media reports suggested the refusal by the government to describe China as a threat had scuppered the case, eventually forcing it to publish three witness statements from Matthew Collins, the government’s deputy national security adviser – one produced under Rishi Sunak’s government and two under Starmer’s.The statements presented a generally consistent picture of China as – in the words of the first, from December 2023 – an “epoch-defining challenge”.The final statement said the UK wanted a “positive relationship” with China and would follow a “three Cs” approach – cooperation, competition, but also “challenge where we must, including on issues of national security”

Questions for CPS after No 10 publishes key witness statements in China spy row

The Crown Prosecution Service abandoned a case against two Britons accused of spying for China despite being told by the UK’s deputy national security adviser that Beijing’s intelligence agencies “harm the interests and security of the UK”.Three witness statements were released by Keir Starmer on Wednesday night in an effort to draw a line under a row over why the case was dropped against the two, one of whom also warned the other in a message: “You’re in spy territory now.”Charges against Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry had fallen away because prosecutors could not obtain evidence from the senior civil servant that Beijing represented a “threat to the national security of the UK” over “many months”.On Wednesday, under pressure from the Conservatives, Starmer said at prime minister’s questions that the government would publish the evidence, three witness statements written by deputy national security adviser Matthew Collins.The third statement written in August appears close to the specific threat language sought by Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions, which was deemed necessary following a ruling in an unrelated spy case

Rachel Reeves says higher taxes on wealthy ‘part of the story’ for November budget

Rachel Reeves has said higher taxes on the UK’s wealthy will form part of next month’s budget, as she shrugged off the “scaremongering” and “bleating” of her critics, and stressed her determination to repair the public finances.Speaking in Washington, where she is attending the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the chancellor told the Guardian there “won’t be a return to austerity” and hinted at tax increases for the most well-off.Reeves is expected to announce a package of tax rises on 26 November, in response to a downgrade in future growth forecasts from independent forecaster the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).Asked whether higher taxes on the wealthy would feature, the chancellor said “that will be part of the story”.She added: “Last year, when we announced things like the non-doms, like the [tax increase for] private equity, like the VAT on private school fees, there was so much bleating that it wasn’t going to raise the money – that people would leave

Starmer only read China spy witness statements this morning, No 10 says, as Cleverly accuses PM of misquoting him – as it happened

Here are the main lines from the NO 10 post-PMQs lobby briefing.The PM’s spokesperson explained why the government was publishing its China spy case witness statements now, when yesterday officials were saying the CPS were opposed to this. The spokesperson said:Prior to last night, the CPS had made clear that witnesses have an expectation that their evidence will not be publicly discussed in those circumstances.The CPS had also advised that to do so, or to do so in some cases, but not in others, would likely affect the confidence of witnesses in coming forward and hamper the interests of justice.However, given the CPS has now greenlit the publication, we will release the three statements from the DNSA (deputy national security adviser Matt Collins) after a short process