Rishi Sunak's 'big announcements' establish 'dividing line' with Labour and put pressure on Europe to step up - analysis by Katherine Forster

“We will do whatever it takes to keep our countries safe”.

The words of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak this afternoon in Berlin, standing next to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Today Berlin and Scholz. Yesterday Poland, the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Polish PM Donald Tusk.

But the same central message: “The world is at a more dangerous point than at any point since the end of the Cold War”. Today Sunak said we are at “an inflexion point”.

So big announcements. Yesterday’s pledge to increase UK defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030.

A show of solidarity with the head of Nato at a military base near Warsaw.

Today, a defence agreement with Germany to collaborate on artillery systems.

The Prime Minister says it will bring hundreds of jobs to the UK.

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And, following his meetings this morning with German business leaders, an announcement of £8billion in investment by German businesses into the UK.

Sunak says he is putting UK defence “on a war footing”. Our defence industry already supports 1 in 70 UK jobs.

More funding and more money funnelled into research and development can only benefit our economy.

And the Prime Minister urges other countries to step up.

He stressed that the UK and Germany are the leading defence spenders in Europe, and the largest military supporters of Ukraine.

Yesterday’s announcement of an extra £500 million for Ukraine takes the total in UK military and humanitarian aid to £12billion.

Only 11 NATO members currently spend the supposed minimum of two per cent national income on defence.

In raising UK spending from the current 2.3 per cent to 2.5 per cent, Sunak is setting an example he wants others to follow.

But of course this is expensive. The Government claims the extra £75 billion will not be funded by increased borrowing or debt.

It talks of using money saved from cutting 70,000 civil service jobs.

The Institute For Fiscal Studies though, suggests cuts to public services will be needed. Or possible tax cuts axed.

The Prime Minister was upbeat on the plane. He told us it’s a choice he believes is right, and it’s taken time to get to this point.

It won’t be universally popular. But it’s popular with his party and likely to be so with many voters too. And it’s given the Conservatives another useful dividing line with Labour.

Labour have said they’d like to get spending to 2.5 per cent when circumstances allow. And pledged to hold a defence and security review if they come to power.

And of course they likely will do, unless the polls shift massively. So, difficult choices for them.

Ultimately though, Sunak and Jens Stoltenberg stress that defence spending is largely to prevent war. A message is being sent too, to autocratic regimes in Russia, Iran, China and North Korea.

For so long the West has enjoyed a peace dividend. Those days are gone. But as Stoltenberg said: “Nato exists to prevent war.” The price of safety in a dangerous world seems to be billions more for defence. Sunak response is “so be it”.

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WATCH: Liam Halligan opens up about his friendship with politician, Frank Field

GB News reporter Liam Halligan opened up about his friend Frank Field after it was revealed that the former MP passed away.

Speaking on GB News Halligan said: "We became friends and I was drawn to him because he was a man of principle. He was somebody very much of Labour values.

"He set up the Child Poverty Action Group. He set up the low-pay unit for really important institutions in this country. But he didn't always believe in left-wing roots to achieve those Labour outcomes, more help for the poor.

"So when it came to benefits, you can sum up Frank Field's attitude in a phrase that he coined, but which many others have since used 'Give people a hand up, not a handout.'"

Lord Field spent 40 years as MP for Birkenhead and was a leading voice on welfare reform for much of his career.

He was a minister under Tony Blair and joined the House of Lords in 2020.

WATCH THE CLIP ABOVE FOR MORE

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Sunak will take the defence wins in Europe - but returns to tricky local elections for the Tories

This was a trip with two aims: to refocus the world's attention on Ukraine and announce a big boost in defence spending - with an eye, of course, on national security, but also on the general election.   

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Company who funded First Minister’s leadership campaign granted £400,000 Welsh Gov loan

More questions are being asked over Vaughan Gething’s judgement, as recent Companies House records show that ‘Dauson Environmental Group’ received a £400,000 loan from the Development Bank of Wales (DBW).

The loan was acquired whilst Gething served as Welsh Economy Minister and granted on the basis of building a solar farm.

Atlantic Recycling, which is connected to Dauson Environmental Group and controlled by David Neal, donated £200,000 to Gething’s leadership campaign earlier this year.

The DBW is owned and used by the Welsh Government to provide economic support to businesses.

Neal Soil Suppliers, a subsidiary of the Dauson Environmental Group, acquired the £400,000 loan whilst Gething was Economy Minister, a role which has the DBW under its portfolio.

In a letter addressing the current Economy Minister Jeremy Miles, Shadow Minister Samuel Kurtz MS questioned whether "companies run by David Neal needed to borrow £400,000, if they were in a position to donate 200,000 to Vaughan Gething - who was the Minister responsible for the Development Bank of Wales, at the time".

Kurtz added: ‘‘Given that the Welsh Government owns 100 per cent of the shares of DBW, this calls into question the independence of their financing decisions, the use of public funds and the influence of the then-Economy Minister."

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Miles has not commented on the £400,000 grant yet.

However, Miles was questioned on Sunday regarding the £200,000 donation made to Gething’s leadership campaign, Miles who was Gething’s leadership opponent, admitted he would not have accepted the donation.

Plaid Cymru said the revelations show a serious lack of judgement from Gething and "questions around transparency and proprietary just keep piling up for the First Minister".

“He is seemingly being bankrolled by a man in debt to his own government – an astonishing state of affairs that is undermining Welsh democracy," the nationalist party added.

“The First Minister must make an urgent statement on the floor of the Senedd next week.

GB News has approached the Welsh Government for comment.

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'How did we come to have this great devotion to a particular Roman saint?' Jacob Rees-Mogg

You know, the great Shakespearean shout, Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George. But why Saint George? How did we come to have this great devotion to a particular Roman saint?

Well, the reason is medieval devotion. In the medieval period, people had a personal relationship with their saints.

They felt that they were intervening in their daily life day by day as a regular occurrence.

And if they were let down by their saint if they prayed, they asked for the intercession of a saint, and the saint didn't oblige. They would get quite cross.

So people had treasured relics of saints, and if their prayers weren't answered, there were reports of them throwing them on the floor and stamping on them because they were cross like a toddler with a saint who hadn't obliged.

Saint George becomes the patron of England because he's seen or was seen to have delivered. Some people believe that William the Conqueror had the banner of Saint George when he came over at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, but he was certainly thought to be present early in the Crusades.

At the Battle of Antioch in 1098 and in Jerusalem in 1099, Saint George was there urging on and indeed rescuing the English, or indeed the Norman forces.

The inspiration of the saints is crucially important, and the invocation carries on.

Even in the First World War, the troops thought at times, and this is 1914, Saint George was there helping them, aiding them, inspiring them, and boosting morale. But it wasn't always going to be Saint George. Saint George wasn't the first patron saint of England before him.

It was Saint Edmund the Martyr, a ninth-century East Anglian, a saint who was killed by the Vikings, and Saint Edward the Confessor, who competed for this important role, and it was King Edward III who decided that it would be Saint George because he established his chivalric order, the order of the Garter, which even to this day, to this year, makes announcements of new appointments on Saint George's Day, is still dedicated to Saint George.

The King is still head of the Knights of the Garter, and Edward III set that up as his chivalric order. Edward IV, and set up his great chapel at Windsor to Saint George.

Interestingly, when the Protestants came in and they got rid of these saints, they abolished the order of the saints. They kept Saint George. So, Saint George remains this extraordinary figure in our national story and our island story, but very much as an English saint.

So who was he? Well, he's thought to have been martyred in about the 300 under Diocletian. His works were recorded in a very famous book, The Golden Legend.

Legend meaning story rather than fable who was a medieval scholar.

What happened with Saint George? So, a city called Silene in Libya is terrorized by a dragon which infests a vast lake and must be fed if it is to be kept away. Note the connection of the dragon with water.

This is the essential water of life and of baptism. The dragon is the enemy of true faith, and at first, the dragon is given sheep. But these run out and the citizens resort to feeding it a man and a sheep.

And then at the King's command, they start feeding it young people, and the lot falls upon the King's daughter. And the King tries to get out of this, but the people won't have it, and his daughter is sent to feed the dragon.

But, behold, Saint George rides by.

He rescues the princess and the maiden, takes the dragon by her girdle into the city, where George slays it, refuses all honour and will not marry the daughter because he is a celibate, a holy man, and the city is saved.

The dragon is slain and they all live happily ever after. That was Saint George, and you'll be glad to know.

As with all good things, it's thought he went to Glastonbury in Somerset.

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Sunak's defence pledge sets trap for Starmer

On the plane from Warsaw to Berlin, Rishi Sunak was buoyant as he briefly chatted to the travelling pack. 

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'They need it now': Sunak announces largest military package to Ukraine so far

Rishi Sunak is to announce a £500m military aid package to Ukraine in its war against Russia alongside the UK's largest provision of munitions so far.

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Lords push back on Rwanda bill again - despite PM declaring 'enough is enough'

The House of Lords has pushed the government's Rwanda Bill back to the Commons again as a row continues over the controversial plan to "stop the boats".

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Sir Keir Starmer vows to protect Premier League's world leading status amid regulator concerns

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to work to protect the Premier League's status as the world's leading football competition, echoing some of its concerns about the introduction of a football regulator.

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SNP-led Scottish Government on brink of COLLAPSE as Greens ready to quit

Scotland's coalition government is at risk of collapse after the Scottish Greens announced a vote on their partnership with the SNP following a row over climate targets.

Patrick Harvie, co-leader of the Scottish Greens, said today that Scotland is "years behind taking action to reduce emissions" after it dropped its 2030 climate change goals, and admitted he did not know whether the coalition would continue.

The Greens have enjoyed a power-sharing agreement with the SNP - the Bute House Agreement - since August 2021, which gives the latter a majority in the Scottish Parliament when its 63 MSPs are combined with seven from the Greens.

Harvie said the vote on ending the coalition deal, slated for next month, would be the "most important" decision in the history of his party - and warned that backing out would strengthen opponents on climate issues like SNP backbencher Fergus Ewing, who has described the Greens as "hard left extremists who should never be anywhere near government".

The upcoming vote heaps even more pressure on Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf in the wake of the imposition of Scotland's controversial hate crime laws and the re-arrest of Peter Murrell, the SNP’s former chief executive and Nicola Sturgeon’s husband, who is charged with embezzling funds from the party.

Yousaf has expressed confidence in the Greens voting to carry on in the coalition - but said the SNP would continue as a minority government if they withdrew.

With his party polling at near-decade-long lows, Yousaf faces rumours of senior nationalists weighing up his replacement - one insider, speaking to the Herald on Sunday, said: "It's a question now of when he goes, not if."

Speaking to the BBC, Harvie said focusing on targets is not enough, adding: "It's been clear for a long time now that Scotland is not on track to reach that target."

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The co-leader continued: "This is a moment that is critical for the future of climate policy in Scotland, which is, you know, the reason Greens are in politics in the first place.

"It's critical to the future of our party as well, and over the next few weeks we have probably the most important decision to make that we’ve ever had to make about the future of our party.

"My worry is that, if we if we walked away at this point, we would decelerate the climate action, we would see the hand strengthened of the likes of Fergus Ewing, backbencher in the SNP now, who’s constantly popping up and having a go at environmental policy and urging the Government to slow down."

But Scottish Conservatives chairman Craig Hoy took aim at both the SNP and Scottish Greens, saying: "Patrick Harvie takes no accountability for his party’s shameful record in Government.

"Both he and [Greens co-leader] Lorna Slater have spent the last three years pitifully trading environmentalism for nationalism to the fury of their members who now want out of this toxically incompetent coalition.

"Humza Yousaf is so weak that he has lost any authority he had, and even after the disaster they've been in Government, it's still the Greens calling the shots!

"If Humza Yousaf had any backbone, he would be pulling the plug himself on this shambolic deal which is harming Scotland's economy and jeopardising our oil and gas industry.

"Instead, he is at the mercy of the Green vote, and the coalition of chaos he inherited from Nicola Sturgeon is now hanging by a thread."

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The Week... Rishi tries to save his skin

Two of Westminster's best-connected journalists, Sky News's Sam Coates and Politico's Jack Blanchard, guide you through their top predictions for the next seven days in British politics.

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Ulez: Man says 'dog ATE two letters' informing him of fines

A driver has slammed TfL after a run-in with London's controversial Ulez scheme left him stressed and in thousands of pounds of debt - just for riding his motorbike.

Del Hudson, 54, from Richmond, West London, said he had ridden a 2000-plate Honda Fireblade for years, but didn't consider its lack of Ulez compliance when the zone was expanded in August last year.

When the 54-year-old had been fined the first time, he paid up, but said he assumed that future fines would be collected automatically after receiving an email from TfL informing him he had registered for a London Road User Charging account.

When he was fined four more times, Hudson - who was already in debt - had to watch as the overdue penalties skyrocketed, with one soaring to £2,000.

The motorcyclist said TfL had even issued a warrant which could have seen bailiffs come for his car, while the stress of the looming fines meant he "just didn't deal with it", and only added to the depression and anxiety from which he had suffered "since Covid".

Hudson even claimed that his dog "ate two of the letters", adding that if all seven of his fines had risen to £2,000, they would have totalled half of his annual wage.

But when TfL was contacted by a media outlet about the fines, the organisation made the shock decision to waive the penalties entirely in a "goodwill gesture".

Though Hudson said he believed the waiving of the fines was in an effort to make TfL "look good" and had "something to do with the election".

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The 54-year-old said even the lifting of the financial burden wouldn't be enough to convince him to vote for Sadiq Khan on May 2, and claimed average people "just can't survive at the moment" and the mayor was "not helping matters in any form or fashion".

A TfL statement read: "We are sorry for any distress caused to Mr Hudson. Following a review of his case, it is apparent that the fines issued to him were correct and followed our standard procedures in the absence of an Auto Pay account.

"As a gesture of goodwill, we have cancelled the outstanding fines and have advised him on how to set up Auto Pay."

Despite Hudson switching to driving his Ulez-compliant car, he said he thought he was now producing more carbon emissions due to his daily commute taking twice as long off the motorbike.

The 54-year-old dad claimed driving on four wheels was far more expensive than on two - but said public transport was not an option thanks to a lung condition which made walking difficult.

Since its rollout across the entirety of Greater London in August 2023 by Mayor Sadiq Khan, Ulez has seen significant backlash both inside the capital and on its borders.

The scheme penalises owners of vehicles which don't meet certain environmental standards with a £12.50 daily charge - which has been criticised as unaffordable and unsustainable.

GB News has approached the Mayor of London for comment.

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Rishi Sunak pledges to keep child benefit cap if Tories win next election

Rishi Sunak has revealed he will keep the two-child benefit cap if the Conservatives win the next election.

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What Liz Truss and Donald Trump have in common | Adam Boulton

Liz Truss has much more in common with Donald Trump than just the first three letters of his surname.

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Ulez: Drivers may have to 'pay-per-mile' in order to meet net zero targets

Motorists could face pay-per-mile driving charges under London Mayor Sadiq Khan's plans to hit Net Zero targets, Tories have claimed, despite Khan having "ruled out" the option being enforced during his tenure.

The Mayor has spoken positively about a pay-per-mile system in the past - which could see the end of the Ulez scheme altogether - and though he has shut down suggestions of actually implementing it, Khan has locked horns with Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall ahead of London's elections on May 2.

Conservatives have highlighted how the mayor's official transport strategy includes a commitment to "investigate proposals for the next generation of road-user charging", and have said that Khan's 2030 Net Zero targets in the capital are reliant on such measures.

The Mayor proposed the 2030 target in 2020, before enshrining it in his 2021 re-election manifesto.

This year's manifesto, published on Thursday, says: "We have an ambitious target of making London a net zero-carbon city by 2030 - faster than any comparable city".

Khan had previously commissioned research by sustainability consultancy firm Element Energy, which published a report on potential "pathways" to carbon neutrality in January 2022 - which said that "all scenarios would benefit from London-wide road user charging being introduced as early as possible", and described charging as "one of the key early building blocks of any package".

The pathway the Mayor chose - an "accelerated green" pathway - requires "London-wide road-user charging" from the "mid-late 2020s" in order to reach Net Zero.

In a formal response to the report, Khan said: "The scale of reductions required - a 27 per cent reduction in vehicle kilometres according to the 'accelerated green' scenario - is only possible with some form of road user charging.

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"Such a system could abolish all existing road user charges - such as the Congestion Charge and Ulez (Ultra Low Emission Zone) - and replace them with a simple and fair scheme where drivers pay per mile, with different rates depending on how polluting vehicles are, the level of congestion in the area and access to public transport."

But when questioned by Conservative London Assembly Member Emma Best on pay-per-mile last year, Khan was bullish in shutting down claims he would implement such a system, stating: "I want to be crystal clear. A pay-per-mile scheme is not on the table and not on my agenda. I will not move the goalposts on Ulez emission standards."

Tories have also flagged that Khan’s 2023 book, Breathe, states: "we have plans to introduce a new, more comprehensive, road user charging system."

In response to those claims, Hackney Labour councillor Mete Coban said Breathe was a "personal book... Not the manifesto for London", addiing that "Sadiq has ruled out pay-per-mile for now".

But Susan Hall told the Telegraph there was "no doubt that he will put [pay-per-mile] in", adding: "We've seen all the evidence."

A spokesman for the Mayor said: "Sadiq has repeatedly and categorically ruled out pay-per-mile for as long as he is mayor.

"It will not be introduced in London, despite misleading statements from the Tories saying otherwise.

"The road-user charging scheme was originally proposed by Boris Johnson as Mayor and by Rishi Sunak as Chancellor... Sadiq has repeatedly ruled out any such scheme while he is Mayor."

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US agrees multi-billion-dollar aid package for Ukraine after MONTHS of pleading from Zelensky for help

The US House of Representatives has voted in favour of a multi-billion-dollar military aid package for Ukraine after months of delays.

Lawmakers passed the bill by 311 votes to 112, with the Senate expected to approve the measures over the next few days - while President Joe Biden has already pledged to enshrine it in law.

Despite all 210 House Democrats voting in favour of the $61billion (£49billion) aid package, more Republicans voted against the legislation than for of it, at a split of 112 to 101.

The aid marks a significant boost for the embattled Ukrainian military and their country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who has seen his armed forces struggle increasingly against Russian aggression over the last few months.

But commentators have warned that if Republicans gain more power in Congress - or take back the White House - in November's presidential election, Ukraine may face a withdrawal of US support.

Reacting to the news, President Zelensky said: "I am grateful to the United States House of Representatives, both parties, and personally Speaker Mike Johnson for the decision that keeps history on the right track.

"Democracy and freedom will always have global significance and will never fail as long as America helps to protect it.

"The vital US aid bill passed today by the House will keep the war from expanding, save thousands and thousands of lives, and help both of our nations to become stronger.

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"Just peace and security can only be attained through strength. We hope that bills will be supported in the Senate and sent to President Biden’s desk. Thank you, America!"

When it became apparent that the aid package had been passed, supporters in the chamber - who had been pushing for the bill to be passed for months - stood to clap, cheer and wave Ukrainian flags.

Alongside the aid promised to Ukraine, Congress also passed a funding package for Israel which would see the key US ally strengthened by $26billion (£21billion) worth of military and humanitarian assistance.

Taiwan, also under mounting threats from China, is also set to receive further US assistance after the House voted through a $8.2billion (£6.6billion)-valued security package.

Ahead of the measures' passing, a White House statement said: "The world is watching what the Congress does. Passing this legislation would send a powerful message about the strength of American leadership at a pivotal moment."

In total, the bills provide $95billion ($77billion) of aid: $60.84billion (£49billion) to address the conflict in Ukraine, including $23billion (£18.5billion) to replenish US weapons, stocks and facilities; $26billion (£21billion) for Israel, including $9.1billion for humanitarian needs, and $8.12billion (£6.6billion) for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific.

Republican speaker Johnson, who has seen scathing opposition from within his party to any further assistance to Ukraine, said: "It's not the perfect legislation, it's not the legislation that we would write if Republicans were in charge of both the House, the Senate, and the White House.

"This is the best possible product that we can get under these circumstances to take care of these really important obligations."

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Mel Stride reacts to Israel's act of aggression in Iran: 'Has a right'

Tory MP Mel Stride speaks out after Israel's act of aggression in Iran, saying the country has a right to defend itself.

WATCH THE CLIP ABOVE

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Police 'reviewing information' about ex-Tory MP Mark Menzies after alleged misuse of funds

Police say they are reviewing "information" about former Conservative MP Mark Menzies after Labour asked for an investigation into claims he misused party funds.

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