Defense Secretary Grant Shapps will update the House of Commons Tuesday afternoon. Although he is not expected to directly name Beijing in his statement, Sky News, which first broke the story, reported that China is in the frame. Officials told POLITICO’s London Playbook newsletter their work had not cleared the high bar for public attribution. … Read more
THE best way for Israel to show it is complying with international law is to flood Gaza with aid, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has urged. He said “given the level of human suffering” it was vital to end the bloodbath conflict. 2 Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has called on Israel to ‘flood Gaza with aid’ … Read more
Challenged to express enthusiasm for Sunak, Street recently told the Sunday Times: “He is the prime minister. I am supportive to the party. But he and I have fallen out over a number of issues.” Street’s Labour rival, Richard Parker, has accused him of being a Tory “when it suits him.” A Conservative MP in … Read more
Officers and soldiers will be allowed to grow beards — but they must maintain a professional appearance and adhere to specific guidance on what their beards can look like, Carney said. The policy went into effect on Friday to allow those on Easter vacation to immediately start growing out their facial hair. Those going unshaven … Read more
GRANT Shapps was forced to abandon a trip to the Black Sea port of Odesa in Ukraine due to a Russian missile threat. Vladimir Putin’s men are said to have “become aware” of the defence secretary’s travel plans and were tracking his movements in Ukraine. 7 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and Britain’s defence secretary … Read more
Kyiv has already sent a formal request asking the British government to approve Zaluzhny, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday. Zaluzhny’s pending appointment comes after Zelenskyy removed him from his post as Ukraine’s top military commander last month. The Ukrainian president said at the time he was reshuffling his military leadership … Read more
Who’s left? With an election looming, none of the One Nation members’ preferred candidates have indicated they would stand in a future leadership contest, and there remains a lack of certainty over who will even be an MP after polling day. Constituency by constituency polling by YouGov earlier this year suggested both Mordaunt and Shapps … Read more
The U.K. also announced a new plan Thursday to lead a coalition of 14 other European countries, including Turkey, on multinational defense procurement. The two initiatives, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defence, “aim to increase defense industrial capacity across the Euro-Atlantic area, replenish stockpiles at pace, and continue support to Ukraine.” The U.S. and … Read more
THE British Army’s plan to “relax security checks for overseas recruits” has been branded “dangerous madness”. Top brass are reportedly mulling a proposal to make the Army more diverse by recruiting foreigners. 1 The Army reportedly plans to relax security checks for overseas recruitsCredit: Getty The Telegraph reports that the Army drew up a Race … Read more
Iran has two purposes in mind with all these attacks: The first is pressuring the West to curtail Israel’s military campaign in Gaza in order to save Hamas — a valued member of Tehran’s so-called axis of resistance. The second is the longer-term aim of fatiguing the U.S. into giving up and largely withdrawing from … Read more
