Summary of the day …
Keir Starmer has defended the government’s decision over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands by saying it had been welcomed with “warm words” by the US. The prime minister said “The single most important thing was ensuring that we had a secure base, the joint US-UK base; hugely important to the US, hugely important to us. We’ve now secured that and that is why you saw such warm words from the US yesterday”
The Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey had said the deal offering sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius was the “right things for us to do”, but it has faced criticism from the Conservatives. Disgraced former prime minister Boris Johnson has decried the agreement as “sheer political correctness”, while former Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns has called Tory leadership candidate James Cleverly “stupid” for opening up the negotiations in 2022
Jonathon Powell, who had been leading the negotiations for the new Labour government, said that it secures the future of the base for the next 99 years at a time when the UK’s continued possession of its last African colony was looking increasing legally tenuous. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has called for an immediate debate when parliament sits on Monday. The treaty has to be ratified by parliament before it can come into effect
Starmer, chancellor Rachel Reeves and energy secretary Ed Miliband all gave speeches at a glass manufacturer announcing government investment in green technologies in Merseyside this morning. The government has announced plans to commit almost £22bn over 25 years to fund carbon capture and storage projects. Starmer described the project as “the politics of national renewal in action”
Starmer has said that he is committed to a free vote on assisted dying in England and Wales, and that the government will remain neutral
Transport secretary Louise Haigh has personally intervened and demanded that the large advertising board in London’s Euston mainline station is switched off
GB News has lost a high court bid to temporarily block Ofcom from sanctioning it after the regulator claimed that a Q&A with Rishi Sunak broke impartiality rules. Barristers for GB News said that the publication of the sanction would cause “irreparable damage” to its reputation, but in a ruling on Friday Mr Justice Chamberlain said that the “likely impact” on the channel had been “overstated”
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Transport secretary Louise Haigh has personally intervened and demanded that the large advertising board in London’s Euston mainline station is switched off, as part, she said of tasking Network Rail with “a clear plan to immediately improve conditions for passengers.”
The station has come in for renewed recent criticism, not least of which for replacing the main departures board in front of the platforms with a giant billboard, and relegating train information to a smaller number of screens seemingly plonked at random in the station.
Gwyn Topham, our transport correspondent, has more here: Euston station’s big advertising screens turned off after overcrowding fears
