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Here is a summary from today’s blog:
Ukraine is fighting for the same values as the allies did in the second world war, Keir Starmer has said before a summit in Alaska between US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin. Addressing a reception in Downing Street, including veterans, to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, which marked the allies’ defeat of Japan, the prime minister said: “I sat on this terrace this very morning with President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy, who is fighting for the same values as we were fighting for. And so when we say never forget, we must pass on the stories of those who have gone before us.”
Nigel Farage has called for the right to nominate Reform UK supporters to the House of Lords, claiming this would address a “democratic disparity”. The demand was dismissed by the defence secretary, John Healey, who said parliament would not benefit from “more Putin apologists”. Downing Street has yet to respond to Farage’s demand, but speaking on LBC on Friday, Healey said Farage wanted to fill the Lords with “his cronies”. He also pointed out that Farage had previously called for the abolition of the Lords.
Healey said the talks between Trump and Putin were “first steps” towards a potential peace which could lead to “serious negotiations” which involve Ukraine in the future. Asked whether Friday’s meeting between the two leaders in Alaska – and a possible joint press conference – was simply a “reward” for Putin, the defence secretary told Times Radio: “It’s a recognition that you can only end fighting by talking. And to have talking and serious negotiation, it requires someone to broker those talks.” During the media rounds on Friday, the defence secretary dismissed suggestions that the UK’s approach to the Ukraine war was to “watch and wait”.
Healey also said suggestions that Russian occupation in parts of Ukraine and a minerals deal featuring in any truce were “all hypotheticals”. Asked whether the UK would back those ideas, the defence secretary told Sky News: “I think those are all hypotheticals. This is, as President Trump said, a first meeting, there’s an important principle, once serious negotiations start, that there can be no decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
Asylum seekers locked in detention centres as part of Labour’s “one in, one out” deal have said they had not heard of the scheme before arriving in the UK on small boats and were terrified of being returned to their home countries. Starmer has said the plan to send one small boat arrival back to France in exchange for accepting another to live in the UK would deter the thousands from crossing the Channel.
A Labour councillor who called for far-right activists’ throats to be cut at an anti-racism rally after the Southport murders has been found not guilty of encouraging violent disorder. Ricky Jones, 58, faced trial at Snaresbrook crown court accused of the offence after he described demonstrators as “disgusting Nazi fascists”. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused the government of appearing to be “quite happy with two-tier justice” after Jones was found not guilty of inciting violent disorder.
The theologian who accused Robert Jenrick of xenophobia on the BBC has invited the shadow justice minister to work with him to ease tensions over migration rather than “ramping up anti-immigrant sentiment”. Dr Krish Kandiah’s comments on Radio 4’s Thought for the Day, raising concerns about Jenrick’s remarks about the safety of his daughters because of small boat arrivals, caused a row after a complaint from the shadow justice secretary, with the item being retrospectively edited by the BBC.
Environment minister Emma Hardy has said she is “hugely disappointed” that negotiations for the world’s first treaty to combat plastic pollution ended once again in failure. Delegates were seeking to complete a legally binding international agreement on Thursday after 10 days of what was meant to be the final round of UN talks in Geneva, Switzerland. But the gavel came down in overtime on Friday morning with no deal reached after negotiators struggled to break a deadlock over key issues.
Ministers have vowed to tackle England’s “entrenched” educational gaps that are leaving some regions and groups trailing far behind their peers and closing off options such as university for many of their school leavers. A-level results published on Thursday showed an improving national picture, with a higher proportion of young people gaining top grades. But the improvements faded outside London, the south-east and big cities.
Campaigners including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and Quakers in Britain have written to the attorney general asking for prosecution decisions of those arrested at the London march at the weekend to be delayed until after further legal action over Palestine Action’s proscription. A high court hearing is to take place in November challenging the group’s ban as a terror organisation.
The government will not provide grant funding to the UK’s two largest bioethanol producers, the Department for Business and Trade said, leaving the future of the plants in jeopardy. Vivergo Fuels, near Hull, has said it is facing closure within weeks after the decision to end the 19% tariff on American bioethanol imports as part of the recent UK-US trade deal. A spokesperson for Associated British Foods, which owns Vivergo, said a government decision not to grant funding was “deeply regrettable”.
The Green party won the Grangetown Cardiff council byelection, gaining a seat from Labour. Marking the victory on X, the party congratulated Matt Youde of the Cardiff Green party on being elected in the Grangetown ward. He received 24% of the vote, beating Labour’s Khuram Chowdhry.
Struggling Thames Water has said a new reservoir in Oxfordshire could cost more than three times the original budget, pushing the eventual cost to be covered by bill-payers to as much as £7.5bn. In a blow to government plans for an expansion in the number of reservoirs across south-east England, the heavily indebted utility said a review of the Abingdon project had sent the estimated cost of construction from £2.2bn to between £5.5bn and £7.5bn.
An arts venue has said it has not banned Scotland’s deputy first minister Kate Forbes from the building after a row over her speaking at an event. The deputy first minister is a devout Christian and a member of the socially conservative Free Church of Scotland, and she was criticised during her SNP leadership battle for her stance on gay marriage, abortion and trans rights. In an email to artists on the day of the event, Summerhall said Herald Unspun was programmed before the lineup of interviewees was confirmed. It described the booking as an “oversight” and said it “should have considered the likelihood of her being booked to attend, and the understandable upset it would cause”.
Updated
Britain’s biggest bailiff company overcharged people it was pursuing for unpaid debts and has been forced to launch a refunds programme, the Guardian can reveal.
Marston Holdings, which is used by companies and state-funded bodies including Transport for London to recover debts and fines, has apologised to consumers after overcharging “enforcement fees” related to unpaid road traffic penalties it was chasing.
Marston works with dozens of local authorities as well as official bodies including TfL, HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and Highways England (now National Highways). It boasts of recovering “over £850m each year on behalf of the taxpayer” and also works for private companies.
TfL said Marston “are not carrying out any enforcement work for us at the moment. Their contract is under review.”
The UK bailiff sector is big business: every year, millions of people are on the receiving end of enforcement action, with data showing there were 8 million cases in 2024, with a total value of £5.2bn. In 2023 the Guardian reported that the profits of leading bailiff firms had seen risen to record levels during the cost of living crisis.
It is estimated that well over half of the cases where bailiffs are called in involve unpaid road traffic and parking fines and penalties, including congestion charges and penalties relating to Ulez (ultra-low emission zone) and driving in a bus lane.
