What you need to know
European Commission boss and Starmer to discuss migration
Ursula von der Leyen said that she also wanted to discuss migration with Sir Keir Starmer as part of their meeting.
Speaking from Downing Street, the president of the European Commission said: “We share the same objective, we have always fulfilled our international obligations.
“We have done this in the past, we do this today, and we will do it tomorrow, but it is we Europeans who decide on who is coming to Europe, and under what circumstances and not the smugglers.”
No ‘personality disagreements’ with Jenrick, Badenoch says
Kemi Badenoch has denied that there were any “personality disagreements” between her and Robert Jenrick after a recording was released yesterday in which he called for a “coalition” of Conservative and Reform UK voters.
Asked whether she had spoken to Jenrick, she told broadcasters in Nottinghamshire: “There’s nothing for me to say to him. I did actually see him yesterday. We had a very good conversation. People are always trying to create personality disagreements which just aren’t there. He is a valued member of the team, he works very hard and he is holding Labour’s feet to the fire and holding the government to account in the shadow justice role and that’s what I want to see.”
Meanwhile, the Conservative leader has said that people who play music out loud on public transport are unlikely to be able to afford £1,000 fines, Kemi Badenoch has said.
The Liberal Democrats have called for tougher antisocial behaviour laws that would see “headphone dodgers” face penalties of up to £1,000, with the Government suggesting it could be open to the proposal.
But speaking to reporters on Thursday, the Conservative leader suggested “people who do those things” would not be able to afford the fine.
UK ‘could join European security programme’
Ursula von der Leyen has suggested talks with Sir Keir Starmer could “pave the way” to the UK joining a European security programme.
Speaking from Downing Street, the president of the European Commission said: “Europe has to step up its defence expenditure, we will discuss that.
“I very much welcome that quite a few number of countries have recently announced a substantial increase of defence expenditure.
“And bilaterally, of course, we will discuss work on a strategic security and defence partnership agreement, which might pave the way then to a joint procurement and UK participation in our Safe programme.”
Starmer ‘really pleased’ about EU relationship reset
Sir Keir Starmer has said he is “really pleased” that the UK and the EU have committed to “reset” their relationship.
Welcoming his “friend” and president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to Downing Street following the energy security summit, the prime minister said: “In a world which seems increasingly unstable with an uncertain future, it is so good that we are working so closely together on so many issues.”
He pointed to defence and Ukraine, adding: “I’m really pleased that we’ve committed to a reset of our relationship, a really important relationship, which I think will be of huge benefit to both of us.”
We will make our own green energy, Starmer pledges
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to fix the UK’s reliance on overseas fossil fuels, which he says has caused insecurity.
Speaking at the global energy summit, the prime minister said that fluxes in fossil fuel prices had helped to cause multiple recessions in the UK since the 1970s.
“Old assumptions have fallen away, and we’re living through an era of global instability, which is felt by working people as an age of local insecurity,” he said.
He urged private investment to look to the UK as it builds green energy infrastructure. “It’s really clear to me that investors want policy certainty, they want ambition — and that’s what we’re providing.”
“Build it in Britain. I’m determined to seize this opportunity to win our share of this trillion dollar market and secure the next generation of great jobs.”
Ofcom is ‘prioritising business over children’s safety’
Ofcom’s codes of practice to protect children from online harms “prioritise the business interests of technology companies over children’s safety”, the children’s commissioner has said.
Dame Rachel de Souza said that she was disappointed to see the regulator had not significantly strengthened the codes since draft proposals were first published last year, when she “made it very clear” that they were not strong enough to protect children from the multitude of harms they are exposed to online every day.
She said: “As children’s commissioner, I have spoken to more than a million young people as well as parents and school leaders, and the dangers of the online world remain one of their biggest concerns. I don’t believe this code will do enough to allay those fears.
“If companies can’t make online spaces safe for children, then they shouldn’t be in them. Children should not be expected to police the online world themselves.”
Policy disagreements should not stand in the way of trade deal, says chancellor
Rachel Reeves has told an American broadcaster that she is “confident” a deal can be done with the US to reduce the tariffs on the UK.
“We don’t always agree with the policy prescriptions and we’re seeking a deal that reduces the trade barriers between our countries,” the chancellor told Newsmax.
“But I am confident that a deal can be done, that our strong relationship when it comes to defence, when it comes to security and when it comes to the economy and prosperity, means that we can strike a deal.”
Von der Leyen to UK: ‘We are friends’
Ursula von der Leyen has arrived in London to meet with Sir Keir Starmer in preparation for an EU-UK Summit in May.
In a post on X, alongside a photo of her disembarking from the Eurostar, the president of the EU Commission wrote: “We are friends. And we are Europeans.
“It means that we share interests and democratic values. And that we are ready to face global challenges as like-minded partners.”
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UK ‘continues to play leading role’ in global affairs, says PM
It is “hugely important” for the UK to play a leading role in defence, security, trade and the economy, the prime minister said.
Speaking onboard the HMS Prince of Wales, Sir Keir Starmer said: “It’s hugely important for the UK to play a leading role, as we are playing on this deployment.
“It shows our capability, it shows our sense of global leadership on defence and security, but also on trade and the economy — we’re a free trading nation.”
Starmer on board Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier
The prime minister visited the Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier as it prepared to head towards the Indo-Pacific.
Sir Keir Starmer boarded the HMS Prince of Wales alongside the defence secretary John Healey.
The two men talked to naval officers on the flight deck ahead of the carrier’s eight-month operational deployment.
Starmer said: “[It’s] a real statement to our adversaries of UK leadership on global issues, on security and defence, but also a real show of unity with our allies, particularly our Nato allies that we’re working with.”
The ship is setting out as part of a Joint Carrier Group, and will work with 30 countries during its eight-month deployment, including allies Norway, Canada, Spain and New Zealand.
EU youth mobility scheme ‘not part of plans’
A youth mobility scheme with the EU is not in the government’s plans, a minister has said.
Speaking in the Commons, the Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds told MPs that such a scheme was “not part of our plans”.
“We have always said we listen to sensible EU proposals, but we will not go back to freedom of movement,” he said, adding that the government was pursuing a new partnership with the EU which will make the UK “safer, more secure and more prosperous”.
More than 60 Labour backbenchers have signed a letter calling for “a new and bespoke youth visa scheme” for UK and European citizens under 30.
Ecotricity founder: ‘Zonal energy is madness’
Dale Vince has described the idea of zonal energy pricing as “madness”.
The founder of Ecotricity and Labour donor said: “Tens of millions could end up paying more for their energy than they do now. It makes no sense when Labour’s mission is about cutting bills for all rather than a few.
“Zonal pricing is being presented as a solution, but it’s madness. Fragmenting our energy market into 12 different regions would create complexity, delays and unfairness.
“I think this plan has been written up in a windowless room with no connection to the real world.
“If the government is serious about lowering energy bills, we have far more sensible and effective options — chief among them ‘breaking the link’ between the price of gas and the price of all our electricity.”
Do I trust tech firms? I can’t say, says technology minister
The technology secretary has refused to say whether he trusts major tech companies.
Asked directly by Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio 5 Live, Peter Kyle said: “It’s not my job whether I say whether I trust them or not — it’s my job to implement the law and say whether the law is adhered to. That is my job.
“There are tens of thousands of people, and if you look at a group of tens of thousands of people you are going to find people in there of all different character and all different trustworthiness.”
No blanket ban on social media for under-16s
Peter Kyle said that the government would not support a blanket ban on under-16s using social media.
The technology secretary said that he believes decisions about when children should access social media should be left to parents.
Speaking to Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: “I’m trying to get the balance right between giving parents the freedom to be parents but also having absolute backstops. Porn going into young children’s hands — that’s a backstop. Violent misogynistic content — that’s a backstop.
“If government can get the fundamentals right, that can give parents the freedom to introduce children to social media and some of the developmental potential. Most platforms are available from 13 plus — parents should decide if it’s 13, 14, even up to 18.”
Net zero policies are harmful, US official claims
A US government official has claimed at the global energy summit in London that net zero policies are “harmful and dangerous”.
Tommy Joyce, theacting assistant secretary of international affairs, said: “Some want to regulate every form of energy besides the so-called renewables, completely out of existence and in favour of a net zero. We oppose these harmful and dangerous policies. This is not energy security, and we know exactly where it leads.”
He added that building wind turbines required “concessions to or coercion from China” as the country is needed for its rare minerals.
Miliband: We need clean power to stay safe
Ed Milband has told a global energy summit in London that the UK’s clean power push is about security as much as fighting climate change.
The energy secretary told delegates: “As long as energy can be weaponised against us, our countries and our citizens are vulnerable and exposed.
“Our vision of low carbon power goes well beyond the climate imperative. Ours is a hard-headed approach to the role of low carbon power as a route to energy security.”
Miliband was speaking at a two-day summit co-hosted by the government and the International Energy Agency. Ministers from Australia, France, Italy, Germany and Japan in addition to bosses from oil companies such as BP, ExxonMobil and Shell are set to attend.
Energy summit underway with message from the King
Ed Miliband shared a message from the King as an international energy summit began in London.
The energy secretary said that King Charles had asked him to read out a message to attendees because he was “really interested” in the summit.
Quoting the King, Miliband said: “As we all navigate the transition to cleaner energy for our planet and energy security for our citizens, summits such as these are vital for facilitating shared learning between nations, particularly those in the global south and across the Commonwealth.
“Events over recent years have shown that when well-managed, the transition to more sustainable energy sources can itself lead to more resilient and secure energy systems.
“While each country will follow an individual path, there are many shared challenges and opportunities on which we can work together as partners.”
Ofcom’s online safety rules ‘nowhere near enough’
The prime minister needs to step in on online safety for children, Molly Russell’s father has urged.
Ian Russell, the father of 14-year-old Molly who took her own life after viewing thousands of images promoting suicide and self-harm, also told Times Radio that he had “lost trust” in the technology secretary Peter Kyle.
Russell said that Ofcom’s new rules to protect children online were “nowhere near enough to prevent deaths like my daughter Molly’s”.
He said: “Every week that Keir Starmer delays doing something about it, there’s online research about online activities that show there’s another young child in the UK that has lost their lives with a connection to online harms.”
Russell added that he has “pretty much lost trust” in Kyle as although the technology secretary was “deeply concerned”, his priority was “to build trade and to build data centres, for example, and invest in big tech”.
Rani Govender, policy manager for child safety online at the NSPCC, said that the new Ofcom rules were a “pivotal moment” but “unless Ofcom goes further to deliver the strong protections children need and deserve, they will continue to face preventable harm online”.
Duffield: ‘Starmer should apologise over trans issue’
The former Labour MP Rosie Duffield said that Sir Keir Starmer should have apologised to her over their disagreement on trans issues.
The prime minister refused to apologise to Duffield, who resigned from the party in September over its position on gender and sex, at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday after he U-turned on his view that transgender women are women following a Supreme Court ruling that a woman is defined by biological sex.
• Keir Starmer’s many U-turns — from tax to trans rights
Duffield told Times Radio: “He’s been asked about it for about four years just in terms of good politics. If I were him I’d just have done it and then no one gets to ask that question over and over and over again. But also it would be just quite nice and quite good manners.”
When Starmer’s remarks at PMQ’s that “we should treat everyone with dignity and respect” were put to her, Duffield said that “absolutely isn’t how I was treated”.
She also said that she was “not convinced” that politics was Sir Keir Starmer’s thing as he had “no obvious political views on anything much”.
Reeves prepared to slash car and farm tariffs to seal US deal
Britain is prepared to slash tariffs on US cars and agricultural products such as beef and chicken to secure a trade deal.
Rachel Reeves said on Wednesday that she wanted to see trade barriers between the UK and the US reduced as part of negotiations with the Trump administration. Ministers are understood to be willing to reduce long-standing UK import tariffs of 10 per cent on cars and 12 per cent on agricultural products.
“I want to see tariff and non-tariff barriers reduced between the UK and the US,” Reeves told the BBC before a meeting on Thursday with Scott Bessent, President Trump’s most senior economic official.
• Read in full: Chancellor considers reducing import tariffs
Trump is a swaggering bully, says Shapps
The former defence minister Grant Shapps has said that he has “some theories” as to why President Trump “seems to support the tyrant” President Putin, but he is barred by the Official Secrets Act from sharing why.
He told Times Radio: “I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch, and many of your listeners will already know because it’s publicly reported that he’s had previous run-ins with Kyiv, unrelated to the war, and people may come to their own theories as to why he seemed to be in cahoots with Putin, who after all is a dictator who wants a completely different type of world to the one which has been constructed after the Second World War.”
Shapps added that he found it “really disgusting” that the leader of the free world is “coming out as nothing more than a swaggering bully and choosing tyranny over democracy”.
Farage: ‘I’m eating the Tories for breakfast’
Nigel Farage has said he is “eating the Tories for breakfast” before the local elections on May 1.
In a post on X, the Reform UK leader shared a photo of himself eating a bowl of “Special Kemi”, a take on the popular breakfast cereal Special K.
Farage tagged Sir Keir Starmer in the post.
Miliband refuses to rule out ‘postcode pricing’
Ed Miliband has refused to rule out zonal pricing for parts of the country based on local energy supply and demand.
The energy secretary told Sky News that he would make a “calm and considered decision” on zonal pricing, which reportedly could lead to higher bills in places such as the southeast of England compared with Scotland.
Miliband insisted his aim was to cut energy bills in a “way that’s fair”. Speaking to LBC, he added: “I’m not going to take a decision that is going to raise prices in some parts of the country. That is not what I’m going to do.”
