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Trump tells UK ‘you’ll have to start learning to fight for yourself’ amid soaring oil prices – UK politics live | Politics
Trump tells UK ‘you’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself’ in taunt over fuel oil shortages
Donald Trump has resumed his taunting of the UK, and Keir Starmer, over Britain’s Iran policy. The president (who regularly says things which are untrue) has just posted this on this Truth Social platform saying the British will “have to start learning how to fight for yourself” because the US won’t be there to help in future.
Key events
Yvette Cooper says Israel wrong to pass law imposing death penalty on Palestinians guilty of fatal attacks
Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, has criticised the Israeli parliament’s decision to a law imposing the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of fatal attacks. In a post on social media, she says the UK issued a joint statement with Germany, France and Italy condemning the legislation before the final vote.
My statement with France, Germany and Italy on our united opposition to Israel’s death penalty law.
The death penalty is wrong and we oppose it around the world.
Buckingham Palace confirms king’s state visit to US going ahead next month, with Charles addressing Congress
The king’s state visit to the US is to go ahead next month as planned, Buckingham Palace has finally confirmed. The Press Association says:
Charles and the queen’s long-expected historic trip to see Donald Trump will take place in late April despite calls for it to be postponed because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
It will be the king’s first visit to the US as monarch and the first state visit by a British sovereign to America for nearly 20 years, since Queen Elizabeth II’s tour in 2007.
Charles and Camilla will commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence, attend a glittering state dinner at the White House, and the king will address Congress, the Palace confirmed.
But exact dates and details have yet to be disclosed.
Buckingham Palace said:
On advice of His Majesty’s government, and at the invitation of the President of the United States, the king and queen will undertake a State Visit to the United States of America.
Their Majesties’ programme will celebrate the historic connections and the modern bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States, marking the 250th anniversary of American Independence.
The king will then continue to Bermuda to undertake His Majesty’s first Royal Visit as Monarch to a British Overseas Territory.
Greenpeace UK criticise Reform UK’s pledge to get rid of air passenger duty
Greenpeace UK has criticised Reform UK for proposing to get rid of air passenger duty. (See 11.23am.) Lily-Rose Ellis, a climate campaigner for Greenpeace, said:
As Trump’s war causes price spikes and flight cancellations, it won’t surprise anyone to see Farage rush to point the finger at taxes. This policy fits perfectly with Reform’s brand of rightwing populism, which seems surprisingly closely aligned to the commercial interests of their wealthy donors and the sleaze we saw from the last government.
Not only does Christopher Harborne, the UK’s biggest political donor who gave Reform £12m in the last financial year, sell aviation fuel, but Heathrow gave Reform £36,000 last year too.
The idea that this is the party that is going to take on the elites in defence of the common man is transparent nonsense, they’re the Tory plan B, with the same policies, the same scapegoats, the same rhetoric, the same donors and the same MPs.
Zack Polanski says Greens could be ‘kingmakers’ in Senedd after election because they are likely to hold balance of power
Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, has said that his party could be the “kingmakers” in the Senedd after the election because they are likely to hold the balance of power.
Speaking at the launch of his party’s campaign in Wales, Polanski said:
The Greens could be the kingmakers at this election.
What does that mean? That means we know there will be a new government in Cardiff Bay.
What the colour of that government looks like, and the mix is ultimately up to the voters, but we’re being very clear – every single Green that is elected to the Senedd will be a Green in those negotiations.
A YouGov MRP poll released last week suggests that Plaid Cymru will be the biggest party in the Senedd after the election (with 43 seats), but that to have a majority (49 seats) it will need the support of either Labour (on 12 seats, the poll predicts) or the Greens (10 seats).
These figures seem to imply that a Plaid/Labour deal of some sort would be just as appealing to Plaid as a Plaid/Green deal.
But Plaid are closer to the Greens on policy than they are to Labour. Even though Plaid has in the past been in coalition with Labour, and supported Labour in a cooperation deal, there is some acrimony in the relationship. And Plaid are promising “change” after 27-years of Labour-led government since devolution, and governing with Labour would make them look more like a continuity administration.
Anthony Slaughter, leader of the Greens in Wales, said Green MSs would be deciding the direction of the next Welsh government and said the party was “already shifting” Plaid Cymru’s position on some policy matters.
Trump tells UK ‘you’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself’ in taunt over fuel oil shortages
Donald Trump has resumed his taunting of the UK, and Keir Starmer, over Britain’s Iran policy. The president (who regularly says things which are untrue) has just posted this on this Truth Social platform saying the British will “have to start learning how to fight for yourself” because the US won’t be there to help in future.
Streeting claims deal with BMA to avert resident doctors’ strike still possible
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has insisted that a deal with the BMA to avert the resident doctors’s strike in England is still possible. In a post on social media responding to the BMA’s reaction to the PM’s article about the strike (see 9.36am), Streeting said:
The BMA seems surprised that if they reject the deal on offer and go on strike their members don’t get what the Government is offering.
We have time before Easter weekend to resolve this dispute.
A deal on jobs and pay is on the table.
Trump ‘not dictating policy to me’, says Farage
At the end of his press conference Nigel Farage was asked if he was worried that his association with Donald Trump would hurt him electorally.
Farage said that he could not pretend not to know Trump. He said he admired some of the things Trump had done, on the border and on energy policy in particular. There were other things Trump had done that he did not agree with, he said, without specifying what. He went on:
He is not dictating policy to me. I’m dictating policy to me.
Farage said he also thought close links between the UK and the US were “absolutely vital”.
Farage says he’s opposed to youth mobility deal with EU, claiming it’s ‘just attempt to completely undo Brexit’
Q: [From the Guardian] Would you keep the youth mobility scheme that the government is negotiating with the EU, or would you repeal it?
Farage says he does not support the proposals because “this will always be one way traffic”. He says there will be three or four times as many Europeans coming to Britain as Britons going to Europe.
There are more exciting parts of the world for young British people to visit, he says. “Europe isn’t actually very sexy any more,” he says.
He says the Spanish made a “catastrophic error” by granting an amnesty to migrants in the country illegally. He goes on:
We are living in an age of increased global insecurity where national borders and protecting national interests matters more and more. And I think the youth mobility scheme falls at that first hurdle, if at nothing else.
And it’s just an attempt by the government to completely undo Brexit.
And Jenrick says, instead of letting young European people come to the UK to work, the government should be prioritising finding jobs for British people.
Q: Are you worried that Reform UK’s support is mainly coming from older people, not younger people?
Farage does not accept this. He claims the polling shows that his party’s support among young people is almost as high as it is amongst voters as a whole.
And by the way, if [Labour] do lower the vote to 16, the Greens will do very well. We will do well and Labour will do terribly.
Farage rejects claim election candidate controversies mean Reform UK’s vetting procedures flawed
Q: Do you think Reform UK’s candidate vetting processes have been inadequate, given that a candidate in Wales has had to stand down after a picture emerged of him giving a Nazi salute?
Farage defends the party’s vetting process.
We vet people. We ask them to tell us the truth. We asked them for their social media handles. We do all those things.
Sometimes people lie to you and they might be using social media handles that you have no way of finding.
He says a Plaid Cymru candidate has already stood down, and he predicts the party will have more problems with candidates.
This is a problem for all parties. He goes on:
I think we’re dealing with it as effectively, if not more effectively, than the others.
(The questioner did not ask about Scotland, where five Reform candidates have already stood down or been suspended.)
Farage says he thinks Keir Starmer has been right to adopt a tough position with the BMA over the proposed resident doctors’ strike. He says:
Unusually Keir Starmer has taken a strong position. There’s a first time for everything I suppose.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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