Key events
John Swinney has reaffirmed his government’s commitment to sustainable food production amid “significant change” in the farming sector, before a visit to the Royal Highland show, reports the PA news agency.
The first minister is due to attend the annual showcase of food, farming and rural life on Thursday, where he is expected to meet groups representing various rural aspects of Scotland.
Speaking before the visit, Swinney said it was his government’s ambition to be a “global leader” in sustainable agriculture, which he said would be achieved by working in partnership with the sector to transform support for farmers and crofters.
He also said there was a “stark contrast” between Scotland’s commitment to farming, which he said amounted to £600m and included “direct support”, with the approach of the UK government.
Swinney said:
Our ambition is for Scotland to be a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture. To do that we are working in partnership with the sector to transform the support we give to our farmers and crofters.
The Royal Highland show is our chance to showcase the absolute best of food produce, farming excellence and all of the industries that support our rural communities.
I want to clearly repeat our commitment to sustainable food production, with more than £600m annually, including maintaining direct support – in stark contrast to the UK government approach.
Since I was here last year, our farming sector and rural communities have seen significant change with the imposition of inheritance tax changes in agriculture and an incredibly challenging settlement for Scotland over the next three to four years from the recent UK spending review.
Here in Scotland, we are committed to maintaining reformed direct payments, supporting sustainable food production and providing vital stability to our rural communities.
Attorney general warns UK joining war on Iran may be illegal
Eleni Courea
Britain’s attorney general has warned ministers that getting involved in Israel’s war against Iran could be illegal beyond offering defensive support, it has emerged.
Richard Hermer, the government’s most senior legal officer, is understood to have raised concerns internally about the legality of joining a bombing campaign against Iran.
An official who has seen Hermer’s official legal advice told the Spectator, which first reported the story, that “the AG has concerns about the UK playing any role in this except for defending our allies”.
Keir Starmer is considering whether to provide the US with military support if Donald Trump decides to bomb Iran, and whether to approve the use of the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean for the attack. Hermer’s advice could limit the degree of UK support for the US.
A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office said:
By longstanding convention, reflected in the ministerial code, whether the law officers have been asked to provide legal advice and the content of any advice is not routinely disclosed.
The convention provides the fullest guarantee that government business will be conducted at all times in light of thorough and candid legal advice.
Doctor Who actor Ncuti Gatwa, Judi Dench and Nobel peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai have added their names to an open letter urging the prime minister to suspend arms sales to Israel.
According to the PA news agency, the trio are among a number of celebrities who have added their signatories to the letter, published by refugee charity Choose Love last month, and already signed by stars including Dua Lipa and Benedict Cumberbatch. Four hundred people have now signed the letter, with the new signatories including actors Stanley Tucci and Florence Pugh, former England rugby captain Chris Robshaw and musicians Paul Weller and Self Esteem.
As well as suspending UK arms sales to Israel, the letter calls on Keir Starmer to “use all available means” to ensure humanitarian aid gets in to the territory. It also urges the prime minister to “make a commitment to the children of Gaza” that he would broker an “immediate and permanent ceasefire”.
Josie Naughton, CEO of Choose Love, said:
Since we urged the Government to end its complicity in the horrors of Gaza, more people have added their voice to our call.
We cannot be silent while children are being killed and families are being starved.
Ministers have already suspended licences for some arms sales to Israel but activists have demanded that the government goes further, imposing a total ban including on parts for the F-35 jet. But the government has said halting the export of spare F-35 parts is not possible as the UK is part of a global supply network and cannot control where those parts end up.
Naughton added:
The situation is changing by the second, but until the UK government has halted all arms sales and licences to Israel, ensured that humanitarian aid can reach people starving inside Gaza and stopped the killing, they will not have done enough.
According to the PA news agency, a government spokesperson said:
We strongly oppose the expansion of military operations in Gaza and call on the Israeli government to cease its offensive and immediately allow for unfettered access to humanitarian aid. The denial of essential humanitarian blockistance to the civilian population in Gaza is unacceptable and risks breaching international humanitarian law.
Last year, we suspended export licences to Israel for items used in military operations in Gaza and continue to refuse licences for military goods that could be used by Israel in the current conflict.
We urge all parties to urgently agree a ceasefire agreement and work towards a permanent and sustainable peace.
UK ministers to restart approval process for two North Sea oilfields
Helena Horton
Ministers will restart the approval process for two controversial oilfields on Thursday, even as new figures show the UK will be almost entirely dependent on foreign gas by 2050 regardless of whether they are approved.
Michael Shanks, the energy security minister, will on Thursday announce the results of a government consultation on the giant Rosebank field and the smaller Jackdaw one, in a move the industry says will set the tone for the future of production in the North Sea.
The announcement comes as new figures from the climate group Uplift suggest Britain will be almost entirely dependent on foreign gas by 2050, even if the fields are given the green light.
One oil and gas industry source said:
This consultation is not about decisions on specific projects but it’s about how and if we as an industry can continue to produce oil and gas in the UK.
Tessa Khan, the executive director of Uplift, said:
This Labour government needs to do the right thing and stand up to the oil and gas firms that have got obscenely rich while millions of people in the UK have struggled, and stop their endless polluting. All eyes are now on the government to see if this guidance provides a credible climate test.
Government sources said they expected the consultation response to be relatively technical and not to give an indication about whether the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, intends to approve the schemes if their developers do reapply for consent.
However, industry sources say they are watching keenly for what the government says about how much power Miliband will have over the decision, whether it distinguishes between oil and gas production and what mitigations it suggests companies could put in place.
Asked if she believes the attorney general is right to sound a warning (see 8.44am BST), Priti Patel said the UK cannot “hide behind legal advice at a time of crisis”.
Patel told Times Radio:
I don’t think we can hide behind legal advice at a time of crisis and national security when we have to work alongside our biggest ally in the world, the United States, when they look to us for potentially … setting out operational activities through our own military bases.
Patel: Tories would support UK joining fight against Iran if Starmer deems it necessary
Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said the Conservative party would support the government in joining the military fight against Iran if it was deemed necessary, reports the PA news agency.
Asked whether she would agree if the UK joined the offensive, she told Good Morning Britain:
While we want peace in the region, we’re crystal clear that Iran should not be able to obtain nuclear weapons.
And if the government judges that such action is necessary to avoid that then we would absolutely support the government if it deemed it necessary to ensure that we can defend our country, our citizens and effectively a lot of our strategic equities in the Middle East region.
She said she believed the opposition would be able to hold the government to account without a vote in parliament on such a decision.
Meanwhile, energy minister Miatta Fahnbulleh said that Keir Starmer will be a “cool, calm head” guided by international law in response to the Israel-Iran crisis.
According to the PA news agency, Fahnbulleh told Times Radio:
Legal advice is for the prime minister, and I think that’s where it will stay and you can understand why I won’t comment on that. But what I will say is that we have a prime minister who is a lawyer and a human rights lawyer, he will obviously do everything that is in accord with international law.
No one wants an escalation. No one wants this to erupt into a major conflict in the region that is hugely destabilising for every country involved and for us, globally. So the most important role that the prime minister can play, and is playing, is to be that cool, calm head, to urge all partners around the negotiating table and to find a diplomatic route out of this.
The attorney general, Richard Hermer, is reported to have raised concerns about any potential UK involvement in the conflict beyond defending its allies, something which could limit any support for the US if Donald Trump decides to bomb Iranian nuclear sites.
Patel also told Good Morning Britain that the government needs to “step up” the evacuation of British nationals in Israel. She said:
I think the current government’s response is not sufficient and if families of embblocky staff and personnel are being evacuated then I think the same facilities must be extended to our citizens.
More on all of the above in a moment, but first, here are some other developments:
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The UK government will have to sign off on the US use of its Diego Garcia base in any bombing raid on Iran, it has emerged, as ministers gathered to discuss a range of scenarios amid further increasing tensions in the region. The prime minster chaired an emergency Cobra meeting to discuss the UK’s response to the crisis in the Middle East which could escalate further should the US enter the conflict between Israel and Iran.
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The foreign secretary is scheduled to meet his US counterpart in Washington. David Lammy and secretary of state Marco Rubio will discuss the Middle East as potential American involvement in the conflict looms.
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The MP behind the blockisted dying bill will be joined by bereaved and terminally ill people as she makes her case for a change in the law before a crucial vote on Friday. Kim Leadbeater is expected to re-state her argument that dying people must be given choice at the end of their lives, but opponents of her bill have warned it fails to guarantee protections for society’s most vulnerable.
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Britain’s benefits system faces collapse without cuts to disability payments, Liz Kendall has said, as the government published plans that put it on a collision course with dozens of angry Labour MPs.
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Ministers will restart the approval process for two controversial oilfields on Thursday, even as new figures show the UK will be almost entirely dependent on foreign gas by 2050 regardless of whether they are approved.
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The Bank of England is predicted to keep UK interest rates at 4.25% on Thursday amid rising food inflation and the threat of surging oil prices pushing up the cost of living. Most economists think the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) will opt to keep rates on hold when it meets on Thursday.
