United Kingdom

British environment minister Coffey resigns in reshuffle

LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - British environment secretary Therese Coffey resigned on Monday as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reshuffled his top team of ministers.

"I consider it is now the right time to step back from government," Coffey said in a letter to Sunak which was published by his office.

Coffey has held several ministerial jobs including health minister and work and pensions minister, and also served as deputy prime minister under Sunak's predecessor Liz Truss.

In a letter responding to Coffey, Sunak thanked her for "dedicated service".

Former PM David Cameron appointed as Britain's new foreign secretary

LONDON, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Former British Prime Minister David Cameron was appointed as Britain's new foreign secretary on Monday amid Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's cabinet reshuffle.

Cameron succeeds James Cleverly, who has replaced Suella Braverman as the new home secretary. Braverman came under fire over her immigration policies and her criticism of police actions at recent demonstrations.

The British government said Cameron will be appointed to the House of Lords, the upper chamber of the Parliament.

UK: PM Sunak sacks Suella Braverman as Home Secretary

London, Nov 13 (PTI) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday sacked his Indian-origin Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, days after it emerged that a controversial newspaper article attacking the Metropolitan Police was published without clearance from her boss, according to reports coming out from Downing Street.

UK: London police clash with counter-protesters as tensions rise over a pro-Palestinian peace march

LONDON (AP) — Palestinian supporters marched peacefully through central London on Saturday, even as right-wing counter-protesters clashed with police, after a week of angry debate over whether to permit the demonstration on a day when Britain honored its war dead.

The day unfolded in a backdrop of tensions fueled by Home Secretary Suella Braverman who earlier this week characterized pro-Palestinian demonstrations as “hate marches” and called for Saturday’s event to be blocked out of respect for Armistice Day events marking the end of World War I.

UK PM Sunak under pressure to sack interior minister over police criticism

LONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was under growing pressure on Friday to sack one of his most senior ministers, Suella Braverman, after she published an inflammatory article attacking the police's handling of a planned pro-Palestinian march.

Braverman, the home secretary responsible for policing and national security, has a long history of making controversial statements that have alienated her more moderate colleagues.

British judge says Prince Harry’s lawsuit against Daily Mail publisher can go to trial

LONDON (AP) — A British judge ruled Friday that a lawsuit by Prince Harry, Elton John and five other celebrities accusing a newspaper publisher of unlawful information-gathering should go to a full trial.

The claimants, who include John’s husband David Furnish and actors Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost, accuse the publisher of the Daily Mail of paying private investigators to illegally bug homes and cars and to record phone conversations.

UK: MBDA's British arm signs $5 bln deal to bolster Poland's air defence system

LONDON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - The British arm of defence firm MBDA has signed a 4 billion pound ($4.92 billion) deal to supply Poland with ground-based air defence systems, the British government said on Tuesday.

Britain's Ministry of Defence said the partnership would boost Poland's Narew air defence programme and help bolster European security amid the conflict in Ukraine.

Law and order and the economy are focus of the British government’s King’s Speech

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Conservative government set out a pre-election policy slate including tougher sentences for serious crimes and promises of elusive economic growth on Tuesday in a speech delivered by King Charles III at the grand State Opening of Parliament.

Brexit leaves UK-EU trade unscathed: IEA report

LONDON, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- The United Kingdom's (UK) departure from the European Union (EU) has not damaged trade between the country and the region, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) said in a report published on Monday.

"The UK's trade patterns with the EU fail to show a Brexit effect, either since the referendum or at the end of the transition period," it said.

The UK's goods exports rose by 13.5 percent to EU countries and 14.3 percent to non-EU countries between 2019 and 2022, before and after Brexit, indicating no impact of Brexit on goods trade.

The UK’s AI summit is taking place at Bletchley Park, the wartime home of codebreaking and computing

LONDON (AP) — The United Kingdom is hosting the AI Safety Summit, bringing politicians, computer scientists and tech executives to a site chosen for its symbolism: Bletchley Park, synonymous with codebreaking and the birth of computing.

During World War II, a group of mathematicians, cryptographers, crossword puzzlers, chess masters and other experts gathered at the Victorian country house 45 miles (72 kilometers) northwest of London to wage a secret war against Nazi Germany. Their goal: cracking Adolf Hitler’s supposedly unbreakable codes.

Subscribe to United Kingdom