Starmer wants ‘closer US ties’ and Wallace ‘Boiling Point’
December 3, 2024
1 2 minutes read
Several papers lead with stories on Sir Keir Starmer’s comments about the UK’s relationship with the US in the wake of Donald Trump’s return as president. The Times front page reports on prime minister saying that the country will invest “more deeply than ever” in links with Washington. In a foreign policy speech on Monday, Starmer also warned Russia poses a “near and present danger” to allies in the West, the paper says.
The Daily Telegraph leads with the same speech, but focuses on Starmer’s plege not to side with Trump over the European Union. The paper says the PM told the audience it was “plain wrong” to suggest his presence in the White House would mean the UK had to get closer to the US than Europe.
The Financial Times reports on the related news that Nato’s new chief has warned Trump that the US faces a “dire threat from China, Iran and North Korea should Ukraine be pushed to sign a favourable peace deal to Russia. In an interview with the paper, Mark Rutte says has “made a pitch to the president-elect to stick with Nato” and keep supporting Kyiv.
Presenter Gregg Wallace has apologised in a social media video for describing women accusing him of making inappropriate sexual comments in the workplace as “middle class women of a certain age”, according to the Daily Mirror. The paper reports that one of them, fellow BBC presenter Kirstie Allsopp, has accused the MasterChef presenter of “backtracking”.
Under the headline “Boiling Point”, the Sun leads with the news that BBC bosses “defied MPs by airing an episode of MasterChef” featuring Wallace on Monday, as well as declining to pull Christmas episodes. The paper says MPs want the programmed taken off TVs and reports “senior politicians” describing the broadcaster as needing “wholesale cultural change”.
Returning to UK politics, the Daily Mail says the government has been “ridiculed over a blizzard of talking shops” since winning the election by former Conservative minister Jacob Rees-Mogg. The paper reports on “at least 67 reviews, consultations and taskforces” being set up in Whitehall over the first 150 days Labour has held power.
Starmer has been warned by experts the government’s plans to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030 will mean energy bills must be raised, according to the i. But the paper says it understands the PM is “expected to stick to his promise of saving consumers up to £300 from their energy bill” in a speech this week.
The UK’s cybersecurity chief will warn on Tuesday that the country is underestimating how much of an online threat it faces from hostile states and criminal gangs, according to the Guardian’s reporting. The paper says new GCHQ boss Richard Horne will accuse Russia of “aggression and recklessness, while also warning of China’s “highly sophisticated” digital attacks.
Stalking victims will be granted more protections like knowing the “right to know who their tormenter is if targeted online”, according to the Metro’s lead story. The paper says that currently victims do not find out the identity of their accused stalker before the case gets to court, which leaves them “unsure if it is someone they know”.
