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An electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer backed by Amazon and Ford is in talks with ministers about building a giant factory in the UK that could include a big state support package.

Sky News has learnt that Rivian, which is also backed by the Ford Motor Company and many of the biggest investors in Silicon Valley, has been in secret negotiations with the British government for weeks about the construction of a plant near Bristol.

The talks are not yet at an advanced stage, and Britain is facing competition from rival proposals from Germany and the Netherlands, according to industry sources.

Any investment decision is likely to be ultimately worth well over £1bn, they added.

If Rivian does opt to build a plant in the UK – which would be its first outside the US – it would represent another major boost to the country’s automotive sector following recent announcements from Nissan and Stellantis, the owner of Vauxhall.

Rivian raised another $2.5bn (£1.8bn) from investors earlier this month, taking the total sum it has raised since 2019 to a gargantuan $10.5bn (£7.5bn).

RJ Scaringe, the company’s founder and chief executive, said the latest capital injection would enable it “to scale new vehicle programmes, expand our domestic facility footprint, and fuel international product rollout”.

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Customer deliveries of its R1T electric trucks, which will sell from $67,500 (£48,500), are due to begin in the autumn – although they have faced previous delays.

The talks with ministers are understood to be focused on a facility to manufacture Rivian vehicles, rather than the batteries used to power them, although insiders said that the negotiations were fluid and could yet shift towards a gigafactory.

Several companies are discussing building gigafactories in the UK, reportedly including the South Korean conglomerates LG and Samsung.

Boris Johnson has been briefed on the Rivian discussions and is said to be taking a keen interest in their progress, according to one industry executive.

The nature of a government subsidy package is not yet defined and it was unclear this weekend whether Rivian had yet to make any formal requests for funding or tax breaks from ministers.

Rivian is said to have identified Gravity, a 616-acre campus near Bristol, as one potential site for a new manufacturing plant.

Its existing factory is in Normal, Illinois – which it acquired from Mitsubishi Motors in 2017 – and last week the company confirmed that it was looking for another location in the US to build its vehicles.

The electric vehicle (EV) group is also reported to be preparing to launch an initial public offering in New York as soon as this year that would value it at as much as $70bn (£50.3bn).

That would make it far smaller in market value terms than Tesla, Elon Musk’s EV company, which has a market value of $680bn (£489bn) and has seen its shares more than double during the last year.

Nevertheless, at a valuation north of $50bn, Rivian would be one of the world’s largest publicly traded EV companies.

Its other shareholders include BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, the hedge fund Third Point and Dragoneer Investment Group, a prolific technology investor.

Rivian’s biggest customer to date is Amazon, which has placed an order for 100,000 EV trucks, production of which is scheduled to start this year.

A decision on whether to proceed with a plant in the UK or on the Continent is expected in the next few months.

If it does move ahead in Britain, it would further confound predictions that the country’s automotive sector was headed for terminal decline after Brexit.

Honda’s decision to close its plant in Swindon, announced in 2019, was seen as a major blow to the industry, with Nissan warning that its future investment would be jeopardised if Britain left the trading bloc.

Recent developments involving both the Japanese carmaker and Stellantis have revived hopes of a brighter future for automotive manufacturing in the UK.

The government’s decision to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 and hybrid vehicles by 2035 has accelerated the need for a huge shift in manufacturing capability.

There remain significant concerns, though, that the provision of EV charging infrastructure will fail to keep pace with demand.

A BEIS spokesperson said: “While we are working to attract inward investment into the UK to accelerate the growth of new industries, we cannot comment on speculation about individual investments.”

Rivian declined to comment this weekend.

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Donald Trump may be denied privilege of addressing parliament on UK state visit

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Donald Trump may be denied privilege of addressing parliament on UK state visit

Donald Trump may be denied the honour of addressing parliament on his state visit to the UK later this year, with no formal request yet submitted for him to be given that privilege.

It comes after President Macron’s successful state visit this week, in which he was invited to speak in front of both Houses of Parliament.

Sky News has been told the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, hasn’t so far received a request to invite the US president to speak in parliament when he is expected to visit in September.

It was confirmed to MPs who have raised concerns about the US president being allowed to address both houses.

Kate Osborne, Labour MP for Jarrow and Gateshead East, wrote to the speaker in April asking him to stop Mr Trump from addressing parliament, and tabled an early-day motion outlining her concerns.

“I was happy to see Macron here but feel very differently about Trump,” she said.

“Trump has made some very uncomfortable and worrying comments around the UK government, democracy, the Middle East, particularly around equalities and, of course, Ukraine.

“So, I think there are many reasons why, when we’re looking at a state visit, we should be looking at why they’re being afforded that privilege. Because, of course, it is a privilege for somebody to come and address both of the houses.”

But the timing of the visit may mean that any diplomatic sensitivities, or perceptions of a snub, could be avoided.

Macron addressing Parliament
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France’s President Emmanuel Macron addressed parliament during his state visit this month

Lord Ricketts, a former UK ambassador to France, pointed out that parliament isn’t sitting for much of September, and that could help resolve the issue.

In 2017, he wrote a public letter questioning the decision to give Donald Trump his first state visit, saying it put Queen Elizabeth II in a “very difficult position”.

Parliament rises from 16 September until 13 October due to party conferences.

The dates for the state visit haven’t yet been confirmed by Buckingham Palace or the government.

However, they have not denied that it will take place in September, after Mr Trump appeared to confirm they were planning to hold the state visit that month. The palace confirmed this week that the formal planning for his arrival had begun.

Donald Trump. Pic: Reuters
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Mr Trump has said he believes the trip to the UK will take place in September. Pic: Reuters

When asked about parliamentary recess potentially solving the issue, Ms Osborne said: “It may be a way of dealing with it in a very diplomatic way… I don’t know how much control we have over Trump’s diary.

“But if we can manoeuvre it in a way that means that the House isn’t sitting, then that seems like a good solution, maybe not perfect, because I’d actually like him to know that he’s not welcome.”

A message from the speaker’s office, seen by Sky News, says: “Formal addresses to both Houses of Parliament are not automatically included in the itinerary of such a state visit.

“Whether a foreign head of state addresses parliament, during a state visit or otherwise, is part of the planning decisions.”

The King and Mr Trump raising a toast in 2019. Pic: Reuters
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Mr Trump made his first state visit to the UK in June 2019 during his first presidency. File pic: Reuters

It’s understood that if the government agrees to a joint address to parliament, the Lord Chamberlain’s office writes to the two speakers, on behalf of the King, to ask them to host this.

It will be Mr Trump’s second state visit.

During his first, in 2019, he didn’t address parliament, despite the fact that his predecessor, Barack Obama, was asked to do so.

It was unclear if this was due to the fact John Bercow, the speaker at the time, made it clear he wasn’t welcome to do so.

However, it didn’t appear to dampen Mr Trump’s excitement about his time with the Royal Family.

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Speaking earlier this year, he described his state visit as “a fest” adding “it’s an honour… I’m a friend of Charles, I have great respect for King Charles and the family, William; we have really just a great respect for the family. And I think they’re setting a date for September.”

It is expected that, like Mr Macron, the pageantry for his trip this time will revolve around Windsor, with refurbishment taking place at Buckingham Palace.

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Fuel to engines of Air India plane that crashed cut off moments after take-off, report finds

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Fuel to engines of Air India plane that crashed cut off moments after take-off, report finds

Fuel to the engines of the Air India plane that crashed last month appears to have cut off shortly after take-off, a preliminary report has found.

According to the report switches in the cockpit that controlled fuel moved to a “CUTOFF” position.

It said: “Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of one second.

“The Engine N1 and N2 began to decrease from their take-off values as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off.”

The crash site. Pic: AAIB
Image:
The crash site. Pic: AAIB

There was then confusion in the cockpit. In the voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he “cut off”. The other pilot responds that he did not do so.

There were no conclusions as to how the switches were moved.

One of the engines was able to be restarted, but could not reverse the plane’s deceleration, the report found.

“At this stage of investigation, there are no recommended actions to Boeing 787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers,” India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said in the report.

A diagram in the report showing how the plane crashed into a building. Pic: AAIB
Image:
A diagram in the report shows how the plane crashed into a building. Pic: AAIB

No significant bird activity was observed in the vicinity of the plane’s flight path, the report said. The aircraft started to lose altitude before crossing the airport perimeter wall, it added.

The plane plummeted into a busy area, killing 241 passengers and 19 others on the ground while incinerating everything around it.

The AAIB’s report is based on the initial findings of the probe, marking 30 days since the crash.

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Liverpool retires number 20 shirt at all levels in honour of Diogo Jota

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Liverpool retires number 20 shirt at all levels in honour of Diogo Jota

Liverpool have retired the number 20 shirt in honour of Diogo Jota – the first time it has made such a gesture.

The club said it was a “unique tribute to a uniquely wonderful person” and the decision was made in consultation with his wife and family.

The number 20 will be retired at all levels, including the men’s and women’s first teams and academy squads.

A statement said: “It was the number he wore with pride and distinction, leading us to countless victories in the process – and Diogo Jota will forever be Liverpool Football Club’s number 20.”

The club called it a “recognition of not only the immeasurable contribution our lad from Portugal made to the Reds’ on-pitch successes over the last five years, but also the profound personal impact he had on his teammates, colleagues and supporters and the everlasting connections he built with them”.

Jota's wife joined Liverpool players to view tributes at Anfield on Friday. Pic: Liverpool FC
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Jota’s wife joined Liverpool players to view tributes at Anfield on Friday. Pic: Liverpool FC

Pic: Liverpool FC
Image:
Pic: Liverpool FC

Newly-married Jota died alongside his brother when his Lamborghini crashed in northern Spain on 3 July.

Police said this week that all the evidence so far suggests Jota was the one driving the vehicle.

Liverpool teammates joined members of Jota’s family, including his wife Rute, at a huge memorial site outside Anfield on Friday.

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A fan looks at messages written onto a memorial wall created near Anfield Stadium. Pic: Reuters
Image:
A fan looks at messages on a memorial wall near Anfield. Pic: Reuters


Liverpool's captain Virgil van Dijk and Liverpool's player Andrew Robertson arrive on the day of the funeral ceremony of Liverpool's Portug
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Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson were among players at the funeral. Pic: Reuters

The star’s funeral took place last weekend, with Liverpool colleagues and members of the Portuguese national team in attendance.

Reds captain Virgil van Dijk carried a shirt bearing the number 20 made from flowers.

Liverpool players returned to the club’s training ground for the start of pre-season on Tuesday.

Their first game since Jota’s death will be on Sunday when they play a friendly away against Preston North End.

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