PM won’t rule out issuing more visas for lorry drivers – but insists no return to ‘low-wage immigration’
Boris Johnson has not ruled out a further relaxation of immigration rules to help ease the UK’s fuel and supply shortages – but the prime minister insisted he does not want to see a return to “a lot of low-wage immigration”.
Amid the continuing queues at petrol stations across the country, the government has said 300 fuel tanker drivers will be able to come to the UK from overseas “immediately” under a bespoke temporary visa which will last until March.
Some 4,700 other visas intended for foreign food haulage drivers will be extended beyond the initially announced three months and will last from late October to the end of February.
And a total of 5,500 poultry workers will also be allowed in to help keep supermarket shelves stocked with turkeys before Christmas.
But business groups have said the emergency visa schemes do not go far enough, with the UK estimated to have a shortage of 100,000 HGV drivers, according to the Road Haulage Association (RHA).
There have also been calls for the visa programme to be extended to HGV drivers in all sectors of the retail industry.
Asked on Saturday whether he would rule out further relaxations to immigration rules, Mr Johnson said the possibility of more visas would be kept “under review”.
“What we have now is a system that allows us to control immigration,” he said.
“That gives us flexibility – we can open up our markets if we need to. And, of course, we’ll keep everything under review.”
Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Sajid Javid visited Leeds General Infirmary on Saturday ahead of the Tory conference
However the prime minister stressed he was hesitant about relaxing immigration rules even further.
“What we don’t want to do is go back to a situation in which we basically allowed the road haulage industry to be sustained with a lot of low wage immigration,” he added.
“That meant that wages didn’t go up and facilities, standards and the quality of the job didn’t go up.
“So the weird thing is now that people don’t want to go into the road haulage industry, don’t want to be lorry drivers, precisely because we’ve had that massive immigration approach and held wages down and held the quality of the job down.
“So we want to see an improvement, we want to see investments in facilities.
“And what you’re now starting to see is, for the first time in over a decade, you’re seeing wages going up around the country, and that is fundamentally a good thing.
“That’s what we need. Wages are going up faster for those on the lower incomes and that is what we mean by levelling up.”
Mr Johnson spoke on a visit to Leeds General Infirmary in West Yorkshire before he travelled to Manchester for the Conservative Party conference, which begins in the city on Sunday.
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Asked whether his message to other industries – who have also called for a similar relaxation of immigration rules for their sector – was for them to offer higher pay to attract new workers, the prime minister said: “Getting talented people in from abroad is always a great thing.
“I’ve always been in favour of allowing people who want to come to make their lives here and work hard and have a lot to contribute.
“I’m the descendant of immigrants – many, many people are. But what I also want to see is standards of jobs going up around the country, pay going up around the country.
“And investment in people, in their skills, in their training and also in capital and equipment and facilities.
“Because I think what the UK shouldn’t do is continue to try to be a low-wage low skill, low productivity economy.
“This is the moment. I think people don’t want to see that. They want us to be a well paid well skilled, highly productive economy and that’s where we’re going.”
Politics
Starmer to host virtual meeting of ‘coalition of the willing’ – and demand ‘concrete commitments’ on Ukraine
Sir Keir Starmer will host a virtual meeting of world leaders to discuss peacekeeping in Ukraine, and he will use the call to say that now is the time for “concrete commitments”, Downing Street has said.
Around 25 leaders are expected to join the call on Saturday morning, in which they will discuss in more detail the peacekeeping mission the prime minister has called the ‘coalition of the willing’.
Sir Keir will ask allies to continue to ramp up military support to Ukraine.
He will also say countries need to increase economic pressure on Russia in the short term, and be prepared to support an eventual peace deal over the long term, should an agreement be reached.
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Attendees will also receive an update on the discussions of defence ministers and military chiefs in Paris this week, and they will all set out details of their own efforts to unlock further military support for Ukraine.
Downing Street has confirmed that some European countries, the EU Commission, NATO, Canada, Ukraine, Australia and New Zealand are expected to join the virtual meeting.
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Is a ceasefire in Ukraine still viable?
Starmer: The world needs to see action
In a statement ahead of the call, the prime minister said: “We can’t allow President Putin to play games with President Trump’s deal.
“The Kremlin’s complete disregard for President Trump’s ceasefire proposal only serves to demonstrate that Putin is not serious about peace.
“If Russia finally comes to the table, then we must be ready to monitor a ceasefire to ensure it is a serious and enduring peace, if they don’t, then we need to strain every sinew to ramp up economic pressure on Russia to secure an end to this war.”
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Peace ‘must be secure’, PM tells Sky News
He went on to accuse the Russian president of “trying to delay” by “saying there must be a painstaking study before a ceasefire can take place”.
“The world needs to see action, not a study or empty words and pointless conditions,” he continued.
“My message to the Kremlin could not be clearer: stop the barbaric attacks on Ukraine, once and for all, and agree to a ceasefire now. Until then, we will keep working around the clock to deliver peace.”
Sir Keir has said Britain could send peacekeepers to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire deal, but has called on Washington to offer a security ‘backstop’ to those forces.
Russia casts doubt on potential ceasefire
The meeting comes after Ukraine backed the US’s proposal for a 30-day ceasefire.
But the Russian president has said “lots of questions” remain over that proposal, and that a ceasefire must lead to “long-term peace” which “would remove the initial reasons for the crisis”.
Read more:
The ‘coalition of the willing’ that could secure peace in Ukraine
Russia sticks to red lines on 30-day Ukraine ceasefire plan
Trump’s fixer was made to wait eight hours to meet Putin
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Putin lists ceasefire conditions
Moscow has reportedly also presented a “list of demands” to the US to end the war, which would include international recognition of Russia’s claim to Crimea and four Ukrainian provinces and an agreement that foreign troops not be deployed in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Mr Putin’s remarks were “very predictable” and “very manipulative”, adding that the Russian president was preparing to reject the ceasefire proposal he agreed with the US.
The agency responsible for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales announced that a National Crime Agency (NCA) officer was due to be charged with the alleged theft of Bitcoin worth roughly $75,000 in 2017.
In a March 14 notice, the Crown Prosecution Service said it had authorized the Merseyside Police to charge NCA officer Paul Chowles with 15 offenses related to the alleged Bitcoin (BTC) theft “during an investigation into online organized crime.” Authorities said Chowles could face one count of theft, 11 charges for concealing, disguising, or converting criminal property and three counts for acquiring, using or possessing criminal property.
The 50 Bitcoin, worth roughly $75,000 before the December 2017 bull run, was valued at more than $4.2 million at the time of publication at a BTC price of $84,541. The NCA officer is expected to appear at the Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on April 25.
Related: British man sues council for $647M over lost Bitcoin in landfill
In April 2024, amendments to the UK’s Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act authorized NCA officers and local police to seize crypto from suspected criminals without arresting them. The Crown Prosecution Service did not mention how Chowles allegedly stole the Bitcoin or whether the funds were connected to illicit activities.
Crypto policies across the pond
The NCA said in December 2024 that it had seized roughly $26 million in cash and crypto and arrested 84 people as part of a global campaign to fight money laundering and organized crime. Some of the crypto addresses targeted by UK authorities at the time “showed regular exposure to Garantex.” The founder of the Russian crypto exchange was arrested in India in March and is expected to be extradited to the US to face criminal charges.
The UK government is expected to move forward on creating a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets in 2025 following the Labour government’s election victory. The country remains a significant market for crypto users, with Coinbase securing approval to operate from the financial regulatory body in February.
Magazine: Crypto fans are obsessed with longevity and biohacking: Here’s why
Politics
US House kills IRS DeFi broker rule, Solana won’t cut 80% inflation rate: Finance Redefined
In a significant regulatory development for the crypto industry, the United States House of Representatives voted to nullify a bill that threatened the privacy-preserving properties of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
In the wider crypto space, one of the Solana network’s most significant governance proposals was rejected; it sought to implement a mechanism to reduce Solana’s inflation rate by about 80%.
US House follows Senate in passing resolution to kill IRS DeFi broker rule
The US House of Representatives voted to nullify a rule requiring decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to report to the Internal Revenue Service.
On March 11, the House of Representatives voted 292 for and 132 against a motion to repeal the so-called IRS DeFi broker rule that aimed to expand existing IRS reporting requirements to crypto.
All 132 votes to keep the rule were Democrats. However, 76 Democrats joined with the Republicans to repeal it.
This followed the Senate’s March 4 vote on the motion, which saw it pass 70 to 27.
The rule would have forced DeFi platforms, such as decentralized exchanges, to disclose gross proceeds from crypto sales, including information regarding taxpayers involved in the transactions.
After the vote, Republican Representative Mike Carey, who submitted the repeal motion, said, “The DeFi broker rule invades the privacy of tens of millions of Americans, hinders the development of an important new industry in the United States and would overwhelm the IRS.”
Congressman Mike Carey speaking after the vote. Source: Mike Carey
Solana proposal to cut inflation rate by up to 80% fails
A proposal to dramatically change Solana’s inflation system was rejected by stakeholders but is being hailed as a victory for the network’s governance process.
“Even though our proposal was technically defeated by the vote, this was a major victory for the Solana ecosystem and its governance process,” commented Multicoin Capital co-founder Tushar Jain on March 14.
Around 74% of the staked supply voted on proposal SIMD-228 across 910 validators, but just 43.6% voted in favor of it, with 27.4% voting against it and 3.3% abstaining, according to Dune Analytics. It needed 66.67% approval from participating votes to pass and only received 61.4%.
Jain added that this was the biggest crypto governance vote ever, by the number of participants and the participating market cap, of any ecosystem, chain or network.
“This was a meaningful scaling stress test — a social, rather than technical, stress test — and the network passed despite a wide stratification of diverging opinions and interests.”
Bitcoin $70,000 retracement part of “macro correction” in bull market — Analysts
Bitcoin’s potential retracement to $70,000 may be an organic part of the current bull market, despite crypto investor fears of an early arrival of a bear market cycle.
Bitcoin (BTC) fell more than 14% during the past week to close at around $80,708 after investors were disappointed with the lack of direct federal Bitcoin investments in President Donald Trump’s March 7 executive order. It outlined a plan to create a Bitcoin reserve using cryptocurrency forfeited in government criminal cases.
Despite the drop in investor sentiment, cryptocurrencies and global markets remain in a “macro correction” as part of the bull market, according to Aurelie Barthere, principal research analyst at the Nansen crypto intelligence platform.
BTC/USD, 1-month chart. Source: Cointelegraph
Most cryptocurrencies have broken key support levels, making it hard to estimate the next key price levels, the analyst told Cointelegraph, adding:
“This is a macro correction (US tech will be down by 3% in the future, as discussed), so we have to monitor BTC. Next level will be $71,000 – $72,000, top of the pre-election trading range.”
The analyst added: “We are still in a correction within a bull market: Stocks and crypto have realized and are pricing; a period of tariff uncertainty and fiscal cuts, no Fed put. Recession fears are popping up.”
Calls for stricter rules on political memecoins after $4 billion Libra collapse
Industry voices warned that politically endorsed cryptocurrencies must adopt stronger investor protections and liquidity safeguards to prevent another significant market collapse.
Investor sentiment remains shaken after the Libra (LIBRA) token, which was endorsed by Argentine President Javier Milei, suffered a $4 billion market cap wipeout due to insider cash-outs.
According to blockchain analytics firm DWF Labs, at least eight insider wallets withdrew $107 million in liquidity, triggering the massive collapse.
Source: Kobeissi Letter
To avoid a similar meltdown, tokens with presidential endorsements will need more robust safety and economic mechanisms, such as liquidity locking or making the tokens in the liquidity pool non-sellable for a predetermined period, DWF Labs wrote in a report shared with Cointelegraph.
The report stated that tokens from high-profile leaders also need launch restrictions to limit participation from crypto-sniping bots and large holders or whales.
“Limiting bot and whale activity is essential in limiting the impact of individuals acting on insider information to corner a large percentage of the token supply,” according to Andrei Grachev, managing partner at DWF Labs.
Hyperliquid ups margin requirements after $4 million liquidation loss
Hyperliquid, a blockchain network specializing in trading, increased margin requirements for traders after its liquidity pool lost millions of dollars during a massive Ether (ETH) liquidation, the network said.
On March 12, a trader intentionally liquidated a roughly $200 million Ether long position, causing Hyperliquid’s liquidity pool, HLP, to lose $4 million, unwinding the trade.
Starting March 15, Hyperliquid will require traders to maintain a collateral margin of at least 20% on certain open positions to “reduce the systemic impact of large positions with hypothetical market impact upon closing,” Hyperliquid said in a March 13 X post.
The incident highlights the growing pains confronting Hyperliquid, which has emerged as Web3’s most popular platform for leveraged perpetual trading.
Hyperliquid has adjusted margin requirements for traders. Source: Hyperliquid
Hyperliquid said the $4 million loss was not from an exploit but rather a predictable consequence of the mechanics of its trading platform under extreme conditions.
DeFi market overview
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, most of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization ended the week in the red.
Of the top 100, the Hedera (HBAR) token fell over 24%, marking the biggest weekly decrease, followed by JasmyCoin (JASMY) down over 21% over the past week.
Total value locked in DeFi. Source: DefiLlama
Thanks for reading our summary of this week’s most impactful DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights and education regarding this dynamically advancing space.
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