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A leading Tory former minister has suggested Prime Minister Liz Truss abandon a flagship policy to keep down corporation tax to avoid savage cuts to public services.

Stephen Hammond is the first Tory MP to effectively call for the measure to be scrapped to balance the books and reassure the markets.

Mr Hammond, a minister in successive Tory governments who has close links to the City, said the corporation tax could be lowered at a later date, but should be allowed to rise now as planned by the last administration.

‘Politics latest’: Ominous warning’ for chancellor as Kwasi Kwarteng faces MPs’ questions

Under Boris Johnson’s government, corporation tax – the levy on the profits of UK businesses – was due to rise from 19% to 25% in April next year.

But Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng ruled out the hike during his mini-budget last month, saying keeping the tax lower would help growth in the country.

Speaking exclusively to Sky News, Mr Hammond said: “It is clear that if you look at international tax rates for corporates, keeping it at a level below the 24p level but keeping it above the 19p level would raise money and that would be a sensible way at this stage.”

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He said the government needed to prioritise “making sure that the poorest in our society are looked after”, and said the government should limit cuts to education, health and defence rather than spending money preventing corporation tax from rising.

Keeping the 19% figure was one of a number of tax-cutting measures in Mr Kwarteng’s mini-budget, with the Treasury ordering an additional £72bn of borrowing on the financial markets to pay for them all.

The move sent the markets into turmoil, with the pound dropping, mortgage products being withdrawn and the Bank of England having to step in to save some pension funds.

Mr Kwarteng and Liz Truss were forced into a U-turn over the plan to scrap the 45p tax rate for the wealthiest earners, and to bring forward the chancellor’s medium-term economic plan from late November to Halloween.

But now, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned the chancellor will need to cut spending or raise taxes by £62bn if he is to stabilise or reduce the national debt, as he has promised to do.

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How can UK reduce debt?

Mr Hammond praised the support the government was providing to households and businesses to tackle rising energy bills.

But he also appealed to the prime minister, saying he hoped she would “recognise the need to increase benefits with inflation because that is key I think – making sure that the poorest in our society are looked after”.

Instead, he said the “obvious” area where savings could be made was on whether to keep the reduction of corporation tax the chancellor has planned.

He added: “What is clear is that the government has an ambitious growth plan and it is clear at the moment that a lot of it is coming through very quickly and some of that probably can’t be… this is a matter of timing and it is clear that some of that needs to wait.”

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Donald Trump confirms Mexico and Canada tariffs – prompting a stock sell-off

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Donald Trump confirms Mexico and Canada tariffs - prompting a stock sell-off

Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada have come into effect, as has an additional 10% on Chinese products, bringing the total import tax to 20%.

The US president confirmed the tariffs in a speech at the White House – and his announcement sent US and European stocks down sharply.

The tariffs will be felt heavily by US companies which have factories in Canada and Mexico, such as carmakers.

Mr Trump said: “They’re going to have a tariff. So what they have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the United States, in which case they have no tariffs.”

There’s “no room left” for a deal that would see the tariffs shelved if fentanyl flowing into the US is curbed by its neighbours, he added.

Mexico and Canada face tariffs of 25%, with 10% for Canadian energy, the Trump administration confirmed.

And tariffs on Chinese imports have doubled, raising them from 10% to 20%.

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Canada announced it would retaliate immediately, imposing 25% tariffs on US imports worth C$30bn (£16.3bn). It added the tariffs would be extended in 21 days to cover more US goods entering the country if the US did not lift its sanctions against Canada.

China also vowed to retaliate and reiterated its stance that the Trump administration was trying to “shift the blame” and
“bully” Beijing over fentanyl flows.

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What is America’s trade position?

Mr Trump’s speech stoked fears of a trade war in North America, prompting a financial market sell-off.

Stock market indexes the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 1.48% and 2.64% respectively on Monday.

The share prices for automobile companies including General Motors, which has significant truck production in Mexico, Automaker and Ford also fell.

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Consumers in the US could see price hikes within days, an expert has said.

Gustavo Flores-Macias, a public policy professor at Cornell University, New York, said “the automobile sector, in particular, is likely to see considerable negative consequences”.

This is due to supply chains that “crisscross the three countries in the manufacturing process” and ” because of the expected increase in the price of vehicles, which can dampen demand,” he added.

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The Trump administration is gearing up to bring in other tariffs in the coming weeks.

On 2 April, reciprocal tariffs will take effect on all countries that impose duties on US products.

He is also considering 25% tariffs on goods from the EU “very soon” after claiming the bloc was created to “screw the United States”.

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More than 30 killed in Bolivia bus crash – second deadly collision within days

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More than 30 killed in Bolivia bus crash - second deadly collision within days

A truck has collided with a bus in southern Bolivia, killing at least 31 people, according to police – just two days after a deadly crash claimed at least 37 lives.

Officers said the bus rolled some 500m (1,640ft) down a ravine after the collision on Monday, which took place on the highway between Oruro, in the Bolivian Altiplano, and the highland mining city of Potosi.

The driver of the truck has been arrested, while the cause of the accident is under investigation.

Police spokesperson Limbert Choque said men and women were among the dead, and 22 people suffered injuries.

** on right of picture are bodies ** First responders work at the site after a crash between a vehicle and a bus along a highway in Lenas, Potosi, southern Bolivia, March 3, 2025, in this handout image obtained from social media. Bolivia's Attorney General/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT
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Rescue teams operating at the site of the crash. Pic: Bolivia’s attorney general/Reuters

Bolivia’s President, Luis Arce, expressed condolences for the victims on social media: “This unfortunate event must be investigated to establish responsibilities,” he said in a post on Facebook.

“We send our most sincere condolences to the bereaved families, wishing them the necessary strength to face these difficult times.”

Map showing location of collision, which took place on the highway between Oruro, in the Bolivian Altiplano, and the highland mining city of Potosi.
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The crash happened between Oruro and Potosi

On Saturday morning, a crash between two buses killed more than three dozen people in the same region.

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It happened between Colchani and the city of Uyuni, a major tourist attraction and the world’s largest salt flat.

People stand near the wreckage of one of the two buses involved in the crash.
Pic: Reuters/Potosi Departmental Command
Image:
People stand near the wreckage of one of the two buses involved in a crash on Saturday. Pic: Reuters/Potosi Departmental Command

Coincidentally, one of the buses was heading to Oruro, where one of the most important carnival celebrations in Latin America is currently taking place.

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More than 30 people were also killed after a bus crash on 17 February.

In that crash, police said the driver appeared to have lost control of the vehicle, causing it to drop more than 800m (2,600ft) off a precipice in the southwestern area of Yocalla.

Bolivia’s mountainous, undermaintained and poorly supervised roads are some of the deadliest in the world, claiming an average 1,400 fatalities every year.

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The Pope has had ‘two episodes of acute respiratory failure’, Vatican says

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The Pope has had 'two episodes of acute respiratory failure', Vatican says

The Pope has had two episodes of “acute respiratory failure”, the Vatican has said.

The 88-year-old has been in hospital since 14 February with a severe respiratory infection that triggered other complications.

The Vatican said the respiratory failures were caused by “significant accumulation” of mucus in his lungs and a “bronchospasm”, akin to an asthma attack.

Doctors were then required to perform two bronchoscopies – a test which sees medics use a long, thin, telescope with a light to look into the lungs – to evaluate the Pope’s air passages, the statement said.

“In the afternoon, non-invasive mechanical ventilation was resumed,” the Vatican continued. “The Holy Father has always remained vigilant, oriented and collaborative. The prognosis remains reserved.”

Vatican sources said the situation had been calm this morning, before becoming worse this afternoon.

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Behind the scenes at the Vatican

The respiratory issues the Pope suffered today are due to an ongoing infection rather than a new one but he is not out of danger, they added.

Asked if the Pope is in good spirits, they gave no answer. When asked if the Vatican’s apartment is getting ready to welcome Francis back, the source said it was too premature to discuss this.

His clinical picture remains complex, they said.

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Earlier on Monday, Pope Francis issued a written message after Vatican officials begged him to let his voice be heard following more than two weeks out of public view.

He thanked his doctors for their care and well-wishers for their prayers, before praying for peace in Ukraine and elsewhere.

“From here, war appears even more absurd,” he wrote.

Catholic faithful attend a nightly rosary prayer for the health of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
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People at a nightly rosary prayer for the Pope in St. Peter’s Square yesterday evening. Pic: AP

This has become the longest public absence of his 12-year papacy.

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski presided over the evening rosary prayer in St Peter’s Square on Sunday night.

“Let us pray together with the entire church for the health of the Holy Father Francis,” he said.

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