Jeremy Hunt delays Halloween economic statement
Jeremy Hunt has delayed the announcement of the government’s economic plan from Halloween to 17 November, saying it will help ministers make “difficult decisions… that stand the test of time”.
A medium term fiscal statement was due to be delivered by the chancellor in the Commons on 31 October – along with a forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility – after Liz Truss’s tax slashing mini-budget last month left a blackhole in government finances and the markets in turmoil.
But it will now be put back by more than two weeks and be turned into a full autumn statement – expanding its remit and providing longer term plans.
Mr Hunt, who remains as chancellor in Rishi Sunak’s new cabinet, said he had made the recommendation to the new prime minister to ensure any decisions are based on “accurate economic forecasts”.
And he said he was “willing to make choices that are politically embarrassing if they’re the right thing to do for the country”.
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The chancellor also revealed the autumn statement would include measures to make debt fall “over the medium term”.
“Our number one priority is economic stability and restoring confidence that the United Kingdom is a country that pays its way,” said Mr Hunt.
“But it is also extremely important the statement is based on the most accurate possible economic forecasts and forecasts of public finances.”
The Bank of England is due to make an announcement on interest rates on 3 November, meaning the original government statement would have come ahead of the decision.
Asked if it was wise to change it now, Mr Hunt said Mr Sunak’s entrance to Number 10 meant there was “the prospect of much longer term stability for the economy in the country – and in that context, a short two and a half week delay is the best way we will make sure that it is the right decisions we take”.
Rishi Sunak kept Jeremy Hunt in post after he became prime minister on Tuesday.
The chancellor added: “There has been a lot of market turbulence even in the last 48 hours, and the question is how you deal with that turbulence to make sure that the very, very important, very difficult decisions that I and the prime minister have to make are the right ones – decisions that stand the test of time and do the right thing for people at home who are worried about their mortgages, their jobs, the cost of living, the bills and so on.
“And for that reason, accuracy in the forecasts both around public finances and economic growth is very important, and that’s why this is the right decision and a prudent decision.”
What’s in a name?
By calling the 17 November announcement an “autumn statement”, the Treasury is signalling that this is a bigger deal than the announcement originally envisaged, unattractively known as the medium term fiscal statement.
However, it is also still significant they are not calling it either a budget, with a full review of tax and spending measures, or a spending review, where every government department’s budgets are set for years to come.
The job of the statement is to identify the size of the black hole the government needs to fill, and how they are going to fill it. It will be accompanied by the Office for Budget Responsibility growth forecast.
Given the job it’s going to have to do, with some curbs to spending, it is likely to feel like a “spending review-lite”. However it could also include some tax measures, like a new system to cap the profits from renewable energy regeneration, as well as a decision about benefit uprating.
Ultimately titles don’t matter in times of crisis – Liz Truss labelled her September statement a “mini budget”, yet this was the biggest set of spending announcements in one day every seen in modern times.
But Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney said the delay “risks leaving mortgage borrowers, pensioners and struggling families under a damaging cloud of uncertainty”.
She called on the PM to confirm benefits and pensions will be up-rated in line with inflation, and that there will be no cuts to public services, including the NHS.
“Sunak was installed by Conservative MPs into Number 10 without anyone voting for him, and without telling anyone about his plans for the country,” she said.
“The public deserve to know immediately what lies in store, and that they will not be made to pay for the Conservative Party trashing our economy.”
How did we get here?
Ms Truss came to power in September off the back of a summer of campaigning for lower taxes and higher growth.
A mini-budget by her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng spooked the markets, leading to the pound plunging, mortgages being withdrawn, and the Bank of England being forced to intervene.
Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng announced huge plans based on government borrowing that sent the markets into a spin.
He was replaced by Mr Hunt and within three days had reversed nearly all of the policies.
Read more:
What was in the mini-budget and what has been scrapped?
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Ms Truss resigned in the same week, and has now been replaced by Mr Sunak, who promised on the steps of Downing Street that “economic stability and confidence [would be] at the heart of this government’s agenda”.
There were hints the statement could be delayed on Wednesday when Foreign Secretary James Cleverly could not confirm the date to Sky News.
And later that morning, a Treasury source told our political editor Beth Rigby that it was “very possible”.
Prince Harry has made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, a spokesperson for the royal has said.
Harry, who served 10 years in the British Army, visited the city at the invitation of the Ukrainian government.
The Duke of Sussex travelled to the capital to help with the recovery of military personnel seriously injured in the three-year war with Russia.
Pic: Railway of Ukraine Ukrzaliznytsia/AP
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will also be travelling to Kyiv on Friday in what will be her first foreign trip since being appointed to the job last week.
Her visit coincides with the UK launching a new package of Russia-related sanctions targeting ships carrying Russian oil as well as companies and individuals supplying electronics, chemicals and explosives used to make Russian weapons.
It comes as Russia and Belarus began a major joint military exercise on on NATO’s doorstep on Friday, just two days after Poland, with support from its NATO allies, shot down suspected Russian drones over its airspace.
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Drones shot down in Poland
The Zapad-2025 exercise – a show of force by Russia and its close ally – will involve drills in both countries and in the Baltic and Barents seas, the Russian defence ministry said.
Meanwhile on the frontline, Russian defence systems intercepted and destroyed 221 Ukrainian drones overnight,
including nine over the Moscow region, the ministry said on Friday.
The duke told the Guardian while on an overnight train to Kyiv: “We cannot stop the war but what we can do is do everything we can to help the recovery process.
“We can continue to humanise the people involved in this war and what they are going through.
“We have to keep it in the forefront of people’s minds. I hope this trip will help to bring it home to people because it’s easy to become desensitised to what has been going on.”
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Harry, who served two tours in Afghanistan, previously travelled to Ukraine in April, when he visited war victims as part of his work with wounded veterans.
The prince visited the Superhumans Center, an orthopaedic clinic in Lviv that treats and rehabilitates wounded military personnel and civilians.
Earlier this week, Harry said the King is “great” after he reunited with him at Clarence House for a private tea.
It was their first meeting in 19 months and lasted just 54 minutes.
The last time the father and son saw each other was in February 2024 when the prince flew to the UK after the monarch announced his cancer diagnosis.
Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have lived in California since they quit roles as senior working royals in March 2020.
Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro has been sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for attempting a coup to stay in power after his 2022 election defeat.
The far-right politician, who ruled Brazil between 2019 and 2022, is currently under house arrest in the capital, Brasilia.
A panel of five Supreme Court justices handed down the sentence several hours after they found the 70-year-old guilty on five counts.
The counts were trying to stage a coup, being part of an armed criminal organisation, attempting violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, being implicated in violence, and posing a serious threat to the state’s assets and listed heritage.
Bolsonaro‘s lawyers have said they will appeal the verdict.
Pic: AP
The ruling will deepen political divisions in Brazil and is also likely to prompt a backlash from the United States government – with Donald Trump already sharing his thoughts on the vote.
President Trump, an ally of Bolsonaro, has said he was surprised and “very unhappy” with the decision.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, he said he always found Bolsonaro “outstanding” and said the conviction is “very bad for Brazil”.
Mr Trump previously called the case a “witch hunt”, slapped Brazil with tariff hikes, and revoked US visas for most members of Brazil’s high court.
Bolsonaro is the first former Brazilian president to be convicted of attempting a coup.
He has not attended the court proceedings, and on Thursday, he was seen at the garage of his property, but did not talk to the media.
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Justice Carmen Lucia. Pic: AP
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who has been overseeing the case, said on Tuesday that Bolsonaro was the leader of a coup plot and of a criminal organisation, and voted in favour of convicting him. Justices Flavio Dino, Carmen Lucia, and Cristiano Zanin sided with Justice Moraes in the trial.
On Wednesday, another justice, Luiz Fux, disagreed and voted to acquit the ex-president of all charges.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Justice Lucia said she was convinced by the evidence the attorney general’s office put forward against Bolsonaro, saying: “He is the instigator, the leader of an organisation that orchestrated every possible move to maintain or seize power.”
Bolsonaro had been previously banned from running for office until 2030 in a different case.
He is expected to choose an heir who is likely to challenge President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva next year.
The FBI and officials have released new video and images of a “person of interest” in connection with the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, as the manhunt continues.
At a news conference on Friday, Utah Governor Spencer Cox showed video footage showing the suspect walking on the roof of the building from where the fatal shot was fired. He is then seen climbing down and heading toward a wooded area, where police say he abandoned his rifle.
Additional images released by police show the suspect wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a backpack.
Investigators have conducted nearly 200 interviews related to the case as 20 law enforcement partners are working on the investigation, Governor Cox said.
Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against the attacker, he said.
Follow the latest updates on Charlie Kirk’s killing
Authorities have released additional images of the attacker. Pic: Utah Public Safety
Earlier, authorities said the shooter was thought to have jumped off a roof and fled into a neighbourhood after firing one shot.
They also said the suspect was a male who “appears to be of college age” and blended in on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, where Mr Kirk was killed.
Mr Kirk, a 31-year-old right-wing influencer, was fatally shot in the neck on Wednesday afternoon while speaking to university students at an event. He died in hospital after being shot.
Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University where he was later fatally shot. Pic: AP
The rifle suspected of being used in the shooting has been found.
In a briefing on Thursday, FBI agent Robert Bohls said: “I can tell you that we have recovered what we believe is the weapon that was used in yesterday’s shooting… is a high-powered bolt action rifle.
“That rifle was recovered in a wooded area where the shooter had fled. The FBI laboratory will be analysing this weapon.”
Investigators have collected a footwear impression, a palm print, and forearm imprints for analysis.
Authorities have released additional images of the attacker. Pic: Utah Public Safety
Read more:
Who was Charlie Kirk?
Moment gunshot heard at university event – Watch
The father-of-two was the chief executive and co-founder of Turning Point USA, a prominent organisation that engages conservative youth on school campuses.
He had millions of followers across social media.
Mr Kirk and Turning Point USA played a key role in driving youth support for Mr Trump in last November’s presidential election. His events at college campuses nationwide typically drew large crowds.
Many people listened both in person and online to Mr Kirk, as he advocated for conservatism among younger generations and became a leading voice in the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
President Donald Trump paid tribute to Mr Kirk while on stage at a 9/11 memorial event in Virginia, saying he would be awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Authorities have released additional images of the attacker. Pic: Utah Public Safety
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“Before we begin, let me express the horror and grief so many Americans at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk have felt,” Mr Trump said.
“Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people. Our prayers are with his wonderful wife, Erika, and his beautiful children.”
He later added the FBI was making “big progress” in finding the shooter and he has “an indication” of the motive, but declined to expand.
“He’s an animal, total animal, hopefully they’ll have him and they’ll get him.”
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