Rishi Sunak’s premiership is about to start for real – he faces a huge week at home and abroad

Published

3 years ago

November 13, 2022

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Rishi Sunak will this week kick off his premiership for real, with an international summit in Indonesia that will give a taster of his approach to foreign policy and an economic statement back in London that will define the early months of his government – for good or ill.

On Monday, Mr Sunak will arrive at the G20 summit in Indonesia, where the new PM will impress upon fellow world leaders his style and his policy priorities.

On style, Mr Sunak has signalled a change in approach. Gone is the combative, sometimes abrasive approach of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss – you might remember when she joked that the “jury was out” on whether French President Emmanuel Macron was a friend or foe – in favour of a more cordial and collaborative approach.

The prime minister made a point of calling President Macron a friend and seeking a bilateral summit with him at COP27 in Egypt last week in a meeting that was described as “very warm”.

Ask his team, and the focus for the prime minister will be to “call out Putin’s regime” while working with allies on global economic challenges.

But beyond “cementing relationships” with allies, what’s Mr Sunak’s vision for Britain’s foreign policy?

While Mr Johnson and Ms Truss had both been foreign secretaries before becoming prime minister, Mr Sunak has only ever politically focused on the domestic brief. What he thinks about foreign policy and Britain’s place in the world is not something this politician has ever been asked to flesh out, why would he? His main job in government before taking the top seat was dealing with the government’s economic response to the COVID crisis.

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So it follows that the PM will try to flex economic credentials as a route into foreign policy, as leading nations grapple with spiking energy prices and inflation triggered in part by the war in Ukraine.

There is a model for this approach: remember how Gordon Brown used his experience as chancellor on the global stage at the G20 summit in 2009 in London to agree a package of aid for the world economy.

Call for ‘decisive action’

Mr Sunak is untested and relatively inexperienced – he was chancellor for just two years – but he at least has a level of fiscal credibility to contribute to discussions.

But Mr Sunak will have an eye on events in London as his chancellor puts the finishing touches on this autumn statement. His team have been keen to highlight the direct link between the global economy and the challenges back home.

One No 10 official says the new PM will use the G20 to talk about “economic vision with partners, calling for coordinated and decisive action to address the current difficulties which will ultimately benefit the people of the UK”.

This summit is, in a way, a good opportunity for the prime minister to try to lay some of his own economic woes – exacerbated by Ms Truss’s disastrous mini-budget – at the feet of President Putin.

‘It’s going to be very, very tricky’

But his team are in no doubt that the autumn statement next Thursday could be the moment where it gets very bumpy for Mr Sunak as he lays bare the scale of the economic challenge and the extent of tax rises and spending cuts coming our way.

Estimates put the UK’s budgetary hole at around £55bn which Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will look to fill through a combination of squeezing government spending and raising taxes.

This is going to be very difficult territory for Mr Sunak and his chancellor. The prime minister is already deeply unpopular with a chunk of his party for taking the UK’s tax burden to a 70-year high, and this is an attack line which mortally wounded Mr Sunak in the July leadership race.

Further tax rises could whip up the simmering resentment in the party for him and his programme, while the spending squeeze risks further agitating a very disillusioned public.

“It’s going to be very, very tricky,” is how one key ally put it to me this week. “It’s got to be seen as fair [in terms of sharing the burden] and the hope is that it will be received neutrally.”

This will be a huge week for an untested prime minister in which we’ll get a better taster of how he’ll be received abroad as well as how he intends to lead at home. A lot rides on the seven days.

World

‘Nobody likes Trump’: Sky News finds defiance on the streets of Tehran

Published

11 hours ago

July 5, 2025

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'Nobody likes Trump': Sky News finds defiance on the streets of Tehran

To the sound of mournful chants and the slow beat of drums, they march, whipping their backs with metal flails.

It is an ancient ceremony going back almost 14 centuries – the Shia commemoration of Ashura.

But this year in particular has poignant significance for Iranians.

The devout remember the betrayal and death of the Imam Hussein as if it happened yesterday.

We filmed men and women weep as they worshipped at the Imamzadeh Saleh Shrine in northern Tehran.

The grandson of the Prophet Muhammad was killed by the armies of the Caliph Yazid in the seventh century Battle of Karbala.

Shia Muslims mark the anniversary every year and reflect on the virtue it celebrates – of resistance against oppression and injustice. But more so than ever this year, in the wake of Israel and America’s attacks on their country.

The story is one of prevailing over adversity and deception. A sense of betrayal is keenly felt here by people and officials.

Many Iranians believe they were lured into pursuing diplomacy as part of a ruse by the US.

Iran believed it was making diplomatic progress in talks with America, which it hoped could lead to a deal. Then Israel launched its attacks and, instead of condemning them, the US joined in.

“Death to Israel” chants resounded outside the mosque in skies that for 12 days were filled with the sounds of Israeli jets.

There is a renewed sense of defiance here.

One man told us: “The lesson to be learned from Hussein is not to give in to oppression, even if it is the most powerful force in the world.”

A woman was dismissive about the US president.

“I don’t think about Trump. Nobody likes him. He always wants to attack too many countries.”

Pictures on billboards nearby link Imam Hussein’s story and current events. They show the seventh century imam on horseback alongside images of modern missiles and drones from the present day.

Other huge signs remember the dead. Iran says almost 1,000 people were killed in the strikes, many of them women and children.

Officially Iran is projecting defiance, but not closing the door to diplomacy.

Government spokeswoman Dr Fatemeh Mohajerani told Sky News that Israel should not even think about attacking again.

“We are very strong in defence, and as state officials have announced, this time Israel will receive an even stronger response compared to previous times. We hope that Israel will not make such a mistake.”

But there is also a hint of conciliation. Senior Iranian officials have told Sky News back-channel efforts are under way to explore new talks with the US.

Israel had hoped its attacks could topple the Iranian leadership. Those hopes proved unfounded. The government is in control here.

For many Iranians it seems quite the opposite happened – the 12-day war has brought them closer together.

World

Two security workers injured after grenades thrown at aid site, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says

Published

14 hours ago

July 5, 2025

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Two security workers injured after grenades thrown at aid site, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says

Two American security workers in Gaza were injured after grenades were thrown during food distribution in Khan Younis, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has said.

In a statement, the US and Israeli-backed aid group said a targeted terrorist attack was carried out at one of its sites in southern Gaza on Saturday morning.

The two Americans injured “are receiving medical treatment and are in stable condition,” it said, adding that the delivery of aid was “otherwise successful” and that “no local aid workers or civilians were harmed”.

GHF didn’t say exactly when the incident happened but claimed Hamas was behind the attack, adding: “GHF has repeatedly warned of credible threats from Hamas, including explicit plans to target American personnel, Palestinian aid workers, and the civilians who rely on our sites for food.

“Today’s attack tragically affirms those warnings.”

Later, the aid group posted a picture on social media, which it said showed “fragments of a grenade packed with ball bearings” that was used in the attack.

Asked by Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, whether the two injured individuals were responsible for handing out aid or were responsible for providing security, GHF said they were “American security workers” and “two American veterans.”

The aid group did not provide specific evidence that Hamas was behind the attack.

The US and Israeli-backed group has been primarily responsible for aid distribution since Israel lifted its 11-week blockade of the Gaza Strip in May.

It comes after Sky News analysis showed GHF aid distributions are associated with a significant increase in deaths in Gaza.

According to Gaza’s health ministry, 600 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid from GHF sites as of 3 July, which charities and the UN have branded “death traps”.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press has reported that Israeli-backed American contractors guarding GHF aid centres in Gaza are using live ammunition and stun grenades.

GHF has vehemently denied the accusations, adding that it investigated AP’s allegations and found them to be “categorically false”.

Israel’s military added that it fires only warning shots and is investigating reports of civilian harm.

It denies deliberately shooting at any innocent civilians and says it’s examining how to reduce “friction with the population” in the areas surrounding the distribution centres.

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Hamas gives ‘positive’ response to ceasefire proposal but asks for amendments

Published

20 hours ago

July 5, 2025

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Hamas gives 'positive' response to ceasefire proposal but asks for amendments

Hamas has said it has “submitted its positive response” to the latest proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza to mediators.

The proposal for a 60-day ceasefire was presented by US President Donald Trump, who has been pushing hard for a deal to end the fighting in Gaza, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set to visit the White House next week to discuss a deal.

Mr Trump said Israel had agreed to his proposed ceasefire terms, and he urged Hamas to accept the deal as well.

Hamas’ “positive” response to the proposal had slightly different wording on three issues around humanitarian aid, the status of the Israeli Defence Forces inside Gaza and the language around guarantees beyond the 60-day ceasefire, a source with knowledge of the negotiations revealed.

But the source told Sky News: “Things are looking good.”

Hamas said it is “fully prepared to immediately enter into a round of negotiations regarding the mechanism for implementing this framework” without elaborating on what needed to be worked out in the proposal’s implementation.

The US said during the ceasefire it would “work with all parties to end the war”.

A Hamas official said on condition of anonymity that the truce could start as early as next week.

But he added that talks were needed first to establish how many Palestinian prisoners would be released in return for each freed Israeli hostage and to specify the amount of humanitarian aid that will be allowed to enter Gaza during the ceasefire.

He said negotiations on a permanent ceasefire and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza in return for the release of the remaining hostages would start on the first day of the truce.

Hamas has been seeking guarantees that the 60-day ceasefire would lead to a total end to the nearly 21-month-old war, which caused previous rounds of negotiations to fail as Mr Netanyahu has insisted that Israel would continue fighting in Gaza to ensure the destruction of Hamas.

The Hamas official said that Mr Trump has guaranteed that the ceasefire will extend beyond 60 days if necessary to reach a peace deal, but there is no confirmation from the US of such a guarantee.

Speaking to journalists on Air Force One, Mr Trump welcomed Hamas’s “positive spirit” to the proposal, adding that there could be a ceasefire deal by next week.

Hamas also said it wants more aid to flow through the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies, which comes as the UN human rights officer said it recorded 613 Palestinians killed in Gaza within a month while trying to obtain aid.

Most of them were said to have been killed while trying to reach food distribution points by the controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

The spokeswoman for the UN human rights office, Ravina Shamdasani, said the agency was not able to attribute responsibility for the killings, but added that “it is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points” operated by GHF.

Ms Shamdasani said that of the total tallied, 509 killings were “GHF-related”, meaning at or near its distribution sites.

The GHF accused the UN of taking its casualty figures “directly from the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry” and of trying “to falsely smear our effort”, which echoed statements to Sky News by the executive director of GHF, Johnnie Moore.

Mr Moore called the UN figures a “disinformation campaign” that is “meant to shut down our efforts” in the Gaza Strip.