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Rishi Sunak will set out a five-point economic action plan to address global instability and the rising cost of living at this week’s G20 summit – where he will face Russia’s foreign minister and call out Vladimir Putin’s regime.

The prime minister is travelling to Bali for talks with leaders of the world’s biggest economies in his second test on the world stage since gaining office less than a month ago, following his swift visit to the COP27 climate talks in Egypt.

US President Joe Biden, France’s Emmanuel Macron and China’s Xi Jinping will all be present at the talks on Tuesday and Wednesday.

They are all expected to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and confront him. President Putin will likely skip the meeting despite Russia being a G20 member, in the face of condemnation of his war in Ukraine.

Mr Sunak warned this year’s meeting will not be “business as usual” as the world confronts the most significant set of economic challenges since the first G20 meeting in 2008, which took place in response to the financial crisis at the time.

The prime minister said he will “call out Putin’s regime” during the first encounter between a British prime minister and Russian government officials since the invasion began in February.

Ahead of the trip to Indonesia, Mr Sunak’s official spokesman said: “We will absolutely use every opportunity to confront Russia about their continued illegal actions.

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“We will speak with our allies in one voice on this.”

It is likely to be the most fractious G20 meeting ever as divisions between the world’s 20 major economies are so deep the traditional “family photo” of all the leaders has been called off because many leaders will not want to be pictured with anybody from Putin’s regime.

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Diplomats have raised doubts leaders will be able to issue a joint communique at the end of the summit, as usually happens.

While most would like to agree on a statement condemning Russia, that will not happen as Russia would have to agree to it.

Mr Sunak’s spokesman said whether there is a communique or not will make no difference to the UK’s position, adding; “We will ensure the UK’s position is heard loud and clear throughout the summit and we are confident that we will be speaking in line with a wide range of allies.”

Rishi Sunak laid a wreath at the Cenotaph for Remembrance Sunday, with former PMs and Sir Keir Starmer present
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Rishi Sunak laid a wreath at the Cenotaph for Remembrance Sunday, with former PMs and Sir Keir Starmer present

Mr Sunak will lay out a five-point economic plan calling for:

• His fellow leaders to direct government support to where it is most needed – in their own countries and internationally

• The end to the weaponisation of food production and distribution, including calling for the Black Sea Grain Initiative to be renewed on 19 November and a G20-wide commitment to never use food as a weapon

• Each country’s energy security to be strengthened and to reduce energy dependence on Russia by working with partners to unlock investment needed to accelerate to green energy

• The opening up of global trade, including advancing bilateral free trade agreements and reform of the World Trade Organisation to “release the opportunities of the 21st Century while tackling the manipulation of global markets by malign actors”

• Honest, reliable finance to help developing countries grow sustainably by ensuring the international financial system can help those countries grow without becoming dependent on lenders.

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

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Chancellor: ‘We’ll be asking everyone for sacrifices’

Mr Sunak will meet Mr Biden for the first time, with the pair due to hold bilateral talks, but the US president’s priority is likely to be talking to President Xi to establish “red lines” as US-Chinese relations remain fraught.

The PM is also set to have one-on-one meetings with India’s PM Narendra Modi, Japan’s premier Fumio Kishida, new Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

After a rocky few months in UK politics, with three PMs in two months, Mr Sunak will be keen to use the summit to restore Britain’s reputation for reliability and stability.

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The summit will also be an opportunity to influence an international agenda ahead of the chancellor’s autumn statement this Thursday, Mr Sunak’s spokesman said.

The PM said: “Later this week the autumn statement will set out how we will get this country on the right path, put public finances on a stable footing and get debt falling.

“Creating a stable international system that protects the most vulnerable will be a core part of that work.

“But addressing the biggest economic crisis in a decade will require a concerted effort by the world’s largest economies – these are not problems we can solve alone.

“At the G20, leaders need to step up to fix the weaknesses in the international economic system which Putin has exploited for years.”

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‘Britain’s strictest headteacher’ Katharine Birbalsingh criticises Education Secretary over ‘appalling’ schools bill

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'Britain's strictest headteacher' Katharine Birbalsingh criticises Education Secretary over 'appalling' schools bill

Educators are split over the government’s proposed Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, with some saying the move will improve fairness and accountability and others warning it could limit innovation in academy schools.

Pushed by the Department for Education (DfE) as a means to reform the education system, the bill seeks to improve school standards, strengthen attendance policies, and ensure that children receive a well-rounded education that prioritises their wellbeing.

The legislation also includes measures to increase school accountability, particularly for academies, by giving more oversight to the DfE.

Katharine Birbalsingh, headteacher of Michaela School in Wembley, north London, called it “absolutely appalling”.

“I’m just really concerned because, at the moment, school leaders have the freedom to do various things that are right for their intake,” she told Sky News.

“This bill will take those freedoms away.”

Ms Birbalsingh, also known as ‘Britain’s strictest headteacher’, added: “We got unlucky because we could have had Wes Streeting as education secretary, which would have been fine. Unfortunately, we got her [Bridget Phillipson].

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“She [Ms Phillipson] is so arrogant. She’s just marched in there and gone, ‘I know what I’m doing, I’ll just do what I want’.”

But some argue that academies are left to their own devices and have a lack of accountability when it comes to things like parental complaints.

The bill will require all schools to follow the national curriculum and employ teachers who have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or are working towards it.

The founder of the Oasis Academies, Steve Chalke
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Steve Chalke, founder of Oasis Academies

The founder of Oasis Academies, Steve Chalke, told Sky News: “We’re excited about the changes because we feel that education has been in a very, very poor place for the last decade or more.

“Schools have been stripped of resources and there have been giant problems about the recruitment and retention of teachers.

“We feel that this important bill is beginning to address all of those issues.”

The bill plans to provide all primary school children with breakfast, alongside uniform limits.

This would prevent schools from having more than three items of branded uniform clothing, potentially addressing concerns parents have about the cost of uniforms.

Mr Chalke said: “I am a fan of working hard collaboratively to create the best opportunities for any and every young person and their family.

“Because behind every struggling child is normally a parent who’s struggling with that.”

He added: “We at Oasis are excited about all of this, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have questions.

“It doesn’t mean that we’re being led blindly down the road, but our job is to be engaged in the discussion about how academies work more widely with their local authorities.”

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The bill will also give local authorities greater control over the pupil admission process.

Ms Birbalsingh said: “Any council could decide to reduce the number of children in one school and therefore reduce the money at that school and give more pupils to another school that’s struggling.”

Mr Chalke said: “Educational academy boards, academy groups, need to be accountable in strong partnership with others. And if this bill delivers everything it promises, wow. I think [it] will be an extraordinary outcome.”

Empty classroom chairs TOP
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The bill will give local authorities greater control over the pupil admission process

The bill is set to be debated further in the coming weeks as it moves through parliament.

A DfE spokesperson said: “This government is determined to drive high and rising standards for every child through our Plan for Change, to ensure every family has a good local school for their child.

“Our landmark Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill delivers on this mission, getting high-quality teachers into every classroom, and ensuring there is a floor on pay and no ceiling.

“These measures will make sure we are giving every child an education as good as the best.”

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Labour MPs Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed denied entry and deported from Israel

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Labour MPs Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed denied entry and deported from Israel

Two Labour MPs have been denied entry to Israel and deported.

Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed were rejected because they were suspected of plans to “document the activities of security forces and spread anti-Israel hatred”, according to a statement from the Israeli immigration ministry.

Ms Yang, who represents Earley and Woodley, and Ms Mohamed, the MP for Sheffield Central, both flew to the country from Luton on Saturday.

According to a statement from the Israeli immigration ministry, they were accompanied by two assistants and during questioning, the MPs claimed they were visiting Israel “as part of an official parliamentary delegation”.

The ministry branded their claim as “false”, but UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy reacted to news of the MPs’ detention saying their treatment while “on a parliamentary delegation to Israel” was “unacceptable”.

In their own statement, the two women said they were “astounded at the unprecedented step taken by the Israeli authorities”.

“It is vital that parliamentarians are able to witness, first-hand, the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory,” the statement said.

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“We are two, out of scores of MPs, who have spoken out in Parliament in recent months on the Israel-Palestine conflict and the importance of complying with international humanitarian law. Parliamentarians should feel free to speak truthfully in the House of Commons, without fear of being targeted.”

They said they had travelled to “visit humanitarian aid projects and communities in the West Bank” with “UK charity partners who have over a decade of experience in taking parliamentary delegations”.

“We thank them, the staff of the British Embassy in Tel Aviv, the British Consulate in Jerusalem, the Middle East minister and the Foreign Secretary for their tireless support,” the statement concludes.

Israel’s UK embassy said the MPs were denied entry because they had “accused Israel of false claims, were actively involved in promoting sanctions against Israeli ministers, and supported campaigns aimed at boycotting the state of Israel”.

Its statement said the women “chose not to exercise their right under Israeli law to petition the court to reconsider the decision”.

As a result, they were “offered hotel accommodation, which they declined” and their return flight was covered by the Israeli state.

“The visit was intended to provoke anti-Israel activities at a time when Israel is at war and under attack on seven fronts. Its purpose was to harm Israel and Israeli citizens and spread falsehoods about them,” the statement added.

“The state of Israel has both the authority and the duty to prevent the entry of individuals whose presence in the country is intended to cause harm to its citizens – just as such authority exists in the United Kingdom.”

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Mr Lammy said in a statement to Sky News: “It is unacceptable, counterproductive, and deeply concerning that two British MPs on a parliamentary delegation to Israel have been detained and refused entry by the Israeli authorities.

“I have made clear to my counterparts in the Israeli government that this is no way to treat British parliamentarians, and we have been in contact with both MPs tonight to offer our support.

“The UK government’s focus remains securing a return to the ceasefire and negotiations to stop the bloodshed, free the hostages and end the conflict in Gaza.”

In an interview with Sky’s Trevor Phillips, chief secretary to the treasury Darren Jones echoed Mr Lammy’s accusation of “unacceptable” behaviour by the Israelis.

But Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that “every country should be able to control its borders” and “that’s what Israel is doing” because they “gave reasons why those people shouldn’t have come in based on their laws”.

“It’s really important, I believe, to respect those countries’ decisions,” she told Sky News.

Ms Badenoch also said she is “very concerned” about the “rhetoric” on the Middle East from Labour MPs – and six independents – and therefore she was “not surprised” by the move of Israeli border officials.

She claimed there is “a lot of repeating of misinformation, repeating of conspiracy theories” during Prime Minister’s Questions.

“I see Labour MPs standing up and saying things which even Keir Starmer has to disagree with and shut down at PMQs,” she added.

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Artist behind Trump portrait branded ‘the worst’ by president says her business is ‘in danger of not recovering’

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Artist behind Trump portrait branded 'the worst' by president says her business is 'in danger of not recovering'

An artist whose official portrait of Donald Trump was publicly criticised by the president said her business is now “in danger of not recovering”.

The Republican leader made headlines at the end of last month when, in a post on his Truth Social platform, he said the portrait hanging in Colorado’s State Capitol had been “purposefully distorted”.

Following the criticism, officials said the portrait would be taken down and it has since been removed.

Sarah Boardman, the British artist who painted the Trump portrait, said in a statement to Sky News she felt her “intentions, integrity, and abilities” had been “called into question” when the president criticised the oil painting.

In his post, Mr Trump said a portrait by the same artist of former US president Barack Obama was “wonderful” but “the one on me is truly the worst”.

Sarah Boardman. Pic : AP
Image:
Sarah Boardman. Pic : AP

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Referring to Ms Boardman, whose collection of official portraits also includes one of former president George W Bush, Mr Trump said “she must have lost her talent as she got older”.

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Trump’s portrait to be taken down

He then added: “In any event, I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one.”

Almost two weeks since the criticism, Ms Boardman has now responded saying her business has been detrimentally impacted.

She said: “President Trump is entitled to comment freely, as we all are, but the additional allegations that I ‘purposefully distorted’ the portrait, and that I ‘must have lost my talent as I got older’ are now directly and negatively impacting my business of over 41 years which now is in danger of not recovering.”

The artist also described how “for the six years that the portrait hung in the Colorado State Capitol Building Rotunda, I received overwhelmingly positive reviews and feedback”.

“Since President Trump’s comments, that has changed for the worst,” she added.

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Ms Boardman said the Colorado State Capitol Advisory Committee, Denver, commissioned her to paint the official portrait of President Trump for the Denver State Capitol Gallery of Presidents.

“The reference photograph and my subsequent ‘works in progress’ were all approved, throughout that process, by that committee,” she said.

“I completed the portrait accurately, without ‘purposeful distortion’, political bias, or any attempt to caricature the subject, actual or implied. I fulfilled the task per my contract.”

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