Rishi Sunak has had a good platform in Bali but the rubber will hit the road when he returns to the UK
For Rishi Sunak, the G20 in Indonesia has been a good platform to find voice on foreign policy, and to press the flesh with allies who could be forgiven for being bemused at best, horrified at worst, by the changing of the guard three times at No 10 in four months.
For the first time in their 15 years of meeting face-to-face, these leaders do so in Bali in the shadow of war in Europe which has exposed the divisions between Western allies and other big industrialised nations, namely China and India, when it comes to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
And for our prime minister it has given him an opportunity to “call out” Russia’s “barbaric war” and glower at Russia’s foreign minister across the room.
He has used this moment to re-assert a close relationship with the US – he will meet President Biden on Wednesday – as well as repairing what at times were tense moments with European allies, driven by a combative Boris Johnson and then Liz Truss.
But as he represents the UK on the world stage, his chancellor is putting to bed an autumn statement which is going to be a much more difficult prospect to navigate than the diplomacy in Bali.
Thursday is when the rubber hits the road for this prime minister.
It is the moment when the public learn in concrete terms what the fall-out from Liz Truss’s mini-budget and the new PM’s determination to correct the damage will have on their own finances.
And he needs to prepare for a very bumpy ride indeed.
Because the chancellor is looking at how to plug an estimated £55bn black hole in the public finances through a mix of tax rises and spending cuts.
He has promised to be compassionate and fair in how he metes out the pain – but his chancellor has made it clear that everyone’s taxes will be going up.
And as much as Mr Sunak would like to lay the blame for this economic pain at the feet of the global economy, fault lies too with his own party and the Tory government: £30bn of this black hole was a result of Liz Truss’s ill-fated mini-budget, that pushed thorough £20bn of unfunded tax cuts with another £10bn from higher interest rates and government borrowing costs amid all that market turmoil, according to estimates by the thinktank Resolution Foundation.
And yet, no-one in government has taken responsibility for it.
It resulted in Liz Truss being forced out and Mr Sunak brought in.
But as the Tories changed guard, the public paid the price of this reckless management of the economy and will on Thursday be paying again for the Tories’ choices.
Ms Truss may be gone, but her party remains in power and so the question I had for the prime minister was did he need to apologise to close that chapter and properly move on: Mr Sunak may not have been architect of the turmoil, but he does lead the party that was.
But beyond saying, as he has repeatedly, “mistakes were made”, the new prime minister didn’t seem to want to have an honest conversation with the public about the mess his predecessor made, even though they are living with the consequences – consequences that could become harder by the end of week.
I asked him six times if he wanted – or thought he ought – to apologise to the public for those mistakes. Each time he demurred.
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In an interview with political editor Beth Rigby, PM Rishi Sunak has refused to apologise for the economic turmoil Liz Truss’s short-lived government caused for the UK.
It tells us that Mr Sunak is still worrying about internal party politics and is perhaps more worried about this in the short term than public reception to him and his autumn statement.
The bristling is already beginning. Twenty-eight MPs have written to Jeremy Hunt imploring him not to cut education spending while Truss backers – such as former cabinet minister Simon Clarke and former leader Iain Duncan Smith – are warning against tax rises.
This is a PM that can ill afford to poke the bear right now.
But at some point, particularly as the recession bites and energy bills rise and mortgage repayments for many homeowners spike, won’t there be a day of reckoning for the Tory party?
And will the PM have to own it, whether he was the architect or not?
World
UN’s Antonio Guterres condemns ‘teaspoon’ of aid allowed into Gaza after dozens die in airstrikes
The head of the UN has said Israel has only authorised for Gaza what amounts to a “teaspoon” of aid after at least 60 people died in overnight airstrikes.
UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said on Friday the supplies approved so far “amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required,” adding “the needs are massive and the obstacles are staggering”.
He warned that more people will die unless there is “rapid, reliable, safe and sustained aid access”.
A woman at the site of an Israeli strike in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters
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Gaza: ‘Loads of children with huge burns’
Israel says around 300 aid trucks have been allowed through since it lifted an 11-week blockade on Monday, but according to Mr Guterres, only about a third have been transported to warehouses within Gaza due to insecurity.
The IDF said 107 vehicles carrying flour, food, medical equipment and drugs were allowed through on Thursday.
Many of Gaza’s two million residents are at high risk of famine, experts have warned.
Meanwhile, at least 60 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight.
Ten people died in the southern city of Khan Younis, and deaths were also reported in the central town of Deir al-Balah and the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, according to the Nasser, Al-Aqsa and Al-Ahli hospitals where the bodies were brought.
A body is carried out of rubble after an Israeli strike in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters
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‘Almost everyone depends on aid’ in Gaza
The latest strikes came a day after two Israeli embassy workers were killed in Washington.
The suspect, named as 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, Illinois, told police he “did it for Gaza”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney of fuelling antisemitism following the shootings.
The leaders of the UK, France and Canada are “on the wrong side of humanity and (…) history”, he said, after they threatened “concrete action” against Israel this week if it continues its “egregious” military operations in Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu also accused Sir Keir, Mr Macron and Mr Carney of siding with “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers”.
Palestinians search for casualties in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters
But UK government minister Luke Pollard told Sky News on Friday morning he “doesn’t recognise” Mr Netanyahu’s accusation.
Earlier this week, Mr Netanyahu said he was recalling negotiators from the Qatari capital, Doha, after a week of ceasefire talks failed to bring results. A working team will remain.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251 others.
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The militants are still holding 58 captives, around a third of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s offensive, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
A woman has been arrested after 12 people were reportedly injured in a stabbing at Hamburg’s central train station in Germany.
An attacker armed with a knife targeted people on the platform between tracks 13 and 14, according to police.
They added that the suspect was a 39-year-old woman.
Police at the scene. Pic: AP
Officers said they “believe she acted alone” and investigations into the stabbing are continuing.
There was no immediate information on a possible motive.
The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.
The attack happened shortly after 6pm local time (5pm UK time) on Friday in front of a waiting train, regional public broadcaster NDR reported.
A high-speed ICE train with its doors open could be seen at the platform after the incident.
Railway operator Deutsche Bahn said it was “deeply shocked” by what had happened.
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Four tracks at the station were closed in the evening, and some long-distance trains were delayed or diverted.
Hamburg is Germany‘s second biggest city, with the train station being a hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.
In mid-May, the World Health Organisation assessed that there were “nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death”.
“This is one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time,” its report concluded.
Warning: This article contains images of an emaciated child which some readers may find distressing
Israel‘s decision this week to reverse the siege and allow “a basic level of aid” into Gaza should help ease the immediate crisis.
But the number of aid trucks getting in, so far fewer than 100 per day, is considered dramatically too few by aid organisations working in Gaza, and the United Nations accuses Israel of continuing to block vital items.
Israel-Gaza latest: Gaza enduring ‘atrocious death and destruction’, UN boss warns
“Strict quotas are being imposed on the goods we distribute, along with unnecessary delay procedures,” said UN secretary general Antonio Guterres in New York on Friday.
“Essentials, including fuel, shelter, cooking gas and water purification supplies, are prohibited. Nothing has reached the besieged north.”
Nineteen of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational, all of them are overwhelmed with the number of patients and a lack of supplies.
Baby Aya at Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza is dangerously thin
“Today, we receive between 300 to 500 cases daily, with approximately 10% requiring admission. This volume of inpatient cases far exceeds the capacity of Rantisi hospital, as the facility is not equipped to accommodate such large numbers,” Jall al Barawi, a doctor at the hospital, told us.
At least 94% of the hospitals have sustained some damage, some considerable, according to the UN.
Jall al Barawi, a doctor at Rantisi hospital
Paramedic crews are close to running out of fuel to drive ambulances.
The lack of food, after an 11-week blockade, has left thousands malnourished and increasingly vulnerable to surviving injuries or recovering from other conditions.
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Children are the worst affected.
Our team in Gaza filmed with baby Aya at the Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza. She is now three months old and dangerously thin.
Her skin stretches over her cheekbones and eye sockets on her gaunt, pale face. Her nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.
Aya’s nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.
Lethal spiral
Her mother Sundush, who is only 19 herself, cannot get enough food to produce breastmilk. Baby formula is scarce.
Aya, like so many other young children, cannot get the vital nutrition she needs to grow and develop.
It’s a lethal spiral.
This is what Aya looked like shortly after she was born
“My daughter was born at a normal weight, 3.5kg,” Sundush tells us.
“But as the war went on, her weight dropped significantly. I would breastfeed her, she’d get diarrhoea. I tried formula – same result. With the borders closed and no food coming in, I can’t eat enough to give her the nutrients she needs.”
“I brought her to the hospital for treatment, but the care she needs isn’t available.
“The doctor said her condition is very serious. I really don’t want to lose her, because I lost my husband and she’s all I have left of him. I don’t want to lose her.”
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Aya and her mother Sundush
Some of the aid entering Gaza now is being looted. It is hard to know whether that is by Hamas or desperate civilians. Maybe a combination of the two.
The lack of aid creates an atmosphere of desperation, which eventually leads to a breakdown in security as everyone fights to secure food for themselves and their families.
Only by alleviating the desperation can the security situation improve, and the risk of famine abate.
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