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Ukraine is set to be top of the agenda as Foreign Secretary James Cleverly begins a two-day trip to the US and Canada.

Speaking ahead of his departure, Mr Cleverly said: “The UK, US and Canada always have each other’s backs when it counts, protecting the rules-based order for nearly 80 years.”

He continued: “Today we stand united against Putin’s illegal war, and we will continue to use our uniquely strong defence and security ties to ensure that, in the end, the Ukrainian people will win.”

He will deliver a keynote speech at Washington’s Centre for Strategic and International Studies, at which he is set to outline Britain’s foreign policy priorities before talks with his US counterpart Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The two will then hold a joint news conference.

On Monday, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced that British tanks, artillery pieces and armoured vehicles are to be sent to Ukraine.

Mr Cleverly is set to use this British pledge to persuade the Americans and the Canadians to follow the UK’s lead. He is expected to stress the need for the right battlefield tools to be given to the Ukrainians quickly to allow them to win the war.

The Americans have delivered billions of dollars worth of weaponry to Ukraine over the past 11 months, but only in carefully managed tranches with limited capability for fear of provoking Russia.

James Cleverly and Anthony Blinken met in New York in September 2022
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James Cleverly and Anthony Blinken met in New York in September 2022

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he is committed to the acceleration of the UK’s diplomatic and military assistance to Ukraine as Russia prepares to launch a new offensive.

Top members of President Biden’s team are in the Ukrainian capital this week for meetings with President Zelenskyy.

Antony Blinken’s deputy Wendy Sherman, Dr. Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defence for policy and Jon Finer, principal deputy national security adviser, are all in Kyiv after meetings in Germany and Poland where they discussed continued US support for Ukraine.

Beyond Ukraine, the British government hopes the elusive UK-US trade deal will be discussed with the Americans in Washington.

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In Toronto, on Wednesday, Mr Cleverly is set to discuss British efforts to become a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a key free trade agreement between 11 countries including Canada.

Britain has reached the final phase of CPTPP accession, but disagreements remain over levels of market access the existing members would have to Britain.

Northern Ireland is also set to feature in discussions between Mr Cleverly and Mr Blinken. As speculation mounts that a EU-UK compromise over the Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol may be close, the UK will seek the support of the US.

President Biden has taken a close interest in negotiations over Northern Ireland and has made clear that the UK’s handling of the issue could impact the chances of a US-UK trade deal.

Cleverly has a tricky job

This is the most important trip for James Cleverly since he became foreign secretary last year.

He was appointed by Liz Truss but survived that chaos and was retained by Rishi Sunak. He’s quickly built a reputation for impressive diplomacy.

Comfortable in his own skin and outwardly confident with his brief, he is popular within the Foreign Office and, it seems, liked by his counterparts in foreign capitals.

But as Britain’s top diplomat, he has a tricky job. The UK’s global position is diminished. The world has looked at usually stable Britain in surprise as our politics has faltered and our economy sputters.

Cleverly will be pushing progress on the illusive US-UK trade deal and trying to reassure the Americans that Britain is now close to a workable solution for Northern Ireland. Biden, with his Irish roots, is watching closely. The shadow of Brexit is long.

But Ukraine will be the thrust for Cleverly.

Rishi Sunak’s government is trying to fill the hole left by Boris Johnson’s departure. Johnson’s forthright stance on the defence of Ukraine was admired across Western nations.

There will be an attempt on this trip to show clear British leadership and initiative to encourage deeper, faster international alignment over Ukraine.

We’re told that Cleverly will attempt to persuade his American and Canadian counterparts that now is the time to give Ukraine the tools it needs to win the war, not just to hold the frontline.

The British consignment of tanks, artillery and armoured vehicles will do little to change the battlefield picture on their own. Indeed, prepare for the prized Russian propaganda image of a Challenger 2 burned and destroyed.

The British hope is that their tank package will incentivise other nations to follow with their own equipment.

Cleverly’s message will be: arm Ukraine properly now and this can be over sooner rather than later with a weakened Russia forced to negotiate.

The Americans have sent huge quantities of lethal equipment to Ukraine changing the course of the war. But they’ve not yet sent tanks, mechanized artillery or armoured vehicles which could repel Russian advances.

The fear, always, has been Putin’s reaction to the full Western arming of Ukraine. And so, little by little, America has increased what it has been prepared to deliver.

But Biden is under growing domestic congressional pressure to justify his Ukraine spending. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers want audits and proof that America is backing a winner not simply prolonging the conflict and the bloodshed.

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UK and US announce trade deal to save thousands of British jobs, Starmer says

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UK and US announce trade deal to save thousands of British jobs, Starmer says

The UK and US have agreed a trade deal, with Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump confirming the announcement during a live televised phone call.

It is the first trade deal agreed after Mr Trump began his second presidential term in January, and after he imposed strict tariffs on countries around the world in April.

Sir Keir said the “first-of-a-kind” deal with the US will save thousands of jobs across the UK, boost British business and protect British industry.

Politics latest: Trump and Starmer say trade deal just the start

The deal includes:

• Lowering 27.5% tariff on British car exports to the US to 10%, affecting 100,000 vehicles each year

• UK steel and aluminium industries will no longer face any tariffs after they had 25% duties placed on them

• Beef exports allowed both ways

• UK to have “preferential treatment whatever happens in the future” on pharmaceuticals, the president said.

However, there is a still a 10% tariff on most UK goods imported into the US after Mr Trump imposed that duty on most countries’ exports last month.

Mr Trump said the “final details” of the agreement were still being “written up”.

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Watch full call with Trump and Starmer

Trade minister Douglas Alexander told parliament the UK has “committed to further negotiations on tariff reductions”.

MPs will be able to debate the deal and any legislation needed to implement it, he added.

Sir Keir said “this is a really fantastic, historic day” that will “boost trade between and across our countries”, while Mr Trump said the agreement would be a “great deal for both countries”.

The president said the deal will make both the UK and the US “much bigger in terms of trade” as he thanked Sir Keir, who he said has been “terrific for his partnership in this matter…we have a great relationship”.

Sir Keir said it was achieved by not playing politics, and insisted the UK can have good trade relations with both the US and the EU.

Red lines on beef and chicken

The PM said the UK had “red lines” on standards written into the agreement, particularly on agriculture.

Mr Alexander told the Commons: “Let me be clear that the imports of hormone-treated beef or chlorinated chicken will remain illegal.

“The deal we’ve signed today will protect British farmers and uphold our high animal welfare and environmental standards.”

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Sky challenges Trump on trade deal

‘American beef is the safest’

US agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins said the deal will “exponentially increase our beef exports”, and added: “To be very clear, American beef is the safest, the best quality, and the crown jewel of American agriculture for the world.”

On whether the UK will have to accept all US beef and chicken, Mr Trump said: “They’ll take what they want, we have plenty of it, we have every type, we have every classification you can have.”

Hinting the US will move towards higher welfare practices, he said US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr “is doing a tremendous job and he’s probably heading toward your system with no chemical, no this, no that”.

‘A Diet Coke deal’

Previous UK governments have attempted – and failed – to secure a free trade agreement with the US, but Sir Keir had made it a high priority.

Conservative shadow trade secretary Andrew Griffith chastised the deal, saying the UK is still in the same category as Burundi and Bhutan.

“It’s a Diet Coke deal, not the real thing,” he told the Commons.

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Man accused of harassing Jennifer Aniston for two years before crashing car through gates of her home

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Man accused of harassing Jennifer Aniston for two years before crashing car through gates of her home

A man has been charged after allegedly harassing Hollywood actress Jennifer Aniston for two years before crashing his car through the front gate of her home, prosecutors have said.

Jimmy Wayne Carwyle, of New Albany, Mississippi, is accused of having repeatedly sent the Friends star unwanted voicemail, email and social media messages since 2023.

The 48-year-old is then alleged to have crashed his grey Chrysler PT Cruiser through the front gate of Aniston’s home in the wealthy Bel Air neighbourhood of Los Angeles early on Monday afternoon.

Prosecutors said the collision caused major damage.

Police have said Aniston was at home at the time.

A security guard stopped Carwyle on her driveway before police arrived and arrested him.

There were no reports of anyone being injured.

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Carwyle has been charged with felony stalking and vandalism, prosecutors said on Thursday.

He also faces an aggravating circumstance of the threat of great bodily harm, Los Angeles County district attorney Nathan Hochman said.

Carwyle, who has been held in jail since his arrest on Monday, is set to appear in court on Thursday.

His bail has been set at $150,000 dollars (£112,742).

He is facing up to three years in prison if he is convicted as charged.

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“My office is committed to aggressively prosecuting those who stalk and terrorise others, ensuring they are held accountable,” Mr Hochman said in a statement.

Aniston bought her mid-century mansion in Bel Air on a 3.4-acre site for about 21 million dollars (£15.78m) in 2012, according to reporting by Architectural Digest.

She became one of the biggest stars on television in her 10 years on NBC’s Friends.

Aniston won an Emmy Award for best lead actress in a comedy for the role, and she has been nominated for nine more.

She has appeared in several Hollywood films and currently stars in The Morning Show on Apple TV+.

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Tyre Nichols death: Ex-police officers found not guilty of murdering motorist in US

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Tyre Nichols death: Ex-police officers found not guilty of murdering motorist in US

Three former police officers in the US have been found not guilty of murder over the death of motorist Tyre Nichols.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith were acquitted by jurors following a nine-day trial at Tennessee state court.

The former Memphis officers were also found not guilty of aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.

Mr Nichols, a father of one, died three days after officers punched, kicked and hit him with a baton in January 2023 as he was just yards from his home.

Former Memphis Police Department officers Demetrius Haley, center, Tadarrius Bean, left, and Justin Smith Jr., right, hug each other after they were acquitted of state charges, including second-degree murder, in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols after he ran away from a traffic stop. Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (Chris Day/Commercial Appeal/USA Today Network via AP, Pool)
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The defendants hugged each other after being acquitted of the charges. Pic: Commercial Appeal/USA Today Network/AP

The 29-year-old’s death and a video of the incident – in which he cried out for his mother – sparked outrage in the US including nationwide protests and led to police reform.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Nichols’ family, described the verdicts as a “devastating miscarriage of justice”. In a statement, he added: “The world watched as Tyre Nichols was beaten to death by those sworn to protect and serve.”

Memphis District Attorney Steve Mulroy said he was “surprised that there wasn’t a single guilty verdict on any of the counts” including second-degree murder. He said Mr Nichols’ family “were devastated… I think they were outraged”.

From left Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, three former Memphis officers acquitted of state charges, including second-degree murder, in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols after he ran away from a traffic stop in 2023. Memphis Police Dept. / via AP file
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Former police officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith were accused of second-degree murder. Pic: Memphis Police Dept/AP


But despite the three defendants being acquitted of state charges during the trial in Memphis, they still face the prospect of years in prison after they were convicted of federal charges of witness tampering last year.

Two other former officers previously pleaded guilty in both state and federal court. Desmond Mills Jr. gave evidence as a prosecution witness, while Emmitt Martin was blamed for the majority of the violence.

Sentencing for all five officers is pending.

Protesters march down the street Friday, Jan. 27, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn., as authorities release police video depicting five Memphis officers beating Tyre Nichols, whose death resulted in murder charges and provoked outrage at the country's latest instance of police brutality. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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Tyre Nichols’ death sparked street protests in January 2023 in Memphis and across the US. Pic: AP

Video evidence showed Mr Nichols was stopped in his car, yanked from his vehicle, pepper-sprayed and hit with a Taser. He broke free and ran away before the five police officers caught up with him again, and the beating took place.

Prosecutors argued that the officers used excessive, deadly force in trying to handcuff Mr Nichols and were criminally responsible for each others’ actions.

They also said the officers had a duty to intervene and stop the beating and tell medics that Mr Nichols had been hit repeatedly in the head, but they failed to do so.

The trial heard Mr Nichols suffered tears and bleeding in the brain and died from blunt force trauma.

The defence suggested Mr Nichols was on drugs, giving him the strength to fight off five strong officers, and was actively resisting arrest.

In December, the US Justice Department said a 17-month investigation showed the Memphis Police Department uses excessive force and discriminates against Black people.

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