Rishi Sunak to intervene in Sadiq Khan’s London housebuilding plan
Rishi Sunak is intervening in Sadiq Khan’s housing plan as he says not enough dwellings are built.
But the mayor of London has criticised the prime minister’s “disappointing and disingenuous claims” about the capital.
On Thursday, the government said Mr Khan has until the autumn to “look at opportunities to accelerate residential development on inner city brownfield industrial sites” or Housing Secretary Michael Gove will intervene directly.
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Downing Street criticised the mayor’s London Plan and wanted “to address issues such as single-story warehouses being prioritised over new homes on central London sites within a few minutes of tube stations”.
Mr Khan was quick to highlight his record on housebuilding, claiming that more homes had been completed under his leadership than at any time since the 1930s.
He pointed out progress had been to beat a target of starting 116,000 affordable homes in the capital between 2015 and 2023.
The government, meanwhile, claimed that “London’s own local housing plan says that 52,000 new homes are required – after the Mayor’s London Plan was not deemed credible to deliver the original 66,000 homes a year that he estimated to be needed”.
“Despite this, only around 30,000 have been built in recent years, and the latest indicator suggests only 21,000 new homes started development last year”.
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Mr Khan’s spokesperson said: “These disappointing and disingenuous claims appear to show a fundamental lack of understanding of housebuilding in London.
“The mayor delivered record numbers of affordable homes over the last six years, consistently exceeding government targets despite the impact of the pandemic and Brexit. This has included starting more council homes than at any time since the 1970s.
“The mayor’s London Plan was approved by the government in 2021 and the ministers should know that the housing figures included within it are reliant on sufficient government investment being made in infrastructure, particularly transport.”
Sunak jumping on Sadiq as he spies political win
In the aftermath of the Conservatives’ narrow win at the recent Uxbridge by-election, it was clear they had taken two key lessons from the result.
Tory MPs interviewed in the early hours said it was about showing what Labour in power was really like and that single issues, like ULEZ (the Ultra-Low Emission Zone) could be weaponised to win votes.
Less than a week later, it appears that the prime minister has wasted no time in applying what many in his party think could be the strategy that enables them to cling on to power at the next election.
Which is presumably why Rishi Sunak popped up on a London building site today to trash Sadiq Khan’s housebuilding record in the capital.
Focusing on the Labour mayor enables the prime minister to avoid his own party’s record which, assessed against almost any metric, is a disappointing one.
Their 300,000 homes a year pledge, established in 2017, has been oft ignored and at times watered down, with Housing Secretary Michael Gove last year downgrading it to “advisory”.
The party’s one serious attempt at meeting it with ambitious planning reforms and country-wide targets was met with a furious wave of opposition from its own MPs and council leaders, many determined to protect the picturesque Tory shires.
It was clear that approach had been abandoned this week when Mr Gove set out a new vision focused instead on cities, including a significant expansion of Cambridge – a scheme immediately condemned by the area’s Conservative MP.
Meanwhile, the most recent homelessness figures show record number of families living in temporary accommodation, including 131,000 children without a home.
Add to that the recent economic turmoil that has pushed up rents and mortgages to eye-watering levels and you get a toxic combination that underpins a dysfunctional and deteriorating housing market.
Rishi Sunak’s response? To point the finger at the London mayor and to say he will now step in to sort it out.
Given his government’s record across the rest of the country, Londoners may be forgiven for thinking this is anything more than electioneering.
Mr Sunak said: “We are on track to build 1 million new homes over this parliament, having already delivered over 2.2 million across the country since 2010.
“But the reality is that too few of these homes are being built in London, and for too many Londoners the dream of owning their own home is beyond reach.
“The mayor has failed to deliver the homes that London needs. This has driven up house prices and made it harder for families to get on the housing ladder in the first place.
“That is why we are stepping in today to boost house building and make homeownership a reality again for people across this great city.”
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In its plans, the government said it wanted to support a “Docklands 2.0”, which would see increased building in parts of east London like Thamesmead, Beckton and Silvertown.
It also said £150m for housebuilding will be passed onto London boroughs, bypassing the mayor’s Greater London Authority.
And another £200m will be spent on developing unused brownfield sites.
Politics
Met Police launches investigation into suspended Reform MP Rupert Lowe over ‘verbal threats’
The Metropolitan Police has launched an investigation into suspended Reform MP Rupert Lowe.
It comes after the party revealed they had referred him to police and stripped him of the whip on Friday, alleging he made “verbal threats” against chairman Zia Yousaf – which Mr Lowe denies.
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A spokesperson for the Met told Sky News they have now launched an investigation “into an allegation of a series of verbal threats made by a 67-year-old man”.
They added: “Our original statement referred to alleged threats made in December 2024. We would like to clarify that when this matter was reported to us, it referred to a series of alleged threats made between December 2024 and February 2025.
“Further enquiries are ongoing at this stage.”
In response to the update, Mr Lowe said he was unaware of the specific allegations but denied wrongdoing.
“I have instructed lawyers to represent me in this matter,” he said.
“My lawyers have made contact with the Met Police, and have made them aware of my willingness to co-operate in any necessary investigation.
“My lawyers have not yet received any contact from the police. It is highly unusual for the police to disclose anything to the media at this stage of an investigation.
“I remain unaware of the specific allegations, but in any event, I deny any wrongdoing.
“The allegations are entirely untrue.”
Why was Rupert Lowe suspended?
In a statement on Friday, Reform claimed it had received evidence from staff of “derogatory and discriminating remarks made about women” by Mr Lowe, 67, who was elected to his Great Yarmouth seat last year.
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Reform UK row: Who said what?
The statement also claimed Mr Lowe had “on at least two occasions made threats of physical violence” against Mr Yusuf and “accordingly, this matter is with the police”.
Mr Lowe denied the claims, describing them as “vexatious” and said it was “no surprise” that it had come a day after he raised “reasonable and constructive questions” about Reform leader Nigel Farage.
In an interview with the Daily Mail on Thursday, Mr Lowe had said Reform remains a “protest party led by the Messiah” under the Clacton MP.
Asked whether he thought the former UKIP leader had the potential to become prime minister, as his supporters have suggested, Mr Lowe said: “It’s too early to know whether Nigel will deliver the goods. He can only deliver if he surrounds himself with the right people.”
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The Reform row: What has happened and what has been said?
He also claimed that he was “barely six months into being an MP” himself and “in the betting to be the next prime minister”.
War of words escalates
Those words could have struck a nerve with Mr Farage after Elon Musk, the Tesla and Space X billionaire who has become one of Donald Trump’s closest allies, suggested the Reform leader “doesn’t have what it takes” and that Mr Lowe should take over.
The pair launched bitter personal attacks on each other in articles for the Sunday Telegraph, with Mr Farage accusing Mr Lowe of falling out with all his fellow Reform MPs due to “outbursts” and “inappropriate” language.
He also quoted Labour minister Mike Kane, who said after a confrontation with Mr Lowe in the Commons that his anger “showed a man not in charge of his own faculties”.
In his article, Mr Lowe repeated his claim there is no credible evidence against him, said he was the victim of a “witch hunt” and the Reform UK leadership was unable even to accept the most mild constructive criticism.
US lawmakers are set for a heated debate on stablecoin regulation, with key industry leaders expected to outline their vision for the future of digital asset oversight.
Charles Cascarilla, co-founder and CEO of stablecoin issuer Paxos, is scheduled to testify before the House Financial Services Committee, where he will urge lawmakers to establish “cross-jurisdictional reciprocity” in stablecoin regulations.
In his prepared testimony, Cascarilla flagged concerns about the existing hurdles in the adoption of Paxos’ Global Dollar (USDG) stablecoin due to it being issued via a regulated affiliate in Singapore.
“We fear that products like Paxos’ Global Dollar (USDG) stablecoin, issued by a regulated affiliate in Singapore, will languish while departments and agencies make their determinations,” Cascarilla wrote in his speech.
US must act to prevent regulatory stablecoin arbitrage
Cascarilla recommended US lawmakers strengthen the current “international reciprocity language” to include clearly defined, accelerated timelines for the US Treasury Department to designate overseas jurisdictions for stablecoin regulation.
“This timeframe would force swift action and prevent bureaucratic delays while guaranteeing thorough scrutiny of foreign regulatory regimes,” the executive said.
Cascarilla emphasized that potential delays in applying such action would be a major hurdle in the adoption and distribution of stablecoins like USDG in the US as well as cross-border operations.
“Reciprocity is not about lowering standards — it’s about raising them globally,” Cascarilla said, adding:
“By establishing a framework to recognize jurisdictions with comparable regulatory regimes — covering reserve requirements, AML measures and cybersecurity protocols — the United States can prevent regulatory arbitrage, where issuers exploit lax oversight abroad.”
Paxos stablecoins were deemed non-compliant in the EU
Cascarilla’s remarks come amid some Paxos-issued stablecoins facing compliance issues in the European Union following the enforcement of its crypto regulation framework, Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA).
Since the MiCA framework went into full force in December 2024, multiple crypto asset service providers in the EU — including Crypto.com and Coinbase — have announced the delistings of Paxos stablecoins, including Pax Dollar (PAX) and Pax Gold (PAXG).
While Paxos’ Cascarilla is now calling for the US to take urgent action in forcing a global framework for stablecoin issuers that are regulated outside of the US, some industry CEOs have urged all stablecoin firms to get regulated domestically instead.
In February, Circle co-founder Jeremy Allaire argued that all dollar-based stablecoin issuers should register in the US, citing consumer protection and fair competition in the crypto market. He stated:
“Whether you are an offshore company or based in Hong Kong, if you want to offer your US dollar stablecoin in the US, you should register in the US just like we have to go register everywhere else.”
Issued and regulated in the US, Circle’s USDC (USDC) stablecoin was officially approved as the first MiCA-compliant stablecoin in 2024.
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The X account of Meteora co-founder Ben Chow was reported to have been hacked after it posted a tweet reigniting the controversy around the launch of the Libra (LIBRA), Melania Meme (MELANIA) and Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin tokens that ultimately led to his resignation.
On March 11, Chow’s X account posted an “official statement” about his departure from Meteora. The post called out DefiTuna founders Vlad Pozniakov and Dhirk, claiming the duo’s sole intention was to extract the maximum funds possible from various memecoin token launches, including MELANIA, Mates (MATES) and a Raydium launch.
“As a long time Solana builder, the reason I stepped down is because I am far too trusting for how parasitic the memecoin space is.”
Source: Ben Chow (Deleted post)
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However, Meteora’s official X account flagged the post as fraudulent, claiming that Chow’s X account was compromised and urged users to refrain from clicking on any links.
Chow did not respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment. The fraudulent tweet has since been deleted after the account was recovered by Meteora.
Chow’s message contained alleged screenshots of WhatsApp conversations between Kelsier Ventures CEO Hayden Davis, Kelsier Ventures’ chief operating officer Gideon Davis, and Pozniakov discussing the MATES token, where one was quoted saying: “Yeah fellas tbh we are trying to max extract on this one.”
The legitimacy of the conversations could not be verified.
Source: Meteora
Meteora co-founder Zen, who has since taken up the role of CEO, said that Meteora’s X account was also compromised along with Chow’s:
“It’s true that someone gained access momentarily to our Meteora X account. We’ve since reset the account and now verifying.”
Investors were advised against clicking on any links shared from the accounts to avert financial losses.
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Argentine President Javier Milei is facing calls for impeachment after endorsing a Solana-native LIBRA token. Milei’s endorsement caused the token’s value to surge from near zero to $5, briefly reaching a $4 billion market capitalization.
However, a massive sell-off event followed that caused LIBRA’s value to drop rapidly, wiping out millions in investor funds in the process.
Milei dismissed rug pull allegations, claiming that he regularly promotes business projects as part of his free-market philosophy. His endorsement of the KIP Protocol, the developers behind LIBRA, was a part of the broader policy.
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