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Energy secretary Grant Shapps has visited Ukraine to announce fresh financial support for its nuclear fuel supply in a bid to end its reliance on Russia.

The UK will provide a £192m loan guarantee to Ukraine’s national nuclear company, Energoatom via the UK’s export credit agency, UK Export Finance.

Through the deal, UK-headquartered Urenco will supply Energoatom with uranium enrichment services that are vital for nuclear fuel, with nuclear power generating over half of the country’s electricity.

The government hopes this will strengthen Ukraine’s energy security and help end the country’s dependence on nuclear services and nuclear fuel from Russia, as well as further isolate Vladmir Putin.

According to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the new loan will take the UK’s non-military financial assistance to Ukraine close to £5bn.

On his visit to Ukraine, Mr Shapps met senior Ukrainian ministers and energy industry figures and visited a power station that is undergoing repairs after it was damaged by Russian bombing.

He also visited a children’s nursery attended by Nikita, the young son of the family he took in under the UK’s Homes for Ukraine scheme – where he played a recorded message from the boy.

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“Our support for Ukraine is unwavering in the face of Putin’s barbaric invasion – the UK continues to stand with Ukraine as they repel Russian attacks and rebuild their country,” Mr Shapps said.

“Being here on the ground, it’s truly remarkable witnessing first-hand the sheer courage, resolve and gritty determination of the Ukrainian people.

“Putin has used energy as a weapon of war: the action today to support nuclear fuel deliveries will help Ukraine end their reliance on Russian supplies and bolster their energy security.”

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‘There is a global race underway for Bitcoin’ — Anthony Pompliano

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<div>'There is a global race underway for Bitcoin' — Anthony Pompliano</div>

The election of a pro-crypto President in the United States and growing macroeconomic turmoil will continue to drive investors to Bitcoin.

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Sir Keir Starmer vows to defend budget decisions ‘all day long’ as farmers slam ‘disrespectful’ PM

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Sir Keir Starmer vows to defend budget decisions 'all day long' as farmers slam 'disrespectful' PM

Sir Keir Starmer has said he will defend the decisions made in the budget “all day long” amid anger from farmers over inheritance tax changes.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced last month in her key speech that from April 2026, farms worth more than £1m will face an inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than the standard 40% applied to other land and property.

The announcement has sparked anger among farmers who argue this will mean higher food prices, lower food production and having to sell off land to pay for the tax.

Sir Keir Starmer

Sir Keir defended the budget as he gave his first speech as prime minister at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales, where farmers have been holding a tractor protest outside.

Sir Keir admitted: “We’ve taken some extremely tough decisions on tax.”

He said: “I will defend facing up to the harsh light of fiscal reality. I will defend the tough decisions that were necessary to stabilise our economy.

“And I will defend protecting the payslips of working people, fixing the foundations of our economy, and investing in the future of Britain and the future of Wales. Finally, turning the page on austerity once and for all.”

He also said the budget allocation for Wales was a “record figure” – some £21bn for next year – an extra £1.7bn through the Barnett Formula, as he hailed a “path of change” with Labour governments in Wales and Westminster.

And he confirmed a £160m investment zone in Wrexham and Flintshire will be going live in 2025.

‘PM should have addressed the protesters’

Among the hundreds of farmers demonstrating was Gareth Wyn Jones, who told Sky News it was “disrespectful” that the prime minister did not mention farmers in his speech.

He said “so many people have come here to air their frustrations. He (Starmer) had an opportunity to address the crowd. Even if he was booed he should have been man enough to come out and talk to the people”.

He said farmers planned to deliver Sir Keir a letter which begins with “‘don’t bite the hand that feeds you”.

Farmers' tractor protest outside the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales
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Farmers’ tractor protest outside the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales

Mr Wyn Jones told Sky News the government was “destroying” an industry that was already struggling.

“They’re destroying an industry that’s already on its knees and struggling, absolutely struggling, mentally, emotionally and physically. We need government support not more hindrance so we can produce food to feed the nation.”

He said inheritance tax changes will result in farmers increasing the price of food: “The poorer people in society aren’t going to be able to afford good, healthy, nutritious British food, so we have to push this to government for them to understand that enough is enough, the farmers can’t take any more of what they’re throwing at us.”

Mr Wyn Jones disputed the government’s estimation that only 500 farming estates in the UK will be affected by the inheritance tax changes.

“Look, a lot of farmers in this country are in their 70s and 80s, they haven’t handed their farms down because that’s the way it’s always been, they’ve always known there was never going to be inheritance tax.”

On Friday, Sir Keir addressed farmers’ concerns, saying: “I know some farmers are anxious about the inheritance tax rules that we brought in two weeks ago.

“What I would say about that is, once you add the £1m for the farmland to the £1m that is exempt for your spouse, for most couples with a farm wanting to hand on to their children, it’s £3m before anybody pays a penny in inheritance tax.”

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Welsh farmer Gareth Wyn Jones
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Welsh farmer Gareth Wyn Jones

Ministers said the move will not affect small farms and is aimed at targeting wealthy landowners who buy up farmland to avoid paying inheritance tax.

But analysis this week said a typical family farm would have to put 159% of annual profits into paying the new inheritance tax every year for a decade and could have to sell 20% of their land.

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The Country and Land Business Association (CLA), which represents owners of rural land, property and businesses in England and Wales, found a typical 200-acre farm owned by one person with an expected profit of £27,300 would face a £435,000 inheritance tax bill.

The plan says families can spread the inheritance tax payments over 10 years, but the CLA found this would require an average farm to allocate 159% of its profits each year for a decade.

To pay that, successors could be forced to sell 20% of their land, the analysis found.

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Trump policies could take DeFi, BTC staking mainstream: Redstone co-founder

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Trump policies could take DeFi, BTC staking mainstream: Redstone co-founder

Trump’s administration could push DeFi from niche to mainstream, with crypto advocates eyeing potential pro-crypto policy shifts.

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