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The World Health Organisation’s call for government action over “exploitative” formula milk prices “cannot be ignored”, an MP has said. 

Alison Thewliss, an SNP MP and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on infant feeding, told Sky News the WHO’s intervention must lead to government action on behalf of families.

The Glasgow Central MP raised the dangers of high formula prices in the House of Commons the day after Sky News interviewed the WHO from Geneva.

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‘Are families being exploited? Yes’

The WHO’s lead on infant feeding, Laurence Grummer-Strawn, said formula companies are “exploiting” families with high prices and pleaded with the government to take more action to support parents.

In the Commons, Ms Thewliss said the situation was “an absolute catastrophe for those who rely on infant formula but a bonanza for the formula companies who are making significant profits out of this”.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told the Commons: “UK food inflation has been driven largely by global factors and has already fallen from 19.6% to 12.3% and external forecasts expect it to continue to fall.

“The Competition and Markets Authority undertook a review earlier this year of the groceries sector.

“They have not yet found evidence that food inflation is being driven by weak competition but they are continuing their review.”

Ms Thewliss said after: “The World Health Organisation’s call for action cannot be ignored.

“It is imperative that the UK government takes swift and decisive measures to address this issue and ensure that every child has access to affordable baby formula.

“The wellbeing of our youngest citizens should be a top priority, and we must not allow financial barriers to compromise their health and development.

“The response from the chancellor today was far from convincing. Rather than ducking from criticism and passing the concerns on to the CMA, it is high time that this UK government took action of their own to tackle this crisis.”

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Open baby formula sold on Facebook

In May, Sky News revealed the desperate measures families across the UK were having to take including stealing formula milk, buying it on the black market and substituting it for alternatives such as condensed milk.

The infant nutrition charity Feed told Sky News they hoped the WHO’s intervention would be “the tipping point”.

Erin Williams, the director of Feed, said: “Feed are absolutely with the World Health Organisation on this one.

“We have had formula prices rise way beyond inflation and quite frankly we have had a very vague justification from the formula companies about rising costs.

“When we are in a scenario where parents are buying half-used tubs of infant formula on Facebook Marketplace to feed their babies then I think the feelings and the profits of the formula companies have to come quite low in the list of priorities.”

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Formula manufacturers have blamed increased production costs for the rise in prices but recent data shows that the cheapest brand has jumped by 45% in the past two years while other brands have risen on average 24%.

The Competition and Markets Authority has said the review into the groceries market, including baby formula, will be published this autumn.

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Why Boris’s best mate is off to Reform

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Why Boris's best mate is off to Reform

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈       

Former Conservative chairman and friend of Boris Johnson – Sir Jake Berry – is defecting to Reform UK, causing more problems for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

On today’s episode, Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy discuss if his defection will divide parts of Reform policy.

Elsewhere, the Anglo-French summit gets under way, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hoping to announce a migration deal with French President Emmanuel Macron to deter small boat crossings.

Plus, chatter around Whitehall that No10 are considering a pre-summer reshuffle, but will it have any value?

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Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

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Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

The trial is part of Project Acacia, an initiative from the RBA exploring how digital money and tokenization could support financial markets in Australia.

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Starmer and Macron agree need for ‘new deterrent’ to stop small boat crossings

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Starmer and Macron agree need for 'new deterrent' to stop small boat crossings

Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have agreed the need for a “new deterrent” to deter small boats crossings in the Channel, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister met Mr Macron this afternoon as part of the French president’s state visit to the UK, which began on Tuesday.

High up the agenda for the two leaders is the need to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel, which Mr Macron said yesterday was a “burden” for both the UK and France.

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The small boats crisis is a pressing issue for the prime minister, given that more than 20,000 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in the first six months of this year – a rise of almost 50% on the number crossing in 2024.

Sir Keir is hoping he can reach a deal for a one-in one-out return treaty with France, ahead of the UK-France summit on Thursday, which will involve ministerial teams from both nations.

The deal would see those crossing the Channel illegally sent back to France in exchange for Britain taking in any asylum seeker with a family connection in the UK.

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However, it is understood the deal is still in the balance, with some EU countries unhappy about France and the UK agreeing on a bilateral deal.

French newspaper Le Monde reports that up to 50 small boat migrants could be sent back to France each week, starting from August, as part of an agreement between Sir Keir and Mr Macron.

A statement from Downing Street said: “The prime minister met the French President Emmanuel Macron in Downing Street this afternoon.

“They reflected on the state visit of the president so far, agreeing that it had been an important representation of the deep ties between our two countries.

“Moving on to discuss joint working, they shared their desire to deepen our partnership further – from joint leadership in support of Ukraine to strengthening our defence collaboration and increasing bilateral trade and investment.”

It added: “The leaders agreed tackling the threat of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions.

“The prime minister spoke of his government’s toughening of the system in the past year to ensure rules are respected and enforced, including a massive surge in illegal working arrests to end the false promise of jobs that are used to sell spaces on boats.

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“The two leaders agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of these gangs.”

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, seized on the statement to criticise Labour for scrapping the Conservatives’ Rwanda plan, which the Tories claim would have sent asylum seekers “entering the UK illegally” to Rwanda.

He said in an online post: “We had a deterrent ready to go, where every single illegal immigrant arriving over the Channel would be sent to Rwanda.

“But Starmer cancelled this before it had a chance to start.

“Now, a year later, he’s realised he made a massive mistake. That’s why numbers have surged and this year so far has been the worst in history for illegal channel crossings.

“Starmer is weak and incompetent and he’s lost control of our borders.”

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