COP28: UK can ‘stand tall’ at climate summit, Rishi Sunak insists
Rishi Sunak has insisted the UK can “stand tall” at the COP28 summit – despite a former minister claiming the country is no longer seen as a “serious partner” in the fight against climate change.
Lord Zac Goldsmith, who resigned as an environment minister in June, told Sky News that delays to green targets meant “our standing has diminished in recent months”.
He said: “The UK is just not seen by our allies – big and also small island members of the Commonwealth – as a reliable or serious partner.”
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Asked about the comments by Sky News on the plane to COP28 in Dubai, the prime minister said the country had “a better track record than any other major economy in decarbonising”.
Mr Sunak added: “We are a leader on this issue – we have been, we’re continuing to do so. I will walk around very proudly championing the UK’s achievements.”
The PM is in Dubai for one day and will have a series of bilateral meetings where he will discuss climate change as well as the conflict in the Middle East.
He has faced criticism from some in his own party for delaying green pledges and issuing new licences for oil and gas drilling.
Speaking to reporters on the plane, Mr Sunak said the UK would still need fossil fuels for years and “any sensible approach to this will seek to use the resources we have at home”.
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‘We are a world leader on climate’
Asked about reports that the host country for the climate summit – the United Arab Emirates – had planned to use the event to strike oil deals, the PM said he wasn’t concerned, adding: “I commend the UAE’s leadership on this summit.”
Mr Sunak said King Charles’s address to the Dubai summit was another sign of how seriously the UK takes climate change.
“It speaks volumes about our type of leadership as a country that we’ve got our head of state there, delivering a call to arms,” he added.
Read more on COP28:
PM to call for ‘pragmatic’ climate action
Who is attending the summit?
Why is COP28 proving controversial?
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King Charles: ‘I’m alright… just about’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will also attend on Friday and Saturday to meet world leaders.
A senior Labour source said the visit was about the “national interest” and would show the party wants to see the UK “back on the world stage as a leader on global issues”.
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A former Conservative MP has said he felt “enormous guilt” when he found out he was the victim of a Westminster honeytrap scandal.
William Wragg resigned from the parliamentary party in April after he admitted giving out fellow politicians’ phone numbers to the suspected perpetrator of the sexting scam.
He said he felt threatened and pressured by the “catfish” after exchanging explicit photos with them.
Mr Wragg divulged the numbers to what he thought was a real person on a dating app, amid fears that the intimate images of himself would be leaked.
The former Tory party whip said he first saw news articles about the scandal when he was on a train.
The 36-year-old told the BBC: “My stomach just dropped.
“When I found out some of the things that had been going on, I just felt enormous guilt, enormous remorse.”
After the former Hazel Grove MP handed over the personal information, the catfish told Mr Wragg to vouch for their identity with their next potential victims, with the catfish telling their fresh targets they were a former researcher for Mr Wragg.
Mr Wragg agreed and this is what he feels “the most regret for” as it was “deceitful”.
Pic: PA
Panic attacks
After he was allegedly blackmailed, Mr Wragg started having panic attacks, with instances of yelling, crying, and swearing shocking his sleeping flatmates.
Police are investigating the scandal with at least 12 men with links to Westminster believed to have received unsolicited messages from the aliases “Charlie” and “Abi”.
The fake accounts were allegedly part of the scam to get MPs and other people in politics to send explicit images and other private or sensitive information.
Unlike others who were approached by the catfish accounts, Mr Wragg approached “Charlie” himself after spotting the profile on gay dating app Grindr.
And he thought the account was a real person before exchanging explicit photos with the catfish.
Suicidal thoughts
When the scandal broke, the humiliation and shame became too much for Mr Wragg.
He recounted photographers and the media camped outside his parents’ house, which is where he went to as he began to have suicidal thoughts.
Shortly after receiving medical attention, he returned to Westminster to resign as Conservative whip and from his posts on two parliamentary committees.
He had already announced he would not run in the next general election.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Man detained
In June, a member of the Labour Party aged in his mid-20s was apprehended in Islington, north London, on suspicion of harassment and offences under the Online Safety Act.
He has since been released on bail.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK.
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