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Kemi Badenoch has denied the Conservatives would consider means testing the pensions triple lock, as she accused her opponents of trying to “scare people”.

The Tory leader sought to clarify remarks she made on LBC on Thursday evening, which were interpreted as her leaving the door open to means testing the system that guarantees the state pension rises in line with average earnings, inflation or 2.5% – whichever is highest.

The Conservatives have long championed the triple lock – introduced by former chancellor George Osborne during the coalition government – but some senior Conservatives have recently hinted that it might not be sustainable in the long term.

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Ms Badenoch told LBC her party would look at “means testing” – something she said “we don’t do properly here” – in response to a question about the triple lock.

Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK were quick to seize on Ms Badenoch’s comments, claiming the Tory leader would “cut your state pension”.

However, the Tory leader posted on X that she was referring to means testing generally rather than with specific regards to the triple lock.

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Amanda Akass is a politics and business correspondent

Amanda Akass

Political correspondent

@amandaakass

From criticising “excessive” maternity pay to describing herself as becoming “working class” while working at McDonald’s – not to mention slamming sandwiches as “not real food” (compared to a desktop steak), Kemi Badenoch is never one to shy away from controversy.

Supporters argue this straight-talking directness is a key part of her appeal. But it also gets her into trouble.

On an LBC phone-in last night she was asked what she wanted to do for younger voters fed up with the triple lock on state pensions (which means they go up every year by 2.5%, inflation, or average earnings – whichever is higher).

Her response was to suggest “we’re going to look at means testing” as “we don’t have a system that knows who should get what”.

The idea that the Tories might not be religiously committed to a universal triple lock has led to a political pile-on.

It’s unclear what exactly means testing the triple lock would work in practice; it’s clearly not a developed policy yet (indeed, Ms Badenoch argues the party shouldn’t be focused on specific policies so soon after their drubbing at the last election).

Politicians on all sides have criticised the triple lock before, with the shadow chancellor Mel Stride previously describing it as “unsustainable” and the new pensions minister Torsten Bell as “messy” in his previous role at the Resolution Foundation thinktank.

But Labour are adamant that they would never abandon the triple lock.

Somehow, the Conservative attack on the government’s treatment of pensioners over the winter fuel allowance has become a big question mark over the Tories’ commitment to a promise which has become totemic with many of their core voters.

“Labour punished poor pensioners, snatching away winter fuel payments due to poor means testing,” she said.

“We need better mechanisms, not proxies like pension credit or free school meals. So why are Labour, Reform, and Lib Dems pretending we’re cancelling the triple lock? They’re scared.”

She continued: “In the clip attached, I say ‘no’ to looking at the triple lock.

“But we do need to deliver better means testing. Big tech and supermarkets know more than the government about its citizens. It’s time to change the system for the better. Let’s do this for the next generation.”

On Friday morning, Nigel Huddleston, the Tory party’s co-chair, defended Ms Badenoch and said means testing was very different to scrapping it all together.

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Speaking to Matt Barbet on Sky News Breakfast, Mr Huddleston said: “What Kemi said yesterday in answer to the triple lock… the first word out of her mouth was ‘no’.

“What she talked about yesterday in an interview was about means testing, and this is something she has commented on before, in the context of, for example, winter fuel.

“And she said, look, millionaires probably shouldn’t get it. Millionaires, not millions of pensioners – millionaires.

“We probably do need to look at means testing at some of those levels, and I don’t think many viewers would disagree with that.”

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Indian authorities seize $190M in crypto tied to BitConnect Ponzi scheme

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Indian authorities seize 0M in crypto tied to BitConnect Ponzi scheme

Indian authorities have seized nearly $190 million worth of crypto tied to the notorious BitConnect Ponzi scheme, which collapsed in 2018.

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‘Once in a generation moment’: Starmer vows to ‘keep US and Europe together’ amid Russia threat

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US officials heading to Saudi Arabia for Russia-Ukraine peace talks

The prime minister has spoken of a “once in a generation moment” for the UK, US and Europe to work together and warned against NATO “divisions” – as two senior American officials head to Saudi Arabia for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Sir Keir Starmer said the UK will “work to ensure we keep the US and Europe together” amid the threat faced from Russia.

His comments came after the Ukrainian president cautioned: “The old days are over when America supported Europe just because it always had.”

Earlier on Saturday, US officials confirmed Europe would not be involved in the upcoming peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

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Washington also sent a questionnaire to European capitals to ask what they could contribute to security guarantees for Kyiv.

“It’s clear Europe must take on a greater role in NATO,” said Sir Keir on Saturday night.

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“We cannot allow any divisions in the alliance to distract from the external enemies we face.”

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The French president is thought to be convening crisis talks between European leaders and NATO, which the prime minister will attend.

Sir Keir will then take messages from that meeting to Washington DC when he meets US President Donald Trump the week after, according to Downing Street sources.

During a talk at a security conference in Munich, Poland’s foreign minister Radosław Sikorski said he was “very glad that President Macron has called our leaders to Paris” to discuss “in a very serious fashion” the challenges posed by Mr Trump.

Meanwhile, US national security adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff are thought to be going to Saudi Arabia for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, according to two sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Sky News’ US partner network NBC News.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump said there had been an agreement to begin negotiations about ending the war in Ukraine, after holding phone calls with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Ukrainian president alluded to the conversations at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, suggesting Europe should be playing a role in the negotiations as well.

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‘We need a European army’

“Ukraine will never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement, and the same rule should apply to all of Europe,” Mr Zelenskyy said.

“The old days are over when America supported Europe just because it always had.”

He told world leaders it is time for the creation of an “armed forces of Europe”, adding his army was “not enough”.

Following his call with President Putin, Mr Trump posted on Truth Social saying: “We both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine.”

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‘Unlikely’ Ukraine gets old borders back

Mr Trump had told White House reporters he did not see any way “that a country in Russia’s position” could allow Ukraine to join NATO and that it was unlikely Ukraine would get all of its occupied land back.

It comes after Sir Keir told Mr Zelenskyy in recent days that Ukraine was still on an “irreversible path” to joining NATO.

However, on Saturday, the US special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said peace talks could focus on territorial concessions from Russia and targeting Mr Putin’s oil revenues.

“Russia is really a petrostate,” he said as he suggested Western powers needed to do more to enforce sanctions on Russia.

Mr Zelenskyy said the main issue in peace talks was to “not allow everything to go according to Putin’s plan”.

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Tether working with US lawmakers to shape stablecoin policy: report

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According to data from CoinMarketCap, Tether has a market capitalization of over $142 billion — making it the largest stablecoin issuer.

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