UK government in ‘active discussions’ with Washington over US film tariffs as Starmer urged to ‘stand up’ to Trump
The UK government is in “active discussions” with top officials in the White House about Donald Trump’s film tariffs, a minister has said.
Chris Bryant said the US president’s plan to put 100% tariffs on films made outside America is a “fluid situation” that requires a “calm and steady approach”.
Politics live: PM defends winter fuel cut after local elections drubbing
“We are already in active discussions with the top of the US administration on this subject,” he told MPs after an urgent question was raised on the matter in the House of Commons.
“We are working hard to establish what might be proposed, if anything, and to make sure our world beating creative industries are protected.”
He added that he is due to meet UK industry leaders on Thursday.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Mr Trump said he had authorised government departments to put a 100% tariff “on any and all movies coming into our country that are produced in foreign lands”.
Entertainment industry union BECTU has warned this could seriously damage the industry in the UK.
Shadow culture minister Stuart Andrew asked what impact assessment the government has made and whether there are any contingency plans if an exemption can’t be secured.
Chris Bryant is a minister in the culture department
Mr Bryant said he is “not sure precisely what is intended” with the film tariffs as he doesn’t know “what a tariff on a service would look like”.
“Most films these days are an international collaboration of some kind and we want to maintain that,” he said.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Film industry tariffs don’t’ make ‘great deal of sense’
He appeared to rule out retaliatory tariffs if Mr Trump follows through with his plan, saying the Labour government of 1947 introduced tariffs on US films because they thought too many were being shown in the cinema and “it didn’t go very well as a strategy”.
“The Americans simply banned exports of US films and we ended up watching Ben-Hur repeatedly in every cinema.
“The successful bit of what we did in 1947 and 1948 was that we invested in the British film production system. And that led to films like Hamlet and Kind Hearts and Coronets. I think that that’s the pattern that we still want to adopt.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Trump is coming for our British film industry’
PM urged to stand up to Trump
However, the Liberal Democrats have urged the government to stand up to Mr Trump, whose film tariffs form part of a wider crackdown on US imports announced earlier this year.
At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, party leader Ed Davey urged Sir Keir Starmer to work with allies in Europe and in the Commonwealth to “make clear to President Trump that if he picks a fight with James Bond, Bridget Jones and Paddington Bear, he will lose”.
However, the PM said it is “not sensible or pragmatic” to choose between Europe and the US, with Downing Street still seeking to negotiate an “economic deal” with Washington that it hopes could offset some of Mr Trump’s measures.
Mr Trump said the film tariffs were necessary because other countries were “offering all sorts of incentives to draw” filmmakers and film studios away from the United States, calling the issue a “national security threat”.
But insiders have questioned whether it will be effective as the exodus of the film industry from Hollywood is mostly due to economic reasons, with other countries having lower labour costs and more expansive tax incentives.
Much of the 2023 box office smash Barbie was filmed at the Warner Bros Leavesden studios, in Hertfordshire, as was Wonka and 2022 hit The Batman, while the vast majority of James Bond films were shot at Pinewood Studios, in Buckinghamshire.
It was also unclear whether the duties will apply to films on streaming platforms as well as those that are released in cinemas.
There are 161 people still missing in Texas in the aftermath of last weekend’s deadly flash floods, the state’s governor has said.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, governor Gregg Abbot said the number of missing had risen markedly.
He said among the missing were five children and one counsellor from Camp Mystic – where at least 27 people were killed in the flash flooding.
At least 109 people are confirmed to have died in the floods, which took place on the 4 July weekend, but this figure has been steadily climbing ever since.
People comforted each other in Kerville. Pic: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP
The bulk of deaths, and the main search for additional bodies, have been concentrated in Kerr County and the city of Kerrville.
The area was transformed into a disaster zone when torrential rains struck the region early last Friday, unleashing deadly flooding along the Guadalupe River.
Travis County, Kendall County, Burnett County, Williamson County, and Tom Green County were also hit.
Mr Abbot said many of those who were unaccounted for were in the Texas Hill Country area, but had not registered at a camp or hotel, posing further challenges for authorities.
Camp Mystic
Mr Abbot planned to make another visit to Camp Mystic.
The century-old all-girls Christian summer camp was badly hit by the flash floods, with at least 27 campers and counsellors dying.
Hanna Lawrence, left, and Rebecca Lawrence, right. Pic: John Lawrence/AP
Lila Bonner (L) and Eloise Peck both died in the flash floods at Camp Mystic, Texas. Pic: Family handout
Chloe Childress. Pic: Debra Alexander Photography via AP
Some of the victims include Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence, both eight, Chloe Childress, 19, who was among the counsellors at Camp Mystic when the flood hit, and Eloise Peck and Lila Bonner, both nine.
There were scenes of devastation at the camp as the flood water receded.
Outside the cabins where the girls had slept, mud-splattered blankets and pillows were scattered.
Also in the debris were pink, purple and light blue luggage, decorated with stickers.
A view inside a cabin at Camp Mystic after the flooding. Pic: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
Camper’s belongings lie on the ground following flooding on the Guadalupe River, at Camp Mystic.
Pic: Reuters
‘Everything looked flooded and broken’
One of the campers, 10-year-old Lucy Kennedy, told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that she woke up to the sound of thunder at around midnight before the floods struck.
“I couldn’t go back to sleep,” she said. “I just had a feeling that something really bad was about to happen.”
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
She said the girls at the camp were told to grab blankets, pillows and water bottles and line up single file as the floodwater rose, before getting airlifted to safety.
Wynne Kennedy, Lucy’s mother, added: “When I saw her, she was wrapped up in a blanket, had a teddy bear.
“We just held each other tight, and I held her all night.”
Their home in Kerrville was also destroyed by the flash floods.
Lucy Kennedy, 10 who was rescued from Camp Mystic, and her mother Wynne. Pic: NBC
Political row
Meanwhile, a political row has unfolded parallel to the recovery efforts, with some questioning whether local authorities sent out warnings and alerts early enough.
Similarly, Democrats have criticised Donald Trump over cuts his Elon Musk-launched Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has made to the National Weather Service – but it isn’t clear whether these actually made any difference.
Read more:
Sisters killed in Texas flooding found holding hands
Why did deadly Texas floods catch people by surprise?
Wall of water
The flash floods erupted before daybreak on Friday, after massive amounts of rainfall caused the Guadalupe River to rise by eight metres in less than an hour.
The wall of water overwhelmed cabins, tents and trails along the river’s edge.
Some survivors were found clinging to trees.
Some of the campers had to swim out of their cabin windows to get to safety, while others clung to rope to make it to higher ground.
The date for Sean “Diddy” Combs’s sentencing hearing has been confirmed.
Following his high-profile trial, the hip-hop mogul was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution by jurors in Manhattan, New York, last week – but was cleared of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
Defence lawyers argued Combs, who has been in prison in Brooklyn since his arrest in September last year, should be bailed ahead of sentencing given the not guilty verdicts for the more serious charges, but Judge Arun Subramanian denied this – citing, among other things, the rapper’s own admissions of previous violent behaviour.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in court after the verdict was delivered. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
The charges of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy carried a potential life sentence. Combs still faces up to 20 years in prison for the prostitution-related offences, but is not expected to receive the maximum punishment.
After the verdict was delivered, the judge scheduled the sentencing hearing for 3 October. At a remote follow-up conference on Tuesday, with agreement from the defence and prosecution, the judge approved the date.
Combs joined the call but did not make any comment.
Any sentence will include credit for time already served – which will be just over a year by the time the hearing takes place.
During his trial, Combs was accused by prosecutors of abusing and coercing three alleged victims, including his former long-term partner, singer and model Cassie Ventura.
Jurors found the allegations did not amount to sex-trafficking or racketeering, or running a criminal enterprise – but they did find him guilty of transporting Cassie and another former girlfriend “Jane” for prostitution offences around the US, and paying male escorts to engage in sexual encounters.
Despite the guilty verdict on those charges, the 55-year-old’s team described it as “the victory of all victories”.
Read more:
How the trial unfolded
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
In an interview over the weekend, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo said Combs had received a standing ovation from fellow inmates when he returned to jail after being acquitted of the more serious charges.
“They all said, ‘We never get to see anyone who beats the government’,” he said.
Ahead of sentencing, Combs’s lawyers will file their recommendations by 19 September, with prosecutors likely to follow a week later.
Prosecutors previously said the rapper could face about four to five years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, while the defence has suggested a two-year sentence.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike