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Sir Keir Starmer has welcomed the fall of Bashar al Assad, saying Syrians “have put up with his brutal regime for far, far too long”.

The prime minister said his government is “talking to regional allies” as he urged Syrians to find “a political way forward”, adding that “it’s very important that civilians and minorities are protected in this process.

“But [I’m] very, very pleased that Assad has fallen,” he said.

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Syrian opposition fighters celebrate the fall of the Syrian government, in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
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Syrian opposition fighters celebrate the fall of the government, in Damascus. Pic: AP

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Syria given a ‘moment of opportunity’

Sir Keir declined to say if the UK would hold talks with the insurgents who have wrested control of the country from Assad after 24 years in power.

One of those groups, Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), was once known as the Nusra Front, a former wing of al Qaeda, before cutting those ties in 2016, and has long been designated a terrorist group by the US and Russia.

Mr Starmer said it was important that “we stabilise, that we reject terrorism and violence, and that we all work towards a political settlement for the future of Syria and for the region.”

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Sir Keir is visiting the Middle East on a trip that was scheduled before the collapse of the Syrian regime to rebel forces.

While the trip was initially set to discuss the economic partnerships between the UK and United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the regional instability is now also set to feature.

However, Downing Street said on Saturday night that Sir Keir is looking to “deepen defence and security ties” with both the UAE and KSA.

UK defence exports to the KSA are worth £3.8bn, and it is the largest such market for Britain.

For many years, the KSA was opposed to the Assad regime in Syria, as well as opposing Assad’s backers in Iran.

The Saudis previously provided military and financial support to various rebel groups in Syria in the wake of the 2011 civil war.

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Last year, Bashar al Assad visited KSA following Syria’s readmission to the Arab League after an 11-year absence.

Syria was kicked out of the group following the outbreak of the civil war and the regime’s treatment of civilians.

The UAE similarly cut ties with Syria after the outbreak of war, before re-establishing relations in 2018.

The KSA has also improved its relations with Iran recently, despite the two nations backing opposing factions in conflicts like Syria, Yemen and elsewhere.

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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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