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“I am totally, 100% on it – and it’s going to be OK,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said this afternoon.

He was speaking following a shock interest rate rise to 5%, and the news that inflation was stuck at 8.7%.

Mr Sunak was talking from a warehouse in Dartford, Kent, amid the latest economic turmoil.

Politics latest: ‘We are going to get through this’

The former chancellor has tried to project his financial nous and attention to detail as reasons the public can trust him to bring down both price growth and the Bank of England’s base rate.

Mr Sunak made his primary pledge at the start of 2023 to “halve inflation” from just over 10% to around 5% by the end of the year.

Speaking from the warehouse, Mr Sunak said: “Yesterday you would have heard some news about inflation, today you may have seen what the Bank of England has announced with interest rates.

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“I’m sure that actually fills many of you with some anxiety and some concern about what’s going on and what that means for you and your families.

“I’m here to tell you that I am totally, 100%, on it and it’s going to be OK and we are going to get through this.”

Asked by Sky News if he accepted that his approach to the economy – keeping public pay low, shying away from tax cuts and promising to halve inflation – would hurt his electoral chances, Mr Sunak remained stoic.

Ed Conway: Scale of rate hike is shock therapy for UK’s inflation problem

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How will we control inflation?

He said that meeting his target has “of course” got harder, “but it’s certainly not impossible”.

The prime minister said that public will be able to judge him in “six months, nine months, a year” on how he is doing and whether the economy is healthier.

Earlier in the day, he said that halving inflation by the end of year is “hard but not impossible”.

Mr Sunak was speaking to the Times CEO summit shortly after the surprise hiking of interest rate.

Mr Sunak said: “Clearly what’s happened in the last couple of months makes that harder, of course it does. That goes without saying. But I’ve always said this would be hard.

“It’s clearly become more challenging and it’s clearly become harder, but it’s not impossible and we’re throwing absolutely everything at it, and that’s what I’m doing.”

He said earlier that “clearly it’s got harder over the past few months” to bring down inflation.

Interest rates are set by the bank independently of the government and impact the cost of borrowing money, while inflation charts how quickly prices are rising.

Rishi Sunak and Andrew Bailey. Pic: Twitter/Rishi Sunak
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Rishi Sunak and Andrew Bailey. Pic: Twitter/Rishi Sunak

Speaking to journalists during the daily briefing, the prime minister’s spokesman said Mr Bailey still had Rishi Sunak’s support.

He was repeatedly asked if the central bank chief was doing a good job in tackling inflation, but did not respond in the affirmative.

This took place shortly before the surprise interest rate hike.

The Number 10 spokesman said: “The prime minister thinks it is important that we continue to support the bank in the work they are doing.

“You’re aware that there’s an independent process for setting interest rates, and we continue to work closely with them and work well with them to bring down inflation.”

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Earlier in the day, Downing Street refused to say if Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey was doing a good job.

The bank has a target to bring inflation down to 2%.

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Two dead and a million evacuated as Super Typhoon Fung-wong hits Philippines

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Two dead and a million evacuated as Super Typhoon Fung-wong hits Philippines

Two people have died and more than one million people evacuated after a storm bearing down on the Philippines intensified into a super typhoon and made landfall on Sunday.

Fung-wong started battering eastern and central parts of the country, causing power outages, and forcing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to declare a state of emergency.

One person drowned in Catanduanes and firefighters recovered the body of a woman trapped under the debris of a collapsed home in Catbalogan City, officials said.

A satellite image shows Storm Fung-wong, which has intensified into a super typhoon. Pic: CSU/CIRA & JMA/JAXA/Handout via Reuters
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A satellite image shows Storm Fung-wong, which has intensified into a super typhoon. Pic: CSU/CIRA & JMA/JAXA/Handout via Reuters

A man walks in the rain with an umbrella as Typhoon Fung-wong approaches, in Cauayan, Isabela, Philippines. Pic: Reuters
Image:
A man walks in the rain with an umbrella as Typhoon Fung-wong approaches, in Cauayan, Isabela, Philippines. Pic: Reuters

Evacuations under way in Quezon province. Pic: Philippine Coast Guard via AP
Image:
Evacuations under way in Quezon province. Pic: Philippine Coast Guard via AP

An evacuation centre in Manila. Pic: Reuters
Image:
An evacuation centre in Manila. Pic: Reuters

Packing sustained winds of 115mph and gusts of up to 140mph, Super Typhoon Fung-wong made landfall in Aurora province in central Luzon.

Those living in high-risk villages in northeastern provinces were told to evacuate, including in Bicol, a coastal region vulnerable to Pacific cyclones and mudflows from Mayon, one of the country’s most active volcanoes.

Defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr warned Fung-wong could affect a vast expanse of the country, including the capital Manila, and Cebu, the central province hit hardest by the deadly Typhoon Kalmaegi just days ago.

More than 200 people were killed in the earlier typhoon, and around 100 are still missing.

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Filipinos stranded on roofs amid Typhoon floods

Mr Teodoro Jr urged residents to heed evacuation orders, warning refusing to comply was dangerous and unlawful.

“We ask people to pre-emptively evacuate so that we don’t end up having to conduct rescues at the last minute, which could put the lives of police, soldiers, firefighters and coast guard personnel at risk,” he said in a public address.

More than 30 million people could be exposed to hazards posed by Fung-wong, the Office of Civil Defence said.

The projection of the route that will be taken by Super Typhoon Fung-wong by Japan's national weather agency. Pic: JMA
Image:
The projection of the route that will be taken by Super Typhoon Fung-wong by Japan’s national weather agency. Pic: JMA

In Isabela in northern Luzon, dozens of families were sheltering at a basketball court repurposed as an evacuation centre.

“We’re scared,” said Christopher Sanchez, 50, who fled his home with his family. “We’re here with our grandchildren and our kids. The whole family is in the evacuation area.”

Nearly 400 domestic and international flights have been cancelled, according to the civil aviation regulator.

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Deadly tornado tears through southern Brazil

Deadly tornado in Brazil

Meanwhile, a powerful tornado ripped through the southern state of Parana in Brazil – killing at least six and injuring more than 750 people, state officials said on Saturday.

The tornado left a trail of destruction, downing trees, overturning vehicles and damaging buildings.

Roads were also blocked and power lines damaged, with authorities saying around 1,000 people were displaced,

“We will continue to assist the people of Parana and provide all the help needed,” President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wrote on X.

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UK deploying specialist RAF team to defend Belgium from ‘rogue’ drones

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UK deploying specialist RAF team to defend Belgium from 'rogue' drones

The UK is deploying a specialist Royal Air Force team to help defend Belgium’s skies following a series of sightings of “rogue” drones, the defence secretary and his military chief have revealed.

The ground-based unit will be equipped with kit that can track and take down unmanned aerial systems.

It is not yet clear who is responsible for the drone incursions, which forced the country’s main airport near Brussels to close temporarily and have also impacted Belgian military bases.

However, there are suspicions that they could be linked to Russia.

Other NATO nations have also experienced similar problems, including Denmark and Germany.

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Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton, speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sky News, said his Belgian counterpart had called him to request British support.

Queen Camilla looks at counter-drone equipment during a visit to RAF Leeming, Northallerton, in September 2024. Pic: PA
Image:
Queen Camilla looks at counter-drone equipment during a visit to RAF Leeming, Northallerton, in September 2024. Pic: PA

“I had my Belgian opposite number – the chief of the defence staff – in touch with me this week, seeking our help to track and potentially defeat the drones,” he said.

“We agreed with the defence secretary on Friday that we would send our people and our equipment into Belgium to help them with the current problem they have got there.”

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Queen Camilla, who is an honorary air commodore, inspects counter-drone equipment. Pic: PA
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Queen Camilla, who is an honorary air commodore, inspects counter-drone equipment. Pic: PA

John Healey, the defence secretary, said: “When our NATO allies call, we step up. Belgium requested urgent support to counter rogue drone activity at their military bases, so I’ve directed a small team of RAF specialists to deploy immediately.

“As hybrid threats grow, our strength lies in our alliances and our collective resolve to defend, deter and protect our critical infrastructure and airspace.”

The RAF team is trained and equipped to combat drones.

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Three dead and 15 injured in Tenerife tidal surge

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Three dead and 15 injured in Tenerife tidal surge

Three people have died after they were swept into the sea off the coast of Tenerife during treacherous weather, officials said on Sunday.

Strong waves pulled them into the Atlantic Ocean during a tidal surge on Saturday.

A man who had fallen into the water at Charco del Viento, a rocky beauty spot in the north of the island not far from Icod de los Vinos, was airlifted to hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival, Spanish media reported.

In a separate incident, a man was found floating off Cabezo beach in El Medano in the south of the island.

Lifeguards and paramedics were unable to resuscitate him and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A woman suffered a heart attack and died when a wave swept several people into the sea at Puerto de la Cruz in northern Tenerife. Three people were seriously injured and taken to hospital for treatment.

The victim was a 79-year-old Dutch woman, according to El Dia.

The Spanish newspaper reported the deceased at Charco del Viento was a 43-year-old man from La Orotava, a town in northern Tenerife, while the identity of the man who died at Cabezo beach had not been released.

Around 15 people were injured in four different incidents along the coast of the island of Tenerife on Saturday, according to emergency services.

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Authorities had warned people of a tidal surge and strong winds, advising them not to walk along coastal paths and avoid putting themselves at risk by taking photos and videos of the rough seas.

The Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the west coast of Africa that includes Tenerife, are on alert for coastal hazards, officials said.

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