What did David Cameron achieve in the US?
Welcome to Thursday’s Early Edition from i.
Just two months ago, David Cameron made an impassioned plea for US Congress to pass a stalled funding package worth $60bn for Ukraine. “This is personal for me. My grandfather stormed the beaches of Normandy under covering fire from US warships,” he wrote for website The Hill. It didn’t work. Instead it triggered a coarse response from Republican right-winger Marjorie Taylor Greene who said: “David Cameron needs to worry about his own country and, frankly, he can kiss my ass.” This week, the British Foreign Secretary made another personal attempt at changing minds – by visiting US politicians in their home territory. His warning before leaving was stark, saying the US was putting the West’s security at risk. In an opinion piece he wrote: “If Ukraine loses, we all lose. The costs of failing to support Ukraine now will be far greater than the costs of repelling Putin.” No doubt drawing on his political might as a former PM, Cameron made headlines early on in his trip by meeting Donald Trump, who he hoped to persuade to the cause. But no such breakthrough came. What happened during his visit, and did he achieve anything? We’ll take a look after the headlines.
Today’s news, and why it matters
Major HS2 factory facing closure… before it can make a single HS2 train. Inside Britain’s largest train factory, Alstom staff fear the Derby site will shut forever without immediate Government help. Rob Hastings reports.
A private clinic is still selling puberty blockers to children despite an NHS ban on the controversial treatment. The Government has said it expects private providers to follow the health service in not allowing children access to puberty blockers at gender identity clinics.
Labour would attempt to fix England’s bus crisis by effectively nationalising many services across the country in its first term of office, i can reveal. Louise Haigh, the shadow Transport Secretary, claims the plan will create and save up to 1,300 bus routes, and allow 250 million more passenger journeys per year.
The Post Office sacked at least 100 sub-postmasters for alleged “accounting malpractice” in just one region of the UK before the Horizon scandal began, i can reveal. In July 1999, heads of retail network Lynne Hobbs and Eddie Herbert wrote a letter to all branches in the North East to say they were ‘very concerned’ by the increasing number of sub-postmasters allegedly covering up losses.
A teenage girl has been cured of a rare and complex medical condition after what doctors called a “world-first” treatment. Kai Xue, 13, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, is one of just 21 globally recorded cases of a lymphatic condition called Wild syndrome.
A 25-year-old man has been charged with the murder of mother Kulsuma Akter, who was stabbed to death as she pushed her baby in a pram in Bradford city centre on Saturday. West Yorkshire Police said Habibur Masum, of Leamington Avenue, Burnley, had been charged with murder and possession of a bladed article.
Three questions on Cameron’s US trip:
Who did he talk to? Cameron’s first stop was in Florida with Donald Trump, a man the foreign secretary once branded as “divisive, stupid and wrong” and “protectionist, xenophobic, misogynistic”. However insiders told i the meeting was productive and warm, with Lord Cameron insisting the men have an opportunity to strengthen the “special relationship” even further. As well as making the case for defending Ukraine, the Foreign Secretary attempted to show his empathy with Mr Trump’s position as he seeks re-election in a tight race against Mr Biden. The Foreign Secretary refused to reveal any details of his meeting with Mr Trump, saying only that it was “in line with precedent of Government ministers meeting with opposition politicians in the run-up to elections”. Read more about how their talks went, here. Cameron then went onto Washington, where he held talks and a joint press conference with US secretary of state, Antony Blinken. Both repeated their belief that Congress must unblock the support package for Ukraine. Cameron said: “Future generations may look back at us and say, did we do enough when this country was invaded by a dictator trying to redraw boundaries by force? Did we learn the lessons from history? And did we do enough?”. He also found himself in the hot seat at a range of US broadcasters where he urged politicians and the public not be taken in by Russian propaganda. “Don’t listen to Putin’s lies about Ukraine. It is a free democracy that wants to be an independent sovereign country, that wants to be our ally and our friend,” he told MSNBC.
Who didn’t he meet? Significantly, Lord Cameron did not meet Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson. According to the Times, Mr Johnson, who has refused to allow time for a vote on military aid for Ukraine, had not found the time in his diary to meet with the foreign secretary. Their meeting would have been seen as crucial to his drive to shore up support for the Ukraine bill. Mr Johnson is facing mounting pressure to take the aid package forward, but also faces pressure from right wing Republicans, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, who are staunchly against funding Ukraine. The Speaker is expected to make a decision this week, which many see as a choice between his own political future and that of Western security. As Edward Luce in the FT writes: “ Johnson’s hope is to supply Ukraine without being branded a Maga traitor. In reality, he faces a simple choice; help Zelenskyy or please Trump. It is impossible to do both.”
Will it make a difference? Cameron’s attempt to woo Republicans may have appeared to fail. However the foreign secretary has been left with “hope” that the US will release billions of dollars of military aid for Ukraine. He believes there is a way through the Trump-inspired block on cash for Kyiv, despite Republicans not shifting on their obstruction of a $60bn (more than £47.5bn) aid package for Ukraine. Mr Blinken has indicated to Cameron that Joe Biden’s administration could still find cash to send to Ukraine that would not need the approval of Congress, although it would be a smaller package. Read the full story here.
Around the world
The US is considering dropping its prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, US President Joe Biden has said. Mr Assange, 52, is being held in Belmarsh prison after he was removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in 2019.
Donald Trump and his right-wing supporters in the Republican Party have encouraged and exploited the anti-abortion movement for political advantage. However, the strategy is coming back to bite them. Anti-abortion rules have now been adopted in the battleground state of Arizona that are so draconian, even figures in the Maga movement are rushing to disown them, writes Michael Day.
Spain has passed a bill to give rights to hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants in a move that campaigners say the UK should emulate. It is hoped the amnesty bill will help fill jobs in understaffed industries including hospitality and farming, and mean irregular workers start paying taxes.
The most powerful public sector union in France has threatened to disrupt the Paris Olympics as it submitted a strike notice for almost the entire summer. The hardline General Confederation of Labour union said its members wanted more money and more time off.
Concern that Australia’s Great Barrier Reef may be suffering the most severe mass coral bleaching event on record has escalated after a conservation group released footage showing damage up to 18 metres below the surface. One marine researcher said it was the worst bleaching she had seen in 30 years working on the reef, and that some coral was starting to die.
Watch out for…
the Post Office inquiry, where former managing director David Smith and former chairman Sir Michael Hodgkinson, will give evidence.
Thoughts for the day
Britain looks like a basket case on the global stage, a horror pit of tribal warfare. The last eight years have seen the British Government scream itself ragged at the EU, writes Ian Dunt.
Bless the sanctimonious toddlers clogging up Starmer’s doorstep. This is what it would look like if Violet Elizabeth Bott and Little Lord Fauntleroy joined the Stasi, says Julie Burchill.
The best thing you can do for your child is get them a dog. Pets are a huge responsibility, explains Vogue Williams.
Culture Break
Back to Black review: Amy Winehouse deserved better than this laughable biopic. Marisa Abela is mercifully great – but where are the drugs, the agony, the desperation?
The Big Read
Inside the borough with the lowest council tax in the country. How does Wandsworth do it? Wandsworth Council charges residents in a band-D property just £961 this year, yet it’s still opening libraries and launching ‘skip days’ – many across the UK might be looking and wondering: how can we get the same service?
Sport
LIV, laugh, love? Golf must heal its rift for good at this week’s Masters. The infighting and self-harming has to stop – and Augusta is just the place, writes Kevin Garside.
Something to brighten your day
After divorce, bereavement and cancer, my solo adventure was everything I needed. Solo holidays are on the rise. One female traveller finds these trips have changed since the 90s but there’s still space to make new connections.
