Andy Burnham is set to sign a landmark Brexit reset deal with the EU next month which he said could provide a £10bn-a-year boost to the British economy.
Announcing that a long-awaited UK-EU summit will take place in Brussels on 20 November, the Prime Minister said an agreement was “on the table” covering food and drink, carbon emissions trading, and under-30s migration.
He added that the summit, with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, could set up a “dialogue” on the UK’s future relationship with Europe – which the Prime Minister has previously suggested could see Britain eventually rejoining the bloc.
Why a trans rights
T-shirt slogan was removed from Strictly
The BBC edited out the slogan on House of the Dragon actress Bethany Antonia’s white T-shirt on Saturday’s episode of .
What was on the T-shirt?
Antonia wore a top reading: “Protect the dolls”, a slogan in support of transgender women. It was visible in a video posted on social media, but not during the episode on Saturday night.
All proceeds from the sale of the T-shirt, which costs £75, are donated to UK charity Not A Phase, which offers programmes, events and support spaces for the trans community.
Who is Bethany Antonia?
The actress has starred in HBO’s Game of Thrones sequel House of the Dragon since 2022.
On she is paired with professional dancer Nancy Xu – the only same sex couple currently competing on the series.
On Saturday’s episode, the pair danced an American Smooth and scored a total of 27 points, leaving them fifth highest on the leader board.
What did the BBC say?
A BBC spokesperson said: “As is standard practice on any entertainment show on the BBC and in line with our editorial guidelines, appropriate steps are taken to reduce the inclusion of any overt branding or slogans that may be present, regardless of the wording or statement in question.”
HMV to close on Oxford Street three years after reopening
The music retailer blamed soaring rents for the decision to shut its London flagship store.
Why is it shutting down?
- HMV said it would leave the premises in March next year.
- It currently employs more than 50 staff who will be transferred elsewhere.
- The group said landlords had proposed doubling the rent on the site at 363 Oxford Street.
- Combined with a bill for “substantial” renovation works, this would make the shop “commercially unsustainable”, it added.
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What happens now?
HMV shut the Oxford Street store in 2019 after the retail chain tumbled into administration, but it was reopened in 2023.
It said the imminent closure was “frustrating” but it was hunting for another site in the West End, and vowed to keep a “significant presence” in the capital.
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Why Sandi Toksvig is planning a rival to Wikipedia
The Mappa Mundi project, developed with colleagues at the University of Cambridge, aims to address what its creators say is the gender bias on Wikipedia.
What you need to know
Speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, Sandi Toksvig said she was trying to raise the funds to launch the alternative site.
She told it was important because “women are held to a completely different standard” than men to gain Wikipedia entries.
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How would it work?
- Toksvig said the existing site possessed a “patronising attitude to women”, citing the example of physicist Donna Strickland, whose page was repeatedly rejected until she won a Nobel Prize in 2018.
- Women were more likely to fall victim to “drive-by deletions” by editors because “it is determined that woman is not notable enough for inclusion”, Toksvig added.
- Instead, Mappa Mundi would be an “interactive digital atlas where we can find a home for the vast amount of knowledge that is currently sidelined or deleted”.
What Trump’s Russia-Ukraine ‘energy ceasefire’ means
The US President made the surprise announcement as he continues to pressure Kyiv to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries.
What did Trump announce?
On Sunday, Donald Trump wrote on social media: “Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!”
In his regular evening address, Volodymyr Zelensky said “it is only logical” to establish a ceasefire and stop the war, and an energy ceasefire was “good news for everyone”.
Andy Burnham said a ceasefire is “the best route to get energy and fuel back into world markets”.
Russia did not comment on the ceasefire deal on Sunday.
What does this mean?
However, today Zelensky said the surprise announcement was not followed through by the Kremlin.
Speaking in Warsaw, the Ukrainian president said “immediately after [Trump’s] post, Russia launched a targeted strike on a power plant in Kharkiv, causing further damage to our energy system”.
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Trump’s diesel deal
On Friday, Trump announced a diesel deal with Vladimir Putin, claiming Russia would supply more than 2.25 million barrels of diesel to the US and global markets.
Reacting to a possible deal, Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius told Sky News: “We’re not proud of it. It’s shameful, disgraceful… I’m not sure if it’s even under way or if it’s just a political claim.”
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The latest updates after man dies in Yorkshire tiger attack
Yorkshire Wildlife Park has said it will remain closed on Monday as investigations continue into the death on Saturday.
What happened?
- Emergency services were called shortly after 1.30pm on 10 October.
- A witness claimed that a man had entered the tiger enclosure “to play” with the animal.
- One witness told he saw the man “dancing happily with his headphones in” 20 minutes before entering the enclosure.
- Police said the man was pronounced dead at the scene, and his family have been informed.
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The sequence of events
- Reports that a man jumped into the tiger enclosure at the wildlife park began circulating on social media on Saturday afternoon.
- The park confirmed emergency services were contacted after a man entered the enclosure and was “attacked” by the tiger after 1.30pm.
- Emergency services attended, with two ambulances and a helicopter rushing to the scene.
- Videos circulating online appear to show a man being pawed at and grappled by a tiger in the enclosure.
- One video also appeared to show him wagging a finger at the tiger in an apparent attempt to stop the attack.
The latest updates
The park was evacuated after the incident on Saturday, and a message to ticket holders on Monday morning said anyone with a booking would be offered the chance to reschedule.
The wildlife park said Altai, the Amur tiger involved in the incident, will not be euthanised. Members of park staff who were “deeply affected” by the incident were receiving specialist support.
How remnants of a hurricane will affect UK weather this week
The UK is set for a week of warmer weather, with particularly mild night-time temperatures and conditions getting windier towards the middle of the week.
The forecast this week
Just as autumn beds in, the UK is set to turn milder again this week with the remnants of Hurricane Isaias which hit the US on Saturday.
Day temperatures will be average but the nights will feel warmer, with parts of England forecast to stay as high as 18°C on Monday night.
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What to expect and when
Mild weather returns
Early in the week, temperatures will be slightly above average, reaching the low 20s on Tuesday.
Wet and windy
Early in the week, expect showers, while mid-week will seek some strong winds, with possible gales in Scotland.
Mixed end to the week
Thursday could see temperatures above 20°C again, though this will decline again by Friday.
Appearing in the Commons on Monday on the first day after the conference recess, Burnham said: “On the table is a trade deal on food and drink products, a deal on emissions trading, progress towards linking our energy systems, a new youth experience scheme and deeper co-operation on immigration.”
The food and drink agreement would cut bureaucracy relating to sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulation – the safety rules around importing and exporting food and drink. The carbon deal would link the UK and EU’s emissions trading systems, shielding Britain from EU carbon taxes.
The youth mobility scheme on the table is expected to enable under 30s to live, work, study and travel for a time-limited period on both sides of the Channel.
Most contentious issues
Youth mobility is understood to be the most contentious of the three deals, with outstanding issues over how many people should be allowed into the UK each year, and whether EU students should pay full international university fees, or the same as British students, or a fee in between.
On Sunday The i Paper reported that conceding to the EU compromise offer – a fee between the full international rate of £38,000 a year, and the £10,000 UK students pay – could still cost cash-strapped universities around £280m a year.
It has also been reported that the UK wants to limit the number of under-30s who would come to the UK at 45,000 a year.
It is understood that the details are yet to be finalised, with negotiations still taking place and likely to continue until shortly before the summit.
The Prime Minister said the deals would “add the equivalent of over £10bn per year to the UK economy by 2040, with the potential to add significantly more”.
It follows months of talks after Sir Keir Starmer began the Brexit-reset negotiations. An EU summit with Starmer in attendance had been pencilled in for July but was postponed after Burnham took over at Np 10.
The Prime Minister also said he would use the summit to “raise our concerns” about the Made in Europe scheme – an EU initiative which is aimed at protecting the bloc from cheap Chinese exports, and has led to fears that British manufacturers could be locked out too.
The i Paper understands the summit will come too soon for Burnham to confirm UK inclusion in Made in Europe. The programme is still being debated among EU members so its scope will only be known next year.
The Prime Minister said that November’s summit would provide an opportunity to kickstart a process to look at Britain’s longer-term relationship with Europe.
‘Public will be the boss’
In his speech to Labour conference last month, Burnham said he would use the summit to set out to the country “different options”. In subsequent interviews he added that this could include rejoining the customs unions; an associate membership status similar to the one Canada is discussing with Brussels; or even a referendum to fully rejoin the EU.
It is understood that this speech may have helped get the Brexit reset deal over the line, as it indicated to the EU that Britain could be prepared for a deeper relationship in the future.
On Monday, Burnham said: “Sticking with the status quo is not good enough for Britain. Worse, it would be a major dereliction of duty to turn away. We need to take a calm, clear-eyed, rational look at the world as it is today to consider what is best for our country.
“Our immediate priority is securing a successful outcome at the summit, and I believe we should then set up a serious dialogue about the different options for our relationship in the long term.
“At every stage, the British public will be the boss, and I am clear that public opinion currently supports a pragmatic approach like the one I am suggesting.”
However, he said that for now Labour was “not prepared to revisit the red lines in our manifesto” – which explicitly ruled out rejoining the single market or customs union. The Prime Minister also said he was not currently advocating for a referendum.
In Brussels, diplomats are watching to see where Burnham’s Brexit review ends. The European Commission has broadly welcomed his call for improved ties, and his comment that Brexit has “done more harm than good”, but officials have been scrupulous in not commenting on the possible options, insisting this is first and foremost an internal UK debate.
In the Commons, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused Burnham of having “blurted out everything he wants” from the talks with Europe. “This is not how you conduct negotiations,” she added.