There’s a lot of speculation as to the cause of the fire at an electrical substation near Heathrow which has completely shut down the airport and is likely to cripple UK air travel for several days. A recent spate of Russia-linked arson attempts has nerves jangling…
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told Sky News:
“I have spoken to the National Grid this morning who have talked me through what happened which was a catastrophic fire at a substation, the substation that serves Heathrow. Work is ongoing to put the fire out and to restore power as soon as possible, and that is what the National Grid and obviously the fire brigade and others are working on. But this is what they describe as a catastrophic fire at the substation and it is obviously a fast moving picture and they are doing everything they can to both obviously get the fire out and restore power.”
He later updated that line in a further interview on LBC, saying: “There’s no suggestion that there is foul play.” Asked whether it was a “catastrophic accident”, Miliband said: “The conversation I’ve had is with the National Grid, the chief executive of the National Grid and certainly, that’s what he said to me.” More to add shortly no doubt…
UPDATE: London Fire Brigade take a different tack to Miliband – a senior fire officer wouldn’t comment on the cause of the fire in a press conference which began around 11:00 a.m. Meanwhile The Times reports counter-terror police are part of the investigation.
UPDATE II: Counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation, though the Met Police say there is no indication of foul play. A spokesperson for the force says:
“We are working with the London Fire Brigade to establish the cause of the fire which remains under investigation. While there is currently no indication of foul play we retain an open mind at this time. Given the location of the substation and the impact this incident has had on critical national infrastructure, the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command is now leading enquiries.This is due to the specialist resources and capabilities within that command that can assist in progressing this investigation at pace to minimise disruption and identify the cause.”
A day after the Solicitors Regulation Authority reopened its investigation into Jonathan Reynolds’ CV claims the business secretary shot off to India to sign off on restarted trade talks with the country. They have been going on since January 2022 and were temporarily paused for elections in both nations…
Reynolds’ trip was convenient for avoiding further press scrutiny. He was still there when Labour briefed that Starmer had received and accepted an apology from his business secretary. An FoI from Guido has confirmed that Reynolds and his slimmed down team evacuated the UK in comfort with business class flights for the minister, two of his SpAds, and one Private Secretary. That was at a cost to the taxpayer of £32,681. His department has refused to reveal which hotel they stayed at on health and safety grounds because it could provide “information to hostile actors who may pose a threat to the health and safety of members of staff.” Must have been nice…
The SRA says of its investigation: “our work continues.” Not out of the woods yet…
A Survation poll for LabourList makes grim reading for Starmer as he limps into the weekend. Of over 2,000 Labour members surveyed, nearly half (48.9%) think the party is going in the wrong direction, while one in ten believes Reform will lead the next government. The party faithful aren’t too thrilled about the benefits squeeze and Whitehall belt-tightening…
LabourList’s cabinet rankings paint a dire picture for Number 10 as well. Starmer scrapes in at 17th place with a feeble +13.8 net approval, while his ‘iron’ Chancellor Rachel Reeves comes in last at -11.1. It’s better news for Red Ed, who comes out on top with +68.6 approval rating, followed closely by Angela Rayner and Lisa Nandy. Meanwhile almost a third (31.9%) think Labour needs a new leader before the next election. Change…
New figures from the Office for National Statistics this morning show government borrowing to be higher than expected at £10.7 billion in February – it was expected to be £6.5 billion. It is the fourth highest February borrowing since records began back in 1993…
January’s surplus has been revised downwards to £13.3 billion. At the budget the OBR forecast £127.5 billion of borrowing the 12-month financial year ending in March. In 11 months that has already reached £132.2 billion. Shadow business and trade secretary Andrew Griffith says it “takes a certain level of incompetence to fiddle your own fiscal rules and then to still miss them.” Responding for the government chief Treasury secretary Darren Jones says: “We must go further & faster to create an agile & productive state that works for people… At the core of this urgent mission is sound public finances based on our non-negotiable fiscal rules.” On that front the Treasury says it will be demanding extensive access to real time departmental spending data in an efficiency drive. That’ll be popular…
The OBR is privately delivering another set of forecasts to Reeves today – the Telegraph reports it has halved its growth expectation for 2025. Tough for the Chancellor ahead of her budget-cutting Spring Forecast on Wednesday…
Only a matter of weeks ago – fizzing with excitement after Keir Starmer’s Oval Office charm-fest – lobby journalists and assorted insiders were heaping praise on the Prime Minister for his “global leadership” on Ukraine. Some absurd Labour briefings and comment pieces compared it to Thatcher’s ‘Falklands moment’…
Before the month is out, Starmer’s Ukraine peace plan (put together with Chequers best buddy Emmanuel Macron) has fallen apart in dramatic fashion. As the FT puts it this morning: “Sir Keir Starmer, Britain’s prime minister, is turning towards air and sea support to defend Ukraine, a shift from his previous focus on European “boots on the ground” to secure any peace deal with Russia.” The FT gives a generous gloss to the Government, swallowing the No10 line that Starmer had a ‘change of heart’…
As Bloomberg reported overnight:
“While the UK had previously sought to build what it called a “reassurance force” of some 30,000 European troops to be stationed in Ukraine after the end of the war, the number was now likely to be lower, people familiar with the matter said. Only the UK and France have publicly committed to sending troops to Ukraine so far, and some European leaders such as Italy’s Giorgia Meloni have opposed the idea of putting “boots on the ground.” Most other countries involved in the talks have instead offered military assets or troops to backfill other parts of NATO that are willing to provide soldiers, the people familiar said.”
It now looks increasingly unlikely that the Starmer plan will end up happening at all – with UK forces part of a European ‘backstop’ at most, rather than actually on the ground in Ukraine. The direction is being set by Trump – who is speaking directly to Putin in a bilateral channel that does not include the Europeans or the UK. Starmer is looking more like one of the Chuckle Brothers than Churchill…
Kemi Badenoch at the 1922-ConHome bash last night:
“I did praise [Burnham] for his stamina, it was amazing. All I had to do was sit back and lie there. I didn’t have to do anything at all…”
