Keep calm and carry on: Keir Starmer picks up UK-US trade deal papers dropped by US President Donald Trump at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada © PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo
Baroness Casey published her report into grooming gangs on Monday, which demonstrated in disturbing detail how the most horrific crimes have been and continue to be committed across the country, following the revelation of high profile cases in Rotherham and Rochdale over a decade ago. Her conclusion that a ‘disproportionate numbers of men from Asian ethnic backgrounds [are] amongst suspects for group-based child sexual exploitation’ has received the most coverage and reaction this week. Specifically, she identified a ‘collective failure to address questions about the ethnicity of grooming gangs’, adding that energy had been devoted in political and institutional circles to ‘playing it down’, and that flawed data had been ‘used repeatedly to dismiss claims about ‘Asian grooming gangs’ as sensationalised, biased or untrue’.
In a statement to MPs following the report’s publication, the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called the conclusions of the report “damning”, and acknowledged it identified deep-rooted failures by authorities including “too little sharing of information, too much reliance on flawed data, too much denial, too little justice, too many criminals getting off, too many victims being let down”. She announced that the Government will act on all 12 of Casey’s recommendations, including introducing new laws to target those who groom and exploit children online. Kemi Badenoch held a press conference in response to the report, welcoming the confirmation of a national inquiry and criticising those in power for not having “joined the dots” despite multiple reports and investigations.
Internationally, Israel and Iran have continued to trade blows over the last week, since Israel first launched strikes against nuclear and military facilities last Friday. Foreign Secretary David Lammy addressed MPs on Monday, reiterating that the UK "was not involved in the strikes against Iran" but that UK fighter jets have been deployed to the region "for contingency support to UK forces and potentially our regional allies concerned about the escalating conflict." Donald Trump suggested earlier in the week that he was aware of the strikes ahead of time, and, in a number of social media posts, called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender”, adding that the US has “complete and total control of the skies over Iran”. On Thursday, the White House press secretary also stated that the US President would make his decision on whether the US will get involved in the conflict in Iran within two weeks… with speculation the US could use a B-2 stealth bomber to destroy Iran’s underground nuclear enrichment sites.
17.7% – increase in the cost of chocolate over the last year, driven in part by bad weather and mismanagement in cocoa-producing countries like Ghana and Ivory Coast
£286,000 – average house price in England, as of April 2025
41 – number of Labour MPs who have indicated they will rebel against the Government’s welfare reforms, which will have its first debate on 1 July
70% – increase in the rate of shoplifting over the past two years, which the Government aims to crack down on with new laws creating a standalone offence of assault against a shopworker
34°C – hottest temperature expected tomorrow as the UK basks (or bakes) in the first heatwave of the year
4.25% – the Bank of England Base, maintained at the same rate after this week’s MPC meeting.
HM Treasury published the UK’s 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy, setting out at least £725bn of investment and a new National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority. It pledges £9bn a year for public estate repairs, outlines plans to combine social and economic infrastructure, and promises an updated Infrastructure Pipeline before the summer recess…
The US will scrap tariffs on UK aerospace goods and reduce car export duties by the end of the month, in a deal secured at the G7 No10 called a ‘huge win’ for manufacturers like Rolls-Royce. The G7 Summit also saw the PM meeting with Macron, Zelensky, and South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung, during which they discussed deepening defence ties, boosting support for Ukraine, and completing the upgrade of the existing UK–South Korea Free Trade Agreement ‘as soon as possible’.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology launched the UK Cyber Growth Action Plan, setting a course for future sector growth, competitiveness and resilience. Led by experts at Imperial and Bristol universities, the plan is supported by £16m in new funding for projects CyberASAP and Cyber Runway. The plan is due to report later this summer and will shape the forthcoming National Cyber Strategy.
The Government unveiled a £1bn offshore wind supply chain package, backed by £300m from Great British Energy, £400m from the Crown Estate and £300m in matched industry investment. The fund is expected to support up to 14,000 jobs and unlock £9bn of private investment across Teesside, Scotland, South Wales and East Anglia.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has been in Washinton DC for talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio to urge for de-escalation between Israel and Iran. He is now expected to join his French and German counterparts in Switzerland today for further diplomatic talks with Iran’s Foreign Minister.
The Department for Transport accepted all findings from James Stewart’s review into major project governance, prompted by HS2. The report set out historic failings in oversight and delivery, with HS2 CEO Mark Wild describing the current cost, scope and schedule as ‘unsustainable’, with ‘no route by which trains can be running by 2033 as previously planned’. Mike Brown has been appointed HS2 Ltd Chair to work alongside Wild on resetting the programme, including reviewing costs, contracts, and the organisation’s structure.
The Mayor of London announced plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street and establish a new Mayoral Development Corporation. The proposals follow a public consultation and are designed to ‘unlock the true potential of Oxford Street’, attract new investment, boost footfall and support job creation in central London.
The country’s first Entrepreneurship Advisor has been appointed, with Alex Depledge set to advise the Chancellor on the key barriers faced by start-ups and scale-ups. Meanwhile, Emma Jones CBE will become the new Small Business Commissioner on 23 June, taking on the challenge of tackling late payments, which currently average over £21,000 per SME.
Vicky Foxcroft MP resigned as Government Whip, citing her opposition to disability benefit reforms. Matt Clifford has also stepped down from his role as the Prime Minister's AI Opportunities Adviser for 'personal reasons'.
10 Downing Street confirmed four new Crossbench Peerages, including former National Security Adviser Sir Tim Barrow, ex-Cabinet Secretary Dr Simon Case, Dame Katherine Grainger and Dame Sharon White.
MPs have backed legalising assisted dying in England and Wales, by a margin of just 23 votes at the third reading of Kim Leadbeater’s Private Members’ Bill. The Bill will now progress to the House of Lords to face further scrutiny.
It was a busy week for debates in the Commons, with backbench business debates taking place on both Monday and Thursday, focusing on water safety education, incontinence and Windrush Day 2025. The Crime and Policing Bill was the only Bill to receive parliamentary time in the Commons this week, passing its remaining stages on Tuesday and Wednesday, where topics discussed included drink spiking, protection of retail workers, and knife crime controls. Most note-worthy from the two-day debate on the Bill was the passing of an amendment for the decriminalisation of abortions, tabled by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, which passed by 379 votes to 137. Friday’s debates on Private Member’s Bills saw Kim Leadbeater’s Assisted Dying Bill pass its final stages in the Commons by a very small margin. The debate on the Bill last 5 hours and included contributions from over 40 MPs. Finally, it’s good news for fans of the Lionesses (or the Welsh national women’s team, the Dragons), as Thursday saw a motion passed to extend licensing hours for pubs across England and Wales, from 11pm to 1am, should either of the national teams make the semi-final or final of the Euros taking place in Switzerland this summer…
Over on the red benches, Peers focussed on the Employment Rights Bill and Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill as both progressed their committee stages. For the former, employment tribunals, modern slavery, equal pay and information sharing were the topics of conversation while the latter focused heavily on the Government’s provision of free school meals, breakfast clubs and holiday food and activity clubs. The Holocaust Memorial Bill, introduced into Parliament back in the 2022-23 Parliamentary session, completed its third reading and will now return to the Commons for MPs to consider a Lords’ amendment.
In a week when MPs voted to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales, polling from Ipsos found that 71% of people in Britain believed abortion should be legal ‘in most or all cases’. Those least likely to agree are men between 16-34, with 46% in favour and 36% against.
Next Monday marks the seventh anniversary of the UK’s vote to leave the EU, and YouGov polling found 56% of people think the UK was ‘wrong to leave’, compared to 31% who said it was the right decision. When asked whether there should be a referendum in the next five years on rejoining, the public (excluding don’t knows) was split…. yeah, you guessed it, 52-48 (well 51.7 - 48.3) in support.
All Government activity on an Islamophobia definition should be suspended until the conclusion of the national inquiry into grooming gangs, argues Policy Exchange in its latest report. It contends that the accusation of Islamophobia was ‘frequently used to smear and intimidate’ people seeking to expose grooming gangs, and recommends that the inquiry ‘make findings on whether an Islamophobia definition would help or hinder the process of achieving justice and truth’.
As Starmer and Trump met at the G7 Summit to talk about their newly signed off trade deal, the US President fumbled the documents and Starmer scrambled to pick them up, leading to some rather unfortunate photos and subsequent jokes. While most of us had a little chuckle, others were quick to roll-out rather predictable and lazy captions for the social media bubble (exhibit A)… surely our political parties can do better than this, no?
With Nigel Farage and Angela Rayner recently voted as Britain’s sexiest politicians, Richard Tice took a moment in Parliament to congratulate the pair and suggest they go for dinner (oh to be a fly on the wall…). Lucy Powell responded that the Deputy PM has a “very full diary… washing her hair and the like.” Suppose that’s a no then.
And with the 210th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo this week, what better way to celebrate than by implementing Richard Holden’s suggestion… rename the new NeuConnector electricity line between the UK and German… the ‘Waterloo Line’. Bet Wellington would’ve loved that.
