UK Column News - 26th March 2025

Source: ukcolumn

Mike Robinson, Charles Malet, Vanessa Beeley and Carl Zha with today’s UK Column News.

 

Sources:

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Escalating NET ZERO Attacks From Them on Us: Land, Sea, and Air Under Siege

00:36 GOV.UK: Course charted for carbon free shipping by 2050

GOV.UK: Policy paper: Maritime decarbonisation strategy

BBC (2024): Sail-powered cargo ship ’shows potential of wind’

Good Food (BBC): The Facts About Food Miles

National Wealth Fund:  Chancellor sets out strategic priorities for National Wealth Fund

We have £27.8bn to help crowd in private investment and drive growth across the UK

Labour Heartlands: The Emperor’s New Energy Policy: GB Energy’s Windswept Illusions

GOV.UK: Air Passenger Duty: rates from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026

We expect the measure to have a negligible impact on the environment.

 

Trump Claims Victory on Panama Canal Deal, but BlackRock and CK Hutchison Set to Reap the Rewards

06:54 South China Morning Post: ‘A betrayal’: top Beijing office runs scathing attack on Panama deal by Hong Kong’s Hutchison

Conglomerate under fire over bombshell announcement it is selling Panama Canal port operations in deal led by US firm BlackRock

South China Morning Post: China sends delegation to Panama after ports deal, belt and road exit

 

Yemen: Trump’s Middle East Shuffle – Bombers, Fighters and a Cargo of Questions

16:52 MenchOsint (on X): MenchOsint’s post

Lot of C-17s Cargo planes flowing into Diego Garcia in the last days. (Transponders switched off after leaving Al Udeid). Something is cooking.

The War Zone: Signs U.S. Massing B-2 Spirit Bombers In Diego Garcia

Politico: Trump sends second aircraft carrier to Middle East in ramp up against Houthis  

Alex Kennedy (on X): AlexkennedyIran’s post

The GOLD Refuelers group has confirmed that they are towing a pair of F-35 fighters (at least 4 from Hill Air Base) over Sicily and heading towards Israel. After confirming with air traffic control, they disappeared from radar. Further deployments to the Middle East continue.

BBC: What I found on the secretive tropical island they don’t want you to see - Diego Garcia

Anti War: US Uses B-2 Bombers To Bomb Yemen

The Defense Post: Iran Unveils Missile Systems on Strategic Gulf Islands

 

Defence: An Extra £2.2bn Cash Cow for Everyone Except the Taxpayer

24:17 HM Treasury (on X): hmtreasury’s post

The world is changing. Britain must be ready. That’s why we are confirming a further £2.2bn defence spending uplift for 2025/2026. Investing in advanced weaponry for our troops as well as providing better homes for military families.

Investment Week: Reeves to unveil £2.2bn funding boost to defence in Spring Forecast

Mirage News: UK PM Addresses Military Planners at Northwood HQ

Construction News (2018): Skanska lands £196m Carillion MoD contract

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Prompts European Calls for a Homegrown Nuclear Umbrella (Archived)

 

UK Column On Location Livestream Available — UK Column Is Member Funded, Please Join Us

32:05 Support Independent Journalism from the UK Column with only £5 a month

Access UK Column News Extra Today—UK Column Community

UK Column shop: UK Column On Location — Cheltenham — 5 April 2025

UK Column shop: UK Column On Location Livestream Access

UK Column article: What They Didn’t Want to Hear: the Continued Sexualisation of Our Children - Part 2

 

Data Use and Access Bill: Granting Palantir the One Ring to Rule Them All?

34:11 GOV.UK: Data (Use and Access) Bill [HL] (Last updated: 24 March 2025 at 23:55)

UK Covid-19 Inquiry: NQ000536417 – Witness Statement of Louis Mosley (Executive Vice President) on behalf of Palantir Technologies UK, dated 15/01/2025

HMG must beable to respond to the black swan events. COVID-19 was an airborne disease pandemic, but the next national emergency could take a different form […] a contact disease, a widespread energy outage, a global supply chain disruption, a nuclear disaster or a war for example.

Palantir Blog: Palantir’s Response to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) on Developing an AI Action Plan

 

Planning and Infrastructure Bill: Paving Over the Land for Profit, Not Progress

38:33 UK Parliament: Hansard: Planning and Infrastructure Bill

GB News (YouTube): Angela Rayner takes questions in Parliament (Timestamp 1:58:24)

Make no mistake: the Bill will transform the lives of working people and Britain’s prospects for years to come.

Parallel Parliament: Debate: Planning and Infrastructure Bill - 24th Mar 2025

GOV.UK: Tony Juniper CBE reappointed to continue protecting nature and boosting growth as Natural England Chair

 

Bird Flu in Sheep? I’ll Believe It When Sheep Can Fly!

42:41 GOV.UK: Viral diseases: Disease emergency response in action

GOV.UK: Influenza of avian origin confirmed in a sheep in Yorkshire

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: World’s first case of H5N1 bird flu found in UK sheep, sparking Australian biosecurity warning

BBC Sounds: Farming Today: 25/03/25 Bird flu in sheep, free-range eggs, restoring lost ponds

GOV.UK: Government publishes first Pesticides National Action Plan in a decade 

GOV.UK: UK Pesticides National Action Plan: Volume 764: debated on Monday 24 March 2025

UK Governments will support farmers … to increase their use of sustainable farming practices to reduce the potential harm from pesticides by 10% by 2030 […]

 

Turkey’s Power Play: Grabbing Control in Syria or Just Testing the Waters?

47:31 The Jerusalem Post: Netanyahu to convene security meeting over Turkish involvement in Syria

Medya News: Israel and Turkey on collision course in Syria after Palmyra airstrikes

Alma Research & Education Centre: Syria – Turkish Presence in Military Airports and Aerial Friction with Israel

The Jerusalem Post: IDF engages in firefight with terrorists in southern Syria

AFP News Agency (YouTube): Russian military convoy heads towards base in Syria’s Hmeimim

 

Sussex University Fined

56:55 Office for Students (2021): Investigation into University of Sussex

Politics Home: The Kafkaesque investigation into our university looks like political scapegoating

University of Sussex Students’ Union: Gender Inclusive Language Policy