Buckingham Palace confirms king’s state visit to US going ahead next month, with Charles addressing Congress
The king’s state visit to the US is to go ahead next month as planned, Buckingham Palace has finally confirmed. The Press Association says:
Charles and the queen’s long-expected historic trip to see Donald Trump will take place in late April despite calls for it to be postponed because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
It will be the king’s first visit to the US as monarch and the first state visit by a British sovereign to America for nearly 20 years, since Queen Elizabeth II’s tour in 2007.
Charles and Camilla will commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence, attend a glittering state dinner at the White House, and the king will address Congress, the Palace confirmed.
But exact dates and details have yet to be disclosed.
Buckingham Palace said:
On advice of His Majesty’s government, and at the invitation of the President of the United States, the king and queen will undertake a State Visit to the United States of America.
Their Majesties’ programme will celebrate the historic connections and the modern bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States, marking the 250th anniversary of American Independence.
The king will then continue to Bermuda to undertake His Majesty’s first Royal Visit as Monarch to a British Overseas Territory.
Key events
Labour defend APD increase and criticises Farage for opposing higher tax on private jets
Starmer and Syrian president discuss Damascus taking back more Syrians refused asylum in UK during No 10 talks
Greens propose one low-tax flight for everyone per year, with levy for frequent fliers, as alternative to Reform UK’s APD plan
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth joins Trump in taunting UK, with jibe about Royal Navy
Turner not being suspended for opposing government’s plans to curb trial by jury, sources say
Turner says, although media have been told he has had Labour whip suspended, he hasn’t been notified
Karl Turner MP has Labour whip suspended
Reform UK claims Plaid Cymru/Green pact would deliver ‘woke policies on steroids’ for Wales
Ed Davey says Starmer showing ‘staggering lack of backbone’ by allowing state visit to US to go ahead despite Trump’s insults
Yvette Cooper says Israel wrong to pass law imposing death penalty on Palestinians guilty of fatal attacks
Buckingham Palace confirms king’s state visit to US going ahead next month, with Charles addressing Congress
Greenpeace UK criticise Reform UK’s pledge to get rid of air passenger duty
Zack Polanski says Greens could be ‘kingmakers’ in Senedd after election because they are likely to hold balance of power
Trump tells UK ‘you’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself’ in taunt over fuel oil shortages
Streeting claims deal with BMA to avert resident doctors’ strike still possible
Trump ‘not dictating policy to me’, says Farage
Farage says he’s opposed to youth mobility deal with EU, claiming it’s ‘just attempt to completely undo Brexit’
Farage rejects claim election candidate controversies mean Reform UK’s vetting procedures flawed
Farage says he does not think anyone fully knows what Trump’s Iran war aims are
Reform UK says it would abolish air passenger duty on short-haul flights
Home Office tells police to stop recording non-crime hate incidents
Minister confirms support package may be offered as experts predict energy price cap to rise by £288 in July
Grooming gangs inquiry to examine role of ethnicity, culture and religion
BMA dismisses Starmer’s 48-hour warning over resident doctors’ strike plan, calling for talks not ‘threats’
Here is Jessica Elgot’s story on Karl Turner being suspended from the PLP.
And this is from Aubrey Allegretti at the Times on the suspension.
The MP Karl Turner is said to have been emailed this afternoon and told he was having the Labour whip suspended.
It was put in writing rather than communicated via phone call to ensure there was an official record.
The decision was said to have been taken after multiple previous warnings.
Apparently concerns were raised about him making disparaging comments about MPs, and colleagues feeling he was behaving in an “intimidating way” in the chamber.
Earlier this month, Turner told Times Radio: “I’m not going to be threatened with suspension. I’m already on a conduct warning for having the audacity to say that these proposals are ludicrous. I’m not going to be bullied around.
“If my parliamentary Labour party chief, Prime Minister, leader of the party or whatever else doesn’t want me in the party anymore, fine. I don’t mind walking and causing a by-election.”
Donald Trump has posted this on Truth Social welcoming the news that the state visit has been confirmed by Buckingham Palace.
Labour defend APD increase and criticises Farage for opposing higher tax on private jets
Labour has defended the increase in air passenger duty (APD) taking effect from April that was criticised by Reform UK at their press conference this morning. (See 11.23am.)
The party said APD rates are set in advance using inflation forecasts and that, because inflation in the past been higher than expected, it had fallen in real terms. The increase announced in the budget for 2026-27 was to compensate for this, the party said.
Labour said:
For those travelling short-haul in economy class, this will be an increase of £2 per passenger per flight. This is a proportionate adjustment and a very small increase relative to average ticket costs, equal to about one per cent. For example, a family of four (two adults and two children) travelling to Spain would see a total increase of £4, given that under 16s are exempt from APD if travelling in economy class. For passengers taking domestic economy flights the increase is £1, and for passengers travelling economy to long-haul destinations it is £12.
Labour said the budget also included a 50% increase in the APD for private jets. But Reform UK opposed this, a Labour spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said:
Labour took the fair choice to hike tax on big private jets, which Farage opposed. Only this Labour is delivering a serious plan to ease the cost of living for families. From this week, the lowest earners will get a pay rise, pensions are going up, and energy bills being cut.
Starmer and Syrian president discuss Damascus taking back more Syrians refused asylum in UK during No 10 talks
Keir Starmer and Ahmed al-Sharaa, the president of Syria, discussed Syria taking back more Syrians refused asylum in the UK, Downing Street has signalled.
The two leaders met in Downing Street today and, in a readout of their talks, a No 10 spokesperson said:
On the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, they both affirmed the importance of avoiding further escalation and restoring stability in the region. They discussed the need for a viable plan to reopen the strait of Hormuz, in the face of the severe economic impact of prolonged closure, and agreed to work with others to restore freedom of navigation.
The prime minister welcomed the Syrian government’s action against Da’esh to date and the progress made on cooperation between the UK and Syria on counter-terrorism. He set out how he hoped to make further progress on the issue of migration, including closer work together on returns, on border security, and on tackling people smuggling networks.
They agreed that regeneration of infrastructure would be vital for Syria’s economic transition, and discussed opportunities for British businesses across several sectors to play a role in this.
Al-Sharaa is the former leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist rebel group that had been designated as a terrorist organisation by the UK and other countries. He took power after Bashar al-Assad was deposed at the end of 2024.
While the civil war was taking place, Syria was one of the main countries producing people coming to the UK to seek asylum. But over the last year those numbers have fallen. And, whereas Syrian asylum seekers used to have a very high success rate when applying for asylum in the UK, Syria is now deemed a safe country and “the grant rate has since plummeted from 98% in the year ending December 2024 to just 9% in the year ending December 2025”, according to this briefing on the Free Movement website.
And this is what Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, has said about Reform UK’s proposal to scrap air passenger duty. (See 11.23am.)
Before coming out with yet more half-baked announcements, Reform should explain the vast £10.5bn black hole in their pubs ‘plan’.
A Reform government would be an economic catastrophe. Serious times, call for serious thinking – not gimmicks and economic illiteracy.
Greens propose one low-tax flight for everyone per year, with levy for frequent fliers, as alternative to Reform UK’s APD plan
The Green party has criticised Reform UK’s proposal to get rid of air passenger duty (see 11.23am) as a “giveaway” for rich.
Rachel Millward, a co-deputy leader of the Greens, explained:
Abolishing air passenger duty is another unfunded giveaway which would largely help wealthier people but dressed up as a special offer to families flying off to Spain for their summer hols. This policy would mostly benefit the 15% of people who take around 70% of flights from the UK and offer no support at all to the estimated 50% of people who take zero flights in any given year.
A much fairer solution for both people and climate, advocated by the Green party, is to offer one flight a year at low or zero tax and then apply a frequent flyer levy on any additional flights – a levy that would increase with each extra flight taken in any given year.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth joins Trump in taunting UK, with jibe about Royal Navy
Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, has been holding a press conference, and, taking a lead from his boss (see 12.31pm), he has also engaged in a bit of Brit-bashing. As Sky News reports, he said:
I think the president was clear this morning in his Truth that there are countries around the world who ought to be prepared to step up on this critical waterway [the strait of Hormuz] as well …
Last time I checked, there was supposed to be a big, bad Royal Navy that could be prepared to do things like that as well.
Turner not being suspended for opposing government’s plans to curb trial by jury, sources say
Here is more on the suspension of Karl Turner.
This is from the Press Association.
The Press Association understands the Kingston upon Hull East MP was informed by chief whip Jonathan Reynolds that he was suspending the whip “following his recent conduct”.
And these are from my colleague Jessica Elgot.
I understand several MPs complained about an interview criticising No10 that Turner gave to Jody McIntyre for his X account.
McIntyre is a campaigner who stood against Jess Phillips at the general election in a campaign she heavily criticised.
Labour sources say the suspension is not about Turner’s opposition to jury reform or criticism of figures in Number 10 but suggest it relates to conduct online and towards other MPs.
Turner has been one of the most vocal critics of jury reform as a former barrister.
In 2025, after four Labour MPs had the whip suspended, a party source was quoted in the Times as saying they were being punished for “persistent knobheadery”. That was last year, but the term may still be helpful in explaining what sort of behaviour can get you kicked out of the PLP.
Turner says, although media have been told he has had Labour whip suspended, he hasn’t been notified
Karl Turner says, while the media have been told he has lost the Labour whip (see 1.52pm), he has not been notified about this by the party. In a post on social media he says:
I am being told that I have had the whip suspended but I have not had any notification from the whips about this. It seems journalists have been told but I have not.
UDPATE: Ollie Cole from Times Radio says Labour sources dispute this.
Party sources pushing back on this claim. Insisting Turner was informed in a form of writing ahead of the decision being published by press.
Karl Turner MP has Labour whip suspended
The Labour MP Karl Turner has had the party whip suspended, the Press Association has reported in a news alert.
Turner, who represents Kingston upon Hull East, has been leading backbench opposition to the government’s plans to restrict access to trial by jury (although at second reading he did not actually vote against the bill containing the plans, and just abstained). But he has also been outspoken on other issues, and last week he claimed that Morgan McSweeney, the PM’s former chief of staff, was lying when he said his mobile phone had been stolen last year.
I will post more on the story as further details come in.
Reform UK claims Plaid Cymru/Green pact would deliver ‘woke policies on steroids’ for Wales
Dan Thomas, the Reform UK leader in Wales, says a Plaid Cymru/Green coalition in Cardiff would lead to independence and “woke policies on steroids”. In a post responding to the Green party campaign launch in Cardiff this moring (see 12.56pm), he claims:
A Plaid/Green coalition of the unhinged would lead to Wales being torn out of the UK and woke policies on steroids.
Plaid and the Greens are both officially in favour of independence. But Plaid says it would not push for independence in its first term in office and, at the Green event today, the party’s leader in Wales, Anthony Slaughter, said the Greens would not be “pushing a pro-independence agenda” in this election.
Ed Davey says Starmer showing ‘staggering lack of backbone’ by allowing state visit to US to go ahead despite Trump’s insults
The Liberal Democrats have condemned Keir Starmer for allowing the king’s state visit to the US to go ahead in the light of Donald Trump’s repeated insults about the UK.
In a statement Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, who has been arguing for some time that the visit should be cancelled, said:
The prime minister is showing a staggering lack of backbone by pushing ahead with this state visit while Donald Trump treats our country with contempt.
To send the king on a state visit to the US after Trump dismissed our Royal Navy as ‘toys’ is a humiliation, and a sign of a government too weak to stand up to bullies.
What appalling thing does Trump have to do next to make the Government see sense and cancel the state visit?
Trump, whose mother was Scottish, claims to be an anglophile. But in recent weeks he has repeated criticised and insulted the UK, and Keir Starmer in particular, because of the UK’s refusal to fully support his war in Iran. He has criticised other European countries and Nato allies too, but he seems to be particularly bothered by Britain’s stance.
Yvette Cooper says Israel wrong to pass law imposing death penalty on Palestinians guilty of fatal attacks
Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, has criticised the Israeli parliament’s decision to a law imposing the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of fatal attacks. In a post on social media, she says the UK issued a joint statement with Germany, France and Italy condemning the legislation before the final vote.
My statement with France, Germany and Italy on our united opposition to Israel’s death penalty law.
The death penalty is wrong and we oppose it around the world.
