Boris Johnson News

Britain won't proceed with building a new national flagship to promote business and trade interests around the world, defense minister Ben Wallace said on Monday, ending one of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson's pet projects.The ship was announced in May 2021 to host trade shows and negotiations, but tendering of contracts had not been completed.Wallace said that the project had been scrapped as he was prioritizing building ships to detect threats to cables on the seabed in…

Long queues of holidaymakers and lorries built up on Saturday outside the Port of Dover, Britain's main gateway to Europe, and officials said the disruption could be worse than the logjam seen on Friday.Travelers setting out at the start of the British school summer holidays, as well as the usual flow of goods lorries, have faced long delays because of slow border checks.The Kent Resilience Forum, which brings together local councils and emergency services, declared a "major incident"…

Britain said on Monday it will force ferry operators docking in its ports to pay the minimum wage as it stepped up pressure on P&O Ferries to rehire 800 workers who the company fired without notice in favor of cheaper staff.P&O, which is owned by Dubai ports firm DP World, said it had decided to break the law and fire workers on the spot so it could instead hire cheaper agency staff after losing 100 million pounds ($132 million) last year due to COVID-19 curbs.The Conservative government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson has condemned the move…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday he believed that P&O Ferries had broken the law by sacking 800 staff with immediate effect via video message and that the government would take legal action.P&O, which is owned by Dubai ports firm DP World, said last week it had lost 100 million pounds ($131 million) in the last year and that without changes its business was not sustainable."It looks to me ... as though the company concerned has broken the law, and we will be taking action ...

Trade unions protested at British ferry ports on Friday after Dubai-owned P&O Ferries abruptly sacked 800 workers via a video message, drawing widespread condemnation and raising the prospect of disruption to key tourist and goods routes.P&O, which is owned by Dubai ports firm DP World, is recovering from a difficult two years when COVID-19 prevented tourists from travelling on its routes between Britain, France, Ireland and elsewhere in northern Europe.P&O said on Thursday it had lost 100 million pounds ($131 million) in the last year and that without changes its business was not sustainable.

The UK plans to give a boost to the country's shipbuilding sector, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcing a £4 billion (around $5.26 billion) injection into regional shipbuilding "to support thousands of high-quality jobs."The PM's office said in an announcement Thursday that funding will support shipyards and suppliers across the UK, delivering a pipeline of more than 150 new naval and civil vessels.The multi-billion pound investment will galvanize and support shipyards and suppliers across the UK…

Britain will phase out imports of Russian oil and oil products by the end of 2022, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday, joining other nations including the United States in reducing their energy dependency on Russia.In response to President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade of Ukraine, Britain and others are seeking ways to deprive Moscow of income and cut their own use of Russian energy exports by becoming more self-sufficient."In another economic blow to the Putin regime following their illegal invasion of Ukraine, the UK will move away from dependence on Russian oil throughout th

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be halted if Russia invades Ukraine and stressed unity with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as the West rallies to avert a war in Europe.At a White House press conference with the new German leader, Biden, a longtime opponent of the decade-old pipeline project to Germany from Russia, said Russian forces crossing into Ukraine would trigger a shutdown."If Russia invades, that means tanks or troops crossing the ... border of Ukraine again, then there will be ... no longer a Nord Stream 2.

French fishermen blocked a British cargo vessel from docking in a Brittany port on Friday, in protest at what they say are moves by authorities in London and Jersey to withhold licenses to fish in British waters under a post-Brexit deal.The fishermen held aloft red flares as they circled their boats outside Saint-Malo to block the Normandy Trader's path - a prelude to a planned blockade later on Friday of Calais and the Channel Tunnel, both major transport hubs for trade between Britain and continental Europe.The one-hour Saint-Malo protest and the larger action further east along France's coast risk reigniting a dispute between the…

British and French officials traded blame on Wednesday after 27 migrants died when their dinghy deflated as they made a perilous crossing of the English Channel.The accident was the worst disaster on record involving migrants in the narrow seaway separating the two countries.The Channel is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and currents are strong. Human traffickers typically overload the dinghies, leaving them barely afloat and at the mercy of waves as they try to reach…

Britain gave France 48 hours on Monday to back down in a fishing row that threatens to spiral into a wider trade dispute between two of Europe's biggest economies or face tortuous legal action under the Brexit trade deal.Post-Brexit bickering over fish culminated last Wednesday in the French seizure of a British scallop dredger, the Cornelis Gert Jan, in French waters near Le Havre. Paris has threatened sanctions from Nov. 2 that could snarl cross-Channel trade.The measures could include increased border and sanitary checks on goods from Britain and banning British vessels from some French ports."The French have made completely unreasonable threats…

Britain said on Wednesday that people should buy normally for Christmas and there would be no shortage of gifts after shipping containers carrying toys and electrical goods were diverted from the country’s biggest port because it was full.Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company, has diverted some vessels from Felixstowe port in eastern England because a lack of truck drivers means there is nowhere left to stack containers at the port.“I’m confident that people will be able to get their toys for Christmas,” Conservative Party co-Chairman Oliver Dowden told Sky.

The United States, Britain and Australia will establish a security partnership for the Indo-Pacific that will involve helping Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines, senior U.S. officials said on Wednesday, as Chinese influence over the region grows.Under the partnership, to be announced on Wednesday by President Joe Biden, British Prime Minster Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the United States will provide Australia with the technology and capability to deploy nuclear-powered submarines…

Britain has approved plans to turn away boats illegally carrying migrants to its shores, deepening a rift with France over how to deal with a surge of people risking their lives by trying to cross the Channel in small dinghies.Hundreds of small boats have attempted the journey from France to England this year, across one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.Border officials will be trained to force boats away from British waters but will deploy the new tactic only when they deem it safe…

Iran will respond promptly to any threat against its security, the foreign ministry said on Monday, after the United States, Israel and Britain blamed Tehran for an attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman.Tehran has denied any involvement in the attack on Thursday in which two crew members—a Briton and a Romanian—were killed.The United States and Britain said on Sunday they would work with their allies to respond to the attack on the Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned petroleum product tanker managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the incident as "clearly an unacceptable and outrageous attack on commercial shipping"."Iran should face up to the consequences of what they've done…

Russia warned Britain on Thursday that it would bomb British naval vessels in the Black Sea if there were any further provocative actions by the British navy off the coast of Russia-annexed Crimea.Russia summoned the British ambassador in Moscow for a formal diplomatic scolding after the warship breached what the Kremlin says are its territorial waters but which Britain and most of the world say belong to Ukraine.Britain said Russia was giving an inaccurate account of the incident.

Russia said on Wednesday it had fired warning shots and dropped bombs in the path of a British warship to chase it out of waters Moscow claims in the Black Sea off the coast of the Crimea peninsula.Britain rejected Russia’s account of the incident, saying it believed any shots fired were a pre-announced Russian “gunnery exercise”, and that no bombs had been dropped. But it confirmed that its destroyer, HMS Defender, had sailed through what it described as waters belonging to Ukraine.The…

Britain is planning to build a new flagship to promote its business and trade interests around the world, the government said on Saturday, in a move it said would also reinvigorate the nation's shipbuilding industry.Britain said the ship, once built, would host high level trade negotiations and trade shows, and the cost of the shipbuilding project would be confirmed once manufacturing contracts were tendered.Construction of the ship is expected to begin at a U.K. shipyard as soon as next year, and the ship will enter service within the next four years.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth visited the country's new aircraft carrier on Saturday, named in honor of Elizabeth I, before it leads a flotilla of Royal Navy ships to Asian waters on its maiden operational voyage.The queen, aged 95, stepped aboard the HMS Queen Elizabeth in Portsmouth, seven years after she named the vessel alongside her late husband Prince Philip who died last month.The 65,000-tonne Queen Elizabeth will carry eight British F-35B fighter jets and 10 U.S. F-35s as well as 250 U.S.

Britain is sending two navy patrol boats to the British Channel Island of Jersey after France suggested it could cut power supplies to the island if its fishermen are not granted full access to U.K. fishing waters under post-Brexit trading terms.Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged his "unwavering support" for the island after he spoke with Jersey officials about the prospect of the French blockade.Johnson "stressed the urgent need for a de-escalation in tensions," a spokesperson for Johnson said. "As a precautionary measure the U.K.

Saga on Wednesday reported a stronger than expected annual profit, sending its shares sharply higher, as lower motor insurance payouts during lockdowns offset losses in its over-50s tour and cruise operations.The British company, hit hard last year by a shutdown of cruises globally and collapse of other travel, said it was ready to resume its tour and cruise businesses this year after suspending them in March 2020, with timing subject to government restrictions.“Customer demand remains strong, with evidence of significant pent-up demand from customers ready to travel,” Saga said.Saga’s shares jumped nearly 10% to 3.81 pounds by 1010 GMT.Saga plans to launch its Spirit of Discovery cruise at the end of June…

Britain’s over-50s holidays group Saga said on Tuesday total cruise bookings stood at 140 million pounds ($191.3 million) as it prepares to restart sailing in May after a torrid year for the travel industry due to the global health crisis.Mass vaccination drives have offered hopes for a revival this year but the industry faces fresh uncertainty as new variants of the coronavirus force some countries to bring back curbs, threatening a quick return to normalcy in leisure travel.The owner of Saga Holidays and Saga Cruises has mandated vaccinations for its travelers after customer feedback, cut guest capacity and has a multi-layer COVID-19 testing in place as it looks to attract customers after a year of suspension.“We are ready to restart both Cruise and Tours in May…

Britain clinched a narrow Brexit trade deal with the European Union on Thursday, just seven days before it exits one of the world’s biggest trading blocs in its most significant global shift since the loss of empire.The deal, agreed more than four years after Britain voted narrowly to leave the bloc, means it has averted a chaotic finale to the tortuous divorce that has shaken the 70-year project to forge European unity from the ruins of World War Two.It will preserve Britain’s zero-tariff and zero-quota access to the bloc’s single market of 450 million consumers…