Trump’s tariff threat on Greenland is a golden opportunity for Starmer – it is time to rejoin the EU
The Dutch have called it blackmail and Britain says it’s “wrong”, but Spain is the country that has best spelt out the treachery of Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs against his allies to force Greenland into his kingdom.
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, said that if Trump invaded Greenland it would make Vladimir Putin the “happiest man on earth”.
The EU and the UK are in emergency talks on how to face Trump’s latest threat of a 10 per cent tariff on goods from eight countries unless Greenland is sold to the US. The tariffs are to rise to 25 per cent on June 1.
Trump is a business buffoon. His companies have gone bankrupt six times and he failed to launch an airline and a university, and lost his shirt in casinos. He is also ignorant of basic economics.
He has repeatedly described tariffs, which are paid by US consumers and businesses in dollars in the US at the point of importation of foreign goods, as a “subsidy”.
The reality is that if he forces up the prices of goods from eight countries through duties, some of the rise will be carried by the producers, some by the middleman, and in most cases the majority of it by the consumer – Americans.
Trump is impervious to this reality.
Just as he is impervious to advice from longstanding allies that if he smashes Nato, the US will be vulnerable to the very threats from China and Russia that he claims he wants to protect against by bringing Greenland into the US.
Britain has stood by its Nato commitment and sent one officer as a token presence on a token European military mission to Greenland. As the UK has negotiated 10 per cent tariffs with Trump vs the EU’s 15 per cent, it has a little more to lose in a decline in UK-US trade.
But it has a huge amount to gain economically, culturally, and now in terms of its security, if the crisis caused by Trump is seized as an opportunity for Britain to rejoin the EU on terms that bind the UK to the mainland. This would make both parties safer – and stop Putin from dancing a happy jig around the Kremlin.
Last year the UK and the EU failed to agree terms for Britain to join the Security Action for Europe (Safe) programme. This is a €150bn loan mechanism to boost the EU’s defence industrial capacity in the face of Russia’s threat against Europe and invasion of Ukraine.
Britain was asked to stump up €4-6bn as the price of membership. Canada only had to pay $20m, but the UK would have been a full partner, not a “third-party” country with limited access to the funds.
Britain would have been able to benefit enormously from cherry-picking this EU facility without having to go for political integration – which is why the EU set the fee so high.
But that was years ago in Trump time. Last December on our calendars.
The EU needs Britain’s arms industry. And Britain needs the EU economic and security blanket.
The UK’s armed forces are small and impoverished, with their chiefs saying they face a £28bn funding shortfall.
According to a recent report by the Centre for Economic Policy: “By 2025, we estimate that UK GDP per capita was 6–8 per cent lower than it would have been without Brexit. Investment was 12–18 per cent lower, employment 3–4 per cent lower, and productivity 3–4 per cent lower.”
Other estimates put Britain’s losses at lower levels, but there can be no doubt that Brexit has been a strategic economic failure.
The Europeans are not having an easy run either. Per capita GDP growth for the UK from 2016 has been 4.5 per cent, Germany has almost flatlined at 3.6 per cent. France’s is only 7.5 per cent.
The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said US tariffs would hit both sides of the Greenland debate but were a distraction from the “core task” of ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“China and Russia must be having a field day. They are the ones who benefit from divisions among allies,” Kallas said on X.
“Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity. If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside Nato,” she added.
The EU needs help from the UK to do that. Britain has much to give the EU: its armed forces and military industries would accelerate and improve the bloc’s security.
Trump’s attacks on the very existence of Nato, his contempt for Europe in general, and his continuing support for Putin’s land grabs mean that the UK could negotiate better terms for re-entering the EU now than it would have done before the US president tore up international law and turned on the US’s oldest friends.
The Greenland crisis is Britain’s best opportunity.
Experts ‘baffled’ by cause of Spain high-speed train collision after 39 killed
Experts have been left “extremely baffled” by a high-speed train collision that killed at least 39 in Spain on Sunday, according to the country’s transport minister.
The trains had been travelling at a lower than average speed with the affected train having last been inspected just four days ago.
“It is truly strange. All the railway experts who have been here today… and those we have consulted are extremely baffled by the accident,” Oscar Puente told Spanish TV channel Telecinco.
At least 39 people were killed after a high-speed train derailed and crashed into an oncoming train, pushing it off the tracks.
There were around 400 passengers on board the two trains and dozens were injured in the incident. Of the 122 people hospitalised, 15 remained in serious condition, officials said early on Monday. Around 74 have been discharged.
The driver of one of the trains, which was travelling from Madrid to Huelva, was among those who died.
Trains collided at over 120mph, say sources
Two high-speed trains at the centre of the collision in Spain that killed 39 people, were travelling at over 120mph, sources from the Spanish transport ministry told Sky News.
The Iryo train derailed first and was travelling at around 130mph while the second train was moving at approximately 127mph.
The incident took place in less than 30 seconds.
Watch: Footage from inside Spain’s high-speed train crash shows passengers trying to escape mangled carriages
Holly Bishop reports:
Video from inside a derailed high-speed train captures passengers waiting to escape after a fatal crash that has claimed at least 39 lives.
The train travelling from Malaga to Madrid derailed and crashed onto the neighbouring track, colliding with an oncoming train in Adamuz, Spain on Sunday (18 January).
Eyewitness footage taken from inside one of the trains shows standing passengers waiting to be evacuated from the mangled wreckage.
There were around 300 passengers on board the two trains and dozens were injured in the incident, in Spain’s worst train crash in over a decade.
‘The mobile phones of the dead would not stop ringing’: Firefighters describe ‘total chaos’
Firefighters who reached the scene of the rail crash last night told of the scene of “chaos”.
“When we arrived, there were bodies scattered about. People screaming and total chaos. The mobile phones of the dead would not stop ringing,” said one firefighter, who was visibly shaken by the scene which greeted him.
Spanish civil guard sets up offices for families with missing loved ones
Spain’s Civil Guard has set up three offices across the region to help victims’ families help identify them.
At least 39 people have been confirmed dead with dozens more injured, some critically.
Relatives have been told to file reports and provide DNA samples at offices in Huelva, Malaga and Madrid in order to help with the identification process.
How the high-speed train crash in southern Spain unfolded: ‘Felt like an earthquake’
The crash happened at 7.45pm local time near Adamuz, a town of about 5,000 people in the province of Córdoba around 360km south of the capital Madrid, according to Spain’s interior ministry.
The tail end of a train run by private high-speed rail operator Iryo, travelling from Málaga to Madrid, got derailed and jumped onto an adjacent track, where it smashed into an oncoming Renfe service travelling from Madrid to Huelva, a municipality in Spain, authorities said. Renfe is Spain’s national state-owned railway company.
Stuti Mishra reports:
How the high-speed train crash in southern Spain unfolded: ‘Felt like an earthquake’
British foreign secretary Yvette Cooper comments on ‘devastating’ crash
UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper has released a statement following the Spanish train crash.
“Devastating to see the scenes near Córdoba this morning,” she wrote in a post on X/Twitter on Monday.
“Thinking of all those affected by this terrible crash, and the people of Spain at this distressing time. Thank you to the Spanish emergency services who have been responding through the night.”
Spain train crash: How safe is high-speed rail travel?
Spain has the finest high-speed rail network in Europe. But on Sunday evening, 18 January, dozens of passengers were killed when an Iryo train from Malaga to Madrid derailed and collided with a Renfe Madrid to Huelva express at Adamuz in the southern province of Andalusia.
The tragedy will raise concerns among prospective travellers about the safety of high-speed trains. These are the key questions and answers.
Spain train crash: How safe is high-speed rail travel?
Injured woman in hospital says she is ‘covered in cuts and bruises’
Rocio, who is in hospital in Cordoba, was travelling back to Huelva after taking civil service examinations in Madrid at the weekend.
“It was total chaos. I am under observation because of the blows to my head and the vomiting. My ribs are not broken, just dislodged,” she said in a WhatsApp message sent to El Pais newspaper.
“I am covered in bruises and cuts. It was terrible. We were thrown through the air. Thank God I am okay but there are people who are far worse off than me.”
Train operator president says ‘too early’ to know cause of crash
The president of Renfe, the state-run rail company, discounted human error as the cause of the crash. Alvaro Fernandez Heredia said: “The (trains) were already on the braking curve, one at 205 km per hour, and the other at 210kmh. It is a 250 kilometer per hour section.
“The system itself prevents exceeding that speed. The cause must be something else.”
He said it was “too early” to know the cause and said it was important not to speculate on the matter.
‘Shouting’ and ‘terror’ during crash, say eyewitnesses
Salvador Jimenez, a journalist with state television channel TVE, said: “I was travelling in carriage one of the Iryo train. Suddenly there was a crash. Then there was ten seconds of shouting, terror.
“We heard a message over the megaphone and a medic came through the carriage towards carriage five. They smashed the window with an axe. We saw the other train which had been hit. It was on its side. I thought ‘My God’ what has happened here.”
Trump and Zelensky’s envoys to hold Ukraine peace talks in Davos
Delegations from Ukraine and the US will continue their efforts to agree a peace deal at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, according to Kyiv‘s lead negotiator.
The two sides held talks over the weekend in Florida, with the US team led by Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Both Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky will be attending the Davos summit, which begins today, but the White House says there are currently no plans for a bilateral meeting.
Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said talks would continue “at the team level during the next phase of consultations in Davos”.
Last night Zelensky said work continued to restore energy infrastructure devastated by targeted Russian strikes, and that such attacks showed Vladimir Putin had no interest in peace.
“If the Russians were seriously interested in ending the war, they would have focused on diplomacy,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
Russia claims two settlements in Ukraine
Russia claimed to have taken control of two settlements in Ukraine on Monday.
The defence ministry said forces had taken Pavlivka, in the Zaporizhzhia region, and Novopavlivka, in the Donetsk region.
The Independent could not independently verify the battlefield report.
Russian strikes ‘damage critical infrastructure’ in Ukraine
A Russian missile attack damaged a critical infrastructure facility in Kharkiv, the mayor said on Monday.
“The enemy attacked a critical infrastructure facility with several missiles, causing significant damage,” Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on the Telegram messaging app.
Terekhov gave no details about the type of facility that was struck.
Kharkiv is Ukraine’s second-biggest city.
‘We recognise Trump’s role in pushing for Ukraine ceasefire’, says Starmer
Sir Keir Starmer praised Trump for his role in pushing for a ceasefire in Ukraine during a press conference this morning to address the spiralling situation in Greenland.
He reiterated the importance of the UK-US relationship and urged calm in resolving differences on the Danish territory.
European partners have been threatened with fresh US tariffs over their support for Denmark.
Recap: Putin mediating in Iran
The Kremlin said today that Vladimir Putin had been invited to join Donald Trump’s Board of Peace in Gaza.
Only on Friday, the Kremlin revealed that Putin was playing a role in mediating the Iran situation, having spoken to both Israel’s Netanyahu and Iran’s Pezeshkian.
Russia has pursued closer ties with Iran since the start of its war in Ukraine, and Putin last year signed a 20-year strategic partnership pact with Pezeshkian. Moscow also has a long-established working relationship with Israel.
Kremlin: Trump would ‘go down in history’ if he annexes Greenland
The Kremlin said on Monday that it was hard to disagree with experts who said that US President Donald Trump would go down in world history if he took control of Greenland.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was not discussing whether such a step would be good or bad – simply stating a fact.
Breaking: Putin invited to join Board of Peace in Gaza, says Kremlin
The Kremlin said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to join US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”, and that Moscow is studying the proposal and hopes for contacts with Washington concerning it.
US invasion of Greenland ‘would make Putin happiest man on earth’, says Spanish PM
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez said a US invasion of Greenland “would make Putin the happiest man on earth”.
Sanchez said any military action by the US against Denmark’s vast Arctic island would damage Nato and “legitimise” the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
“If we focus on Greenland, I have to say that a US invasion of that territory would make Vladimir Putin the happiest man in the world. Why? Because it would legitimise his attempted invasion of Ukraine,” he told La Vanguardia.
“If the United States were to use force, it would be the death knell for Nato. Putin would be doubly happy,” he said.
President Donald Trump on Saturday appeared to change tack over Greenland by vowing to implement a wave of increasing tariffs on European allies until the United States is allowed to buy Greenland.
Watch: ‘Diplomacy not a priority for Russia’, says Zelensky
Zelensky holds special energy coordination meeting
Volodymyr Zelensky said he held a special energy coordination meeting yesterday, noting that the situation remains most difficult in several areas.
He said Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and the surrounding regions are the worst hit due to Russian attacks.
Ukraine needs to ramp up electricity imports and acquire additional equipment from its partners, the Ukrainian president said.
Zelensky said he has ordered a separate review in Kyiv to identify buildings that are still without heating.
“Unfortunately, there are discrepancies between city-level and government-level reports even concerning the number of such buildings. The Ministry of Energy and all central government bodies must fully engage to help people,” he said.
Zelensky says Ukraine ‘doing everything they can’ to restore energy
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Telegram post that repairing the country’s energy system remains challenging, “but we are doing everything we can to restore everything as quickly as possible”.
He said two people were killed in overnight attacks across the country that struck Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi and Odesa.
More than 1,300 attack drones, 1,050 guided aerial bombs and 29 missiles of various types were used by Russia to strike Ukraine this week, he added.
“If Russia deliberately delays the diplomatic process, the world’s response should be decisive: more help for Ukraine and more pressure on the aggressor,” Mr Zelensky said.
He spoke the day after a Ukrainian delegation arrived in the US for talks on a US-led diplomatic push to end the war.
Senegal face punishment after ‘shameful’ walk-off in Afcon final
The governing body of African football has confirmed it has opened disciplinary proceedings after Senegal players staged a mid-game walk-off during a chaotic end to the Africa Cup of Nations final.
The final in Rabat descended into chaos deep into stoppage time when hosts Morocco were awarded a penalty after a VAR review by Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala as Diaz went down the box under the challenge of El Hadji Malick Diouf.
Senegal, who had an opening goal disallowed for a soft foul on Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi moments before, were outraged and the majority of the Senegal team, led by head coach Pape Thiaw, stormed off the pitch, leading to a 14-minute delay.
When Senegal were convinced to come back onto the pitch by talisman Sadio Mane, Diaz, with the chance to win the trophy for Morocco in the 24th minute of stoppage time, chipped his penalty softly down the middle – resulting in the easiest of saves for goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
The final then went to extra time, where Pape Gueye scored a stunning goal to win Senegal their second Africa Cup of Nations title in four years. Thiaw later apologised for his actions, but the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said it was reviewing footage and that disciplinary proceedings will follow, adding that it “condemns the unacceptable behaviour from some players and officials”.
Follow all the latest updates from the Afcon final below
Morocco coach accuses Thiaw of bringing shame on African football
Morocco coach Walid Regragui, accused Senegal’s manager Pape Thiaw of having brought shame on African football after what he termed “a final with a Hitchcockian script”.
Senegal’s head coach took his players off the pitch when Morocco were awarded a late penalty in the final but Sadio Mane convinced the players to return to the field.
Morocco’s Brahim Díaz then missed the penalty and Senegal went on to win in extra time.
“The image we’ve given of Africa is shameful. A coach who asks his players to leave the field … What Pape did does not honour Africa,” Regragui said.
“He had already started in the [pre-match] press conference. He wasn’t classy. But he is a champion, so he can say whatever he wants. We stopped the match in the eyes of the world for 10 minutes.
“We were one minute from being African champions. That’s football.
“It’s often cruel. We missed what for some was the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Morocco criticised over towel trick despite winning Afcon fair play award
Morocco have been criticised by fans despite winning the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 fair play award after fans pointed out a towel trick used to unsettle Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy in the final.
The hosts lost 1-0 after extra time thanks to Pape Gueye’s extra-time strike in what descended into a volatile and controversial final at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
Morocco criticised over towel trick despite winning Afcon Fair Play Award
Kachloul praises Mane’s impact
Former Morocco international, Hassan Kachloul, praised Sadio Mane’s impact on the Senegal players in getting the final back underway after they had left the pitch.
He told E4: “What I like more than anything, the only player from the Senegalese team was Sadio Mane. That shows the great man he is. He went back to the dressing room and brought those players back.
“Africa football was losing and world football was losing. Sadio Mane was the man to bring them back on.”
John Obi Mikel on Diaz’s panenka
Former Nigeria captain, John Obi Mikel, spoke on E4 about Brahim Diaz and how he took the controversial penalty late in the game.
Diaz chipped his spot kick, styled as a panenka, into the arms of Edouard Mendy before Morocco went on to lose the game and the tournament.
“Again, it is a shame to see,” Mikel said
“Brahim Diaz has had a superb tournament. He scored five goals and he has been the star man.
“It is sad to see him do such a thing. Just put your foot through it.”
How the Africa Cup of Nations final descended into chaos
Senegal have been crowned Africa Cup of Nations champions after one of the most chaotic and perplexing conclusions to a major final in football history.
After what had been a frantic but goalless game so far, the clash descended into carnage in second-half stoppage time after two controversial decisions against Senegal, the second being a last-gasp penalty for Morocco, led to manager Pape Thiaw dragging his team off the pitch and into the dressing room in protest.
How the Africa Cup of Nations final descended into chaos
Senegal coach apologies for protest
Senegal coach Pape Thiaw apologised for his actions in leading his team off the pitch after Morocco were awarded a controversial late penalty.
“After reflecting on it I made them come back (on the pitch) – you can react in the heat of the moment,” Thiaw told BeIN Sports.
“We accept the errors of the referee. We shouldn’t have done it but it’s done and now we present our apologies to football.”
Infantino condemns behaviour of Senegal players
Fifa president Gianni Infantino condemned the behaviour of Senegal players and members of the coaching staff saying violence and walk-offs had no place in football.
After congratulating Senegal on their title, Infantino said: “We also witnessed unacceptable scenes on the field and in the stands – we strongly condemn the behaviour of some supporters as well as some Senegalese players and technical staff members.
“It is unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner, and equally, violence cannot be tolerated in our sport, it is simply not right.
“We must always respect the decisions taken by the match officials on and off the field of play. Teams must compete on the pitch and within the Laws of the Game, because anything less puts the very essence of football at risk.”
Mane explains why he ended Senegal’s protest
“Football is something special, the world was watching, the world loves football and I think football is a pleasure so we have to give a good image for football,” Sadio Mane said explained.
“I think it would be crazy to not play this game because what, the referee gave a penalty and we go out of the game? I think that would be the worst thing especially in African football. I’d rather lose than this kind of thing happen to our football.
“I think it’s really bad. Football should not stop for even ten minutes but what can we do? We have to accept that we did but the good thing is that we came back and we played the game and what happened happened.”
CAF statement in full
“The Confederation Africaine de Football (“CAF”) condemns the unacceptable behaviour of some players and officials during the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 Final between Morocco and Senegal in Rabat last night.
“CAF strongly condemns any inappropriate behaviour which occurs during matches, especially those targeting the refereeing team or match organizers.
“CAF is reviewing all footage and will refer the matter to competent bodies for appropriate action to be taken against those found guilty.”
CAF issues statement on Afcon final chaos
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has said it will review footage of the Afcon final and that disciplinary proceedings will follow, adding that it “condemns the unacceptable behaviour from some players and officials.”
The statement, which was released on Monday, continued: “CAF is reviewing all footage and will refer the matter to competent bodies for appropriate action to be taken against those found guilty.”
Djokovic begins bid for Australian Open and equals Federer record
Novak Djokovic gets his bid for a record Australian Open title underway as he faces Pedro Martinez in the first round.
Djokovic, 38, may well be the third men of men’s tennis due to the dominance of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who have won the last eight grand slam titles between them, but the Serbian said he does not think it will be “now or never” to win an elusive and record-breaking 25th major.
Djokovic has reached the semi-finals of the last four grand slam tournaments and he will begin his campaign against Spain’s Martinez, the world No 71, after the women’s second seed Iga Swiatek was forced to battle past the qualifier Yuan Yue.
There were two defeats for British players earlier on day two, with Fran Jones retiring in tears due to injury and Jacob Fearnley losing a close match against Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak. Emma Raducanu, Cameron Norrie and Arthur Fery are through to round two.
Follow live scores and updates from the Australian Open, below:
SECOND SET! Djokovic 6-3 6-2 Pedro Martinez*
A first-serve ace and a second-serve ace from Djokovic as he wraps up the set with a smash over Martinez’s head. Imperious.
BREAK! *Djokovic 6-3 5-2 Pedro Martinez
A wonderful backhand winner down the line from Djokovic brings up break point: Martinez then goes long and, barring something extraordinary, that will be the second set too.
Djokovic 6-3 4-2 Pedro Martinez*
It’s up to 32/36 serving points won for Djokovic and this is turning into an extremely comfortable opening night on Rod Laver Arena.
𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 from Novak Djokovic 🤩#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/qfmHMK1SAI
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) January 19, 2026
BREAK! *Djokovic 6-3 2-1 Pedro Martinez
Djokovic’s forehand is firing right from the start at the Australian Open and he crushes another big return crosscourt to bring up break point. Martinez pushes it a bit too far down break point, and Djokovic will feel in total control of this now as the Spaniard fires wide.
Djokovic 6-3 1-1 Pedro Martinez*
Through his first seven service games, Djokovic has won 24/27 of his service points. He slams his sixth ace of the match to hold another game to love, as Martinez still can’t get a look in.
FIRST SET! Djokovic 6-3 Pedro Martinez
Too good on serve. Djokovic is up and running. 6-3 in the opening set.
*Novak Djokovic 5-3 Pedro Martinez
A brilliant crosscourt winner from Djokovic brings up set point but Martinez fends him off and lives to fight another day as Djokovic blasts a couple wide. But every service game is a battle for Martinez. Can he apply some pressure as Djokovic now serves for the set?
Novak Djokovic 5-2 Pedro Martinez*
Djokovic is rolling through the service games while barely dropping a point. This has been a smooth start and he moves a game away from the opening set.
Novak Djokovic 3-1 Pedro Martinez*
Martinez is having a lot less fun out on the Rod Laver Arena than he did during the One Point Slam, and makes another double-fault to face 30-30.
Djokovic crushes a forehand winner to get to break point. Martinez, though, comes into the net well to close out the game and get onto the board.
*Novak Djokovic 2-0 Pedro Martinez
Martinez double-faults to hand the opening break to Djokovic, who knifed a stunning sliced approach to get on top in the game. He winced as a forehand went long on the first break point. He receives the breakthrough on the second.
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Has Harry’s return prompted William and Kate’s latest power move?
While staff churn at Team Sussex delights satirists (Meghan is on her 11th publicist), there is no equivalent turnover at the House of Windsor, an institution that values discretion and is inherently cautious about hiring new blood. So, it was a surprise to many when Kensington Palace announced a significant hire for Team Wales for the new year. Liza Ravenscroft would be soon in place to steer the public relations for the couple. And this isn’t just any old PR, according to her CV, the senior director at global comms firm Edelman boasts the nickname “bulletproof sunshine”, and promises support for leaders during their “worst ever days in the office”.
Naturally, the palace is playing down the link between Ravenscroft’s crisis acme and her new royal appointment, insisting she will simply be working on day-to-day press interactions, but a one-minute perusal of the CV of Ms “Bulletproof’ is a salient reminder that the king and queen in waiting are taking nothing for granted in 2026.
This is a woman who prides herself on a capacity to “get past an issue as quickly as possible with minimum dents”, and it’s often “front-page stuff: from boycott campaigns to sexual allegations to serious safety issues, geopolitical and ethical risks”. Ravenscroft’s playbook is written for Trumpian times, and proof that Britain’s most famous international brand anticipates choppy waters ahead. So what exactly is the House of Windsor’s A-team – William and Kate – anticipating?
The couple currently enjoy unrivalled popularity because they have no competition. No doubt William would like to keep it that way, but a sage adviser would recommend otherwise and the timing of Ravenscroft’s appointment is pertinent. The ‘H’ issue raises its head again this weel, when the prodigal son returns to London for more legal swash-buckling, this time against the Daily Mail.
We can expect a tail-up duke, buoyed by news that his long-coveted UK security brief is likely to be restored. Nor is this legal pop-up the last we will see of him. Invictus commitments mean plans are afoot for the duchess to join her husband this summer on a rare return trip to the UK. Much has changed for Meghan in the intervening four years.
Despite our best national efforts to demonise the American royal, the recent defenestration of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has cast the Sussexes in a more benign light. In an upended world of strongmen and loose morals, it’s become that bit harder to hate on a former-actress-cum-jam-influencer. Hats off to Meghan for doing her super-charged Californian “thing”. As Ever profits speak to a can-do American mindset desperately lacking in Britain, where I suspect many will secretly welcome the duchess back with a cheerful curiosity.
All of which spells potential trouble ahead for rigid William. Kate’s halo is unlikely to slip anytime soon, but her husband is more exposed. How long can he hold out against a sibling rapprochement? In May last year, Harry wistfully opined that there were members of his family who would never forgive him; be in no doubt, he was talking about his eldest brother.
A source close to the palace was unequivocal – William is not for turning and, more problematic, the future King holds much sway over his elderly father. Charles is an instinctive workaholic who ordinarily would have taken greater strides to bring Harry back into the fold, but age and illness have seen him increasingly dependent on his intransigent eldest son. And here is where Ms Bulletproof Sunshine will surely have her work cut out.
How do you make England’s untouchable heir-to-the-throne do something he doesn’t want to do? A graphic anecdote on Williams’ tendency to follow his own path comes from an inside source. Royal protocol insists that monarchs and their heirs should not share flights for obvious reasons, but when the palace refused to provide a helicopter for William and his offspring a couple of years ago, the Prince organised his own, bundling the Wales children in with him.
Like his grandfather Philip, entitled alpha men don’t like to be told what to do by palace stiffs. But the Sussex hangover is a different matter. It’s not the business of royal suits to broker the subject of a rapprochement and the overcooked King is unlikely to take the lead. Can Ms Bulletproof enter this conflict zone and soften William up? If that is overreach, does she have the bandwidth to manage the long-term costs to the monarchy if it doesn’t happen?
With our relentlessly right-wing media, the impact won’t be felt immediately, but rather take the gradual form of increasing anti-royal seepage, as the cultural capital of Britain’s first family leeches away. A privileged group of people who can’t even work out how to get around the table with a prince who chose his own path and used a few injudicious words when doing so.
And the stench of the Andrew saga is never far away, with Peter Mandelson’s tin-eared apology serving as a reminder that the Epstein shadow still looms large. In his favour, William has been at the vanguard of denuding Andrew of royal privilege, but the former Prince’s move to another grace-and-favour property – albeit among turnip-toffs in Norfolk – while the Sussexes are forced to camp out who knows where this summer, (will they fork out for their own hotel?) will make for challenging optics. Going forward, the House of Windsor cannot be seen to favour Andrew over not-so-bad Harry.
Ironically, even the ex-Duke of York’s judicious removal from (almost) all family affairs poses potential PR problems. If 2026 is clear on the Epstein-Andrew front (a dangerous assumption) there will be an appetite for other royal rogues. Here, the ageing King is on safer terrain than his eldest son, whose biggest achilles heel, beyond the impasse with his brother, is the royalty’s burgeoning finances.
It was the BBC’s David Dimbleby who derided the House of Windsor last year for being as rich as ‘plutocrats’, a problem compounded by the Prince of Wales, who, unlike his father, chooses not to publish his Duchy of Cornwall tax returns. As we have already established, William prefers taking his own path. Clearly, he does not consider himself too rich (sources in the palace speak to the same blinkered mentality), but last year’s extensive financial revelations sat uneasily with a population who are struggling to put food on the table in a cost-of-living crisis.
The drip, drip, drip of obscene levels of unaccountable wealth won’t go away and could diminish royal support. Beleaguered Gen Z, facing a desolate jobs landscape, are already asking salient questions, and an astute PR exec would be wise to tackle the subject of money and inherited privilege head-on.
Inevitably, many of these fault lines will be short-circuited by a mooted overseas trip to the USA this summer, when proposals are afoot to send the Prince of Wales on an American charm offensive for the Trump celebrations in America’s 250th year and England in Fifa’s World Cup. (Better still, if the “so radiant and so healthy and so beautiful” Kate travelled too). With the potential for the royal pair to dazzle in an otherwise diminished special relationship, here Ravenscroft should score an easy win, but she would be ill-advised to rest on her laurels. Trump, as we know, is, if nothing else, temperamental, and the bigger picture is more mixed.
For now, William is popular but not blemish-free, and perhaps the biggest takeaway from Ms Bulletproof’s new job is the proximity to King. The man behind her appointment. Ravenscroft’s current boss at Endel is the CEO Julian Payne, Charles’s former communications secretary and someone the monarch remains close to.
This sovereign seal of approval not only speaks to Ravenscroft’s suitability but also a cognisance in royal circles that the King needs to coordinate more closely with the Waleses. Succession is ian ncreasing preoccupation. Key to Ravencroft’s success will be her ability to help William understand the give-and-take required if monarchy, on its current white-male-privileged-Protestant trajectory, is to successfully endure beyond his father.
Tessa Dunlop is the author of ‘Elizabeth and Philip, A Story of Young Love, Marriage and Monarchy’
Reeves claims UK economy will ‘turn corner’ in 2026 with growth only behind US and Canada in G7
Rachel Reeves has hailed 2026 as the year the UK economy will “turn a corner” after it was projected to achieve stronger economic growth next year than half its G7 peers, trailing only the US and Canada, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The influential economic body’s latest report anticipates Britain’s GDP growth will surpass Japan, Italy and France, while equalling Germany’s.
The figures have been hailed by the chancellor as a rare piece of good news suggesting that her economic strategy may be beginning to work.
Her position had come under question with an apparently flatlining economy having arrived in office 19 months ago with economic growth as the government’s “number one mission”.
She said: “After years of decline, this is the year the country turns a corner.
“The IMF has upgraded our growth for the third time in a row since April 2025, putting us on course to be the fastest growing European G7 economy this year and next.”
She added: “Thanks to the stability we have brought to the economy and the investment we’ve unlocked, we continue to defy the forecasts and ease the cost of living for families by bringing down bills.”
But the improved news also came amid concerns that Donald Trump’s threat to unleash new tariffs over Greenland could actually plunge the UK into recession and wipe out any economic growth.
The IMF maintained its UK economic growth forecasts for 2026 and 2027 at 1.3 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively. Global growth is projected at 3.3 per cent in 2026 and 3.2 per cent in 2027.
After previously saying UK inflation was set to surge, the IMF reported it was expected to return to target by the end of 2026 due to a weakening labour market.
It said the global economy has remained “remarkably resilient”, and there were signs that technology-related investment contributed to the UK growth, but not at the same scale as in the US.
While the IMF kept its economic forecast for this year and next unchanged, it nudged up its prediction for 2025 to 1.4 per cent from 1.3 per cent per cent previously.
But shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride was dismissive of the figures especially considering how far the UK is behind on the global average.
He said: “A 0.1 per cent uptick is not a triumph and the fact Rachel Reeves is celebrating it shows how desperate she has become. The economy is flatlining.”
He went on: “Measuring the UK’s economic health by the FTSE 100 alone is ill-advised.
“Most of the corporate earnings within that index arise in other countries, while the more UK-exposed FTSE 250 continues to lag.
“Only Rachel Reeves could congratulate herself on cutting red tape while overseeing the introduction of an Employment Rights Bill that is crippling businesses at a time when unemployment is rising, business confidence is at record lows and growth is flat.
“The chancellor must recognise the dire state of the economy and change course.”