The Daily Telegraph, external says Chancellor Rachel Reeves has told farmers she will not be reversing plans, announced in the Budget, to bring in inheritance tax on farms worth more than a million pounds.
In a statement, Reeves says the reforms are necessary to, in her words, “ensure that wealthier estates and the most valuable farms pay their fair share to invest in our schools and health services”. But the papers notes that a first Labour peer has now criticised the government over the plans. Baroness Mallalieu said Labour had become an “urban party” divorced from much of the rural community.
The Sun, external says Jeremy Clarkson, who is recovering from a heart operation, will join up to 20,000 farmers marching in Westminster in protest at what the paper calls “the hated tractor tax”.
The Guardian, external, the Telegraph, external and the Times, external all highlight Sir Keir Starmer’s comments about Ukraine, after President Biden’s decision to allow Kyiv to use long-range US missiles to strike deep into Russia. All three papers suggest the move may be too little, too late to alter the course of the war.
The Daily Mirror, external notes that the UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine. But it also suggests the UK should not underestimate the possible consequences of following Washington and allowing Ukraine to use its long-range weapons on Russia too.
The Times reports that the British Retail Consortium letter warning, external of job losses because of the government’s tax plans is the first time many of the companies have gone public with their concerns. It says that the Treasury tried to discourage several of the business from signing the letter, though it gives no further detail.
According to the Daily Telegraph, external, the Business Secretary has suggested that if Donald Trump were to spark a trade war with China, Britain would be likely to side with the European Union rather than the US. There are fears that Mr Trump could ask US trading partners such as the UK to follow his reported plans to slap tariffs on Chinese imports, which could put the UK at odds with Brussels.
Jonathan Reynolds said because the UK’s bilateral trade with the EU outweighed that with the US, London would have to consider the consequences of an adverse relationship with Europe.
The Times, external and the Daily Mail, external both have more on – in their words – the IT “meltdown” at British Airways. The Mail calls it “chaos”, and says dozens of flights were disrupted by the major technological glitch, leaving thousands of passengers standing in the cold waiting to board flights. The Times says a huge knock-on effect is expected.
According to the Financial Times, external, some of China’s biggest tech groups in Silicon Valley are trying to poach US talent to help them develop Artificial Intelligence. It says Alibaba, Bytedance and Meituan are all trying to expand operations despite Washington’s efforts to curb Beijing’s AI work.