Newslinks for Tuesday 16th December 2025

Conservatives round on PM for ‘heartless’ answer on suicide risks over family farms tax

“Sir Keir Starmer has suggested he is aware that some farmers are considering taking their own lives to avoid his inheritance tax raid. The family farm tax will come into force in April, meaning farms worth more than £1m will be taxed at a rate of 20 per cent. At the Commons liaison committee …the Prime Minister was asked whether he was “aware that some farmers who have terminal diagnoses are now actively planning to expedite their own deaths” before the tax raid comes into effect. The Prime Minister said: “I’ve had discussions with a number of individuals who have drawn all manner of things to my attention.”Kevin Hollinrake, the Tory chairman, said: “Today’s liaison committee appearance shows that Keir Starmer is once again putting party before country. He has acknowledged that farmers are taking their own lives following the introduction of his family farm tax, yet he still refuses to change course. He needs to grow a backbone, listen to the serious concerns being raised – including his own MPs – and start governing in the national interest rather than protecting his own position.” – Daily Telegraph

• Starmer seems to admit ill farmers may kill themselves to avoid tax – The Times
• Starmer blasted for refusing to U-turn on farm inheritance tax despite suicide fears – Daily Express
• Farmers are considering suicide so Labour’s inheritance tax raid doesn’t hammer their kids, Starmer is warned as one of his own MPs says he has disrespected the countryside – Daily Mail
• Farm harm.  Sir Keir Starmer refuses to budge on inheritance tax raid despite warnings farmers may take their own lives to avoid it – The Sun
• Keir Starmer torn apart for brutal one-word answer in Labour MP grilling – Daily Express
• Starmer admits questions about his leadership are ‘rife’ – FT
• Keir Starmer admits Labour leadership speculation is ‘rife’ as he is battered by MPs over briefings against Cabinet and Budget leaks – Daily Mail
• Former Scottish secretary hits out at ‘humiliating’ sacking by Starmer in reshuffle – Guardian
• Labour accused of cutting cash for high streets in rural areas – The i

Comment

• Keir leaves your eyelids sticky with desire for sleep… the tedium of tone, an overwhelming greyness. What a stodge! – Quentin Letts, Daily Mail
• No news whatsoever as Keir bores everyone to death. He’s a natural – John Crace, Guardian
• Starmer’s liaison committee grilling revealed three things – James Heale, Spectator
• Only the Tories can be honest about our plight – Matthew Parris, The Times
• Whisper it, but Badenoch is dragging the Conservatives back from the brink – Theresa Villiers, Daily Telegraph

Today

Doctors refuse to budge on Christmas strike during winter flu crisis despite pleas from Starmer and Streeting

“Elderly patients risk being stranded in hospitals for Christmas because of the doctors’ strike. Thousands of doctors will strike for five days from Wednesday, despite the Health Secretary warning they have chosen “the moment of maximum danger” during the winter flu crisis. A tidal wave of influenza has left a record number of cases for this time of year in hospital, particularly over-75s. Hospitals have now been told to make a “huge effort” to safely discharge as many patients as possible. NHS figures show that almost 13,000 patients fit enough to be sent home are instead stuck in hospital. Despite concerns of the impact on hospitals, Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, described the prospect of banning strikes as “political nonsense” on Monday night.” – Daily Telegraph

• Danger zone. ‘Selfish’ doctors will strike in days inflicting ‘maximum danger’ on NHS crippled by superflu over Christmas – The Sun
• Patients ‘may die’ in Christmas NHS meltdown as militant junior doctors humiliate Streeting by pushing ahead with strikes – despite pay hikes – Daily Mail
• Officials fear NHS will be hit hard after resident doctors reject latest offer – Guardian
• Junior doctors strike: push back against the BMA, Starmer urges – The Times
• Union behind doctors’ strike accused of offering staff below-inflation pay rise – The i
• Keir Starmer critic could oust his ally at biggest trade union – The Times

Tories tell Starmer to cut ties with Dale Vince over ‘repugnant’ response to Bondi beach shootings

“Keir Starmer faced calls to rebuke one of Labour’s biggest donors today after ‘morally repugnant’ comments he made about the anti-Semitic terror attack on Bondi Beach. Green energy tycoon Dale Vince, who has given millions to Sir Keir Starmer and his party, lashed out on social media in the wake of the atrocity on the iconic Sydney beach that left 15 people dead. He criticised Benjamin Netanyahu for a rebuke of his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese and the country’s support of the creation of a Palestinian state, in which the Israeli PM said anti-Semitism was ‘a cancer (that) spreads when leaders remain silent’. Mr Vince wrote: ‘Nothing to do with Israel committing genocide in Palestine then? Netanyahu wants anti-Semitism to be a thing, it validates him – he acts to make it so.’ Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and other politicians on the Right leapt on his comments. ‘A morally repugnant statement,’ she said. ‘Will Keir Starmer condemn his big financial backer? Staying silent implies he sees nothing wrong.’ – Daily Mail

• Labour donor Dale Vince criticised for post following Bondi beach attack – Guardian
• Will Labour cut ties with Dale Vince? – Spectator
• Activists chant ‘long live the intifada’ hours after Bondi attack – The Times
• Zack Polanski backs protest group accused of sledgehammer attack on police – Daily Express
• Bin Laden ‘voice of freedom’, says Palestine Action activist – Daily Telegraph

Comment

• Tolerate antisemitism and the West is next – Melanie Phillips, The Times
• Chanting ‘globalise the intifada’ leads to Bondi Beach – Danny Cohen, Daily Telegraph
• Australia’s government has failed Jews. It has allowed antisemitism to fester – Rocco Loiacono, Unherd
• Why won’t the West defend Jews? – Jonathan Sacerdoti, Spectator

New MI6 chief gives her first speech and warns of ‘shadow war’ with Russia and China and highlights the power of big tech

“MI6 plans to ‘outplay’ Vladimir Putin by stepping up a shadow war against Russia, the new head of the spy agency said today. In her first public speech, Blaise Metreweli announced MI6 spies will ‘sharpen our edge’ and ‘impact with audacity’, harking back to the tactics of sabotage, subversion and resistance made famous by legendary World War Two sabotage unit, the Special Operations Executive (SOE). She said MI6’s spies will tap into ‘our historical SOE instincts’, referring to the agents who snuck into Nazi territory – often by parachute or submarine – with orders from Winston Churchill orders to ‘set Europe ablaze’. Ms Metreweli said: ‘We will take calculated risks, where the prize is significant and the national interest clear. will never stoop to the tactics of our opponents. But we must seek to outplay them. In every domain. In every way.’ The new spy chief described how Britain is now ‘in a space between peace and war’ as Putin continues to push the West towards war. Ms Metreweli, accused the Russian leader of deliberately ‘dragging out negotiations’ over the war in Ukraine. ‘Russia is testing us in the grey zone with tactics that are just below the threshold of war’, she said, claiming Putin was attempting to ‘bully, fearmonger and manipulate’ through cyber-attacks on the UK’s critical infrastructure, drones buzzing airports and bases and aggressive activity in our seas.” – Daily Mail

• New MI6 chief: Tech bosses are becoming as powerful as nations – The Times
• Britain is on brink of war with Russia says MI6 chief as WW3 fears explode – Daily Express
• Spy who’ll crush him. New MI6 boss declares shadow war with Russia and vows spies will crush Putin sabotage just like legendary WW2 unit – The Sun
• Ukraine ‘blows up £300m Russian submarine’ with underwater drones – Daily Telegraph
• Labour ‘dragging its heels’ over China security decision – Daily Telegraph
• Chief of Defence Staff says Russia wants to attack a Nato country – The i
• Europe ready to lead ‘multinational force’ in Ukraine as part of US peace plan – Guardian
• Labour ‘dragging its heels’ over China security decision – Daily Telegraph
• Licence to code. MI6 boss says ‘our spies must be tech masters’ as ‘the front-line is everywhere’ – The Sun
• Degree in drones launched to bolster UK defence skills – The Times
• Moment Ukraine ‘destroys Russian submarine in first attack of its kind using underwater drones’ – Daily Mail

Editorial

• MI6 and the Forces warn that war is coming. We cannot wait for the economy to improve – Daily Telegraph

Comment

• Beware tech-bro economics They will trade away your humanity – Michael Lind, Unherd
• Net Zero is incompatible with military preparedness – Maurice Cousins, The Critic

Sunak says tax rises were the price of Covid pandemic support

“There was a “political price” to pay for the extent of Covid support schemes, Rishi Sunak has said as he defended tax rises. The former prime minister, who was chancellor during the pandemic, said that difficult decisions had to be made to pay for the work furlough scheme as well as support for businesses and self-employed workers. He told the Covid inquiry: “I, as chancellor, had to stand up and make all these difficult decisions about raising taxes to pay for pandemic support because I thought that was the right thing to do to get our public finances back in order. “I obviously didn’t love doing that — there’s a political price that comes with doing these things … but that was the right thing to do. I wanted to do it.” Sunak announced a four-year freeze to income tax thresholds in his 2021 spring budget as part of measures to help the economy recover from the pandemic.” – The Times

News in Brief

• Why Rachel Reeves can no longer be Chancellor – Daniel Hannan, CapX
• Australia ignored growing Islamist threat for too long – Kyle Orton, UnHerd
• We must stop the puberty blocker trial – Annaig Birdy, The Critic
• The year wokery went into decline – Rod Liddle, Spectator