Gary K. K. Lee

[Steven Swinford @Steven_Swinford]

EXCLUSIVE:

Andy Burnham has pledged to rebuild the country’s “hard power” by ensuring that billions of pounds of additional defence spending is focused on the UK rather than given to American or European companies

In his first big foreign policy intervention, the prime minister in waiting said that he wanted to “level with” the public about the amount of money that would be required to meet the UK’s pledge to spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2035

Writing in The Times, he said he wanted the investment to go into “regenerating and reindustrialising the country”, supporting British jobs and British workers, instead of relying on equipment bought from other countries

He said Britain needed to reduce its foreign dependency, adding that doing so was “critical for both our economic and national security” and would be a core priority for his premiership

He also pledged to build closer ties with European countries on defence and security, particularly France and Germany, while also committing to going faster in negotiations with the EU more broadly on tackling illegal migration and economic security

“It is right that we rebuild our hard power for a new era that is very different to the one in which much of our current military equipment was first designed

“Crucially, as we do so, I want to ensure we back British workers and businesses. This means we must go much further than ever before through the defence investment plan in backing British resilience, using a sustained increase in defence investment not only to provide the kit our armed forces need, but also to generate economic growth and create apprenticeships and jobs in communities that have seen opportunities drain away.

“We will also focus on reducing foreign dependency, securing inward investment and building new industrial partnerships with allies. Reindustrialisation through defence — and other sectors — is critical for both our economic and national security, building resilience in all our places. It will be a core priority for me.”

https://t.co/c3dWDD9phh

[Kate from Kharkiv @BohuslavskaKate]

TRUMP: Putin said, "I'd love to meet in Moscow." I don’t know if Zelenskyy would go to Moscow. Maybe he would. Would you go to Moscow?

ZELENSKYY: It’s difficult. There are lot of Ukrainian drones there. (Audience laughs) It’s dangerous.

TRUMP: Yeah, it’s hard to go to Moscow.

[Ukrainian Air Force @KpsZSU]

⚡️ CONFIRMED!
On July 8, 2026, a Russian Su-35 multi-role fighter was shot down on the eastern sector!

🇺🇦 Glory to Ukraine!
✊ Together to victory!

[David Frum @davidfrum]

250 years after July 4, 1776, the successor of King George III pays taxes and publishes his returns. The successor of George Washington does not. https://t.co/CbIXDe8UQY

[George Allison @geoallison]

Merry Dipmas Day, what did you ask for?

[Dominic Hauschild @domhauschild]

NEW: Admiral Sir Tony Radakin has written an explosive op-ed for The Sunday Times.

It is the first time the former chief of the defence staff has spoken since retiring last year.

He said:

💥 Andy Burnham must appoint a "wartime cabinet" that will properly fund the military.
💥 The "peace dividend" is over - and the role of the PM is now a "quasi-wartime" one.
💥 The UK is "looking like a laggard" in Nato and we are bottom of the Nato league table to meet our military commitments.
💥 Warned Burnham to avoid antagonising Donald Trump - or else the USA could withdraw its "unconditional support" for the UK.
💥 Says the next PM must "protect the nuclear deterrent."

Full words in @thetimes below 👇

[The Times and Sunday Times @thetimes]

My advice to Andy Burnham as a former head of the armed forces https://t.co/W8rBQb2r40

[OSINTtechnical @Osinttechnical]

Footage of a Ukrainian attack drone hitting a storage tank at the Moscow Oil Refinery this morning, sending the tank lid perfectly soaring hundreds of feet.

[OSINTtechnical @Osinttechnical]

Footage of a Ukrainian strike drone slamming into an already burning Moscow Oil Refinery this morning.

[OSINTtechnical @Osinttechnical]

Additional view of the oil tank lid turret toss at the Moscow Refinery after a Ukrainian drone attack this morning.

[Tom Sharpe @TomSharpe134]

⛵️Yacht incident dying down as it should

Final thoughts

Layered causes:

➡️Deep - poorly run Russian surface fleet (see black sea fleet in particular). Under resourced Royal Navy

➡️Intermediate - Dark fleet activities, Smyrtos boarding (plus everything else)

➡️Precipitating

Poor Russian seamanship:
Loitering in (v busy) westbound shipping lane
Engines not at immediate notice (for whatever reason) for manoeuvre (esp in low viz) = 🤡
Not transmitting on AIS. Fine but increases onus on proper lookout🙈
Terrible threat appreciation
Poor/panicked escalation…just drive away. If you can’t, see terrible seamanship

➡️Gunnery
Rounds will ricochet out to many miles over a wide ark in v busy shipping area.

➡️Yacht could have helped:
Respond immediately on ch16
Alter by (much) more than two degrees
Having said that 500 yards CPA would normally be ok

➡️Warship positioning interesting:
What was it doing there?
Waiting to escort Russian mil assets
Waiting to escort dark fleet ship
Messaging near Smyrtos
‘Other’ activities😳

Entitled to be there (just about) but doing so with engines and AIS off is poor

🚨Overall a very simple Colreg/Force protection issue made worse by incompetent Russian seamanship and behaviour, exacerbated (often exaggerated) by everything else. A case study in how a simple incident at sea can escalate if cool heads don’t prevail

➡️Postscript:
Nice that they keep doing this sort of thing as more cuts are imminent

[Tom Sharpe @TomSharpe134]

Two scenarios with the yacht

1️⃣🇷🇺 response to Smyrtos boarding this weekend - #greyzone
2️⃣Risk of collision with drifting⛵️in low viz, followed by Ch 16 warning(?) then shot across bow in ‘self defence’ - #maritimebuffoonery

Both equally likely, I’d say…

[Al Carns @AlistairCarns]

My resignation speech to the @HouseofCommons today ⬇️

[First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff @GenGJenkinsRM]

Overnight, Royal Marines Commandos of the @RoyalNavy were involved in the interception of a shadow fleet vessel. They were supported by @HMSSutherland, @HMSLedbury and the Maritime Air Group.

Mission success thanks to the skills, bravery and professionalism of our people.

[Lorraine McCormack @Lainymac]

HMS Duncan (D37) 21-gun salute for the King's Official Birthday - Dundee, 13th June 2026. I caught the muzzle flash in the first image.

[Veterans Commissioner for Northern Ireland @niveteranscomm]

Statement from Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner David Johnstone regarding the resignation of Al Carns MP as Armed Forces Minister.

[Al Carns @AlistairCarns]

We owe those who serve the UK the kit to do the job and the loyalty to stand by them when it's done. We are failing on both.

I’ve spent my whole time in government making that case. Number 10 will not listen, so I am resigning as Minister for the Armed Forces.

Letter to the PM below.🫡🫡🫡⬇️⬇️

[John Healey @JohnHealey_MP]

My letter to the Prime Minister

[George Allison @geoallison]

Wow. The Defence Investment Plan. I have spoken to a number of very senior sources this evening and it is, frankly, a circus behind the scenes. The dates now circulating may well be the plan. But discussions are still live, with changes being made late in the day and not cleanly.

I understand that those working around this announcement have seen planning change not day by day but hour by hour over the past few days. Arrangements made in the morning have not survived to the evening.

Industry is frozen and earlier today I spent time with a major player in the UGV world, who told me the delay has effectively stopped the customer community from starting anything, because any programme begun now could be cancelled the moment the plan lands. Everything is paused, waiting to see what the document says. In the meantime, they said, the lack of UK spend has forced British-based firms to chase business in Europe, the Middle East and the US instead, in a field the UK once led and has let drift.

The settlement between the MoD and the Treasury may be being agreed at some level, but the manner of the past few days suggests rather less is settled than the official line implies. Even by the standards of this process, in which autumn became Christmas and Christmas became spring, the degree of last-minute change is something I have not seen before.

As ever, things may shift again and it is a case of believe it when you see it. But this is where things stand as of this evening, this is unprecedented.

[Narendra Modi @narendramodi]

Thank you, President Trump, for your warm wishes.

I look forward to working with you to further advance the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, for the benefit of both our nations and the world.

@POTUS

@realDonaldTrump