Evening Briefing: Sunday 5 July 2026
- Heatwave Becomes Official: The South East is expected to formally enter heatwave status by the end of tomorrow, with 31C on Monday building to around 34C on Thursday — the health alerts run to Saturday evening, Kent’s hosepipe ban is already in force and Hampshire’s starts Friday. Pace the week: the risk peaks midweek, not today.
- Taxes & Pensions: A senior Burnham ally openly called for capital gains tax to rise today, against the Blair wing’s resistance — and Burnham gives his first major leadership speech tomorrow morning. If you hold investments or are planning disposals, that speech is the first real signal of the autumn Budget’s direction.
- Petrol & Energy: Qatar resumed all Gulf shipping today — another de-escalation signal that keeps downward pressure on oil as markets reopen tonight, with pump prices already at their cheapest since the war began.
Khamenei’s Sons Lead Mourning as His Successor Stays Hidden
Three of Ayatollah Khamenei’s sons prayed beside his coffin at funeral rites in Tehran — but not the fourth, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has still not been seen since February’s strike, in which he is reported to have suffered fac…
Summit-Eve Manoeuvres as Moscow Claims Kyiv Rejected Truce
Russia’s defence ministry claimed Ukraine refused a six-hour local ceasefire to hand over fallen soldiers’ bodies at Kostiantynivka — the fortress town Moscow says it has captured and Kyiv insists it still holds. The claim caps a weekend o…
Qatar Reopens Gulf Shipping as Saudis Threaten the Houthis
Qatar ordered all maritime activities to resume “with immediate effect”, reversing the suspension imposed in June after a Qatari national was killed by shrapnel from military operations, and Iranian state media reported Iran-Qatar maritime…
Vance Says Britain Has Been Failed by Its Leadership
US Vice-President JD Vance said Britain has been “failed by its leadership for a long time”, telling an interviewer there is something “very broken about British politics” and that he hopes the next prime minister delivers structural chang…
China and Russia Announce Naval Drills in NATO Summit Week
The Chinese and Russian navies will hold joint exercises in the waters and airspace off Qingdao from Monday to 13 July, China’s defence ministry announced, followed by joint maritime patrols in the Pacific. The annual drills open the day b…
Farage Faces Standards Referral as Jenrick Mounts Defence
A Liberal Democrat MP formally asked the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner to investigate reports that convicted fraudster George Cottrell supplied Nigel Farage with unregistered security, staff and use of a London townhouse before his…
Burnham Ally Urges Capital Gains Rise Before Monday Speech
Louise Haigh, tipped for a senior post in the incoming government, called for capital gains tax to rise and for fiscal rules to be eased — directly against the Blair institute’s weekend warning that Britain cannot tax its way to prosperity…
Murray Explores Forcing Maternity Inquiry Refusers to Testify
Health Secretary James Murray is seeking advice on whether the Hillsborough Law’s duty of candour could be applied retrospectively to compel the senior clinicians who refused to give evidence to the Nottingham maternity review. Their refus…
South East Set to Enter Official Heatwave Tomorrow
The South East will formally be in heatwave by the end of Monday, forecasters say, after a second consecutive day at 29C, with 31C expected tomorrow and the peak near 34C on Thursday. Heat-health alerts across six English regions run until…
Police Examine Claim of Missing £1.5m From Yes Scotland
Police Scotland is making inquiries after a complaint that around £1.5m raised by Yes Scotland, the official vehicle of the 2014 independence campaign, is unaccounted for. A former SNP branch secretary meets detectives this week with a dos…