Evening Briefing: Tuesday 7 July 2026
- Amber Alerts From 9am: The amber heat-health alerts activate at 9am tomorrow across the Midlands, London, the East, South East and South West, running to Sunday evening with up to 35C by Friday — the riskiest stretch of the summer’s third heatwave starts now, so check on older relatives daily and keep nights as cool as you can.
- Mortgages: The Bank of England now expects just over five million homeowners to face higher repayments by the end of 2028 — a million more than forecast in December, blamed on the war’s rate shock. A typical remortgager faces about £45 a month extra; the 750,000 coming off sub-3% deals this year face nearer £170.
- Petrol & Gas: Three tankers were hit near the Strait of Hormuz — including a Qatari gas carrier — and oil jumped 3% to $74. The months-long run of falling pump prices is now genuinely at risk, and gas prices are exposed if LNG shipping reroutes.
Le Pen Cleared to Run in 2027 — With an Ankle Tag
The Paris appeals court upheld Marine Le Pen’s embezzlement conviction but cut her ban from office to 45 months, mostly suspended — effectively restoring her eligibility for the 2027 presidential election. The catch: a year of her reduced…
Trump Woos Erdogan and Berates Allies as Summit Opens
President Trump opened NATO’s Ankara summit by promising to lift the sanctions blocking Turkey’s return to the F-35 programme, praising his “chemistry” with President Erdogan — “Türkiye has become very strong under President Erdogan’s lead…
Three Tankers Hit Near Hormuz as US Blames Iran’s Guards
Three tankers were struck near the Strait of Hormuz — a crude carrier set ablaze off Oman, a Saudi-flagged tanker damaged, and the Qatari LNG carrier Al Rekayyat hit and at risk of exploding — in the first attacks on shipping since the str…
Damascus Bombs Wound Eighteen During Macron’s Visit
Two explosive devices — one in a rubbish bin, one in a parked car — detonated in central Damascus near the hotel where President Macron is staying, wounding at least 18 people including four police officers. Macron, the first major Western…
Zelensky Makes Air Defence the Summit’s Test
President Zelensky said decisions on air defence should be “one of the key outcomes” of the Ankara summit, pressing for additional Patriot systems, a licence to manufacture Patriot interceptors in Ukraine, and what he called a domestic ant…
Farage Resigns as MP to Fight His Own By-Election
Nigel Farage resigned the Clacton seat, triggering a by-election he intends to contest himself, after revealing he is now under a second parliamentary standards inquiry — into the undeclared support from convicted fraudster George Cottrell…
Harry Loses Landmark Privacy Case Against Mail Publisher
The High Court dismissed in their entirety the claims brought by Prince Harry, Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley and others alleging that the Daily Mail’s publisher unlawfully obtained private information between the 1990s and 2011, with the ju…
Million More Homeowners Face Higher Mortgages, Bank Warns
Just over five million homeowners will see their repayments rise by the end of 2028, the Bank of England’s Financial Stability Report found — a million more than it forecast in December, with the increase attributed to the war’s effect on…
Robertson Warns Starmer of Frosty Welcome at NATO
Lord Robertson — the former NATO secretary-general who co-authored the government’s own defence review — told MPs the £15bn Defence Investment Plan fails to chart a route to the alliance’s 3.5% core spending target: “Quite simply we are ru…
Amber Heat Alerts Activate at 9am as 35C Approaches
Amber heat-health alerts come into force at 9am tomorrow across six English regions — the Midlands, London, the East, South East and South West — running until Sunday evening, with yellow alerts covering the north. The third heatwave of th…