Morning Briefing: Tuesday 22 September 2026
- Britain enters the Yemen war: The Prime Minister has agreed RAF air-to-air refuelling for Saudi jets — the papers’ unanimous lead, and the biggest British military commitment of the conflict so far.
- Today in New York: Burnham meets Trump for the first time this afternoon, announcing a UK-US AI-defence pact; Trump addresses the UN this morning and signs the Greenland deal at 15:30 UK time.
- Your Budget: August borrowing overshot at £18.3bn — the worst miss against forecast yet — hardening the case for the tax rises being floated; oil, meanwhile, rebounded overnight.
The World Takes the Podium: Trump Speaks This Morning, Iran in Every Line
The General Assembly’s general debate opens today with Mr Trump among the first speakers and the wars he manages crowding the hall: he meets the Gulf’s six leaders on the war’s next phase, remains “probably open” to meeting Iran’s Presiden…
Zelensky Meets Trump Today to Push an Energy Truce — After a 212-Drone Night
Ukraine’s president meets Mr Trump at the UN today to press a mutual halt on energy-infrastructure strikes before winter — “solutions are possible” — after meeting the CIA’s director at Shannon airport en route. The night supplied the argu…
G7 Tells Iran to Stop Arming the Houthis as the Battle for Kahboub Rages
The G7’s foreign ministers condemned the Houthi campaign “in the strongest terms” overnight, demanding Iran end its arming of the group and calling Yemen’s escalation an “unacceptable threat” that “jeopardises global energy security”. On t…
Greenland Deal Signs at 15:30 Today — With Two New American Bases Inside
The trilateral Arctic security agreement is signed at the UN this afternoon by Mr Trump, Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s Jens-Frederik Nielsen — and the detail arrived overnight: America will re-establish the Cold War base at N…
United Russia Claims a Record 355 Seats in Its Wartime Parliament
The Duma election’s near-final count delivered the Kremlin its script: a record 355 of 450 seats for United Russia — up from 324 — after three days of what observers called carefully orchestrated voting, including armed-guard polling in oc…
Britain Joins the Yemen War's Edges: RAF Refuelling for Saudi Jets
The papers speak with one voice this morning: the Prime Minister has agreed “defensive air-to-air refuelling” support for Saudi aircraft after a request from Riyadh — on the advice of Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Foreign Secretary E…
'We've Found a Connection': Burnham Meets Trump Today, Armed With a Torpedo
The Prime Minister landed in New York for this afternoon’s first meeting with Mr Trump striking an unexpected note: “We’ve found a connection… I will go with where I feel it’s right, to meet him where he is at.” He brings deliverables: a U…
Borrowing Overshoots at £18.3bn — the Budget's Backdrop Darkens
The morning’s data handed the Chancellor his hardest number yet: August borrowing of £18.3bn, above every forecast and roughly £3.5bn over the fiscal watchdog’s profile, with the year-to-date deficit now £8.1bn adrift after four months of…
Davey Closes Conference Demanding a Global Treaty Against Superintelligent AI
The Liberal Democrat leader closes his conference today with the boldest tech policy any British party has offered: a nuclear-style non-proliferation treaty to pause superintelligent AI development, policed by a new International AI Safety…
Martha's Rule Reaches Every A&E in England From Today
From today, patients and families in every English A&E can demand an urgent second clinical opinion when they believe a deterioration is being missed — Martha’s Rule, born from Martha Mills’s preventable death at thirteen, completing its j…