Morning Briefing: Saturday 26 September 2026
- Energy bills: Ofgem sets the January price cap on 25 November, with warnings that surging gas costs could push it up sharply. The Budget on 28 October comes first, and officials expect only targeted help rather than universal support.
- Fuel: The freeze on fuel duty expires at the end of the year and no decision has been announced. Brent settled 2.1% lower at $104.32 after Washington and Tehran began exploring a way out of the war.
- Care work: A decision on settlement rules is due “very soon”. Care workers recruited from abroad could wait up to fifteen years for indefinite leave to remain instead of five, and roughly a hundred Labour MPs want them exempted.
Trump Has Rejected Iran's Seven-Day Plan, the Wall Street Journal Reports
Citing American officials, the paper reported overnight that the president has turned down Tehran’s offer, is privately sceptical Iran would meet his demands, and has told staff he thinks a renewed bombing campaign likely. Reuters said it…
Houthi Drones Aimed at Riyadh as Pact Allies Meet in the Capital
The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two ballistic missiles heading for Khamis Mushait and two drones heading for Riyadh in the early hours. Civil defence had issued overnight alerts for Khamis Mushait and Abha, but not for the capi…
Putin Says Every Peace Proposal Is Still on the Table, Then Promises Retaliation
Speaking to journalists in St Petersburg, the Russian president said Moscow had been ready to resume talks after last week’s parliamentary elections until Ukraine struck Moscow and, he claimed, polling stations, killing an election officia…
Taipei Presses Washington on the $14bn Arms Package Left Frozen
The three-day summit ended with nothing said publicly about Taiwan, and Taipei spent Saturday morning making its case. Deputy Foreign Minister François Wu argued that maintaining military sales and letting Taiwan’s semiconductor industry k…
UN Warns on Tigray: Five Schools Struck and a Food Convoy Hit
The United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk said airstrikes hit five schools in Tigray on 22 September, and a mortar strike two days later killed civilians in Kobo, in Amhara. A drone strike last Sunday hit a truck carrying food for…
Rayner Breaks With Mahmood Over Care Workers on Conference Eve
Angela Rayner has publicly opposed the Home Secretary’s settlement plans, under which care workers could wait up to fifteen years for indefinite leave to remain rather than five. They were “asked to come to this country to care for some of…
Inquiry Into SAS Killings Finds 97 Million Undisclosed MoD Files
The chairman of the inquiry into alleged unlawful killings by British special forces in Afghanistan called the discovery of some 97 million previously undisclosed Ministry of Defence documents “troubling” and “extraordinary news”, taking t…
Kyle Says the Government Is Not Acting With Enough Urgency on Growth
Peter Kyle, the business secretary sacked when Sir Keir Starmer left office, broke cover as delegates travelled to Liverpool. Asked whether there is enough focus on growth, he said: “I don’t think there is… I think we need to up our ambiti…
Burnham Pledges £210m to Reopen Boarded-Up High Streets
The Prime Minister will announce £210m for high streets: £125m for councils to tackle derelict buildings, £65m for communities to rescue at-risk pubs and clubs, and £20m split between co-operative ownership and council-run rental auctions.…
Labour Members Move to Cancel Palantir's £330m NHS Contract
An emergency motion submitted by the Socialist Health Association and at least three constituency parties asks the health department to trigger the break clause in Palantir’s Federated Data Platform contract. A conference committee decides…