Evening Briefing: Wednesday 30 September 2026
- Your energy bill: The cap rises to £1,723 a year for a typical household on Thursday, about £60 more, while VAT on electricity is removed until 31 March, worth roughly £45. Forecasters expect £1,999 by January, a further £276.
- Your mortgage: The ten-year gilt yield reached its highest since July 2007 today, and fixed-rate pricing follows the gilt market. The Budget is four weeks away, on 28 October.
- Filling up: Brent rose 1% to $103.62. The Prime Minister called the cost of petrol and diesel “very difficult indeed” and said the government was “looking at any measure that can give people breathing space”.
Washington's Answer Reaches Tehran After Two Missed Deadlines
Iran has confirmed receiving an official American response to its proposal for ending the war, days after the reply was first expected. Officials declined to say whether it amounted to acceptance or rejection. Abbas Araghchi presented it t…
Russia Warns of a Nuclear Response if Kaliningrad Is Cut Off
Moscow has told NATO in writing that it would be ready to use its entire arsenal, nuclear weapons included, if alliance members tried to isolate its Baltic exclave from the rest of the country. The alliance confirmed receiving the document…
Russia Opens Its Winter Campaign Against Ukraine's Power Grid
At least seven people were killed, one of them a child, in the largest attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since the spring. Nearly 190 drones and ballistic missiles were launched, of which five missiles and 155 drones were brought d…
Co-Pilot Stabs Captain and 'Apparently Tried to Crash' Tel Aviv Flight
A flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv carrying at least 150 people, almost all of them Israeli, was diverted to Saudi Arabia after one pilot stabbed the other and “apparently tried to crash the plane”, Benjamin Netanyahu said. Both the captain a…
At Least 52 Civilians Killed as Ethiopia Retakes a Tigray Town
Hospital sources put the civilian death toll at 52 after three days of heavy fighting around Alamata in northern Tigray. Government troops appear to have taken the town from regional forces and intend to push north towards Mekelle, the reg…
Burnham Says There Are 'Strong Indications' Iran Was Involved
The Prime Minister has said the government believes Iran played a part in the incident at RAF Fairford, where five men were arrested and later bailed. “There are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend…
Police Seek Charges Against 54 People and 20 Companies Over Grenfell
The Metropolitan Police has submitted its final investigation file on the Grenfell Tower fire to the Crown Prosecution Service, seeking charges against 54 individuals and 20 companies. The offences sought include corporate manslaughter, gr…
Burnham Opens the Door to a New Referendum on EU Membership
The Prime Minister said it is “possible” that a future Labour manifesto could promise an in-out referendum on the European Union, while insisting a vote “wouldn’t be the right thing to do right now”. He set out the choices as staying exact…
'One In, One Out' Returns Deal With France Is Scrapped
The pilot under which Britain returned small-boat arrivals to France in exchange for accepting an equal number of people with legitimate claims has been abandoned. About 1,500 people were removed in just over a year, a scale ministers judg…
Dame Esther Rantzen Dies Nineteen Days After the Assisted Dying Vote
The broadcaster and Childline founder has died aged 86, nineteen days after MPs rejected the bill she had spent her final years campaigning for. Diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in January 2023, she became the most prominent public ad…