All posts tagged: United Kingdom

Oliver Jones Exits Apple TV to Join Amazon MGM Studios

Oliver Jones Exits Apple TV to Join Amazon MGM Studios

Published by Daniella Wilson

Oliver Jones is set to exit Apple TV after six years and join Amazon MGM Studios as senior commissioner for U.K. scripted. The studio’s vice president & head of international originals, Nicole Clemens, told her team about Jones’ appointment in an email on Monday. He’ll be working closely with Clemens on the commissioning of new U.K. scripted shows starting in May, and will relocate from L.A. back to London for the role. Commissioners Gemma Brandler and Punit Mattoo will report to Jones. “It has been a privilege to work alongside my brilliant colleagues at Apple TV for the past six years, and to collaborate with the remarkable artists I was lucky enough to work with,” said Jones, whose credits as senior creative executive for international scripted television at the streamer include the Kurt Russell-starring Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks’ Masters of the Air with Austin Butler, Israeli spy series Tehran with Hugh Laurie, and Alfonso Cuarón’s Disclaimer with Cate Blanchett. “It’s always a tough decision to leave a job I love, …

Orbán’s EU fixer faces becoming Hungary’s ‘fall guy’ – POLITICO

Orbán’s EU fixer faces becoming Hungary’s ‘fall guy’ – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“By definition, everybody understands of each other that the loyalty is to your political bosses and to delivering results to their instructions,” said Ivan Rogers, about national ambassadors to the EU, a role he performed for the U.K. in Brussels until 2017. And, whatever Ódor thought about these instructions personally, he followed them to the letter. While even those who worked closely with Ódor were uncertain about whether he was simply following orders or shared Orbán’s desire to bash Brussels, his reputation as the outgoing prime minister’s fixer may well be his downfall, according to five diplomats and officials from countries other than Hungary who worked with him closely, and who were granted anonymity to speak to POLITICO. It would be easy to think that, given Orbán’s loud anti-EU stance, his man in Brussels would be a blunt instrument. Quite the opposite. Ódor is an expert on its treaties and has a PhD in international relations. Universities back home use his books to teach students how Europe works. Hungary’s ambassador to the EU Bálint Ódor, …

7 reasons Starmer can’t shake off the Mandelson vetting saga – POLITICO

7 reasons Starmer can’t shake off the Mandelson vetting saga – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Starmer announced Monday that he had commissioned a review into any security concerns raised during Mandelson’s tenure. That in itself means the scandal could deepen.  MPs are also asking about just how high a level of top secret documents Mandelson was allowed to see under Britain’s “STRAP” protocol. Access to these highest-level documents is complicated and varies case by case, with each one having an assigned “compartment” of people who see it on a need-to-know basis. Therefore we may never find out what Mandelson saw. 7) What else is waiting to come out? One row that dominated Monday shows anything can come out of left field and disrupt the prime minister’s plans. This time it was a memo to Starmer in November 2024 from former Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, already released by the government weeks ago but not widely seized upon. It recommended Starmer should let civil servants obtain security clearances, due diligence and flag any other issues “before confirming your choice” of ambassador. MPs bombarded Starmer with questions about the Case memo. He had …

UK PM Starmer admits Mandelson mistake, rejects resignation calls | Politics News

UK PM Starmer admits Mandelson mistake, rejects resignation calls | Politics News

Published by Sam Flores

PM insists he did not know security officials had recommended Mandelson be sidelined due to Epstein links. Published On 20 Apr 202620 Apr 2026 United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer has admitted he was wrong to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, but rejected mounting calls to resign. Starmer told the UK Parliament on Monday that, while the appointment was a mistake, he would have withdrawn the decision had he known the Foreign Office had overruled security officials’ recommendations not to give the job to Mandelson, whose friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was long known. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The British leader again rejected calls for his resignation over the botched vetting process. Those calls have mounted as the issue has developed into a major scandal. The premier denied misleading parliament and placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of the Foreign Office, saying that it beggared belief that officials “saw fit to withhold this information from the most senior ministers in our system”. “That is not how …

Mandelson files to exclude worst of UK’s private comments on Trump – POLITICO

Mandelson files to exclude worst of UK’s private comments on Trump – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

ISC Chair Kevan Jones, a Labour peer, previously told the BBC that the committee would not withhold “embarrassing” revelations that did not jeopardize national security. In the same BBC interview on Feb. 4, Jones did not fully set out what his position would be on any document deemed to prejudice international relations, saying: “International relations aren’t covered by our committee and if the government are going to give us that information, that’s fine.” But when pressed, he responded: “Let’s see what it is. In the past, for example, we’ve had disputes where things you have potentially been embarrassing to government, but we’ve put them in because it doesn’t jeopardize national security.” Two of the four people with knowledge of the process quoted above emphasized that the ISC, a cross-party committee of MPs and peers, has not been leaned on, and is judging whether documents prejudice foreign relations of its own volition. They both stressed that this had been the view of the ISC all along, despite the original revolt by Labour MPs over the scope …

Daniel Mays on Playing Black Cab Rapist

Daniel Mays on Playing Black Cab Rapist

Published by Daniella Wilson

The upcoming ITV drama Believe Me features established and rising British stars coming together to tell a harrowing British story. Aimée-Ffion Edwards (Slow Horses, Peaky Blinders, Mr Burton), Aasiya Shah (Raised by Wolves, Bloods, The Beast Must Die) and Miriam Petche (Industry) feature in the four-episode series opposite Daniel Mays (Line of Duty, Des, A Thousand Blows, Moonflower Murders) as John Worboys, who is known in the U.K. by a more sinister moniker: the “Black Cab Rapist.” He has drawn many a headline, so now it is time for women who suffered because of him to see their stories and their experiences told. From the indignity of multiple police interviews and intimate evidence gathering to skeptical lines of questioning from police officers, Believe Me takes audiences through many a painful, frustrating and anger-inducing experience. Indeed, Believe Me, written and executive produced by Jeff Pope (Philomena, Stan & Ollie, Cilla), produced by his Etta Pictures, part of ITV Studios, and directed by Julia Ford, tells the story of the victims of “one of the most prolific sex attackers in British history” and how they …

Keir Starmer’s leadership vacuum threatens to swallow him up – POLITICO

Keir Starmer’s leadership vacuum threatens to swallow him up – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Many of those who spoke to POLITICO described a lack of “curiosity” in the PM. “He just doesn’t ask questions, on policy, politics or apparently propriety either,” another former official said. Some ministers agree.  A current government official described Starmer’s approach to interrogating policies and other decisions as “hear no evil, see no evil.” The official added: “You can’t claim to be this meticulous lawyer, this micro-manager, this mandarin and then not care for stuff like this.” Boris Johnson vibes   One bizarre example of his passivity is that Starmer apparently does not even express a strong preference about how he wants to spend his own time. “He is so hands-off about his diary,” another former No. 10 official said. Referring to Jill Cuthbertson, a top aide who used to run Starmer’s diary, this person said: “It’s kind of like, ‘what has Jill put in my diary today,’ and then if it was something he didn’t enjoy doing, someone else would bear the brunt of it, but he’d never be involved in the front end of …

How the Iran war set Beijing up for global clean energy dominance – POLITICO

How the Iran war set Beijing up for global clean energy dominance – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Thailand imports solar panels from China but also Sweden and elsewhere, he said. Ultimately, Nitithanprapas said Thailand wants to create domestic production using foreign direct investment so it doesn’t have to rely on any particular country. That’s a common view in much of Southeast Asia, where the creation of local solar manufacturing and EV plants won’t happen overnight. “In the short term, most countries don’t have a viable alternative to Chinese clean-tech supply chains,” said Vicky Janita, an analyst at Rystad Energy.  Even if they were to buy more supplies from countries like India, which has grown its solar panel manufacturing capacity, those producers still rely heavily on China for wafers and other parts of the supply chain, she said. That doesn’t mean they aren’t also trying different strategies to reduce that dependence and build their economies. Many countries in Southeast Asia have welcomed Chinese investment in domestic production, through both carrots, such as tax breaks, or sticks, such as Indonesia’s export ban on raw nickel. Similarly, Brazil is imposing tariffs on EVs, forcing Chinese …

Allies Back Starmer as Mandelson and Epstein Leave the UK Leader Fighting for His Job

Allies Back Starmer as Mandelson and Epstein Leave the UK Leader Fighting for His Job

Published by Sam Flores

LONDON (AP) — Senior Cabinet ministers on Sunday rallied around U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose leadership is teetering over his decision to give Britain’s most important diplomatic job to Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished politician and friend of Jeffrey Epstein. Starmer will face restive lawmakers in Parliament Monday to fight for his job after the explosive revelation that Mandelson was appointed ambassador to the United States despite failing security checks. Starmer says he’s “furious” that he wasn’t told at the time, in January 2025, that an intensive vetting process had recommended Mandelson not be given security clearance. The Foreign Office, which oversees diplomatic appointments, cleared him anyway. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said that if Starmer had known, “he would never, ever have appointed him ambassador.” Technology Secretary Liz Kendall told Sky News on Sunday that Starmer “is a man of integrity and there is no way he would have proceeded” with Mandelson’s appointment had he known. The top civil servant in the Foreign Office, Olly Robbins, was forced to resign on Thursday — though …

Europeans tried to win over the US this week in DC. Their efforts were lost in translation. – POLITICO

Europeans tried to win over the US this week in DC. Their efforts were lost in translation. – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Growing pains At finance industry gatherings in D.C.’s office buildings and historic hotels, the EU’s efforts to boost growth and stimulate investment by removing fragmentation in European capital markets was seen by industry and regulators alike with either curiosity, because they don’t understand the project, or skepticism because they doubt the EU can get over its internal rivalries and integrate. This week Bessent reiterated the U.S. mantra that “the biggest risk to financial stability is a lack of growth,” accusing the EU of being “unable to follow the Draghi Report … on how it would increase growth.” The existence of the bloc should “facilitate trade among the members, make it more seamless, create more prosperity, and it turns out it has probably been a hindrance,” he said. The Europeans struck a more conciliatory tone. U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves said Britain’s trade deal with the U.S. is “in both of our countries’ interests,” and said technical work with U.S. counterparts on the future of capital markets and financial services is moving forward. “That relationship and …