Free Republic

LONDON — British Prime Minister Liz Truss has fired her finance minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, as she fights to hang on as prime minister after her budget crashed the markets. Truss will give a press conference later Friday, amid reports of another imminent U-turn on significant parts of her plan to cut taxes. Downing Street announced Jeremy Hunt, who has previously served as health secretary and foreign secretary, would replace Kwarteng as chancellor. Despite several attempts to calm the markets, including reversing a plan to cut tax for the highest earners and bringing forward a more detailed budget statement, Truss has...

Thomasville attorney Chris West won the Republican nomination in Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District, defeating former U.S. Army captain and Yale Law student Jeremy Hunt in Tuesday’s runoff election. With an estimated 98% of the vote in, West leads Hunt 14,608-13,853. Hunt conceded just before 10:20 p.m. but did not mention West by name in his speech. West, 38, won despite finishing second in the May primary and being outspent by nearly 10-1 by Hunt. Hunt, 28, finished first in May’s primary with 37% of the total ballots cast and was the favored candidate of several national Republican politicians, carrying endorsements...

Former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has issued a plea to EU foreign ministers to avoid a "catastrophic failure in statecraft" over Brexit. He has urged them in an open letter to reach a compromise with Prime Minister Boris Johnson while they still can. Delaying Brexit would only increase the chances of a no-deal exit, he warned. "If they think this is bad - just wait until what happens after Boris wins an election," he told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg in an exclusive interview. Mr Hunt - who lost out to Mr Johnson in July's Conservative leadership contest - has written...

Latest updates as the Tories prepare to announce Prime Minister Theresa May's successor.

Iranian media report that a British flagged oil tanker has been seized by Iranian forces. Iran claiming that the tanker was seized for violating maritime regulations.... Iran stated its intention in recent days to respond to the seizure of one of its tankers by the UK. Earlier Friday the Supreme Court in Gibraltar granted a 30-day extension for detention of the Iranian oil tanker.... The Pentagon making it official Friday that US forces are going to Saudi Arabia.... Amidst all the controversy surrounding them, its been almost forgotten that Congresswoman Ihan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan are...

London (CNN)Boris Johnson, the favorite to succeed Theresa May as British Prime Minister, has refused to rule out firing the UK ambassador to Washington who provoked the ire of US President Donald Trump. In a televised debate on Tuesday, UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who is standing against Johnson for the leadership of the Conservative party, reiterated his support for Kim Darroch, who was revealed in leaked cables to have criticized Trump as "inept" and "incompetent," among other things. "I will keep [Darroch] until he's due to retire," he said. Johnson, a former Foreign Secretary, refused to go out on...

No official word from Washington in response to British citizen journalist and activist Tommy Robinson video asylum plea released Monday.... Cyber activist Paul Joseph Watson, voted as most likely to be targeted by British authorities next, says Facebook has updated its policy to allow death threats and incitement of violence against him..... British Ambassador Sir Kim Darroch's Tuesday visit to the White House for a meeting with the President's daughter Ivanka Trump called off.... The British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt taking aim at President Trump describing the President as "disrespectful"..... Additional British and French troops are on their way to...

The British Conservative Party has set July 23rd as the day a new leader and a new Prime Minister for the UK will be announced..... In a series of tweets Tuesday President Trump blasted Iran... President Trump warning that attacks on "anything American" will be met with "great and overwhelming force".... A frank assessment of the situation regarding Iran from Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Tuesday.... The summit meeting in Israel between national security advisers from Israel, Russia and the United States produced a frank exchange of differing views.... The meeting is underway in Bahrain discussing the 50 billion dollar...

Jeremy Hunt says Britain would consider joining the US in military action against Iran. Tensions between the US and Iran have increased in recent weeks after the downing of an American drone, and claims by Washington that Tehran was behind attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf. The Foreign Secretary's comments came as Foreign Office minister Andrew Murrison held talks with the Tehran government at the weekend where he said he was "clear" about the UK's concerns over Iran's activities. Mr Hunt said Britain would "stand by the United States as our strongest ally" and "weigh up military intervention...

After more than a week of campaigning, intriguing and infighting among Conservative Party lawmakers, Britain’s foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, won the right on Thursday to take on his more famous and charismatic predecessor, Boris Johnson, in the final phase of the race to become the next prime minister. Mr. Hunt was the second choice of Tory lawmakers, well behind Mr. Johnson, and now the two men will compete for the votes of around 160,000 members of the party who will next month select a successor to Prime Minister Theresa May. Mr. Johnson won 160 votes, and Mr. Hunt 77. Mr....

Boris Johnson has secured the highest number of votes in the first ballot to select the Conservative party leader and next prime minister. Three contenders - Mark Harper, Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey - have been knocked out, in the secret ballot held in the House of Commons. Mr Johnson received 114 votes, Jeremy Hunt was second with 43, and Michael Gove third with 37 votes. Seven candidates progress to the next round of voting next week. The two most popular MPs will be put to Tory party members in a final vote later this month. The winner of the...

Tory leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt has warned that his party will be committing "political suicide" if it tries to push through a no-deal Brexit. The foreign secretary is one of 10 people seeking to replace Theresa May. ... "Trying to deliver no deal through a general election is not a solution; it is political suicide," he writes. It would "probably put Jeremy Corbyn in No 10 by Christmas."

Tory leadership contender and Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt stood to attention for the Islamic call to prayer at a Ramadan feast in Whitehall on May 23rd. The Remain voter, who will become Prime Minister if he wins to contest to succeed Theresa May as Conservative Party leader, stood for the call to prayer at an Iftar — a sunset feast at which Muslims break their Ramadan fasts — alongside junior minister Tariq Ahmad, also known as the Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon.

Jeremy Hunt, the new British foreign secretary, made a diplomatic gaffe on Monday, calling his Chinese-born wife Japanese during a discussion with his counterpart in Beijing. China and Japan have been longtime military rivals: During the 1930s and 1940s, Japan invaded and seized much of China. Mr. Hunt committed the flub during a meeting with China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi. “My wife is Japanese — my wife is Chinese,” he said. “That’s a terrible mistake to make.” “My wife is Chinese and my children are half-Chinese, and so we have Chinese grandparents who live in Xi’an and strong family connections...

President Trump tweets criticising the NHS: The Democrats are pushing for Universal HealthCare while thousands of people are marching in the UK because their U system is going broke and not working. Dems want to greatly raise taxes for really bad and non-personal medical care. No thanks!Jeremy Hunt hits back: I may disagree with claims made on that march but not ONE of them wants to live in a system where 28m people have no cover. NHS may have challenges but I’m proud to be from the country that invented universal coverage - where all get care no matter the...

A group of campaigners, including Prof Stephen Hawking, has been given permission to challenge a government health policy in the High Court. They will pursue a judicial review against Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and NHS England over plans to create accountable care organisations (ACOs). These are to act as partnership bodies incorporating hospitals, community services and councils. Campaigners say it risks privatisation, but this is denied by ministers. 'Radical changes' NHS England wants hospitals and other trusts to work closely with GPs and social care services to look after more patients in their communities rather than in hospital. In some...