News Diary 18-20 October: UK Investment Summit, Lammy Visits China, Novichok Inquiry Begins

Dawn Sturgess, who was killed after coming into contact with Novichok in July 2018. Picture: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire

A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News.

Leading the week

Keir Starmer will be hoping to turn attention away from the Labour Party’s recent dramas and on to his priorities for government when he hosts a major investment summit in London on Monday (October 14). The summit comes after the unveiling of Labour’s new employment rights bill (and the timely appointment of a new minister for investment), and will mark an attempt by the party to tout its pro-business credentials after a less than enthusiastic response in some quarters to its plans to improve workers’ rights, all with one eye on the prime minister’s mission to deliver higher living standards by boosting growth.

With the backing of big UK banks and an impressive roster of attendees, including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, the summit is an opportunity for the government to garner some positive headlines: a few post-summit announcements on investments from big-name firms will be a welcome antidote to the cycle of bad news in recent weeks. And the blow of missing out on some of Elon Musk’s on-stage antics will reportedly be softened by the presence of former England manager and quarter-zip icon Gareth Southgate, who could also offer some tips on how to achieve longevity in the toughest job in the country.

The long-awaited inquiry into the Novichok poisoning death of Dawn Sturgess opens on Monday (October 14) in Salisbury. Sturgess, 44, came into contact with the poison after mistaking it for a bottle of perfume in July 2018. The first week of the inquiry hears from Sturgess’ family, as well as members of the emergency response team who treated her in Amesbury. Previous hearings have described ‘astonishing observations’ that will be heard during the inquiry, with its broadcast being delayed by 15 minutes in case anyone accidentally compromises national security.

Two people who will not be appearing at the inquiry, though, are Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. The pair were targeted in a Novichok poisoning months earlier, when the nerve agent was smeared on their door handle in what is widely believed to be a Russian assassination attempt, but both survived. Though Sturgess’ death is believed to be linked to the attack on the Skripals, inquiry chair Lord Hughes ruled that there was an ‘overwhelming risk’ of a second attack on the family if the Skripals or their location could be identified. Evidence related to the Skripals’ poisoning is scheduled to be heard later this month.

King Charles undertakes his most significant trip since beginning treatment for cancer when he travels to Australia on Friday (October 18) for a tour that runs through to October 23 and is followed by a State Visit to Samoa and a first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting as monarch. The King is reportedly due to pause his treatment for the duration of the visit, which begins in Canberra with a welcome from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Parliament House and features a busy schedule of solo engagements and high-profile joint events with Queen Camilla.

Highlights for the trip include a wreath laying at the Australian War Memorial, a visit to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander memorial and a review of Royal Australian Navy in Sydney Harbour. The King will also get to engage with issues close to his heart with climate and sustainability-related visits, but the most significant part of the trip may be a meeting with Australian cancer experts Professor Georgina Long and Professor Richard Scolyer to hear about the pair’s work on melanoma treatment.

Looking abroad

David Lammy has spent the first months of his tenure as Foreign Secretary putting in an impressive amount of shoe-leather diplomacy, with trips to the United States and European capitals taking place in between travel to conflict hotspots in Ukraine and the Middle East. But Lammy’s most difficult visit yet could come during next week’s planned jaunt to China, which will be closely watched for indications of how the new Labour government plans to handle its relationship with Xi Jinping and the Chinese leadership.

In opposition Lammy held strong views about Beijing’s treatment of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, and there will be many in Parliament – not least those MPs who remain sanctioned by the Chinese government – who will be keen to see the foreign secretary maintain a tough approach during his visit. A July meeting with top diplomat Wang Yi produced only a tepid call for stability and closer communication, meaning Lammy is under pressure to raise the thornier issues (human rights, the release of British citizen Jimmy Lai, and ties with Russia and Iran, to name a few) in his latest diplomatic expedition.

Before heading to Beijing, Lammy will be in Luxembourg on Monday (October 14) to join EU foreign ministers as part of the latest step in resetting UK-EU relations. The conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine are both on the agenda as the wars look set to once again dominate the international news agenda next week. Ukraine’s new foreign minister Andrii Sybiha will also take part in the meeting, though in his case his participation will be virtual. On Wednesday (October 16), the first-ever EU-Gulf Cooperation Council summit will be held in Brussels, which will see leaders from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE join European counterparts for talks likely to be overshadowed by Israeli military action in the Middle East, including its anticipated response to Iran’s decision to fire a barrage of missiles over Israel on October 1. A two-day EU summit then follows on Thursday and Friday (October 17-18).

New NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will oversee his first ministerial meeting of alliance counterparts when defence ministers travel to Brussels on Thursday and Friday (October 17-18) joined, for the first time, by ministers from South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The gathering will likely also include a meeting of the US-chaired Ukraine Contact Group after the leaders’ summit planned for this weekend was cancelled was cancelled when US President Joe Biden opted to stay home to deal with Hurricane Milton. Defence Secretary John Healey is then scheduled to head to Naples where, on Saturday (October 19), Italy is hosting the first-ever G7 defence ministers’ meeting, where the agenda – you guessed it – includes the situation in the Middle East and conflict in Ukraine. On Sunday (October 20), Healey is set to participate in a trilateral session with his Italian and Japanese counterparts, Guido Crosetto and Gen Nakatani.

Also look out for…

October 14

MOD Qs and terrorism protection bill in the Commons
EAT hearing in Benjamin Mendy case against Man City over unpaid wages
Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences (Nobel)
UN Security Council discusses Lebanon
Kamala Harris holds rally in Pennsylvania
Nancy Pelosi in conversation at Chatham House
Shia LaBeouf trial opens over FKA twigs abuse allegations

October 15

Horizon IT director at Post Office inquiry
UK labour market statistics
Hereditary Peers Bill in the Commons
Energy Crisis Commission publishes findings
Andrew Tate appeal court hearing in Romania
Pakistan hosts Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit
Bob Woodward’s book War published
Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies (CEATEC) opens

October 16

PMQs
Assisted dying bill introduced in the Commons
September inflation figures (uprating increases)
Porthmadog crash inquests
Stormzy on trial charged with using phone while driving
Donald Trump’s Univision town hall airs
EU Enlargement Package presented
Hong Kong Chief Executive delivers annual policy address
RIBA Stirling Prize Awards
Jewish holiday of Sukkot begins

October 17

Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch participate in GB News debate
FCA and PRA chiefs address City Banquet
David Carrick in court charged with sex offences
Premier League holds official clubs meeting
Donald Trump speaks at Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner
Opening statements expected in Delphi double murder trial
Kristalina Georgieva makes IMF annual meetings curtain-raiser speech

October 18

UK retail sales figures
Sentencing of teen found guilty of Blundell’s school attack
First bids deadline for The Hundred

October 19

Elections in British Columbia (Canada) and Australian Capital Territory
QIPCO British Champions Series Champions Day
Francis Ngannou returns at PFL Saudi Arabia
Paul Mescal and Quentin Tarantino honoured at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures gala

October 20

Moldova presidential election and EU referendum
Parliamentary elections in Iraqi Kurdistan
Final report due from Kolkata rape case task force
Formula One: United States Grand Prix
NFL London Fixture: Patriots v Jaguars

Statistics, reports and results

October 14

OPEC monthly oil markets report
OBR Budget forecast round
Savanta UK grocery trends survey

October 15

Universal Credit statistics
Register of Political Donations
IEA monthly oil market report
Amnesty report on human rights in the EV industry
Greenpeace report on National Renewal Tax
Results from: Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, Johnson & Johnson, Ericsson, UnitedHealth Group, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Reach

October 16