British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak asked if his election rival Keir Starmer was planning to make a deal with the ayatollahs in Iran or Taliban in Afghanistan to send back asylum seekers rejected by the UK, during the leaders' last televised debate before next week's general polls.
The migrants are coming from Iran, Syria and Afghanistan, Mr Sunak said.
“Will you sit down with the ayatollahs? Are you going to try to do a deal with the Taliban? It’s completely nonsensical – you are taking people for fools,” he said.
“The Rwanda plan is a deterrent, you just have to listen to what the illegal migrants themselves are saying.
"One of them just said, ‘Most of us are still in France due to the fear we have about Rwanda’.".
“Another one said, ‘I won’t cross the Channel until the Rwanda plan is destroyed’.
"If Labour win, the people smugglers are going to need a bigger boat. Don’t surrender our borders to the Labour Party.”
Rishi Sunak through the years - in pictures
Mr Starmer responded: “Record numbers coming across the Channel and he says it’s a deterrent.
"There are a few hundred that will go on a flight to Rwanda, a huge expense to taxpayers.
"There are tens of thousands, 15,000 people have come since Rishi Sunak has been Prime Minister.”
Mr Starmer criticised Mr Sunak over the Westminster betting scandal, accusing him of being bullied into responding to the issue.
“You have to lead from the front on issues like this," the opposition leader said.
"I think that in the last 14 years, politics has become too much about self entitlement and MPs thinking about what they could get for themselves.
“The instinct of these people to think the first thing they should do is try to make money. That was the wrong instinct, and we have to change that.
“What I did, when one of my team was alleged to have been involved and investigated by the Gambling Commission, they were suspended within minutes, because I knew it made it really important to be swift.
"The Prime Minister delayed and delayed and delayed until eventually he was bullied into taking action.”
Keir Starmer through the years - in pictures
Mr Sunak replied: “It was important to me, that given the seriousness and the sensitivity of the matters at hand that they were dealt with properly, and that’s what I’ve done."
A member of the audience asked: “Are you two really the best we’ve got to be the next prime minister of our great country?”
Mr Starmer said: “I’m not surprised after 14 years of this that people feel this way because the country is in such a state.
“They’ve had loads of promises made in the last election about what will happen which haven’t been delivered on. That does beat the hope out of people.
“The very first question was about integrity in politics, and again people haven’t seen that integrity.
"They’ve had partygate, they’ve had breach of Covid rules, you’ve had the contracts for Covid – the instinct of some people is to think the first thing in Covid I’m going to do is try to make money.
“So, this is an opportunity to restore that hope. I don’t think we can do that by making sort of grand promises of things that can’t be delivered.”
Rather, he said, it is “the ordinary hope of getting on yourself, getting on for your family, getting on for your community, your country.
"It has to be rooted, if we’re going to restore hope in my view, in returning politics to service, the sense that you come into politics to serve."
During the debate, Mr Sunak pointed to a media report that the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, said Labour’s net-zero plans would cost “hundreds of billions”.
“Just go online, go to the Telegraph website, because we’ve just found a recording they’ve put out there from the deputy chancellor from the Labour Party admitting that their plan would cost hundreds of billions of pounds,” Mr Sunak said.
“Do not surrender to their tax rises."
The BBC moderator jumped in to explain that Mr Sunak was referring to an article saying that it had obtained a recording of Darren Jones saying decarbonising the economy would cost that much.
“Yes, it is absolutely right that we want to get investors to come in alongside that government money," Mr Starmer said.
"It won’t surprise you we’ve been talking to global investors for the best part of two years to say, ‘If we put down this amount of money in our manifesto, will you come alongside it and put down many more billions of pounds so that in partnership we make the change that we need?’”
Early in the debate, Mr Starmer took a swipe at the Conservative Party leader, accusing Mr Sunak of being “out of touch” when it comes to welfare benefits.
To applause from the studio audience, the Labour leader said: “If you listen to the people in the audience, across the country, more often, you might not be quite so out of touch.”
There was no winner in the BBC prime ministerial debate, according to a YouGov snap poll.
In a survey of 1,716 viewers, 47 per cent said Mr Starmer won, 47 per cent said Mr Sunak did, and 6 per cent said they did not know.
Throughout the televised debate, the sound of a protest outside the BBC venue could be heard in the background.
Pro-Palestine demonstrators were among those standing outside the Nottingham Trent University building.
Mishal Hussain, the presenter, confirmed to the audience that the demonstration was taking place.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
THREE
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
NATIONAL%20SELECTIONS
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Naga
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Step by step
2070km to run
38 days
273,600 calories consumed
28kg of fruit
40kg of vegetables
45 pairs of running shoes
1 yoga matt
1 oxygen chamber
DUBAI CARNIVAL RESULTS
6.30pm Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner Dubai Future, Harry Bentley (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm UAE 1000 Guineas Listed $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner Dubai Love, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
7.40pm Dubai Dash Listed $175,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner: Equilateral, James Doyle, Charles Hills.
8.15pm Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions $100,000 (D) 1.900m
Winner Laser Show, Kevin Stott, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Al Fahidi Fort Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Glorious Journey, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner George Villiers, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Equinox
Price, base / as tested: Dh76,900 / Dh110,900
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder
Gearbox: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 252hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: Torque: 352Nm @ 2,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.5L / 100km
The five pillars of Islam
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
Checks continue
A High Court judge issued an interim order on Friday suspending a decision by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to direct a stop to Brexit agri-food checks at Northern Ireland ports.
Mr Justice Colton said he was making the temporary direction until a judicial review of the minister's unilateral action this week to order a halt to port checks that are required under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Civil servants have yet to implement the instruction, pending legal clarity on their obligations, and checks are continuing.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
Rooney's club record
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
