Penny Crook

EXCLUSIVE: Rachel Reeves interview with @MyStephanomics — Says the UK won’t let trade terms with the US sway its position on Trump’s war in Iran. — “You can’t make a decision about whether to get British armed forces involved in a conflict because it may or may not make it more likely to get a trade deal. We judged that there was not a legal basis for offensive action on Iran.” — Warns the UK and the world likely faces an economic “shock” lasting months due to the war. — Says the UK is in a “stronger position to be able to withstand the shocks, including the shock that we are likely to be responding to in the weeks and months ahead.” — Vows she will do “everything in our power to protect businesses and and families in the UK” from the economic fallout. Story by @Joe_Mayes >>> bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Rachel Reeves says concerns about a US-UK trade deal can't affect decisions about combat operations in Iran Speaking to @MyStephanomics, the UK chancellor defended the decision not to back initial American-Israeli strikes bloom.bg/3OJNbfm

EXCLUSIVE: Keir Starmer interview as he prepares to fly to Beijing The prime minister insists the UK can maintain its relationship with its closest ally the US while pursuing trade opportunities with China, without being forced to choose between the two. “I’m often invited to simply choose between countries. I don’t do that,” Starmer said in an interview with Bloomberg this evening ahead of travelling to China to meet Xi Jinping, the first trip by a British PM in eight years. Starmer insisted the UK can deepen trade with China without angering Trump, rejecting the idea he’d have to make trade-offs in his approach to the two countries. He also made clear he wasn’t seeking a trade pivot away from the US like Canada, which caused Trump to threaten Mark Carney with new tariffs. “We’ve got very close relations with the US, of course we want to and we will maintain that business, alongside security and defence,” Starmer said, arguing Britain could enjoy the best of both worlds. “Equally, just sticking your head in the sand and ignoring China when it’s the second biggest economy in the world and there are business opportunities wouldn’t be sensible.” “There are significant opportunities for businesses,” the PM said ahead of the visit, where he is expected to seek business deals and investment spanning financial services, the car industry and life sciences. “We’re taking, I think, 60 businesses, CEOs, and cultural leaders as well, and that is because they understand the opportunities that there are.” “That does not mean compromising on national security, quite the opposite,” he said. “We veered from the golden age to the ice age,” Starmer said, arguing that he would instead pursue a “consistent” approach that balances Britain’s economic interests with its security concerns. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

So much change in print media readership but @RadioTimes Christmas issue is a festive institution. An honour to be in this year’s. Photos by Elisabeth Hoff and my interviewer was ** @shattenstone ** Out now 🎄

Novelist Salman Rushdie tells Mishal Husain that book bans in the US are an attempt to "erase" diverse perspectives on American history Subscribe to The Mishal Husain Show wherever you get your podcasts bloom.bg/3KnpCHr

Exclusive: Recent intelligence assessments show Vladimir Putin still has no intention of reaching a peace deal with Ukraine, former MI6 chief Richard Moore says. “Under current conditions — I’m basing this on access I had a few weeks ago to our understanding of the intelligence — he’s not ready to do a deal,” Moore tells Bloomberg’s @MishalHusain. “For me, the answer to that is he needs to be put under more pressure, so he is prepared to do a deal.” “It’s our responsibility to convey exactly what the intelligence is telling us,” Moore said. “It’s telling us, for example, that Putin has no intention of doing a deal, that this is not an issue for him purely of territory, this is about dominating and turning Ukraine into something that looks rather like its neighbour, Belarus.”  Moore said he saw an “evolution of thinking” about Putin in Trump’s administration. “Clearly Putin is trying to play us. He’s an intelligence officer. I recognise the type. He’s trying to manoeuvre us into a place which is convenient for him, and we need to pin him down and not allow him that manoeuvrability.” The ex-spy chief says Xi Jinping is watching Ukraine. “There’s a real danger that if he sees us being weak on Ukraine, then he will draw conclusions on his own behaviors around the South China Sea, and potentially on Taiwan.” This is how Moore says the West must help Ukraine now: “More pressure on the battlefield. Ukrainians have an under-capitalised defence industry. They have spare capacity that cash would solve,” he said. “There is more that we can give them in terms of permission to use long-range weaponry, for example, as well as giving them the basics of air defence. And there’s an opportunity to put a lot more pressure on Putin at home. “I don’t pretend that is going to give immediate results. We have to be patient. We have to be prepared to see this off,” he added. “I’ve talked about the seminal importance of this for the Western alliance — that we do not lose this contest of wills.” bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

This would be the biggest embassy in Europe. Richard Moore says he’s not justifying the size of this particular site but ‘there has to be a way through’, where China gets an ‘appropriate embassy’ and the U.K. gets to retain & develop its Beijing one bloomberg.com/news/videos/20…

Exclusive: Ex-MI6 chief Richard Moore says China “should get their embassy” in London “I’m sure there has to be a way through where they get an appropriate embassy and we are allowed to retain and develop our own excellent embassy in Beijing,” he says in a Bloomberg interview with @MishalHusain “We need one in Beijing and it’s important that we have that, so it’s right and proper that the Chinese should get their embassy. Whether it’s this one or not isn’t really for me to judge.” Moore’s assessment is significant as it may signal Keir Starmer wouldn’t be putting himself at odds with the security services if he backs the embassy. The delayed decision is due next month. “You’ll understand also why I tend to discourage politicians from being too moralistic about the issue of spying in itself. The UK has rather effective intelligence organisations and we are actively gathering intelligence against other countries.” bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Comcast, owner of the Sky pay-television business in Europe, is in talks to acquire ITV’s media and entertainment unit in a deal that would dramatically shake up the UK broadcasting landscape, people with knowledge of the matter said bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Spotted on the Tube .. Poss caption for the pic of Executive Producer @lewis_louisa: ‘Think I’m seeing quite enough of this woman already’ ?? Next episode, coming Friday, a deep dive into the women of Russia .. link.podtrac.com/t6kcc20c

Honoured to be on this shortlist, for these interviews @business: Elon Musk, May: youtube.com/watch?v=ycf4Xw… Keir Starmer, June: youtube.com/watch?v=BIRn7b… Shonda Rhimes, August bbgcomms.net/4mAOsRR

‘The Mishal Husain Show’ - new episode is out 🔽 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the…

"I'm arguing for the lens that we look at issues [through] to, as far as possible, be equal and level." Bloomberg Weekend presenter Mishal Husain speaks to #R4Today about delivering Oxford University's annual Romanes Lecture on 'Empire, Identity and the Search for Reason’.

My Executive Producer, lucky to have her on board!! open.spotify.com/episode/7pXS7p…

NEW - curtain raiser for this has just dropped, first episode of these in-depth newsmaker and ideas conversations coming Friday. Please follow and share :) ⬇️ podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the…

Make sense of the world with one essential conversation, every weekend. Subscribe to The Mishal Husain Show wherever you get your podcasts: bloom.bg/3IVjXaS

London slips out of the world’s top 20 IPO markets as the third quarter ends, overtaken by Mexico bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

NEW Morgan McSweeney under pressure after he: - personally pushed for Mandelson’s appointment as the UK’s ambassador to Washington - spent recent days defending him as pressure mounted over Mandelson’s ties to Epstein @SamCoatesSky reporting similar bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Prime Minister Keir Starmer tells @MishalHusain the UK has “grave concerns” about Iran’s nuclear program and backed Israel’s right to self-defense, while calling for de-escalation in a conflict that risks engulfing the Middle East bloom.bg/4n0s1Gk

Keir Starmer’s first response to Israel-Iran strikes here >>>