Going beyond the ordinary news headlines
Tuesday’s UK headlines are dominated by the ongoing backlash after a report into grooming gangs in the UK was released. The media is reading through the 197-page audit, and reacting to the details. The UK government has announced a full national inquiry to begin soon.
Global news takes centre-stage in the UK this morning, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed the UK-US trade deal with Donald Trump at the G7 summit in Canada. The agreement removes tariffs on UK aerospace exports and cuts tariffs on British cars from 25% to 10%. The US president said the UK is ‘protected’ because he likes them.
There’s good news for British Steel which has secured a five-year contract worth £500m to supply train tracks for Network Rail.
MPs are debating on a law change aimed at decriminalising abortion in the House of Commons today. MPs are usually given a free vote on abortion, meaning they do not have to follow any party line on the subject.
Donald Trump has left the G7 summit early as the cross-border attacks between Israel and Iran continue to escalate. Israel is targeting Iran’s energy sector, which Iran says is a war crime. Trump leaving the Middle East so abruptly has global commentators suggesting that US troops could be preparing to enter the war.
At the G7 summit in Canada, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump formally approved a UK‑US trade deal targeting aerospace and automotive sectors. The agreement removes tariffs on UK aerospace exports and cuts tariffs on British cars from 25% to 10%, covering up to 100,000 vehicles annually. However, steel and aluminium remain in limbo: the UK continues to face a 25% tariff, albeit lower than the US’s global 50%, pending an agreement on secure supply chains and assurances over Chinese-owned British Steel.
Trump praised Starmer’s work and remarked that the UK is “very well protected… because I like them.”
Read a full WTX News breakdown of the UK-US trade deal
The US president was full of praise for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying that whilst the UK leader might be a bit more “liberal” he’s done a fantastic job.
“We’re very longtime partners and allies and friends, and we’ve become friends in a short period of time. He’s slightly more liberal than I am,” Trump joked.
Asked if the UK was now protected from future tariffs, Trump said: “The UK is very well protected. You know why? Because I like them – that’s their ultimate protection.”
He added: “The prime minister has done a great job. I want to just tell that to the people of the United Kingdom. He’s done a very, very good job. He’s done what other people, they’ve been talking about this deal for six years, and he’s done what they haven’t been able to do. So he’s done really a very good job.”
The aerospace and automotive tariff cuts are expected to take effect within weeks, providing a boost to jobs and exports. Meanwhile, negotiators are working on a steel quota tied to national security conditions; full 0% tariffs on core steel products remain the end goal.
Both leaders also discussed broader issues like beef imports, US sanctions on Russia, and the Middle East conflict, signalling deeper UK‑US alignment on economic and security fronts.
Israeli airstrikes are entering their fifth day, after targeting military and nuclear sites across Iran—including Tehran—while simultaneously striking Iran’s oil and gas facilities and even its state broadcaster, which Tehran condemned as a “war crime”. Iran responded with missile and drone strikes on Israeli cities—Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Petah Tikva—killing civilians on both sides (224 in Iran; around 23 in Israel). In reaction, Tehran signalled plans to withdraw from the 1968 Non‑Proliferation Treaty, though its leaders affirmed their nuclear program remains peaceful. Civilians in northern Tehran were even ordered to evacuate amid fears of further strikes, while Israeli officials hinted at targeting Iran’s supreme leader.
Stay up to date with the latest from Iran-Israeli conflict
G7 leaders are now pushing for de‑escalation, with France proposing a ceasefire offer amid growing sanctions and diplomacy talks. The US has bolstered regional defences and President Trump abruptly left the summit to manage the crisis. Iran says it will only negotiate if Israel halts airstrikes, while Israel vows to continue strikes to eliminate nuclear and missile threats. Meanwhile, global markets remain on edge, oil prices waver, and international players—including EU nations and Gulf intermediaries—are racing to broker a diplomatic pathway before the conflict spirals further.
Baroness Louise Casey’s 197-page audit has exposed “blindness, ignorance and prejudice” in institutional responses to UK grooming gangs, revealing a shocking pattern of failing to protect vulnerable children—some as young as 10—over the past 15–20 years. The report found that authorities often avoided recording ethnicity for two-thirds of suspects, even though local force data (from Greater Manchester, South and West Yorkshire) showed an over-representation of men from Asian and Pakistani backgrounds among offenders. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper offered an unequivocal apology and announced the government will implement all 12 recommendations, including a three-year national inquiry, reforms to rape laws, mandatory ethnicity data recording, and review of more than 1,000 cold cases.
Read Baroness Louise Casey’s 197-page audit
A statutory national inquiry will begin soon, coordinating existing local probes and holding public bodies to account. Police will reopen over 800–1,000 cases, and legislation will be introduced to tighten rape charges for under-16 offences. Authorities must begin mandatory ethnicity recording and apologise or quash convictions where victims were criminalised. The Home Affairs Committee will oversee Casey’s findings, while critics like Nazir Afzal warn that only criminal prosecutions—not lengthy inquiries—can deliver real justice. The government faces a delicate challenge: tackling systemic failures without inflaming community tensions or providing fodder to far-right groups.
Tuesday’s UK newspaper front pages heavily focus on the release of the report into grooming gangs. An audit by Baroness Louise Casey revealed shocking details that included officials ‘covering up the race of the perpetrators due to fears of flaming tensions – despite evidence showing an overwhelming number of perpetrators were from a Pakistani/ Asian background.
Tuesday’s newspaper front pages report on the Middle East crisis – there have been plenty of overnight updates since the newspapers went to print, but the front page news remains relevant.
Tuesday’s newspaper front pages are dominated by the newly released audit led by Baroness Louise Casey into grooming gangs. The papers react to the details within the report especially focusing on the fact that authorities “shied away from the ethnicity” of the perpetrators over fears of raising racial tensions.
The front pages leave space to report on the G7 summit, including the UK and US signing a trade deal and Donald Trump leaving the G7 early as the Middle East crisis escalates and commentators speculate if the US military is about to enter the crisis.
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