View from London | The National

Hello from The National and welcome to the View from London – your weekly guide to the big stories from our London bureau

What was there really to learn from the thousands of intra-government messages released as a result of Parliament's meltdown about the appointment of Peter Mandelson?

The pithiest comments on why Keir Starmer's government stumbled, then went into a tailspin, came in exchanges between Mr Mandelson and Cabinet minister Pat McFadden. Mr Mandelson described No 10 Downing Street as “beleaguered and bereft” after one of his visits and told Mr McFadden that the Prime Minister “lacks verve”.

Chris Blackhurst has a look at those remarks and how they apply to a failure to grasp the nettle on defence, which is one lamentable tale dogging the government.

He says defence is the ticket for manufacturing jobs in the UK. Not only would it end the London-centric concentration but would revive parts of the north where Labour is losing its grip.

Blackhurst refers to the warning from former Labour minister Alan Milburn of a “catastrophic system failure” in the grim picture of employment prospects for the country’s 16 to 24 year olds. The impact is hurting the futures of one million young people in the UK.

The nation’s existing defence factories are dotted around the country, away from the capital, in the old manufacturing and engineering heartlands of the North and the Midlands – where job opportunities are now few and need is great.

For the sake of Britain’s future, for its military capability and its youth, Mr Starmer must shake off the low-verve trait and step up urgently on defence.

Ipsos has surveyed more than 23,500 adults across 32 countries about the impact of artificial intelligence and the results show a broad willingness to go along with the revolution.

Almost three quarters of respondents claim to understand AI and two thirds agree that “AI will profoundly change their lives in the next 35 years”. Just over half say it already has.

Tony Blair, pictured with Keir Starmer in 2023, has suggested a new policy debate is needed in the UK. Getty Images

I had a look at the impact of two lengthy masterworks by former UK prime minister Tony Blair and Pope Leo XIV on the state of AI and geopolitics.

At 5,000 and 42,000 words, the missives from both men made cornerstone arguments as to how technology should shape our world.

There was a horizontal reaction to the Pope's intervention from around the globe on the outlook for the human race. Meanwhile, Mr Blair’s work set off a flurry of vertical responses, diving deep into its impact on the Labour Party leadership reckoning. These were mainly from the UK, not least from Mr Starmer, who pleaded that ending the UK's “doom loop” had taken priority since the 2024 general election. Escape from decline had come at a cost, he said.

To a high-level conference on Palestine being held in central London on Tuesday, where Lemma Shehadi listened to Jordan's envoy to the UK.

Ambassador Manar Dabbas has been an influential diplomatic voice on the Palestinian issue in the UK in settings such as these for some time.

As Israel’s behaviour in Gaza and the occupied West Bank is not favourable for peace, the situation exacerbates radicalisation in the long term. Mr Dabbas deplored the continuing Israeli attacks in the strip, the annexation of the West Bank, and growing pressure on Muslims and Christians in Jerusalem. He said Jordan’s peace agreement with Israel “remains despite the challenges” but Israeli actions were putting it increasingly under strain.

“Actions of the Israeli government are not conducive to peace,” he said. “They are conducive to more conflict.”

Where now for believers in the two-state solution when Israel undermines exactly that? He was speaking at the Britain Palestine Project annual conference.

A British court has fined the country's athletics body £350,000 ($471,600) over the “wholly avoidable” death of a UAE Paralympian who was killed when a practice cage collapsed on his head.

A father of five, Abdullah Hayayei, 36, was preparing to represent the UAE at the World Para Athletics Championships in London, when the metal structure fell on to him at Newham Leisure Centre, East London, on July 11, 2017.

The cage toppled over because it was put up incorrectly and without its base plate, in an “accident waiting to happen”.

Widow Badriah Hayayei gave an impact statement to the court on the fallout suffered by her and her five children.

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