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


Wartime pivot

Less than a month ago, Development Minister Anneliese Dodds admitted that children in Yemen had starved to death when the UK last cut aid in 2021.

Now the axe has swung again. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a boost to military spending as he was packing for a two-day trip to the US to meet President Donald Trump.

In a shock to the system advocated by the new British ambassador to Washington, Lord Mandelson, the Labour leader pledged to take the defence budget from 2.3 per cent to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027.

To pay for the rise he made the “very difficult” decision to cut the international development budget from its current level of 0.5 per cent of gross national income to 0.3 per cent as the military increase takes hold.

“We must change our national security posture,” Mr Starmer told parliament on Tuesday. “A generational challenge demands a generational response.”

A British Challenger tank is set to be a more common sight as defence spending is boosted.  AFP

The Foreign Office had been pushing to increase its £15 billion ($19 billion) aid budget, with particular concern for countries such as Sudan. Now it faces losing about 40 per cent of its funding, although David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, said he could protect the most desperately needed programmes.

“The UK government’s decision to cut aid by £6 billion in order to fund defence spending is a blow to Britain’s proud reputation as a global humanitarian and development leader,” said David Miliband, former Labour foreign secretary and now head of the International Rescue Committee. “The global consequences of this decision will be far-reaching and devastating for people who need more help, not less.”

The UK ambassador to the UAE watches UK aid leaving a depot in Dubai. Photo: British Embassy Office Dubai

French President Emmanuel Macron used his own White House visit this week to correct some of Mr Trump's claims about Europe's military aid to Ukraine, but the Europeans are still scrambling. Britain is set to retake its place as Europe’s biggest spender on defence but the question is how lonely it will be in riding this escalator.

Washington's view is Europe is over-relying on a US security umbrella. “All European allies must step up,” as Mr Starmer put it.

Germany will be under pressure to follow suit but its hands are tied by strict borrowing rules. Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz on Tuesday indicated he would not rush into the "complex task" of relaxing Germany's debt limits, even though it looks sure to become more difficult once a newly elected parliament meets next month.

Damien McElroy
London bureau chief


Greek havens

A Syrian shipping tycoon is controlling a maritime and property business in Greece despite being under sanctions by the US for his alleged dealings with the Houthis and Hezbollah, The National reveals today.

Property and companies in Athens can be tied to Abdul Jalil Mallah, who was found to have lied to the High Court in London and was given a jail sentence.

A visit to the port area of Piraeus revealed a property with his name on it. "Mr Mallah is not in the office. I am only here today to clean up,” came a voice in broken Greek at the doorstep of a first-floor office in a six-storey apartment building. The Greek Land Registry lists five properties within the building as being owned by the Syrian.

Former business partners fought a long battle with Mr Mallah, succeeding in recovering the cargo vessel Amethyst but not its sister ship the Courage, which remains in Latakia, Syria, where it has been since the lawsuit was launched.

Photo: VesselFinder.com

Sanctions statements from the US Treasury described Mr Mallah, who was named a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US in 2021, as an "illicit Syrian shipping magnate".

The US Treasury also sanctioned four ships belonging to Mr Mallah's brother, Luay Al Mallah, and said the pair have "continued to use their shipping empire to support Iran’s malign activities and those of its proxies".

Former partner Oaktree Capital Management had sought the seizure of two vessels and £1 million in legal costs in a London court action.

In a subsequent court order in May 2024, Mr Mallah was given a prison sentence for fraud. His submissions included forged documents purporting to be from the Greek authorities showing he had left the country before the notice was served. That led to a hearing for contempt of court.

The judge in the initial case, Andrew Smith, ruled that Mr Mallah’s side had provided no written or oral evidence proving he was no longer the true owner of the companies, as was claimed. The British court also determined that a Greek lawyer was acting as Mr Mallah’s proxy.

High Court judge Sara Cockerill then found he failed to respond to a request to declare his assets but when he finally did, he claimed he had never received the summons at his Piraeus address because he had already left Greece.


AI learning

Nearly nine in 10 university students have used generative artificial intelligence (AI) to help with their studies but a report has suggested that many are fearful of taking the technology to the next level.

Fears of accusations of plagiarism or worse are holding many back from all but the most basic functions. Almost a fifth of students (18 per cent) said they had used AI-generated and edited text in their assessments, according to the report from the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi).

That's compared to the 88 per cent of students who had used generative AI to help with their assessments.

The survey of 1,041 full-time undergraduate students, conducted in December, found that the most popular function of AI tools for students was to explain concepts to them (58 per cent).

Other popular uses included summarising articles (48 per cent), suggesting ideas for research (41 per cent) and structuring their thoughts (39 percent).

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