UK Column News — 20th May 2026

Charles Malet, Vanessa Beeley and special guest Alex Kriel present today’s UK Column News. 

 

01:07 Home Front: Round-up of events since King’s Speech

The King’s Speech 2026

HMS Dragon on X

Airforce Technology: Aeralis enters administration amid delays over Hawk replacement

UTK Events

Urban Scoop

Companies House: Freestyle Freelance Ltd

Companies House: Thinking Independent Media Ltd

08:22 Trump & Xi: UKC’s analysis of meeting

Chinese-Made Wing Loong II UAV Shot Down Over Iran Indicates Involvement of Yet Another Country in the War | Defense Express

UAE and Israel established fund for joint defence acquisition, sources say | Middle East Eye

Pakistan deployed 8,000 troops, a Chinese air defence system and warplanes to Saudi Arabia: Report | Middle East Eye

Trump-Xi Summit: Chinese Analysts on the New Strategic Stalemate

China's Xi, in call with Saudi crown prince, calls for Strait of Hormuz to remain open | Reuters

Readout of President Trump’s Meeting With Chinese President Xi Jinping - U.S. Embassy & Consulates in China

BREAKING: Trump addresses Xi's WARNING over Taiwan

Trump-Xi Summit: Chinese Analysts on the New Strategic Stalemate

20:52 Bank of England: Machinations in the bond market. With special guest Alex Kriel, founder of The Thinking Coalition

Thinking Coalition on Substack

28:30 UK Column — 20th Anniversary tickets selling fast

Support UK Column

UK Column 20th Anniversary Event

Issue 1 of The Column

Stop the closure of the Plymouth Life Centre climbing wall

31:47 Energy: Continued push for Net Zero

State Council of PRC: Xi to hold welcome ceremony for Putin

The White House: Historic Deals with China

Ed Miliband on X

Ofgem: Wholesale market indicators

DESNZ: Annual Fuel Poverty Statistics in England, 2026 (2025 data)

DESNZ: Government to go "further and faster" in becoming energy secure

Department for Business and Trade: General Trade Licence for sanctioned processed oil products

37:45 Trump Insanity: Nuclear Dust!

Donald Trump Truth Social https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump

43:45 Debt: Limitless money lockdown legacy

Thinking Coalition on Substack

50:27 Behaviour: Comply, co-operate, in face of latest ‘threat’

The Telegraph: How worried should we be about hantavirus

BBC: Banana Terror

UKHSA: Qualitative assessment of the risk to the UK human population of Andes virus infection in a UK rodent

APHA: Bird flu found in mammals in the sub-Antarctic for the first time (January 2024)

Nature: There is no vaccine for deadly hantavirus: what that means for future outbreaks

EMJ: UK accepts hantavirus antiviral doses from Japan