A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News.
Leading the week
Prince Harry is back in London next week to give evidence in his High Court battle with Mirror Group Newspapers. The Duke is due in court from Monday (5 June) when his case opens and is expected to begin giving evidence on Tuesday (6 June), marking the first time a royal has been in the witness box in over 20 years.
Harry, along with a number of celebrities including Ian Wright, Cheryl, and the estate of George Michael, claims The Mirror used unlawful information gathering tactics to obtain information on him between 1996 and 2011. Central to MGN’s defence is that the prince has brought proceedings too late, and it denies allegations of voicemail interception.
The case is just one of three battles Harry is fighting with the British tabloid press. He is seeking at least £200,000 in damages from The Sun over allegations that the paper hacked his phone and hired private investigators to obtain information on him. A hearing in that case, which also addresses the specific claim that executives working for Rupert Murdoch made a deal with the royal family to avoid legal action, will be heard later this month. He is also waiting to see if a case brought against the Daily Mail will move forward after the latest hearing in March.
Related
The High Court could also see further drama next week if the government’s battle against the Covid inquiry and Baroness Hallett’s request for all unredacted diaries and messages from Boris Johnson gets a quick hearing.
While Johnson has offered up the unredacted materials directly, the Cabinet Office said yesterday it is seeking a judicial review on principle over the question of the inquiry’s power to request “unambiguously irrelevant” documents from other ministers.
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It’s a crunch week for Britain’s biggest business lobbying group as CBI members gather on Tuesday (6 June) to vote on proposals for the organisation’s future purpose.
The meeting comes after a series of high-profile firms and political and industry bodies severed ties with the group following the dismissal in April of former director general Tony Danker and claims of widespread sexual misconduct by other senior figures, including an allegation of rape at a CBI event.
Danker was replaced by former chief economist Rain Newton-Smith, who said this week that the CBI could still “have a voice’”on UK economic issues as the group published the prospectus which its members will consider at Tuesday’s EGM, including the creation of a new Chief People Officer and the establishment of an external expert Culture Advisory Committee.
The CBI’s new leadership will hope that these steps can convince members that it still has a role to play in the business world, particularly with a general election campaign on the horizon. But suggestions that the group’s work hadn’t been missed during its pause show that the vote is far from a foregone conclusion, while reports that it’s preparing to lay off staff and has considered the prospect of insolvency will have many questioning the CBI’s future whatever result is announced next week.
Looking Abroad
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak makes his first official visit to Washington on Thursday (8 June) to meet with US President Joe Biden, with Ukraine, energy security and developments in Northern Ireland all on the agenda.
The talks follow Biden’s visit to Belfast in April, when Downing Street was forced to deny a meeting between the two had been downgraded and which Biden later said was to make sure “the Brits didn’t screw around” – expect a statement on a shared commitment to restoring power-sharing in Northern Ireland, where no progress has been made since Biden’s visit.
The pair are also due to discuss the risks of artificial intelligence in the wake of a letter published by industry experts this week which warned that AI could pose an “extinction risk” on par with pandemics and nuclear war. Sunak will reportedly use the visit to announce the UK’s plans for regulation as the government looks to balance the benefits of the technology with mitigating the risks posed by uncontrolled development.
There’s some speculation that AI could also feature at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, which opens on Monday (5 June) in Cupertino. The tech giant has been relatively silent on generative AI while rivals including Microsoft, Google and Meta have launched new AI-powered services, and WWDC could give us a peek at how Apple sees the technology working for their business, particularly the development of its virtual assistant, Siri.
The bigger story, though, is that Apple is expected to use Monday’s keynote to launch its highly-anticipated mixed reality headset, thought to be called Reality Pro.
The $3,000 AR/VR headset is rumoured to be able to run all of Apple’s existing apps and include a new portal for watching VR sports, and leaked tech specs suggest a far more powerful device than what’s currently on the market. Apple is also expected to launch the latest version of its operating system, iOS17, and a new range of Macs at the conference, which runs until Friday (9 June).
Also look out for
June 5
- Illegal Migration Bill back in the House of Lords
- Cabinet Office target to disclose redacted Boris Johnson notebooks
- Humza Yousaf addresses Scottish Council for Development and Industry forum
- Leeds couple sentenced for terror offences including destroying 5G phone masts
- Antony Blinken addresses AIPAC
- UNFCCC Bonn Climate Change Conference
- Holly Willoughby returns to This Morning
June 6
- Keir Starmer speaks at GMB Congress
- ITV quizzed on Phillip Schofield at Draft Media Bill committee session
- Bernie Ecclestone appears in court charged with largescale fraud
- Strikes and protests resume in France over pension reforms
- ECHR judgment on Alexei Navalny poisoning case
- Hearing in case to make Prince Harry’s US visa application public
- General election in Kuwait
June 7
- James Cleverly chairs OECD Ministerial Council Meeting
- Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley at BusinessLDN briefing
- BBC England NUJ journalists go on strike
- Mike Pence expected to launch 2024 campaign
- OECD Economic Outlook
- Europa Conference League final: West Ham v Fiorentina
June 8
- Matt Hancock gives evidence at trial of anti-vaxxer stalker
- Queen Elizabeth II memorial wood opens
- French parliament considers bill to reverse pension age rise
- Sotheby’s auctions eternal pink diamond
- Scottish Episcopal Church’s General Synod
June 9
- Lisa Nandy and Andy Burnham at Reform conference on local government
- Dog owner sentenced after American bully mauled woman to death
- Strike ballot closes for GMB staff at Amazon in Mansfield and Rugeley
- David Baddiel speaks at Oxford Union
June 10
- UEFA Champions League final: Manchester City v Inter Milan
- Manchester Metrolink tram staff strike
- Donald Trump and Mike Pence address North Carolina GOP convention
- Roland Garros women’s final
- Le Mans 24-hour race
June 11
- G20 development ministers meeting
- Roland Garros men’s final
- Parliamentary elections in Montenegro
- Tony Awards
Statistics, reports and results
June 5
- Oxfam report on climate finance progress
- Fortune 500 listing
- UK services PMI
- SMMT car sales figures
June 6
- UK construction PMI
- BRC Retail Sales Monitor
- OECD consumer price indices
- South Africa Q1 GDP
- Italy annual economic forecast
June 7
- Halifax House Price Index
- Greece and Australia Q1 GDP
- Results from: Inditex
June 8
- NHS England monthly performance data
- Quarterly GP workforce figures
- IHS Markit/REC Report on Jobs
- NHS Digital prescription cost analysis
- Q1 GDP for Japan and the EU
- Results from: Mitie, First Group plc
June 9
- China consumer price index
Anniversaries and Awareness Days
June 5
- World Environment Day
- Naksa Day (Palestinian Territories)
- Bike Week (to June 11)
- Carers Week (to June 11)
- 55 years ago: Robert F Kennedy assassinated
June 6
- One year ago: Boris Johnson won Tory confidence vote
- 79 years ago: D-Day landings
- World Tetris Day
June 7
- Global Running Day
- UN World Food Safety Day
June 8
- World Oceans Day
- International Tampon Alert Day
- National Best Friends Day
June 9
- Childhood Day
- Four years ago: Hong Kong protests over extradition changes
June 10
- World Gin Day
- 60 years ago: US Equal Pay Act signed into law
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