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Sabrina Carpenter Has Epic 4-Word Response About Who Inspired Her Single Manchild

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Sabrina Carpenter is not getting involved when it comes to the internet’s obsession with the origin of her latest hit single.

Earlier this month, the US chart-topper sparked an internet frenzy when she announced the release of a new song, Manchild, prompting near-immediate rumours on social media that it was inspired by her most famous ex, Barry Keoghan.

This speculation only increased when Manchild finally came out, with lyrics admonishing an immature former beau.

Barry Keoghan and Sabrina Carpenter pictured together in 2024
Barry Keoghan and Sabrina Carpenter pictured together in 2024

Dave Benett/WireImage for Vanity Fair

During a wide-ranging new interview with Rolling Stone, Sabrina was asked directly if any of her famous exes served as the inspo for the track.

“It’s about your dad,” she quipped by way of response.

Elsewhere in the interview, Sabrina spoke about the interest in her personal life since her rise to global fame in the past year.

“When you get down the little rabbit hole is truly when people start commenting on you as a person or you physically,” she explained.

“All of those things that you’re already thinking on a day-to-day basis. You don’t need a stranger from Arkansas to remind you.”

Of the things people write about her online and in the press, she claimed: “You’re like, ‘That didn’t happen then. That did happen then. You’re missing a few key details there’. People underestimate how tricky it is to navigate being a young woman, having relationships, and then having a bunch of strangers have opinions on them.

“Because surely, all of these people that are commenting, if they had the same microscope on their personal lives, I don’t think they’d be as eloquently spoken as me. I know it’s a tale as old as time. It’s just unfortunate that it’s still a tale.”

Manchild is currently on course to get Sabrina her fourth number one single in the UK, following the success of Espresso, Please Please Please and Taste in 2024.

The song serves as the lead single from Sabrina’s newly-announced album Man’s Best Friend, the album cover for which has already raised plenty of eyebrows and led to plenty of online debate since it was unveiled on Wednesday evening.

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US Stance On Trade Unlikely To Change Even If A Democrat Replaced Trump, Minister Warns

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The US’s stance on trade would be unlikely to change even if a Democrat were elected to the White House, a minister has warned.

The US president imposed a 10% tax on British imports to the States in April, on top of a global 25% levy on aluminium, steel and cars.

Other countries received higher “reciprocal” tariffs initially, rocking worldwide trade, although Trump did end up reducing the majority to 10%.

The UK became the first nation to agree to a trade deal with the States to reduce the tariffs earlier this year.

The two sides agreed to cut British steel and aluminum levies to zero and cut the car taxes to 10% – for up to 100,000 – although it is yet to be finalised.

Britain also secured a temporary exemption when Trump doubled its import tariffs on steel and aluminium to 50%, until July 9, depending on the progress of the trade deal.

Even so, the tariffs have undoubtedly hit the British economy.

The Office for National Statistics revealed on Thursday that gross domestic product (GDP) had declined by 0.3% in April, primarily due to the tariffs and the higher taxes imposed by the British Treasury.

But at a press gallery lunch with reporters on Thursday, trade and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds suggested these tariffs are not just a product of Trump’s administration.

He said it was time for Europe to “understand how the US feels” about the “lack of reciprocity” with trade.

“The US trade deal – there have been some hard bits of negotiating that,” Reynolds said, after saying he expects the final agreement to be finalised “very soon”.

“The US agenda is very significant, but we have always sought to recognise how the US feels about this.

“I said to an audience of European colleagues last week in Brussels, this, we have to understand, in Europe, is not US politics disrupting global trade.

“This is how global trade has disrupted US politics.

“I don’t think the kind of US agenda we see on trade would change overnight, if it was the end of the presidential term and someone else came in – even if it was Democratic president.

“Understand how the US feels about this, the lack of reciprocity, about some grievances, about how some multi-lateral bodies work.

“We might have different views but we have to engage, be willing to engage with them as well as build some personal relationships. That has been why we’ve been able to do a bit more than some others.”

There are hopes the US-UK trade deal will get over the line soon.

Reynolds met the US commerce secretary Howard Lutnik with PM Keir Starmer this week in London, and the UK ambassador to the States Peter Mandelson met with Trump in the White House.

The business secretary also told reporters it had been a “very significant” week in relation to the agreement.

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Air India Plane Crash: What We Know So Far As One Survivor Reported

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AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — An Air India passenger plane bound for London crashed into a medical college in Ahmedabad after takeoff Thursday, killing at least 240 people in one of India’s worst airline disasters in decades, officials said.

Vidhi Chaudhary, a top state police officer in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad, said medical students who were in a college hostel when the plane hit the building are among the dead.

“Most of the bodies have been charred beyond recognition,” she said.
Indian Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed that a single passenger survived the crash and he met him at the hospital. A doctor said he had examined the survivor, whom he identified as Vishwashkumar Ramesh.

“He was disoriented with multiple injuries all over his body,” Dr. Dhaval Gameti told The Associated Press. “But he seems to be out of danger.”

Black smoke billowed from the site where the plane crashed into a medical college hostel and burst into flames near the airport in Ahmedabad, a city of more than 5 million and the capital of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state.

Firefighters doused the smoking wreckage of the plane, which would have been fully loaded with fuel shortly after takeoff, and adjacent multistory buildings with water. Many charred bodies lay on the ground and parts of the fuselage were scattered around the site. Indian army teams were assisting civil authorities to clear debris and help treat the injured.

Visuals also showed the tail cone of the aircraft with damaged stabiliser fins still attached to it lodged near the top of one of the buildings.

In a social media post, Modi called the crash “heartbreaking beyond words” and said “my thoughts are with everyone affected.”

“It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash,” city police chief GS Malik told The Associated Press. Malik said the dead could include both passengers and those on the ground.

“Exact figures on casualties are being ascertained,” he added.

Divyansh Singh, vice president of the Federation of All India Medical Association, a national body that represents resident doctors, said at least five students from the medical college were killed on the ground and 50 others were injured. Singh said some of them were in critical condition and many people are “feared buried in the debris.”

Air India said the Gatwick Airport-bound flight was carrying 242 passengers and crew, with 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. The Boeing 787-8 crashed into a residential area called Meghani Nagar five minutes after taking off at 1:38 p.m. (08:08 GMT), Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director general of the directorate of civil aviation, told AP.

The first crash of a Boeing 787

The 787 Dreamliner is a wide-body, twin-engine plane. This is the first crash ever of a Boeing 787 aircraft, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.

Boeing said it was aware of the reports of the crash and was “working to gather more information.”

Aviation consultant John M Cox, the CEO of Safety Operating Systems, told the AP from Los Angeles that while the first images of the crash were poor, it appeared the aircraft had its nose up and was not climbing, which is one of the things that investigators would look at.

“At this point, it’s very, very, very early, we don’t know a whole lot,” he said. “But the 787 has very extensive flight data monitoring — the parameters on the flight data recorder are in the thousands — so once we get that recorder, they’ll be able to know pretty quickly what happened.”

The aircraft was introduced in 2009, and more than 1,000 have been delivered to dozens of airlines, according to the flightradar24 website.

Air India’s chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said at the moment “our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families.”

He said on X that the airline had set up an emergency centre and support team for families seeking information about those who were on the flight.

“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event,” he said.

UK promises support

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the crash “devastating” and British Cabinet minister Lucy Powell said the government will provide “all the support that it can” to those affected by the crash.

“This is an unfolding story, and it will undoubtedly be causing a huge amount of worry and concern to the many, many families and communities here and those waiting for the arrival of their loved ones,” she told lawmakers in the House of Commons.

“We send our deepest sympathy and thoughts to all those families, and the government will provide all the support that it can with those in India and those in this country as well,” she added.

Britain has very close ties with India. There were nearly 1.9 million people in the country of Indian descent, according to the 2021 UK census.

Condolences also poured in from King Charles III, who said he and his wife Queen Camilla were “desperately shocked” by the crash.

“Our special prayers and deepest possible sympathy are with the families and friends of all those affected by this appallingly tragic incident across so many nations, as they await news of their loved ones,” he said in a statement.

Previous air disasters in India

The last major passenger plane crash in India was in 2020, when an Air India Express Boeing-737 skidded off a hilltop runway in southern India, killing 21 people.

The worst air disaster in India was on Nov. 12, 1996, when a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight collided midair with a Kazakhastan Airlines Flight near Charki Dadri in Haryana state, killing all 349 on board the two planes.

The crash comes days before the opening of the Paris Air Show, a major aviation expo where Boeing and European rival Airbus will showcase their aircraft and battle for jet orders from airline customers.

Boeing has been in recovery mode for more than six years after Lion Air Flight 610, a Boeing 737 Max 8, plunged into the Java Sea off the coast of Indonesia minutes after takeoff from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board. Five months later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 Max 8, crashed after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing 157 passengers and crew members.

Shares of Boeing Co. tumbled nearly 9% before trading opened in the U.S.

Roy reported from New Delhi. Associated Press writers Sheikh Saaliq in Srinagar, India, Pan Pylas, Kelvin Chan and Brian Melley in London and Annika Wolters, David Rising, Adam Schreck and Lorian Belanger in Bangkok contributed to this report.

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Opinion: Karen Millen Called A Breastfeeding Mum ‘Selfish’ – Here’s Why She’s Wrong

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I’m breastfeeding my 1.5-year-old so naturally we’re probably both addicted to it and she’s going to be emotionally ruined. That’s according to Karen Millen’s logic, anyway.

In a bizarre segment on Jeremy, Storm & Vanessa On 5 this week, in which for whatever reason they thought it was OK to pass judgement on a mum’s choice to breastfeed her three-year-old, the fashion designer suggested the parent had breastfed for “far too long”.

“There’s no benefit, is there, for a child to be breastfed beyond six months really,” said Millen.

And she didn’t stop there. “I think it’s quite a selfish thing on the mother’s part,” she continued.

When Vanessa Feltz pressed her on why she thought that, Millen replied: “Well I just think, you know, that’s not good emotionally for that child.

“I mean, what does that child do later in life and the attachment and, like you said, it becomes an addiction – and an addiction for that child too because they only know the boob … and it’s just not normal is it?”

I’m no expert in breastfeeding but I have breastfed two kids and can safely say what a load of codswallop (and that’s putting it politely).

As the NHS says, breastfeeding has long-term benefits for babies, lasting right into adulthood: “Any amount of breast milk has a positive effect. The longer you breastfeed, the longer the protection lasts and the greater the benefits.”

Breastfeeding can reduce a baby’s risk of infections, and diarrhoea and vomiting (with fewer visits to hospital as a result), as well as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), obesity and cardiovascular disease in adulthood.

The World Health Organisation adds that “breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival”.

Not only does breastmilk provide all the energy and nutrients babies need for the first months of life, but in the second half of the first year – which is when Karen thinks we should stop whipping out the boob – it can provide up to half or more of a child’s nutritional needs.

Oh, and up to one third of their nutritional requirements during the second year of life. (But go off Karen about how there’s no benefit past six months.)

As for the emotional damage we’re inflicting, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) “there is no evidence that extended breastfeeding is harmful to parent or child”.

Whether a parent chooses to keep going, or stop breastfeeding, or feed their baby with formula milk, it’s ultimately their choice to do so – and they shouldn’t have to fear being shamed or slammed as “selfish” for doing so.

I’d argue that if you find it weird to see a kid breastfeeding, it probably says more about you and your feelings towards breasts than anything else.

The judgement emanating from that TV sofa – the suggestion it’s “selfish” to feed a child past a certain point, and “not good emotionally” for them – made me, as a breastfeeding mum, feel like a pariah. It was a gut punch – and I won’t be the only one who felt that.

The wrinkled noses, the scoffing, the wincing when a viewer called in and said they breastfed their child until the age of four… There is a huge stigma around extended breastfeeding. I’ve experienced it, I’ve written about it, I know it’s there.

And unhelpful – not to mention, incorrect – comments made on national TV simply add fuel to the fire. It’s yet another stick to beat mothers with. And honestly? I’m fed up of it.

If you’re not breastfeeding your baby, you’re shamed. If you are breastfeeding them past 12 months, you’re shamed. Honestly, you can’t win.

Millen has since apologised, saying: “I know I’ve upset a lot of your viewers and that was not my intention. The question was aimed at a three-year-old being breastfed and my thoughts on that and my answers reflected that, not the subject of breastfeeding…

“And as a woman to women, I do respect your choices and I do want to support you. So my apologies once again, I hope you forgive me.”

For those feeding their child and facing the comments – whether from relatives, friends or people on the TV who should know better – know that you’re not selfish, fuelling some weird boob addiction, or ruining your child emotionally.

Those who do manage to breastfeed past six months deserve a bloody medal, not the nation’s judgement.

Update: the article has been amended to include Karen Millen’s apology.

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Rachel Reeves Takes Axe To Whitehall Departments To Pay For Health And Defence Cash Splurge

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Eight Whitehall departments will see their budgets slashed so that more cash can be spent on the NHS and defence.

The Home Office and Department for Transport are among those facing real-terms reductions in their day-to-day budgets as a result of chancellor Rachel Reeves’s spending review.

She announced that an extra £300 billion will be spent by the government over the next three years.

The NHS will enjoy a 3% rise in its budget after inflation, which works out at an extra £29 billion a year.

Meanwhile, defence spending will rise from 2.3% to 2.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2027.

An extra £39 billion will be spent on building affordable homes over the next 10 years, while £14 billion is being spent on a new nuclear power plant at Sizewell C.

Reeves told MPs that departmental budgets will increase by 2.3% in real terms under plans.

She said she was “reflecting the choices of the British people” as she accused the Tories and Reform of having no plans for the economy.

But Treasury documents later revealed that a number of Whitehall departments will see their day-to-day budgets fall once inflation into account.

The Home Office faces a 1.7% fall, with the transport budget being reduced by 5% and the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs being cut by 2.7%.

Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: “The crux is that most departments will have larger real-terms budgets at the end of the parliament than the beginning, but in many cases much of that extra cash will have arrived by April.

“Eight departments will actually see cuts to their budget between this year and the end of the parliament.”

Police chiefs warned that the Home Office funding settlement will make it “incredibly difficult” for them to hit the government’s target of recruiting an extra 13,000 frontline officers.

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper accused Reeves of “smoke and mirrors”.

She said: “This spending review was a missed opportunity to repair the damage done by the Conservatives and finally deliver on the promise of change.

“Behind the smoke and mirrors is a potential blackhole for social care as local government budgets remain at breaking point. Putting more money into the NHS without fixing social care is like pouring water into a leaky bucket.”

Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London, also attacked the chancellor, claiming the capital had missed out on much-needed funds.

He said: “I remain concerned that this spending review could result in insufficient funding for the Met and fewer police officers.

“It’s also disappointing that there is no commitment today from the Treasury to invest in the new infrastructure London needs. Projects such as extending the Docklands Light Railway not only deliver economic growth across the country, but also tens of thousands of new affordable homes and jobs for Londoners.

“Unless the government invests in infrastructure like this in our capital, we will not be able to build the numbers of new affordable homes Londoners need.”

Shadow chancellor Mel Stride said the spending review was “not worth the paper that it is written on” and will inevitably lead to taxes going up in the autumn Budget to pay for it.

He said: “This is the spend now, tax later review, because [the chancellor] knows she will need to come back here in the autumn with yet more taxes and a cruel summer of speculation awaits.

“How can we possibly take this chancellor seriously after the chaos of the last 12 months?”

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Putin Ally Can’t Even Explain Own Bizarre Theory About West’s Ongoing Support For Ukraine

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A senior figure within Vladimir Putin’s government has once again been pushing the Kremlin’s conspiracy theories about the West – but this time, she could not even explain the logic behind them.

The Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed the West is “not interested” in its own citizens and instead wants to “escalate” the Ukraine war on Wednesday.

According to Russian state news agency TASS, she said: “They are not interested in the lives of their own people, the development of the economy, solving problems that are on the agenda of both the European continent and the whole world.

“They are interested in the escalation of the conflict and the continued use of the Kyiv regime and Ukraine for their own interests.”

She then added: “But what are these goals? It’s a good question to ask them.

“All this testifies to the aggressive attitude of the western European allies of the Kyiv regime, their maniacal desire to escalate the conflict at any price.”

According to Zakharova, it’s clear that the European Commission’s €150bn rearmament programme is “direct proof” they want to take the war to the next level.

The Kremlin spokesperson is overlooking that the west has actually tried to avoid being drawn directly into conflict with Russia for the last three years.

European allies have been investing and arming Ukraine to try and halt Putin’s land grab encroaching further into the continent.

Russia currently controls 18% of Ukrainian territory and has so far refused to agree to any long-term ceasefire deals.

The war could also end if Putin decided to pull his troops out of Ukraine.

US president Donald Trump has also tried to put pressure on both sides to end the war – even if it means resolving it on Putin’s terms – but Moscow keeps coming up with new conditions for peace.

Despite bombarding Ukraine consistently since invading in February 2022, Putin’s ambassador to the UK also accused Kyiv of intensifying the war last week after Ukraine deployed more than 100 attack drones across Russia.

Speaking to Sky News, Andrei Kelin said this was a “serious escalation” and claimed the UK had helped orchestrate the attack.

Keir Starmer’s spokesperson told reporters: “We’ve been round this a few times this week, we just don’t comment on operational matters.”

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Rachel Reeves Announces £39 Billion Housing Boost As She Vows To ‘Renew’ Britain

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Rachel Reeves will announce plans to spend nearly £40 billion building affordable homes in a bid to solve the UK’s housing crisis.

The chancellor will outline details of the cash boost in the spending review on Wednesday.

It will be seen as a major victory for Angela Rayner, the deputy PM and housing secretary, who has been locked in a battle with the Treasury for more funding for her department.

Under the plans, £39bn will be spent over the next 10 years on a social and affordable homes programme, which works out at £3.9bn a year.

The last five-year programme, which comes to an end in 2026, was worth £11.5bn, or £2.3bn a year.

A government source said: “The government is investing in Britain’s renewal, so working people are better off.

“We’re turning the tide against the unacceptable housing crisis in this country with the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation, delivering on our commitment to get Britain building.”

Reeves will confirm plans to spend billions on new transport links in the north and Midlands, and fund the completion of a new nuclear power station at Sizewell C.

The NHS and Ministry of Defence are expected to be the big winners in the financial settlement, with other departments facing real terms cuts to their budgets as Reeves tries to balance the nation’s books.

The chancellor will tell MPs: “This government is renewing Britain, but I know too many people in too many parts of the country are yet to feel it.

“My task – and the purpose of this Spending Review – is to change that.

“To ensure that renewal is felt in people’s everyday lives, their jobs, their communities.

“So that people can see a doctor when when they need one, know that they are secure at work and feel safe on their local high street.

“The priorities in this Spending Review are the priorities of working people. To invest in our country’s security, health and economy so working people all over our country are better off.

That is what this Spending Review will deliver.”

She will add: “I have made my choices. In place of chaos, I choose stability. In place of decline, I choose investment. In place of retreat, I choose national renewal.

“These are my choices. These are this Government’s choices. These are the British people’s choices.”

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UK Gardeners Urged To Put Garlic In Plant Water ‘Til October

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Though slugs are rarely welcome in a gardener’s backyard, the Royal Horticultural Society have not classified them as “pests” for years now.

That’s partly because less than a quarter of the species in the UK actually eat your plants, while all of the maligned molluscs provide a food source for the UK’s shrinking bird population.

For these reasons, British gardeners have been discouraged from using pellets to deter the critters.

Other methods, like placing a halved orange or melon skin in your garden or conducting torchlit searches at night, can remove them from vulnerable saplings without killing all of them off indiscriminately.

And, as BBC Gardeners’ World writes, a bulb of garlic can help too.

Garlic water can repel slugs

According to the publication, “A home-made garlic spray can be effective in deterring slugs and snails from your plants” if applied regularly.

Allicin, a compound in garlic, both helps to repel and, sometimes, kill slugs and snails, botanist James Wong wrote for The Guardian.

For that reason, he says, you should only apply it to the most vulnerable plants (young seedlings and tender-stemmed plants count).

To make the garlic water concentrate, Gardeners’ World writes, boil one bulb of garlic per litre of water (they did two bulbs and two litres) until they’re soft.

James Wong, meanwhile, recommends blending a bulb of garlic with 1L of water, letting the liquid sit for ten minutes before straining “for the chemical reaction that creates allicin to complete.”

James uses his blitzed, rather than cooked, garlic water as-is, but Gardeners’ World dilutes two tablespoons of their boiled concentrate per 5L of water.

Whichever method you choose, you can spray it on affected plants “just as night begins to fall.”

How much should I apply, and how often?

For targeted slug and snail management, you should apply it “liberally.”

Gardeners’ World says you should spray or water with it once a week or after rain.

Specialist growers Sienna Hosta agree: they say we should water our plants with the stuff once weekly from February ’til October, when slugs are more active.

We should reapply it more often after heavy rainfall.

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UK Government Sanctions Two Israeli Ministers Over ‘Extremist’ Gaza Comments

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The UK government has sanctioned two Israeli ministers for inciting “extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights”.

Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich will be subject to a travel ban and asset freeze under the measures announced by Britain alongside Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway.

The move has been condemned by the Israeli government, which said it was “outrageous”.

Both men belong to right-wing parties which help to prop up Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fragile coalition government.

Smotrich has campaigned against allowing aid into Gaza, and also supported the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law.

Ben-Gvir has called for Gaza’s people to be resettled from the territory.

In a joint statement with the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway, foreign secretary David Lammy said: “We are steadfastly committed to the two-state solution and will continue to work with our partners towards its implementation.

“It is the only way to guarantee security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians and ensure long term stability in the region, but it is imperilled by extremist settler violence and settlement expansion.

“Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights. These actions are not acceptable. This is why we have taken action now – to hold those responsible to account.

“We will strive to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate release of the remaining hostages by Hamas which can have no future role in the governance of Gaza, a surge in aid and a path to a two-state solution.”

A No.10 spokesman said: “These sanctions apply to the individuals in their personal capacities, not their ministries and departments.

“Ben-Gvir and Smotrich do not speak for all Israeli people … and have a long history of dangerous extremist and inflammatory views.

“As the Israeli ambassador to the UK has said in recent interviews, their statements in their ministerial capacities do not even represent government policy.

“Their agenda and actions undermine the interests of Israeli people, including security, many Israelis see this.

“So, today, with our international partners, we have announced measures against those ministers in a personal capacity.”

In a statement, the Israeli government said: “It is outrageous that elected representatives and members of the government are subjected to these kind of measures.”

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Rachel Reeves Agrees To Spend £14 Billion On New Nuclear Plant

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Rachel Reeves has agreed to spend £14 billion of taxpayers’ money on a nuclear plant at Sizewell C.

The chancellor will announce the move, which is part of her spending review, at the GMB Congress on Tuesday.

It is expected to create 10,000 jobs, including 1,500 apprenticeships.

Energy secretary Ed Miliband said the project, which will be the first new nuclear plant to open in the UK since 1995, will help to usher in “a golden age of clean energy abundance”.

Sizewell C was one of eight potential sites for new nuclear plants identified in 2009, when Miliband was last energy secretary.

However, the project was never completed during 14 years of Tory government.

It is expected that the plant will come on stream in the 2030s.

Reeves said the announcement showed that Labour was “investing in Britian’s renewal”.

“We are creating thousands of jobs, kickstarting economic growth and putting more money people’s pockets,” she said.

Miliband said: “We will not accept the status quo of failing to invest in the future and energy insecurity for our country.

“We need new nuclear to deliver a golden age of clean energy abundance, because that is the only way to protect family finances, take back control of our energy, and tackle the climate crisis.

“This is the government’s clean energy mission in action – investing in lower bills and good jobs for energy security.”

The Hinkley Point C nuclear plant, in Somerset, is under construction and is expected to produce enough power for about six million homes when it opens, but that may not be until 2031.

The government is also due to confirm one of Europe’s first small modular reactor programmes and will invest £2.5 billion over five years in fusion energy research as part of plans to boost the UK’s nuclear industry.

GMB regional secretary Warren Kenny said: “Nuclear power is essential for clean, affordable, and reliable energy – without new nuclear, there can be no net zero.

“Sizewell C will provide thousands of good, skilled, unionised jobs and we look forward to working closely with the Government and Sizewell C to help secure a greener future for this country’s energy sector.”

But Alison Downes of the ‘Stop Sizewell C’ group said ministers had not “come clean” about the full cost of the project, which the group have previously estimated could be some £40 billion.

“There still appears to be no final investment decision for Sizewell C, but £14.2 billion in taxpayers’ funding, a decision we condemn and firmly believe the government will come to regret,” she said.

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