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Portrait of the week: Spring statement, weapons for Ukraine and no more free-range eggs

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Britain had provided Ukraine with more than 4,000 Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapons, the Ministry of Defence said. Shell reconsidered its decision to pull out of investing in the large Cambo oil field, 75 miles off the west coast of Shetland. The government was expected to put into special administration Gazprom Marketing & Trading Retail Ltd, with which several councils have contracts to buy gas, though it does not come from Russia. Among those seeking to buy Chelsea Football Club, on sale after the sanctioning of its owner Roman Abramovich, a group called the True Blue Consortium was given support by John Terry. On one day, 213 non-Ukrainian migrants arrived in Britain after setting out in small boats from France, and 394 the next day, bringing the total for 2022 to 3,838.

Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said in his spring statement that he would ‘stand by’ families anxious at the soaring cost of living. But he noted the rise in the cost of public borrowing. National Insurance would increase as planned but the threshold to pay it would rise by £3,000. Fuel duty would be cut by 5p a litre. The annual rate of inflation had increased to 6.2 per cent. The Bank of England had raised interest rates to 0.75 per cent. The Chancellor said ‘We stand with Ukraine’, but he warned: ‘The steps we have taken to sanction Russia are not going to be cost-free.’ Growth was predicted by the OBR to be 3.8 per cent this year. The government said it was taking legal action against P&O Ferries, which had sacked 800 workers and bussed in cheaper foreign crew; P&O denied it had broken the law, as the ships are registered abroad.

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