内容摘要：Conservative mayor of Tees Valley Ben Houchen said Labour's decision meant projects in his area had been delayed by a year which was "frustrating" but added that he was "absolutely delighted" the funding had now been given the go ahead.

Conservative mayor of Tees Valley Ben Houchen said Labour's decision meant projects in his area had been delayed by a year which was "frustrating" but added that he was "absolutely delighted" the funding had now been given the go ahead.

The company had been going in various guises for 35 years. "We didn't want it to go to rust. I expect the administrator will look for a buyer for the intellectual property assets," Mr Dissel adds.Other former employees also hold out for a phoenix rising from the ashes. But the Valley of Death looms large.

"Reaction Engines was playing at the very edge of what was possible. We were working for the fastest engines and highest temperatures. We bit off the hard job," says Mr Dissel.Despite all this Mr Varvill's own epitaph for the business overshadows technological milestones. "We failed because we ran out of money."A West Yorkshire art gallery is attempting to raise sufficient funds to purchase a Dame Barbara Hepworth sculpture "for the nation".

The Hepworth Wakefield wants to buy Sculpture With Colour (Oval Form) Pale Blue And Red, created in the 1940s, in order for it to go on permanent public display.The oval-shaped piece, which sold for more than £3.5m in 2024, was later given a

preventing it from leaving the country - providing a UK gallery the chance to acquire it.

The Art Fund charity has offered £750,000 towards the cost, however a further £2.9m is required before a 27 August deadline.Sources familiar with the visit suggested several topics that could dominate the conversation.

Of these, tariffs would be among the most pressing, particularly after Trump doubled import taxes on steel and aluminium this week, prompting warnings of EU countermeasures.The US President also repeatedly expressed dismay with the speed of tariff negotiations with the EU. In May, he threatened to levy a 50% tariff on European goods, saying that it was "time that we play the game the way I know how to play the game".

Trump later backtracked and delayed the tariffs until 9 July, a move that his US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer characterised as having a "fire lit" under the EU.Germany is the EU's largest exporter to the US, leaving the country's businesses extremely agitated about any trade obstacles.