Starmer only read China spy witness statements this morning, No 10 says, as Cleverly accuses PM of misquoting him – as it happened

Keir Starmer. Photograph: Thomas Krych/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

6.33pm BST

Early evening summary

• Downing Street will publish three witness statements from the deputy national security adviser that are seen as central to the decision to withdraw spying charges against two British men, Keir Starmer has said. The documents are expected to be released later this evening.

• Rachel Reeves has said tax rises and spending cuts are on the table for this autumn’s budget, as the government aims to tackle a growing shortfall in the public finances which she said was partly due to the lingering impact of Brexit.

• The equalities watchdog has withdrawn interim advice on how institutions should respond to the supreme court ruling on transgender rights, which some campaign groups said could effectively exclude trans people from many public spaces.

For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.

6.28pm BST

The Conservative party have launched an online petition urging the government to “Release the China files”.

The party says it is calling for “the publication of all communications between the government and the CPS, the minutes of all Government meetings discussing the China spy case, and the correspondence and minutes surrounding planning permission for China’s new embassy and Jingye’s financial implications”.

Jingye is the Chinese company that still technically owns British Steel. One allegation is that it has offered to drop a claim for £1bn compensation in return for the UK agreeing to allow the proposed Chinese super-embassy in London to go ahead.

Campaigns like this rarely achieve their political goals. But they do enable political parties to harvest email addresses for people who might be minded to support them.