Nigel Farage paid £189,000 for part-time job as ‘brand ambassador’ for gold bullion firm– as it happened

Nigel Farage on LBC on 7 January. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

6.05pm GMT

Early evening summary

• Donald Trump has described Elon Musk as a “smart guy” and played down the significance of Musk’s scathing online comments about Keir Starmer. (See 5.54pm.)

• Tories have privately accused Robert Jenrick of stoking divisions to fuel his own leadership ambitions, as community groups condemned the shadow justice secretary for describing Britons of Pakistani origin as “people from alien cultures”. The Liberal Democrats have said Jenrick should be sacked from the shadow cabinet for his comments.

• There should be no more inquiries into grooming gangs because it would further delay action by government, the former chair of an inquiry into child sexual abuse in England and Wales has said.

• Angela Rayner, the deputy PM and housing secretary, has said the government’s target for 1.5m new homes would only leave “a dent” in the country’s housing need. Speaking to the Commons housing committee, Rayner said:

Even if I achieve and this government achieves the 1.5m homes target, it is a dent. It is a dent in what we need to achieve as a whole country to deliver the houses we desperately need.

• Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has been paid £189,000 for a part-time job as a “brand ambassador” for a gold bullion firm, it has emerged today. (See 4pm.)

• Ketamine, the anaesthetic taken by Elon Musk to control his moods, could be reclassified as a class A drug by the Home Office after illegal use reached record levels last year.

5.54pm GMT

Trump defends Elon Musk as 'smart guy' and plays down significance of his online attacks on Starmer and others

Donald Trump has played down the significance of Elon Musk’s comments about Keir Starmer, the BBC’s Faisal Islam reports.

Trump asked about Elon Musk’s “provocative statements” about Europe… “Elons a smart guy… he said some negative things about a couple of people, not si unusual” - avoids endorsing or repeating anything Musk said re UK.

Trump is speaking at a press conference. Chris Stein has more coverage on our US politics blog.