Starmer ‘very interested’ in Italy’s plan to offshore asylum applications in Albania, says Meloni – as it happened

Keir Starmer and Giorgia Meloni at a press conference in Rome Photograph: Andrew Medichini/AP

6.01pm BST

Early evening summary

• Keir Starmer is “very interested” in the Italy-Albania migration deal, the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said, as the UK vowed to send the nation £4million to support its controversial crackdown on illegal migration. As Aletha Adu reports, while the prime minister agreed with Meloni, stressing how important their deep relationship was, Starmer indicated that he was more interested in Italy’s strategy stopping migrants from reaching the country than its Albania deal, which Meloni said is a few weeks away from completion. The pair however, put migration at the top of their discussions, which also included topics around economic growth on Tuesday, before they were photographed joking and smiling through the gardens of the Villa Doria Pamphilj in Rome. The millions of pounds the UK will send to Italy will contribute to the Rome process, which is the Italian government’s project to tackle the root causes of irregular migration.

• Keir Starmer should drop the pursuit of Italy’s “costly and ultimately ineffective” migration deterrence policies if the UK is to put an end to people dying in the Channel, a global charity led by David Miliband has warned.

• A doctor from Pakistan who feared he would have to leave his job at a GP surgery in east London is celebrating after a Home Office U-turn over a decision that would have separated him from his family.

• Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, has avoided saying whether he views his party as more leftwing or rightwing than Labour. (See 3.39pm.) In interview before he wraps up the Lib Dem conference with his big speech tomorrow, Davey also said he wanted his party to be a better opposition to Labour than the Tories are. (See 5.15pm.)

• Leading economists have said Labour will fail to bring in ‘decade of renewal’ unless Treasury fiscal rules are loosened to allow more investment. (See 12.29pm.)

Updated at 6.01pm BST

5.48pm BST

Lib Dems renew their commitment to PR and electoral reform

The Liberal Democrats voted for an updated version of their PR/electoral reform policy at conference this morning. There is a summary here, and the full motion that was approved is here.

The Lib Dems summarise the policy like this:

Liberal Democrats have a comprehensive plan to build a better politics, starting with a fair voting system so no one’s vote is wasted:

-Replace first past the post with proportional representation via STV for UK General Elections and local elections in England.

-Ensure that the UK has an automatic system of inclusion on the electoral register.

-Protect and strengthen the Electoral Commission, including by repealing the Government’s power to designate a strategy and policy statement for the Commission.

-Scrap the Conservatives’ Voter ID scheme.

-Enable all UK citizens living abroad to vote for MPs in separate overseas constituencies, and to participate in UK referendums.

-Give young people the right to vote in the first election after their 16th birthday, for UK general elections and referendums, and local elections in England.

There is a full list of the conference motions passed today on the @LibDemConf feed on X. Wordings for the motions are in the conference agenda.