Starmer ‘completely rejects’ suggestion he echoed Enoch Powell in immigration speech, No 10 says – as it happened

5.10pm BST

Afternoon summary

• Downing Street has robustly defended Keir Starmer’s language on immigration, which has been likened to that used by Enoch Powell, rejecting the direct comparison but saying the prime minister would not “shy away” from direct talk about the subject. YouGov has just released polling suggesting that more than half of people agree with the sentiment Starmer was expressing in his speech yesterday, but 30% don’t think his language was appropriate.

YouGov also found that only 20% of people think the white paper plans will reduce immigration – even though, given that they involve clear plans to restrict access to visas, it is hard to see how they won’t lead to immigration being less high than it otherwise would be. The Home Office says the measures will cut immigration by around 100,000.

• A man has been arrested in connection with a series of suspected arson attacks on property linked to Keir Starmer, Scotland Yard has said.

• Patrick Spencer MP has been charged with sexual assault over alleged incidents at London’s Groucho Club in 2023, the Crown Prosecution Service has said. Spencer was elected as a Conservative, but has now been suspended by the party.

• A duty to provide space for children to play on new developments should be embedded in planning law, MPs and campaigners have said.

• The chair of Thames Water has admitted its finances were “hair raising”, as he said bosses were in line for “substantial” bonuses linked to an emergency £3bn loan.

For a full list of all the stories covered here today, scroll through the key events timeline at the top of the blog.

Updated at 8.35am BST

4.52pm BST

Voters back youth mobility scheme with EU by more than 3 to 1, poll suggests

The Conservative party is using a debate this afternoon to argue that the government should not be seeking closer links with the EU. It claims that a youth mobility scheme would amount to “reintroducing free movement”, and it says that dynamic alignment of regulations would be unacceptable. (See 4.10pm.)

But Best for Britain, which campaigns for closer links with the EU, has released some polling today showing that voters are overwhelmingly in favour of a youth mobility scheme. It also suggests that more than half of the would back the UK aligning with the EU on all rules.

In its summary of the polling, Best for Britain says:

[The poll] reveals public backing for things which are reportedly on the table for negotiations [at next week’s summit] including; aligning with EU animal and plant standards (53% in favour vs 21% opposed), agreeing a new defence pact with the EU (69% vs 13%), a youth mobility scheme (63% vs 17%) and sharing access to fishing waters (43% vs 33%).

However, the data shows that the public are happy for the government to go even further in pursuit of a better trading relationship with our closest neighbours. Remarkably, a majority of voters (52%) would be open to aligning with all EU rules on goods and products with only a quarter opposed (25%) while seven in ten (71%) are open to the idea of an EU-UK common approach to customs regulation compared to one in ten (11%) who are not.

Commenting on the findings, Naomi Smith, Best for Britain’s chief executive, said:

Trade is about trade offs and this polling shows the British people understand that. They support the government being more ambitious in securing a common sense deal with the EU that removes technical barriers to trade which can bring down prices and boost growth across the UK.