Starmer says talks with Gulf leaders have reinforced sense Iran war ceasefire is ‘fragile’ – as it happened

Keir Starmer after a meeting with the president of United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Photograph: Omar Al Askar/UAE Presidential Court/Reuters

5.45pm BST

Afternoon summary

• Keir Starmer has said his talks with Gulf leaders in the Middle East have reinforced his belief that the Iran war ceasefire is ‘fragile”. (See 5.29pm.)

• A British warship and aircraft tracked and monitored Russian submarines trying to survey vital undersea infrastructure in the North Atlantic, ensuring they fled the area, the defence secretary, John Healey, has said.

• Zack Polanski has called on the government to tear up the UK-Israel trade agreement after the Israeli strikes on Lebanon.

• Plaid Cymru’s leader has promised “no more bending to Westminster’s will” as the nationalist party stands on the brink of taking office for the first time in next month’s Senedd elections.

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.

5.40pm BST

At the Green party’s campaign launch this morning Zack Polanski, the party leader, focused on housing. In a report for the New Statesman, Megan Kenyon says this is because the party has concluded this is a key issue driving voters away from Labour. She says:

According to an internal memo shared by party officials with on-the-ground campaigners and seen by the New Statesman, one of the main issues identified as driving voters away from Labour is affordable housing. This, according to internal feedback gathered through canvassing and outreach, is compounded by a perception among some voters that Labour councils are more interested in striking “deals with developers” than delivering for residents.

The Green party plans to adjust its attack lines on the capital’s doorsteps accordingly. The memo urges canvassers to prioritise one “focused message” on their rounds: that “failing Labour councils” are in “hock to developers”. The Greens also point to reporting in the i newspaper that Steve Reed attended a dinner with housing developers who had paid to attend, as part of this critique.