Summary
Here’s a roundup of the key developments form the day:
Keir Starmer has met Muslim Labour MPs as he attempted to see off a backlash over his position on Israel and Gaza. Labour sources described the meeting, which was attended by around a dozen MPs, including at least one frontbencher, as “constructive”.
More than 150 Muslim Labour councillors have urged Starmer and Angela Rayner to back an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, with his comments also sparking resignations from councillors. In a letter, the councillors said the leadership had to work to end the “humanitarian disaster”.
Rishi Sunak has called for pauses to the fighting in Gaza to allow humanitarian aid to safely reach those without food, water or medicine. Though he expressly avoided backing the suggestion of a total ceasefire, the British prime minister said he recognised there needed to be a “safer environment” for aid agencies to help Palestinians.
During PMQs, Starmer said the prime minister had “crumbled to landlords on his own backbenches” and ditched the policy of banning no-fault evictions “despite his government’s pledge”. Referring to Andrew Cooper, the Conservative candidate for Tamworth, who said that people should “fuck off” if they were struggling with rising costs, Starmer said the British people wanted a chance to return the compliment to the government.
Sunak said that there was “still work to be done” as he marked his first anniversary in No 10, and appeared to signal plans for another 12 months in power. Downing Street also released a slickly produced video for the occasion, which appeared to indicate that Sunak is in no hurry to call a general election.
A spokesperson for Lindsay Hoyle said the Commons speaker was seeking procedural advice amid contempt of parliament concerns over a BBC interview with the alleged complainant of Peter Bone.
Starmer has been accused of having “gravely misrepresented” a meeting with Muslim leaders in Wales, amid anger among some in Labour over his remarks on the Israel-Hamas conflict. The leaders said they directly challenged the Labour leader on his statements about the Israeli government’s right to cut food, electricity and water to Gaza and his failure to call for an immediate ceasefire.
Sunak has rejected comments by the UN secretary general, António Guterres, on the Hamas attack on Israel, amid a diplomatic storm about the remarks. The prime minister is not, however, calling on the UN chief to resign, as called for by Israel’s UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan.
The immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, appeared to suggest that he thought UK visa-holders should be expelled for inciting antisemitism even if their conduct fell “below the criminal standard”. It comes after he told the Commons on Tuesday that the process of revoking visas and expelling foreign nationals who spread “hate and division” had already begun “in a small number of cases”.
Mandating ethnicity pay gap reporting would be “absolutely wrong”, Kemi Badenoch has told the Commons. The equalities minister said ethnicity pay gaps could not be measured in the same way as gender pay gaps, but said guidance was available for those employers who wished to undertake the practice.
The former cabinet minister Brandon Lewis has taken a six-figure job advising a company part-owned by two Russian oligarchs under sanctions. Lewis, a former justice secretary and ex-chair of the Conservative party, was given approval to take up the position at LetterOne, which is 49% owned by Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven.
We are closing this liveblog shortly. Thanks so much for joining us.
Our blog on the Israel-Hamas war is still live:
Updated
A spokesperson for Lindsay Hoyle said the Commons speaker was seeking procedural advice rather than legal advice amid contempt of parliament concerns over a BBC interview with the alleged complainant of Peter Bone.
Deputy speaker Roger Gale had told MPs that “legal advice is being sought” by Hoyle on the matter.
The speaker’s spokesperson said Hoyle should have said “procedural advice” and Hansard would be corrected to reflect this.
Updated
Scotland’s first minister has asked how many more children have to die in Gaza before the prime minister and Labour leader call for a ceasefire.
Humza Yousaf, whose in-laws became trapped in the territory after travelling to visit relatives, said he did not understand the stances of Rishi Sunak or Keir Starmer, both of whom have stopped short of calling for an end to fighting to allow civilians to leave and aid to enter.
I can not understand the PM's position, or Keir Starmer's unwillingness to call on all parties to commit to an immediate ceasefire.
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) October 25, 2023
How many more children have to die? #CeasefireNOW https://t.co/ASx89hzITh
Updated
Former Tory health secretary Andrew Lansley has suggested Rishi Sunak should sack Jeremy Hunt in the next reshuffle in an interview with Sky’s Sophy Ridge.
Speaking on the Sky News Daily podcast, Lansley said the prime minister needed to be “brutal” in his reshuffle.
Asked if he thought the prime minister should get rid of Hunt as chancellor, Lansley said he and the chancellor had “always been good friends” but added from Sunak’s perspective “it’s quite difficult to demonstrate change without change. Let’s just put it like that.”
If necessary, Sunak needed to be “ruthless”, he said, adding:
What has he got to lose now?
There’s always that opportunity to communicate about who you are, but also to demonstrate that you’re changing the Conservative party.
So it’s quite difficult to demonstrate change without change. So let’s just put it like that.
Updated
More than 150 Muslim Labour councillors have urged Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner to back an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, with his comments also sparking resignations from councillors.
In a letter, the councillors said the leadership had to work to end the “humanitarian disaster”.
In the letter, published in full by Labour List, they wrote that every day Labour does not back a ceasefire, “Gazan children and hundreds of innocent men and women pay the price”, adding:
As a party that bases its principles on fairness and justice, we can not sit idly by as Palestinian’s face collective punishment.
The group called it an “unprecedented letter of unity from Muslim Labour representatives”, which shows the “strength of feeling throughout the nation and in our communities”.
They wrote:
As Labour councillors elected to serve our constituents, the message we have been hearing repeatedly over the past two weeks is simple, people just want to end the bloodshed and the loss of innocent life.
No nation, no people or community should have to endure collective punishment and the same should be the case for the Palestinian people.
Starmer holds ‘constructive’ meeting with MPs over party’s position on Israel and Gaza
Keir Starmer has met Muslim Labour MPs as he sought to see off a backlash over his on position on Israel and Gaza.
Labour sources described the meeting, which was attended by around a dozen MPs including at least one frontbencher, as “constructive” but it comes amid growing anger among the grassroots and some in the parliamentary party over comments made by Starmer on the escalating conflict, PA news reports.
In an interview with LBC after Hamas’s October 7 atrocity, Starmer suggested that Israel has the “right” to cut off power and water from Gaza.
But acknowledging the “distress” caused by the remarks, he subsequently sought to clarify his position, arguing that he did not mean to back the siege on more than 2 million Palestinians.
In a statement issued after Wednesday’s meeting, Starmer said that Labour backed calls – including by the US and by the prime minister, Rishi Sunak – for humanitarian pauses amid international concern about the fate of Palestinian civilians facing Israeli bombardment.
It is understood that Manchester MP Afzal Khan, the parliamentary chair of the Labour Muslim Network, was among those at the meeting. Labour had sought to downplay the gathering as an informal one between Starmer and the MPs.
Updated
The former cabinet minister Brandon Lewis has taken a six-figure job advising a company part-owned by two sanctioned Russian oligarchs.
Lewis, a former justice secretary and ex-chair of the Conservative party, was given approval to take up the position at LetterOne, which is 49% owned by Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven.
However, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), which regulates post-government jobs, imposed conditions that prevent Lewis lobbying the government on LetterOne’s behalf for two years from his last day in office.
It also said that Lewis must have no involvement in a judicial review brought against the government by LetterOne, which is challenging a decision to require it to sell a fibre business called Upp, citing a “risk to national security”.
Lewis already has a number of other jobs paying him £150,000 a year in total, as well as being a backbench MP. He is paid £60,000 a year to work for Thakeham Homes, another £60,000 a year to work for FM Conway, a transport company, and £30,000 a year to advise Civitas Investment Management.
Read more here:
Rishi Sunak has called for pauses to the fighting in Gaza to allow humanitarian aid to safely reach those without food, water or medicine.
Though he expressly avoided backing the suggestion of a total ceasefire, the British prime minister said he recognised there needed to be a “safer environment” for aid agencies to help Palestinians.
It came as MPs discussed events in the Middle East, with one Labour backbencher accusing Israel of levying “collective punishment” on civilians for “crimes they did not commit”.
Sunak told the Commons on Wednesday that “the first and most important principle is that Israel has the right to defend itself under international law”.
He said the government wanted Hamas to release hostages, help Britons leave Gaza and ensure humanitarian aid could make it to those in need.
“We recognise for all of that to happen, there has to be a safer environment, which of course necessitates specific pauses – as distinct from a ceasefire,” Sunak said at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday.
The UK had “discussed this with partners” on Tuesday evening at the UN, he said.
According to Reuters, the US has been pushing for shorter breaks in the fighting – known as specific pauses – while Russia advocated at the UN for a complete ceasefire.
Sunak said Israel had suffered “a shockingly brutal” attack and Hamas was “responsible for this conflict”, adding that the group “cruelly embeds itself” among civilians.
An RAF flight left the UK on Wednesday morning for Egypt, carrying 21 tonnes of aid for Gaza, including more than 75,000 medical kits, solar lights, and water filters, the prime minister revealed.
Read more here:
The PA news agency is reporting that the Commons speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, is seeking legal advice amid contempt of parliament concerns over a BBC interview with the alleged complainant of Conservative MP Peter Bone.
Former cabinet minister Liam Fox highlighted the story and said:
This is not in any way to judge the rights or wrongs of this but merely the principles of natural justice first, from an anonymous briefing, against a named member of parliament, on a day that the BBC accepted MPs would be voting upon it.
What I would like to know from you is whether this is an undue attempt to influence members of parliament on the day of a vote which should be our business in this house, and indeed whether it’s an attempt to manipulate members of parliament.
This doesn’t just relate to this case, this relates to any case that we may have to consider in the future and I would like to ask you to ask Mr Speaker - who has always defended the rights of this house - whether he will take legal advice on whether this particular report today constitutes a contempt for the house?
Deputy speaker Sir Roger Gale replied:
I’m not in a position to answer the specific question that he raises but I do know the director general of the British Broadcasting Corporation will be in this building later today and if Mr Speaker chooses to ask to see him, I imagine he will make himself available.
I also know that Mr Speaker takes this very seriously indeed and that legal advice is being sought.
Updated
Summary
Here’s a roundup of the key developments of the day so far:
During PMQs, Keir Starmer said the prime minister had “crumbled to landlords on his own backbenches” and ditched the policy of banning no-fault evictions “despite his government’s pledge”. Referring to Andrew Cooper, the Conservative candidate for Tamworth, who said that people should “fuck off” if they were struggling with rising costs, Starmer said the British people wanted a chance to return the compliment to the government.
Rishi Sunak has said that there was “still work to be done” as he marked his first anniversary in No 10, and appeared to signal plans for another 12 months in power. Downing Street also released a slickly produced video to mark the occasion, which appeared to indicate that Sunak is in no hurry to call a general election.
Starmer met some of Labour’s Muslim MPs and peers, amid a backlash over his position on Gaza and Israel. About 12 Labour parliamentarians were believed to be in attendance, including at least one frontbencher. Keir Starmer is resisting calls from some in his party for a ceasefire in the Hamas-Israel conflict.
Starmer has been accused of having “gravely misrepresented” a meeting with Muslim leaders in Wales, amid anger among some in Labour over his remarks on the Israel-Hamas conflict. The leaders said they directly challenged Starmer on his statements about the Israeli government’s right to cut food, electricity and water to Gaza and his failure to call for an immediate ceasefire.
Sunak has rejected comments by the UN secretary general, António Guterres, on the Hamas attack on Israel, amid a diplomatic storm about the remarks. The prime minister is not, however, calling on the UN chief to resign, as called for by Israel’s UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan.
The immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, appeared to suggest that he thought UK visa-holders should be expelled for inciting antisemitism even if their conduct fell “below the criminal standard”. It comes after he told the Commons on Tuesday that the process of revoking visas and expelling foreign nationals who spread “hate and division” had already begun “in a small number of cases”.
Mandating ethnicity pay gap reporting would be “absolutely wrong”, Kemi Badenoch has told the Commons. The equalities minister said ethnicity pay gaps could not be measured in the same way as gender pay gaps, but said guidance was available for those employers who wished to undertake the practice.
Updated
Mandating ethnicity pay gap reporting would be “absolutely wrong”, Kemi Badenoch has told the Commons.
The equalities minister said ethnicity pay gaps cannot be measured in the same way as gender pay gaps, but said guidance was available for those employers who wished to undertake the practice, PA news reports.
And she rebuffed the SNP’s calls to mandate ethnicity pay gap reporting or devolve the powers to do so.
The SNP equalities spokesperson Kirsten Oswald told the Commons:
The UK government’s Inclusive Britain update report acknowledges the value of measuring the ethnicity pay gap, they have published guidance for employers noting that employers can use ethnicity pay gap calculations to consider evidence-based actions to address any unfair disparities.
But despite that, the UK government won’t legislate to mandate reporting.
So since employment law is a reserved matter, will the minister urge her government to do the right thing and mandate ethnicity pay gap reporting, or urge devolution of employment law to Scotland so the Scottish government can?
Badenoch responded:
Absolutely not. This is something that we will not be devolving and it absolutely should not be mandatory. Ethnicity pay gaps cannot be measured in the same way as gender pay gaps.
She added:
You can measure a pay gap where a population is binary male and female, you cannot do that across a broad spectrum of ethnicity.
We have published guidance for those employers who want to do so, but it would be absolutely wrong to mandate it.
Updated
A spokesperson for the Labour leader was asked about a question to the prime minister, during PMQs, by the frontbencher Yasmin Qureshi.
The shadow minister for women and equalities asked:
This is collective punishment of the Palestinian people in Gaza, for crimes they did not commit.
How many more innocent Palestinians must die before this prime minister calls for humanitarian ceasefire?
The spokesperson did not comment on whether Qureshi would be disciplined, with her question appearing to diverge from the position of the Labour leader.
Asked if Keir Starmer had confidence in her, the spokesperson said:
If I heard the question correctly, what Yasmin Qureshi was asking the prime minister was, she was asking the prime minister what were the conditions that would lead the prime minister to support a ceasefire. And that was the question she was asking.
Updated
Keir Starmer is continuing to resist calls from some in his party for a ceasefire in the Hamas-Israel conflict.
But the Labour leader has moved to back calls, including from the prime minister, for a move to humanitarian pauses in a bid to protect civilians.
A spokesperson for Starmer said:
We have said throughout that we would support any initiative to get more aid in and help get hostages out. We saw that Antony Blinken said last night that humanitarian pauses must be considered, that seems to be something that Downing Street is now echoing and we would obviously full support that position.
Asked about calls for a complete ceasefire, the spokesperson said:
We fully recognise that Israel has a right to defend itself, to go after the hostages and to act in accordance with humanitarian law in that process.
What we have also said is that we need to ensure that there is protection of civilian life, that we ensure all necessary aid supplies can get into Gaza and reach people who need them, and that continues to be our position.
Updated
Key event
Keir Starmer is currently meeting some of Labour’s Muslim MPs and peers, amid a backlash over his position on Gaza and Israel.
About 12 Labour parliamentarians are believed to be in attendance, including at least one frontbencher, PA news reports.
Some of them want to see Starmer call for a ceasefire – something he has not done.
A spokesperson for the Labour leader said:
We fully recognise that this is a very difficult time for a lot of people, there are strong feelings on all sides of the debate here and it is important that he takes the time to sit down and listen to people from all points of view, which he has sought to do throughout this process.
Updated
Rishi Sunak has said that there is “still work to be done” as he marked his first anniversary in Number 10, as he appeared to signal plans for another 12 months in power.
The prime minister and his allies used the one-year milestone to point to administration’s achievements since taking over from the fleeting Liz Truss premiership, PA News reports.
But the mood remains gloomy among the wider Tory party after a string of bruising byelection defeats and polling that places the Conservatives well behind Keir Starmer’s Labour.
In a statement published on Wednesday, Sunak said:
As I mark one year as prime minister, there are many moments that fill me with pride.
When I spoke about my priorities in January, I knew they were going to be tough targets to meet, but I made them because they’re what’s right for this country, its economy and its people.
And it’s why over the last 12 months we’ve been committed to meeting them - building a better, brighter future for all of us.
Downing Street also released a slickly produced video to mark the occasion, which appeared to signal that Sunak is in no hurry to call a general election.
A general election is due to be held before January 2025, with speculation over when the Tory leader will decide to go to the country. Recent polling has suggested that voters want an election sooner rather than later, with Labour overwhelmingly seen as the favourites to form the next government.
The 46-second video, published on the Downing Street YouTube channel, offers a rapid run through of Sunak’s policy priorities over the last 12 months.
It asks viewers:
So what can a country achieve in 52 weeks? Watch this space.
Downing Street said there is “no election date confirmed” when asked if Sunak was eyeing autumn next year.
Updated
Downing Street has argued that a ceasefire would only benefit Hamas as Rishi Sunak advocated for limited pauses to allow in aid.
The prime minister’s official spokesperson said:
A wholesale ceasefire would only serve to benefit Hamas.
Humanitarian pauses, which are temporary, which are limited in scope, can be an operational tool.
Updated
The National Farmers’ Union has taken aim at Labour for pledging to end the controversial badger cull.
In an interview with the Guardian, published last week, shadow farming minister Daniel Zeichner said he would eradicate bovine tuberculosis (bTB) without culling badgers.
NFU deputy president Tom Bradshaw said of the cull:
This is a strategy that is working which is why we were so concerned to hear reports that Shadow Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner says a Labour government will not include culling within its strategy to make England bTB free.
Bovine TB should not be a political issue; it is a disease that affects the lives of farming families and their cattle herds on a day-to-day basis. We have a joint ambition with government to be bTB free in England by 2038, and we must keep the policies in place to combat this disease, following the current science-led and successful strategy that shows wildlife control is working to significantly reduce bTB in cattle.
The Labour Party is being heavily lobbied by farming and landowner groups over it rural policy, and the Guardian revealed today that it has U Turned on a promise to grant a right to roam across the countryside in England after pressure from rural bodies.
Rishi Sunak has rejected comments by the UN secretary general, António Guterres, on the Hamas attack on Israel, amid a diplomatic storm about the remarks.
The prime minister is not however calling on the UN chief to resign, as called for by Israel’s UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan.
The prime minister’s official spokesperson said:
Obviously we don’t agree with that characterisation put forward. We are clear that there is and can be no justification for Hamas’ barbaric terrorist attack which was driven by hatred and ideology.
Guterres told a United Nations security council meeting in New York that it was important to recognise that “the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum”.
The spokesperson said that the UN a “as a body will continue to play an important role.... and that is supported by the UK government”.
Updated
Conservative MP Peter Aldous asked about the “ongoing national crisis” in NHS dentistry.
He asked when a plan on the issue will be published which will ensure that funds are ringfenced to deal with emergencies and to help clear the backlog.
Rishi Sunak replied saying that the government is investing £3bn into NHS dentistry, and says the dental recovery plan will be released soon, which will include action “to incentivise dentists to deliver even more NHS care”.
Labour’s Yasmin Qureshi says she has received an email from a constituent with family in Gaza. As she reads it out, the Commons falls silent.
The email reads:
My heart can’t handle this anymore. We are being massacred. Relentlessly bombed. Homes are being destroyed. No water. No food. No electricity.
Qureshi puts it to Rishi Sunak:
This is collective punishment of the Palestinian people in Gaza for crimes they did not commit. How many more innocent Palestinians must die before this PM calls for a humanitarian ceasefire?
Qureshi says the lives of 130 babies in incubators in Gaza are in danger if fuel doesn’t reach their hospital in time.
Sunak replies, saying he welcomes unity across the dispatch boxes “on Israel’s right to defend itself”, but “it’s also clear we must support the Palestinian people, they are victims of Hamas too” and “we mourn the loss of every innocent life”.
He adds that his government is “working as hard as we can to get aid into Gaza”.
Updated
Nottingham South Labour MP Lilian Greenwood asked about Rishi Sunak not giving his WhatsApp messages to the Covid Inquiry.
She made a dig at the prime minister, saying that “despite being a self-described tech bro”, he has “been unable to locate and provide his WhatsApp messages to the inquiry”.
Does he agree that devices should be handed over to experts to retrieve this information?
Ignoring the direct question, Sunak replied saying he was looking forward to giving evidence at the inquiry later this year and said he and the government have “fully cooperated” with the inquiry.
Updated
Here’s more detailed quotes from an exchange between Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak.
Referring to Andrew Cooper, the Conservative candidate for Tamworth, who said that people should “fuck off” if they are struggling with rising costs, Starmer said the British people wanted a chance to return the compliment to a government.
In his final question to the prime minister, the Labour leader said:
Across our country, the British people are rolling up their sleeves and getting on with it, doing their best in the face of a punishing cost-of-living crisis and a government that has abandoned them.
Abandoned renters at risk of being kicked out, abandoned mortgage-payers struggling to make ends meet, abandoned those who dream of owning their own house.
The truth is his candidate in Tamworth summed up perfectly just how his and his Tories are treating the British public. So will he just call a general election and give the British public the chance to respond as they did in Selby, Mid Beds and Tamworth?
They have heard the government telling them to ‘eff off’ and they want the chance to return the compliment.
Rishi Sunak replied:
As we saw with his recent decisions on actually building new houses, politicians like him always take the easy way out. We are getting on making the right long-term decisions to change this country for the better, on net zero, on HS2 on a smoke-free generation, on education and energy security.
Contrast that to his leadership: too cautious to say anything and hope that nobody notices. Let me tell him, come that general election the British people will.
Updated
Grahame Morris, the Labour MP for Easington, asked when Rishi Sunak will call a general election, saying he hasn’t united the country.
He says:
It’s a year ago now that the prime minister promised to unite our country, not with words but with actions.
The MP says Sunak has “not delivered” in his constituency in County Durham.
Those in the region are concerned about the lack of police officers, see sewage being dumped without prosecution and have witnessed a lack of levelling up, he claims.
He says:
When will the prime minister call a general election and let Labour rise to the task?
Sunak responds that there have been “significant reductions” in antisocial behaviour.
Updated
The leader of the Social Democratic and Labour party, Colum Eastwood, says the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland came about because of a realisation that people could not use violence to achieve revenge or political aims.
He says:
The heart of that agreement was a realisation that we could not use violence as a tool for revenge or to achieve our political aims.
He points out that 1,400 Israelis and nearly 6,000 Palestinians are dead.
When will the prime minister say enough is enough?
Sunak repeats his previous statement that Israel has the right to defend itself under international law and that they are working hard on getting more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
As I made clear on Monday, we doubled down on our efforts to find a better future for the Palestinian people.
It’s been a feature of all our diplomacy in the region. And we will continue to give it all our efforts.
Updated
The SNP’s Mhairi Black follows up her question.
She says:
The growing calls for a ceasefire are also about calming the situation in the broader region …
If we ignore this, we risk putting petrol on a fire in a place that only requires a spark to ignite.
Sunak responds by saying that Israel suffered “a shockingly brutal attack” and has the right to protect itself.
He adds that UK is sending aid to the region.
Updated
The SNP’s deputy leader Mhairi Black asked Rishi Sunak if he will back a ceasefire in Gaza.
Hospitals in Gaza will run out of fuel to keep their electricity going tonight, she says, adding that the UK has a “human responsibility to Gaza”.
She says:
We have a particular responsibility for UK citizens, some of whom are in those hospitals.
There’s no food, no water, no medicine, and no way out.
So I want to ask the prime minister how much worse does the situation have to get before he will join us in calls for humanitarian ceasefire?
Sunak says the “most important principle” is Israel’s right to defend itself, although he also wants British nationals to be able to leave Gaza.
He acknowledges that for this to happen, there has to be a safer environment – which “necessitates specific pauses, as distinct from a ceasefire”.
This was discussed last night at the UN, Sunak says.
Starmer raises the case of a family whose mortgage went up by a quarter after “16 years of dutifully playing their mortgage”.
He says they are now having to choose between buying new shoes for her son or putting heating on “all because his party crashed the economy, pushing mortgage rates to their highest levels in decades”.
He accuses Sunak of telling people “exactly where to go”.
The prime minister says Starmer keeps talking about the mini budget:
I will just point out he did actually support 95% of the things in that mini budget.
He’s still ignoring the fact that rising interest rates are a global challenge.
Updated
Starmer says Sunak has 'crumbled to landlords' by ditching no-fault evictions policy
Keir Starmer says the prime minister has “crumbled to landlords on his own backbenches” and ditched the policy of banning no-fault evictions “despite his government’s pledge”.
Referring to a a constituent called Annalisa, who along with her two children was evicted through a section 21 order, he says: “What message does that send her?”
Avoiding discussing the matter of no-fault evictions, Rishi Sunak says he has taken “significant action” for renters including capping holding deposits, ending rip off tenancy fees and delivering affordable homes.
He says:
This government is delivering for renters and is trying to ensure a new generations can buy their own home.
He asks Starmer to explain why Labour opposed moves to scrap EU-era rules on “nutrient neutrality” to allow 100,000 new homes to be built but is reminded by Lindsay Hoyle that it is prime minister’s question time, “it’s not opposition questions”.
Starmer replied:
I am sure Annalisa will take great comfort in that non-answer.
Updated
Referring to a comment by the Conservative candidate for Tamworth, who said that people should “fuck off” if they are struggling with rising costs, Keir Starmer says Rishi Sunak can’t distance himself from these “appalling comments”.
He asks:
Where did he get the idea that throwing expletives at struggling families was his government’s official position?
Keir Starmer is in high spirits as he welcomes the new MPs who each won their byelections last week.
Sunak also welcomes the new MPs and to big laughs and jeers, he makes a jab at Nadine Dorries:
I join him and welcoming the new members to, after all, I suspect the new members from the base may actually support me a bit more than the last one.
He added:
Although, I did notice that the new member said that they will be opposing new housing in their local area while the new member for Tamworth said they would protect green spaces.
He suggests the new MPs might not understand Labour’s policy on housing and said:
But with his track record of U-turns, who knows what his housing policy will be next week.
Updated
Rishi Sunak will be taking PMQs shortly. It will be his first prime minister’s questions with Keir Starmer since his visit to Israel and the Middle East.
Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
Rishi Sunak has today reached his first anniversary of becoming prime minister.
The Tory chair, Greg Hands, praised the prime minister, while acknowledging that there is “more to do”.
He said:
When Rishi Sunak became prime minister a year ago today, he took immediate action to support families with the cost of living, paying half their energy bills. Since then we have made good progress towards halving inflation, growing the economy, reducing debt, cutting NHS waiting lists, and stopping the boats.
He added:
But for the last 30 years, the prime minister recognises that there has been too much short-term political decision making, politicians taking the easy way out, ducking the hard choices, rather than fixing the underlying problems.
The prime minister has proven he is the only person who is determined to change that.
Sunak won’t be celebrating the anniversary, however.
The prime minister’s spokesperson told Sky News that Sunak “is more focused on the continual delivery for the public rather than marking an anniversary”.
Updated
Asylum seekers moved out of hotels who then seek council help for homelessness could end up in temporary accommodation - including hotels – the organisation representing local authorities has warned, PA News reports.
The Local Government Association (LGA) said the number of asylum seekers presenting as homeless is likely to “dramatically increase” amid government efforts to clear the backlog in the asylum system.
The warning comes after it was announced that the number of hotels used to house migrants will be cut by 50 over the next three months.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick told MPs in parliament on Tuesday that the process of “exiting” the first tranche of accommodation would begin in the coming days, adding that the plans are possible because of “the progress we’ve made to stop the boats”.
The LGA said councils “share the government’s ambitions to end hotel use for asylum seekers” but added that greater demand combined with an “acute” housing shortage means it will be “extremely challenging” for those leaving Home Office-funded accommodation to find an affordable, long-term place to stay.
In a statement, the association’s chairman Shaun Davies said:
Hotel closures have a direct impact on councils and local government wants to play an active role in working with government on the decisions on which hotels to close. We also need advance engagement on what other alternatives, including large sites, will be opened up both for those leaving hotels and for ongoing new arrivals.
Davies added that councils are “also becoming increasingly concerned over the numbers of asylum seekers presenting as homeless which is likely to dramatically increase when Home Office accommodation is withdrawn as a result of the current clearance of the asylum backlog”.
He called for a “joint and funded approach nationally, regionally and locally to manage the move on from asylum accommodation and avoid risks of destitution and street homelessness throughout the winter”.
Davies told the BBC:
The deep irony is that it might be the same hotels that the government are looking to close down for their purposes are the very same hotels that local authorities will have to stand up and fund for temporary accommodation.
The Refugee Council has also warned that cutting the number of hotels could be a factor in what it described as a developing “homelessness crisis” among migrants.
Updated
The environment secretary has suggested the damage done by Storm Babet was harder to predict because the rain came in from the east.
Thérèse Coffey’s remarks to the Commons environment committee prompted the Lib Dems to urge her to “get a grip” and “stop blaming everyone else for her failings”.
At least seven people are thought to have died during Storm Babet, with hundreds of people left homeless and about 1,250 properties in England flooded, according to the Environment Agency.
Coffey told MPs on Tuesday:
One of the things that happened particularly with Storm Babet is that we are very good, with the Met Office and the Environment Agency’s flood forecasting [centre], at predicting weather normally because most of our rain tends to come in from the west. We’ve got that pretty much down to a fine art.
This was rain coming from the other way and we don’t have quite as much experience on that. Therefore, our accuracy of predicting where such heavy rain would fall was not to the same degree as if it had been.
So the Environment Agency had moved assets from parts of the country more towards Yorkshire and the north-east and that way. But I’m conscious that there were still some places that felt they could have done with some more pumps.
The environment secretary, who visited affected residents in Retford, Nottinghamshire, on Monday, said £5.2bn had been allocated to protect homes and businesses from flooding between 2021 and 2017.
But she acknowledged it looked as if her department “may not be hitting” its target of protecting 336,000 properties by 2027.
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The UK government has said it does not agree with the assessment of the UN secretary general, António Guterres, that there have been “clear violations of international humanitarian law” by Israel in Gaza, where more than 5,700 civilians are reported dead since 7 October.
Minister Robert Jenrick told Sky News:
We don’t agree with that. If he is referring to what has happened over the course of the last two weeks, we don’t believe Israel has broken international law. There is a clear right in international law for a nation to defend itself, and that is what Israel is doing.
We do want to see Israel, wherever practical – and it is immensely difficult to do – to surgically degrade and eradicate Hamas. That is what they are trying to do and we obviously hope they succeed because the world will be a better place … it will be a blessing if we can rid the world of Hamas.
The Israeli military has ordered the civilian population to evacuate south below the Wadi Gaza, and Israel has imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip. It has continued to bombard the southern area of Gaza where it has told civilians to relocate to.
You can follow our liveblog on the Israel-Hamas war here:
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Keir Starmer has been accused of having “gravely misrepresented” a meeting with Muslim leaders in Wales, amid anger among some in Labour over his remarks on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The Labour leader visited the South Wales Islamic Centre in Cardiff on Sunday. In a statement on Tuesday evening, the centre apologised “for the hurt and confusion” caused by hosting Starmer, and said the intention was to highlight the suffering of people in Palestine.
It also expressed “dismay” over Starmer’s social media post about the visit, which said:
I was grateful to hear from the Muslim community of the South Wales Islamic Centre. I repeated our calls for all hostages to be released, more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, for the water and power to be switched back on, and a renewed focus on a two-state solution.
In response, the South Wales Islamic Centre said:
We wish to stress Keir Starmer’s social media post and images gravely misrepresented our congregants and the nature of the visit.
We affirm, unequivocally, the need for a free Palestine. We implore all those with political authority to uphold international law, and the end to the occupation of Palestine.
The statement added:
There was a robust and frank conversation which reflected the sentiments Muslim communities are feeling at this time. Members of the community directly challenged Keir on his statements made on the Israeli government’s right to cut food, electricity and water to Gaza, warranting war crimes as well as his failure to call for an immediate ceasefire.
It comes after the Labour leader was forced to clarify remarks he made about Israel’s decision to limit supplies to Gaza.
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Robert Jenrick said some people had been seen “glorifying” terror activities and “praising Hamas”.
The Home Office minister said he could not get into “specific cases” of visa-holders whose conduct is being reviewed, saying there was a “legal process that must be followed properly”.
Jenrick told Times Radio:
We’ve all seen instances of people glorifying, valorising terrorist activities - we’ve seen people holding deeply antisemitic banners, being interviewed on the media and praising Hamas.
That is disgusting behaviour. I don’t want to see that on our streets. And if that person is just a visitor to our country, they should not be doing that.
I can’t look a British Jewish person in the eye as immigration minister and say I’ve allowed somebody to remain at our pleasure in this country, who is conducting themselves in that manner - that is wrong.
If you come to this country, you abide by British values.
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The Immigration minister Robert Jenrick appeared to suggest that he thought UK visa-holders should be expelled for inciting antisemitism even if their conduct falls “below the criminal standard”.
It comes after he told the commons on Tuesday that the process of revoking visas and expelling foreign nationals who spread “hate and division” has already begun “in a small number of cases”.
The Conservative minister, asked on Times Radio whether someone waving a Palestinian flag at a demonstration could see their visa revoked, said:
No, we believe in freedom of speech.
But I disagree with your premise that... somebody who is here as a visitor to the UK has the right to be antisemitic, to threaten British communities and can stay unless that is of criminal standard.
I think there is conduct which is below the criminal standard but which is wrong, would be accepted as wrong by most reasonable people.
If those people are not British citizens, they are just visitors to our country enjoying the privileges of living here, being among fellow British people, then I’m afraid their visas will be revoked and they should leave the country.
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Starmer to hold meeting with Labour MPs to discuss party's position on Israel and Gaza
Keir Starmer will hold a “routine meeting” with Labour MPs to discuss the party’s position on the situation in Israel and Gaza, a shadow minister has confirmed.
It follows reports that the Labour leader and his deputy Angela Rayner will meet Muslim MPs and peers after prime minister’s questions on Wednesday.
Starmer attracted criticism last week from the Labour Muslim Network, among others, when, asked in an interview with LBC about Israel cutting off water and electricity, he said “Israel does have that right” while adding that “obviously everything should be done within international law”.
At least 23 Labour councillors have resigned from the party following these comments which they saw as an endorsement for collective punishment.
The shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, asked about suggestions of a meeting on Times Radio, said:
It is perfectly normal for MPs – we all represent different constituencies around the country – to want to speak to the leader of our party.
I’m sure it is the same in other political parties where there are issues that constituents are raising with us. And the meeting this afternoon is another example of that.
And understandably, this is a very sensitive and emotive issue, both for people who have connections and relatives to the Palestinian people as well as the Israeli people, and it is perfectly normal for Keir to sit down and listen to colleagues in the parliamentary party and indeed our councillors and other members from across the country.
So, a routine meeting and this is another example of that.
Welcome to today’s liveblog. I’m Nicola Slawson and I’m covering for Andrew Sparrow today. Do drop me a line if you have any questions or comments. I’m on nicola.slawson@theguardian.com or @Nicola_Slawson on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.
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