Early evening summary
Keir Starmer has promised to make Britain “battle-ready” as he unveiled a defence review designed to counter threats from countries such as Russia, which he warned directly threatened the UK every day. You can read expert reaction from defence specialists at the RUSI thinktank here.
For a full list of all the stories covered here today, scroll through the key events timeline at the top of the blog.
Farage campaigns in Hamilton for Holyrood byelection - but dodges planned event with media
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has dodged a planned media event in Hamilton ahead of a by-election this week, PA Media reports. PA says:
The party leader was due to visit the town as part of campaigning in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse vote, with the party telling journalists a “walkabout” would take place in Hamilton.
While the exact location was not immediately made available to journalists, the party said it would inform those who were planning on attending.
As rumours swirled the event would begin in the car park of a Premier Inn in the town, reporters, photographers and broadcasters congregated there, waiting for around two hours for the Reform UK leader.
However, he did not appear at the event, which was scheduled to begin at 2.15pm.
Farage later posted pictures of a similar walkabout with candidate Ross Lambie as the one planned for Hamilton – but in neighbouring Larkhall – as well as another which appeared to have been taken in the back court of the party’s offices in the town.
No official reason has been given by the party for Farage not attending the event, but he had earlier accused the Herald of leaking the location of a press conference he was holding in Aberdeen, something which the paper has strenuously denied. [See 2.01pm.]
