Rishi Sunak says pro-Palestine march on Saturday is ‘proof of UK’s commitment to freedom’ – as it happened

Rishi Sunak during a school visit in Boston, Lincolnshire on 8 November. Photograph: WPA/Getty Images

6.00pm GMT

Early evening summary

• Rishi Sunak has conceded that a major pro-Palestine march will go ahead on Armistice Day, after he held an emergency meeting with the head of the Metropolitan police.

• Mark Sedwill, the UK’s most senior civil servant at the start of Covid, viewed Boris Johnson’s government as “brutal and useless” and did not trust Matt Hancock, then health secretary, to be truthful, the inquiry into the pandemic has been told.

• The RMT union has reached a possible deal with train operators to resolve their long-running national rail dispute, allaying fears of a repeat of last year’s Christmas strikes.

Rishi Sunak visiting a school in Lincolnshire this morning, where he is passing round samples after watching an experiment where cigarette smoke was passed through cotton wool. He was highlighting plans in the king’s speech yesterday to ensure people aged 14 or below never get the chance to buy cigarettes. Photograph: WPA/Getty Images

5.54pm GMT

The prime minister’s wife Akshata Murty has met a group of Chelsea Pensioners in Downing Street where she hosted a reception ahead of Armistice Day, PA Media reports. PA says the group, which also included minister for veterans’ affairs Johnny Mercer, posed outside No 10 wearing Royal British Legion (RBL) poppies.

Akshata Murty posing with a group of Chelsea Pensioners in Downing Street today, where she was hosting a reception ahead of Armistice Day. Photograph: Lucy North/PA