London politics LIVE: Badenoch attacks Starmer and Lammy over Trump comments at first PMQs as Tory leader

Kemi Badenoch has squared off with Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions for the first time as Tory leader.

It was the former minister’s debut clash with Sir Keir at the despatch box in a closely watched exchange that will mark the beginning of a new style of opposition.

She attacked the PM and foreign secretary David Lammy over their relationship with Donald Trump, after his election again as US president.

She asked if Mr Lammy had apologised to Mr Trump over derogatory comments he previously made calling him a "neo-Nazi sympathising sociopath” and if not, would Starmer do so now.

Ms Badenoch’s blunt and confrontational style is likely to contrast at times with the Prime Minister’s cautious and measured approach to politics.

She was seeking to make a strong first impression after succeeding Rishi Sunak as Tory leader on Saturday and making a series of shadow cabinet appointments aimed at uniting warring factions within the party, with former leadership rivals Robert Jenrick, Dame Priti Patel and Mel Stride handed senior roles.

Follow the latest below...

PMQs coverage concludes

14:35 , Josh Salisbury

Thank you for joining us for Kemi Badenoch’s first PMQs as Leader of the Opposition versus Sir Keir Starmer.

We are now concluding our live coverage of PMQs.

For all the latest developments in the US and worldwide reaction to it - including from the UK - please visit our US presidential election liveblog here.

Starmer 'would welcome' Trump visit to Parliament

13:20 , Josh Salisbury

Sir Keir Starmer "would welcome" a visit by Donald Trump to Parliament, Downing Street said.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch had asked at PMQs for Trump to be given an invite, which is a matter for the House Speaker.

Asked whether the Prime Minister would be open to the President-elect addressing Parliament, his official spokesman said: "I think questions for the House are for the Speaker, but clearly the Prime Minister would of course welcome a visit from President-elect Trump to the UK in the future."

Asked whether he would also welcome a visit by Mr Trump to Parliament, the spokesman said: "And to Parliament, but clearly parliamentary matters are one for the Speaker."

Starmer 'has not yet' spoken with Trump

13:16 , Josh Salisbury

In a post PMQs huddle, Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesperson has said the PM has not yet spoken to Donald Trump after his US election victory but looks forward to doing so "in due course".

The Downing Street spokesperson said: "Hopefully the President-elect is getting some well-deserved rest right now but the Prime Minister obviously looks forward to speaking to him in due course.

"He knows first-hand how busy the first couple of days are after winning an election.”

Starmer taunts former Tory leadership candidate Cleverly

13:14 , Josh Salisbury

Sir Keir Starmer taunted Conservative former minister James Cleverly referring to his shock exit from the Tory leadership race, saying "he can't add up".

Speaking from the back benches, the MP for Braintree had asked during PMQs: "Before the election (the Prime Minister) claimed that he would not put up national insurance contributions - he put it up.

"Before the election he claimed he would scrap tuition fees - he put it up. Before the election he said he would not tax family farms - he's taxing family farms.

"Will he address his party's growing reputation for dishonesty by making good on his commitment to close the Wethersfield asylum accommodation centre in my constituency?"

Pointing to the Opposition front bench, Sir Keir replied: "We're keeping the promises we made in our manifesto. His problem is he can't add up. If he could add up, he might be down here rather than up there."

Sir Keir refuses to say why Labour MP hasn't had whip withdrawn over controversial post

12:42 , Josh Salisbury

Sir Keir has declined to say whether Labour MP Dawn Butler should be suspended over a controversial post she shared about new Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch.

The Brent East MP shared a post written by a third party describing Ms Badenoch as “the most prominent member of white supremacy's black collaborator class".

Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty asks Sir Keir whether he thinks the comments were “acceptable” and asks why he hasn’t removed the Labour whip.

The Labour leader replies simply: “No I don’t”.

Postmaster compensation 'as soon as possible'

12:38 , Josh Salisbury

Liberal Democrat MP Alex Brewer asks Sir Keir if he can give a set deadline for when the victims of the Horizon postmaster scandal will finally be compensated.

Sir Keir says the Government has made a commitment to compensate victims, and has allocated money for the compensation, unlike the previous government.

He declines to give a specific date, but says it will be as soon as possible.

Starmer: Badenoch 'wrong' to say Partygate anger was overblown

12:34 , Josh Salisbury

In a further sign that the Labour whips have arranged for their MPs to ask questions which may be embarrassing, MP Mary Glindon asks if Sir Keir agrees that Kemi Badenoch was wrong to say that public outrage about Partygate was overblown.

Starmer says he does agree, saying “unfortunately, the party opposite who set the rules did not follow them themselves.”

He says Ms Badenoch was wrong to describe public anger as overblown, and says she’ll want to “clarify”.

Badenoch criticised over autism comments

12:27 , Josh Salisbury

Labour MP Alex Baker has asked the prime minister to condemn Kemi Badenoch’s “awful” words about autism.

Ms Badenoch has been criticised for a previous campaign pamphlet that said autistic people received “better treatment” and “economic privileges and protections”.

Sir Keir says he will leave it to Ms Badenoch to respond, but says the Government is taking action to help children with special education needs (SEND).

Lib Dems raise concern over Trump election on Ukraine

12:24 , Josh Salisbury

The leader of the Lib Dems Sir Ed Davey has raised concerns about the impact of Donald Trump’s election on Ukraine.

He says Trump praised the Russian invasion of Ukraine as “genius”, and says he encouraged Russia to do whatever “whatever the hell they want” to Nato allies.

He asks what Sir Keir is doing to encourage a Trump presidency to continue supporting Ukraine.

The PM says he is proud of British support for Ukraine, and that he will continue to work with the US to try and support Kyiv as it resists Russia’s invasion.

Starmer grilled over farming inheritance changes

12:21 , Josh Salisbury

As expected, Starmer is now being asked by Tory leader Badenoch on changes in the Budget to increase the inheritance tax paid by farmers.

Under plans announced in the Budget, inheritance tax will be charged at 20% on agricultural assets above £1 million, although Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said that in some cases the threshold could in practice be about £3 million.

While the 20% figure still represents a relief of 50% compared to the standard rate, farming unions and opposition parties have criticised the move, arguing that it will make British farms uncompetitive.

Sir Keir insists the vast majority of farmers will be unaffected, and that the Budget is fixing a £22bn blackhole in the public finances.

Badenoch accuses Starmer of 'scripted' answers

12:19 , Josh Salisbury

Sir Keir goes on the attack, saying Ms Badenoch has not welcomed an increase in the national minimum wage at the last budget.

He says: “I haven’t heard her yet welcome that pay raise for the three million lowest paid workers. Does she now welcome it, or does she stick to her previous policy that it’s excessive?”

But Ms Badenoch says she raised the minimum wage when she was last in Government as business secretary and says she has a “strong record” on this.

She accuses him of having “scripted answers” and not listening to the questions.

Badenoch and Starmer clash on defence spending

12:16 , Josh Salisbury

Ms Badenoch criticises Sir Keir for not committing to defence spending of 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030.

She asks whether Labour will match that Tory commitment.

But Sir Keir says the Tories’ plan at the last election was “pure fantasy” and that Labour is committed to defence, having created Nato.

Badenoch calls for Trump invite to Parliament

12:10 , Josh Salisbury

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has called for Sir Keir to ask the House Speaker for Trump to address Parliament.

She says this would show Labour is beyond “student politics.”

Sir Keir hits back that Ms Badenoch is “showing a masterclass in student politics” and that the Government will work closely with the Trump administration.

Badenoch: Will Foreign Secretary apologise for Trump comments?

12:08 , Josh Salisbury

Kemi Badenoch has begun saying it’s an “honour” to lead the Conservative Party, and pledging to be a constructive opposition.

She asks whether Foreign Secretary David Lammy will apologise for past comments on now president-elect Donald Trump, who he called a “sociopath”.

Sir Keir Starmer does not directly answer the question, and says that he and Mr Lammy had met Trump several months ago.

Kemi Badenoch's first PMQs (Sky)

First PMQs between Starmer and Badenoch begins

12:02 , Josh Salisbury

The first PMQs between Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer and the Conservatives’ Kemi Badenoch has begun.

There is a cheer from the Tory benches as Ms Badenoch is welcomed to her place.

Sir Keir begins as expected by congratulating Donald Trump on his election as US president, calling it “historic” and saying the UK and US are the closest of allies.

He also says he looks forward to working with Ms Badenoch as leader of the opposition - joking she is the fourth Tory leader he has faced off against.

Pictured: Keir Starmer leaves No10 for PMQs

11:55 , Josh Salisbury

(AFP via Getty Images)

Rail minister apologises over Euston safety letter

11:52 , Josh Salisbury

The rail minister has apologised for suggesting Network Rail may withhold contracts from a company employing an engineer who described Euston station as "unsafe".

Lord Hendy said the tone of his letter to consultancy Systra UK "fell well short of what should be expected".

In his previous role as Network Rail chairman, he wrote to the company's chief executive Nick Salt in May in relation to a media interview by railway engineer Gareth Dennis, who suggested the station was unsafe.

Mr Dennis was subsequently sacked by Systra UK.

In his first public comments on the issue since it emerged, Lord Hendy apologised, saying the tone of the letter was not as it should have been.

Who is who in Badenoch's shadow cabinet?

11:35 , Josh Salisbury

Former leadership rivals Robert Jenrick, Dame Priti Patel and Mel Stride have been given senior roles as shadow justice secretary, shadow foreign secretary and shadow chancellor respectively.

But many of the new shadow Cabinet ministers are likely to be unknown to many voters across the country.

The Tories only have 121 MPs left in Parliament after losing more than 200 seats in the July general election in their worst electoral disaster since 1832.

Some of the remaining bigger names, such as former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and ex-Home Secretary James Cleverly have decided to return to the backbenches.

Read a full who’s who here.

Reform MP ordered to apologise in Commons over security guard abuse

11:21 , Josh Salisbury

Reform UK MP Lee Anderson has been ordered to apologise to the Commons for twice swearing at a parliamentary security guard.

Mr Anderson, a former Conservative MP who later defected to Nigel Farage’s Reform, breached Parliament's bullying and harassment policy after twice swearing at a security officer, the Independent Expert Panel said.

The panel heard Mr Anderson began swearing because his parliamentary security pass did not work.

It left the security guard “upset and intimidated” and contributed to him moving to a different job in Parliament, the panel said.

The Ashfield MP told the panel that he had faced “challenging personal circumstances” on the day and his “unacceptable behaviour” was “not planned or premeditated”.

Reform UK MP Lee Anderson (Maja Smiejkowska/PA) (PA Wire)

Kemi Badenoch's most controversial comments

11:12 , Josh Salisbury

Kemi Badenoch has a reputation for being plain speaking, which may prove an asset when challenging Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer.

But it has on occasion landed the now Tory leader into hot water, although she claims she has “never had a gaffe”.

From remarks on maternity pay and on autism, we take a look at Ms Badenoch’s most controversial comments.

Read more here.

Starmer and Badenoch congratulate US president Donald Trump ahead of PMQs

11:00 , Josh Salisbury

Both prime minister Keir Starmer and new Tory leader Kemi Badenoch have congratulated Donald Trump on his election as the 47th US president ahead of PMQs.

Sir Keir said the UK-US special relationship will "continue to prosper" following Trump's "historic election victory".

The Prime Minister said: "Congratulations president-elect Trump on your historic election victory. I look forward to working with you in the years ahead.

"As the closest of allies, we stand shoulder to shoulder in defence of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise.

"From growth and security to innovation and tech, I know that the UK-US special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come."

Meanwhile, Ms Badenoch also congratulated Trump, writing on social media: “The world faces many serious challenges and I look forward to our two countries working together to confront them.”

Who is Kemi Badenoch?

10:56 , Josh Salisbury

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of PMQs.

It will be the first time that Labour prime minister Sir Keir Starmer will face off against new Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

As a reminder, Ms Badenoch won the Conservative Party leadership election, defeating Robert Jenrick in the final run off on Saturday.

The former Business Secretary now leads HM opposition, taking over from departing party leader Rishi Sunak.

The North West Essex MP and former London Assembly member now faces a challenge to unite her party and hold Labour to account.