UK asking other countries to host ‘return hubs’ for refused asylum seekers, Starmer confirms – as it happened

Keir Starmer looks at the large collection of felt-tip pens on the desk of Albania’s prime minister Edi Rama. Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images

5.00pm BST

Afternoon summary

• Keir Starmer has been accused of overseeing a diplomatic “embarrassment” after arriving in Albania to promote a policy of establishing “return hubs” for refused asylum seekers only for his counterpart to rule it out. But Downing Street says Starmer never expected Albania to agree to host a “return hub”. (See 4.50pm.) Starmer has said the government is talking to other countries about the proposal, which he says could be an “important innovation”. (See 12.41pm.)

• Ministers have admitted that some domestic abusers and sexual abusers will be released under new plans to free up spaces in prisons in England and Wales, despite a denial from another government minister.

• The UK economy grew at the fastest pace in a year between January and March, defying warnings of a collapse in activity, as businesses scrambled to invest and export before Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

For a full list of all the stories covered here today, scroll through the key events timeline at the top of the blog.

4.52pm BST

Scottish government spent £160,000 on legal fight it lost at supreme court over definition of woman in equality law

The Scottish government faced legal costs of almost £160,000 in its unsuccessful court battle on the definition of a woman, which ended in the supreme court, it emerged today. The bills were revealed in a freedom of information request by the Scottish Conservatives, PA Media reports.