UK politics: Tories claim McSweeney has ‘serious questions’ to answer about phone theft – as it happened

Morgan McSweeney Photograph: Tayfun Salcı/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock

5.51pm GMT

Afternoon summary

• Political donations from British citizens living abroad are to be capped at £100,000 a year from Wednesday, in a move that is likely to limit further funding from Reform UK’s Thailand-based mega-donor, Christopher Harborne.

• The Conservative party has suggested that Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff, has “serious questions” to answer about the theft of his mobile phone. (See 4.37pm.) Others disagree; Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has dismissed claims that McSweeney might have been deliberately trying to get rid of the phone as a conspiracy theory. (See 11.36am.)

• A homophobic joke made by the leader of Reform Scotland is a “warning to this country of what is coming”, the first finister has said. As the Press Association reports, Malcolm Offord has apologised and denied he is homophobic after it emerged he made a joke about the late George Michael while giving a speech in 2018. Speaking at the Scottish parliament, Liberal Democrat MSP Jamie Greene shared concerns that there are people who “aspire to become MSPs” that are “cracking jokes at the expense of gay people”. He said:

The reality is we have seen in recent times a rise in antisemitic abuse and far-right protests, and there are people who aspire to become MSPs in this place who are spouting Islamophobic bile on social media and cracking jokes at the expense of gay people.

So, can I pose a challenge not just to the first minister, but to the leader of all political parties who hope to return members to this place, that they will commit their parties in the next parliamentary term to use their privilege of platform wisely, to debate with decency and remember that the language used in here affects people out there.

Swinney responded that the joke from Offord was a “warning to this country of what is coming”. He said:

I am horrified by some of the behaviour that is now expressed publicly in our society of racial intolerance, of hatred towards other people, there are people that stand with banners in my constituency outside a hotel accommodating asylum seekers with language which is hate-filled, and it is appalling.

The “joke” really is vile and gross, but if feel you really need to read it to understand the story, it is not hard to find on X.

• The former justice minister Crispin Blunt has been fined £1,200 for possessing illegal drugs after he told a court he entered the world of chemsex parties to help inform government policy.

• Hundreds of UK teenagers will trial social media bans, digital curfews and time limits on apps under a government pilot, which will run alongside a consultation to decide whether the UK should ban access to social media for the under-16s.

For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.

5.33pm GMT

These are from Danny Shaw, a former BBC home affairs correspondent and an adviser to Yvette Cooper for a brief period, on the Tory implicit allegations about Morgan McSweeney. (See 4.37pm and 4.39pm.)

So, what exactly is the allegation against Morgan McSweeney?

That he arranged the theft?

Or, disposed of his phone then lied, telling police and No 10 Security staff it had been stolen?

Both are absurd, frankly.

However, he did make three mistakes..

1 Not being clear about location of theft (somewhat understandable if you’ve just been victim of a street crime)

2 Not telling 999 operator phone contained sensitive info & case needed urgent response (harder to explain)

3 Thinking Met & govt security were joined up & would cross-check info he gave them (this is my assumption on what he probably thought at the time)

Mandelson appointment was disastrous for McSweeney & Govt. But the idea he would commit a serious criminal offence, risking imprisonment, to try to get rid of phone messages that are anyway probably stored elsewhere & retrievable … I just don’t buy it. Cock-up, not conspiracy.