UK politics: UK expels Russian diplomat and says Moscow is seeking closure of British embassy in city – as it happened

British embassy in Moscow Photograph: Maxim Shipenkov/EPA

5.31pm GMT

Afternoon summary

• Keir Starmer has told MPs that he is not ruling out retaliatory tariffs against the US. (See 12.20pm.)

• Downing Street has rejected suggestions it is planning “chainsaw” cuts to central government. (See 1.54pm.)

• The equalities watchdog has raised concerns about the Sentencing Council’s new guidelines which allegedly favour minority ethnic groups. (See 3.39pm.)

• Britain has said it will revoke accreditation for a Russian diplomat in response to a similar move by Russia earlier this week against British diplomats. (See 4.38pm.)

• Scotland’s former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced she is standing down as an MSP.

• The UK’s financial watchdog has bowed to longstanding pressure and ditched a plan to frequently “name and shame” companies it is investigating.

5.23pm GMT

Rayner tells councils to limit consultations with statutory consultees when considering planning applications

Angela Rayner, the deputy PM and housing secretary, has sent a letter to council leaders, mayors and local authority chief executives telling them to limit the number of consultations they carry out when considering planning applications.

In a move that follows government policy announced earlier this week, she says:

I would urge you to read the written ministerial statement in full but in particular I wanted to draw your attention to the position it sets out with respect to local authorities. The government is clear that consultation of statutory consultees should be limited only to those instances where it is necessary to do so. Where there is relevant and up to date standing advice published with respect to the relevant category of development, then consultation is not required. Routine and blanket referrals to statutory consultees outside the statutory requirements should not take place, as this creates unnecessary administrative burdens for both local planning authorities and the statutory consultee. Decisions should not be delayed in order to secure advice from a statutory consultee beyond the 21 (or 18) day statutory deadlines unless there is insufficient information to make the decision or more detailed advice may enable an approval rather than refusal. The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that significant weight should be placed on the need to support economic growth, and timely decision making is in line with this objective.