UK politics: government to appeal against ruling that blocks Rwanda deportations in Northern Ireland – as it happened

A protests agains the Rwanda bill at Downing Street earlier this month Photograph: Cal Ford/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock

5.53pm BST

Thanks for following today’s developments. We will be closing this blog shortly but you can read all our UK politics coverage here.

5.39pm BST

Afternoon summary

• Rishi Sunak has vowed to fight the next election on the UK’s security, attacking Labour and Keir Starmer in a fiercely political speech in which he said: “The choice at the next election is: who do you trust to keep you safe?” See 2.28pm for a full summary of the speech and Q&A.

• The cornerstone of Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda deportation policy should not apply in Northern Ireland because it undermines human rights protections guaranteed in the region under post-Brexit arrangements, a high court judge has ruled.

• The government will drop plans to criminalise rough sleepers for being deemed a nuisance or having an excessive smell after Tory MPs threatened a revolt over the proposals.

• Esther McVey, the “minister for common sense”, has said she will crack down on diversity initiatives in the civil service, including banning the wearing of rainbow lanyards.

Updated at 5.41pm BST