Afternoon summary
Keir Starmer is facing intense pressure over the future of Morgan McSweeney after the prime minister’s chief of staff was blamed for No 10’s pushback against a possible leadership challenge. As Peter Walker and Pippa Crerar report, after Starmer dodged a question from Kemi Badenoch at prime minister’s questions about whether he had full confidence in his key aide, Downing Street later clarified that he did. Starmer was speaking after a No 10 briefing operation that suggested Starmer was preparing to face down a potential leadership challenge from Wes Streeting backfired badly. (See 11.16am.)
Starmer has declined to back a call from Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, for President Trump to drop his proposed $1bn lawsuit against the BBC. There are full details on our BBC live blog.
The Liberal Democrats are calling for a 5% cut to VAT for hospitality businesses in the upcoming budget to make going out to the pub and restaurants more affordable. (See 10.40am.)
Helen Newlove, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, has died after a short illness, her office has said.
The latest episode of the Guardian’s Politics Weekly UK podcast is out. It features John Harris, Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey talking about the Labour leadership, with Jane Martinson joining to discuss the BBC.
