Starmer defends slashing aid budget to raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP - as it happened

6.02pm GMT

Early evening summary

• Keir Starmer has announced drastic cuts to Britain’s international aid budget to help pay for a major increase in defence spending, amid fears over Donald Trump’s commitment to European security.

• David Miliband, the former Labour foreign secretary, has joined the leaders of other aid charities in criticising the decision to cut development spending. (See 1.01pm, 2.17pm and 3.55pm.)

• Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, has praised the UK for the decision to incease defence spending, saying it is a “strong step”. (See 4.45pm.)

• Kemi Badenoch has given a speech saying UK might have to withdraw from some international bodies “taken over” by activists or autocrats. (See 10.21pm.) During the Q&A, she also she said thought Britain would “probably” have to leave the European convention on human rights because it was stopping the government acting in the national interest. (See 11am.)

• Amanda Pritchard is standing down as chief executive of NHS England, in a development that will shock the health service.

• Ministers are to scrap a controversial “computer says yes” program that automatically approves landlord requests to deduct hundreds of pounds from tenants’ universal credit benefits without their consent.

5.38pm GMT

Q: [From Lizzy Buchan from the Daily Mirror] Won’t cutting the aid budget harm efforts to curb irregular migration?

Starmer says this is not a decision he wanted to make. The government will continue its efforts in areas like Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine.

He says vulnerable people would be hit hardest by conflict.

And that’s the end of the press conference.

Updated at 9.05am GMT