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Party hopes to attend meetings of EU foreign affairs council should it win UK electionDavid Lammy: Labour’s foreign policy will be realistic about us as a nation, not nostalgic about what we used to beLabour wants to draw closer to Europe on key foreign and security issues by frequently attending meetings of the monthly EU foreign affairs council.The move, which is likely to trigger...

PM’s plan to prevent those under 16 ever being able to buy tobacco should pass due to Labour support, but many of his own MPs could abstain or vote againstIn another interview this morning, Laura Farris, minister for victims, told GB News that she thought Liz Truss, the former PM, was wrong to call for the supreme court to be abolished. Asked about the...

Former PM launches apparent attack on civil servants over plans she said had been put ‘in the bin’UK politics – latest updatesLiz Truss has blamed “unelected individuals” in the Department of Health and Social Care for the government’s planned smoking ban as she launched an apparent attack on civil servants such as the chief medical officer for England, Sir Chris Whitty.The former prime minister...

The former prime minister spent just 49 days in office but wants to stay on the world stage. Her attacks on Biden and praise for Trump are aimed at the populist rightIn her new book, the former British prime minister Liz Truss directs scathing attacks and mockery at Joe Biden, president of her country’s closest ally. Biden was guilty of “utter hypocrisy and ignorance”,...

Foreign secretary talks up party’s prospects – and his ‘very good boss’ Rishi Sunak – on morning broadcast round Conservative party members are more dissatisfied than ever with Rishi Sunak, a survey for ConservativeHome suggests. In its latest monthly survey, ConHome found that Sunak had a net satisfaction rating of -27.7 (total satisfied with how he’s doing minus total dissatisfied). Only Michael Tomlinson, the...

UK foreign secretary says Israel has right to respond but Britain does not support a retaliatory strikeMiddle East crisis – live updatesWorld leaders urge restraint in aftermath of Iran attack on Israel – what we know so farThe UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, urged Israel to act with its head as well as its heart and not escalate the conflict by mounting a revenge...

Karina Moon, who is sole carer for her daughter most of the week, was told she needed to repay £11,292.75 or be prosecuted for fraudEx-ministers press Sunak on ‘persecution’ of carers who broke earnings rulesCarers in the UK: have you been threatened with prosecution for benefit fraud?Karina Moon vividly recalls the telephone call that brought her to tears. She was stood, frozen, in the...

Hundreds of thousands could lose out in England and Wales under disability benefit reforms after general electionHundreds of thousands fewer disabled people could receive cold weather payments under the Conservatives’ planned post-election disability benefit reforms, according to an internal government report seen by the Observer.The briefing, by civil servants at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), says that under the plans, new applicants for...

Campaign draws on performers and artists to encourage 300,000 more young people to register ahead of this week’s deadlineA last-minute drive to alert young British people to therisk of losing their say in how the country is run launches this weekend, spearheaded by many famous faces, including some not normally associated with politics or campaigning.YouTubers such as Amelia Dimoldenberg, host of Chicken Shop Date,...

Concerns that vicious circle of party ill-discipline is undermining the PM’s ability to restore orderSenior Tories fear Rishi Sunak is facing a vicious circle of party ill-discipline, amid concerns that attacks from Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Suella Braverman will signal his inability to restore authority in the months before the general election.A rebellion this week over his plans to ban smoking is set...

Rules due to come in this month will impose new handling fees – and experts say small suppliers are already being driven awayMinisters’ decision to impose Brexit import checks on 30 April will lead to shortages of some foods, flowers and herbs, industry leaders have warned.In the week after the government was accused of blindsiding the British food industry by giving 27 days’ notice...

Former home secretary will rub shoulders with populist right from across the globe, including Hungarian prime minister Viktor OrbánRishi Sunak is being urged to stop his former home secretary from attending a rightwing convention featuring figures who have been under investigation for extremism, in the latest sign of his waning control of his party.Suella Braverman, who has been a central plotter against the prime...

Short-lived PM also says she anticipated mini-budget ‘turbulence’ and compares herself to Brian CloughLiz Truss ran for Conservative leader and prime minister despite her husband’s prediction that “it would all end in tears”, according to her book, Ten Years to Save the West, which will be published in the UK and US next week.She agreed with an ally that the mini-budget she planned to...

Alan Cook, former managing director, says he ‘regrets’ that he ‘didn’t pick up earlier’ that Post Office could initiate prosecutionsAll our UK politics newsAlan Cook, who was the managing director of Post Office, has just told the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry that he was not aware until late in his tenure that the Post Office was the prosecuting authority in many of these...

Speaking on LBC this morning the prime minister also defended his handling of William Wragg sexting scandalAll our UK politics newsPushed on LBC this morning about the timing of the next general election, prime minister Rishi Sunak refused to be drawn, and suggested the country should have its focus on the “substance” of issues instead.He told listeners:When I got this job we’d been through...

The UK foreign secretary’s Trump dinner appeared to fail to bring support for Ukraine, and his Washington meetings don’t look any more promisingWhatever happened at Mar-a-Lago between David Cameron and Donald Trump on Monday night, was clearly going to stay in Mar-a-Lago.Dinner at the Trump Florida residence was always going to be a stiff test of the UK foreign secretary’s influence over the former...

Foreign secretary says Britain’s position on export licences is ‘unchanged’ after reviewing latest legal adviceMiddle East crisis – live updatesDavid Cameron has confirmed the UK government will not suspend arms exports to Israel after the killing of seven aid workers in an airstrike on Gaza last week, as he insisted the UK would continue to act within international law.The foreign secretary said that he...

Meeting to discuss PM’s key policy overshadowed by reports of lack of housing for deportees or airline to remove them from UKRishi Sunak has welcomed the Rwandan president to Downing Street amid signs that ministers are struggling to find an airline or housing in Kigali to carry out their flagship deportation plan.The meeting on Tuesday was overshadowed by the former home secretary Suella Braverman’s...

Former subpostmaster and subject of ITV drama arrives to speak to inquiry in LondonAll our UK politics newsShadow chancellor Rachel Reeves also repeatedly attacked Conservative plans over non-dom tax status. Having defended the status against calls for abolition for years, in March Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt announced it would adopt Labour’s policy and scrap the status. However, the way they are planning to...

Shadow chancellor says Labour would ‘ramp up’ number of HMRC staff to close gap between what is owed and paidUK politics – latest updatesThe shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has said proposals to close the tax gap to fill a hole in her spending plans is not “rocket science”.Reeves was forced to respond after Jeremy Hunt used his budget to adopt some of Labour’s revenue-raising...

Foreign secretary’s intervention comes as pressure grows on ministers to reveal legal advice over Gaza conflictDavid Cameron will set out the UK’s reasoning for continuing to export arms to Israel on Tuesday as ministers face ongoing pressure to disclose the official legal advice on the trade.The foreign secretary will discuss the Middle East crisis with his US counterpart, Antony Blinken, on a visit to...

Kevin Hollinrake has said in his view ‘people should be prosecuted’All our UK politics newsI mentioned in the introduction that Reform UK are giving a press briefing that they have billed as being about “Labour’s betrayal of the working class”. That will be starting in a few minutes and I will bring you any key lines that emerge …John Harris writes for us today,...

Amendment tabled by cross-party group including Stella Creasy is latest plan to modernise abortion law in England and WalesStella Creasy: No watering down, no new red tape – it’s time to fully decriminalise abortion in England and WalesA cross-party group of MPs is proposing to make abortion access a human right in England and Wales, putting forward legislation that would decriminalise abortion up to...

Alicia Kearns also expresses frustration that Joe Biden is only now calling for immediate ceasefire and says UK must suspend arm salesMiddle East crisis – live updatesIt is devastating that it took six months and the killing of six western aid workers for a tipping point to be reached for Israel to change course over the supply of international humanitarian aid, the chair of...