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Tributes paid to former Labour minister and welfare campaigner Frank Field, who has died at the age of 81Keir Starmer has said the death of Frank Field is “a profound loss to politics and to our nation”. In a tribute to the former minister, Starmer went on:Frank dedicated his life to being a voice for the most vulnerable and marginalised people in the country.Frank...

Claire O’Neill, a former climate minister, says PM’s move was to ‘try and create political division and dividing lines’The UK government’s decision to weaken some of its climate commitments was a “retrograde step” that will set back vital cross-party action to cut carbon emissions, Claire O’Neill, a former Conservative climate minister has said.O’Neill, who was known as Claire Perry when she served as a...

International concern over new law increases as UN high commissioner for refugees says it marks ‘step away from UK’s tradition of providing refuge’Three men, a woman and a child were killed attempting to cross the Channel in the early hours of this morning, according to a French coastguard statement.Enver Solomon, the Refugee Council’s chief executive, said this was “another devastating human tragedy” that should...

PM to publicly warn peers to back down but treatment of Afghans remains a concern for the LordsSky News has broadcast a clip of Rishi Sunak addressing a meeting of the government’s illegal migration operations committee in the cabinet room at No 10 this morning. It is almost certainly a preview of what he will say at the press conference, which is due to...

Prime minister says not getting people into work is ‘irresponsible burden’ as he says ‘next parliament, a Conservative government’ will enact reformsRishi Sunak is arguing that not getting people into work is an “irresponsible burden” on future generations and taxpayers. He says:We risk not only letting those people down [the people who are long-term sickness benefits], but creating a deep sense of unfairness amongst...

PM launches consultation on personal independence payment amid ‘spiralling’ disability welfare billRishi Sunak has announced fresh curbs on disability benefits, saying he wants to explore whether some cash payments to claimants suffering from mental health conditions could be replaced by treatment or access to services.In a speech on welfare, the prime minister said he was launching a consultation on the personal independence payment (Pip),...

Exclusive: Tactics include proposals to raise smoking age to avoid outright ban, and exemptions for cigars, says Cancer Research UK chiefTobacco firms are lobbying MPs and peers in an effort to derail Rishi Sunak’s flagship policy to phase out smoking, the head of Britain’s biggest cancer charity has said.The prime minister’s landmark legislation – which would bar anyone born after 2009 from buying cigarettes...

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...

National Education Union leader says morale among teachers is at ‘an all time low’ in radio interview There is widespread agreement in the UK and the US that Israel has “gone too far” in its war against Hamas, Darren Jones, a Labour Treasury spokesperson, said this morning.In an interview with ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Jones said:I think what we’ve seen from President Biden, from...

Anneliese Dodds says the honour for Mohamed Mansour appears clearly tied to his £5m donation to the ToriesRishi Sunak’s decision to hand a knighthood to a businessman and former Egyptian government minister who donated £5m to the Conservative party is the sign of a prime minister who “simply believes he’s on the way out”, Labour has said.Mohamed Mansour, a senior treasurer of the Tory...

Business secretary dismisses reports of plot and rejects calls for her party to return donations from Frank HesterReports of Conservative plots against Rishi Sunak are the work of just “one or two” MPs, and the party needs to unite before May’s local elections, Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary has argued.In a sometimes combative media round, Badenoch also said the Tories did not need to...

Organiser suggests PM consider own MPs’ behaviour after speech about rise in ‘extremist disruption’Pro-Palestine protests are to continue across the UK on Saturday after Rishi Sunak’s warning that democracy was being targeted by “extremists”.In an address to the nation on Friday, the prime minister spoke about “forces here at home trying to tear us apart”, in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks by...

The investment to improve parliamentarians’ security will include a dedicated police contact to liaise with over safety concernsSir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker, has welcomed today’s announcement about extra security for MPs. (See 9.13am.) He said:I warmly welcome the government’s announcement of additional funding to protect our elected representatives and our democracy. It will enable us to build on the improvements we have made...

In today’s newsletter: As suspended backbencher Lee Anderson launches a fresh attack, a former Tory MEP explains how the party got here• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. Your 7am Lee Anderson update: still not apologised. The reason, he said yesterday, is that “when you think you are right you should never apologise, because to do so would be a...

Rishi Sunak gave interviews to local stations in Yorkshire where he is chairing his cabinet meeting this morningRishi Sunak is now on BBC Radio Lincolnshire. Scott Dalton is interviewing him, and asks why it is taking so long for the HS2 money to go to transport projects in the north.Sunak says he thinks the money has been redirected quite quickly.I believe racism or prejudice...

Demonstration against Welsh Labour policy included No Farmers No Food campaign calling for end to climate measures, and Welsh Tory leaderRishi Sunak attended a protest alongside a group which has posted conspiracy theories about climate change, and which campaigns against net zero, the Observer can reveal.The prime minister has been accused of “pandering to extremists” by farmers and wildlife groups, who have asked him...

As fresh party infighting erupts after two byelection losses, the right are targeting public service funding to pay for tax cuts while others urge restraintRishi Sunak is being warned he risks taking his party further towards disaster by sanctioning a new public spending squeeze in a desperate pursuit of pre-election tax cuts, as more Tories said they feared an election wipeout.With more infighting erupting...

Formal rules to block relevant candidates will make it easier to ‘weed out the bad apples’, politicians sayRishi Sunak has been urged to push through new rules to block anyone convicted of a sexual offence from standing to be an MP before the next election.At least six MPs have lost their seats because of alleged sexual misconduct since the 2019 general election, and 10...

Keir Starmer says ‘people are ready to put their trust in a Labour government’, as wins in Wellingborough and Kingswood put further pressure on Rishi SunakLabour overturns 18,000 majority to win WellingboroughLabour win byelection in KingswoodSpeaking from the Kingswood election count, Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg congratulated Damien Egan on winning.“Does it tell you anything about the general election? Almost certainly not,” he said.Conservative party...

Labour seeking to take two seats from Tories on Thursday amid fraught week of candidate suspensionsMy colleague Phillip Inman has this analysis on this morning’s inflation figures:Good news came from the food industry, where inflation fell from December to January, but the annual rate remains high at 7% and food and non-alcoholic beverage prices are about 25% higher than they were two years ago,...

Party criticised for delay in acting over comments in which Azhar Ali suggested Israel had allowed 7 October attack to happenHousing minister Lee Rowley was on the media round for the government this morning, hoping to push their new housebuilding plans. He refused, however, to say how many more homes the government hopes will be built, telling the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he...

Candidate Azhar Ali issues apology after comments emerge in which he suggested Israel allowed Hamas attack to happenA quick scoot around the newspaper front pages. For the Daily Mail, the Labour Rochdale story leads, with the paper asking “So has Labour really changed?”That story also made the front of the Times, with the bonus ban at water companies being the lead item. Our Helena...

Health secretary defends Conservative NHS dental recovery plan after scathing response from the British Dental Association Good morning. Labour has been campaigning hard recently on the dire state of NHS dentistry, which is near-impossible to access to many places, and today the government is responding by publicising its own NHS dental recovery plan. The British Dental Association has been scathing about it. It is...

PM says he is ‘not a betting person’ after making £1,000 bet during an interview with Piers MorganGood morning. Rishi Sunak gave an interview to Rachel Burden on Radio 5 Live this morning and he was asked about £1,000 bet he appeared to accept from Piers Morgan about the success of his Rwanda policy. The move has been widely condemned as distasteful. Sunak did...