PMQs live: Starmer urges women to report inappropriate behaviour amid Gregg Wallace questions
Comes as influential report warns UK interest rates will fall by less than expected over next two years after autumn Budget
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Your support makes all the difference.Women who make reports of inappropriate behaviour must have “confidence that they will be taken seriously”, Sir Keir Starmer has said, as allegations against Gregg Wallace continue to grow.
The prime minister said politicians should be ready to put in place “mechanisms” that would instil that confidence, after a Labour MP asked him about “women of a certain age”, reflecting comments for which the MasterChef presenter has since apologised.
Wallace faces multiple complaints of inappropriate behaviour, originally from 13 people across a range of shows over a 17-year period, and has stepped away from the cooking programme.
Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch has mocked Sir Keir Starmer over former transport secretary Louise Haigh’s resignation, which came after admitted misleading the police a decade ago.
The Tory leader told the Commons the country “needs conviction politicians, not politicians with convictions”.
“He can try and change the topic as much as he likes but the public are watching. He owes them an explanation”, she said.
Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of obfuscating over Louise Haigh’s resignation, after Badenoch demanded he provide the House of Commons with an explanation over the incident.
Reeves refuses to rule out further business tax rises
Fears are growing that Labour could be planning a new tax raid after Rachel Reeves refused to confirm her recent pledge not to repeat her £40bn Budget hikes.
The chancellor was pressed on the issue in the Commons by shadow chancellor Mel Stride, and again at a conference in the north of England, over her promise last week to the CBI conference.
With her next major fiscal statement expected in the spring, there is confusion over Labour’s economic policy amid a rumoured shift from delivering growth to raising living standards.
Sir Keir Starmer is set to outline the new focus in a speech on Thursday resetting the government’s agenda after just five months in office.
Read the full story from our political editor David Maddox here:
Israel fury with Lammy’s diplomacy by Twitter
The Israeli government has attacked David Lammy for using X (formerly Twitter) for diplomacy after he posted strong criticism about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Less than 24 hours after the foreign secretary attended the Labour Friends of Israel annual lunch and met the mother of a hostage held by Hamas, he has provoked a row with Israel over his joint statement on the war in Gaza.
Amid growing concerns over the humanitarian situation in Gaza following thousands of deaths and reports that aid angencies cannot get access, Mr Lammy and his German and French counterparts (the E3 group) agreed today to sennd an ultimatum to the Israeli government.
Read the full article here:
Israel fury with Lammy’s Twitter diplomacy over ‘unacceptable situation in Gaza’
David Lammy along with the foreign ministers of France and Germany has written to the Israeli government warning about the ‘unacceptable humanitarian situation in Gaza’
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