Braverman denies she will defect to Reform as IT outage forces Labour Cobra meeting – live

Source in Nigel Farage’s party says ex-home secretary expected to switch, possibly in autumn

The former home secretary appeared emotional making her general election victory speech

Tory party leadership hopeful Suella Braverman has denied she will defect to Reform UK if she loses the contest.

“There’s now so much antagonism towards Suella Braverman among MPs that there is now a generally held view that she will defect,” a senior Tory source told the i newspaper.

But a spokesperson for the ex-home secretary denied this, saying: “Suella has only recently been elected as a Conservative MP and has been a Conservative Party member for three decades.”

A Reform source told the i the party expects her to defect after losing the Tory leadership race, perhaps in the autumn, around conference time.

Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government is set to resume funding to UN Palestine relief agency UNRWA for Palestinians escaping the war in Gaza.

The Conservative government stopped the money alongside the US in January following accusations from Israel that staff members were involved in the 7 October attacks.

Following the major IT outage hitting airlines, train companies and banks, government officials held a Cobra emergency meeting to address the chaos for train and GP services and television channels.

Key Points

• Suella Braverman denies she will defect to Reform UK
• Volodymyr Zelensky urges Starmer to ‘show leadership’
• Cobra emergency meeting held amid IT outage chaos
• Tories so diminished that nearly half their MPs on front bench
• UK government restores funding to UNRWA for Palestinians in Gaza
• Zelensky appeals for permission to bomb Russian targets in Cabinet address

[19 July 2024 22:30 · Salma Ouaguira]

Vaughan Gething ‘much, much better person’ than portrayed, former FM says

The former First Minister of Wales has defended Vaughan Gething – who announced he would resign after just four months in the post – as “a much, much better person than he has been portrayed”.

Mark Drakeford, who served as Welsh Labour leader and First Minister between 2018 and 2024, was speaking following months of scandals and bitter infighting that led to Mr Gething’s resignation on Tuesday.

He told BBC Walescast that there was “a great deal of goodwill available” to First Minister Mr Gething when he took office in March – becoming the first black leader of a European nation.

But Mr Drakeford acknowledged the “fuse was lit” when Mr Gething accepted a £200,000 donation to his leadership campaign from a company owned by a man twice convicted of environmental offences.

Vaughan Gething announced his resignation four months into the post (Ben Birchall/PA) (PA Wire)

Last month, Mr Gething lost a vote of no confidence in the Senedd following rows over the donation, and his decision to sack Hannah Blythyn as a minister.

Speaking to Walescast, Mr Drakeford said Mr Gething had “immense sadness” that matters had not worked out “in the way he absolutely would have hoped and had a right to expect”.

Mr Drakeford said on Thursday night: “My own observation at a bit of a distance was that there was a great deal of goodwill available to him in the earliest days.

“I think people were absolutely proud to have the first black leader anywhere in Europe, here in Wales.

“I think there are many ways in which you can explain how things went wrong and how things eventually got to a point where he was unable to carry on, but I think all of that will be something that people look back on beyond this weekend.”

[19 July 2024 23:00 · Salma Ouaguira]

Minister to lead review of national resilience following Covid-19 Inquiry report

The Government has vowed to improve the UK’s “national resilience” after the UK Covid-19 Inquiry found there were “significant flaws” in preparing for a pandemic.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden told MPs he would lead a review of the country’s “national resilience against the range of risks that the UK faces”.

Mr McFadden highlighted the global IT outage affecting airlines, GP surgeries, banks, media organisations and other organisations on Friday as he made the commitment in the House of Commons.

Making a statement following the Covid Inquiry’s first report into preparedness for a pandemic, Mr McFadden said it painted a “stark” picture on the condition of public services.

The inquiry, chaired by Baroness Heather Hallett, said there was a “damaging absence of focus” on the measures and infrastructure that would be needed to deal with a fast-spreading disease, even though a coronavirus outbreak at pandemic scale “was foreseeable”.

Mr McFadden said: “We can only begin to imagine the anguish and the anger that people feel, because this report confirms what many have always believed: that the country was not as prepared as it should have been. That more could and should have been done.”

[19 July 2024 23:30 · Salma Ouaguira]

More than 15,000 migrants arrive in UK crossing English Channel this year so far

More than 15,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel this year as more people made the journey on Thursday, according to new Home Office figures.

Some 317 people travelled across the busy shipping lane in six boats, in the first recorded arrivals since Monday when 427 people made the crossing in seven boats.

This brings the provisional total of migrants arriving via the English Channel in 2024 so far to 15,076.

This is 9% higher than the number recorded this time last year (13,774) and 0.2% down on the same period in 2022 (15,106), according to PA news agency analysis of Government data.

Boats continued to cross the Channel on Friday.

It comes as one person died and 71 others were rescued in an incident off the coast of northern France on Wednesday, sparking a rescue operation involving French coastguard, Border Force and the RNLI.

[20 July 2024 00:00 · Salma Ouaguira]

UK public sector borrowing higher than forecast in June

UK public sector borrowing came in higher than expected in June, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Borrowing was £14.5 billion in June, £3.2 billion less than June last year, but well above the £11.6 billion forecast by the Government’s spending watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

Public sector borrowing – the difference between spending and income – is a closely watched metric when it comes to Government spending plans, and will be part of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ calculations for the upcoming Autumn Budget.

ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said: “The reduction from last year reflected a fall in spending, thanks to lower debt interest payments and the ending of energy support schemes, as well as higher tax revenues.”

Meanwhile, UK state debt remained at levels last seen in the early 1960s in June, the ONS said.

(AFP via Getty Images)

Public sector net debt excluding public sector banks was provisionally estimated at 99.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of June, 2.8 percentage points more than at the end of June last year.

It comes after UK Government debt rose to levels not witnessed for more than 60 years in May.

Chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said: “Today’s figures are a clear reminder that this Government has inherited the worst economic circumstances since the Second World War, but we’re wasting no time to fix it.

“Fixing the economy’s foundations and restoring stability is the only way we can create growth and put more money back into people’s pockets across the country.

“That’s why we’ve introduced our Budget Responsibility Bill, which will ensure that no future Government can play fast and loose with the public finances.”

[20 July 2024 00:30 · Salma Ouaguira]

Hero councillor formed human shield to stop violence in Leeds

A councillor has been hailed as a hero after attempting to calm the violent scenes which erupted on Thursday night in Leeds.

Mothin Ali, Green Party councillor for Gipton and Harehills ward, said he returned home at 3am on Friday morning after trying to stop people from throwing objects and adding to the already raging fires.

[20 July 2024 01:00 · Salma Ouaguira]

Four-nation summit needed now to tackle child poverty, says Flynn

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to call for a four-nation summit on tackling child poverty this summer.

Mr Flynn welcomed news the UK Government has set up a ministerial taskforce to kick-start its child poverty strategy, and said it should not delay action on the issue.

He confirmed the SNP will press ahead with its amendment calling for the two-child benefit cap to be scrapped immediately, with a vote on it expected to take place next week.

In his letter, Mr Flynn said Westminster cuts and Brexit had seen the UK become “one of the poorest and most unequal countries among our European neighbours”.

He added: “That will only change with concerted action and substantial investment from the UK Government, which has been severely lacking.

“The taskforce must not be used as an excuse to delay action.

“Scrapping the cap is the bare minimum required if your Government wants to scratch the surface on tackling child poverty, and every day you delay, more children will suffer the consequences of Labour Government inaction.

“It is important for the governments across the isles to work together on this issue, to move quickly and to learn from best practice. I am therefore calling for a four-nations summit on eradicating child poverty this summer.

“I also think it’s vital that parties across Parliament get the opportunity to feed into the taskforce.”

[20 July 2024 01:30 · Salma Ouaguira]

Zelensky calls for Starmer to support Ukraine’s long-range capability

Volodymyr Zelensky used his historic address to the UK cabinet to urge Sir Keir Starmer to “show leadership” and let Ukraine use British weapons for strikes deep inside Russia.

The Ukrainian president on Friday became the first foreign leader to address the cabinet in person since Bill Clinton in 1997, calling for support with his country’s “long-range capability”.

In his address to the Cabinet Mr Zelensky said “if the restriction on western weapons is lifted” it would help Kyiv to strengthen its defence and secure its frontline positions.

[20 July 2024 02:00 · Salma Ouaguira]

Starmer puts UK front and centre of Europe as PM builds ‘closer’ ties

Sir Keir Starmer declared that Britain is “back on the international stage” as he sought to put the UK at the centre of European cooperation and build closer ties with the continent.

Just 13 days into his premiership, he scored his first major success as European leaders hailed his plan for a new era in post-Brexit relations.

Hosting the summit of the European Political Community (EPC) at a Unesco world heritage site in Oxfordshire, Sir Keir suggested he was open to dealing with the small boats crisis by processing migrants offshore, saying that he is a “pragmatist”.

“Where cases can be processed closer to [their] origin, then that is something which, of course, ought to be looked at,” he said.

[20 July 2024 02:30 · Salma Ouaguira]

Watch: Zelensky becomes first foreign leader to address cabinet for nearly 30 years

[20 July 2024 03:00 · Salma Ouaguira]

Starmer’s words will be welcomed in Kyiv – but Zelensky needs action more than ever

The PM is keen to maintain Britain’s position as one of the world’s most vocal supporters of Ukraine – a role that will become even more important as backing from other powers begins to waver, writes Mary Dejevsky: