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
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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.
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Badenoch: Lib Dems are the ‘biggest local nimbys in the country’
Shadow housing ministerKemi Badenoch has accused the Liberal Democrats of not delivering on their promises labelling party members the “biggest local nimbys in the country”.
The former cabinet secretary told the Commons: “Some people think opposition is about throwing mud across the chamber or calling your opponents scum. But often it’s about saying I told you so. And I want to reassure (Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner) that I will be here to say I told you so when these targets are missed.
“We of course will be a constructive opposition. We want to see homes built in the right places with the right infrastructure. We are here to help.”
But she said: “I doubt the same can be said of the biggest local nimbys in the country, the Liberal Democrats, there are many more of them now, you wouldn’t know but there are. Usually elected on promises not to build anything, anywhere in their communities.
“In the last Parliament I watched them oppose planning reforms on permitted development, reforms that allowed us to build on land that was already in use.
“It’ll be very interesting to see how they square their nimby tendencies with their manifesto promises. But then again, saying one thing and doing another has never bothered the Liberal Democrats.”
Badenoch: Labour gave ministerial positions to the ‘children of the chosen ones’
During the King’s Speech debate at the Commons, Kemi Badenoch issued a fresh attack on the Labour government from the shadow cabinet.
Referring to the Labour front bench Ms Badenoch said: “I’m sad to see many of (Ms Rayner’s) shadow team not sitting beside her as ministers.
“They worked for free, grinding in opposition for years, only to watch the children of the chosen ones get the ministerial cars and salaries before their maiden speeches are written. Wow.”
PM condemns ‘shocking and disgraceful’ riots in Leeds
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has condemned the “shocking and disgraceful” disorder in the Harehills area of Leeds.
Pointing to the Yvette Cooper’s statement on the violence, a No 10 spokeswoman said: “He would echo that the scenes that we saw last night were shocking and disgraceful. And disorder of this nature has no place in our society.
“That’s why he would like to thank West Yorkshire Police and the emergency services for their swift support.
“And the police have our full support in carrying out their investigations and taking the strongest possible action against perpetrators and keep the public safe.”
Asked about fears of community tensions being inflamed, she said: “The police have also discouraged people from speculating on the cause of the disorder. And the Prime Minister would also urge people to follow this advice.
“But certainly, as the home secretary I think also outlined this morning, local partners and councillors will be working very closely with the community today to provide support and reassurance in light of the shocking scenes that we saw last night and prevent further disturbances.”
Nigel Farage sparks anger over ‘inflammatory’ Leeds riots comments
Nigel Farage has been accused of inflaming tensions after blaming rioting in Leeds on the “politics of the subcontinent”.
The Reform UK leader, who was in the US for the Republican National Convention in Minnesota, posted on social media on Thursday evening as scenes of disorder in the city emerged.
“The politics of the subcontinent are currently playing out on the streets of Leeds,” he wrote on X within hours: “Don’t say I didn’t warn you”.
People in the Harehills area of the city were urged to stay at home as officers were called to Luxor Street at about 5pm on Thursday due to an “ongoing disturbance” involving agency workers and children.
Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell has more:
Nigel Farage sparks anger over ‘inflammatory’ Leeds riots comments
Reform UK leader blames violent scenes in city on ‘politics of the subcontinent’
Keir Starmer says welcoming Zelensky to Downing Street was an ‘honour'
David Lammy refuses to end arms sales to Israel
The foreign secretary has declined to implement a blanket ban on arms sales to Israel claiming that the territory is “surrounded by people who would see its annihilation”.
Mr Lammy’s remarks came after Labour MPs tabled a King’s Speech amendment calling for the immediate suspension of export licences for arms transfers to Israel.
He also faced calls to outline when the Government will publish its assessment on whether any breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL) have occurred since the October 7 Hamas attack.
When pressed on Israel’s non-compliance with international humanitarian law, Mr Lammy replied: “This is one of the toughest neighbourhoods in the world and Israel is a country surrounded by people who would see its annihilation.
“It is being attacked by the Houthis, missiles are being fired from Hezbollah, notwithstanding the desire for Hamas to wipe Israel off the map.
“For those reasons it would not be right to have a blanket ban between our country and Israel. What is right is for me to consider the issues in relation to offensive weapons in Gaza in the normal way following the quasi-judicial process that I’ve outlined.”
Lib Dems hit back at Bademoch’s ‘biggest local nimbys in the country’ attack
The Liberal Democrats’ housing spokesperson has hit back at Kemi Badenoch after she claimed party members are the “biggest local nimby in the country”.
The Tory shadow minister criticised the party for opposing plannign and housing proposals, but Helen Morgan said not backing poor planning is not “being a ‘nimby’” but “common sense”.
Ms Morgan said the government must consider the need for GPs, schools, bus stops and green spaces as part of the planning process and added: “Now we will use the term Nimby today, I would imagine in this debate, and it’s already been used about the Liberal Democrats, but it’s not appropriate to approve housing in areas which are unsuitable, for example, where there’s a high risk of flooding.
“It’s not being a ‘nimby’ (‘not in my backyard’) to oppose poor planning, it is common sense.”
Ms Morgan continued: “We can’t build houses on floodplains. They won’t be able to be insured and they won’t be able to be sold, we will trap homeowners into them.”
The Lib Dem frontbencher added: “There wasn’t a mention in the King’s Speech to rural communities or priorities for the countryside, and I hope this means that the new Government will be ensuring that every policy will be rural-proofed and that the demands of delivering public services in rural areas where the population is spread out over a large area are being considered.”
Watch: David Lammy confirms UK funding for UNRWA in Gaza will restart
No 10: ‘Another life lost in the English Channel'
Downing Street said it was a “tragedy” that “yet another life” has been lost in the English Channel.
One person died when their small boat deflated near Calais and they could not be resuscitated. French ship PSP Cormoran picked up 59 people in the operation, and the British vessel rescued another 13.
A Number 10 spokeswoman said: “It is a tragedy that yet another life has been lost and the Prime Minister spoke to such an incident just yesterday.”
The official said the incident “underlines the stark reality of the dangers of these crossings and the callousness of the criminal gangs who are driving this”.
The spokeswoman said the Prime Minister and Home Secretary were “working to address this and step up enforcement” including through “the work that we’ll be carrying out with European partners on it”.
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.
Starmer puts UK front and centre of Europe at summit to re-establish ‘closer’ ties
PM at centre of leaders’ group photo underscores new mood of cooperation between Britain and Europe
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