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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UK government commits to two-state Palestine solution ‘when the circumstances are right’
The foreign secretary said Britain is “absolutely committed” to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine “when the circumstances are right”.
David Lammy said he would back a plan but it must guarantee the security of Israel before adding the Palestinian cause is a “just cause”.
The cabinet minister also expressed frustration at the Knesset for passing a resolution rejecting the Palestinian statehood, ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to the US.
Mr Lammy said: “The vote by the Knesset yesterday was hugely disappointing. We believe passionately in two states. And I say to those who reject two states, if you are a proponent of one state then you do have to explain how everyone enjoys equality under the law.
“And if you are a proponent of no state then you are effectively suggesting that occupation continues and that is unacceptable to, I would have thought, all members of this House.”
Asked to explain how the new Government will deal with the “immediate crisis” and the recognition of Palestine, he said: “We are absolutely committed to that two-state solution. The global community for too many years has talked about it and not acted, I recognise there’s almost tremendous cynicism when the phrase is used.”
He added: “There is no confusion on this party’s position on Palestinian recognition. We are committed to Palestinian recognition. We hope to work with partners to achieve that when the circumstances are right.”
Starmer has made a good start of wiping up the toxic residue of Brexit
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In full: Government recommits to funding UNRWA as David Lammy praises ‘life-saving work’
The government will overturn the suspension of UK funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA), David Lammy has said.
The foreign secretary also said Israel is in “a tough neighbourhood” and civilians in Gaza are “trapped in hell on earth” as he vowed to advance the “cause of peace” in the region.
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Nigel Farage sparks anger over Leeds riot comments
Nigel Farage has been accused of inflaming tensions after blaming rioting in Leeds on the “politics of the subcontinent”:
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Victoria Atkins reprimanded during the King’s speech debate
Shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins has been reprimanded by the deputy speaker for behaving “abominably” during the King’s speech debate.
As the Commons discussed the greenbelt and rural economy, the shadow secretary for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Steve Barclay said: “This King’s speech does nothing for the farming and fishing communities and the decisions we’ve seen so far are ones that take vast amounts of farmland out of food production in order to prioritise the eco-zealotry, which we’ve heard so often in this house.”
During his response Defra Secretary Steve Reed declined interventions from Mr Barclay as well as Conservative front-benchers Kemi Badenoch and Ms Atkins.
Ms Atkins stood at the despatch box as Mr Reed continued to speak and Tory members continued to call for interventions.
Deputy speaker Christopher Chope called for order, saying: “(Ms Atkins) has behaved abominably.”
Closing the debate for Friday, Mr Reed said: “After 14 years of chaos, there is once again hope for our environment, hope for our countryside and hope for our rural communities. I welcome the King’s speech, I recommend it to this House.”
National borrowing rose to highest levels in 60 years
UK state debt remained at levels last seen in the early 1960s in June, the Office for National Statistics said.
Public sector net debt excluding public sector banks was provisionally estimated at 99.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of June 2024, 2.8 percentage points more than at the end of June 2023.
UK state debt rose to levels not witnessed for more than 60 years in May.
Meanwhile, public sector borrowing was £14.5 billion in June, £3.2 billion less than in June 2023.
The figure marks the lowest June borrowing since 2019, the statistics watchdog said.
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