Starmer dismisses Biden health concerns after he called Zelensky ‘President Putin’

Thank you for following The Telegraph’s live politics coverage. My colleague Jack Maidment will be with you in the morning to guide you through all the latest. Here are today’s key moments:

• Sir Keir Starmer insisted that Joe Biden was not senile and dismissed concerns about his health after the US president mistakenly called Volodymyr Zelensky “president Putin”
• The Prime Minister also admitted thousands of prisoners will have to be released to tackle the overcrowding crisis in jails
• He attended a series of bilateral meetings with world leaders on his final day in Washington DC at Nato’s 75th anniversary summit
• But the Prime Minister all but ruled out a celebratory bank holiday if England win the Euros on Sunday
• Defence sources said Sir Keir went too far on Wednesday when he publicly confirmed that Storm Shadow missiles given to Ukraine can be used in strikes on Russia
• Ed Miliband ordered an immediate ban on new drilling in the North Sea against the advice of his own officials
• The economy grew faster than expected in May, ONS data showed
• Alex Chalk, the former Tory justice secretary, suggested that Rishi Sunak blocked a plan to tackle prison overcrowding at the end of the last Parliament
• Jacob Rees-Mogg warned that a centrist successor to Mr Sunak would cost the party “even more seats”
• Nigel Farage ousted Reform deputy leaders Ben Habib and David Bull, replacing them with ex-leader Richard Tice and appointing entrepreneur Zia Yusuf as party chairman

Sir Keir Starmer is pursuing free trade agreements to take advantage of Brexit.

The Prime Minister was asked at the press conference if his reset of EU relations was “the start of a betrayal of Brexit”.

“It won’t come as a surprise to know that in the bilaterals we’ve had, we’ve pursued the question of free trade agreements,” Sir Keir said.

“Some of those are rollover agreements that we did have with the EU, some of them not.

“And so that has come up repeatedly in bilaterals, because we’ve said our number one mission is growing the economy.”

The Conservatives were guilty of “gross irresponsibility” by not dealing with the prison overcrowding crisis, Sir Keir Starmer told the press conference.

“The crux of the problem we face at the moment, and it is a terrible problem, is that we’ve got far too many prisoners for the prison spaces that we’ve got, or we soon will have,” the Prime Minister said.

“That is gross irresponsibility of the outgoing government. It is a basic function of government that you should have enough places for your prisoners that the judges are sending to prison, and for that to have failed, I think, tells you something material about the last government.

“Now we have to pick this up, and we have to fix it. I can’t build a prison in the first seven days of the Labor government. We will have to have a long-term answer to this.”

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted that his “reset” of relations with the European Union is “not about going back into the EU”.

“We’ve had very productive meetings, very many bilaterals with leaders of the Nato countries, including European leaders,” the Prime Minister said.

“And yes, that is about a reset. It’s about a reset of our relations and actually about an institutional reset. It’s not about going back into the EU.

“But it is certainly a reset because I think for very many people, there was a sense after Brexit that the UK become too inward-looking, was not as interested as it once was in its place on the global stage, on the international stage.

“And I wanted to reset, to change the posture, if you like.”

Sir Keir Starmer stuttered as he was quizzed for a second time on Joe Biden’s gaffe.

“Well, look what I said to Chris [Mason of the BBC],” the Prime Minister said. “We came here for two days of the council to achieve a particular purpose, which was to celebrate 75 years of Nato but recognise that looking backwards is all very well.

“But we’ve got to face the challenges of today, and it falls to us to do the hard yards to identify those threats, in particular, Russian aggression.

“But that wasn’t the only threat that was identified and talked about and to come away with on Ukraine, president Zelensky calling it a success, and president Biden led through that, led into that in the preparation, and I do think he deserves credit for that because in the end, that is the single most important thing coming out of this council.”

Sir Keir Starmer has said Joe Biden “deserves credit” for hosting the Nato summit despite mistakenly describing Volodymyr Zelensky as “president Putin”.

The Prime Minister was asked if it was “reasonable that some might feel scared” by the error.

“I would urge everyone to look at the substance of what’s been achieved over these two days,” Sir Keir said. “We have a bigger Nato, more countries, we have a stronger Nato.

“We have a real sense of resolve. The third of the sessions, the council sessions, was the session with president Zelensky there in relation to Ukraine.

“It was a session that he described as a success because of the package coming out of it, and president Biden led through all of that. That is an incredible achievement of this council.

“And when we think of the global threats, that is the best possible outcome we could have had today, and so I think he deserves credit for that, as does the team would have worked with him.”

Sir Keir Starmer has said he is “determined” to reset Britain’s relations with the European Union.

“Britain belongs on the world stage so I am determined to reset our relationship with Europe, return to leadership on climate change, and engage more deeply with the global south,” he said.

The alternative to Ukrainian victory is “unthinkable”, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

“The alternative to Ukraine’s victory is unthinkable,” he told the press conference.

“Not only an affront to our values, a green light to aggressors everywhere.”

Russia poses a “generational threat” to the West in a “new and dangerous era”, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

“As I told President Zelensky today, Nato will be stronger with Ukraine as a member,” he told the press conference.

“And because the generational threat from Russia demands a generational response, we will also increase Nato’s focus on future threats around the world, with Britain playing its full role. 

“We will continue to put our armed forces at Nato’s disposal, maintain our presence in Estonia and Poland, lead the land arm of the allied response force this year, and maintain and modernise our nuclear deterrent.”

Sir Keir Starmer has said security is Labour’s “first priority”.

Speaking in Washington DC at a press conference marking the end of the Nato summit, the Prime Minister said: “This is still my first week as Prime Minister but I’ve come here to Washington, three and half thousand miles from home, for a very simple reason. 

“Because every policy we have in pursuit of our missions, everything we’re going to do to improve people’s lives, all that we hold dear, depends on our security. 

“That is our first priority. It is always our first priority. I made that crystal clear to the British people in our campaign. 

“And so I also come to this summit with a clear message, a message of enduring and unwavering commitment, to the Nato alliance, to Ukraine, to the collective security of our country, our continent, and our allies around the world.”

David Lammy has arrived ahead of a Sir Keir Starmer press conference at the Nato summit in Washington DC, reports Deputy Political Editor David Martin.

Nationalist MPs’ election posters have been placed on loyalist bonfires in Northern Ireland.

Posters of Michelle O’Neill, the Sinn Fein first minister, Claire Hanna, the SDLP MP for South Belfast, and Colum Eastwood, the SDLP leaders, were put on the bonfires, which will be lit on Friday.

Bonfires are normally lit ahead of Orange Order parades across Northern Ireland on July 12 to mark the Battle of the Boyne, where King William of Orange defeated Catholic King James II to secure a Protestant line of succession to the British crown.

Labour is sacrificing jobs on the “altar” of net zero by blocking new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea, Robert Jenrick has said.

The expected Tory leadership contender took aim after Labour also reversed Government support for a new coal mine in Cumbria.

“First the oil and gas industry, now coking coal for the steel industry,” Mr Jenrick wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“Less than a week in and jobs and economic growth are already being sacrificed on the altar of Labour’s net zero zealotry.”

Economic stability will bring down “punishing” high mortgage rates, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The Prime Minister told reporters in Washington DC: “Mortgages have gone through the roof because of the instability caused by the last government, in particular Liz Truss but not only Liz Truss.

“That is why we said before the election – and we’ve doubled down on it now – economic stability is the first step when it comes to growth of our economy.

“We need that stability in order to ensure that we can bring mortgages down.

“They are punishing people, I mean people coming off fixed-rate mortgages are almost invariably having to pay hundreds of pounds more per month.”

Sir Keir Starmer and Giorgia Meloni have vowed to “strengthen” their strategic partnership in a meeting in Washington DC.

The Italian prime minister’s spokesman said the leaders “reiterated their intention to strengthen the action to relaunch the strategic partnership” during the bilateral meeting.

The spokesman added that they would work together “in combating irregular migration”.

The Prime Minister has sparked union anger after he insisted he will not give into their pay demands, reports Deputy Political Editor Daniel Martin in Washington DC.

Unions representing teachers, NHS staff, police and other public sector workers have been demanding bumper increases - with junior doctors asking for 35 per cent.

But Sir Keir Starmer said not all their demands could be realised because the public finances were in a “very poor state”.

And he said he was going to prioritise economic stability as part of a bid to bring mortgage rates down.

In response, the National Education Union said: “This is not what we want to hear from the new Prime Minister.”

Nigel Farage will make a return to GB News next week to host a programme following his successful attempt to become an MP, reports Political Reporter Genevieve Holl-Allen.

The 60-year-old Reform UK leader, who hosted a show from Monday to Thursday on the channel each week before stepping down in May, will once again front a show under his own name.

It is understood that he intends to host programmes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays alongside his MP duties, with the first show to be broadcast next Tuesday.

His programme will be similar to a panel show, a person close to the channel told the Financial Times.

Read the full story here.

Sir Keir Starmer has also held bilateral meetings with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, and Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea.

A Downing Street spokesman said the Prime Minister discussed the importance of close cooperation on security issues with Mr Yoon, who also wished England good luck in the final of the Euros on Sunday.

With Mr Erdogan, Sir Keir discussed the contribution of Turkish communities to the UK and his desire to see an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Mr Erdogan discussed his aspiration to strengthen relations with the UK in several areas including trade, tourism and defence, the spokesman added.

Sir Keir Starmer discussed Ukraine, Gaza and relationships with the Commonwealth during a meeting with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau at the Nato summit in Washington.

A Downing Street spokesman said: “They agreed on the importance of a strong UK-Canada relationship based on our shared values, and warmly welcomed the opportunity to deepen the partnership between our two countries.

“The Prime Minister welcomed Prime Minister Trudeau’s leadership on Ukraine, including Canada’s significant financial support so far. Both leaders agreed we must continue to stand alongside Ukraine for as long as it takes.

“Discussing the situation in Israel and Gaza, they both agreed an immediate ceasefire is vital in order to get hostages out, get humanitarian aid in and make progress towards a two-state solution.”

The spokesman added that the two men agreed to keep in touch ahead of the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in October.

Plans for a new coal mine in Cumbria risk being dashed after the Government admitted that the decision to approve it was unlawful, reports Jonathan Leake.

In a potentially lethal blow to what would have been Britain’s first new coal mine in 30 years, Labour has withdrawn support for the project amid concerns over its environmental impact.

The proposed coal mine was awarded planning permission back in 2022, sparking an immediate backlash from green activists.

Both Friends of the Earth (FoE) and South Lakes Action on Climate Change (Slacc) have sued the Government to stop the project, with a three-day hearing scheduled to take place in the High Court next week.

However, Angela Rayner, the new Deputy Prime Minister, has now told Whitehall officials to abandon its legal defence of the proposal on the basis it should not have received planning permission in the first place.

Read the full story here.

Ed Miliband’s ban on new North Sea oil and gas licenses will have a ‘terrible impact’ on hundreds of thousands of British jobs, a Tory shadow minister has said.

Andrew Bowie, the shadow veterans’ minister, told Sky News: “The North Sea oil and gas sector generates tens of billions of pounds for the exchequer every single year.

“Hundreds of thousands of jobs across the UK, not just directly but indirectly, are reliant on this industry.

“And in Scotland especially, this decision not to grant new licenses will have a terrible impact, especially in the north east of Scotland where so many jobs rely on it.”

The public needs to be patient with Labour “on a whole range of fronts”, Wes Streeting has said.

The Health Secretary told Sky News that the Government would not commit to lifting the two-child benefit cap.

“Now we said before the election, we wouldn’t make promises unless we could keep them, we wouldn’t make promises unless we knew the country could afford them,” he said.

“I think people are going to have to bear with the Government on a whole range of fronts, as we try to clean up the terrible mess the Conservatives have left.”

The NHS is in “an absolute state”, Wes Streeting has said.

The Health Secretary told Sky News’ Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge: “It’s really clear to me that the NHS is broken: the issues that we’ve been talking about during the election campaign, the waiting lists, ambulances not arriving on time, people queuing around the block to see a GP, not being able to find a dentist.

“All of that is evident. But I felt going into the Department of Health and Social Care in the last week, it’s a bit like walking into a house that you can see is in complete state.

“And what I’ve asked Lord Darzi to do is take up the carpet, look at the floorboards, and tell us how bad things really are.”

The Liberal Democrats targeted constituencies with Gail’s bakeries during the election campaign as it sought to attract voters in “Operation Cinnamon Bun”, reports Political Reporter Genevieve Holl-Allen.

Seventy-two Liberal Democrats were elected last week as a result of a highly targeted election strategy which aimed to unseat as many Tory MPs as possible from the Blue Wall.

As part of the campaign, party activists were told to “get out the Gail’s vote”, referring to fans of the upmarket bakery chain.

A staffer developed a spreadsheet of Gail’s sites around the country and mapped them according to which party had previously won the seat in 2019 and which came second place.

They found that around half of the cafes outside London were located in Liberal Democrat marginals.

Read the full story here.

Chris Philp has said Suella Braverman was wrong to say the flying of the Progress Pride flag from Government buildings was “monstrous”.

Asked on TalkRadio if he agreed with the former home secretary, the shadow leader of the Commons said: “No, I wouldn’t characterise it in that way, no.”

Mr Philp was then asked if he thought Mrs Braverman should be expelled from the party for the comments.

“No, I don’t because we believe that people should be able to say what they think,” he said. “But I don’t agree with what she said there, I don’t agree with the way she characterised the flag.”

The SNP will make most of its Westminster staff redundant after losing 39 MPs at the general election, it has been reported.

The Scottish nationalists dropped from 48 seats to nine on July 4, reducing the “short money” it is entitled to receive from Parliament from £1.3 million per year to just £360k.

The BBC reported that staff working on press, research and policy will be made redundant as a result.

The funds are distributed among opposition parties to assist them in holding the Government to account.

Ed Balls has said Sue Gray could be “on a journey” to becoming a minister in Sir Keir Starmer’s government.

“Becoming the story as the adviser is always a problem, and it’s a problem in a way that it isn’t once you are either elected or in the Lords as a minister,” the former shadow chancellor told his Political Currency podcast.

“It just makes me wonder whether, in the end, Sue Gray isn’t on a journey into a ministerial position.

“That’s just me speculating, but it feels as though it is not being done in the way that Jonathan Powell would have done it in 1997 as the political chief of staff. But it’s not the way that you would do it if you were a civil servant, either.”

The high profile of Sue Gray, Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, is “risky”, George Osborne has said.

The former chancellor told his Political Currency podcast: “I have a high regard for Sue Gray, I worked with her in government. But there’s always a risk whenever an unelected adviser is talked about as much as she’s talked about.

“Look back at the history; Alistair Campbell, Dominic Cummings, Steve Hilton. If you go back to the Thatcher period or the Harold Wilson period, there were big rows about unelected advisers.

“It’s normally a risky thing for that individual to develop such a public profile and to be seen by the MPs and ministers as being sort of too powerful.”

The Transport Secretary has summoned the bosses of Avanti West Coast to “address their performance”.

Louise Haigh described the railway firm as “woeful” during the election campaign and said Labour would consider revoking its contract to run services from London to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Cumbria and Glasgow.

“My views about Avanti are very well known, having served in the shadow brief for two-and-a-half years,” Ms Haigh said.

“And I will be calling them in with their Network Rail business unit very soon to address their performance and I’ve been working with my officials immediately to make sure we drive up performance standards.”

Office of Rail and Road figures show Avanti West Coast had the third worst reliability of all operators in Britain in the year to the end of March, with the equivalent of one in 15 trains (6.9 per cent) cancelled.

A deputy leader of Reform UK has said he is “delighted” to have been replaced by Richard Tice.

Mr Tice, the party’s ex-leader, is taking over from Dr David Bull and Ben Habib, who’s roles are being merged.

“I’m delighted to hand over the role of deputy leader of Reform to my friend and colleague Richard Tice who will do an amazing job,” Dr Bull wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“I’m now going to concentrate on my media career whilst giving the party all the support I can. I’ll be back on Talk TV on Saturday from 7am.”

Mr Habib earlier said he was “considering my position” after he was ousted, saying “I have long held concerns about the control of the party and the decision making processes”.

Setting a deadline for when Labour will deliver on its promise to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence is “the politics of yesterday”, the Prime Minister has said.

Sir Keir Starmer said his commitment to the target was “ironclad” but that it was “very important” to first undertake his one-year security review.

“What I don’t want to do is what has been done in the past, which is to set an arbitrary date without a pathway,” he told the BBC in Washington DC. “I don’t think that’s serious.

“We’re so serious about it that we want to make sure that it is within our fiscal rules, that we can show exactly how it will be delivered.

“But it will only be delivered when we have that pathway. To be plucking a date is the politics of yesterday.”

The world is facing a “decade or more of Russian of aggression”, the new Defence Secretary has said.

John Healey, who is attending the Nato summit in Washington DC, said European leaders will meet next week to discuss ways to improve the continent’s security.

He said he wanted to “reset” relations with the European Union, and said the government would look at the scope for a UK-EU security pact.

“What is really clear is that we’re facing a decade or more of growing Russian aggression,” Mr Healey told Sky News. “Supporting Ukraine and its ability to win is our first priority.”

Sir Keir Starmer has said chief executives of water companies must take more “personal responsibility” after it emerged that bills would rise by an average of 21 per cent next year.

“I don’t want bills to be so punishing for people,” the Prime Minister said.

“So we will have a plan to get to grips with that in terms of governance of water, but that requires us to deal with both the pollution and the bills side of it.”

He added: “That doesn’t involve nationalisation, but it does involve making sure the regulations we have are properly enforced, looking at possible further regulation, and something I’m very keen on, which is to have sort of personal responsibility from the top.”

Sir Keir Starmer has denied that Joe Biden is senile despite growing calls for him to stand aside, reports Deputy Political Editor Daniel Martin.

The new Prime Minister, who met him for the first time on Wednesday, said the 81-year-old was “absolutely” mentally agile and was “across all the detail” during their hour-long meeting in Washington.

Sir Keir, who is in Washington for a Nato summit, said criticism was misguided and that Mr Biden had shown “incredible leadership” and was “on good form” during their Oval office meeting.

Asked directly by the BBC whether the President was “senile”, Sir Keir said: “No, we had a really good bilateral yesterday, we were billed for 45 minutes, we went on for the best part of an hour, we went through a huge number of issues. At pace, he was actually on really good form.”

Read the full story here.

Sir Keir Starmer has admitted thousands of prisoners will have to be released to tackle the overcrowding crisis as he insisted high-risk offenders will remain locked up, reports Deputy Political Editor Daniel Martin.

It has been reported that some prisoners could end up serving just 40 per cent of their sentences to free up capacity in Britain’s prisons.

On Thursday morning, the Prime Minister insisted there would be “exemption categories” for high-risk prisoners.

“I can’t tell you how shocked I am to be in this position,” he said. “It’s a basic function of government to have enough prison places for those that the courts are sending to prison.”

Earlier this year the crisis was so acute that there were fewer than 250 spaces left in the men’s estate in England and Wales, out of a capacity of 85,000.

Sir Keir Starmer went too far by publicly confirming that Storm Shadows given to Ukraine can be used to hit Russia, defence sources have said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been meeting world leaders at Nato’s 75th anniversary in Washington, announced on Wednesday evening that he had been granted permission to use strategic cruise missiles in Russia.

Defence sources told The Telegraph that they were “disappointed” Sir Keir had allowed the conversation with President Zelensky to be made public, as it is more operationally effective to keep such plans under wraps until they have been executed.

Sources confirmed the missile has not been used this year and stressed that President Zelensky would have to “seek assurances elsewhere” before Ukraine could fire the cruise missiles into Russian territory. They added that these assurances were not a done deal.

Lord Dannatt, the former head of the Army, said: “From an operational security point of view, the less you say about things you might do, the more effective they are.”

Read the full story from Brussels Correspondent Joe Barnes and Deputy Political Editor Daniel Martin here.

The lights will “start going out in a year or two” because of Ed Miliband’s ban on new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, the bionic MP has said.

Craig Mackinlay, the Tory quadruple amputee who did not stand at the general election, said the Energy Secretary’s overruling of his own officials would only serve to “enrich Qatar, the USA and others still further”.

“The lights will start going out in a year or two,” the former chairman of Parliament’s Net Zero Scrutiny Group wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“Never mind, we can enrich Qatar, the USA and others still further as we desperately buy gas from anywhere we can.

“Energy security – how quaint and old fashioned as we worship the new ‘green’.”

Johnny Mercer has accused a judge of “assassinating my character” because of his refusal to reveal the identities of special forces whistleblowers who raised concerns about the alleged executions of Afghans.

The former veterans’ minister, who lost his seat at the election, had his application to withhold the names from the Afghanistan Inquiry rejected on Tuesday by Sir Charles Haddon-Cave, its chairman, who ordered him to hand them over by July 25.

“I find it extraordinary, given my unprecedented support to assist the inquiry, including some names of those who have given me consent, that Mr Haddon-Cave considers it appropriate to repeatedly question my moral courage and integrity in public,” Mr Mercer said in a statement.

“These unjustified and unprovoked attempts by a High Court judge to assassinate my character, without any foundation whatsoever, crosses a line.”

He added: “I have given my statement to the inquiry. Mr Haddon-Cave must now stop fixating on attempting to bully me, I have done nothing wrong. I gave my word to junior personnel who approached me. I intend to keep it.”

Mel Stride is being urged by some MPs to stand in the upcoming Conservative leadership contest to replace Rishi Sunak, reports Political Correspondent Dominic Penna.

The shadow work and pensions secretary led Rishi Sunak’s welfare reforms and defied expectations to keep his Central Devon seat at the general election last week.

The 62-year-old played a central role in the Tory election campaign and was deployed to front media appearances at times of crisis.

He also represented the Conservatives on more “morning rounds” of broadcast interviews than any of his then-cabinet colleagues.

Read the full story here.

Tim Sigsworth here, taking over from my colleague Jack Maidment for the rest of the day.

Steve Reed, the Environment Secretary, rejected calls to scrap the two-child benefit cap (see the post below at 15.08). 

He said “of course” Labour understands the calls to scrap the cap but maintained the Government must keep “strict spending controls” to stabilise the economy.

He told reporters: “Of course we understand the pressure for that, of course we understand the difficulties families face because of the wider cost of living crisis.

“It is absolutely essential that this Labour Government maintains strict spending controls because we have to stabilise the economy after 14 years of Conservative chaos.

“It is that chaos and the way they crashed the economy that has left families hurting so much. As we grow the economy, we will be able to spend the additional income on other things that we want to achieve for this country.”

A new independent investigation into NHS performance will “leave no stone unturned”, the Health Secretary said. 

Wes Streeting announced the probe today (see the post below at 07.16) and it will seek to identify all of the problems with the health service. 

Mr Streeting said he was “hugely optimistic that our NHS can be saved” and he believed Labour will make it “fit for the future”. 

Sir Keir Starmer is facing his first backbench revolt as Prime Minister over the two-child benefit cap, as new figures revealed that 1.6 million children are affected by the policy.

Around 450,000 families were left unable to claim Universal Credit for their third child in April, up from 70,000 in 2018, according to the Resolution Foundation think tank.

The Prime Minister said on multiple occasions during the election campaign that his Government would not scrap the cap because of the economic implications.

However, senior backbenchers, including John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor, said they would back amendments to the King’s Speech next week to force Sir Keir to “concede”.

You can read the full story here. 

Ed Miliband, the Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary, has ordered an immediate ban on new drilling in the North Sea. 

Telegraph readers have been reacting to the decision in the comments section of today’s politics live blog:

The Tories claimed the Government has “no clear plan” to address increases to household water bills (see the post below at 13.09). 

A Conservative spokesperson said: “It was the Conservative government that took this country’s first major steps to transform our infrastructure and ensure safer, cleaner waters.

“Thanks to our Storm Overflows Reduction plan, storm overflow monitoring had increased to 100 per cent when we left office, 93 per cent higher than when Labour last left office. We were honest about the costs of cleaning up our waters, and it is a fact that dividends and bonuses from water companies are not sufficient.

“On the other hand, now in government, and realising their sums simply do not add up, Labour has no clear plan to tackle the issue.”

British Storm Shadow missiles can be fired by Ukraine into Russia, Sir Keir Starmer has signalled in an intervention likely to anger Moscow.

Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the Prime Minister at a Nato summit in Washington for lifting a ban on Ukraine hitting targets across the border with one of the most effective Western weapons donated since the war.

Mr Zelensky said: “This morning, I learned about the permission to use Storm Shadow missiles against military targets in Russian territory. Today, we had the opportunity to discuss the practical implementation of this decision.”

You can read the full story here.

Larry the cat has become Downing Street’s first Chief Mouser to serve under six prime ministers after Sir Keir Starmer’s general election victory.

The black-and-white tabby arrived from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in February 2011 and has been one of the few constants at No 10 ever since.

Sir Keir’s landslide win last week means Larry has now served more occupants of Downing Street than any of his predecessors.

You can read the full story here. 

Sir Keir Starmer has refused to back calls for an extra bank holiday if England win Euro 2024 but said a victory should be marked “in some way”. 

Asked about the prospect of granting the nation a day off, Sir Keir told broadcasters as he attended the Nato summit in Washington DC: “We should certainly mark the occasion. I don’t want to jinx it… we must mark it in some way. 

“But the most important thing is getting it over the line on Sunday.”

Steve Reed, the Environment Secretary, said water bosses had agreed to Labour’s plans for reform. Mr Reed held a roundtable meeting today with representatives of 16 water companies. 

It came after it was announced by the regulator Ofwat that household water bills will rise by an average of £19 a year over the next five years. 

Mr Reed said: “Today’s water bill rises are the result of years of failure. The new Government will force water companies to tackle illegal sewage dumping into our rivers, lakes and seas. Firm action should have been taken much earlier to ensure money was spent on fixing the sewage system, not syphoned off for bonuses and dividends.   

“The decisive steps set out today mean this will never be allowed to happen again. After meetings with water bosses this afternoon, they have now signed up to my initial package of reforms as we work towards cleaning up our water, prioritising the interests of water customers and the environment, and fixing our broken sewage system.”  

The second day of the Nato summit in Washington DC will be getting underway shortly. 

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to take part in a number of interviews with broadcasters - a staple of these foreign trips - and they should be put out at some point later this afternoon. 

The PM will continue to hold bilateral meetings with world leaders. Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, will be one of the people he meets today. 

Sir Keir will then hold a press conference late this evening as the summit comes to an end.

Households are to get higher compensation for sewage failures and the power to hold executives to account as the Government launches a crackdown on the water industry.

Steve Reed, the Environment Secretary, is to tell bosses they must set up customer panels that can scrutinise mistakes, and demand they strengthen their legal commitments to protect the environment.

You can read the full story here.

King Charles has addressed the Senedd in Cardiff to mark the 25th anniversary of Welsh devolution. 

He said: “It is with countless special memories and particular pride that I am able to join you as we reflect upon the last quarter century of the history we have shared.” 

The King said when the national assembly for Wales was established in 1999 “we could not know what lay ahead but we trusted that the common desire for the welfare of the people of Wales would be the surest guide for those who would create, shape and develop this new national institution”. 

A prominent Reform figure has expressed “concerns about the control of the party and the decision making processes” after he lost his role as deputy leader. 

Ben Habib lost the role to Richard Tice as part of a wider shake-up of the party announced by Nigel Farage this morning (see the post below at 11.02). 

Mr Habib, who was not elected to the House of Commons last week, said he was “considering my position more generally in light of this change”. 

Ed Miliband has ordered an immediate ban on new drilling in the North Sea in a decision that overrules his own officials and risks triggering a wave of legal action.

In an unusual intervention into what is typically an apolitical process, the Energy Secretary has told regulators not to approve a new round of drilling that was slated for confirmation in the coming weeks.

His decision to block the licences means that companies will have wasted millions of pounds on preparing their bids, with experts warning they are likely to take legal action as a result.

You can read the full story here.

Sir Ed Davey has called on the Government to grant the nation an extra bank holiday if England win the final of Euro 2024. 

Sir Ed, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “The Three Lions are playing their first ever final on foreign soil, and if they bring it home, the Government should bring home a bank holiday to celebrate. 

“England deserves the chance to celebrate a once in a generation event. Who knows we might even get decent weather.”

Rachel Reeves said mortgage holders “would welcome” a cut to interest rates but stressed the Bank of England’s independence. 

Asked whether the Bank should slash rates next month, the Chancellor told broadcasters in Darlington: “The Bank of England [is] rightly independent. I was an economist at the Bank of England for many years before I became a Member of Parliament and so I respect that independence.

“But of course, I know that many people who have been struggling with higher mortgage rates after the Conservatives’ mini-Budget just under two years ago would welcome some relief with lower mortgage costs.”

Rachel Reeves said “there’s a huge amount of work to be done” to drive economic growth but Labour had made a “good start”. 

Speaking after official data showed the UK economy grew quicker than expected in May, the Chancellor told broadcasters on a visit to Darlington: “It’s welcome to have an increase in GDP. So important after the last few years of a flatlining economy.

“But there’s clearly more work to be done, which is why in my first speech as Chancellor of the Exchequer on Monday, I announced significant planning reforms, ending the moratorium on onshore wind, reintroducing housing targets, calling in planning decisions on housing and data centres so we can get Britain building again, so we can grow our economy, which means we can improve living standards and have the money we need for our public services.”

She added: “There’s more work that I want to do, but we’ve got off to a good start, and businesses have welcomed our plans. I’m determined to do what’s needed to grow our economy and ensure that working families have more money in their pockets.”

Richard Tice has been appointed deputy leader of Reform UK as part of a wider shake-up by Nigel Farage to “professionalise the party”. 

Mr Tice moves from his role as chairman to become Mr Farage’s deputy both in the House of Commons and in the party at large. 

Lee Anderson has been made the party’s chief whip. 

Zia Yusuf, a party donor and entrepreneur, has replaced Mr Tice as chairman. 

Mr Farage said: “These appointments are the first step to ensure that Reform UK is fit and ready to take forward its positive message. I have no doubt that we will professionalise the party and change politics for good.”

The Conservative Party will lose even more seats if it elects a centrist leader as Rishi Sunak’s replacement, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said. 

The former business secretary, who lost his seat last Thursday, said the Tories “don’t win elections from the centre”. 

He told GB News: “It should surely be number one on our agenda to win Reform voters back into the Tory Party. 

“And we don’t win elections from the centre. Any attempt to indulge that narrative that our only problem was drifting too far to the Right is fanciful. 

“If the next leader takes that view, he or she should expect to lose even more seats.”

Sir Jacob tweeted this morning: “If you stay in the middle of the road you get run over.”

Nigel Farage has formally taken his seat in the House of Commons after he was sworn in this morning. 

The Reform UK leader gave his name as “Nigel Paul Farage” before taking an oath on the King James Bible.

The new MP for Clacton said: “I swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty The King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.”

The security minister said Labour will have to take “difficult decisions” to tackle overcrowding in the nation’s prisons. 

Dan Jarvis said the Labour Government had inherited a “very challenging situation”. 

The Government is expected to announce in the coming days that it will authorise the early release of some prisoners to ease the pressure. 

Asked what guarantees he could give that dangerous prisoners would not be released early, Mr Jarvis told BBC Breakfast: “There has been mounting concerns about the nature of the prison population for some time now. 

“We have inherited a very challenging situation and difficult decisions will have to be made.” 

Mr Jarvis said Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, was “looking very carefully at this” and any decisions “above all else will prioritise the safety of the public”. 

Sir Keir Starmer has got off to a “better” start than Sir Tony Blair did in 1997, the latter’s former Downing Street chief of staff said this morning. 

Jonathan Powell, who was in No 10 for all of Sir Tony’s premiership, said Labour under Sir Keir appeared to be “very well prepared”. 

He told Times Radio: “It’s been a very impressive start in government. I’d say it was actually better than our start in ‘97. 

“We spent time preparing, but they seem very well prepared in terms of the appointments they’ve made.”

He added: “I’m really impressed, as someone who’s had to do this myself. I think they’ve done very well. And if he’s lucky enough to get a further fall in inflation and a fall in interest rates before the summer, then he really will be cruising in.”

The waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has risen for the second month in a row, official figures published this morning show.

An estimated 7.60 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of May, relating to 6.38 million patients – up slightly from 7.57 million treatments and 6.33 million patients at the end of April, NHS England said.

The list hit a record high in September 2023 with 7.77 million treatments and 6.50 million patients, after which the figures began to fall, before showing an increase in both April and May this year.

Meanwhile, some 4,597 patients in England had been waiting more than 18 months to start routine treatment at the end of May, down from 5,013 in April.

Keeping the public safe will be the “guiding priority” of the Labour Government’s response to prisons overcrowding, the security minister has said ahead of Sir Keir Starmer’s expected move to authorise the early release of some inmates.

Asked what would happen if someone who was freed early offended again, Dan Jarvis told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’ve inherited a situation where our prisons are in crisis, and across government and led by the Secretary of State for Justice, Shabana Mahmood, decisions will be taken in the near future about how best to proceed.

“All of those decisions will be very carefully informed by the guiding priority, which is public safety.

“We need to keep the public safe. We will always act to keep the public safe, but we will have to make decisions in the coming days about prison population.”

The Tories should wait until after the Conservative Party’s annual conference in the autumn to appoint Rishi Sunak’s replacement to allow leadership candidates to be put “under the microscope”, a former Cabinet minister has suggested. 

Alex Chalk, the former justice secretary, said the Tories must not “rush” the process of appointing a new leader. 

Mr Chalk told the BBC’s The Today Podcast: “The Conservative Party will win back broad base support if it shows that it is credible, it is calm, it is rational and it is focused relentlessly on answers to people’s problems.” 

Asked if that meant potentially delaying the choice of leader beyond the Tory conference at the start of October, Mr Chalk said: “Absolutely it does. My point about the credibility and competence, Rishi Sunak is both of those things, he is absolutely exceptional at analysing these various issues. 

“And the Conservative Party is just going to have to talk these things through.” 

He added: “I want to see all of these guys, I want to see them put under the microscope, how do they get on in broadcast interviews, how do they get on when they are off their preferred topic… I want to see all that, that takes time, I think we have that time, we shouldn’t rush it.”  

Alex Chalk said Labour’s policy plans are “very thin” and he believed the party had “bet the farm” on planning reforms which may not deliver the economic growth it is targeting. 

The Tory former justice secretary said the “tone” of Sir Keir Starmer’s new Government had been “great” in terms of talking about putting service ahead of self. 

But he added: “However, the substance is very thin because it is basically ‘let’s hope a bit of planning reform triggers a whole load of growth and then we are off to the races and everything will be fine. 

“I would be, if I were a neutral which of course I am not, I would be saying that would be much more plausible if it was allied to a Blair-style tech revolution but actually they seem to be rather flat-footed about that and Tony Blair is suggesting it but I haven’t felt that coming from the Government. 

“My feeling is they will have to broaden their approach to deliver these things or the tide will wash out and leave them, as it were, not wearing very many clothes. They have bet the farm on too narrow a thing which is this planning reform. It won’t do enough in my view.” 

The Tories said today’s economic figures showing the UK economy grew by 0.4 per cent in May proved Labour had inherited an economy “turning a corner”. 

Laura Trott, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said: “Today’s figures show that the steps we put in place whilst in Government have strengthened the economy.

“These figures also prove Labour are inheriting an economy turning a corner, after the many difficult decisions we took in Government. 

“We will keep Labour to the promises made in the campaign not to raise taxes on working people. As Rachel Reeves the new Chancellor herself recognised, the books were open.”

The strength of the economy is “fundamental” to the process of increasing defence spending but the UK’s commitment to Nato is “unshakeable”, the security minister has said.

Asked whether the Government would raise defence spending even if growth is not forthcoming, Dan Jarvis told LBC: “Well, I think we do need to increase military spending.

“There’s a cast iron guarantee that we’ll get to that 2.5 per cent figure… clearly, in the end, the strength of the economy is fundamental to all of this.

“We’ve had positive news this morning, but our commitment to Nato is unshakeable. Our commitment to 2.5 per cent of GDP is absolutely cast iron, and we will get to the point as quickly as we possibly can but it needs to be informed by the process of review that will be initiated very shortly.”

The security minister said it was “unfair” to accuse Sir Keir Starmer of hypocrisy as he presses other Nato countries to honour the 2 per cent of GDP defence spending pledge while the UK reviews its own funding.

Dan Jarvis said “these things should be done properly”, as he was pressed on the Prime Minister’s insistence that an assessment of the armed forces must be carried out before a decision is made on raising the budget.

When it was put to him that there was a “whiff of hypocrisy” in Sir Keir urging other allies in the alliance to honour spending commitments, he told LBC presenter Nick Ferrari: “I think that would be unfair, Nick, if you don’t mind me saying.

“The Prime Minister has made a cast iron guarantee that we will get to the point where we are spending 2.5 per cent on GDP on our defence capabilities, but we think that these things should be done properly.”

Alex Chalk, the Tory former justice secretary, suggested Rishi Sunak blocked a plan to tackle prisons overcrowding at the end of the last Parliament because of fears it would be poorly received by MPs and voters. 

The new Labour Government is understood to be considering plans for some prisoners to serve just 40 per cent of their sentences to tackle the overcrowding problem and an announcement could be made as soon as tomorrow. 

Mr Chalk told the BBC’s The Today Podcast that such a measure had been considered by the Tories but it was not taken forward because of political considerations. 

Mr Chalk, who lost his Cheltenham seat to the Liberal Democrats at the election, said: “We have to remember there are seasons in politics and it was difficult, as we know, at the end of the last Parliament to be satisfied that you were going to get things through Parliament because at the risk of stating the bleeding obvious you have got to win votes and so on the short sentences measures plus something which is called SDS40 [Standard Determinate Sentence 40]… a lot of sentences there is an automatic release at the 50 per cent mark… there is a question of whether that 50 per cent mark should become 40 per cent and that is called SDS40. 

“But the point is whether it is SDS40 or the short sentences stuff I was talking about you have to win votes and that is the calculus that was taxing the Prime Minister and others.” 

Asked if he was saying that Mr Sunak had opposed the plan to jail fewer people and to release some people earlier because of a lack of “political capital”, Mr Chalk said: “Even now I am not going to go into all the details about what was said behind closed doors but I think it is reasonable to say there was a variety of views about what could be got through Parliament.” 

The Government is “not in the business of cutting corners”, the security minister said as he was pressed about the timescale of its strategic defence review.

Labour has said it will look at defence spending and aim to complete the review in less than a year, but some former military chiefs have insisted such decisions cannot wait that long.

Dan Jarvis told Sky News: “It’s important that we follow the process and look carefully at the nature of the threat that our country faces, and the resources that will be required to put in place an armed forces that is fit for purpose… it’s an important process that will take a period of months.”

It was put to him that he was saying it would take a year for the review to be completed, to which he responded: “I’m not saying that.”

He added that it would take a matter of “months” and “we need to get this right” to ensure the armed forces are “properly balanced and properly resourced”.

Mr Jarvis said: “I believe these things should be done properly… we’re not in the business of cutting corners. We need to look at the complex nature of the threat that we face.”

Dan Jarvis, the security minister, said the UK must be “incredibly careful” and “guard against” retaliation from Russia, after it was suggested British weapons could potentially be fired from Ukraine into the invading country. 

Asked how concerned the UK should be about Moscow’s reaction, Mr Jarvis told Sky News: “Well of course, we’ve got to guard against that. And of course, we’ve got to be incredibly careful.

“But what’s most important is that in concert with our Nato allies, we work together to make sure that president [Volodymyr] Zelensky and Ukraine have got the material support they need to defend themselves against Russia.

“It is an illegal invasion, the consequences of which are massive for the whole world.”

Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP is a “cast iron commitment”, the security minister insisted this morning despite Labour refusing to set a deadline for hitting the number. 

Asked when the 2.5 per cent number would be achieved under the Labour Government, Dan Jarvis told Sky News: “The Prime Minister has made a cast iron guarantee that we will get to 2.5 per cent of GDP in terms of defence spending. 

“But I believe that these things should be done properly and that is why you have got to do the review and then we will get to the point at which we are committing to 2.5 per cent at the earliest available opportunity, when the financial circumstances allow. 

“Call me old fashioned, but I believe in process, I believe in doing things properly and that is what this Government will do.”   

Labour is facing political pressure over the failure to set a deadline for hitting 2.5 per cent. The Tories pledged to hit the number by 2030.

Dan Jarvis, the security minister, said a strategic review of the UK’s armed forces will “take a period of months” but he hoped it will conclude “as quickly as possible”. 

Labour has said the review will start next week and it could take up to a year to complete. 

Asked why it is going to take so long, Mr Jarvis told Sky News that it will be “initiated very quickly” and it is “important that we follow the process and look carefully at the nature of the threat our country faces”. 

Rachel Reeves declared a “decade of national renewal has begun” and Labour is only “just getting started” as the Chancellor responded to the news that the economy grew by 0.4 per cent in May (see the post below at 07.18). 

Ms Reeves said in a statement issued by the Treasury: “Delivering economic growth is our national mission, and we don’t have a minute to waste. 

“That is why this week I have already taken the urgent action necessary to fix the foundations of our economy to rebuild Britain and make every part of Britain better off. 

“A decade of national renewal has begun, and we are just getting started.” 

Ms Reeves also tweeted: 

The UK economy grew by 0.4 per cent in May, according to the latest data published this morning by the Office for National Statistics.

It came after no growth was recorded in April when damp weather hit consumer spending.

Economists had predicted that GDP would increase by 0.2 per cent in May.

An independent investigation will be held into the performance of the NHS, the Health Secretary has announced.

Writing for The Sun newspaper, Wes Streeting said the probe will be aimed at “diagnosing the problem” so that the Government can “write the prescription”.

“It’s clear to anyone who works in or uses the NHS that it is broken,” Mr Streeting said. “Unlike the last government, we are not looking for excuses. I am certainly not going to blame NHS staff, who bust a gut for their patients.

“This Government is going to be honest about the challenges facing us, and serious about solving them.”

Mr Streeting said the investigation will be led by former health minister Lord Ara Darzi, who he has asked to “tell hard truths”.

“Honesty is the best policy, and this report will provide patients, staff and myself with a full and frank assessment of the state of the NHS, warts and all,” he said.

Joe Biden backed Sir Keir Starmer’s push for the UK to forge closer defence ties with Europe as he called the UK the “transatlantic knot” binding the two continents together.

The US president held his first face-to-face meeting with Sir Keir Starmer at the White House as Nato agreed further support for Ukraine at a summit in Washington DC.

The Prime Minister said the visit was an opportunity to “recommit to Nato, to recommit to the special relationship”.

The US president said: “I kind of see you guys as the knot tying the transatlantic alliance together, the closer you are with Europe. We know where you are, you know where we are.”