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Here is a summary from today’s blog:
Prime minister Keir Starmer said he would “press forward” with welfare cuts despite a looming rebellion from Labour MPs. The move against the government’s benefit cuts included an amendment that could kill its welfare bill, spearheaded by senior select committee chairs. The amendment has been signed by 108 MPs. Asked whether he would consider pausing his plans in light of the rebellion, The prime minister told the Cabinet meeting this morning that the government “will reform welfare”.
Chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden has defended the government’s handling of a rebellion by Labour MPs over welfare reform changes, and said the vote of the bill will go ahead as planned next week. McFadden said “We will see the vote next week. We will keep talking to people between now and the vote, but there is no escaping the need for reform of the welfare system.”
Keir Starmer has defended Donald Trump’s actions in the Middle East, saying the US had alleviated a threat to the Iranians’ nuclear weaponry and brought about a ceasefire. The comments came after shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel criticised the government for being reluctant to give public support to US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Trump insisted in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday afternoon that the ceasefire he had brokered between the Middle East foes was “in effect”, after saying earlier that both Israel and Iran had violated the agreement.
Britain will commit to spending 5% of its GDP on defence by 2035, to which McFadden said the country was “not starting from zero”. The UK’s pledge aligns with Nato’s new spending targets – but at a slower pace than key allies including Poland. Britain pushed for and secured a later date.
Foreign secretary David Lammy said the government will invest £600m in its intelligence services, after an audit of relations with China. He said: “We are updating our state threat legislation following general review. We are strengthening our response to transnational repression.”
Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer has confirmed that a second British evacuation flight will leave Israel today. He told the Commons the first RAF flight took place on Monday “and I can confirm to the House now that we will fly another today”.
Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel has accused Labour of going “cap in hand” to China to bail out the British economy and said the audit fails to set out a proper strategic framework.
She said:
It has taken the Government a year to produce this audit, which seemingly fails to set out any kind of serious strategic framework.
I think it’s fair to say we know why: because the Government - and in fact the Foreign Secretary has touched on this - has gone cap in hand to China to bail out its terrible handling of the British economy.
It is setting up its closer economic ties with China while knowing very well that British businesses here are struggling, not just when it comes to competing against China, but actually struggling to absorb the weight of Labour’s own regulatory costs in this country.
So, can I ask the foreign secretary, and so far we have not seen it in this statement, whether or not he can name a single area where a measurable, tangible progress has been made in advancing critical British interests with China, whether it’s on national security, economic practices, on climate or on human rights?
Starmer praises US for 'bringing about a ceasefire in the early hours of today'
Keir Starmer has defended Donald Trump’s actions in the Middle East, saying the US had alleviated a threat to the Iranians’ nuclear weaponry and brought about a ceasefire.
Asked whether he felt safer with the US president in charge, the prime minister told Channel 5 News:
Look, I think what we’ve seen over the last few days is the Americans alleviating a threat to nuclear weaponry by the Iranians and bringing about a ceasefire in the early hours of today.
I think now what needs to happen is that ceasefire needs to be maintained, and that will be the focus of our attention, our engagement, our discussions, because that ceasefire provides the space for the negotiations that need to take place.
It will have to be negotiations … to ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon capability and that is very important for safety and security, not just in the region, but more widely.
Trump insisted in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday afternoon that the ceasefire he had brokered between the Middle East foes was “in effect”, after saying earlier that both Israel and Iran had violated the agreement.
Updated
Downing Street declined to explicitly rule out offering further concessions when asked on Tuesday what would be done to reassure uneasy backbenchers before a vote scheduled for next week on the welfare bill, PA Media reports.
A Number 10 spokesperson said:
We’ll talk to them over the next week but the government believes this is a good package of reforms.
We hope that colleagues will engage positively over the next few days.
It declined to say whether it was confident that the bill would make its way through parliament when asked by reporters on Tuesday.
The spokesperson said:
We are focused on delivering last week’s bill and engaging, talking to colleagues … as to why this reform is so important.
Updated
Foreign secretary David Lammy went on to say that China will play a “vital” role in the UK’s growth.
Earlier in his statement to the Commons, Lammy said the UK will continue to “call out China’s abuses” and “never shy away from shining a spotlight on human rights”.
Regarding the audit on the UK’s relations with China, he said:
The audit reiterated that our approach to China must stay rooted both in international law and deterrence, we will continue to confront China’s dangerous and destabilising activity in the South China Sea.
The audit made clear that our approach will always be guided by the UK’s long-term economic growth priorities. It provided ample evidence of the extent to which our economies are intertwined.
China is our third biggest trading partner, our universities’ second largest source of international students. China will continue to play a vital role in supporting the UK’s secure growth.
But, over the past decade, we have not had the structures either to take the opportunities or protect us from the risks which those deep needs demand.
Updated
Government will invest £600m in intelligence services after audit of relations with China, David Lammy tells MPs
Foreign secretary David Lammy said the government will invest £600m in its intelligence services, after an audit of relations with China.
In a statement, he told the Commons:
I can confirm that following the audit we are investing £600 million in our intelligence services. We are updating our state threat legislation following general review. We are strengthening our response to transnational repression.
We’re introducing training for police and launching more online guidance to support victims. We’re launching, as announced in the industrial strategy, a 12-week consultation on updating the definitions covering 17 central areas under the National Security Investment Act.
He added the UK will be working “bilaterally” with China to “enhance intelligence flows”.
The foreign secretary also said the civil service was looking to deepen its cultural understanding of China, including a lack of Mandarin speakers.
He said:
Businesses told us time and again that they have lacked senior political engagement.
We have already begun to develop new structures, regular economic and financial dialogue with the Chancellor setting us on a course to unlock a billion of economic value for the UK economy.
Updated
Keir Starmer insisted the UK’s increase in defence spending was not coming at the expense of welfare.
The prime minister told reporters in the Netherlands: “The commitment we’ve made on defence, to go to 2.5% by 27/28, it’s absolutely clear that we’ve set out where the money comes from, and it’s not coming from welfare, it’s coming from the overseas development aid.
“So, it’s a misdescription to suggest that the defence spending commitment we’ve made is at the expense of money on welfare.
“And, obviously, on the welfare front, we’ve made a huge commitment to the money we’re putting in to get people back to work.”
Starmer to 'press forward' with welfare cuts despite rebellion
Keir Starmer said he would “press forward” with welfare cuts despite a looming rebellion from Labour MPs.
Asked whether he would consider pausing his plans in light of the rebellion, he told reporters in the Netherlands: “We were elected to change what is broken in our country.
“The welfare system is broken and that’s why we will press ahead with our reforms.
“It’s very important that we do so, because the current system is not working for anybody.
“People are trapped in it and I’m not prepared to allow that to happen. So, we will press forward with our reforms.”
He added that there was “a clear moral case” for the changes, with 1,000 people per day going onto personal independence payments (Pip).
Updated
Downing Street has rejected suggestions the welfare bill was “dead on arrival”.
A Number 10 spokesman told reporters: “I don’t accept that. The welfare system the government inherited is failing people ... that is why we’re reforming welfare.”
Updated
Downing Street has said it recognises “the strength of feeling” about welfare reform.
Asked what the government could do between now and a scheduled vote to reassure backbenchers opposed to the plans, a Number 10 spokesman said: “We recognise the strength of feeling on this issue.
“The government’s clear position is that we have inherited a fundamentally broken system that does not support people, that does not treat them with dignity and respect, and does not support people to work ... that is exactly why we are delivering one of the biggest packages of reforms, including scrapping the work capability assessment, rebalancing Universal Credit, investing £1 billion a year in tailored employment support.”
Starmer told Cabinet ministers 'we will reform welfare'
The Downing Street spokesperson has said that prime minister Keir Starmer told the Cabinet meeting this morning that the government “will reform welfare”.
PA Media reports the spokesperson said:
The prime minister opened Cabinet by setting out that the government has a clear mission to rebuild Britain, fix what is broken and restore hope, and that requires hard, honest choices.
He said nowhere is that clearer than in the welfare system the government inherited. He said the system is currently failing people, trapping millions, telling them the only way to get help is to declare they will never work again, and then abandoning them without hope and opportunity.
The prime minister underlined that the government does not accept that.
We will reform welfare to provide one-to-one support to help people try work safely, protect people with lifelong conditions from endless reassessments and increase the basic level of support for low-income families.
That means the government will always protect those who can’t work, will provide real opportunity for those who can and will build a welfare system that’s fair, strong and there for the people who need it for years to come.
He underlined this is a part of the government’s plan for change to make life better for working people. That includes building new council homes, expanding mental health support, raising the minimum wage, delivering more free school meals and creating good jobs across Britain.
The Work and Pensions Secretary [Lik Kendall] said these reforms are about creating a society rooted in fairness with strong safeguards to protect the most vulnerable. She said there is nothing responsible about denying disabled people who want to work the opportunity and support to do so.
Speaking in parliament, Pat McFadden has outlined the three core elements of the national security strategy. He says:
First, protect security at home, and we will do that by defending our territory, controlling our borders and making the UK a harder target for our enemies, one that is stronger and more resilient to future threats.
Secondly, promote strength abroad. This means bolstering our collective security, renewing and refreshing our key alliances, and developing new partnerships in strategic locations across the world. It also means a clear eyed view of how we engage with major powers like China.
And thirdly, increase our sovereign and asymmetric capabilities, rebuilding our defence industries, training our people, focusing investment on our competitive strengths, and using our exceptional research and innovation base to build up advantages in new frontier technologies.
Pat McFadden’s statement concerns national security and defence. He opens by saying the prime minister is heading to the Nato summit where he “is expected to agree a new commitment to grow spending on national security to 5% of GDP by 2035.”
McFadden says the money contains “a projected split of 3.5% on core defence spending and 1.5% on broader resilience and security spending.”
He continues by saying:
Nato’s member countries meet at a time when the security situation is more in flux than at any time in a generation, a time when Ukraine is in its fourth year of resisting Russia’s invasion, a time when we in Europe are being asked to do more secure our defence, a time when security can no longer be thought of just as the traditional realms of air, sea and land, but also of technology, of cyber, of the strength of our democratic society.
Nick Timothy, MP for West Suffolk, and former aide to Theresa May, has tried to put foreign secretary David Lammy on the spot again about the UK government’s line on US strikes inside Iran.
Timothy asked Lammy “What does it say to Britain’s allies – and to our enemies – that neither the foreign secretary, nor the prime minister, can bring themselves to say that the strikes against Iran were right and cannot say that they were legal.”
Lammy defended his relationship across the Atlantic, saying “I have spoken to Secretary [of state] Rubio every single week that I’ve been in office. The prime minister and the president of the US have the best of relationships. That’s the signal of how well our special relationship is working.”
FCDO questions are over. Pat McFadden will be making a statement now.
Updated
Adrian Ramsay has praised Labour MPs who are rebelling against their party’s welfare reform proposals in a social media.
The co-leader of the Green party of England and Wales wrote “I’ve said before that it’s cruel for the government to try to balance the books on the backs of the most vulnerable. These Labour MPs are standing up and doing the right thing. MPs need to hold firm to get the government to change course.”
Foreign secretary David Lammy and shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel have had an exchange over the dispatch box about the conflict in the Middle East, and she specifically questioned him over the government’s plans for evacuations of British nationals in Israel.
Patel asked Lammy “Given the clear threat Iran poses to the UK, our allies and to the Middle East, does the foreign secretary support the actions undertaken by the US to degrade Iran’s nuclear weapons? And he will also have heard that President Trump has said that Iran’s nuclear capabilities are gone. Does he welcome this?”
Lammy side-stepped offering direct support for the strikes, saying “It was important to be alongside secretary of state Rubio last week in DC. We continue to work closely with president Trump, and the prime minister spoke to him just two days ago. And of course, the initial assessments of those attacks in Iran are coming in, and we will assess that in due course.”
Patel followed up by saying “given the situation that has emerged in the Middle East and the fact that deescalation has not taken place in recent hours, can the foreign secretary outline what is now effectively going to be quite an urgent situation in terms of measures that he’s overseeing to bring back 4,000 British nationals now stranded in Israel?”
The foreign secretary replied “we will do all we can to work with the Israeli government to open airspace and to continue flights. We have a ceasefire – I have seen, of course, that that ceasefire has been violated – and I urge all partners to keep to that cease fire so airspace can open up and commercial flights can resume.”
Second British evacuation flight from Israel confirmed by minister
Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer has confirmed that a second British evacuation flight will leave Israel today.
He told the Commons the first RAF flight took place on Monday “and I can confirm to the House now that we will fly another today”.
He told MPs: “We are providing support and advice to more than 1,000 British nationals as they seek to leave the region by land and air. We have deployed teams to Israel, Cyprus, Egypt and Jordan. Our embassy in Tehran has been temporarily withdrawn but continues to provide support for British nationals in Iran remotely.”
Prime minister Keir Starmer has said that Iran and Israel must “get back” to a ceasefire state. As he travelled to the Nato summit in the Netherlands, PA Media reports he told the media:
I want the ceasefire to continue, and therefore, obviously, the sooner we get back to that the better, and that’s the message that I’m discussing with other leaders today. We’ve got a ceasefire. We need to get back to that ceasefire, which is consistent with what I’ve been saying about de-escalation for quite some time now.
Faiza Shaheen from the LSE has written for the Guardian opinion desk today, arguing that the so-called “Britannia card” policy announced by Nigel Farage’s Reform UK vehicle yesterday “promises to enrich the poor, [and] simultaneously offers a subtle tax break to the wealthiest”. You can read her argument here.
Colum Eastwood, who is SDLP MP for Foyle, has posted to social media to say he has added his name to the Reasoned Amendment to wreck Labour’s welfare bill. He said:
I’ve co-signed the Reasoned Amendment to decline a second reading to the Welfare and Pip Bill alongside more than 100 other MPs. The bill is a cruel and unconscionable attack on vulnerable people. We’ve tried to raise concerns, including directly with the prime minister. These plans are worse than the Tory welfare system. It will have a devastating impact on communities like Derry where we have 17,000 people on Pip because they need additional support to manage their disabilities. We have to do everything we can to fight these brutal cuts.
Former transport secretary Louise Haigh has also posted a message about the amendment this morning, saying:
Disabled people have not been consulted and we have not given enough time for the government’s reforms on employment support to work. In the middle of a cost of living crisis, we cannot risk a rushed Bill taking money off disabled people.
We are expecting two ministerial statements in the Commons today. At 12.30 there will be a statement from chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden on national security strategy. At 1.30 we will hear from foreign secretary David Lammy on the China audit. Prior to that it is questions for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development affairs ministers.
Senior Conservatives this morning have been backing a campaign by Neil O’Brien, MP for Harborough, Oadby & Wigston, to ban phones in secondary schools.
Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch shared a video he had posted on social media, saying “Every teacher and pupil I meet says the same: ban smartphones in classrooms. They’re disruptive, harm mental health, and damage learning. Keir Starmer says it’s not needed yet only one in ten secondary schools are phone-free. This is so important.”
Every teacher and pupil I meet says the same: ban smartphones in classrooms.
— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) June 24, 2025
They're disruptive, harm mental health, and damage learning.
Keir Starmer says it’s not needed yet only 1 in 10 secondary schools are phone-free. This is so important.
Please give this a watch. https://t.co/HgubVqcCF7
Tom Tugendhat, who was a party leadership contender last year, has also backed the campaign today.
Frances Ryan reports for the Guardian:
Downing Street’s disability cuts will have a “devastating” impact on women’s health and dignity and could breach equality law, the government has been warned.
Charities and disabled people’s organisations including Scope, Spinal Injuries Association, Inclusion London, ME Association and WinVisible told the Guardian that tightening eligibility for personal independence payments (PIP) would mean disabled women being discriminated against, due to their higher personal care needs compared with men.
Under the new rules, to be voted on by MPs next week, a claimant must receive four points in a single daily living category to qualify for the payment.
Washing below the waist will score just two – half the number given to needing assistance between the shoulders and waist. It means the new four-point rule won’t take into account menstruation or some women’s extra toilet requirements, such as incontinence from pregnancy, unless they have additional needs.
More than 100 Labour MPs have signed a Commons bid to halt the cuts in their tracks, enough to threaten Keir Starmer’s majority. Some 108 MPs’ signatures appear on an amendment declining to give the welfare reform bill a second reading when it returns to the Commons on 1 July. The rebellion, the prime minister’s largest yet, would be enough to defeat the government’s plans if opposition MPs joined the Labour rebels.
Read more here: Labour’s benefit cuts may discriminate against disabled women, say charities
Jamie Grierson has this write up of Pat McFadden’s appearance on the morning media round defending the government’s plans for welfare reform:
Pat McFadden, the chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the government would “keep talking to people” after more than 100 Labour MPs signed up to a Commons bid to stop reforms to Pip.
Pip was introduced by the coalition government in 2013 and is designed to help working-age people 16 and over with the extra costs of living with a health condition or a disability. It is available in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Labour government wants to tighten the eligibility for Pip as part of a wider package of changes aimed at saving £5bn a year.
An amendment put forward to the government’s welfare bill that declines to pass the government’s welfare changes and calls for a pause has been signed by more than 100 Labour MPs.
Rebel MPs aim to pass a so-called reasoned amendment, which halts the passage of a bill. It means the welfare bill would not pass its second reading, and says that provisions “have not been subject to a formal consultation with disabled people, or co-produced with them, or their carers”.
The amendment would need to be selected by the speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, and gain the support of opposition parties to pass, and there is no guarantee of either. But the symbolism of so many MPs signing the amendment would make taking the bill forward problematic for Keir Starmer.
Read more here: Minister defends welfare cuts, saying 1,000 people a day signing on to Pip
My colleague Jessica Elgot posts to social media to say that “There are a number of MPs who have significant unease at the cuts who are currently frontbenchers – some considering their positions in order to do so.”
There are a number of MPs who have significant unease at the cuts who are currently frontbenchers - some considering their positions in order to do so https://t.co/Y6QvS4t174
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) June 24, 2025
Plaid Cymru have called for Wales to hold a national inquiry into maternity units, after health secretary Wes Streeting yesterday announced that England would hold one.
Plaid Cymru health spokesperson, Mabon ap Gwynfor, said:
Wales has had the highest stillbirth rates in the UK since 2014, and while both England and Scotland experienced a decline in neonatal mortality rates between 2010 and 2022, they increased in Wales over this period.
In light of significant and well-publicised issues over recent years at several Welsh health boards, we have similar concerns as to the quality of maternity care here in Wales. Indeed, across several metrics, there is reason to believe that maternity services in Wales are currently in a worse state than those in England.
As was shown by the latest Llais report into the Singleton hospital maternity unit, a lack of institutional accountability is compounding clinical failures. Undertaking an investigation of this nature would go a long way towards rebuilding the trust of the public after years of deteriorating standards.
Patel criticises government for failing to support US strikes on Iran
Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel has criticised the government for being reluctant to give public support to US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
In an appearance on GB News, she told viewers “the British government did not even come out to give a view, to give a view as to whether or not they supported American strikes on that Iranian nuclear facility. And that is not right. It is wrong. The British people need to know that.”
Patel also claimed that the actions of Iran “are affecting us every single day in this country,” saying:
We have Iranian spies in our country. Iranian dissidents in our country. They’ve been active, and they’ve been undermining our national interests.
Yes, it is about the nuclear facilities in Iran. They must never have a nuclear weapon. Yes, it is about their ballistic missiles. Obviously, they’ve been stockpiling them. They’ve been hurting European countries on European soil, such as Ukraine, and they’ve been operating in our country.
That’s why we need a government that is going to invest in our defence and security and actually make sure that we are kept safe. Yes, abroad, when it comes to our bases and British nationals abroad, but also here in this country.
Yesterday several ministers declined to say whether they thought the US strikes were legal, with former foreign secretary James Cleverly describing current foreign secretary David Lammy’s interview on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme as “excrutiating”.
In 2017 Patel was forced to resign from Theresa May’s government after it emerged she had been holding about 14 unofficial meetings with Israeli ministers, businesspeople and a senior lobbyist.
Updated
The UK government earlier cautiously welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire betweeen Israel and Iran. Speaking on BBC radio, senior minister Pat McFadden said:
We are living in a very unpredictable world. If this ceasefire holds, I think everyone will welcome that. But I think given the exchange of missiles in various directions over the last ten days or so, people will welcome it with caution, because it is a fragile situation.
In a separate appearance on BBC Breakfast, McFadden said:
A number of people have been killed overnight in missile strikes, but I think the whole world will hope that the ceasefire will hold and that Iran will come forward with a credible plan that shows that it will not pursue the development of a nuclear weapon.
Yesterday an RAF flight evacuated “vulnerable” British nationals from Israel. Downing Street said “around 1,000” people had requested a seat on an evacuation flight – a quarter of the 4,000 who had registered their presence in Israel or Palestine with the Foreign Office.
UK government minister: 'not starting from zero' with increased spending on defence
A senior minister in the UK government has said the country is “not starting from zero” when it comes to raising defence spending to 5% of GDP.
Speaking on the BBC, Pat McFadden said one of the earliest actions of his party, which came to power of 2024, was to increase defence expenditure to 2.5% of GDP over the next couple of years.
“It was not an easy decision,” he said, “but we said how we would pay for that, and similarly, as we increase beyond that over the next decade, in future spending reviews, will set out how it will be paid for.”
McFadden was keen to stress that the 5% figure of GDP was not just what he called “an out of date concept of defence and national security” that saw it “purely as the budget for the armed forces.”
He told listeners “Critical as that budget is and those capabilities are, you have to look after your broader security. Our cyber systems, for example, are under attack every day, sometimes by state actors, sometimes by non-state actors.
“That is why things like your telecoms infrastructure and other things that help to make our society work are a really important part of our security.”
He criticised the previous UK government, saying that under Rishi Sunak the Conservative party had a spending target of 2.5% but “no credible plan to reach it.”
McFadden defends Liz Kendall's handling of welfare reform brief
Chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden has praised Liz Kendall’s handling of her government brief amid a rebellion by Labour MPs over welfare reform plans.
Asked on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme how long she could stay in her job if she could not convince Labour MPs to vote alongside the government, McFadden said “Liz Kendall is doing an excellent job.”
He continued:
She has been central to the development of these reforms.
She has argued for them, not as a difficult choice, but as the right choice, because she believes in a welfare state that should be there for people.
Because she’s not comfortable about 1,000 people a day signing on for Pip and us just watching that number grow.
And because she’s absolutely passionate about getting more help and support to long term sick and disabled people who could work if they had that extra help and support, and right now, under the unreformed system, they don’t have that.
McFadden: welfare bill vote will go ahead as planned despite rebellion
Chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden has defended the government’s handling of a rebellion by Labour MPs over welfare reform changes, and said the vote of the bill will go ahead as planned next week.
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, McFadden said “We will see the vote next week. We will keep talking to people between now and the vote, but there is no escaping the need for reform of the welfare system.”
He said the UK faced “a decade which is set to see the number of people on long term sickness and disability benefits double,” claiming that “1,000 people a day go on to Pip” which he said was the equivalent of “a city the size of, for example, Leicester” every year. He said:
We are an outlier in terms of the proportion of people in work in the UK compared to other countries, when you look back at what it was before Covid.
And so the set of reforms that we brought forward are aimed at ensuring the welfare state is there for people who need it.
It should always be there for people who need it in the future, but also making sure that, as the party of labour, as the party of work, we have support in place for that proportion of people on long term sickness and disability benefits who could work if they were given support.
On the rebel MPs, McFadden said “Of course, we’ll engage with people … we’ll always have a dialogue with people … you know, welfare reform is not an easy issue, and to govern is sometimes to have to grasp issues that aren’t easy.”
Welcome and opening summary …
Welcome to the Guardian’s rolling coverage of UK politics. Here are the headlines …
Labour MPs have launched a significant rebellion against the government’s benefit cuts with an amendment that could kill its welfare bill, spearheaded by senior select committee chairs. The amendment has been signed by 108 MPs
Britain will commit to spending 5% of its GDP on defence by 2035. The UK’s pledge aligns with Nato’s new spending targets – but at a slower pace than key allies including Poland. Britain pushed for and secured a later date
The UK has welcomed news of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said it was “good news, if the ceasefire holds”
It is cabinet this morning, and then the prime minister Keir Starmer is expected to travel to The Hague for a Nato leaders’ summit. Angela Rayner and Liz Kendall are expected to visit a construction site in London this afternoon.
It is Martin Belam with you today. You can get in touch with me at martin.belam@theguardian.com if you spot typos, errors or omissions.
