The Latest Breaking News from Grant Shapps

By any Whitehall standard, the Ministry of Defence is a weird place. I am not just referring to its forbidding architectural lines, partly Orwell’s 1984 Ministry of Truth and Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, but its very nature. It is a hybrid, a frontline Whitehall ministry and an active military headquarters.

An initial date of 2040 was announced in July 2017 by then-environment secretary Michael Gove.

As the war enters its 574th day, these are the main developments.

It marks Mr Shapps’ first meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, after he was promoted in a Cabinet mini-reshuffle in August.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Grant Shapps and Michelle Donelan have made clear they are ensuring they use TikTok in the ‘correct way’.

This year’s competition is the sixth and will see 550 competitors from 21 countries take part.

Kemi Badenoch leads the latest Cabinet popularity rankings, receiving the highest approval rating from Tory members.

The row over crumbling concrete is growing as schools claimed they filled in safety surveys “months ago”, after the Education Secretary told headteachers to “get off their backsides” and send back the forms.

Unlike his predecessor, the chancellor will be presenting an Office for Budget Responsibility forecast alongside the statement

The new Defence Secretary has indicated that he will seek increased funding for the armed forces, as he warned critics not to ‘underestimate’ him.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps defended the time it had taken to make the move.