David Lammy makes huge Gaza intervention with U-turn in suspension of controversial aid funding

Rishi Sunak makes new Shadow Cabinet appointments 

Among the new announcements, Rutland and Stamford MP Alicia Kearns has been appointed Shadow Foreign Office Minister, who responded for the party earlier in a debate on Gaza.

Danny Kruger, co-chair of the New Conservatives group on the right of the party, becomes a Shadow Defence Minister and Andrew Bowie, a former junior minister, is now a Shadow Energy Security and Net Zero Minister.

Saqib Bhatti will hold a junior shadow role for science and technology and one for health and social care, while Gareth Bacon will do the same for a junior justice brief and for business and trade.

Suella Braverman expected to quit Tories and join Reform UK

An ally of Rishi Sunak told The I: "Suella is not going to become leader – at least, not of the Tories." A former minister added, "Suella is more likely to become leader of Reform than of us!"

A Reform UK insider said: "We expect her to take a tilt at the Tory leadership and then come over to us, perhaps in the autumn around conference time...She’ll fit in well."

A senior Tory source told The I: "There’s now so much antagonism towards Suella Braverman among MPs that there is now a generally held view that she will defect."

Migrant dies in small boat tragedy in the English Channel

Another small boat migrant has died in the English Channel overnight, as hundreds more make the crossing today, GB News can exclusively reveal.

The victim, believed to be a Sudanese woman, drowned after the massively overcrowded boat she was in began sinking in French waters just before 1am.

The French patrol vessel Cormoran initially offered assistance to those onboard the small boat just off the coast, near Calais.

According to French authorities, the vessel was overloaded with 86 people on board.

Read the full story HERE

Pat McFadden reacts to global CrowdStrike outage

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden, has said he's "reassured" that today's global IT outage was not a "hostile attack".

The attack - an issue with software from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike - has wreaked havoc on transport, medical and business infrastructure worldwide throughout the day.

McFadden said: "What this incident shows is just how dependent we are on IT systems, and when something like this happens, how fast and how widespread the effects are.

"The reassuring thing in this case is that it's not a hostile act. It's not a security attack.

"The cause has been identified, and it's really important because we're relying on these systems, that the fix is put in place as soon as possible."

Starmer in awkward backtrack on sentencing as fallout over Leeds riots grows

Downing Street has said the government will not move to "cut across a police matter" in its response to last night's riots in Leeds - flying directly in the face of the Prime Minister's stance when he was director of public prosecutions.

No10 had shot down questions on whether the government would support fast-tracked sentences for rioters in Harehills after last night's chaos.

Though back in 2012, Keir Starmer said rapid riot prosecutions were more important than long sentences.

But now, a Downing Street spokeswoman has said: "On this case, we'll let the police carry out their work and they have our full support in doing that."

Wandsworth Council chief exec resigns amid 6,500 missing votes on election day in Putney

The Chief Executive of a London council which oversaw a loss of over 6,500 votes on the night of the General Election has resigned.

Mike Jackson, who leads the Wandsworth and Richmond councils in South-West London, had come under fire after 6,558 missing votes were discovered in Putney weeks after election day - some 15 per cent of the original turnout.

And now, Jackson has announced he will be stepping aside in Autumn - with no mention of the election night oversight from him or the council itself.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

David Lammy makes huge Gaza intervention with U-turn in suspension of controversial aid funding

Foreign Secretary David Lammy has confirmed that the UK will overturn a funding ban on the controversial aid agency UNRWA.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East has been plagued by - largely Israeli - allegations that its employees have links to Hamas, including that staff had participated in the October 7 attacks.

Though the allegations have been widely disputed, under Rishi Sunak's leadership, the UK had suspended funding for the group in January alongside a number of Western partners including the US, Canada and Australia.

But today, the Foreign Secretary has repealed the suspension.

Speaking to Parliament, Lammy said he was reassured that the agency had taken steps to "ensure it meets the highest standards of neutrality".

He continued: "I can confirm to the house that we are overturning the suspension of UNRWA funding; Britain will provide £21million in funds."

PICTURED: Zelensky in Cabinet for historic address to ministers

Volodymyr Zelensky is in Downing Street as he prepares to address the Cabinet in the Council Chamber.

Zelensky will become the first foreign leader to address ministers there for 27 years, after US President Bill Clinton did the same in 1997.

Yvette Cooper blasts Leeds riots as 'disgraceful' as Home Sec threatens the 'full force of the law'

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has condemned last night's riots in Leeds in a scathing statement released just minutes ago.

Cooper said: "The scenes of criminality and disorder in Leeds last night were disgraceful, including attacks on police vehicles and public transport, and will have been very distressing for local residents.

"Those responsible must face the full force of the law and West Yorkshire Police have my support in pursuing the perpetrators and taking the strongest possible action against them.

"Local partners are meeting this morning and the police, the Mayor and local councillors will be working closely with the community to provide support and reassurance and prevent further disturbances.

"Where there are incidents of disorder or unrest in communities, there is a responsibility on everyone to support the local agencies and residents who are working to resolve problems and prevent escalation.

"They have my support in their local work to provide a calm and firm response."

Nigel Farage sparks furious row as he wades into Leeds riots: 'Politics of the subcontinent!'

Nigel Farage has sparked a furious row online with his comments on last night's Leeds riots - but the area's MP hit back, slamming him for "inflaming a situation with misinformation".

Yesterday evening, riots broke out on a residential street in Hareshill in the city following a disturbance involving social services and children, who were quickly whisked away to a safe space.

Meanwhile, crowds gathered as police soon swarmed the area, and widespread chaos broke out, with members of the public overturning a police car and setting a double-decker bus on fire.

But the Reform UK leader blamed the unrest in Leeds on the "politics of the subcontinent" - provoking outrage from Labour Leeds Central and Headingley MP Alex Sobel, who accused Farage of knowing "nothing" about the situation.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Starmer hails Zelensky meeting as 'special moment'

Sir Keir Starmer has said Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Downing Street was a "very special moment".

In a bilateral meeting with the Ukrainian President, the Prime Minister said the UK is "united in our Parliament" in supporting Kyiv for as long as possible.

"It's a very special moment for us to reiterate our support for you and the Ukrainian people in the fight against Russian aggression and to have this opportunity to confirm again our resolve to stand with you, so thank you so much for accepting the invitation," Starmer said.

Zelensky attends Cabinet meeting at No10

President Zelensky is being hosted by the Prime Minister at an extraordinary meeting of the Cabinet this morning.

The Ukrainian leader, who will be the first official visitor to Downing Street of Sir Keir Starmer's tenure, is expected to meet and brief the new Cabinet about the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine, as well as the need to ramp up Europe's defence industrial base to outpace the Russian threat.

The last foreign leader to address the Cabinet in person was US President Bill Clinton in 1997.

British seaside town dragged into Israel-Gaza row as Greens invoke 'genocide'

Bournemouth has been urged to drop ties with an Israeli city by one of its Green Party councillors as the backlash to the country's military offensive in Gaza rumbles on.

The Greens' Joe Salmon, who sits on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council, said the South Coast town should "de-twin" from Netanya in Israel - another famed beach resort - to protect its "reputation".

Bournemouth has been twinned with Netanya since 1995 - but Salmon said the former should sever its relationship with the latter over the "plausible case for genocide" against Israel raised by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Four signs which display Bournemouth's twin cities - Netanya, alongside Lucerne in Switzerland - had had plaques containing the Israeli city's name removed in a co-ordinated campaign which sparked protests and counter-protests outside Bournemouth's town hall.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Farage: Starmer's Brussels 'reset' a 'massive mistake'

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has issued a dire warning over any tightening of ties with the EU in the wake of yesterday's European Political Community summit at Blenheim Palace.

Sir Keir Starmer had met with leaders and delegates from across the continent at Winston Churchill's birthplace as he pledged a "reset" of British relations with the bloc.

And over in Strasbourg, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected to her role by secret ballot for another five years.

VDL, as she's known, had pushed for a "European Defence Union" in her re-election push as she looked to strengthen Europe's military independence with Russia's war in Ukraine rumbling on and the US election looming large.

But long-time Eurosceptic Farage wasn't so buoyed.

Speaking to the Sun, the Brexit heavyweight warned that "anything that takes us closer to a European Defence Union is a massive strategic mistake."

Farage continued: "If you want America to walk away, get close to the European Union.

"You cannot have two military command centres based in Brussels."