'How many more children?' - Starmer HECKLED as he visits Southport to pay respects following shocking attack

Nigel Farage wonders 'whether truth is being withheld from us' after police deem Southport stabbings a 'non-terror related incident'

Nigel Farage has said that he wonders whether "the truth is being held from us" after the police deemed the Southport stabbings a "non-terror related incident."

Three children have been killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class and five other children remain in critical condition in hospital with stab injuries.

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Kemi Badenoch slams article accusing her of 'bullying and traumatising' staff for 'coming after the one person who can beat Starmer'

Kemi Badenoch has blasted a Guardian article accusing her of "creating an intimidating atmosphere in the government department she used to run" as a "hit job".

The Conservative leadership hopeful had come under fire after the paper unearthed allegations of "bullying and traumatising" behaviour by "at least three senior officials" in the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).

But now, the ex-Business Secretary has claimed her "campaign launch has spooked the lefties", and accused the Guardian of "coming for the one person they know can beat Keir Starmer".

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Starmer pays respects to children killed in Southport which 'touches a nerve with the whole country'

The Prime Minister has paid his respects to the children tragically killed in yesterday's stabbings in Southport.

Sir Keir Starmer, who visited the town today, said: "I came here to pay respects to the victims and families who are going through raw pain and grief - unimaginable pain and grief."

He said the visit was an opportunity give a "personal thank you" to emergency responders and shake their hands, adding that as PM he was "grateful on behalf of the country".

Asked whether the incident touched a nerve personally as a father, Starmer said: "It touches a nerve with the whole country... It's awful to contemplate what happened - really hard to take in."

He said he was "thinking about the families and those directly impacted", adding "there's no pretending that nobody is untouched".

The PM added that he was "very worried" about knife crime in the wake of the attack, saying he "will get to grips with it", but counselled that "today is not the time to get into politics".

"It's time to focus on the families", the PM added, "time to say thank you to those who responded".

Rayner calls for 'council house revolution' in bombshell announcement

Angela Rayner has called for a "council house revolution" as part of a wide-ranging homes and infrastructure drive.

The Deputy PM said: "Today I’m calling on local authorities, housing associations and industry to work with me to deliver a council house revolution."

Details of Government investment in the form of direct grant funding for social and affordable housing, as well as on rent stability, will be brought forward at the autumn Spending Review.

Labour also intends to drop the requirement for new homes to be "beautiful", introduced by the Conservatives, arguing it is subjective, difficult to define and leads to inconsistent decision-making on applications.

The ruling party’s manifesto used different language, outlining instead its aim for "exemplary" development to be "the norm not the exception."

Rayner defended the cut to London’s annual homes target from 100,000 to 80,000, saying the previous ambition "based on an arbitrary uplift was absolute nonsense" and that the Mayor of London "is determined to rise to" the new target.

Angela Rayner announces mass overhaul of planning system with 1.5 million new homes slated for next five years

Angela Rayner has announced a mass overhaul of the UK's planning system - which is set to pave the way for 1.5 million new homes over the next five years.

Mandatory housing targets, scrapped by the previous Conservative government, will be restored and some low-quality green belt land will be freed up for construction under the plans.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary will reverse changes made to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) by Rishi Sunak’s administration she said had tanked housing supply. She unveiled forecasts that fewer than 200,000 new homes would be built in 2024-25 under Tory policies – far below their annual 300,000 target.

In a statement to MPs on Tuesday before they depart for the summer recess, Rayner said: “In a bid to appease their anti-housing backbenchers, they made housing targets only advisable. They knew that this would tank housing supply, but they still did it.”

The Labour frontbencher said her “radical plan” will help “get the homes we desperately need”, as well as “drive the growth, create jobs and breathe life back into towns and cities”.

Liz Truss issues warning over new budget responsibility bill

Liz Truss has slated the new Government’s Budget Responsibility Bill, which is due to be debated in the Commons for the first time later today.

The bill is aimed at creating what the Government has dubbed a "fiscal lock", ensuring that any major tax or spending plans set out by ministers are automatically subject to an assessment by the independent OBR.

Truss, who lost her South West Norfolk seat by just 630 votes, and her then-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced £45billion in unfunded tax cuts following a mini-budget in Autumn 2022 spooking the markets, leading to soaring mortgage rates. She also sought to challenge the narrative that it was her short-lived tax-cutting agenda that caused financial chaos.

Speaking about the Bill, Truss said: "The OBR has been found time and time again to have been wildly inaccurate in its forecasting, so enhancing the status of this unelected and unaccountable body is a fatuous move that will only serve to restrict the ability of elected ministers to make decisions in the national interest.

"Since 2010, the OBR – according to its own assessment – has, on average, misjudged the UK’s public sector net borrowing by £52.5billion and miscalculated the UK’s annual growth by £46.5billion every year.

"These are hardly rounding errors, yet its incorrect projections are used to put politicians in a straitjacket, as I discovered when attempting to boost economic growth with relatively modest tax cuts."

Rees-Mogg accuses Labour of being 'extraordinarily dishonest'

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has accused Rachel Reeves of being “extraordinarily dishonest” about the country’s finances and accused the Labour Party of being “so crooked it can’t sleep straight”.

The former Business Secretary said: "[Rachel Reeves] won't get away with it, because what she said…is extraordinarily dishonest. She herself was aware of the figures. She said herself that she knew what the figures were because of the OBR.

“Various other people said there may be £20 billion that needs to be found during the election campaign. This is not news, and to pretend it is and to blame the Tories is simply dishonest."

Yvette Cooper visits Southport after horror stabbing in Hart Street

The Home Secretary, along with Southport MP Patrick Hurley, Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service’s Chief Fire Officer Phil Garrigan and Merseyside police and crime commissioner Emily Spurrell walked to the cordon together, each holding a bouquet of flowers.

The Home Secretary stood for a few moments looking at the tributes before laying her flowers and reading some of the messages left by others.

It comes as Taylor Swift issued a statement saying she is “completely in shock” after the “horror” of the Southport knife attack at a dance class themed on the singer's music.

Post Office Horizon scandal victims can now apply to a new compensation scheme

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he hoped the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme would bring “some relief to postmasters who have waited far too long to get back the money that is rightfully theirs.”

Postmasters with overturned convictions will begin to receive written confirmation of their exoneration this week, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said.

Those eligible for the new scheme can either accept a fixed settlement of £600,000 or, if they believe their losses exceed that amount, can choose a full claim assessment route.

This would mean their application will be fully examined by a team of dedicated caseworkers in the DBT.

​Southport MP Patrick Hurley says town is in 'mourning'

The Labour MP said: "The town is in mourning, the town is in shock this morning. The incident that took place yesterday was uniquely horrific. Southport’s a quiet seaside, coastal town. This has just sent shockwaves through the whole community.

"It’s a very small town, Southport, and a lot of families across the area will be impacted directly.

"I think at this stage we need to just reach out, make sure that there’s a level of community healing going on and make sure we give voice to the solidarity that people need right now."

SNP slams Reeves for financial black hole - 'she should have known!'

Scottish public finance minister Ivan McKee told BBC Scotland: "Labour should have known about this. They’ve either been incompetent in not checking the numbers, which were readily available during the election campaign, or they’ve been very misleading about the process that’s happened here."

When asked whether the cuts amounted to austerity he said the Chancellor had "been very clear that there will be more cuts coming on top of what’s already happened with the winter fuel payments, which is very concerning, so it’s absolutely austerity and there’s no doubt about that."

He said the Scottish Government now had "some difficult decisions to make" and refused to commit to maintaining the universal aspect of the winter fuel payment benefit, adding that they still needed to to review the numbers around it as "we only got told about this 90 minutes before it was announced."

David Lammy urges British nationals to leave Lebanon

The Foreign Secretary said events were "fast-moving" and Foreign Office staff are working "round the clock" to help ensure the safety of UK citizens.

It comes as Lammy said Britain the welcomes the Lebanese government's call for a cessation of all violence after an attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights blamed on Lebanon's Hezbollah. The strike killed 12 children and teenagers.

"I spoke to (Lebanon's) Prime Minister @Najib_Mikati today to express my concern at escalating tension and welcomed the Government of Lebanon’s statement urging for cessation of all violence," David Lammy wrote on social media.

Robert Jenrick calls for end to mass migration in campaign launch video

The Newark MP, who resigned from as Rishi Sunak’s Immigration Minister over the Rwanda scheme, this morning released the policy-led video filmed on Sedley Beacon.

He opened up about the “hard truths” facing the UK as he calls for an end to mass migration.

Jenrick said: "Our NHS has a fifth more money, doctors, and nurses than it did five years ago. But isn't treating any more people. The hard truth is that we lost this election because we failed to tackle these challenges.

"The even harder truth is that the severity of these challenges now threatens our future."

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO HERE

Jeremy Hunt admits he was 'angry' in showdown with Rachel Reeves

Speaking on GB News, the Shadow Chancellor said: "I was angry, I will be quite upfront about that. It’s perfectly alright to disagree with good, conservative plans to deal with public finances.

"But what you can’t do is junk the plans we had in place then blame the black hole on the previous Conservative government.

"We had plans based on public sector productivity. She has just given an inflation-busting £9bn pay award to nearly the entire sector, the unions that helped Labour in the sector."

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Yvette Cooper in Southport today after shocking knife attack

Asked whether the Prime Minister will be in the north-west seaside town, Rachel Reeves told Sky News: "I’m sure he will be and I know that the Home Secretary is already there.”

Reacting to the attack, the Chancellor said: "Beyond the worst nightmare of any parent what’s unfolding in Southport. And my thoughts and prayers are with all of those families affected.

"And I also just pay tribute to the emergency services, particularly at Alder Hey Hospital having to treat the children and families who have been impacted by what happened yesterday.

"Nothing can prepare you for something like this. And I think everybody across our country today is thinking of that community and those families."

Long awaited public hearing into Omagh bombing to start later today

The probe, led by chairman Lord Turnbull, is examining whether the atrocity could reasonably have been prevented by UK authorities.

Some 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, were killed in the dissident republican bomb attack which devastated the Co Tyrone town on August 15 1998. Some of the bereaved families have called for decades for a public inquiry into alleged security failings.

Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was killed in the atrocity, said today’s hearing will be the first time since 1998 that all of the bereaved families, including those caught up in the blast from Spain, will come together.

Survivors are also expected to gather at the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh for the hearing which will include opening remarks from the chair and counsel to the chair Paul Greaney KC.

Angela Rayner set to announce 'sweeping changes' to planning system

The Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary is expected to address MPs about an overhaul set to include bringing back mandatory housing targets and more detail on the land Labour could use for development.

The Government says it is committed to preserving nature, but that the so-called grey belt, low-quality areas such as disused car parks and wasteland on parts of protected land known as the green belt, could be built on.

The announcement will introduce "golden rules" to ensure development works for local people and protects the environment, Rayner has said.