MPs back bill to end criminal penalties for abortion in key vote – as it happened

Parliament votes on biggest shake-up to reproductive rights in England and Wales in 60 years

Casey says in the past government has talked relentlessly about the need for better data sharing between departments.

But she says there is a need to consider making this mandatory.

I was there when the tragedy of Soham happened. We knew at that point that if we had had better data sharing there’s a possibility that we might have saved those girls’ lives. There’s certaintly an absolute clarity that intelligence would have been much faster in either avoiding it or or actually finding that dreadful human being earlier.

And we’ve known that forever onwards. And so I think there is also an issue that the Home Office can’t drag their feet on, looking at police intelligence systems, given we’ve living in the 21st century. Probably everbody in this room can connect within seconds. Yet we had Befordshire police finding a young boy that was being, in my mind trafficked to London. But the data intelligence system did not make it easy for them to find that he was in Deptford and being circled and dealt with by predators.

I feel very strongly on issues that are as searing as people’s race, when we know the prejudice and racism that people of colour experience in this country, to not get how you treat that data right is a different level of public irresponsibility.

Sorry, to put it so bluntly, I didn’t put it that bluntly yesterday, but I think it’s particularly important if you are collecting those sorts of issues to get them 100% right.

When we asked the good people of Greater Manchester Police to help us look at the data we also collected – I think it’s in the report – what was happening with child abuse more generally, and of course … if you look at the data on child sexual exploitation, suspects and offenders, it’s disproportionately Asian heritage. If you look at the data for child abuse, it is not disproportionate, and it is white men.

So again, just note to everybody, really outside here rather than in here. Let’s just keep calm here about how you interrogate data and what you draw from it.

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Calls for abortion law change grew louder as number of prosecutions rose

While parliament was moving towards more liberal abortion laws more women were being arrested or investigated

Calls for decriminalisation of abortions have been growing louder in recent years – in line with a growing number of women being prosecuted for terminating their pregnancies.

Until 2022, it is believed that only three women had ever been convicted of having an illegal abortion in the 150 years since 1861, when the procedure was made illegal under the Offences Against the Person Act.

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Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs ahead of government’s spending review – UK politics live

Prime minister faces Conservative party leader as chancellor to reveal how government plans to spend almost £1.4tn in 2026-27

Green party MPs and activists staged a protest outside parliament today saying the government should use the spending review to announce a wealth tax. In a post on social media, Adrian Ramsay, the party’s co-leader, said:

We expect the Chancellor to take another axe to public spending today: decline by design from a govt that refuses to tax wealth to properly fund our overstretched public services & support the most vulnerable. We need to invest in a secure & fairer future. #TaxExtremeWealth

Senior SNP figures held a secret meeting on Monday night to discuss removing John Swinney as party leader, The Herald has learned, following last week’s defeat in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse byelection.

One of the 25 attendees said the first minister had two weeks to come up with a new strategy on independence — or risk facing a leadership challenge at the SNP conference in October.

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Ministers offer concessions on AI and copyright to avoid fifth Lords defeat

Exclusive: Data bill faces being shelved amid standoff over plans to allow AI firms to use copyrighted content

Defiant peers have delivered an ultimatum to offer artists copyright protection against artificial intelligence or risk losing a key piece of legislation.

The government suffered a fifth defeat in the House of Lords over controversial plans to allow the AI companies to train their models using copyrighted material.

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Keir Starmer facing scrutiny over failure to establish new ethics watchdog

Commons inquiry to examine lack of progress in fulfilling manifesto pledge to set up ethics and integrity body

No 10 is facing scrutiny over its failure to bring in a new ethics watchdog almost a year after the election, as a new inquiry was launched to examine the seeming lack of progress.

Amid signs that the plans have been kicked into the long grass, parliament’s public administration committee said it was launching an inquiry to push the government on what has happened to its ethics commitments.

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MPs call on Criminal Cases Review Commission chief executive to resign

Committee says Karen Kneller’s position no longer tenable in damning report on miscarriage of justice watchdog

The miscarriage of justice watchdog for England, Wales and Northern Ireland has continually failed to learn from its mistakes and its chief executive should follow the organisation’s chair out the door, MPs have said.

In a damning report on the leadership of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the House of Commons justice committee said Karen Kneller had provided it with unpersuasive evidence and her position was no longer tenable.

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No 10 won’t say if fuel payments U-turn will be implemented in time for this winter – UK politics live

Downing Street unable to say how many more pensioners would receive winter fuel payments or when changes would come in

YouGov has published more details of its polling on the electorate’s relationship with Labour, as covered in the Sky News report mentioned earlier. (See 10.06am.)

It shows that Reform UK supporters are most likely to think that Labour is trying hard to appeal to them – but least likely to say they would respond positively. Only 4% of Reform UK supporters say they would consider voting Labour, the poll says.

I ask her if there will be any changes as demanded by MPs

She says while “we want to make sure we address all of people’s concerns, but stressed: “whatever the fiscal position that the government faces, I think the system as a whole needs to change.”

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No 10 won’t say if fuel payments U-turn will be implemented in time for this winter – UK politics live

Downing Street unable to say how many more pensioners would receive winter fuel payments or when changes would come in

YouGov has published more details of its polling on the electorate’s relationship with Labour, as covered in the Sky News report mentioned earlier. (See 10.06am.)

It shows that Reform UK supporters are most likely to think that Labour is trying hard to appeal to them – but least likely to say they would respond positively. Only 4% of Reform UK supporters say they would consider voting Labour, the poll says.

I ask her if there will be any changes as demanded by MPs

She says while “we want to make sure we address all of people’s concerns, but stressed: “whatever the fiscal position that the government faces, I think the system as a whole needs to change.”

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MPs opposed to assisted dying criticise ‘distasteful’ Esther Rantzen claims

Objections raised to Rantzen’s accusation of ‘undeclared religious beliefs’ in five-hour Commons debate

MPs opposed to assisted dying have criticised “distasteful” claims from the prominent campaigner Esther Rantzen, who argued many are fighting against the changes to the law because of secret religious views.

Rantzen made the remarks in a letter urging MPs to back the “strong, safe, carefully considered bill” to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales.

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Rantzen accused of being ‘disrespectful’ as MPs debate assisted dying bill – UK politics live

About 150 changes have been made to the bill since MPs voted on it last year

One of the amendments to the bill being debated today has been tabled by the Labour MP Naz Shah, who voted against the bill at second reading. Her amendment 14 would tighten the bill so that anyone not terminally ill cannot qualify as terminally ill (meaning they can use assisted dying) “by voluntarily stopping eating or drinking or both”.

In her speech Leadbeater said that she could understand the concerns behind Shah’s amendment, but that she thought the risk of anyone being able to qualify for assisted dying as a result of anorexia was “negligible”. She said:

Not only would someone with severe anorexia be highly unlikely to be assessed to have capacity to make a decision about assisted dying, the other tragic reality is that if a patient was so ill as a result of not eating and drinking for whatever reason, they would die before the process of assisted dying would be able to take place.

I know that some people have expressed concerns that the severe physical consequences of a decision to stop eating or drinking could still enable someone to claim eligibility for assisted dying when otherwise they would not be able to do so, and I believe that is the motivation behind this amendment … As I’ve set out, I think that risk is negligible.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists have stated that they do not feel at the moment in time there are sufficient psychiatrists who would be able to deliver that position on such a panel. What response does the member have to that?

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More protections have been added to assisted dying bill, says Kim Leadbeater

MP behind bill for England and Wales says changes being debated in parliament on Friday will make it stronger

The bill to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill people in England and Wales will be strengthened and made more workable by proposed changes, Kim Leadbeater, the MP behind the legislation, has said.

As the House of Commons prepared to debate amendments, Leadbeater said fresh protections had been introduced to allow a further check on applications for assisted dying, and ensure doctors and others were able to opt out of involvement in the process.

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UK asking other countries to host ‘return hubs’ for refused asylum seekers, Starmer confirms – UK politics live

PM on trip to announce increased cooperation against people smugglers alongside Albania’s prime minister, Edi Rama

All Commons Speakers, at least for the past 30 years, have complained about the government making major announcements to the media first, and not to parliament first. But rarely have any of them sounded quite as furious about this as Lindsay Hoyle, who this morning delivered an extended reprimand to the government about this at the start of an urgent question.

The UQ was about plans to limit the use of prison recall – something announced by the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, at a press conference yesterday, while the Commons was still sitting. After pointing this out, and reminding MPs that details of the immigration white paper were given to the media extensively, long before the ministerial statement about it was delivered in the Commons on Monday, Hoyle went on to imply that, as well as regularly breaking the ministerial code, ministers were also guilty of hypocrisy. He said:

I note that those who now occupy senior ministerial roles were not slow to complain when the previous government made major policy announcements outside this house.

I will continue to uphold and defend the rights of this house, the rights of backbenchers, to be here, and hear it first, the most important announcements of government policy, and the right of honourable members to question ministers on those announcements in person.

When Parliament is in session, the most important announcements of government policy should be made in the first instance in Parliament.

If the government is not going to take the ministerial code seriously, who will?

I’ve got to say, I don’t like this. I believe I am here to represent all backbenchers and backbenchers have the right to ask questions. I’m not interested in Sky News or the BBC or political programmes. I’m here to defend all of you. I will continue to defend. Please do not take MPs for granted. It is not acceptable.

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Farage says Starmer ‘learning a great deal from Reform’ as PM defends immigration speech – UK politics live

Reform leader asks PM to declare a national emergency at the borders

Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question at PMQs, which starts at noon.

In March Reform UK reported Rupert Lowe (at the time one of their five MPs) to the police, claiming he had threatened the party chair, Zia Yusuf, with violence. Reform UK announced the news shortly after Lowe gave a newspaper interview criticising Nigel Farage, the party leader,

Following a thorough and detailed review of the evidence in relation to an allegation of threats, we have decided that no criminal charges should be brought against a sitting MP.

Having considered a number of witness statements, we have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.

If Farage were ever to control the vast power of the British state, I believe he would not hesitate to do to his adversaries what they have tried to do to me. With real power, I fear he would wield that immense responsibility to crush dissent - as he has done time and again over the years …

Please listen when I say this: For the good of our country, Nigel Farage must never be prime minister.

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Hampers, cufflinks … and a lot of alcohol: 20 gifts kept by Lindsay Hoyle

The wheels of diplomacy are oiled by the exchange of tokens – and plenty of booze, it seems

Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of the House of Commons, has declared hundreds of gifts he received from foreign dignitaries and others since 2021. Here is a small selection of the items he kept.

1) Bottle of rum

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House of Commons speaker has kept almost 300 gifts over past four years

Lindsay Hoyle’s freebies include champagne, whisky, food hampers, skincare sets and presents for his pets

Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of the House of Commons, has kept almost 300 gifts over the last four years including dozens of bottles of alcohol, hampers, ties, cufflinks and chocolates, his declarations show.

The speaker received a large volume of presents from foreign dignitaries such as ambassadors, MPs and sometimes companies and chose to keep hundreds of them rather than donating them to Speaker’s House – his residence and office – or parliament.

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US and UK set to announce trade deal today – UK politics live

US president set to announce ‘full and comprehensive’ trade deal between UK and US with Starmer due to make statement

The Liberal Democrats treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper has reiterated the party’s position that any trade deal with the US should be put to parliament for approval before being ratified, saying Labour “should not be afraid” of a vote if they are confident a deal is in the country’s best interests.

Cooper, the MP for St Albans, said in a statement:

Parliament must be given a vote on this US trade deal so it can be properly scrutinised.

A good trade deal with the US could bring huge benefits, but Liberal Democrats are deeply concerned that it may include measures that threaten our NHS, undermine our farmers or give tax cuts to US tech billionaires.

If it’s correct, and you know, whilst we haven’t been named publicly, it does sound like something’s happening, nevertheless, it would be wholly speculative [to comment].

As you appreciate and know full well, with any deal like that, the devil is in the detail. What is the nitty gritty? What does it mean for individual sectors and so on.

I think if we don’t know at all what’s in it, or even if it’ll definitely happen, I think to try and sort of pre-judge what might or might not be in is not something I’m going to get into respectfully. I totally understand why you’re asking that. I think it’s an incredibly important issue, particularly with the wider challenge of tariffs and so on. I’m a big free trader. Our party wants us to see the UK growing by striking trade deals. But I just think you’ve got to wait and see, because who knows, quite frankly.

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Starmer and Blair poles apart, an open goal at PMQs. Did KemiKaze score? | John Crace

Of course she didn’t. Gifted on climate policy, she used all six of her questions to call for another child abuse inquiry

On days like these, Keir Starmer might come to believe there is a God after all. Fair to say the prime minister has been under the cosh recently. His popularity ratings tanking as people continue to feel fed up that nothing still appears to be working as it should. The local elections on Thursday are unlikely to provide any joy for Labour with Reform ahead in several polls. Even the election of Mark Carney has been a mixed blessing. A reminder that some politicians get rewarded for taking a tough line on Agent Orange. The Lib Dems have declared themselves honorary Canadians.

To cap it all, Tony Blair had just published a report on climate policy that even his best friends might consider to have been “unhelpful”. Tony is a former politician who is unable to go gently into the dark night. Eighteen years after stepping down as prime minister, he still yearns for relevance.

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MPs should not do media work that ‘monetises’ their role, says government

Labour sets out preferences as Commons standards committee looks at tightening rules on second jobs

The government has backed proposals to stop MPs taking second jobs they have been offered because of their role in parliament, and expressed concern that some paid media roles allow them to “monetise” their privileged positions.

It set out its detailed thinking on how the rules could be tightened on MPs’ outside interests in evidence to the House of Commons standards committee.

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Badenoch declines to criticise Jenrick over Reform coalition comments – as it happened

Spokesperson for Tory leader says she agrees with colleague that ‘we need to bring centre-right voters together’. This blog is closed

Rosie Duffield, the independent MP who left Labour after the election in part because she felt her gender critical views made her unwelcome in the party (although her resignation letter focused on welfare issues), has claimed that Keir Starmer no longer arguing a trans woman is a woman shows he is a “manager rather than a leader”.

Speaking on LBC, Duffield said:

It’s just another sign of the prime minister’s lack of leadership skills. I’m bound to say that, he’s a manager rather than a leader. He responds and reacts rather than leads from the front, and this is what we’re seeing again from him.

Nigel Farage is peddling a dangerous fantasy by claiming the UK can be self-sufficient in gas.

After sixty years of drilling, the truth is the UK has already burned most of its gas. That’s down to geology, not politics, and no amount of hot air from Farage will change that.

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Badenoch says Labour’s claims to have always defended single-sex spaces are a ‘shameless work of fiction’ – UK politics live

Minister for women and equality makes statement after supreme court ruling on gender recognition

Some MPs and peers are calling for President Trump not to be invited to address parliament when he visits the UK. In 2017, during Trump’s first presidency, the then Speaker, John Bercow, vetoed a proposal for Trump to address parliamentarians in Westminster Hall.

In an interview with Times Radio this morning, Stephen Morgan, an education minister, said Trump should be allowed to give a speech in parliament. Asked if Trump should be allowed to address MPs and peers, Morgan said:

I look forward to the US president addressing parliament in due course.

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