MPs expelled by Israel receive show of support from Commons colleagues

Cabinet ministers and more than 70 parliamentarians staged a show of solidarity with two MPs who were detained and barred from entry to Israel in what was the first time British MPs had been banned from the country.The health secretary, Wes Streeting, and the chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, joined the photocall in Westminster Hall on Monday with the MPs, along with Hamish Falconer and housing minister Rushanara Ali. It was organised by the Rochdale MP Paul Waugh.In a statement in the Commons, Falconer said both were given clearance for entrance by Israel before travelling and said the ban “appears to have been taken on the basis of comments made in this chamber”, calling the treatment “unacceptable and deeply concerning”.He said the UK government had made that clear at the “highest level” in Israel and praised Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed for their dignity

UK politics: Starmer sticks by manifesto pledge not to raise taxes amid tariff turmoil – as it happened

Q: Will you stick to your pledge not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT?Starmer says that is a commitment he will keep.He says the government cannot just reach for taxes when it needs money; it must promote growth.Keir Starmer has announced sweeping measures to support the car and pharmaceutical industries, as he said Britain faced a “changing and completely new world” after Donald Trump’s tariffs.Labour’s changes to electric vehicle (EV) rules in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs will have a negligible impact on emissions, Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, has said.The UK has lost an attempt to keep details of a legal battle with Apple away from the public

Tories lose one of their biggest donors in major blow to Kemi Badenoch

One of the Conservatives’ biggest donors has stopped funding the party in a move insiders believe will result in the closure of its northern HQ, the Guardian can reveal.Richard Harpin, the founder of the home repairs business HomeServe, has ended his donations to the Conservatives, according to two Tory sources.The decision is a blow to Kemi Badenoch, who is presiding over a diminished and cash-strapped party that is facing intense competition for donations from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.Harpin gave the Conservatives nearly £850,000 in 2024, Electoral Commission records show, and has donated £3.8m to the party since 2008, £2m of which was in cash

Labour: changes to EV rules will have ‘negligible’ impact on UK emissions

Labour’s changes to electric vehicle (EV) rules in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs will have a negligible impact on emissions, the transport secretary has said.Keir Starmer has confirmed plans to boost manufacturers, including reinstating the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.But regulations around manufacturing targets on electric cars and vans will also be altered, to help companies in the transition, and new hybrids will be on the market for a further five years.Heidi Alexander said the taxes on imports announced by the US president last week, which spurred reciprocal action by some affected countries, “are bad news for the global economy, because it’s bad for global demand, it’s bad for prices and it’s bad for consumers”.Speaking on BBC Breakfast about the impact on carbon emissions of the government’s changes to electric vehicle rules, she said: “The changes we are making have been very carefully calibrated so as not to have a big impact upon the carbon emissions savings that are baked into this policy

Starmer announces support for car and pharma industries in ‘age of insecurity’

Keir Starmer has announced sweeping measures to support the car and pharmaceutical industries, as he said Britain faced a “changing and completely new world” after Donald Trump’s tariffs.The prime minister warned of an “age of insecurity” as stock markets tumbled for a third day after the US president announced blanket import taxes on countries across the world.Speaking at the Jaguar Land Rover factory near Birmingham, Starmer said US tariffs – set at 10% for UK exports and 25% on cars – were a “huge challenge for our future and the global economic consequences could be profound”.He defended the fiscal rules set by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in her October budget and said now was “the time to build on them” to ensure stability, but declined to commit to keeping them until the next election.Starmer recommitted, however, to Labour’s manifesto pledge not to raise VAT, income tax or national insurance for employees until the end of this parliament

UK Home Office loses attempt to keep legal battle with Apple secret

The UK has lost an attempt to keep details of a legal battle with Apple away from the public.The investigatory powers tribunal, which investigates whether the domestic intelligence services have acted unlawfully, on Monday rejected a bid by the Home Office to withhold from the public the “bare details” of the case.A judgment from Lord Justice Singh, president of the investigatory powers tribunal, and Mr Justice Johnson, on Monday confirmed some details of the case for the first time.They confirmed that the case relates to a legal challenge brought against the Home Office by Apple over the power to make technical capability notices under the Investigatory Powers Act.According to the judgment, the Home Office argued that revealing the existence of the claim, as well as the names of the parties involved, would be damaging to national security