Starmer refuses three times to say whether Rayner should quit if guilty

Sir Keir Starmer refused three times to say if Angela Rayner should resign as deputy leader of the Labour Party if she is found to have broken the law.

Greater Manchester Police today launched an investigation into claims Ms Rayner wrongly declared which house was her permanent address on the electoral roll, which is a criminal offence.

Sir Keir backed Ms Rayner and said the investigation will allow a “line to be drawn” under the matter.

He was asked three times during an interview with ITV if he believed Ms Rayner should quit if she is found to have broken the law.

Sir Keir would not be drawn as he said Ms Rayner will cooperate with the investigation and “we need to let the police get on with their job”.

In a statement released later on Friday, Ms Rayner said: “If I committed a criminal offence, I would of course do the right thing and step down.”

She has also faced questions about whether she should have paid capital gains tax on the 2015 sale of her council house owing to the confusion over whether it was her principal residency.

Grant Shapps, the Defence Secretary, today accused Ms Rayner of “double standards” as he said she had “spent her political career calling people out” and demanding transparency but she had failed to show the same openness regarding the claims against her.

07:32 PM BST

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06:59 PM BST

Analysis: Rayner faces prospect of lengthy investigation

Angela Rayner has repeatedly dismissed criminal allegations against her as a “Tory smear campaign”.

Now, however, Sir Keir Starmer’s deputy faces the very real prospect of a lengthy police investigation over claims she broke electoral law, and may owe tax related to the sale of a council house.

The announcement from Greater Manchester Police came following weeks of denials, accusations, counter-accusations, and lengthy commentary from tax experts.

Read more

06:37 PM BST

Angela Rayner: I will step down if I committed a criminal offence

Angela Rayner has released a statement saying she will step down if she committed a criminal offence.

“I’ve repeatedly said I would welcome the chance to sit down with the appropriate authorities, including the police and HMRC, to set out the facts and draw a line under this matter. I am completely confident I’ve followed the rules at all times,” she said.

“I have always said that integrity and accountability are important in politics. That’s why it’s important that this is urgently looked at, independently and without political interference.

“I make no apologies for having held Conservative ministers to account in the past. Indeed, the public would rightly expect me to do so as a Deputy Leader of the Opposition.”

She added: “We have seen the Tory Party use this playbook before – reporting political opponents to the police during election campaigns to distract from their record. I will say as I did before - if I committed a criminal offence, I would of course do the right thing and step down. The British public deserves politicians who know the rules apply to them.

“The questions raised relate to a time before I was an MP and I have set out my family’s circumstances and taken expert tax and legal advice. I look forward to setting out the facts with the relevant authorities at the earliest opportunity.”

05:36 PM BST

Davies replaces Tomlinson as DWP minister of state

Mims Davies, the parliamentary under secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions DWP, has been promoted to minister of state at the department.

Justin Tomlinson, the former minister of state, has been appointed as the new energy minister.

Ms Davies, 49, has been the MP for Mid Sussex since 2019, having previously been elected as MP for Eastleigh in 2015.

05:26 PM BST

Tomlinson ‘proud’ to become energy minister

Justin Tomlinson has said he is “proud” to have been appointed as the new energy minister, replacing Graham Stuart.

“As the father of young children I know that there are few things more important than the future of our planet,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“The UK has rightly led the way, becoming the first major economy to halve its emissions.

“I’ll be proud to play my part working with Claire Coutinho’s fantastic DESNZ team.”

05:20 PM BST

Andrew Mitchell named ‘honorific’ deputy foreign secretary

Andrew Mitchell has been given the “honorific title” of deputy foreign secretary, Downing Street has announced.

The development minister, who is a close ally of Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron, is the first individual in history to be named as such.

Mr Mitchell, the MP for Sutton Coldfield, has deputised in the Commons for Lord Cameron ever since the former prime minister was ennobled to take up the role of Foreign Secretary in November last year.

05:16 PM BST

Justin Tomlinson appointed energy minister

Justin Tomlinson has replaced Graham Stuart as the minister for energy and net zero.

The MP for North Swindon was previously a minister of state at the Department for Work and Pensions from April 2019 to September 2021 and then deputy chairman of the Tory party from September 2021 to July 2022.

05:03 PM BST

Tories vying to replace Sunak are bidding for my support, says Houchen

Ben Houchen, the Conservative mayor for Tees Valley, has revealed that Tory leadership hopefuls vying to replace Rishi Sunak are bidding for his support ahead of the general election.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Lord Houchen said he had been contacted by prominent Conservatives asking him what direction he thinks the party should take in an apparent attempt to lay the groundwork for a future leadership contest.

But he urged “pathetic” MPs “on manoeuvres” to focus on rallying behind the Prime Minister, warning that their behaviour was “costing the Conservative Party”.

Read the full story by Amy Gibbons, The Telegraph’s political correspondent, here.

04:35 PM BST

What’s happening with Angela Rayner and her old council house?

Angela Rayner is under police investigation over claims she broke electoral law.

Greater Manchester Police have launched a probe into complaints that she wrongly declared which house was her permanent address on the electoral roll, which is a criminal offence.

The allegation is that she was actually living with her husband at a separate address.

She also faces questions over the sale of the house she claimed she was living in.

If it was not her main residence, she may have been liable to pay capital gains tax (CGT) on the sale.

Daniel Martin, The Telegraph’s deputy political editor, has all you need to know about the accusations here.

04:18 PM BST

Read in full: Graham Stuart’s resignation letter

04:04 PM BST

Energy minister quits role to ‘focus on constituency’

Graham Stuart, the energy minister, has quit his role to focus on his constituency, saying he will continue to “fully support” Rishi Sunak from the backbenches.

Mr Stuart, the MP for Beverley and Holderness, said: “I’m proud to have served in the Government for most of the past eight years, but now it’s time to focus on Beverley and Holderness.

“I’m proud to have achieved much over the past 18 years, from rock armour at Withernsea to saving East Riding Community Hospital, installing life-saving defibrillators in rural communities and slashing fares on the Humber Bridge.

“I’m looking forward to working with communities to make our roads safer, helping the council take full advantage of the opportunities brought by devolution, pressing the case for York to Hull Rail and improving healthcare in Beverley and Holderness.”

In addition to his role as energy and net zero minister, which he has held since February 2023, Mr Stuart has also served in ministerial roles at the Foreign Office, the Department for International Trade and as an assistant whip to the Treasury over the past eight years.

04:00 PM BST

Blog handover

Tim Sigsworth here. I am now taking over the blog from Jack Maidment for the rest of the day.

03:48 PM BST

Osborne: Cameron is going to meetings that no normal British foreign secretary would get

Lord Cameron is “acting like the British prime minister” on the world stage, George Osborne has said.

Mr Osborne said that the ex-prime minister had “upgraded Britain’s foreign policy clout” since becoming Foreign Secretary in November.

He added that Lord Cameron was “getting the kind of meetings that no normal British foreign secretary would get”, citing his recent visit to Mar-a-Lago to visit Donald Trump, the former US president.

You can read the full story here. 

03:34 PM BST

Labour holds 26 point poll lead over Tories

Labour’s poll lead over the Tories stands at 26 points, according to a new YouGov survey.

A poll conducted between April 10-11 and published this afternoon put Labour on 45 per cent of the vote and the Conservative Party on 19 per cent.

Labour was up by two points and the Tories were down by one point when compared to the company’s previous poll conducted between April 2-3.

The poll put Reform UK down by one point to 15 per cent with the Liberal Democrats unchanged on eight per cent.

03:16 PM BST

‘Significant shortcomings’ in Bank of England’s forecasting, finds review

The Bank of England’s ability to control inflation has been undermined by “significant shortcomings” in its economic forecasts, an independent review has warned.

A withering assessment led by former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warned the accuracy of the Bank’s predictions had “deteriorated significantly” in the wake of the pandemic.

The US central banker said this had resulted in “deficiencies” in Threadneedle Street’s ability to predict the impact of economic shocks such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

You can read the full story here.

03:01 PM BST

Left-wing voters turning their backs on Labour

Labour risks losing a number of urban target seats as loyal Left-wing voters turn their backs on the party, experts have warned.

With some Muslim and younger voters put off Sir Keir Starmer’s party as a result of its stance on Gaza and net zero issues, Labour may even lose two seats it won in 2019.

You can read the full story here. 

02:42 PM BST

Farage: Starmer’s defence spending pledge could ‘force Sunak’s hand’

Nigel Farage said Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to increase UK defence spending to 2.5 per cent could “force the Government’s hand” and prompt a funding boost for the armed forces.

The former leader of the Brexit Party said it was “good politics” from the Labour leader.

Sir Keir said in an interview with the i newspaper that his ambition was to boost the defence budget to 2.5 per cent of GDP when the economic circumstances allow.

The new Labour position is similar to the Government’s: in his Budget speech Jeremy Hunt said spending would rise from its current position of about two per cent to 2.5 per cent “as soon as economic conditions allow”.

The Tories are likely to be wary of being outflanked on the defence issue and Mr Farage suggested the Labour advance could prompt action from Rishi Sunak.

Mr Farage tweeted: “Good politics from Starmer today. Defence spending must rise and he may well force the Government’s hand on this.”

02:16 PM BST

Starmer refuses to say if Rayner should quit if found to have broken the law

Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly refused to say if Angela Rayner should resign as deputy leader of the Labour Party if she is found to have broken the law.

Sir Keir told ITV: “She’s given answers on the issue many, many times over, she’s clearly said she’ll cooperate with the police.

“I do think that now is the time to let the police get on with their investigation, get on with the work they need to do, she’ll cooperate with that which is exactly what you’d expect of her.”

Pushed on the question of whether she should quit if she is found to have broken the law, Sir Keir said: “The investigation is starting today, she’ll cooperate with that, we need to let the police get on with their job.”

Asked the question again, Sir Keir said: “She has given answers many times over, she is going to cooperate, police just need the space and the time to get on with the job that they need to do.”

01:59 PM BST

Starmer: Labour has made ‘generational commitment’ to UK’s nuclear deterrent

Labour is making a “generational commitment” to the nuclear deterrent, Sir Keir Starmer has said as he visited BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness today.

He told the BBC: “The commitment I’ve made here today is really important, I think I’m the first Labour leader to come here to the shipyard here, to see the building of the submarines for 30 years and to make a very important generational commitment which is to the Dreadnought submarines, to the continuous at-sea deterrent and to the upgrades that are needed over time and of course there’s AUKUS in there as well so this is a generational commitment.”

01:32 PM BST

Police investigation will allow ‘line to be drawn’ on Rayner row, says Starmer

The police investigation into Angela Rayner’s council house sale will allow a “line to be drawn” on the issue, Sir Keir Starmer said.

The Labour leader said he was “fully confident” that Ms Rayner had not broken any rules.

He said: “We welcome this investigation because it will allow a line to be drawn in relation to this matter.

“I am fully confident that Angela Rayner has not broken the rules. She will cooperate with the investigation as you would expect and it is really a matter for the police.”

01:22 PM BST

Poll: Four in five voters believe Sunak’s Government is ‘tired’

Four in five voters believe Rishi Sunak’s Government is “tired”, according to a new YouGov poll.

A survey conducted by the company yesterday asked people if the Government seemed “more energetic” or “more tired”.

Some 79 per cent of respondents answered “tired”, with 43 per cent saying “very tired” and 36 per cent saying “somewhat tired”.

Just eight per cent of respondents answered “energetic”, with seven per cent saying “somewhat energetic” and one per cent saying “very energetic”.

The numbers were broadly the same among 2019 Tory voters: 36 per cent said the Government was “very tired” and 43 per cent said “somewhat tired”.

01:10 PM BST

Boris Johnson refuses to rule out return to front line politics

Boris Johnson has refused to rule out a return to front line politics amid growing speculation that he could stand as an MP again.

The former prime minister told an audience at Georgetown University in Washington DC that he could re-enter politics if he felt he had “something to contribute”.

Asked if he would stand again as an MP, he said: “I think it’s unlikely in the short-term. I think the only circumstances in which anybody should stand for election is if they have something to contribute.”

You can read the full story here. 

12:48 PM BST

No 10 source: Labour must ‘come clean’ on Rayner row

A Downing Street source said Labour still had questions to answer about the Angela Rayner row and the party should “come clean now”.

The source said: “We believe that a police investigation should be allowed to run its course before making any judgments unlike Angela Rayner, but clearly there are still questions for Keir Starmer and the Labour Party to answer here and they should come clean now.”

12:20 PM BST

Sadiq Khan: ‘I’m fully confident in Angela’

Sadiq Khan, the Labour Mayor of London, said he is fully confident that his “best friend” Angela Rayner will be cleared by the police.

He told the Press Association: “I fully support Angela Rayner, I’m confident that she’ll be vindicated in relation to the police investigation.

“Of course there’s an investigation now which gives Angela a chance to explain to the police what went on.”

Mr Khan added: “I’m fully confident in Angela, she’s one of my best friends and I’m sure she’ll be cleared.”

12:18 PM BST

Ed Miliband ‘100 per cent behind’ Angela Rayner

Angela Rayner is an inspiration and “exactly the kind of person we need in politics”, Ed Miliband said as he stood “100 per cent” behind Labour’s deputy leader following the launch of a police investigation.

The shadow energy minister told the Press Association: “We are absolutely 100 per cent behind Angela. We are absolutely confident that she has complied with the rules. She welcomes the fact she can set out the facts.”

He added: “My message to the country is we are incredibly proud of Angela Rayner, our deputy leader. She is an inspiring person, she is exactly the kind of person we need in politics.

“If a Labour government is elected, I look forward to Angela Rayner serving as deputy prime minister. Frankly the Conservative Party is a desperate party that has nothing to say to the country about the big issues that it faces.”

12:14 PM BST

Tory MPs suggest Angela Rayner should quit

A Tory MP suggested Angela Rayner should resign from her roles on the Labour frontbench.

Michael Fabricant told The Telegraph: “Why is it that people, so quick to call for the resignation of others when they are investigated for possible wrongdoing, are so slow to take their own advice?

“I weary of the hypocrisy of so many politicians.”

Ms Rayner had tweeted in January 2022: “Boris Johnson’s Downing Street is under police investigation, how on earth can he think he can stay on as Prime Minister?”

Another Conservative MP also hinted Ms Rayner should quit.

Greg Smith told The Telegraph: “Ms Rayner is being caught out by a great deal of things she has said of others in the past. A lesson in that somewhere.”

12:09 PM BST

Rishi Sunak: UK economy has ‘turned a corner’

Rishi Sunak echoed the language of Jeremy Hunt as he said today’s economic data showed the UK had “turned a corner”.

The Office for National Statistics published figures this morning showing the economy grew by 0.1 per cent in February.

Mr Sunak said in a statement: “Today’s GDP figures are further evidence that the economy has turned a corner, with growth in both January and February and the Bank of England forecasting growth to be higher than previously forecast in the long term.

“Inflation is down from over 11 per cent to 3.4 per cent, wages are rising faster than prices, and unemployment remains low.

“This shows how important it is to stick to our economic plan and is why we are able to reward work and cut taxes for millions of people from this month. Our long-term ambition is to abolish NICs entirely and end the unfairness of the double taxation of work.”

You can find the Chancellor’s statement on the GDP figures in the post below at 08.44.

11:55 AM BST

Shapps accuses Rayner of ‘double standards’ over house sale row

Grant Shapps accused Angela Rayner of “double standards” as he welcomed the police investigation into the Labour deputy leader.

The Defence Secretary said Ms Rayner had “spent her political career calling people out” and demanding transparency but she had failed to show the same openness regarding the claims against her.

Ms Rayner has refused to publish the tax advice she received on the sale of her council house despite previously demanding a Tory candidate publish their tax return.

Mr Shapps told broadcasters this morning: “I think the double standards have been extraordinary. Angela Rayner herself has spent her political career calling people out for exactly the thing that she seems to be doing now.

“It’s not acceptable to ignore it, and it’s not acceptable for Keir Starmer to say he won’t even read reports into it.

“This is something which is a serious matter. It’s important that it’s looked into properly and I welcome the idea that the police are doing that.”

11:51 AM BST

What is the punishment for breaking electoral law?

Where a person refuses to supply information to an Electoral Registration Officer, or with false information, certain penalties can be applied.

Regulations state that if any person fails to comply or gives false information they will be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

If the offence is not deemed serious enough to warrant a criminal conviction, civil penalties can also be imposed.

11:39 AM BST

Pictured: Sir Keir Starmer talks to workers at BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness

11:21 AM BST

Labour ‘completely confident’ Rayner ‘complied with the rules at all times’

The Labour Party said it remained “completely confident” that Angela Rayner had “complied with the rules at all times” over the sale of her council house as it responded to police reopening an investigation.

A Labour spokesperson said: “Angela welcomes the chance to set out the facts with the police.

“We remain completely confident that Angela has complied with the rules at all times and it’s now appropriate to let the police do its work.”

10:59 AM BST

Analysis: Rayner investigation a hammer blow for Labour

The decision by Greater Manchester Police to reopen an investigation into Angela Rayner over the sale of her council house a decade ago represents a hammer blow for Labour but a boost for the Tories.

Senior Labour figures, including Sir Keir Starmer, have given their full backing to Ms Rayner.

They will have been hoping the row would fizzle out and disappear, allowing the party to focus on building momentum ahead of the local elections on May 2.

But today’s statement from Greater Manchester Police has thrust the row back into the spotlight and to the top of the political agenda.

It is now likely to dominate, overshadowing Sir Keir’s big announcement on defence spending.

It is disastrous timing for Labour but a welcome fillip for the Conservative Party which has been doggedly pursuing Ms Rayner over the claims.

10:33 AM BST

Lib Dems: UK economy ‘stuck in the slow lane’

The Liberal Democrats labelled the UK’s economic growth “sluggish” and claimed the Government was “out of touch with families feeling the pinch”.

Sarah Olney, the Lib Dems’ Treasury spokesperson, said: “This sluggish growth shows the UK economy is stuck in the slow lane under the Conservatives.

“This government has no plan to fix the damage they’ve done to people’s living standards.

“Instead we have a prime minister and Chancellor totally out of touch with families feeling the pinch. The only way to get the economy moving again is to kick this economically illiterate Conservative government out of office.”

10:31 AM BST

Police investigating Angela Rayner over council house row

Police are now formally investigating Angela Rayner over the sale of her council house.

The Labour deputy leader was reported to Greater Manchester Police by James Daly, a Conservative MP, over concerns she may have committed an offence in the early 2010s by giving false information about where she was living.

The force said in March that Ms Rayner would not face an investigation but decided to reassess their decision after Mr Daly complained that officers appeared not to have contacted witnesses or looked at the electoral roll, deeds and other relevant documents.

A GMP spokesperson said this morning: “We’re investigating whether any offences have been committed. This follows a reassessment of the information provided to us by Mr Daly.”

10:24 AM BST

Pictured: Starmer and Healey tour BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness

10:15 AM BST

Labour unable to say when it would hit 2.5pc defence spending target

Labour was unable to say when it would achieve its goal of boosting defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP.

Sir Keir Starmer has made the pledge to get to 2.5 per cent when the economic circumstances allow (see the post below at 09.39).

Luke Pollard, the shadow armed forces minister, was asked this morning if the number would be hit by the end of a first Labour term in power but he was unable to say.

He told Sky News: “The commitment that Keir is making today is 2.5 per cent of GDP when economic circumstances allow.

“That is the same position that the Conservative Government have currently. But they can see the information that is required to make the assessment and we can’t and so I can’t answer that question directly to you because I don’t get to see the information, the security briefings, the intelligence, that would be required for us to set out clearly which capabilities need to be invested in, at what time, to deter what threat.”

Asked where the extra money for the armed forces would come from, Mr Pollard pointed to increased economic growth.

10:07 AM BST

West needs to ‘wake up’ to growing threats, says Ellwood

The West needs to “wake up” to the growing threats it faces and the UK must question if it is ready to defend itself, a senior Tory MP said.

Tobias Ellwood told Sky News: “We need to wake up as to where the world is actually going. I think Britain as a nation.

“Are we ready to defend ourselves, to defend our economy, to keep our lights on, to protect our infrastructure?”

09:52 AM BST

Sunak launches employment plan to help veterans into high-paid jobs

Rishi Sunak is today launching an employment plan which pledges to help veterans secure high-paid jobs after they leave the armed forces.

“Op Prosper” aims to support veterans into work where they can use the skills they developed in the military.

The scheme is part of the Government’s plan to make the UK “the best place in the world to be a veteran” and will be backed by £2.1 million in new funding.

Mr Sunak said: “The courageous men and women who have served in our armed forces represent the very best of our country and we must serve them as well as they have served us.

“They deserve our full support to thrive in civilian life and to continue contributing their incredible skills to the prosperity of our country.

“That is why I am proud to announce Op Prosper, which will support veterans in securing high-skilled roles in key sectors that are helping to grow the economy.”

09:48 AM BST

Pictured: Sunak visits a museum in north west London this morning

09:39 AM BST

Starmer vows to boost defence spending to 2.5pc if Labour wins election

Labour will aim to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP if the party wins the election, Sir Keir Starmer has vowed.

It is the first time the opposition leader has said he wishes to spend that amount on the military, which would match the Government’s existing aim.

In an interview with the i newspaper, he indicated defence was “the number one issue for any government” and admitted a more dangerous world made it necessary to spend more on the armed forces.

However, he said Labour will only spend the extra money if doing so is achievable within the party’s borrowing rules.

You can read the full story here. 

09:37 AM BST

Ex-minister: UK troops in Ukraine would need to be part of wider coalition

Any deployment of UK troops to Ukraine would need to be done as part of a wider coalition, Tobias Ellwood said.

The former defence minister told Sky News: “If we were to send any troops ourselves, I think it would need to be done as part of a coalition.

“The call by Ukraine right now is actually not for personnel, it is desperately for equipment.”

09:30 AM BST

Putin now ‘more powerful than Stalin’, says Ellwood

Vladimir Putin is now “more powerful than Stalin” and the West is “largely in denial” about the scale of Russia’s shift to being on a war footing, a former defence minister said this morning.

Tobias Ellwood, a senior Tory MP, told Sky News that the West “must prepare better” so it can face down the Russian threat.

“Our adversaries, including Russia, particularly Russia, are moving their economies, their industries, to a war footing but the West is largely in denial,” he said.

“Putin is now the most powerful leader in Europe. He has removed all of his opposition voices, he has pivoted his entire economy away from Europe to China and Iran and he is now more powerful than Stalin.

“In plain sight, his goal is to emulate his hero Stalin by reasserting his influence over eastern Europe, not to replicate the old Soviet Union but the old Russian empire.

“So we must prepare better, we must support Ukraine better, we simply cannot ignore the growing schism between those who respect global order and those who largely ignore it.”

09:13 AM BST

Cameron ‘acting like PM’ on world stage, says Osborne

Lord Cameron is “acting like the British prime minister” on the world stage, his former chancellor George Osborne said.

Mr Osborne argued that Lord Cameron had “upgraded Britain’s foreign policy clout” since his return to the political front line in November last year.

Mr Osborne told his Political Currency podcast: “On the world stage, Cameron is acting like the British prime minister… he’s getting the kind of meetings that no normal British foreign secretary would get.

“There’s no way that James Cleverly or Liz Truss before him when she was foreign secretary, would have had dinner with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

“What Cameron has done is he’s upgraded Britain’s foreign policy clout.”

08:52 AM BST

UK suffering from ‘low growth and high taxes’, says Reeves

Rachel Reeves said the UK was suffering from “low growth and high taxes” as she responded to this morning’s economic data showing growth of 0.1 per cent in February.

The former shadow chancellor said: “After 14 years of Conservative economic failure, Britain is worse off with low growth and high taxes. The Conservatives cannot fix the economy because they are the reason it is broken.

“It’s time for change. Only Labour has a long-term plan to grow the economy to put more money in people’s pockets.”

08:44 AM BST

Chancellor: UK economy is ‘turning a corner’

Jeremy Hunt said the UK economy is “turning a corner” as he welcomed this morning’s data showing growth of 0.1 per cent in February.

The Chancellor said in a statement issued by the Treasury: “These figures are a welcome sign that the economy is turning a corner, and we can build on this progress if we stick to our plan.

“Last week our cuts to National Insurance for 29 million working people came into effect across Britain, as part of our plan to reward work and grow the economy.”

08:35 AM BST

Economy grows in February, boosting hopes of exit from recession

The UK economy grew by 0.1 per cent in February this year, boosting hopes that the UK has exited recession.

Official data published this morning by the Office for National Statistics said the economy expanded by 0.1 per cent in February, following growth of 0.3 per cent in January.

The UK slipped into a technical recession in the second half of 2023.

If the economy is shown to have grown in March when those statistics are published next month then the country will be be formally in growth again.

08:24 AM BST

Nato’s ‘numerical supremacy’ over Russia could be eroded, says Heappey

Nato’s numerical superiority over Russia could start to be eroded without action by the West, a former armed forces minister has suggested.

James Heappey said Russia has “mobilised its entire economy” onto a war footing and depending on what happens in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s forces could start to catch up with Nato in terms of fighting numbers.

He told Sky News: “Russia has mobilised its entire economy. It will grow its armed forces significantly.

“If Ukraine grinds to a stalemate and we end up with a sort of Cold War on broadly the current lines or heaven forbid he’s successful in Ukraine then I think actually we might be a situation where Nato’s numerical supremacy rapidly starts to be caught up with.

“And therefore, how do we maintain our advantage?”

08:12 AM BST

UK armed forces running ‘incredibly hot’, warns ex-defence minister

James Heappey warned the UK’s armed forces are currently running “incredibly hot” as he called for a boost to the size of the nation’s fighting force.

The former defence minister, who stepped down from his role last month, said if military personnel are pushed “too hard” many could opt to leave.

He told Sky News: “The reality is is that we are running them incredibly hot.

“It feels to me that the geostrategic environment is such that we are going to be running our forces as busy as they are for a very long time to come and if we are going to do that, bearing in mind that they have an absolute right to leave when we push them too hard and lots of them are, we need a bigger force in order to be able to meet the ambition.”

Mr Heappey is urging the Government to increase defence spending now to 2.5 per cent of GDP and to hit three per cent by 2030.

08:05 AM BST

Heappey: UK should consider sending troops to Ukraine but ‘nowhere near’ front line

The UK should consider sending troops to Ukraine to help with training, a former armed forces minister has said.

But James Heappey insisted any troops would have to be kept far away from the front line to avoid sparking a direct confrontation between Nato and Russia.

Asked about the possibility of western troops on the ground in Ukraine, he told Sky News: “You have got to be careful about how you do it. I think definitely nowhere near a combat zone.

“I think you have got to be very, very careful not to make it into a Russo-Nato war. But I do think it is worth exploring what, in the sort of deeper, in the depth of Ukraine, the donor community could do.”

It was suggested to Mr Heappey that British troops could help with training Ukrainian forces and he said: “I think it is worth considering.”

Mr Heappey stepped down from his role at the Ministry of Defence last month and he is due to quit as a Tory MP at the next general election.