Politics latest news: Rishi Sunak criticised after two flights to South West in 24 hours

Rishi Sunak has been criticised after flying back to London from Dorset last night only to then fly to Cornwall this morning.

The Prime Minister was in Lulworth Camp in Dorset yesterday afternoon for a visit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Mr Sunak flew back to London by helicopter.

Mr Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, then used a plane to travel to St Austell in Cornwall this morning for a visit at 9am. Lulworth Camp is approximately a three-hour drive from St Austell.

The Liberal Democrats questioned why Mr Sunak had not stayed overnight in the South West of England instead and accused him of playing a "reckless game with CO2 emissions".

Wera Hobhouse, the party’s climate change spokeswoman, said Mr Sunak had chosen to "waste taxpayer money on expensive private helicopters and jets" and appeared to believe he is "above using trains".

Mr Sunak has previously faced criticism for shunning train travel to get around the country and instead preferring to use RAF planes.

Downing Street has insisted that decisions on the premier’s travel will "always be done in the interests of what’s the most effective use of his time".

You can follow the latest updates below. 

04:00 PM

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03:40 PM

'We couldn't even organise chairs to be put out in case it gave away that something big was happening'

Security around Volodymyr Zelensky's address to Parliament yesterday was so tight that chairs could not be put out in Westminster Hall until the day in order to avoid arousing suspicion that "something big was happening", the Commons Speaker said.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle revealed the first he heard about the visit was Monday and that it was a closely guarded secret until the official announcement was made yesterday morning.

He told Times Radio: "We were getting a hint something might happen, we didn't know what, and we hadn't got a clue. On Monday, our head of security had taken complete control, they said things are going to happen, there will be this visit on Wednesday, it is the tightest security we've ever put in place in my time and certainly for the House. And it was so limited.

"You know, the fact that there was no chairs in Westminster Hall, we couldn't even organise chairs to be put out in case it gave away that something big was happening."

03:15 PM

Britain sending Ukraine fighter jets is like going from ‘a bicycle to F1 team’ says Ben Wallace

The Defence Secretary has ruled out sending British jets to Ukraine in the near future, saying it would be like going “from a bicycle to a Formula 1 team” compared to simpler weapons.

Ben Wallace left open the prospect of future deliveries of British fighters to Ukraine but sought to throttle back expectations of a rapid change in policy, reiterating no options had been ruled in or out.

You can read the full story here.

02:35 PM

Ben Wallace suggests Ukrainian pilots will complete UK training 'probably post-conflict'

Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, has appeared to suggest that Ukrainian air force pilots would only complete their training in the UK "probably post-conflict".

Mr Wallace, speaking at a joint UK-Italy ministerial press conference in Rome, said the UK "hasn’t said it is necessarily going to send fighter jets to Ukraine".

He continued: "What it has said is we’re going to start training to improve the resilience of Ukraine, probably post-conflict, which is no different from what we were doing in 2015 where Britain, Sweden, Canada, America were training the Ukrainians to form their defence.

"That’s not new. All of us on this platform know that over the last year, we shouldn’t rule anything in and we shouldn’t rule anything out."

02:24 PM

Tory MP announces she will stand down at next general election

Tory MP Jo Gideon has announced she will stand down at the next general election.

She was elected as the MP for Stoke on Trent Central for the first time in 2019.

She said in a statement: "I have written to the chairman of Stoke on Trent Conservative Federation to inform him that it is no longer my intention to stand for readoption.

"I have not come to this decision lightly. I have invested much time and love in my work as the Conservative Member of Parliament for this city that I care deeply about. I will continue to do so until the next general election."

02:19 PM

Jared O’Mara jailed for four years over expenses fraud

A former MP has been jailed for four years for making fraudulent expenses claims to fund an “extensive” cocaine habit while in office.

Jared O'Mara was convicted of six counts of fraud after trying to claim about £52,000 of taxpayers’ money for work that was never done and jobs that did not exist.

You can read the full story here.

02:13 PM

Lib Dems criticise Rishi Sunak over use of planes and helicopters

The Liberal Democrats have accused Rishi Sunak of playing "a reckless game with CO2 emissions" as the party criticised the Prime Minister over his use of planes and helicopters (see the post below at 12.09).

Wera Hobhouse, the party's energy and climate change, spokeswoman said: "Surely it would have been more convenient for the Prime Minister to stay in Dorset overnight and head onwards to Cornwall in the morning? Instead Rishi Sunak chose to waste taxpayer money on expensive private helicopters and jets.

"Since taking on the premiership, Sunak has played a reckless game with CO2 emissions and rendered any green targets pledged by his Government as laughable.

"He should not be above using trains to get to and from his commitments, this is just more proof that Sunak is totally out of touch and taking voters for granted."

01:22 PM

David Lammy: Nato would need 'guarantees' from Ukraine that jets would not be used in Russian airspace

David Lammy said Nato countries would need "guarantees" from Ukraine that donated fighter jets would not be used in Russian airspace.

Downing Street announced yesterday that Rishi Sunak had "tasked the Defence Secretary with investigating what jets we might be able to give". That has prompted some concerns that Nato could be dragged into a direct conflict with Russia.

Mr Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, told Times Radio: "You will know that the concern, right from the beginning, is that we want to be in a defensive posture, not an offensive posture in relation to Russia, and I'm talking now about Nato allies. And one would need guarantees that any jets are not being used in Russian air space.

"Notwithstanding that, I do think we've got to be serious when we say that Ukraine must prevail and the next few months will be absolutely critical in this fight.

"So I support Rishi Sunak when he said let's look at this very, very seriously. It's clearly got to be coordinated across allies. The request is for F-16s and really in the UK it's Typhoons and F-35s that we have, I'm not sure that that's what's required at the moment."

12:44 PM

Teaching strike in Wales postponed after new pay offer

The National Education Union has announced a planned teacher strike in Wales on February 14 has been postponed after a new pay offer was made.

12:41 PM

Penny Mordaunt defends Lee Anderson

Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt has defended new Conservative Party deputy chairman Lee Anderson, telling MPs he should be known as "he stands up for me Lee" rather than "30p Lee" - the latter being a reference to comments he made in the past about food banks.

SNP Commons leader Deidre Brock referred to the Tory chairmanship as "one of the least desirable jobs in politics" in the Commons, adding: "Well done to the Leader for giving that one a body swerve, particularly now we hear of the deputy chair’s views on capital punishment."

Ms Mordaunt replied: "I am sorry that she didn’t welcome the appointment of the Member for Ashfield to the deputy chairmanship of the Conservative Party.

"I am sure many in her party like to refer to him as '30p Lee', but I can tell you his constituents and many people across the whole of the United Kingdom refer to him as 'he stands up for me Lee'.

"I think it is a tremendous credit that he sits in this House, with his background and his experience, and I wish him all the luck in his new position."

12:23 PM

No10 'aware of potential escalatory risks' over military help for Ukraine

Downing Street said it is "aware of potential escalatory risks" as the UK and other nations continue to expand the military support they are offering to Ukraine.

But No10 said it is "confident the approach we are taking is the best and quickest way to help Ukraine".

Asked specifically about concerns that giving fighter jets to Ukraine could risk Nato being dragged into direct conflict with Russia, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman said: "I think firstly we haven’t made a decision in terms of UK provision of jets. We are training currently.

"I think we know the UK has recently provided or is in the process of providing Challenger tanks and we have provided longer range capabilities as well. We take these decisions carefully and we do it thoughtfully. We are aware of potential escalatory risks.

"But throughout we have been confident the approach we are taking is the best and quickest way to help Ukraine in this war which is obviously in everyone’s interest and it is Russia that continues to take escalatory action with their bombardment of civilians and continued illegal war in Ukraine."

12:09 PM

Rishi Sunak takes helicopter back from Dorset and plane to Cornwall inside 24 hours

It has been a busy 24 hours of travel for Rishi Sunak.

He took a helicopter to and from Dorset yesterday for a visit alongside Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian President.

The Prime Minister then flew by plane to Cornwall early this morning for a visit to mark the Government's announcement on "family hubs", Downing Street has confirmed.

11:27 AM

Department for Energy Security will 'get to grips' with bills - PM

The Prime Minister said his newly formed Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will "really get to grips" with the issue of alleviating the energy price crisis.

Rishi Sunak told reporters during a visit to Cornwall this morning: "That’s why earlier this week, I announced the change in how Government works.

"We created a brand new Department for Energy Security so that we can really focus on this issue and get people’s bills down.

"One of my priorities is to halve inflation and we’re going to do that by reducing energy costs. That’s why this week we created a brand new department led by one of my top ministers so that we can really get to grips with this issue and reduce people’s energy bills over time."

10:59 AM

UK training for Ukrainian pilots 'important first step' - PM

Rishi Sunak said he is discussing further support for Ukraine with Volodymyr Zelensky, potentially including fighter jets, but that the "first step" is training Ukrainian pilots.

The Prime Minister told broadcasters in Cornwall: "I also had very good conversations with President Zelensky yesterday about our ability to provide long-range missiles that they don’t currently have, which again are going to make a big difference in the struggle against Russian aggression.

"And of course, we’re talking about further support, potentially with aircraft as well. The important first step of that journey is to make sure that we provide the training for Ukrainian pilots to be able to use that very sophisticated equipment.

"And we announced yesterday that again, we’ll be the first nation to start training Ukrainian pilots on Nato-standard aircraft. That’s a really positive forward step and we will continue to stand by Ukraine because we want to see them victorious."

10:53 AM

Rishi Sunak rejects calls from Tory deputy chairman for return of death penalty

Rishi Sunak has rejected calls for the return of the death penalty made by Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson.

"That’s not my view, that’s not the Government’s view," he told reporters during a visit to Cornwall this morning.

"But we are united in the Conservative Party in wanting to be absolutely relentless in bearing down on crime and making sure people are safe and feel safe."

10:46 AM

Government further delays fresh Stormont elections

The Government has set out plans to further delay a fresh Northern Ireland Assembly election by extending the deadline for the formation of a new executive until January 18, 2024.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris told MPs: "Having spoken to political representatives, businesses and communities in Northern Ireland, I have concluded that another election at this time is not the best course of action to facilitate the restoration of the executive."

The DUP collapsed the devolved executive last February in protest at the Northern Ireland Protocol on post-Brexit trade, and the party has made clear it will not lift its block on powersharing until radical changes are made to the contentious Irish Sea trading arrangements.

Mr Heaton-Harris said "the UK Government is working hard to resolve the problems caused by the Northern Ireland Protocol" and he had told European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic "this extension does not influence protocol discussions".

10:16 AM

Labour MP apologises over 'inadvertent' breach of lobbying rules

Labour frontbencher Alex Davies-Jones has apologised after being found to have committed a "minor and inadvertent" breach of lobbying rules.

The Pontypridd MP asked a Commons question about the British Council the day after returning from a trip to Japan funded by the organisation.

In correspondence with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Daniel Greenberg, she accepted the error, saying "this was an inadvertent breach, and one which I am extremely apologetic for".

The Commons Standards Committee recommended that shadow culture minister Ms Davies-Jones should face no further action.

The committee’s report said: "This was a minor and inadvertent breach of the Code. Ms Davies-Jones has apologised to the Commissioner for breaching the rules."

10:04 AM

Chancellor 'can’t wait until the Budget' to act on energy price guarantee

Martin Lewis, the consumer champion, said if Jeremy Hunt agrees to his call to postpone the planned increase to the energy price guarantee then the Chancellor needs to act on the matter before the Budget.

Mr Lewis, who founded the website MoneySavingExpert.com, told the BBC: "It is quite important just to understand the sheer level of desperation that we have out there with so many people who already cannot cope with this doubling in energy bills that we are going to put it up.

"And let’s remember too in April the £400 energy support mechanism… that stops as well. If you factor that in the pro-rata price rise people are facing this April is over 40 per cent.

"I think the Chancellor just doesn’t need to do this and the problem is he can’t wait until the Budget to do it because by that point people will have already had the letters, the mechanisms will have been put in place by the energy firms. You have to do it in advance."

09:55 AM

Making energy bill protection less generous in April would be 'national act of harm'

A failure to postpone a planned increase to the energy price guarantee would amount to a "national act of harm", Martin Lewis has said.

The consumer champion said that making energy bill protection less generous in April would push another 1.7million people into fuel poverty.

He told the BBC: "Where we are right now, the Treasury is going to spend tens of billions of pounds less than it was predicted to last November when it announced the energy price guarantee was going to go up because wholesale rates have come down very significantly.

"You heard my language. I said postpone the rise. Because the likelihood, nothing is certain, but the likelihood is if we postpone the rise in April, from July onwards the energy price guarantee won’t exist anymore because the price cap will be lower, that is what all the current predictions are, the price cap will undercut the energy price guarantee at its level now."

He added: "To put this sort of national act of harm of increasing the price guarantee for just three months to throw another 1.7million into fuel poverty, taking it to 8.4million, it seems unnecessary."

09:43 AM

Martin Lewis urges Jeremy Hunt to delay increase in energy price guarantee

Consumer champion Martin Lewis has written to the Chancellor today to call for April’s planned rise in the energy price guarantee to be postponed.

The guarantee currently means that the average household's energy bills will not exceed £2,500. However, as of April the cap is due to increase to £3,000, leaving families with less protection than they have now.

Mr Lewis told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I pressed send about one minute ago although I warned them yesterday that it was coming and this letter is supported by major charities like Citizens Advice, National Energy Action, StepChange, Fair By Design.

"What we need to understand is wholesale prices have come down very substantially but we are due because the Chancellor said it would happen last autumn when wholesale prices looked a lot worse for almost every household in England, Scotland and Wales to receive a letter in April telling them that their prices, their rates, are going up and going up by 20 per cent.

"That is damaging to people’s pockets, it is also damaging to people’s mental health, yet another major bill going up when the nation is already shivering with the damage of the cost-of-living crisis.

"It just seems to me there is no need to do this. I would ask the Chancellor to postpone this rise. If we postpone this rise it is likely from July, by that point wholesale prices will have got into the price cap and if the energy price cap which is set by the regulator… is lower than the energy price guarantee we pay the lower amount and that is likely to happen from July."

09:13 AM

Sir Lindsay Hoyle jokes he could wear Ukrainian fighter pilot helmet in House of Commons

Sir Lindsay Hoyle has joked he could wear the fighter pilot helmet he was given by Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday in the House of Commons when things "get a bit out of hand".

LBC Radio presenter Nick Ferrari joked the Commons Speaker could put the helmet on when things get a bit "rambunctious".

Sir Lindsay replied: "Absolutely. We were actually going to put it on display in Speaker's House so when I am walking into the chamber I can quickly put it on... I have got to tell you there will be a lot of jealousy in my family.

"My son in law is a pilot, my grandson is mad about planes. When they visit Speaker's House it is going to have pride of display.

"But as you say, when it gets a bit out of hand in the chamber I can always put the helmet on as well."

08:50 AM

Minister disagrees with Lee Anderson on death penalty but is a 'big fan' of new deputy Tory chairman

Lee Anderson, the new deputy Conservative chairman, has supported the death penalty, saying it had a "100 per cent success rate" (you can read the full story here).

Children minister Claire Coutinho said she is a "big fan" of Mr Anderson but she disagreed with him on the return of the death penalty.

Asked about Mr Anderson's comments, Ms Coutinho told LBC Radio: "I don’t agree with Lee all the time. I don’t back the return of the death penalty, for example, but I do support Lee... what I think people respond to when it comes to Lee is he does speak his mind. And I think it’s really important that we have people who have lots of different opinions.

"And that’s one of the things I like about the Conservative Party frankly, because we are very good at living alongside each other even when we disagree."

She added: "I’m a big fan of Lee and I think he’s a very good thing for the party."

08:31 AM

£300m for 'family hubs' is 'all new money'

The Government's new "family hubs" will be subject to "rigorous" evaluation to make sure the £300million programme is actually helping people and improving lives, the children minister said.

Asked how the hubs will be evaluated, Claire Coutinho told LBC Radio: "We are going to do rigorous outcomes evaluation."

Ms Coutinho also insisted that the £300million is "all new money".

08:19 AM

'Family hubs' will focus on helping deprived communities - minister

The Government’s new "family hubs" will be focused on helping deprived communities, the children minister has said.

Asked what the difference was between the hubs and Labour’s Sure Start centres, Claire Coutinho told Sky News: "The difference with family hubs is we’re very much targeting them in areas of deprivation.

"So today, we’re announcing 75 areas who will be benefiting from the rollout of family hubs."

She continued: "Sure Start was nought to five and we know that early years are very important. But actually family hubs are nought to 19 because we want to have a one-stop-shop for parenting, which looks at the whole family needs."

08:16 AM

Government unveils £300m 'family hubs' programme

The Government today announced a new £300million programme of "family hubs" which will be rolled out in communities to help people with things like infant feeding, mental health and relationship building.

Officials said the hubs will benefit 75 different areas up to 2025 and they will act as a "one-stop shop" to offer guidance and advice to parents.

As well as family advice, the hubs will also provide advice on things like getting into work and offer stop smoking services.

08:12 AM

Fire chief says members will not be 'over the moon' with below inflation pay offer

Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said his members will not be "over the moon" about the increased pay offer (see the post below at 08.07) because it is still below inflation.

He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "It is a below inflation pay rise yet again. I don’t think people will be jumping for joy.

"I think people have had 12 years of attacks on their pay. They won’t be over the moon. Our members are intelligent people, they will make an assessment about whether they should go on strike. Whether they (employers) have gone far enough I’ll reserve my own views on that for due course."

Mr Wrack said it is "too early" to judge what members will decide.

08:07 AM

Fire Brigades Union postpones strike action after increased pay offer

Strikes by firefighters have been postponed after an increased pay offer from employers, the Fire Brigades Union announced early this morning.

The FBU said it has been offered a seven per cent pay rise backdated to July 2022, and then five per cent from July this year.

The union had warned of strikes if a previous five per cent pay offer was not increased following a huge vote in favour of industrial action.

The union’s executive decided to put the new offer to a ballot of its members, and has postponed the announcement of strike dates pending the outcome.

08:04 AM

Business and Trade Secretary heads to Mexico in pursuit of 'post-Brexit wins'

The Business and Trade Secretary is heading to Mexico today for a two-day visit hoping to make progress on "post-Brexit wins" by pushing for new trading arrangements for the UK.

Kemi Badenoch is due to hold talks with her Mexican counterparts to discuss the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Joining the CPTPP - an 11 country bloc which includes Australia, Canada, Japan and Mexico - is viewed as one of the biggest post-Brexit trade moves the UK could make.

The Department for Business and Trade, which was created this week as part of Rishi Sunak’s carving up of Whitehall departments, said the UK was "nearing the final stages" of talks to join the £9trillion gross domestic product (GDP) trading bloc which stretches across the Indo-Pacific.

Ms Badenoch, the former international trade secretary who was handed extra responsibilities as part of the Prime Minister’s shake-up, will also look to renegotiate Britain’s free trade agreement with Mexico.

07:59 AM

Kemi Badenoch criticises 'fake conversation' on Brexit benefits

Kemi Badenoch has suggested people need to be patient to see the economic benefits of Brexit as she said demands for immediate trade improvements are like "asking people who just got married ‘where’s the baby'".

Asked about trade volumes during an interview with Sky News, the newly appointed Business and Trade Secretary said: "What I can’t do is get in a time machine and go back into the EU and what I find frustrating is that we spend loads of time trying to relitigate Brexit rather than focus on solving new issues that are coming up.

"That is what I am here to do. I am not here to go back to 2017, 2019, and do that. We wasted so much time and I am not here to waste time, I am here to fix problems for business.

"Having a long discussion around ‘oh but it was better with this year and not that year and it has gone up and it has gone down’, it is the long term trend that I need to work towards rather than what happened this year, last year.

"I think that that is actually, it is what I would call a fake conversation, it is like asking people who just got married ‘where’s the baby, where’s the baby?’. Some things will take time and some things will happen quickly."