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‘I have no plans to speak to Putin’, says Starmer in wake of Zelenksyy’s criticism of Scholz
The prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, is on his way to Rio de Janerio, Brazil, for the G20 summit.
En route, he took questions from journalists from Sky News and other outlets, and he was asked about the German chancellor Olaf Scholz’s decision to speak to Vladimir Putin, which sparked a furious reaction from Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The PM said: “It’s a matter for Chancellor Scholz who he speaks to. I have no plans to speak to Putin.”
He noted that we are approaching the thousandth day of the war, “1,000 days of huge impact and sacrifice in relation to Ukrainian people”.
More broadly, Sir Keir said the deployment of North Korean troops in Ukraine “shows the desperation of Russia”, but also said it has “serious implications for European security”.
For that reason, he is calling on world leaders to “double down on shoring up our support for Ukraine”, which he described as his “top of my agenda” at the G20 summit.
Asked why he would expect US president-elect Donald Trump to honour anything agreed at this summit, the PM replied: “There are really important issues right here, right now when it comes to Ukraine that I think are well worth us [discussing], and it’s important that we do pursue.”
That’s all for today
Thank you for joining us in the Politics Hub for live coverage of today’s events in Westminster and beyond.
Scroll down for detailed coverage of this week’s edition of Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, as well as comments from Sir Keir Starmer, who is on the plane to the G20 summit in Brazil.
Join us again from 6am for the very latest political news.
Starmer: Breaking up criminal gangs ‘the single most effective way of stopping small boats’
It was reported today that the government is in talks with Kurdistan in Iraq, Turkey and Vietnam about agreements to stop migrants making the journey to the UK.
Asked while on his way to the G20 summit in Brazil if discussions to that effect are under way, the prime minister said the government has done “a lot of work on returns” since entering office, including the “biggest single plane load” departing.
But he went on to say: “Obviously, a lot of my time and focus has been taking down the gangs in the first place”.
He pointed to the arrest of a Turkish national last week who allegedly supplied engines for small boats as an example of how collaboration with European allies can stop crossings.
“Of course, we have got to get the returns sorted out as well,” he added.
But pushed on if he is in talks with Kurdistan in Iraq, Turkey and Vietnam, Sir Keir refused to comment.
It was put to him that the UK has been paying France to stop small boats departing their northern coast for the UK, and it does not appear to have had a vast effect, but the PM argued that this is not “an area where we should just do one thing”.
“We have got to do everything that we can. I am absolutely clear in my mind that taking down the gangs is the single most effective way of stopping the boats going across the Channel,” he said.
Electoral Dysfunction: Has the health secretary crossed a line?
MPs will soon get their first chance to debate and vote on an assisted dying bill for almost a decade. It’ll be about a proposed law for England and Wales.
Ruth, Beth and Harriet discuss the hugely divisive issue on this episode – including whether Health Secretary Wes Streeting should have said that the law could impact other NHS services. Hariet thinks he’s crossed a line. He plans to vote against the bill.
They also talk about confidence in public institutions following the resignation of Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury, asking has anyone got any trust left in them?
👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈
Email us at electoraldysfunction@sky.uk, post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.
You can read our Sky News explainer about the assisted dying bill here.
ICYMI: Starmer vows to defend budget decisions ‘all day long’ as farmers slam ‘disrespectful’ PM
Sir Keir Starmer has said he will defend the decisions made in the budget “all day long” amid anger from farmers over inheritance tax changes.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced last month in her key speech that from April 2026, farms worth more than £1m will face an inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than the standard 40% applied to other land and property.
The announcement has sparked anger among farmers, who previously did not have to pay any inheritance tax, and argue the change will mean higher food prices, lower food production and having to sell off land to pay.
Sir Keir defended the budget as he gave his first speech as prime minister at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales, where farmers have been holding a tractor protest outside.
Sir Keir admitted: “We’ve taken some extremely tough decisions on tax.”
He said: “I will defend facing up to the harsh light of fiscal reality. I will defend the tough decisions that were necessary to stabilise our economy.
“And I will defend protecting the payslips of working people, fixing the foundations of our economy, and investing in the future of Britain and the future of Wales. Finally, turning the page on austerity once and for all.”
Among the hundreds of farmers demonstrating was Gareth Wyn Jones, who told Sky News it was “disrespectful” that the prime minister did not mention farmers in his speech.
The massive winter fuel payment ‘cut’ no one ever talks about
By Jimmy Rice, Money blog editor, and Daniel Dunford, senior data journalist
The anger caused by Labour scrapping the universal winter fuel payment earlier this year has been well publicised – but a less talked about cut to the benefit has been taking place every year since 2000.
About 1.3 million people in England and Wales who are entitled to certain means-tested benefits can get either £200 or £300, down from more than 11 million previously.
These amounts have not changed in more than two decades, despite periods of sky-high inflation, and energy prices rising exponentially in recent years.
Sky News analysis in the Money blog shows that the £200 available for 60 to 79-year-olds would be worth £370 today if it had risen in line with inflation.
If it had risen in line with energy prices, it would be worth almost £1,000 now, and would’ve paid out more than £1,200 during the peak of the energy price crisis in the winter of 2022-23.
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The payment for the over 80s was raised to £300 in April 2003. If that had risen with inflation since then it would be worth more than £500 now.
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‘Lack of insight’ in government
If it had risen by the same as energy prices, it would be worth more than £1,200 now, and would’ve topped £2,000 in 2022-23.
This significant, annual real-terms cut has, over the past 13 years, coincided with pensions rising in real terms due to the triple lock – potentially offsetting some consequences of freezing the payment.
But charities who spoke to Money say vulnerable pensioners are suffering due to the payment’s stagnation.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “Energy prices are much higher than they were a few years ago, and yet the winter fuel payment which was designed to support pensioners in meeting these costs has remained the same.
“Most recently, of course, the current government has decided to brutally ration access to the payment, the main qualification for it now being that you are in receipt of pension credit.
“The lack of commitment to winter fuel payment by governments of all colours arguably reflects a lack of insight in Whitehall about the difficulties older people on low and modest incomes face in making their money stretch to cover the basics, especially during the colder months when they need to stay warm to protect their health.”
Disability Rights UK pointed to a report this week that estimated 10,400 terminally ill people die in poverty each year.
It is therefore “astounding”, the charity says, that the winter fuel payment hasn’t been raised in decades.
‘An increase is imperative’
Policy and campaigns officer Dan White said: “Energy bills are rising, energy companies are recording huge profits, poverty is increasing, so there is ample proof that the current winter fuel payment is out of touch with the financial reality of disabled pensioners’ lives.
“An increase is not just justified, it is imperative, and we need an energy social tariff targeted at those facing high energy costs, including disabled and older people. If government fails to act accordingly, there will be a humanitarian crisis on our doorstep.”
We asked the government if raising the winter fuel payment was something it would look at. The Department for Work and Pensions told us:
“We are committed to supporting pensioners – with millions set to see their state pension rise by up to £1,700 this parliament through our commitment to the triple lock.
“Over a million pensioners will still receive the winter fuel payment, and our drive to boost pension credit take up has already seen a 152% increase in claims.
“Many others will also benefit from the £150 warm home discount to help with energy bills over winter while our extension of the household support fund will help with the cost of food, heating, and bills.”
Home secretary to launch ‘Policing Performance Unit’ in bid to increase police standards
The home secretary is set to deliver a major speech this week focused on increasing standards in the police force and rebuilding trust.
Yvette Cooper will set out “a roadmap for major policing reform to get police back on the beat, improve performance across forces and restore public confidence”, the Home Office says.
She will argue that policing in the UK “has been through a perfect storm with fewer police on the beat, fewer crimes being solved”, as well as funding cuts.
She will also hit out at her Tory predecessors for “just standing on the sidelines shouting at the police, rather than working with them to sort problems out”.
Police officers are “being held back by poor support, waste and bureaucracy”, the home secretary will argue, and will also say that “too little action has been taken to raise police standards”.
To that end, Ms Cooper will look to measures introduced by the last Labour government – chief among which is a new “Policing Performance Unit” in the Home Office to “deliver force-level improvements and end the postcode lottery on law and order”.
She will also put in a place a “clear new police performance framework” for forces, with “clear action to ensure there are improvements when things go wrong”.
The home secretary will also recommit to Labour’s pledge to deliver an addition 13,000 neighbourhood police officers, PCSOs and special constables.
Pictured: Starmer on board government jet en route to G20
Sir Keir Starmer is on his way to another international summit, having departed from the UK this morning.
The prime minister will meet fellow G20 leaders in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as the Ukraine war approaches the 1,000-day milestone (read more about the issues on the agenda here).
Here are some pictures of the PM on the government plane…
Streeting ‘crossed the line’ by opposing assisted dying in public, says Labour peer
By Faye Brown, political reporter
Wes Streeting “crossed the line” by opposing assisted dying in public and the argument shouldn’t “come down to resources”, a Labour peer has said.
Speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harriet Harman criticised the health secretary for revealing how he is going to vote on the matter when it comes before parliament later this month.
MPs are being given a free vote, meaning they can side with their conscience and not party lines, so the government is supposed to be staying neutral.
But Mr Streeting has made clear he will vote against legalising assisted dying, citing concerns end-of-life care is not good enough for people to make an informed choice, and that some could feel pressured into the decision to save the NHS money.
He has also ordered a review into the potential costs of changing the law, warning it could come at the expense of other NHS services if implemented.
Baroness Harman said Mr Streeting has “crossed the line in two ways”.
“He should not have said how he was going to vote, because that breaches neutrality and sends a signal,” she said.
“And secondly… he’s said the problem is that it will cost money to bring in an assisted dying measure, and therefore he will have to cut other services.
“But paradoxically, he also said it would be a slippery slope because people will be forced to bring about their own death in order to save the NHS money. Well, it can’t be doing both things.
“It can’t be both costing the NHS money and saving the NHS money.”
Baroness Harman said the argument “should not come down to resources” as it is a “huge moral issue” affecting “only a tiny number of people”.
Read more here – and listen to the full podcast below.
👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈
Email us at electoraldysfunction@sky.uk, post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444
Previous govt ‘wasted’ £15m on asbestos-contaminated derelict prison to house asylum seekers
By Tim Baker, political reporter
A report has outlined how millions of pounds of taxpayer money was spent on an asbestos-riddled former prison that the Conservative government wanted to use to house asylum seekers.
The review highlighted a lack of checks and reports within the Home Office, as well as political pressure to complete the deal quickly. Then immigration minister Robert Jenrick – who is now in Kemi Badenoch’s shadow cabinet – is mentioned as a key decision maker.
The National Audit Office (NAO) review found the Home Office bought the site for more than £15m from a company that had purchased it for around £6m the year before.
The cost estimate to remove asbestos and complete other work was more than £20m.
Campaigners said millions of pounds of public money was “thrown away on a contaminated and dangerous site that should never have been under consideration”, branding the revelations a “fiasco”.
Labour says Mr Jenrick had “no regard for public money” and that “serious questions” now need to be asked about his presence in the shadow cabinet.
