Rachel Reeves to announce ‘difficult decisions’ to plug £20bn black hole in government finances as IFS warns of tax rises – UK politics live

Tommy Robinson has left the country after pleading guilty to “flagrant” contempt of court over a film shown during a protest in central London, the High Court has been told.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, after he failed to appear at the Royal Courts of Justice on Monday for a hearing in a contempt of court case.

The attorney general filed a lawsuit against Robinson, 41, in June for allegedly violating a court order after he lost a defamation case in 2021.

But Adam Payter, representing the attorney general, said on Monday that the English Defence League founder is believed to have left the jurisdiction hours after being released on bail over the weekend.

The government is “pleased” with the Supreme Court ruling that a ban on puberty blockers introduced by Conservative ministers was lawful, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister’s official spokesman told reporters: “The government welcomes the court’s decision. Children’s health care must be based on evidence.

“We have always been clear that the Cass Review found there was insufficient evidence that puberty blockers are safe and effective for children with gender dysphoria and gender incongruence. That is why we must act with caution and care when it comes to this vulnerable group of young people.

“We were therefore of course pleased that the court upheld the ban.”

The Conservatives’ latest leadership battle has begun after Rishi Sunak led the party to its biggest election defeat in history.

A number of prominent figures have put themselves forward as candidates to succeed the former prime minister and lead the party in opposition for the next five years.

Candidates must win the support of 10 Conservative MPs before Monday’s deadline to get on the ballot.

As the shortlist is gradually whittled down to four candidates who will be presented to the party faithful at the Conservative conference in October, The independent looks at the riders and horsemen taking over the reins from Mr Sunak.

Foreign Minister David Lammy has condemned a rocket attack on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights and said Hezbollah must stop its attacks.

David Lammy tweeted: “The UK condemns the attack on the Golan Heights which tragically claimed at least 12 lives.

“We are deeply concerned about the risk of further escalation and destabilization. We have made it clear that Hezbollah must cease its attacks.”

Saturday’s attack, which the Israeli military said killed 12 children and teenagers, has raised concerns that the conflict in Lebanon could escalate.

Israel blames Hezbollah, but the group issued a statement saying it “categorically denies” being behind the attack.

Hezbollah commanders told the UN it was an Israeli anti-missile projectile that hit the soccer field.

Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the Lebanese militant group “will pay a high price for this attack, a price it has not paid so far.”

On Sunday, around 255 people were caught crossing the Channel into the UK.

According to preliminary figures from the Ministry of the Interior, the cumulative number of arrivals so far in 2024 stands at 16,457, a new record for the first seven months of a calendar year.

The previous record for arrivals in the seven months from January to July was 16,420 in 2022.

In the first seven months of 2023, there were 14,732 arrivals.

The monthly data comes from the Home Office’s latest quarterly update on irregular migration to the UK, which provides the “definitive and authoritative statistics on small boat arrivals”.

In all of 2023, 29,437 people arrived, a 36% drop from the record 45,774 in 2022.

Just Stop Oil protesters blocked the entrance to a checkpoint at Gatwick Airport in an attempt to hinder travellers trying to catch their flights.

Seven activists entered the airport’s south terminal this morning. The group stated that “the situation is currently evolving.”

But Downing Street said their actions were not “convincing people” of their cause.

Asked about the prime minister’s message to the protesters, his official spokesman told reporters: “Of course we recognise the democratic right of people to peacefully express their views, but of course they have to do that within the bounds of the law. And clearly significantly disrupting people’s summer holidays is not a way to win people over to your cause.

“I cannot comment specifically on the matter you are raising, which is of course still ongoing, but we would of course like to thank everyone involved for preventing any significant disruption.”

A spokesperson for the aviation hub said The independent that despite the protest, London Gatwick is open today and “operating normally”.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Conservative government’s emergency ban on puberty blockers is lawful.

After the ruling, Health Minister Wes Streeting said, “I’m pleased with the court’s decision today. Children’s health care should be based on evidence.”

“Dr. Cass’s research found that there was insufficient evidence that puberty blockers are safe and effective for children with gender dysphoria and gender incongruence.

“We must therefore act with caution and care when it comes to this vulnerable group of young people. I am working with NHS England to improve gender identity services for children and to set up a clinical trial to establish the evidence for puberty blockers.

“I want transgender people in our country to feel safe and accepted and to be able to live in freedom and dignity.”

Angela Rayner will announce a review of planning rules next week as Labour seeks to pave the way for 1.5 million homes to be built over five years.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Housing said that “delivering social and affordable housing on a large scale” is her “number one priority”.

But the planning system should be a ‘launching pad’ rather than a ‘millstone’ dragging the housing market down, she wrote in The Observer.

Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell has the full story:

It is reported that the strike by junior doctors may end after the government offered unions a new 20 percent pay scheme.

After negotiations, Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the British Medical Association have reached an agreement that will be voted on by young doctors, The Times reports.

According to the document, the new deal will see a total pay rise of 20 percent, worth £1 billion, including a retroactive pay increase of 4.05 percent for 2023-24, on top of the existing increase from 8.8 percent to 10.3 percent.

Under the offer, junior doctors will receive a further 6 per cent pay increase for 2024-25, topped up by a £1,000 consolidated payment.

Downing Street said the escalation in fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was “deeply worrying”.

The prime minister’s official spokesman told reporters: “We are very concerned about the situation and the risk of further escalation and destabilisation.

“I think, as the Prime Minister said earlier, the situation on Israel’s northern border is extremely worrying, and we call on all parties to de-escalate the situation.

“We urge both the Israeli and Lebanese governments to participate in the US-led discussions to reach a political solution and resolve these tensions diplomatically.”

The official said he had no update and would not comment on military movements when asked about a report that British naval ships are en route to the region and could assist in a possible evacuation operation from Lebanon.

This comes after Israeli drone strikes reportedly killed two people in southern Lebanon in response to the attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.