Nigel Farage says flaws in Reform UK’s candidate vetting process were not his fault – UK politics live

David Lammy, the foreign secretary, has confirmed an independent review into how the government responded to the death of Harry Dunn. It will be carried out by the former chief inspector of prisons, Anne Owers. In a news release, Lammy said:

I am confident the review into how the case was handled by the previous government has the remit required to properly address the family’s concerns and to ensure lessons are learned.

Having worked previously with Dame Anne Owers on the Lammy Review in 2017, I don’t believe anyone is better qualified to undertake this important piece of work.

Darren Jones, the chief secreatary, to the Treasury, has declined to say how the government will fill the hole in the government’s financial plans caused by its recent policy U-turns on winter fuel payments and the welfare bill.

In a Commons urgent statement, Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, said these U-turns left the government with unfunded commitments worth £6bn.

He said that either the government announced these U-turns “without a clue as to how they will be funded”, or it was refusing to say. Either was “completely unacceptable”, he said.

In response, Jones said tax changes would be annoounced at the budget, as usual.

Zelenskyy says he has spoken to Starmer ahead of forthcoming ‘Coalition of Willing’ meeting

Jakub Krupa

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, has said he has spoken to Keir Starmer, discussing “joint diplomatic efforts” and plans for a meeting of the “Coalition of the Willing” in Rome “in a few days.”

“We are working to ensure the decisions made are as strong as possible,” he said.

In an update on his Telegram and X accounts, Zelenskyy also said Starmer also expressed his condolences over continuing Russian attacks on Ukraine as the two discussed what else can be done to support Ukraine.

“We also discussed additional funding to be provided this month for Ukraine’s domestic drone production, primarily interceptor drones,” he said.

Zelenskyy added that the pair also “agreed to work on strengthening other formats of cooperation with key partners as well, particularly the Ramstein format,” with focus on protecting lives of Ukrainians against on-going attacks by Russia.

There is more on this on the Europe live blog.

The Treasury has announced a £29m investment from the National Wealth Fund in Peak Cluster, a carbon capture project in the Peak District. In a news release the Treasury says:

This funding for the flagship Peak Cluster project is the first step towards the development of a leading carbon capture pipeline between cement and lime companies in the Peak District which will store emissions deep below the Irish Sea – accelerating Britain’s transformation into a clean energy superpower.

The Peak Cluster project is the world’s largest cement decarbonisation project – preventing over 3 million tonnes of CO2 entering the atmosphere every year and providing a secure domestic supply of cement and lime products the British construction and manufacturing sectors rely on.

Backed by £31 million from private partners including Holcim, Tarmac, Breedon, SigmaRoc, Summit Energy Evolution and Progressive Energy together with the Morecambe Net Zero project could create and secure 13,000 jobs in the Midlands and North West.

Low-traffic neighbourhoods cut road injuries and deaths by more than a third within their boundaries with no apparent negative safety effect on nearby roads, a study has shown. Peter Walker has the story here.

Nigel Farage has insisted that he was not to blame for any flaws in Reform UK’s candidate vetting procedures ahead of the 2024 general election.

On a visit to Kent county council, Farage said that any vetting errors were not his fault because he was not party leader when candidates were being chosen. Farage founded the party but it was mostly led by Richard Tice during the last parliament, until Farage resumed control when he decided to return to frontline politics during the 2024 campaign.

Vetting has become an issue because James McMurdock, one of five Reform UK MPs elected at the election, announced at the weekend he has given up the party whip pending an investigation into two Covid loans he obtained during the pandemic. Murdock said the loans were obtained lawfully and in compliance with the regulations and that he was only resigning the whip as a “precautionary measure” to protect the party’s reputation.

Another of the five Reform MPs elected in July last year has already left the party. Rupert Lowe was accused of misconduct, but he claimed the allegations were false and the police dropped the matter after an investigation.

Asked about the McMurdock allegations, Farage told reporters:

Let’s find out the truth. I know as much about this right now as you do.

He said he would be heading to Westminster later to find out more about the situation.

Talking about candidates generally, Farage said:

I came in, I inherited this situation where hundreds of candidates who stood in the last general election had not gone through a vetting process.

I said on 5 July, the day after the election last year, that we would now professionalise.

We put 1,630 candidates into the field on 1 May, more than any other party with very, very few rows or arguments – so the vetting process worked for this year, I can’t apologise for what happened before.

Addressing his Kent council colleagues, who now run the council, Farage said:

Behaving with integrity is a responsibility upon all of you, although that doesn’t mean you all have to become stuffed shirts or anything like that.

You are holders of public office you are responsible and how we behave matters.

Downing Street has refused to say if the government is confident a deal to eliminate American tariffs on UK steel will be struck ahead of a deadline this week.

Donald Trump plans to start implementing tariffs on the US’s trade partners on 9 July, which could include a 50% levy on UK steel and aluminium, as an agreement on eliminating the rate was not reached alongside moves to spare car and aeroplane manufacturers, PA Media reports.

Asked if the government was confident a deal will be reached, a No 10 spokesperson told reporters at the lobby briefing:

Our work with the US continues to get this deal implemented as soon as possible. That will remove the 25% tariff on UK steel and aluminium, making us the only country in the world to have tariffs removed on these products.

The US agreed to remove tariffs on these products as part of our agreement on May 8. It reiterated that again at the G7 last month. The discussions continue, and will continue to do so.

Pressed again whether ministers were confident British producers will not be hit by the 50% tariff, the spokesman replied:

As I say, discussions continue. We have very close engagement with the US, and the US has been clear that it wants to keep talking to us to get the best deal for businesses and consumers on both sides.

Ed Hammond, from the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny, a local government thinktank and consultancy, posted these on Bluesky about what No 10 is saying about its plans to reform Send provision. (See 1.51pm.)

This has been messaged in the usual sub-optimal way but my understanding from Gov’s position is that they will be resourcing to significantly expand the depth of councils’ existing SEND “local offer” such as to render EHCPs superfluous for mild-moderate needs

problem is that in order to articulate what those mild-moderate needs are for an individual child where additional “local offer” support is needed you need to write it down and agree it and… that’s an EHCP, but without any parental ability to enforce its contents

Which is fine if your school has a good, responsive SENCO and the head takes this stuff seriously but if not?

The UK’s relationship with France is “key” to tackling small boat crossings, Downing Street signalled a day ahead of Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Britain. In its write-up of what was said at the No 10 lobby briefing about the state visit, PA Media says:

The French president and his wife Brigitte will be hosted by the king when they travel to the UK for a state visit on Tuesday.

During his stay in Britain, Macron and Starmer will hold a Franco-British summit, where tackling migration is set to be a pressing issue.

As well as small boats crossing the English Channel, defence, security and economic growth are among the top issues on the agenda for the meeting, No 10 indicated.

Joint work with the French to tackle migration is “stronger than it has ever been”, Downing Street said, while suggesting further efforts to prevent small boats crossings will be on the agenda for the Franco-British summit.

A No 10 spokesman added: “We very much look forward to welcoming President Macron for a historic state visit this week. That relationship is key to a number of issues, and we expect to make good progress on a wide range of priorities, including migration, growth, defence and security, which will deliver on the interests of both the British and the French public.”

Macron’s visit comes after the tally for small boats crossings pushed past 20,000 this year, the earliest point this has happened in a calendar year since data started being recorded in 2018. The total for 2025 currently sits at 21,117, according to PA news agency analysis of Home Office data.

Downing Street declined to say whether the French police’s use of a knife to puncture an inflatable boat last week was a sign of new tactics being employed. The Sun On Sunday has meanwhile reported that French police have been laying nets in the water that could jam boat propellers, in an attempt to reduce the number of crossings.

But the No 10 spokesman appeared to suggest a new approach had been discussed but not yet rolled out.

He said: “We are the first government to have secured agreement from the French to review their maritime tactics so their border enforcement teams can intervene in shallow waters. This is operationally and legally complex, but we’re working closely with the French. We expect this to be operationalised soon.”

Downing Street has said it would be “totally inaccurate” to say families or schools might lose funding as a result of its proposals to overhaul support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send).

At the lobby briefing, asked about the campaign that has been launched to stop the goverment restricting education, health and care plans (EHCPs), which give Send pupils a legal right to extra support (see 9.34am), a No 10 spokesperson said that, while the government was committed to reform, it has not drawn up firm plans yet. He said:

We inherited a Send system that’s failed parents and children, with people right across the country crying out for reform. Indeed, the previous government, I think described the situation as “lose, lose, lose”. And we’re actively engaging with parents on the solutions to this.

Our priority is making sure that all children of all abilities get the opportunity to achieve and thrive at school, and we can only do that through reforms that restore the trust and confidence of parents. And we want to make sure we get it right.

As we said in the manifesto, we’re improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, whilst ensuring special schools continue to cater for those with the most complex needs.

And we’re not waiting to take action. We’ve already announced £1bn pounds for Send, as well as increasing the early years pubic premium. In every Best Start family hub we’re ensuring there’s a professional with specialism around Send to support parents.

But we’re not yet at a stage where we’re putting forward proposals. We are continuing to listen to parents, look at how we can make the system work better for children and families.

Asked if he could guarantee that children who currently have an EHCP would continue to get specialist, personalised support when the new system comes in, the spokesperson said the existing system was “on its knees” and changes was needed. He went on:

We’re continuing to actively work with parents and experts on solutions, including more early intervention to prevent needs from escalating, and £740m pounds to encourage councils to create more specialist places in mainstream schools.

It would be totally inaccurate to suggest that children, families and schools might experience any loss of funding or support because of this.

As part of our Plan for Change, we will restore the confidence of families up and down the country by working with them to deliver the improvement they’re crying out for.

At the Downing Street lobby briefing the a No 10 spokesperson was asked about calls for a wealth tax. (See 10.47am and 12.44pm.) His response was a masterclass in ambiguity, but the gist of it seemed to be what, while the government supports ‘taxes on the wealthy’, it is less keen on ‘wealth taxes’.

In response to the opening question, about whether the PM backed a wealth tax, the spokesperson replied:

We have repeatedly said that those with the broadest shoulders should carry the greatest burden, and the choices we’ve made reflect that, including closing loopholes in the non-dom tax regime, increasing air passenger duty on private jets and preventing tax rises for working people at the autumn budget.

Our progressive tax system means the top 1% of taxpayers contribute nearly a third of income tax, with revenue from wealth and asset taxes, such as capital gains tax, inheritance tax, going towards funding tens of billions of pounds for public services.

And you saw the decisions taken at the autumn budget, demonstrating our commitment to our fiscal rules while maintaining high levels of investment, to rebuild our public services.

But as you know, I’m not going to write the next budget for you right now.

Asked if that answer amounted to a yes or a no, the spokesperson repeated the point about the government “repeatedly” saying those with the broadest shoulders should carry the greatest burden. But he went on:

You’ve also got – the chancellor [Rachel Reeves] has said in the past that we’re not going to be bringing in a wealth tax.

We know that finance leaders see the UK as the best place in the world to invest. We’ve got a survey from Deloitte of UK chief financial officers showing that finance leaders see the UK as the most attractive destination when it comes to investments. We know that the majority of UK households are also feeling financially secure. [See 9.40am.]

After several more minutes of questions, with reporters trying to find out what these statements implied for future policy, and the spokesperson just largely repeating the points made in his opening answers, one journalist said that, on the basis of the briefing, half the reporters in the room were going to go away and write stories about No 10 implying it was considering a wealth tax, and the other half were going to go away and write stories about No 10 ruling it out (on the basis of the Reeves comment). He asked which half would be right.

In response, the spokesperson pointed out that he could not comment on future budget decisions.

As the spokesperson pointed out, there are many taxes that disproportionately affect people who are wealthy.

But leftwingers are calling for these to be supplemented with a special “wealth tax” that would be levied on the basis of wealth, not earnings. For example, at the last election the Greens proposed a wealth tax that would be worth 1% on assets worth more than £10m, and 2% on assets worth more than £1bn.

There are two urgent questions in the Commons today after 3.30pm, on “the government’s performance against the fiscal rules” and on policy towards Iran, both tabled by the Conservative party. After that, at around 5pm, Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, will deliver a statement on the Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life strategy.

The Green party has backed the renewed calls for a wealth tax. (See 10.47am.) This is from Carla Denyer, the party’s co-leader.

Calls for a wealth tax are becoming deafening and it’s time for the government to listen. Putting in place a small tax on the wealth of multi-millionaires and billionaires, and equalising capital gains tax with income tax, could help raise the billions so desperately needed to properly fund our public services.

With Labour’s fiscal plans in shambles after their misguided attempts to balance the books on the backs of the poorest backfired, it’s time for [Keir] Starmer and [Rachel] Reeves to take their heads out of the sand and start looking at the obvious solution: making our tax system fairer.

Working people saving into a pension pot “could benefit by up to £29,000 by the time they retire” under proposals in the pensions schemes bill which is getting its second reading in the Commons today, the Department for Work and Pensions has said.

In a news release, the DWP said:

Reforms in the bill, which have received wide-spread support from the pensions industry and consumer groups, will support 20 million pension savers to get more from their pension pots and be better prepared for retirement.

The bill will bring together small pension pots worth £1,000 or less into one pension scheme that is certified as delivering good value to savers, making pension saving less hassle and more rewarding. At present many people struggle to keep track of multiple small pensions as they move jobs and can pay high fees as a result.

Torsten Bell, the pensions minister, said:

The measures in our pension schemes bill will drive costs down and returns up on workers’ retirement savings – putting more money in people’s pockets to the tune of up to £29,000 for an average earner and delivering on our Plan for Change.