Coffee House

Prince Harry has finished his second day of giving evidence in the High Court. The Duke of Sussex is taking legal action against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) alleging that tabloid reporters broke the law to get stories about him. He was cross-examined by the Mirror Group's barrister Andrew Green and then was asked questions by his own lawyer, David Sherborne. Here's what unfolded today: • Prince Harry says the media exposure for this court case has been 'a lot' • The Duke of Sussex found a tracking device under then-girlfriend Chelsy Davy's car • Harry calls several articles 'suspicious' because they have been attributed to 'pals' or 'Palace sources' • The Duke said the alleged phone hacking 'could have been happening on a daily basis' 2.

Prince Harry is in the High Court today, being cross-examined as he sues the publisher of the Daily Mirror over alleged phone hacking (you can follow proceedings throughout this afternoon here). Here is his witness statement: I, PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX, of [address available to the trial judge] WILL STATE AS FOLLOWS: I make this statement in support of my claim for damages and other remedies against MGN Limited, the publishers of the Daily Mirror, the People and the Sunday Mirror newspapers. The facts and matters set out in this witness statement derive from my own knowledge and are true except where I indicate that the information derives from a third party, in which case it is true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Boris Johnson has faced a three-hour grilling in front of the Privileges Committee, where he was quizzed about parties in Downing Street during the pandemic. The former PM is accused of lying to parliament when he told MPs that ‘the guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times’. The cross-party committee, led by Labour's Harriet Harman, is looking at whether he inadvertently, recklessly or intentionally misled the House with this statement. Johnson yesterday admitted to misleading the Commons, but said it was not intentional and he made his remarks in good faith. Here’s how the session played out: Boris’s trial ends And that's a wrap, with the Privileges Committee finishing their questioning of the former PM.

Jeremy Hunt is today unveiling his first Budget. He has told the Commons that his Budget will help deliver on Rishi Sunak's five priorities that the Prime Minister set out in January: namely halving inflation, reducing the national debt and increasing growth. Hunt has reprised much of his Bloomberg speech from January with championing the 'four Es' of 'enterprise, education, employment, everywhere.' The Office of Budget Responsibility predicts the UK to avoid a recession this year, with a contraction of 0.2 per cent. Inflation is expected to fall to 2.9 per cent from 10.7 at the end of 2022. The OBR forecasts growth of 1.8 per cent for next year and then 2.5 per cent the following year. However real living standards are still expected to fall by a cumulative 5.

Below is an edited transcript of Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation speech, made this morning at Bute House. Coffee House readers may be interested to note that the words 'I', 'me' and 'my' are used 153 times in the speech. ‘Scotland’ is only mentioned 11 times. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for coming along. I'm sorry to break into your half-term break. The First Minister of Scotland is, in my admittedly biased opinion, the very best job in the world. It is a privilege beyond measure, one that has sustained and inspired me in good times and through the toughest hours of my toughest days. I am proud to stand here as the first female and longest serving incumbent of this office, and I'm very proud of what has been achieved in the years I've been in Bute House.

Liz Truss has broken her three-month long silence since leaving No. 10 at the end of October. In a 4,000 word article for the Sunday Telegraph, she reflects for the first time on the mini-Budget, the challenges she faced within government and the mistakes she made in her 49-day premiership which made her the shortest-serving Prime Minister in British political history. Today, she has given her first interview to reflect on her time in No. 10. Truss speaks to Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson exclusively on Spectator TV to talk about where she went wrong, what she thinks she got right and her plans for post-premiership life. You can watch the interview on The Spectator's channel here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

More than half of Tory MPs now back Rishi Sunak in the race to become prime minister. Penny Mordaunt remains in the contest, but she has until 2 p.m. to persuade 100 Tory MPs to support her leadership bid. Here is who is backing whom: Rishi Sunak (197) 1. Crispin Blunt 2. Julie Marson 3. Richard Holden 4. Angela Richardson 5. Steve Double 6. Kevin Hollinrake 7. Jo Gideon 8. Paul Maynard 9. John Glen 10. Andrew Bowie 11. Anthony Mangnall 12. Simon Hart 13. Craig Williams 14. John Stevenson 15. Gary Streeter 16. Andrew Murrison 17. Dominic Raab 18. Simon Jupp 19. Bim Afolami 20. Nick Gibb 21. James Cartlidge 22. Fay Jones 23. Alan Mak 24. Laura Trott 25. Maggie Throup 26. Simon Hoare 27. Edward Timpson 28. Laura Farris 29. Huw Merriman 30.

With nominations to be the Tory leader closing tomorrow afternoon, there are still just over 100 MPs to publicly say who they want to take over from Liz Truss.

Following the disaster of last month's mini-Budget, Liz Truss’s premiership is now hanging by a thread. The sacking of Kwasi Kwarteng and his replacement by Jeremy Hunt appears to have not placated many of Truss’s critics on the Tory benches. Veteran backbencher Crispin Blunt became the first elected member of her party to call for her to quit on Sunday with others now breaking cover to voice their concerns too. Keep track of all the MPs calling on Truss to go here on Coffee House. Crispin Blunt – ‘The game is up.’Andrew Bridgen – ‘Liz has sunk her own leadership and her predecessor’s potential comeback at the same time, all in record time.

The government won tonight's opposition day debate on shale gas extraction, but only after confusion around whether it amounted to a vote of confidence or not. Amid scenes of carnage in the Commons, no Tory MPs defied the three-line whip to vote against Labour's motion but some 40 did abstain. A full list of those who did is below.

It's day one of Tory conference and already the drumbeat of rebellion is filling the air. There was much to digest in last week's mini-Budget but the measure that has attracted the most attention was the eye-catching plan to cut the top rate of tax from 45p to 40p. This morning Michael Gove attacked the measure on Laura Kuenssberg's show as a 'display of the wrong values' but he's far from alone in having doubts. Below is the The Spectator's running tally of the Tory MPs who have gone public and voiced their concerns. James Cartlidge 'Cutting tax for top earners while reducing benefits in a cost of living crisis is unacceptable.'Robert Largan 'You cannot freeze benefits and pensions while cutting taxes for millionaires.

Thank you, conference. It’s great to be here in Liverpool. After all the changes we’ve made, all the hard work we’ve put in, finally we are seeing the results we want. Yes, conference, we can say it at last: Arsenal are top of the league. But before I begin, I want to address something important. This is our first conference in Liverpool since 2018. And that means it’s our first conference since this city’s call for Justice for the 96 became Justice for the 97. For too long this city has been let down. So, when Labour wins the next election, one of my first acts as Prime Minister will be to put the Hillsborough Law on the statute book. I know how much this matters. I’ve spent a lifetime helping those who have been failed by the system.

Liz Truss, Britain's new Prime Minister, has appointed her new cabinet. You can find a full list of the comings and goings here. Here's how all the developments unfolded on an historic day in SW1: 11.44pm – Truss completes her cabinet Isabel Hardman writes... That’s the reshuffle over for tonight, with a full cabinet list published here. The official line is: ‘The Prime Minister has appointed a cabinet which represents the depth and breadth of talent in the Conservative party. Containing no fewer than five other candidates from the recent leadership election, this is a cabinet which will unify the party, get our economy growing and deliver for the British people.’ 11.04pm – Tugendhat in government Isabel Hardman writes...

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss were quizzed by Sky News's Kay Burley and undecided Tory members this evening, with Truss the runaway favourite according to the bookies. Refresh this page for the reaction. 9.30 p.m. – Is this a turning point? Katy Balls writes… Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss faced an audience of undecided Tory members this evening. Both received a grilling. But when the audience were asked who had won them over, the former Chancellor had a big majority of the audience. Now of course, these are the undecided – and all the polling suggests many have already decided in favour of Truss. However, Sunak's team needed something to show the race is closer than the polls suggest. The snap judgment works in their favour. 9.25 p.m.

Rishi Sunak was interviewed by Andrew Neil on Channel 4 tonight. He was quizzed on inflation, the NHS backlog and more. Liz Truss, the bookies' favourite, declined to take part in an interview with Neil. 8.50 p.m. – Did Sunak's gamble pay off? Kate Andrews writes... Rishi Sunak took a major risk tonight, agreeing to a one-on-one interview with Andrew Neil on Channel 4 news. As Katy Balls says on our reaction podcast, more often than not politicians come crawling out of Neil’s interviews. At best, they hope to survive them. All things considered Sunak did indeed survive tonight's interview. But is survival enough? He agreed to the grilling in an effort to kickstart his polling amongst the Tory grassroots; on his own admission he is behind Liz Truss.