Joe Bedell-Brill

Heidi Alexander: ‘Tackling child poverty is in the DNA of the Labour Party’ The expectation is that Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ upcoming budget will lift the two child benefit cap. On the BBC this morning, Laura Kuenssberg suggested that Labour have been giving mixed messages, with the chancellor saying she was determined to get welfare spending under control. Alexander said that growing up in poverty creates a ‘lifetime of consequences’, and three quarters of children in poverty are in households where both parents work. The transport secretary said she was confident that there would be fewer children in poverty at the end of Labour’s term. However, when pushed to confirm that the two child cap would be removed, Alexander said she couldn’t ‘get ahead of the budget’.

Tomorrow Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, is set to announce changes to Britain’s asylum system, designed to discourage those who arrive through illegal routes. Those changes will include making housing and financial assistance ‘discretionary’ so that they can be denied to those who are able to work, and increasing the length of time asylum seekers have to wait before they can apply to settle permanently to 20 years. On Sky News this morning, Trevor Phillips asked Mahmood how she responded to the accusation that she is being ‘panicked into a racist immigration policy’. The Home Secretary rejected the claim, saying this is a ‘moral mission’ for her as the child of immigrants.

The BBC is set to apologise for the misleading editing of a Donald Trump speech it featured in the Panorama documentary ‘Trump: A Second Chance?’. The documentary spliced together different segments of Trump’s speech to make it look like he said he would walk to the US Capitol with them to ‘fight like hell’. Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said there were a number of ‘serious allegations’ against the BBC, the most significant of which is that there is ‘systemic bias in the way that difficult issues are reported’. Nandy said that the language used by the BBC in its reporting is ‘entirely inconsistent’, and it is often left to individual journalists to make decisions.

Bridget Phillipson: ‘We’ve played a key role behind the scenes’ Israel and Hamas have agreed on a ceasefire, and Israeli troops are withdrawing from parts of Gaza, as Hamas prepares to release the remaining hostages on Monday morning. Later that day, Donald Trump and the Egyptian president Abdel Fatah al-Sisi will chair a peace summit with other leaders, including Keir Starmer. The ceasefire represents a big diplomatic success for President Trump. On Sky News this morning, Trevor Phillips asked Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson what role the UK had played in the negotiations. Phillipson said she recognised ‘the critical role that the American government played’, but suggested the UK was involved in ‘complex matters of diplomacy’.

Shabana Mahmood: Government must ‘stem the rising tide of anti-Semitism’ This week, two Jewish people were killed in a terrorist attack at a synagogue in Manchester. On Sky News, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said it was ‘devastating’ that some British Jews don’t feel safe in their country. She said the government had to ‘stem the rising tide of anti-Semitism’ and ensure that Jewish life can ‘continue to flourish’ in the UK. Trevor Phillips played Mahmood a clip showing Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy being jeered by the crowd at a vigil held for the victims of the attack, and asked whether that reaction was caused by the government recognising the state of Palestine, or not stopping weekly pro-Palestine demonstrations in London.

Chaos continues to follow the prime minister, as damning emails between Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein were made public, forcing Keir Starmer to sack the UK ambassador to the US just days before Trump’s scheduled state visit. Details of the emails were reportedly given to Downing Street on Tuesday, but Starmer defended Mandelson in the House of Commons on Wednesday, apparently not knowing about the contents of the emails until Wednesday evening. On Sky News this morning, Business Secretary Peter Kyle told Trevor Phillips that Starmer had taken ‘decisive action’ hours after coming across the emails. Phillips asked Kyle how it was possible that the vetting process had not brought these emails to light.

At the Reform UK conference, Nigel Farage claimed that he would stop small boats crossings in two weeks if elected prime minister. When Laura Kuenssberg asked him how he would manage that, Farage scaled back the promise, saying ‘as soon as the law’s in place, as soon as you have the ability to detain and deport, you’ll stop it in two weeks.’ Kuenssberg noted that it might take ‘many, many months’ to pass legislation, and accused Farage of making big, bold promises that ‘don’t quite stack up’. Farage responded, ‘the difference is we mean it’, and argued that it’s impossible to solve the issue without leaving the ECHR. He claimed that through the ‘battles’ of passing legislation, the country would ‘know.. that we’re on their side’. https://www.youtube.

James Murray: ‘You can only recognise a state once’ France’s decision to recognise the state of Palestine at the next UN general assembly has put pressure on Keir Starmer to decide whether he does the same, or stays in line with the US, risking a Labour mutiny. On Sky News this morning, treasury minister James Murray played for time, telling Trevor Phillips the UK is ‘committed to the recognition of Palestine’, whilst arguing that the government must use the moment it officially recognises the state to ‘galvanise change’. Murray noted that 140 countries already recognise Palestine, but there’s still ‘unbearable suffering’, and said the UK’s decision must be part of a ‘pathway to peace’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

Environment Secretary Steve Reed puts his job on the line over water targets The government has announced plans to halve sewage pollution from water companies by 2030, with the help of £104 billion of private investment. On the BBC this morning, Laura Kuenssberg interviewed Environment Secretary Steve Reed, noting that halving current sewage pollution would only bring us back to the levels of 2019, when there were 225,000 sewage spills. Reed claimed that that wasn’t the end of the government’s ambition, and said the target was to restore all water bodies to ‘good health’ within a decade. Reed emphasised that water pollution has got worse every year, and that Labour have drawn a line now to ‘turn this situation around’.

The government is piloting a ‘one in, one out’ migrant scheme with France. As part of the deal, the UK will return some migrants to France, and in exchange others with a strong case for asylum in the UK will come the other way. On Sky News, Trevor Phillips noted that France could refuse to take back certain individuals, and asked Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander why they would accept ‘violent offenders and rapists’. Alexander said there is a lot of ‘operational detail’ that the Home Secretary and Prime Minister are working on, but claimed the deal was ‘robust’ and ‘workable’, and could ultimately ‘break the model’ of the international people smuggling gangs.

Rachel Reeves: ‘Israel has every right to defend itself’ In a major escalation of conflict in the Middle East, Israel and Iran are now engaged in active warfare, trading missile strikes after Israel initially attacked Iranian nuclear sites on Friday. The UK has now sent military jets to the region, and on Sky News this morning, Trevor Phillips asked Chancellor Rachel Reeves if UK military assets could be used in support of Israeli operations. Reeves said it was a ‘fast moving situation’, but the UK had not been involved so far. She added that Israel had the right to defend itself, and that the UK was ‘also very concerned about Iran’s nuclear deterrent’.

John Healey: ‘Russia is attacking the UK daily’ Defence Secretary John Healey was interviewed today ahead of the government’s publication of the Strategic Defence Review, which will warn that new technology is significantly changing the nature of war. On the BBC, Laura Kuenssberg asked Healey if there is a risk that Russia would attack the UK. Healey said the UK defence system already deals with thousands of cyberattacks, many of which come from Russia, which is why the government is putting in ‘an extra £1bn to create a new cyber command’. Healey warned we are in ‘a world of growing threats’, and that the Strategic Defence Review will set out how UK forces must respond. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

Rayner: ‘Can’t guarantee’ winter fuel payments will be on time for this winter Keir Starmer announced a partial U-turn on the winter fuel payments this week, but the extent of the reversal is not yet clear. Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg, Angela Rayner said changes to the cuts would happen ‘as the economic situation improves’, but refused to confirm whether the payments could be restored to all pensioners. When asked if the payments would come through before winter, Rayner said she couldn’t guarantee it, because it ‘has to come through a fiscal event and the chancellor’. Kuenssberg suggested the government’s approach had been ‘cack-handed’.

The government is currently in the final hours of negotiations with the EU over a new deal that Keir Starmer has said will create a ‘strengthened partnership’ with the bloc. The specifics of the deal are not yet revealed, but it is thought that a youth mobility scheme is on the table. On the BBC this morning, Laura Kuenssberg told Minister for European Relations Nick Thomas-Symonds that some people might feel betrayed by the new deal. Thomas-Symonds told Kuenssberg that it would include a ‘smart and controlled scheme’ and that going back to freedom of movement was a ‘red line’ the government would not cross.

Under pressure from the success of Reform, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced new measures designed to reduce net migration. The government will consider deporting any foreign criminals, and introduce new restrictions on visas for low-skilled jobs, including scrapping the care worker visa. On the BBC this morning, Laura Kuenssberg asked the home secretary how care homes would recruit enough staff. Cooper said that care companies should recruit from a ‘pool of people’ who are already here on care worker visas, but did not get jobs. The home secretary resisted giving a target number for immigration, but did say she expected these new measures to ‘lead to a reduction of up to 50,000 fewer lower-skilled visas over the course of the next year.’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?

Wes Streeting admits that Reform UK might become Labour’s ‘main challengers’ Thursday’s local elections were bruising for both main parties, and a huge success for Reform UK, who won 677 seats. On Sky News this morning, Trevor Phillips asked Health Secretary Wes Streeting if Reform were taking votes away from Labour’s working class base. Streeting described Reform as a ‘real threat’, and suggested they might be the government’s main opposition by the next election. The health secretary called for Reform to receive more ‘airtime and scrutiny’, arguing that Farage’s healthcare policies are ‘a real threat to the NHS’, and added that Labour had to demonstrate ‘real improvement to people’s lives’ by the next election. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

Justin Welby says he forgives serial abuser John Smyth On the BBC this morning, former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby gave his first interview since resigning in November last year. He told Laura Kuenssberg that he was ‘profoundly ashamed’ of his speech in the House of Lords in which he had joked that ‘there is only, in this case, one head that rolls well enough’. He also reiterated his claim that he knew nothing of Smyth’s abuse before 2013, and said he had not moved fast enough while in office because he’d been ‘absolutely overwhelmed’ by the scale of abuse. When Kuenssberg asked if he could forgive Smyth, Welby said he could, but added that it was not him who had been abused by Smyth, and that his forgiveness was ‘irrelevant’.  https://www.youtube.

Rachel Reeves: ‘I’m confident we will see living standards increase’ A report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found that living standards in the UK are set to fall by 2030, news which increases pressure on Chancellor Rachel Reeves ahead of her Spring Statement next week. Appearing on Sky News this morning, Reeves rejected the JRF’s analysis, telling Trevor Phillips that there had been a ‘sustained increase’ in living standards since Labour came to power, and she expected that to continue. Reeves said that from April, people on the living wage would see a 6.7% increase in pay, and claimed that her government had brought ‘stability’ to the economy, although she admitted that she had to ‘do more’ to improve living standards further. https://www.youtube.

This week, Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced their plan to abolish NHS England, which Starmer has said will ‘cut bureaucracy’ and bring management of the NHS ‘back into democratic control’. Today on Sky News, Streeting told Trevor Phillips that the size of NHS England had doubled since 2010, when the NHS had ‘the highest patient satisfaction ever’. Streeting claimed that his restructuring would save hundreds of millions of pounds, and create a ‘smaller, leaner, more efficient head office’. Labour will also make big job culls elsewhere in the NHS, and Phillips asked Streeting whether it was right that the NHS’s 42 integrated care boards were being asked to cut their running costs by half.