Suella Braverman news – live: Home secretary warns Tories to stop infighting amid rift reports

Setting out her vision for conservatism at a right-wing conference in central London, Home Secretary Suella Braverman has warned the Conservative Party to stop infighting.

Amid reports of fresh rifts in the cabinet, Ms Braverman told the audience at the National Conservatism conference: “One way that we Conservatives must distinguish ourselves from the Left is by not devouring ourselves through fratricide.”

Ms Braverman, who unsuccessfully ran as Conservative Party leader last year, added that she was “optimistic about the future of conservatism, our great nation and of Western civilisation”.

Earlier, Downing Street was forced to deny a rift between Ms Braverman and Rishi Sunak amid reports she would push the PM to bring down overall migration.

Mr Sunak’s official spokesman said: “She continues to represent the UK government views on all issues relating to the Home Office, as you would expect.”

Ms Braverman also attacked left-wing politics, saying it was “making people feel terrible about our past”.

Key Points

• Braverman heckled by XR protester

• Anti-fascist protester storms stage during Rees-Mogg speech

• Zelensky in surprise trip to UK

• Home secretary to pressure PM on overall immigration numbers

• Braverman and Rees-Mogg to speak at National Conservativism Conference

Braverman issues warning against Conservative infighting

16:26 , Eleanor Noyce

Suella Braverman has set out her vision for conservatism at a right-wing conference in central London.

The home secretary, who unsuccessfully ran as Conservative Party leader last year, said she was “optimistic about the future of conservatism, our great nation and of Western civilisation”.

In a lengthy address to the National Conservatism Conference in Westminster, she talked of her own parents’ arrival in Britain “through legal and controlled migration”.

She said other immigrants “should embrace and respect this country”, adding: “They need to learn English and understand British social norms and mores – which is not to say that they cannot enrich and add to our culture.”

Ms Braverman attacked left-wing politics, saying it was “making people feel terrible about our past”.

“White people do not exist in a special state of sin or collective guilt - nobody should be blamed for things that happened before they were born,” she added: “The defining feature of this country’s relationship with slavery is not that we practised it, but that we led the way in abolishing it.”

Ms Braverman also discussed transgender issues at several points, claiming that “radical gender ideology is leading to the mutilation and abuse of our children”.

Amid reports of fresh rifts in the cabinet, Ms Braverman also issued a warning against infighting, telling the audience: “One way that we Conservatives must distinguish ourselves from the Left is by not devouring ourselves through fratricide.”

19:33 , Natalie Crockett

That’s it for our live coverage of the conference today, we’ll bring you the latest updates tomorrow. In the meantime, you can read our wrap of the event here.

Who are the ‘National Conservatives’ and what do they stand for?

19:20 , Eleanor Noyce

As the National Conservative Conference meets in London, already a couple of keynote speeches by Suella Braverman and Jacob Rees-Mogg have provided some controversy. For many in the Conservative party, the National Conservative movement, which began in the United States, is another unwelcome faction in a divided party, with alarmingly fascistic overtones.

To its supporters, it represents a rebirth of traditional conservative values after flirtations in recent decades with social liberalism, multiculturalism, diversity, equality and globalisation. Suffice to say it seems well-funded and, like the Conservative Democratic Organisation grouping within the Conservative party, enjoys some popularity among the grassroots and rightist elements in the media.

It is little more than crude populism and could fragment the Tory party, says Sean O’Grady:

Who are the ‘National Conservatives’ and what do they stand for?

Margaret Thatcher ‘totally on board’ with National Conservatism conference

19:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Monday’s gathering of conservatives in London began with an invocation of the spirit of Margaret Thatcher.

Opening the National Conservatism conference in Westminster’s Emmanuel Centre, chairman Christopher DeMuth said he had been “communing” with the late prime minister about the conference.

He told delegates: “I am happy to report that she is totally on board.”

Monday’s meeting was the start of a three-day event bringing together right-wing politicians, journalists and thinkers to discuss the potential of “national conservatism” to provide a path towards renewal for the Conservative Party.

The conference is a project of the Edmund Burke Foundation, a “public affairs institute” based in Washington DC which has held conferences across Europe and America since 2019 to promote the ideas of national conservatism.

Christopher McKeon reports:

Margaret Thatcher ‘totally on board’ with National Conservatism conference

Suella Braverman’s ‘vision for conservatism’ is a psychodrama of self-interest, writes Tom Peck

18:40 , Eleanor Noyce

The Tory Party knows it is sinking. You can tell not only because so many of them have already got their eye on the soon to be vacant captain’s job, but also because they reckon they can get it by driving into the iceberg again, but this time even harder.

For some reason, the Conservative Party are having not one but two fully deranged “conventions” over the weekend and into this week, and both are seeking to outdo the other in their complete and utter failure to understand the inevitable consequences of absolutely everything they’ve done.

It’s commendable, in a way. The psychodrama of self-interest is all that most of them have cared about for a very long time, so we, the mere people, should be grateful that they’ve now hired a range of cheap convention facilities in which to do it, freeing at least some of them to plough on with the quotidian humdrum of actually running the country. That hasn’t always been the case.

Tom Peck writes:

Suella’s ‘vision for conservatism’ is a psychodrama of self-interest | Tom Peck

Rwanda asylum plan: Timeline of government’s policy to deport migrants

18:20 , Eleanor Noyce

The Rwanda plan to deport asylum-seekers who arrive in the UK is back in the courts after it was deemed wrong that the High Court ruled the scheme lawful.

The appeal hearing ran from Monday 24 April to Thursday 27 April but the judges have not yet said when a verdict will be announced.

Flights cannot currently take off to Rwanda while legal proceedings are ongoing.

It comes as Home Secretary Suella Braverman shared her vision for conservatism at a right-wing conference in London on 15 May, citing her own parents’ arrival in Britain via “legal and controlled migration”.

This is how events leading up to this point unfolded, starting with the announcement of the scheme in April 2022.

Rwanda asylum plan: Timeline of goverment’s policy to deport migrants

‘True face of modern Tory party’ revealed at today’s conference, says Angela Rayner

17:53 , Eleanor Noyce

Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s Deputy Leader, commenting on today’s National Conservative conference, said: “The true face of the modern Tory Party has revealed itself today. Rather than focus on the cost of living crisis, the state of the NHS, crime or house building, Tory MPs and cabinet ministers have instead chosen to hold a carnival of conspiracy theory and self-pity.

“Beneath the outward veneer of respectability, the Tories have nothing to offer the country beyond more failure, more excuses and more divisive politics.

“Until Rishi Sunak finds the backbone to stand up to the cranks in his party, he will always be in hoc to those painting a bleak, defeatist vision of our country’s future. Only Labour can build a better Britain - a place of growth and optimism that moves on from 13 years of Tory failure.”

Braverman insists it is not hypocritical of her to push for lower migration

17:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Suella Braverman has insisted it is not hypocritical for her, the child of migrants, to push for lower migration.

Addressing the National Conservatism Conference, the Home Secretary also argued that “you cannot have immigration without integration” and “the unexamined drive towards multiculturalism” is a “recipe for communal disaster”.

Ms Braverman was the star attraction of the first day of the three-day gathering in Westminster, but her speech, like that of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s earlier, was interrupted by protesters who were quickly hauled out.

She set out the Conservative philosophy instilled in her by her parents, whose arrival stories in the UK she recounted in a wide-ranging speech that will be seen in the context of her leadership ambitions.

She said: “Ours, like my parents’, is a politics of optimism of pride, national unity, aspiration, and realism.

“The left’s is a politics of pessimism, guilt, national division, resentment, and utopianism.”

Ms Braverman said that people who come to the UK “must not commit crimes”, “need to learn English and understand British social norms” and “cannot simply turn up and say: ‘I live here now, you have to look after me’”.

Her parents “embraced British values”, she said, adding that “you cannot have immigration without integration”.

Sophie Wingate reports:

Braverman insists it is not hypocritical of her to push for lower migration

Voter ID is ‘gerrymandering’ which backfired on Tories, says Rees-Mogg

17:10 , Eleanor Noyce

The Conservative government’s introduction of voter ID was an attempt at “gerrymandering” that backfired against the party, senior Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg has said.

The former cabinet minister said the policy – which saw voters required to have photo ID when voting at England’s local elections – had made it harder for elderly Tories to vote and “upset a system that worked perfectly well”.

Speaking at the National Conservatism conference on Monday, Mr Rees-Mogg said: “Parties that try and gerrymander end up finding their clever scheme comes back to bite them – as dare I say we found by insisting on voter ID for elections.”

“We found the people who didn’t have ID were elderly and they by and large voted Conservative, so we made it hard for our own voters and we upset a system that worked perfectly well,” he added.

Adam Forrest reports:

Voter ID is ‘gerrymandering’ which backfired on Tories, says Rees-Mogg

Braverman: Conservatives sceptical of ‘self-appointed gurus, experts and elites’

15:50 , Eleanor Noyce

Suella Braverman has said Conservatives are “sceptical of self-appointed gurus, experts and elites”.

The Home Secretary told a packed hall at the National Conservatism conference that Conservatives “prize experience, judgment and wisdom,” saying she would rather be governed by the first 2,000 people in the telephone directory than by the Harvard University faculty.

“Common sense and a shared understanding of who we are and what really matters in life have vastly more to recommend themselves than does anything that emanates from an ivory tower,” she said.

“Measuring diversity only on the basis of skin colour, sex and sexuality is mindbogglingly myopic. Identity politics is the politics of grievance and division.”

She added the goal of identity politics is “the infinite division of society”.

Suella Braverman’s most controversial quotes – from immigrant ‘invasions’ to the ‘wokerati’

15:45 , Eleanor Noyce

Home Secretary Suella Braverman was today heckled by protesters angry at her plans to curb illegal immigration by sending anyone who arrives on a small boat to Rwanda.

The outburst from social justice campaigners Extinction Rebellion came on day one of the first National Conservatism Conference in London. The fringe event brings together supporters and representatives of the harder right of the Conservative party. Ideas being discussed are largely pro-Brexit, anti-immigration and about defending cultural traditions.

In her short tenure as home secretary – once removed for breaching the ministerial code by sending official emails from a personal account – Ms Braverman has never been one to shy away from delivering a contentious line. In fact, she seems to enjoy provoking the ire of her political opponents when given a chance, once joking that annoying the Left would be her “delight”.

Here’s a selection of some of her most controversial quotes:

Suella Braverman’s most controversial quotes

‘You cannot have immigration without integration’, says Braverman

15:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Suella Braverman has argued that “you cannot have immigration without integration”.

The Home Secretary told the National Conservatism conference: “People who come here should embrace and respect this country. They must not commit crimes. They may practise any faith or none, and they need to respect everyone else’s right to do the same.

“They need to learn English and understand British social norms and mores, which is not to say that they cannot enrich and add to our culture. Above all, they cannot simply turn up and say: ‘I live here now, you have to look after me’.

“My parents came here through legal and controlled migration. They spoke the language. They threw themselves into the community. They embraced British values.”

She continued: “The unexamined drive towards multiculturalism as an end in itself, combined with identity politics, is a recipe for communal disaster.”

‘White people do not exist in a special state of sin’, Braverman tells conference

15:28 , Eleanor Noyce

White people do not exist in “a special state of sin”, Suella Braverman has said.

To applause from delegates, she told the National Conservatism conference: “I think the left can only sell its vision for the future by making people feel terrible about our past.

“White people do not exist in a special state of sin or collective guilt.”

She added: “Nobody should be blamed for things that happened before they were born.

“The defining feature of this country’s relationship with slavery is not that we practised it, but that we led the way in abolishing it.

“We should be proud of who we are.”

Braverman rejects argument it’s ‘hypocritical’ for her to push for lower migration

15:20 , Eleanor Noyce

Suella Braverman has said she rejects the argument that it is hypocritical for her, as someone from an ethnic minority, to push for lower migration.

“Conservatives understand that borders, national identity and public order are fundamental to a healthy nation,” the Home Secretary said in a keynote speech at the National Conservatism conference.

“While illegal migration is rightly our priority given the acute challenges that we face in the Channel, we must not lose sight of the importance of controlling legal migration as well...

“It’s not xenophobic to say that mass and rapid migration is unsustainable in terms of housing supply, public services or community relations. Nor is it bigoted to say that we have too many asylum seekers in this country for whom we have insufficient accommodation.

“That absorbing more and more people means building more and more homes is another one of those unfashionable facts that the open-borders brigade would say means we’re starting a culture war.

“It’s not racist for anyone, ethnic minority or otherwise, to want to control our borders. I reject the left’s argument that it’s hypocritical for someone from an ethnic minority, like mine, to know these facts or to speak these truths.”

Braverman backs coronation arrests

14:55 , Matt Mathers

Suella Braverman has backed the arrest of protesters at the King’s coronation, Lizzie Dearden reports.

She said:"The people’s right to freely enjoy that day trumped any claim of reckless, selfish people that they should be free to disrupt whatever they want without effective consequence."

The home secretary also called on her colleagues to stop infighting if they wanted to win the next election:

"One way that we Conservatives must distinguish ourselves from the Left is by not devouring ourselves through fratricide."

Braverman jokes Starmer should run as next female Labour leader

14:51 , Matt Mathers

Suella Braverman joked that Sir Keir Starmer could campaign to become "Labour’s first female prime minister" next year.

Speaking at the National Conservatism conference in Westminster, the home secretary said: "Conservatives must always be honest with the public. Honest about our principles and honest about our priorities.

"In that way, we distinguish ourselves from the leader of the left, Sir Keir Starmer. He opposes today the things he stood for yesterday, that he’ll change his mind on tomorrow and he’ll campaign on next year as a man of great principle.

"Although given his definition of a woman, we can’t rule him out from running to be Labour’s first female prime minister."

Earlier in her speech, Ms Braverman said to applause from the audience that it was an "unfashionable fact" that "100 per cent of women do not have a penis".

Labour on course to win majority thanks to tactical voting, study finds

14:48 , Matt Mathers

Labour is on course to win the next general election, with a 13-point lead which would deliver a majority, according to research by the Labour Together think tank, Adam Forrest reports.

Almost one in four voters (24 per cent) who backed the Liberal Democrat at the local elections will switch to Labour at the general election, YouGov polling for the group linked to Keir Starmer has found.

Josh Simons, director of Labour Together, said: “The narrative that Labour should fear a Liberal Democrat or Green resurgence is nonsense. In the places where it matters, voters are backing Labour - and when a general election comes, even more will do so.”

XR confirms members disrupted Braverman speech

14:38 , Matt Mathers

Extinction Rebellion have confirmed that their members "secretly entered and disrupted" the National Conservatism Conference, saying the intention was to highlight "increasingly dangerous rhetoric from senior political figures", home affairs editor Lizzie Dearden reports.

They first interrupted Jacob Rees-Mogg’s keynote speech in the morning, before targeting the home secretary’s appearance.

A press release called said XR wanted to raise "concerns of increasingly fascist ideals being adopted by senior members of the Conservative Party", citing draconian protest laws in the Public Order Bill and accusing the government of scapegoating asylum seekers.

Protesters disrupt Braverman speech

14:18 , Matt Mathers

Our home affairs editor, Lizzie Dearden, reports from the National Conservatism Conference:

Suella Braverman’s speech to a right-wing conference in Westminster got off to a bumpy start this afternoon, when it was disrupted by Extinction Rebellion protesters.

All seemed quiet outside, where two protesters were silently holding placards - one giant Big Brother-style eye and one protesting against “lying” politicians.

Security is tight with no-one allowed entry without pre-registering and collecting a pass. But at least two Extinction Rebellion protesters managed to gain entry.

They were sat among the crowd when the home secretary began her speech on stage at 2pm, with a middle-aged man first standing up in the crowd.

He called out that he was from Extinction Rebellion and representing an asylum seeker, before being drowned out by boos from the audience and being taken away by security.

As he disappeared through the doors of the venue, a second protester stood up and starting shouting about small boats before also being booed and seized by security.

As she was taken outside, the home secretary asked: “Is there anyone else” to cheers and claps from the audience. She added: “It’s audition day for the shadow cabinet.”

UK will play big role ion training Ukraine pilots - Sunak

13:51 , Matt Mathers

The UK has no plans to supply jets to Ukraine but a new flying school will help train Kyiv’s pilots and the government pledged to work with allies on securing the planes Volodymyr Zelensky needs.

In an announcement made as Mr Zelensky met Rishi Sunak for talks at Chequers, the government said an "elementary flying phase" for groups of Ukrainian pilots would begin this summer.

The move will adapt the programme used by UK pilots to provide Ukrainian counterparts with skills they can apply to different kinds of aircraft.

"It is not a straightforward thing - as Volodymyr and I have been discussing - to build up that fighter combat aircraft capability," Mr Sunak said.

"It’s not just the provision of planes, it’s also the training of pilots and all the logistics that go alongside that and the UK can play a big part in that.

"One thing we will be doing, starting actually relatively soon, is training of Ukrainian pilots and that’s something we’ve discussed today and we’re ready to implement those plans in relatively short order."

Will Labour expand the vote to millions of EU citizens?

13:35 , Matt Mathers

Keir Starmer is accused of ‘laying the groundwork’ to reverse Brexit. Adam Forrest takes a closer look at what the opposition leader is up to:

Will Labour expand the vote to millions of EU citizens?

Sunak will use upcoming summits to stress importance of support for Ukraine

13:16 , Matt Mathers

Rishi Sunak will use the upcoming Council of Europe and G7 summits to stress the importance of continued support for Ukraine, Downing Street has said.

The remarks came after the prime minister met with Ukraine president, Volodymyr Zelensky.

The two leaders “discussed the new package of support the UK has announced today, including further air defence missiles and drones,” Downing Street said in a statement.

“This builds on the confirmation last week that the UK has become the first country to provide long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine.”

Suella Braverman’s comments on cutting migration in line with Government’s approach - Downing Street

12:58 , Martha Mchardy

Suella Braverman’s comments on cutting net migration were in line with the Government’s approach, Downing Street has said.

In a speech due to take place later on Monday Ms Braverman will argue that there is “no good reason” the UK cannot train its own workforce of lorry drivers and fruit pickers and stress the need for overall immigration to the UK to come down.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “She continues to represent the UK Government views on all issues relating to the Home Office, as you would expect.”

The spokesman added: “We want to see employers make long-term investments in the UK domestic workforce instead of relying on overseas labour as part of building a high-wage and high-skilled economy and we are supporting those industries in doing that.”

The 2019 Tory manifesto promised control over immigration and that “overall numbers will come down”.

But asked about what level the numbers would come down from, the spokesman said: “I don’t think we’ve set out a baseline.”

Voter ID was ‘gerrymandering’ which backfired on Tories, says Rees-Mogg

12:53 , Martha Mchardy

The Conservative government’s introduction of voter ID was an attempt at “gerrymandering” that backfired against the party, senior Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg has said.

The former cabinet minister said the policy – which saw voters required to have photo ID when voting at England’s local elections – had made it harder for elderly Tories to vote and “upset a system that worked perfectly well”.

Speaking at the National Conservatism conference on Monday, Mr Rees-Mogg said: “Parties that try and gerrymander end up finding their clever scheme comes back to bite them – as dare I say we found by insisting on voter ID for elections.”

Adam Forrest reports:

Voter ID is ‘gerrymandering’ which backfired on Tories, says Rees-Mogg

‘Record number’ of affordable homes being built in London - Sadiq Khan

12:24 , Martha Mchardy

The mayor of London has announced that a “record number” of affordable homes are being built in the capital.

In a speech at Royal Eden Docks, east London, on Monday, Sadiq Khan said he would continue tackling the “grave social injustice” of unaffordable housing.

He said that a “record number” of 25,000 affordable homes had been started last year and that he had surpassed his 2015 promise to begin building 116,000 by 2023.

The mayor said the figures were “concrete proof that London is building again”, describing the programme as a “big bang in an affordable housing revolution”.

He said that affordable housing was the key to “safeguard the soul of our city” and reiterated calls for the Government to introduce a freeze on rental costs.

The latest figures from HM Land Registry showed that the average cost of properties in London was £532,212, the highest in the country, compared with a national average of £288,000.

In his speech, Mr Khan added that the housing crisis in London was “turbo-charging inequalities in wealth, health and happiness”.

He said: “As mayor, I don’t want to see London become a playground for the rich - I’m determined to build a London for everyone.

“We’ve completed more homes of all types than at any time since the 1930s.

“While the Government has shamefully scrapped its own home-building targets, we’re busy meeting ours.

“In London, not only have we hit our target of starting 116,000 new genuinely affordable homes, we’ve exceeded it, with an incredible record-breaking 25,000 affordable homes in the last year alone - more genuinely affordable homes than in any year since records began.”

The mayor also hit out at his predecessor, former prime minister Boris Johnson, who he said had “left a pipeline of three social rented homes”.

Watch: Zelensky calls for ‘coalition’ of jets after Sunak fighter plane talks

12:16 , Martha Mchardy

‘Cultural Marxism’ is ‘destroying cultural souls’, says Tory MP

12:02 , Matt Mathers

Conservative MP Miriam Cates has claimed “cultural Marxism” is “destroying our children’s souls”.

The right-winger told National Conservatism conference: “We must end the indoctrination of our children with destructive and narcissistic ideologies.”

Cates said: “When culture, schools and universities openly teach that our country is racist, our heroes are villains, humanity is killing the Earth, you are what you desire, diversity is theology, boundaries are tyranny and self-restraint is oppression, is it any wonder that mental health conditions, self-harm and suicide, and epidemic levels of anxiety and confusion characterise the emerging generation?”

She began the conference with a call for families to be encouraged to have more children.

Cates said falling birth rates were “the one overarching threat to British conservatism and indeed the whole of Western society”.

ICYMI: Boris Johnson ‘scrapped knighthood for Michael Gove’ after ‘betrayal’

11:45 , Matt Mathers

Boris Johnson scrapped a planned knighthood for Michael Gove after blaming him for blocking his return as prime minister last autumn, it has been reported.

Mr Johnson had planned to knight Mr Gove in recognition of his years of service in government since the Tories came to power in 2010.

The honour would have been considered a way of burying the hatchet after Mr Gove stood against his then-ally Mr Johnson in the 2016 Tory leadership contest.

Archie Mitchell and Jon Stone report:

Boris Johnson ‘scrapped knighthood for Michael Gove’ after ‘betrayal’

‘Common sense’ to allow EU nationals full voting rights - Starmer

11:25 , Matt Mathers

Sir Keir Starmer has indicated it is "common sense" to allow EU nationals who have worked for years in the UK to vote in a general election, as Labour considers extending the franchise.

The opposition leader said it "feels wrong" that people who have contributed to Britain’s economy and raised their children in the country are not allowed to cast a ballot.

Labour is open to both lowering the voting age to 16 and extending rights to settled migrants, but has stressed these are currently "ideas" being "looked at" rather than policy.

Speaking on LBC, Sir Keir said: "If someone has been here say 10, 20, 30 years, contributing to this economy, part of our community, they ought to be able to vote. You go to doors sometimes in a general election and you’re met with someone who says ‘look, I’m an EU citizen, I’ve been living here 30 years, I’m married to a Brit, my kids were raised and brought up here, they’re now working in the UK... but I can’t vote’.

"I think that feels wrong and something ought to be done about it."

‘Gerrymandering’ voter ID rules came back to ‘bite' Tories at local elections - Rees-Mogg

11:13 , Matt Mathers

The government’s introduction of voter ID was an example of “gerrymandering” that came back to “bite” the Tories at the local elections, Jacob Rees-Mogg has suggested.

Speaking about reports that Labour is considering expanding the vote to EU citizens, Jacob Rees-Mogg told the National Conservatism conference in Westminster: "Parties that try and gerrymander end up finding their clever scheme comes back to bite them, as dare I say we found by insisting on voter ID for elections.

"We found the people who didn’t have ID were elderly and they by and large voted Conservative, so we made it hard for our own voters and we upset a system that worked perfectly well."

As a minister, Mr Rees-Mogg defended the introduction of voter ID in parliament.

Government U-turn on scrapping EU laws ‘pathetically under-ambitious’ - Rees-Mogg

10:57 , Matt Mathers

Jacob Rees-Mogg has slammed the government’s decision to scale back post-Brexit plans to scrap EU laws.

The loyalist of former prime minister Boris Johnson told the National Conservatism conference that the repeal so far of EU laws was "pathetically under-ambitious".

He said it was "very unfortunate" that Rishi Sunak had broken his promise, adding: "The surrender to the blob risks exposing the government to ridicule."

But Mr Rees-Mogg warned that it was "essential" to support the government because "the alternative is far worse".

‘Nonsense’ to question Sue Gray independence - Starmer

10:29 , Matt Mathers

Sir Keir Starmer has said it is "nonsense" to question Sue Gray’s independence during the partygate investigation after it was announced the former senior civil servant was due to become Labour’s next chief of staff.

The Labour leader also laughed off reports that former prime minister Boris Johnson had referred to the ex-mandarin as a "psycho," saying "increasingly hysterical things" will be said and done in the run-up to a general election next year.

On questions about Ms Gray’s independence, Sir Keir said: "It’s nonsense and as I’ve said many times before I didn’t speak to Sue at all during the partygate investigation and that’s the long of the short of it."

Referring to Mr Johnson’s former director of communications, Guto Harri, alleging the ex-prime minister had called her a "psycho", the Labour leader said: "I’ll tell you one thing, I won’t be making any decision about Sue Gray, future Labour government, or any policy based on what Boris Johnson thinks."

He added: "We know there’ll be an election next year, so increasingly hysterical things will be said and done and we need to just see them for what they are."

Rees-Mogg speech interrupted by protester

10:19 , Matt Mathers

Jacob Rees-Mogg’s speech at the National Conservatism conference was interrupted by a protester.

Shortly after the Tory MP began speaking, a man joined him at the lectern and told the audience: "I would like to draw your attention to a few characteristics of fascism."

The protester was then bundled off the stage.

Mr Rees-Mogg was expected to use his address at the gathering to criticise the government’s recent decision to scrap the repeal of EU laws.

High numbers of immigration often a ‘good thing’ - trade minister

10:09 , Matt Mathers

High numbers of immigration are often a “good thing”, a trade minister has said.

Nigel Huddleston played down concern about figures due to show a record high for net migration.

Speaking to Times Radio, he said immigration should come down in the long run but that “every now and again we also need more people to come into the country, many people are coming in just for temporary reasons, for example, students, and that’s often a good thing”.

‘Get back to the office’: Starmer says Braverman should be tackling asylum backlogs

10:02 , Matt Mathers

Sir Keir Starmer has said the government’s handling of the asylum backlog is "pathetic", urging Suella Braverman to cancel her planned speech on immigration and "get back to the office".

The Labour leader said between 1 per cent and 3 per cent of applications from those who arrive on small boats have been processed from last year, calling on the home secretary to make the logjam her priority.

Speaking on LBC, he said he agreed with the Archbishop of Canterbury that the Illegal Migration Bill was "impractical" and "wrong".

He told listeners: "Suella Braverman, the home secretary, is today making a speech about what she thinks ought to happen on immigration. She is the home secretary.

"They’ve been in power for 13 years. This is like (Mikel) Arteta... doing a speech this afternoon on what Arsenal ought to do."

Sir Keir added later: "This is pathetic. I’d say to the Home Secretary: stop the speech, cancel that, get back to the office and sort out the processing of these claims."

Sunak welcomes Zelensky as leaders pictured in warm embrace

09:43 , Matt Mathers

Rishi Sunak has greeted Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukraine president’s helicopter landed at Chequers.

“Welcome back”, the prime minister said in a post on Twitter, which included a photo of the two leaders in a warm embrace.

Earlier, Mr Sunak said it is a “crucial moment for Ukraine’s resistance to a terrible war of aggression they did not choose or provoke.”

"They need the sustained support of the international community to defend against the barrage of unrelenting and indiscriminate attacks that have been their daily reality for over a year.”

Victims’ bill ‘not worth paper it’s written on’ after being hijacked by Dominic Raab, watchdog says

09:43 , Matt Mathers

A new package of laws the government claims will strengthen victims’ rights “isn’t worth the paper it’s written on”, a watchdog has said.

Claire Waxman, the victims’ commissioner for London, said the Victims and Prisoners Bill had been “hijacked by Dominic Raab” to increase government powers while diluting its original aims.

Lizzie Dearden reports:

Victims’ bill ‘hijacked by Dominic Raab’, watchdog says

Zelensky lands in UK

09:30 , Matt Mathers

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenksy has landed in the UK for a surprise visit to ramp up pressure on Rishi Sunak to provide his country with more military aid ahead of an expected spring offensive.

The president’s helicopter touched down at Chequers - the prime minister’s country retreat - earlier this morning with the pair due to hold talks soon.

Mr Zelensky also issued a new appeal to NATO on Monday to make a "positive political decision" on Kyiv’s membership drive at a July summit. He made the remarks in a video address to the Copenhagen Democracy Summit.

It comes as two of Russia’s military commanders were killed in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv’s forces renewed efforts to break through Russian defences in the embattled city of Bakhmut.

Read all the latest updates from the war here.

Senior Tory declines to say if Sunak should lead party at next election

09:20 , Matt Mathers

Senior Conservative MP Sir John Redwood has pushed for "big changes" in migration policy and refused to say whether Rishi Sunak should lead the party into the next election.

Asked whether he supported the prime minister on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday, Sir John said he was focused on "policy not on people".

It comes ahead of a speech by home secretary Suella Braverman at the National Conservatism Conference later on Monday in which she is expected to push for lower migration.

Sir John said: "The current focus is on policy and I am an optimist. I think this Government could do well. It could make changes for the better.

"I and my colleagues are desperate for it to do so.

"It needs to make big changes on its attitude towards Brexit, on its attitude towards economic growth and on migration."

Zelensky in surprise visit to UK to press Sunak for more military support

09:16 , Matt Mathers

Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the UK on Monday to meet Rishi Sunak for “substantive negotiations” to secure more support for his country’s war effort.

The Ukrainian president will meet his “friend” the prime minister as part of a trip around Europe pressing leaders for more military aid.

Mr Zelensky said on Twitter: “The UK is a leader when it comes to expanding our capabilities on the ground and in the air.

“This cooperation will continue today. I will meet my friend Rishi. We will conduct substantive negotiations face-to-face and in delegations.”

Archie Mitchell reports:

Zelensky in surprise visit to UK to press Sunak for more military support

Britain needs to train up HGV drivers and fruit pickers to boost economy

09:13 , Matt Mathers

More Britons should be trained as HGV drivers, fruit pickers and butchers so the UK does not have to rely on foreign workers to fill jobs, Suella Braverman will tell a Conservative conference on Monday.

Some of the home secretary’s cabinet colleagues have called for post-Brexit visa rules to be relaxed in a bid to boost the economy.

She is expected to tell the conference: “I voted and campaigned for Brexit because I wanted Britain to control migration. So that we all have a say on what works for our country.

Dominic McGrath reports:

Braverman: Britain needs to train up HGV drivers and fruit pickers to boost economy

09:12 , Matt Mathers

Good morning and welcome to the Independent’s live politics coverage.

Today we’ll be covering the National Conservativism Conference, President Zelenky’s visit to the UK and all the latest from Westminster and elsewhere.

Stay tuned for updates.