Politics latest: Starmer says he has uncovered more Tory 'mess'; Robert Jenrick joins Tory leadership race (2024)

Following our earlier reporting of an update from the Afghanistan inquiry, we've now heard from Johnny Mercer himself.

Mr Mercer has been threatened with prison time if he does not hand over the name of former service people he spoke to about the actions of special forces in Afghanistan.

While the inquiry says they have received new information, Mr Mercer says he will not be handing over the names.

He said on social media: "As I have repeatedly stated, it remains entirely inappropriate to name those who confided in me without their consent.

"For the avoidance of doubt: I have not and I will not. I will always assist the inquiry, outside of those parameters.

"This process has placed an unacceptable strain on me and my family. I am no longer a public figure; I will not be commenting further."

Tonight marks Sophy Ridge's last episode of the Politics Hub before the summer break - although Ali Fortescue will be back tomorrow to present one more edition tomorrow night.

Coming up on today's episode, we'll be speaking to a swathe of people.

This includes Dale Vince, the Labour donor who used to support Just Stop Oil, and energy minister Sarah Jones.

Meanwhile, our panel will include broadcaster Nick Ferarri and Labour MP Dawn Butler.

And Count Binface will be joining us for a special segment at the during the programme.

WatchPolitics Hub With Sophy Ridgefrom 7pm on Sky channel 501, Virgin channel 602, Freeview channel 233, on theSky News websiteandappor onYouTube.

We've had an update on Johnny Mercer, the former veteran's minister and MP, and the threat he was under to be jailed.

This was down to his refusal to comply with the wishes of a statutory inquiry - in this case the investigation into the UK's special forces in Afghanistan.

Mr Mercer had previously refused to name service people who had spoken to him.

A deadline for him to comply with the inquiry was today, and a spokesperson for the investigation has now said: "Mr Mercer has provided further information in response to the Section 21 notice and agreed to assist the Inquiry further.

"The inquiry team will be taking this forward.

"For the time being, the chair will not be taking further action in relation to the Section 21 Notice or making further comment."

The Home Office has announced that 46 criminals and immigration offenders have been deported to Vietnam and Timor-Leste.

It is the first charter flight to Timor-Leste from the UK for this purpose.

Timor-Leste is a country on the island of Timor, to the north of Australia.

The flight, which left on Wednesday, arrived in Timor-Leste today having stopped over in Vietnam.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "Today’s flight shows the government is taking quick and decisive action to secure our borders and return those with no right to be here.

"We thank the governments of Vietnam and Timor-Leste for their co-operation, without which this could never have happened.

"Our strong diplomatic bonds with other countries have never been more crucial to our mission to bring order back into the asylum and immigration system, tackling irregular migration, and making sure the rules are properly respected and enforced."

Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, has been speaking to broadcasters in the past few minutes.

Asked who she would be supporting in the Tory leadership contest, she says: "So the thing that I'm interested in, we're now in opposition. We have to hold the Labour government to account.

"And actually in the first three weeks we've seen that they've scrapped the Rwanda scheme.

"They're already, obviously, trying to size up the British public for tax rises, and they ditched their promises to save people money on their energy bills.

"So what I really want to see is someone who can hold the Labour government to account, to make sure that we're opposing effectively so that we can get the best outcomes for the British people."

Pushed on who she would endorse, Ms Coutinho did not provide any further clarity.

Away from politics, one of the main stories of the past 24 hours has been a video of a policeman stamping on someone's head at Manchester Airport.

The officer has been suspended, but the exact sequence of events which led to the incident are unclear.

Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, met with Manchester mayor Andy Burnham today and has now released a statement.

She said: "I share the deep concern surrounding the video and understand the widespread distress it will have caused.

"I welcome the initiation of an independent investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct following a referral from Greater Manchester Police.

"It is extremely important that the IOPC are able to begin the investigation swiftly and conduct it thoroughly, examining all of the evidence, with clear and transparent ways for all those affected to be able to raise their concerns with the IOPC."

She says she is receiving updates from Greater Manchester Police as the situation develops.

Read what we know about the incident below:

One of the Labour government's first actions in government was to announce plans to reduce the starting point for prisoners to be released from 50% of time served to 40%.

This, they said, was due to a severe lack of spaces, with the blame for the "crisis" being laid at the feet of the last government.

While it was announced shortly after the election, the measure has only just been approved in the Commons by a ratio of 323 to 81.

As well as 314 Labour MPs, the motion was also backed by the seven recently suspended members of the Labour Party, who were kicked out of the parliamentary party for at least six months following their rebellion on the King's Speech.

Three Green Party MPs also voted with the government.

The motion was opposed by 78 Tory MPs - including all the main candidates running to replace Rishi Sunak, although the former PM himself did not vote.

A handful of DUP and Reform MPs also opposed it

In his speech this morning, Starmer tried to hammer home Labour's message that they have been dealt a bad hand by the last Conservative government.

The prime minister said the Tories left a "rot of short-sightedness and self-service" for Labour to clear up.

Starmer said "every day" his is finding "more mess" that the Tories left behind.

"The hard graft of rebuilding this country has well and truly started, and it is vital that we begin immediately because the last government dropped the ball," he said.

"They left us the worst inheritance since the Second World War, and every day – every day – we’re finding more mess that they’ve left for us to clear up.

"The rot of short-sightedness and self-service that has weakened the foundations of our country."

Sir Keir Starmer also said he will not be telling people what to do with their boilers.

Asked if people should ditch their gas boilers and whether the Government would help them to do so, the prime ministersaid: "I’m not going to tell people what to do with their boilers.

"This is not about bearing down on individuals imposing a disproportionate burden on them. I don’t think that’s the way that we take anybody through a transition.

"So this is not about a government that’s going to go around the country saying ‘you can do this. You can’t do that.'"

He said the best approach is to "put in place the difficult decisions to make sure that renewable energy is a reliable source of energy and meet our mission which is to have clean power by 2030."

The best selling point for the general public is that "their bills will go down and they will go down not just for a short time, but for the long term", he said.

The Senedd will be recalled on August 6 to allow Eluned Morgan to become the next first minister of Wales, the Presiding Officer has said.

It follows outgoing First Minister Vaughan Gething requesting the Welsh Parliament be brought back.

The Llywydd (Presiding Officer) of the Senedd Elin Jones MS, said: “I received a request from the First Minister to recall the Senedd for Members to nominate the next person to take on the role of first minister of Wales.

"I have agreed to the request and I have written to Members of the Senedd to inform them of the recall."