Keir Starmer interrupted by noisy farmer protest on new towns visit: Politics live

A group of tractor-driving protesters staged a noisy demonstration as Sir Keir Starmer visited a housing development in Buckinghamshire.

The vehicles could be heard sounding musical horns while the Prime Minister spoke to workers at the side.

Farmers have staged a series of protests following the inheritance tax changes in the budget.

There will be an urgent question on Ukraine in the Commons at 10.30am. It has been tabled by shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge, and a defence minister will respond since defence secretary John Healey is at a Nato summit in Brussels.

It comes after Mr Healey warned that “Russia remains a threat well beyond Ukraine” after Donald Trump claimed that he and Vladimir Putin had agreed to start talks on ending the conflict.

Our Political Correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Donald Trump “can’t be allowed to give away Ukrainian sovereignty”, a former MI6 chief has said.

Mr Trump announced he plans to meet with Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia to discuss ending the war in Ukraine after a phone conversation with the Russian president on Wednesday night.

Speaking to BBC Radio’s Today programme on Thursday morning, Sir Alex Younger, the former chief of the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service, said the situation posed a threat to Ukraine’s existence as a sovereign country.

Sir Alex said: “There’s been some very, very hefty concessions made without much being asked for in return.

“The key point, though, the key point is that the vital ground of this conversation is not about territory. It’s about sovereignty.

“Russia wants Ukraine to be a non-country, and if Donald Trump gives that away, we’ve lost.”

Referring to comments Mr Trump has made following his conversation with Vladimir Putin, in which he stated that “Putin can’t be seen to win”, Sir Alex added: “We’ve got to operate on that.

“He will know that he can’t own a fiasco such as took place after the Afghan negotiation. Actually, he needs Europeans to close this deal.

“So, there are a set of levers that we have to pull right now.

“This is only the beginning of the negotiation, but this is the vital ground of the conversation.

“He can’t be allowed to give away Ukrainian sovereignty.”

The latest economy data saw the UK defy forecasts last week from the Bank of England for a contraction of 0.1% in the fourth quarter, but experts said fears remain over the economy.

The ONS said growth in services and production drove the growth in December, which was the fastest monthly growth since March last year.

A Government minister said he would not “pick an arbitrary date” for when people will feel better off financially.

Asked when people would begin to have more money in their pockets, housing minister Matthew Pennycook told BBC Breakfast: “I’m not going to pick an arbitrary date to give you for that, but we’re absolutely focused on boosting living standards. That’s at the heart of our plan for change.

“Wages have increased. People can expect and look forward to that rise in the minimum wage that comes into effect in April.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves remains unsatisfied with the growth numbers from the ONS, despite them coming in higher than many expected.

“And that’s why I am determined to go further and faster in delivering the economic growth and the improvements in living standards that our country deserves.”

She told broadcasters it is “not possible to turn around more than a decade of poor economic performance in just a few months”.

She added: “We are doing what is necessary to bring stability back to the economy, reforming the economy, the planning system, regulation and pensions to encourage investment in our economy, which is the lifeblood of a successful economy.

“We need to go further and faster in doing that, to turn around our poor growth performance and to make working people better off.”

When asked if she may need to backtrack her rules and move back to austerity, she said: “The Office of Budget Responsibility will publish their updated forecast on March 26 and I will respond to it then.

“I have been clear that the fiscal rules are non-negotiable, and that’s because stability is absolutely essential for returning growth to our economy.

“We’ve seen three cuts in interest rates since this Government took office in July. That’s only possible because of the stability that this Government have returned to the economy.”

Defence Secretary John Healey spoke out as Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have discussed a possible resolution to the war.

Mr Healey said: “We’ve seen the calls from President Trump overnight and we all want to see a durable peace and no return to conflict and aggression – and let’s not forget, Russia remains a threat well beyond Ukraine.

“So my message in these discussions will be that there can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine and Ukraine’s voice must be at the heart of any talks.

“Ukrainians are fighting bravely. It’s our jobs. It’s our job as defence ministers here at Nato, to put them in the best position to secure a lasting peace through strength.”

The US has suggested that as part of a peace deal Ukraine must accept it will have to give up some territory to Russia and Nato membership is not a realistic prospect.

But Nato’s official position – endorsed by Sir Keir Starmer’s Government in the UK-Ukraine 100-year partnership – is that Kyiv is on an “irreversible” path to joining the alliance.