UK minister hits back at Trump’s Gaza plan as Starmer to face PMQs: Live

Amid speculation a new version of the deal, which followed a change of government in Mauritius, could double the overall cost of the agreement, Ms Patel said it is “simply not right” to commit up to £18 billion at a time when pensioners have had their winter fuel payments scrapped and farmers are being hit with an inheritance tax raid.

Archie Mitchell and David Maddox report:

Millions of households are facing a council tax hike beyond normal thresholds this year, as Angela Rayner warned of further “tough decisions” to “rebuild and stabilise” local government.

Six councils, serving more than two million people in total, have been granted permission to increase council tax beyond the established annual threshold of 5%.

Sean O’Grady looks at the reasons behind the decision.

The Ipsos Mori poll of 1,092 online British adults was taken this week as the world was plunged into economic chaos with the Trump administration threatening tariffs on China, Canada, Mexico and the EU.

With Brexit reset talks beginning properly today in Brussels, the survey showed that given a choice, Brits are far more likely to choose Europe over the USA or the Commonwealth.

Full report from David Maddox:

The UK has denied the cost of handing over the Chagos Islands could rise to £18 billion following claims made by the Mauritian Prime Minister about the renegotiated deal.

Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam told his country’s National Assembly that he had rewritten the deal to ensure payments from the UK rose in line with inflation and to give his country an effective veto on extending the terms of the agreement beyond 99 years.

Mr Ramgoolam said the previous deal, negotiated last year by his predecessor, had allowed the UK unilaterally to extend the lease on Diego Garcia for 40 years, but the new terms would now require Mauritian consent.

And he suggested not linking payments to inflation would have halved the amount heading from UK taxpayers to Mauritian coffers.

The UK has denied reports that the deal was originally worth £90 million a year for 99 years, or almost £9 billion – which, if the cost doubled, would rise to £18 billion.

The Foreign Office also insisted there had been “no change” to the terms for the extension.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The figures being quoted are entirely inaccurate and misleading.

“There has been no change to the terms of extension in the treaty.

“The UK will only sign a deal that is in our national interest.”

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has called for recommendations made in the CQC report about Nottingham killer Valdo Calocane to be implemented country-wide as it came out he was not forced to take long-lasting antipsychotics due to fear of needles.

He said: “It is important that the families and the public have confidence in the system, and we have worked closely with NHS England to ensure the publication of this report in full. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

“The findings will help to support an inquiry into this attack and we’ll set out the next steps as this develops.

“It’s clear there were failings in how the care provided to Valdo Calocane was managed at every level, which is why I’ve personally called for all the recommendations made in the CQC report to be implemented across the country.

“I want to see the recommendations from this new report implemented as soon as possible and I will be keeping track of progress and performance to make sure that they are.”

Full report from Rachel Clun:

Wes Streeting has defended diversity programmes within the NHS, but said “anti-whiteness” would not be tolerated.

The health secretary also hit out at what he called “ideological hobby horses” which he said had no place in the health service.

Speaking at an event to mark World Cancer Day, he said that one member of NHS staff had tweeted that “part of her practice was anti-whiteness”.

“And I just thought, ‘What the hell does that say to the bloke up in Wigan who’s more likely to die earlier than his more affluent white counterparts down in London?’” he said.

“We’ve got real issues of inequality that affect white working-class people.”

He defended diversity and inclusion programmes, emphasising their importance at a time when black women are three times more likely to die in childbirth than white women.

Full report from Rachel Clun and Kate Devlin:

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said “we have to focus on seeing the hostages being released, because that is absolutely pivotal. It is critical to bringing about a sustainable end to the conflict.”

When asked on Times Radio what she made of the US President’s comments on Gaza, she said: “These are remarks that he’s made overnight and obviously it’s provoked a number of comments.

“We will have to wait and see, because no one country will be able to do this on their own. Our partners, our allies, in the Gulf states and the Middle East, we’ve already heard from the Saudi government as well, they will all have a role to play.

“And, you know, there’s something else that we’ve all been discussing for many years, in fact, which is also the Abraham accords and normalising relations between […] with the Middle East and the United States.”

As Donald Trump states his plans for the US to “take over” Gaza, Environment Secretary Steve Reed declined to comment on the President’s plans.

Mr Reed was asked by Sky News whether the UK Government would support this and said: “I can tell you what the UK’s position on this is, and our view is that Palestinian civilians have been through a living life there for the last 14 months.

“They need to be able to return to their homes and then start to rebuild them. They will need an awful lot of support from the international community to do that.”

He said that “lasting peace” could only be secured through a two-state solution.

Pushed further, he said he would give the Government’s view but would not “provide a running commentary on the pronouncements of the President of the United States or any other world leader”.

Asked if those remarks were disparaging, Mr Reed added: “Not at all. I think we should give Donald Trump credit for the role that he played in securing this ceasefire in the first place.

“But it is the view of the United Kingdom Government that Palestinians should be able to return to their homes and rebuild their shattered lives.”

World leaders bickering, share prices dropping, companies fretting. On the other side of the Atlantic, President Trump’s vows to bring in tariffs for multiple countries exporting to the US – plus his stepping back from them at the last moment in some cases – has plenty of people wondering what it might mean on these shores.

UK companies won’t be exempt from the possible carnage, though of course who and how they will be affected will depend on their types of business: those who export to the US could face higher charges immediately, while those who buy in parts or raw materials might also be concerned if the UK takes China’s route and opts for retaliatory tariffs, too.

That’s still far from certain, of course, with the UK and the EU not the first areas in Donald Trump’s sights.

Business and money editor Karl Matchett reports: