Moscow’s overnight strikes on Kyiv are a “real reminder that Russia is the aggressor”, Keir Starmer has said. Asked for his reaction to the attacks as he visited Rolls-Royce in Bristol, the prime minister told broadcasters: I think it’s a real reminder that Russia is the aggressor here and that is being felt by the Ukrainians, as it has been felt for three long years now. That’s why it’s important to get Russia to an unconditional ceasefire. Obviously, we had talks in London this week, Paris last week. We’re making progress towards the ceasefire. It’s got to be a lasting ceasefire. But these attacks – these awful attacks – are a real, human reminder of who is the aggressor here and the cost to the Ukrainian people. Meanwhile, 150 new trade sanctions against Russia have been introduced by the UK, the Foreign Office has announced. The ban impacts software and technology used in Russian defence and energy sectors, including banning video game controllers used to pilot drones on the frontlines in Ukraine. Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said: Putin thought he could use British markets to boost his war effort, buying harmless goods and turning them into tools of war – but the UK is exposing and acting on this sinister trade. Today’s action clamps down on Russia’s sneaky trading and deprives Putin of the goods he desperately needs to fight his barbaric war. Cutting off Russia’s energy revenues will drain Putin’s war chest – that’s why we’re shutting down the sale of sophisticated software used to cash in on new oil and gas reserves, preventing UK expertise from being used to pour fresh fuel into Russia’s war machine. We’re also banning outright video game controllers going to Russia, preventing them from being used to pilot drones on the frontline, meaning gaming consoles will no longer be repurposed to kill in Ukraine. And our tough new measures will also degrade Russia’s military machine – new export sanctions mean Putin will no longer be able to get his hands on specialist technology used to produce weaponry for his illegal war. Here are some more comments from Keir Starmer on defence spending from his visit to the Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, today: The increased defence spending is the highest sustained increase since the cold war. That’s necessary, necessary for security and our defence as a country, but really important that is measured and felt in good, secure, well paid jobs across the country. The south-west has a particular contribution. It’s because of the specialisms and the capabilities that it has. I just want to say thank you to those who are involved in the south-west because a lot of the capability you’re seeing onboard here represents the hard work of skilled professionals in those jobs. I want SMEs, small companies in the supply chain, also to play their part. The south-west has my thanks and my gratitude to what they are doing to support the frontline, which we are seeing displayed here. I think there’s also an element here of making sure that our service personnel have the facilities, the backup that they need, which is why I’m really pleased that we’ve been able to take the measures we have. For example, in the south-west on housing for our military, to make sure that there’s good, secure housing taking stock back into public ownership so we can provide the sort of backup that they deserve and that they’re entitled to. We’re already taking them back into public ownership. Those homes now will be there for members of our military. That’s really important. A good, secure home, and that’s part of the wider contribution. Of course last year there was the highest pay award for our service personnel for many, many years, again to represent the service they give our country, particularly at this time of global instability. Speaking onboard the HMS Prince of Wales today, Keir Starmer told broadcasters that the world was in a “new era” of global insecurity and uncertainty. The prime minister said: It’s incredible to be onboard the carrier strike group and to see the incredible capability. We all know that the world is more uncertain than it felt a few months or years before – we’re in a new era. That’s why we’ve doubled down on defence spending as a government, but also to come and see strike group as it starts its journey, a really important journey, bringing together thousands of personnel across the group from many different countries. A real statement to our adversaries of UK leadership on global issues and security and defence, but also a real show of unity with our allies, particularly our Nato allies that we are working with. It is an opportunity for me to say, as prime minister, thank you to the personnel on board doing complicated, skilled, professional, challenging work, to say thank you on behalf of the government, but also thank you on behalf of the country, for millions of people who would love to be here to say thank you to the very many people who are involved in this endeavour. Prime minister Keir Starmer told broadcasters onboard the Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, that it was “hugely important” the UK played a role in global security. “It’s hugely important for the UK to play a leading role, as we are playing on this deployment,” Starmer said. The PA news agency reports that Starmer said: It shows our capability, it shows our sense of global leadership on defence and security, but also on trade and the economy – we’re a free trading nation. This is a mission that’s going to go across the entire world, down to the Indo-Pacific as well. It’s a UK sense of our leadership and a message to our adversaries but also an important UK message to our allies about the way that we work with our allies in what we do in our defence and security. I’m very proud of what all the teams are doing here. Wood-burning stoves will be allowed to heat new-build homes in England despite growing evidence showing their significant contribution to air pollution and carbon emissions. The government is writing its Future Homes Standards, a set of rules for developers aimed at decarbonising England’s housing stock. Heating the UK’s 28m homes accounts for about 18% of greenhouse gas emissions. However, there are fears that after intense lobbying, these standards will be weakened. The Guardian recently reported that the Labour party is considering making solar panels optional on new homes in England after pressure from housebuilders. The Stove Industry Association (SIA) has released a letter it received from government confirming the appliances will be allowed in new homes. It reads: A full technical consultation on the Future Homes Standard was launched in December 2023 and closed in March 2024. Under the standards proposed in the consultation, a wood-burning stove would be permitted as a secondary heating source in new homes. The Climate Change Committee has recommended the phasing out of wood-burning stoves in homes because of the carbon they emit. They also produce dangerous PM2.5 particles that, according to a growing body of research, are responsible for a range of health problems including heart and lung disease, as well as diabetes, cancer, brain function and premature births. Last year, a study by Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, found that even “eco-design” wood-burning stoves produced 450 times more toxic air pollution than gas central heating. Nigel Farage has claimed that doctors are “massively over-diagnosing” children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) and mental health conditions. Asked at this press conference about the rising number of children diagnosed with Send, and what could be done to help them, Farage replied: It’s a massive problem. I have to say, for my own money, when you get to 18 and you put somebody on a disability register, unemployed, with a high level of benefits, you’re telling people aged 18 that they’re that they’re victims. And if you are told you’re a victim, and you think you’re a victim, you are likely to stay [a victim]. So many of these diagnoses, for Send before 18, for disability register after 18 – so many of these have been conducted on Zoom, with the family GP. I think that is a massive mistake. I think you’re the family GP, and I’ve know your family for generations, and you’re saying to me there’s a real problem here with depression, or whatever it may be, it’s quite hard for me as your GP to say no. I don’t think any of these allocations should be done by family GPs. I think should be done independently. And I think we are massively – I’m not being heartless, I’m being frank – I think we are massively over-diagnosing those with mental illness problems and those with other general behavioural disabilities. And I think we’re creating class of victims in Britain that will struggle ever to get out of it. My colleague Amy Sedghi is taking over for a while now. I will be back later. Q: There is an estimate you could win 450 seats in the local elections next week. Do you think that’s right? Farage says he does not know. But he says, if the forecast does turn out to be right, that would be “quite a political revolution”. The question referred to a prediction from Lord Hayward, a Tory peer and respected pollster. He said this week that he expects his party to lose between 475 and 525 seats in the local elections next week, and Reform UK to win between 400 and 450. Many of these losses are expected to be to Reform in the Midlands and the North, with Mr Farage’s party possibly winning 400 to 450 seats. Q: In Kent could Reform UK councillors do anything differently on immigration? They could complain, says Farage. And they could refuse to accept migrant hotels. Lisa O’Carroll is a Guardian correspondent covering the EU and Brexit. European commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s meeting with Keir Starmer today is a key meeting to forge a deal ahead of the first UK-EU summit next month in London, the EU has said. A spokeswoman for the European Commission said this morning that the meeting would lay the groundwork for the first bilateral summit since the UK left the EU five years ago. The summit is expected to deliver a new defence and security pact along with a deal on youth mobility, carbon emissions pricing on cross border trade and a potential veterinary deal to remove barriers for food and drink exporters. The EU’s chief spokeswoman Paula Pinho said: The objective of that bilateral meeting [today] is, among other things, to prepare the ground for the summit in May. This is very much unique in the past years. All the preparatory work is being done, including at the highest level, and that’s as much as we can say now. Farage says the Reform UK membership has now passed 225,000. Q: Should the government make fishing concessions to the EU? Farage claims he is the only MP with a financial interest in a commercial fishing boat. Since Brexit, there have been more EU fishing boats fishing near the British coast, he says. He says many people in the fishing industry think Brexit has made things worse for the sector. He claims further concessions could finish it off. He says he is worried that Keir Starmer wants more alignment with the EU. And he says is worried the proposed defence and security pact with the EU will “fundamental damage our relationship with Nato and America”. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, opened his press conference with a long speech about immigration. But largely it was a repeat of things he has said many times before. He confirmed that Reform UK would take the UK out of the European convention on human rights, to enable the government to remove all people arriving in the country illegally. He is now taking questions. Q: What would you do if you were in charge of Birmingham? Would you talk to the unions? Farage starts talking about his time as a metal trader, and he says that in that period he worked with people in manufacturing. He says Reform UK wants to reindustrialise the country. That will involve talks with the unions. He says he expects further Birmingham-style disputes this year. He says the government is facing a “very difficult summer and autum”. Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, has confirmed that she is authorising prison officers to use Pava pepper spray to incapacitate children in youth offender institutions (YOIs). She has published a written ministerial statement announcing the decision, which Rajeev Syal first reported two days ago. Explaining why prison officers needed more protection in YOIs, Mahmood said that level of voilence in these jails was “unacceptable”, and higher than in adult prisons. She said: The levels of violence across the Children and Young People’s Secure Estate are unacceptable. On a weekly basis there are assaults involving young people in custody. Serious assaults can see these young people use homemade weapons, including stabbing implements, against each other and our staff. Today, levels of violence are higher than in the adult prison estate. For the 12 months to Dec 2024, the rate of assaults by children and young people, on staff across the three public YOIs (HMYOI Feltham A, HMYOI Werrington and HMYOI Wetherby) increased by almost 25% compared to previous year – rates are around 14 times higher than that in the adult estate. In July 2024, HM Inspectorate of Prisons described HMP & YOI Feltham A as the ‘most violent prison in the country’. The Howard League for Penal Reform has condemned the decision to authorise the use of Pava in YOIs. It said Pava is “a chemical irritant spray that can cause severe pain” and is classified as a prohibited weapon under the Firearms Act 1968. Andrea Coomber, the Howard League’s chief executive, said: There is too much violence in prisons holding children, but this is a direct consequence of a failing system that keeps boys as young as 15 locked in their cells for up to 23 hours a day without meaningful access to education or social interaction. It reflects a profound failure on the part of those responsible for children in custody that they would consider introducing weapons in the name of safety. The Howard League will take whatever steps necessary, including legal action, to challenge this decision. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, is about to speak at a press conference in Dover. There is a live feed here. Opening the press conference, Zia Yusuf, the party chair, said the party was now leading in national polling. (The Economist’s poll tracker has Reform UK on 25%, Labour on 23% and the Conservatives on 22%.) Men are “disproportionately affected” by a number of serious medical conditions including cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, health leaders have said as they called for input on a men’s health plan. PA Media says: On average, men have a shorter life expectancy compared to women – a difference of almost four years – and officials are asking for views on what must be done to “close the gap”. Men are also more likely to die by suicide compared to women, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) added. The department said that action must be taken to “prevent and tackle” the biggest issues facing men as it called for insights on what needs to be included in England’s men’s health strategy. Announcing a call for evidence for what is described as England’s first ever men’s health strategy, Wes Streeting the health secretary, said: “Every day, men across England are dying early from preventable causes. “Men are hit harder by a range of conditions, while tragically suicide is the leading cause of death for men under 50. “Our Plan for Change means we will tackle these issues head on through a men’s health strategy, and today’s call for evidence is the crucial next step in understanding what works, what doesn’t, and how we can design services men will actually use. “I urge people to come forward to share their views.” Crime figures for England and Wales in 2024 have been published this morning in a report from the Office for National Statisics. Here are some of the main points, picked up by PA Media. The number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales has passed half a million for the first time, figures show. PA says: A total of 516,971 offences were logged by forces last year, up 20% from 429,873 in 2023. The figure is the highest since current police recording practices began in the year to March 2003, according to the ONS. Shoplifting offences have been running at record levels for the past two years and have seen a “sharp rise” since the Covid-19 pandemic, the ONS said. Some 152,416 theft from the person offences were recorded by police in England and Wales last year, up 22% from 125,379 in 2023 and the highest number since current data began in 2003. PA says: A total of 1.80 million theft offences were recorded by forces in 2024, up 1% on 2023. The increase was driven by the rise in shoplifting and theft from the person, the ONS said. Knife crime recorded by police in England and Wales stood at 54,587 offences in 2024, up 2% from 53,413 in 2023 but 1% below the the pre-pandemic figure of 55,170 in the year to March 2020. PA says: The number of offences involving possession of an article with a blade or point stood at 28,150, up 1% year-on-year from 27,892 and higher than the pre-pandemic figure of 23,264 in 2019/20. Knife-enabled homicides stood at 216, down 16% from 258 in 2023. The number of homicides recorded by police in England and Wales has fallen to its lowest level in a decade. PA says: Some 535 homicide offences were recorded by forces in 2024, down 5% from 563 in 2023 and the lowest figure since 533 in the 12 months to March 2014. And here is a graphic from the ONS report showing trends in main crime types. John Swinney, the first minister of Scotland, is attending the funeral of the Pope on Saturday, the Scottish government has announced. In a statement Swinney said: His Holiness Pope Francis was a voice for peace, tolerance and reconciliation who had a natural ability to connect with people of all ages, nationalities and beliefs. On behalf of the people of Scotland, I am deeply honoured to attend the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome to express my sorrow, thanks and deep respect for the compassion, assurance and hope that he brought to so many. Downing Street has already announced that Keir Starmer is also attending. Keir Starmer is now scripting Reform UK’s campaign adverts. After Starmer told MPs at PMQs yesterday that Nigel Farage would “eat the Tory party for breakfast”, Farage has posted this image on social media, with the caption. Eating the Tories for breakfast. @Keir_Starmer In his speech at the opening of the energy security conference, Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, complained about the UK being “a price taker, not a price maker” in international oil and gas markets. (See 9.25am.) Dale Vince, the Ecotricity founder, explained this more in his Today progamme interview – while at the same time saying he thought the system was mad. He said: Quite simply, we allow the global price of gas to set the price of all electricity in our country, even when we make it from the wind and sun. And when there’s an international crisis, like we saw a few years ago with the Ukraine war and the energy crisis, the price of gas soars, and it takes with it all of the electricity we make in our country. So we can get to 100% green electricity by 2030 maybe, more or less. But that won’t protect us from these spikes in prices. Asked why prices were set like this, Vince said it was a “mad mechanism” that enriched producers. He explained: Every half an hour of the day, generators bid to the national grid to be on the system providing power. And there’s a merit order of prices from lowest to highest, until the national grid has all the power it needs. The last price in is always the highest. It’s always gas. And then everybody below gets paid the same price. They get uplifted to the gas price, which is madness. Vince said the government should change this system. In his own interview on the Today programme, asked why energy prices were so high in the UK, Miliband replied: Because we’re so reliant on gas and fossil fuel markets, and that has been the long-standing situation. And that is why our plan for homegrown, clean power, our 2030 plan, is so important. Miliband said that, even if the UK allowed fracking, and more drilling in the North Sea, that would not bring down prices in the UK. Prices were lower in the US because of the size of its market, he said. But the UK was connected to the European energy market and “nobody has ever come to me with a proposal that could somehow say we can get out of those markets”, Miliband said. Asked if Dale Vince was right to say that the government should break the link between electricity prices and gas prices, as Vince argued in his own Today programme interview, Miliband said the government’s clean energy programme would allow this to happen. He said: By 2030 we’re going to go from a situation where gas sets the price the majority of the time to one where it sets the price of minority time. And here is the crucial point – even when gas sets the price, renewables, the vast majority of renewables, will not be linked to that price. It’s because of the contracts for difference that we’re introducing. Asked if that meant 2030 was the moment when the reduction in prices would happen, Miliband said: “100% right, yes, 100% right.” Miliband confirmed that at this point renewable energy companies supplying energy to the grid would receive less money than they do now. When it was put to him that this implied the government overpaying for energy now, he said that was why there was a windfall tax in place on energy companies. He went on: The big picture here is Dale is absolutely right about this. This is about breaking the link with gas prices, which we don’t control. And that is 100% what our clean power mission is about. But we only get it by moving towards clean power, which lots of people in politics oppose because they say it’s the wrong thing to do. In a separate interview with LBC, Miliband went into a bit more detail on how electricity prices are being de-coupled from global gas prices. He said: At the moment gas sets a price [for electricity] two thirds of the time in our country. And even with renewables, when renewables are being bought on the system, something like two thirds of them, bit less than that, are linked to the gas prices. With our clean power reforms, as we accelerate those reforms, by 2030 gas will set the price one third of the time. And here’s the really good news – six out of seven renewable contracts will not be set by the gas price. Miliband ends his speech by reading out a message from King Charles, who, he says, is very interested in this summit. In his message the king said: As we all navigate the transition to cleaner energy for our planet and energy security for our citizens, summits such as these are of vital importance in facilitating shared learning between nations, particularly those in the global south and across the Commonwealth. Events over recent years have shown that, when well managed, the transition to more sustainable energy sources can itself lead to more resilient and secure energy systems. While each country will follow its individual path, there are many shared challenges and opportunities on which we can work together as partners. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for participating in this summit on the future of energy security, and to send my warmest best wishes for productive discussions over the coming days. Miliband says there are huge benefits from countries coperating on energy security. And he says the supporters of clean energy solutions are the “optimists”. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we saw family finances, business finances, public finances wrecked as fossil fuel prices rocketed on the global market … As with many other countries, we’re a price taker, not a price maker in international fossil fuel markets. So our vision of low carbon power goes well beyond the climate imperative, important as that is. Homegrown, low carbon power is our nationally chosen route to energy security. Miliband says the government’s starting point is that there can be no international security without energy security. He says the IEA was set up after the oil crisis of 1973. [Since then] the challenges we face have changed, but I think the principle underpinning the IEA’s work, that countries need to collaborate to secure the uninterrupted supply of energy at an affordable price, remains the same. Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, is speaking now at the opening of the international energy security summit in London. There is a live feed at the top of the page. He starts with a tribute to the International Energy Agency (IEA), which has organised the conference, and its leader, Fatih Birol. Social media and other internet platforms will be legally required to block children’s access to harmful content from July or face large fines, Ofcom has announced. Dan Milmo has the story. Dale Vince, founder of the green energy company Ecotricity, was also on the Today programme this morning. He said that zonal pricing for electricity – the proposal that Ed Miliband confirmed he was considering (see 8.41am) – would be a “terrrible idea”. He explained: We’re going to take a single energy market we have in our country today that works very well, break it into 12 different regions and in five regions – the people behind this idea produced a report that says in five regions in our country,people will pay more. That’s where 41 million people live. And I haven’t seen the single benefit from zonal pricing anybody’s reporting so far. Good morning. Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, has been doing an interview round this morning. The government wants to talk about a £300m investment in offshore wind. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero sums it up in its news release like this. Workers and businesses in the UK’s industrial heartlands will benefit from an initial £300m of funding through Great British Energy to invest in supply chains for domestic offshore wind. It is expected that the investment will directly and indirectly mobilise billions in additional private investment - helping de-risk clean energy projects and supporting thousands of jobs and revitalising the UK’s industrial heartlands. The public investment complements the £43bn of private investment pledged for clean energy projects since July. But Miliband has spent more time talking about a story on the front page of the Daily Telegraph this morning saying that Miliband is “poised to approve changes that would mean households in the south pay more for electricity than those in Scotland and the north”. The Telegraph says: The energy secretary has been weighing up whether to push ahead with zonal pricing, which would split the country’s single national power market into different regions. Supporters say the change will cut household electricity bills overall by reducing the need for grid upgrades, while opponents counter that it will create a “postcode lottery” and deter investment in wind and solar farms. But in a blow to critics, The Telegraph has been told that government officials have advised Mr Miliband to press ahead with the policy. Speaking to the Today programme this morning, Miliband said claims that he would be jacking up electricity prices for southerners were Asked about the report, he said: Copper-bottomed nonsense than the Daily Telegraph. No decision has been made on this issue. This is an incredibly complex question that we are looking at about how we reform our energy market. There are two options, zonal pricing and reformed national pricing. Whatever route we go down, my bottom line is bills have got to fall, and they should fall throughout the country. I’m not about to introduce a post code lottery. I’m determined we don’t do that. But absolutely no decision has been made. We’re going to take our time over this very complex and important decision. Alert readers will notice that he did not deny that zonal pricing was an option, as the Telegraph reported. But he was denying that he might implement a change that would put prices up in parts of the country. Miliband said zonal pricing was an option when the last government started the process of considering electricity market reform. Asked what factors Miliband would consider when deciding whether or not to change the way the electricity market operates, he replied: My test of any reform – I’m not going to get into the detail now – is will it cut bills and will it do it across the country in a fair way. I’m not in favour of a post code lottery on these on bills. Actually, it’s already the case that different parts of the country to pay different amounts for bills. But what I do not want to do is to make that situation worse, or somehow jack up bills in one part of the country in favour of another. I will post more from his interviews soon. Here is the agenda for the day. Morning: Keir Starmer is visiting the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales before it sets off on a voyage to the Indo-Pacific. He will be speaking to broadcasters. 9.05am: Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, speaks at the opening of a two-day energy security summit in London. 9.30am: The Office for National Statistics publishes crime figures for England and Wales in 2024. 11am: Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, holds a press conference in Dover. 11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing. Morning: Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, is campaigning in Warwickshire. Afternoon (UK time): Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is giving interviews in Washington to US broadcasters, including Fox News. 3pm: Starmer is meeting Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, for talks in No 10. Afternoon: Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, is on a campaign visit in the East Midlands. If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (normally between 10am and 3pm at the moment), or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word. If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary. I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
Author: Amy Sedghi (now) and Andrew Sparrow (earlier)