Starmer stands by McSweeney and says he has been ‘assured no briefings against ministers done from No 10’ – as it happened

6.01pm GMT Closing sumary We’re closing this blog now, here’s a summary of the day’s main developments: The prime minister has attempted to draw a line under the briefing row, saying he has “been assured that no briefing against ministers was done from No 10” and that he has “full confidence” in his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has said that he doesn’t know and doesn’t care whether Starmer is trying to identify the No 10 figure briefing against him. Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, ruled out standing to be next Labour leader, saying having done it before was the ‘best inoculation’ against wanting it. He also said Starmer will sack whoever was responsible for the briefing against Wes Streeting if they are identified. Hundreds of thousands of homeowners will lose their right to subsidies for eco-friendly heat pumps as a result of government plans to bring down energy bills at the budget. Scotland’s auditor general has warned that the Scottish government can spend far less tax than it raises because Scotland’s earnings and employment growth has been much more sluggish than in the rest of the UK. The controversial system of police and crime commissioners is to be abolished by the government. London’s congestion charge will rise by 20% in January to £18 and electric vehicle drivers will be liable to pay to enter the heart of the capital for the first time. 5.57pm GMT The government’s planning reforms will contribute to a “knockout blow” for housebuilders, the Tories have claimed. Shadow minister David Simmonds said the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will limit community say, encourage development on greenbelt land, and hammer homeowners while “duffing up developers”. However, ministers said the Bill, which restores mandatory housing targets, legislates for a generation of new towns and revamps the planning system to make it harder to reject developments, will help unlock 1.5 million homes by 2029. Updated at 6.01pm GMT 5.31pm GMT Updated at 6.06pm GMT 5.15pm GMT Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, was not involved “directly or indirectly” in briefings against cabinet ministers, the BBC reports. People who have spoken to McSweeney have told the BBC: “He’s done absolutely nothing wrong. He’s not going anywhere.” They added: “I can categorically say he was not involved indirectly or directly.” 4.48pm GMT Conservatives call for investigation into PM's comms chief In another headache for the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, the Conservatives have called for an investigation into whether his communications chief Tim Allan should be allowed to hold shares in a lobbying firm and discuss politics with one of its consultants. A No 10 spokesman said a rigorous process had been followed in Allan’s appointment in September. PA Media understand that Allan has waived his rights to dividends and decision-making from his shares in the company, and will not be involved in the business’s operations while in Government. 🚨Another Downing Street scandal.Tim Allan, the Prime Minister’s Director of Communications, still holds shares in a lobbying firm while serving at the very centre of Government.After days of turmoil in No 10, this situation demands an immediate investigation. I’ve written… pic.twitter.com/ish1wM9udP— Kevin Hollinrake MP (@kevinhollinrake) November 13, 2025 Updated at 4.49pm GMT 4.27pm GMT Hundreds of thousands of homeowners will lose their right to subsidies for eco-friendly heat pumps as a result of government plans to bring down energy bills at the budget. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is planning to announce a series of measures to bring down energy bills amid concerns the country’s stubbornly high cost of living is driving millions of voters to Reform UK. Among those measures, according to sources briefed on the budget preparations, is a plan to take energy efficiency levies off bills and fund them through the government’s existing warm homes plan. The move will mean restricting heat pump subsidies so that only those receiving certain benefits will be allowed to claim them, sharply bringing down costs to the government. Read more here: Related: Hundreds of thousands to lose heat pump subsidies in Reeves’s budget plan 4.15pm GMT It’s the worst game of Cluedo in town. Four players dealt a hand of cards. Without turning them over, player one makes the first guess. “Just one question. Does the suspect wear glasses?” he asks. “Yes,” replies player two. “But he doesn’t have to pay for them.” “OK,” says player one. “It’s Keir Starmer in the Cabinet Office with the suicidal tendencies.” Yup. Keir had managed to sneak up on Keir inside No 10 and club himself to death with the lead pipe. It had been a long and agonising end. Every time Keir had shown signs of regaining consciousness, he had somehow found the strength to inflict further damage on himself. You could only admire his determination. Players two, three and four throw their cards on the table in disgust. If only they had got there first. The prime minister’s short-term memory is shot to pieces. Just who could be behind these dastardly briefings? Read more here: Related: Keir clubs himself with the lead pipe in a Downing Street game of No Cluedo | John Crace 3.59pm GMT The Conservatives have claimed that women might be particularly badly hit from a potential budget VAT extension affecting taxis. In a story for the Times, Ben Clatworthy says Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is considering putting 20% VAT on all private hire vehicle journeys in the budget. He says this would particularly affect people using rider apps like Uber and Bolt because black cab drivers are usually self-employed, and don’t reach the threshold where they have to pay VAT. Responding to the story, Richard Holden, the shadow transport secretary, said: Reeves is about to make every ride home, every school run, every late-night journey significantly more expensive for millions of people. Labour can pretend this is some technical tweak, but it’s a straight VAT hike on the people who rely on private hire the most. Women trying to get home safely at night, workers on early shifts, families in rural towns - they’ll all be hit. And the chancellor knows it. That is all from me for today. My colleague Charlie Moloney is taking over now. 3.20pm GMT Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, authorised colleagues to brief journalists that Starmer would fight any potential leadership challenge – but not to attack Wes Streeting, the Telegraph is reporting. In his story, Ben Riley-Smith says: The Telegraph understands Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, as well as senior Downing Street communication figures, agreed to brief journalists that the prime minister would fight any challenge to his position and that ousting him could undermine the economy. But Mr McSweeney is understood to be insistent that neither he nor senior No 10 staff briefed specifically against Wes Streeting, the health secretary and Sir Keir’s supposed challenger. 3.05pm GMT Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, has said that the No 10 briefing operation this week that suggested Wes Streeting was plotting against the PM was not helpful to Labour. Speaking to journalists after FMQs at Holyrood, Sarwar said: I think it has undermined the message of the government and, particularly going into the budget period, I don’t think it’s helpful. I know how hard the prime minister is working, I know how committed he is to change the country, I know how hard the UK cabinet is working and how committed they are to change the country. We’ve got to make sure that we’ve got a government in Scotland that is working just as hard to change our country and in six months’ time, people have the chance to do that by getting rid of the First Minister, and only I and Scottish Labour can do that. Asked if Starmer would be visiting Scotland ahead of next year’s Holyrood elections, Sarwar refused to say. He said: There’ll be an involvement from people in terms of campaigning – we’re a Labour family. But let me be really clear, I am leading the campaign in the Scottish elections next year, I am the candidate for first minister, Keir Starmer is not standing to be first minister. 2.52pm GMT Sexual behaviour including sexual jokes, leering and unwanted touching are widespread in the armed forces and more likely to impact on women, a report has shown. PA Media says the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) first military-wide sexual harassment survey found female full-time personnel – referred to as regulars in the report – are almost twice as likely to experience sexualised behaviours than men. The department has now launched a prevention programme for young recruits at Army and Navy bases in a bid to “prevent and address” unacceptable behaviour. The report showed 67% of female regulars experienced at least one sexualised behaviour in the last 12 months, compared with 34% of men, PA says. Of these women, 93% said they believed the behaviour amounted to sexual harassment. 2.44pm GMT London congestion charge to rise 20% and apply to electric vehicles London’s congestion charge will rise by 20% in January to £18 and electric vehicle drivers will be liable to pay to enter the heart of the capital for the first time, Gwyn Topham reports. Related: London congestion charge to rise 20% and apply to electric vehicles 2.43pm GMT 2.04pm GMT Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, has accompanied Keir Starmer on his visit to north Wales. Asked if she had confidence in Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s chief of staff, she said: Yes, I do. But the prime minister was really clear that there really is no role for briefing against colleagues and I very much agree with the prime minister. Asked if the No 10 briefings accusing Wes Streeting of plotting against the PM should lead to sackings, Reeves replied: Well, there I think is going to be a leak inquiry, but at the moment there is no evidence of where that briefing is coming from. Earlier No 10 indicated that there would not be a leak inquiry. (See 1.04pm.) Updated at 3.47pm GMT 1.55pm GMT 1.27pm GMT Starmer says he has been 'assured no briefing against ministers done from No 10' Speaking to reporters in north Wales, where he was asked about the No 10 briefing row, Keir Starmer said: First, let me be clear that any briefing against ministers is completely unacceptable. That is not a new position for me, it is a position I have adopted ever since I became prime minister. I have made it very clear to my team. I have been talking to my team today. I have been assured that no briefing against ministers was done from No 10, but I have made it clear that I find it absolutely unacceptable … I have been assured it didn’t come from Downing Street, but I have been equally clear that whether it is this case or any other, I intend to deal with it. Asked if he would sack those responsible, Starmer replied: I will absolutely deal with anybody responsible for briefing against ministers, cabinet ministers or any other ministers. I have always said that is the standard that I expect, and that is the standard that I will enforce. 1.20pm GMT Starmer says he 'of course' has full confidence in his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney Keir Starmer has said he “of course” retains full confidence in his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, PA Media reports. I will post the full quote shortly. At PMQs yesterday Starmer dodged a question about whether he had full confidence in McSweeney, although No 10 subsequently said he did. Some ministers and MPs want to see McSweeney sacked. 1.12pm GMT John Swinney tells MSPs he's 'open' to idea of Scottish grooming gangs inquiry as Tories demand one Libby Brooks is the Guardian’s Scotland correspondent. Pressure on the Scottish government to set up its own grooming gangs inquiry continues, with Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay leading on the issue at first minister’s questions today. Findlay revealed that an alleged victim of a grooming gang in Glasgow, “Taylor”, had written to John Swinney asking him to launch an inquiry. Momentum is growing around a Scotland-specific inquiry, with Labour MP Joani Reid has accused the SNP of “establishment cover-up” after they blocked Scottish attempts to introduce an amendment to criminal justice reforms that would have required a new victims commissioner to carry out research related to group-based child exploitation in Scotland. Pressed on this by Findlay today, Swinney said it was “a distortion” to say a grooming inquiry was put before parliament and rejected, pointing out that the Tory amendment would only require a report from an as yet unappointed commissioner. Swinney said his government “remains open to the question of an inquiry” but that meanwhile the police and the National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group were continuing to address historic and current allegations. 1.04pm GMT No 10 says Starmer has been told by Downing Street staff that none of them briefed against Streeting Keir Starmer has been told by his No 10 staff that none of them were involved in briefing against Wes Streeting, Downing Street said this morning. He has also told them that briefing against cabinet ministers is “completely unacceptable”. At the lobby briefing this morning, the PM’s spokesperson said: The prime minister has this morning gathered and spoken to his senior team in Downing Street. The prime minister reiterated the briefings against cabinet ministers are completely unacceptable, which has always been his position. He underlined, as he told parliament yesterday, that he has never and would never sanction any such briefings against colleagues. The PM said he had been assured that no No 10 staff briefed against ministers. The prime minister made abundantly clear the high standards that he expects from staff, and if anyone falls below those standards there will be consequences. The meeting is understood to have taken place via a video call while Starmer was in north Wales, with some staff alongside him and others in Downing Street. No leak inquiry has been launched, No 10 indicated. When the spokesperson was asked whether this meant Starmer was attempting to whitewash over the situation, he replied: “I don’t accept that.” Asked why Starmer apologised to Wes Streeting if No 10 staff had not been involved in the briefing against him, the spokesperson said that the PM had apologised to Streeting “for the situation he found himself in”. Updated at 2.06pm GMT 12.58pm GMT PCCs criticise decision to abolish them without consultation, saying it will create 'dangerous accountability vacuum' The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners has criticised the government for abolishing PCCs without consultation. It says this will create “a dangerous accountability vacuum”. In a statement, the APCC chair, Emily Spurrell, the Labour PCC for Merseyside, said: On behalf of our communities we are deeply disappointed by this decision and the lack of engagement with us. For more than a decade, directly elected police and crime commissioners have transformed policing accountability and delivered essential support services for victims of crime. Having a single, visible local leader – answerable to the public – has improved scrutiny and transparency, ensuring policing delivers on the issues that matter most to local communities. Abolishing PCCs now, without any consultation, as policing faces a crisis of public trust and confidence and as it is about to be handed a much stronger national centre, risks creating a dangerous accountability vacuum. 12.52pm GMT Back in the Commons Ben Maguire, a Liberal Democrat spokesperson, welcomed the abolition of PCCs, describing them as a “failed Tory experiment”. He said: This was a failed Tory experiment which cost taxpayers dearly. The minister is right to point out the countless flaws in the overly politicised PCC model, which has diverted much-needed funding away from frontline and community policing. They cost the public millions in council tax every year, yet the impact on their local communities has been negligible. But Maguire said the Lib Dems were not in favour of giving PCC powers to mayors, whom he described as “single individuals with dubious democratic mandates and little scrutiny or accountability”. He said it would be better for police and crime boards to take over. Sarah Jones, the policing minister, thanked Maguire for “his robust attack on a policy that his own party introduced as part of the coalition in 2010”. 12.42pm GMT 'No idea, don't care' - Streeting not bothered if No 10 briefer gets found, saying he wants to 'leave silly soap opera behind' Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has said that he doesn’t know and doesn’t care whether Keir Starmer is trying to identify the No 10 figure briefing against him. Speaking to PA Media on a visit in Liverpool, Streeting made it clear that he no longer wanted to talk about the No 10 briefing yesterday, that dominated the discussion at PMQs yesterday. He said he wanted to focus on the news that NHS waiting lists are falling. (See 10.01am.) Asked about the row, Streeting said: I have no intention of revisiting yesterday’s events. That’s yesterday’s news and it’s Westminster bubble stuff that doesn’t mean anything to anyone. I don’t think voters give two monkeys about what on earth is going on in the sort of Westminster village soap opera. What they do care about is, if they’re on an NHS waiting list, are we getting them down? Asked about the apology he received from Keir Starmer, Streeting said: One of the great things about being here in the North West today is you can leave all that silly Westminster soap opera stuff behind. Asked if Starmer was investigating who was responsible for the No 10 briefing against him, Streeting said: “No idea, don’t care.” And asked about the future of Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s chief of staff, whom some ministers want to see sacked as a result of the briefing, Streeting said: I’m sure that Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer and everyone else is absolutely delighted with the news today that NHS waiting lists are falling. Updated at 12.43pm GMT 12.25pm GMT Police Federation welcomes abolition of PCCs, saying they are 'expensive experiment which has failed' The Police Federation of England and Wales, which represents police officers up to the rank of chief inspector, has welcomed the abolition of PCCs. In a statement, its national chair Tiff Lynch said: We welcome this announcement and look forward to helping shape whatever accountability structures replace directly-elected police and crime commissioners. PCCs were an expensive experiment which has failed. The tens of millions of pounds they cost should instead be a down-payment for the sort of policing service this country and its police officers deserve. 12.13pm GMT Tories describe abolition of PCCs as 'minor tinkering around edges' Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, responded to Jones on behalf of the Conservative party. He claimed that the government was failing on police and crime and he said this measure was just “minor tinkering around the edges”. He said he did not accept that mayors were more effective than PCCs. He said that Sadiq Khan, who has London mayor is the PCC for the capital, was “the worst PCC in the country” because of the way knife crime has been rising. In response, Jones said she could not work out whether the Tories were in favour of the announcement or against it. UPDATE: Philp said: The minister mentioned at the beginning the government’s plans to bring forward a police reform white paper, announced, from memory, about a year ago. But there hasn’t been a single sniff of that white paper since then. Perhaps she can tell us when we can expect it and why the government is so bereft of ideas, it has taken a year or more to publish that white paper. Now, today’s statement about police and crime commissioners represents, in my view, a tinkering around the edges from a government which is failing on crime and policing. If you like, it is simply rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic, because this government is failing, police numbers are falling – they fell by 1,300 during Labour’s first year in office on a like-for-like March-to-March comparison – and not only are police numbers falling, they are continuing to fall and will drop even more this year. Updated at 12.21pm GMT 12.07pm GMT Home Office minister Sarah Jones claims gettting rid of PCCs will save £100m this parliament Jones said that getting rid of PCCs would save £100m this parliament by moving to the new system. And, once delivered, the change would save the Home Office around £20m a year, she said. She said that would pay for an extra 320 extra police constables. Updated at 12.15pm GMT 12.04pm GMT Jones ended her statement by saying that, although she was criticising the PCC system, she was not criticising the PCCs themselves. She said they had done, and continue to do, important work. 12.02pm GMT Jones said that, where possible, the goverment would transfer the responsibilities of PCCs in England to mayors. Where that was not possible, it would create policing and crime boards to oversee police forces until other measures are in place, she said. She acknowledged there are no metro mayors in Wales. She said the government would work with the government in Wales to find alternative arrangements for PCCs there. 11.57am GMT Minister says police and crime commissioners will be abolished in 2028 because PCC system has failed Jones says Yvette Cooper promised a white paper on police reforms when she was home secretary. Ahead of the publication of the white paper, the government is today announcing the abolition of police and crime commissioner (PCCs), she says. She says PCCs have been in place since November 2012. She says accountability is important in public services. But she says the PCC system has failed. Whilst the role of PCCs has evolved over time to include responsibility for commissioning services for victims, driving local partnerships and in some areas, responsibilities for firefighters, the model has failed to live up to expectations. It has not delivered what it was set up to achieve. Public understanding or engagement with crime commissioners remains low. Despite efforts to raise that profile, less than a quarter of voters turned out to vote for them in the 2024 elections, and two in five people are unaware that PCCs even exist … The reality is that the PCC model has weakened local police accountability and has had perverse impacts on the recruitment of chief constables. They have failed to inspire confidence in local people, in stark contrast to the mayoral model, which has clearly been ultimately more successful. Referring to the former PM who was home secretary in 2012 when PCCs were introduced, Jones says: The Theresa may model has not worked. She says the government wants to transfer policing functions to mayors in England. This was set out in the English devolution white paper, she says. She says the government has decided to scrap PCCs when their current term of office in 2028. Updated at 12.14pm GMT 11.49am GMT Sarah Jones, the policing minister, is making a statement to MPs. She starts by expressing her sadness at the death of Helen Newlove, the victims commissioner. 11.47am GMT Can you trust anonymous briefings? A reader asks: Hi Andrew. I’m interested in how these anonymous briefings from No 10 work? Are they to a group, to an individual, in person, or via email or social media? What’s in place to prevent a journalist or media organisation from just making something up? Thanks… That is a reasonable question. People are understandably suspicious when they read/watch that are just attributed to “sources”, not official spokespeople, or actual individuals. At Westminster most of what gets reported is based on what gets said on the record. No 10 has daily, group briefings by an on-the-record spokesperson. But – as in other areas of reporting – there are people happy to talk to journalists, on the basis that what they say will be reported, but that they won’t be identified. The reporter will either quote a source without naming them (sometimes referred to as getting information ‘on background’) or just use the information without any attribution at all, ‘it is understood etc’ (sometime referred to as getting information ‘on deep background’). A lot of people dislike this system because it removes accountability. To a large extent, it does. But without this sort of reporting, a lot of information would never come to light. Boris Johnson might still be prime minister if it had not been for the Partygate scandal that only emerged t because people spoke to journalists on background or deep background. Responsible journalists writing stories like this put a lot of effort into a) making sure that their sources are credible (so they are not presenting a junior dogsbody as a ‘senior source’) and b) taking care not misrepresent people (so that a casual remark does not get written up a serious statement of intent). These briefings tend to happen one-to-one, in person, on the phone, or on WhatsApp. They are not group briefings. But, if senior people are putting out a message, they will be saying the same or similar things to reporters from different news organisations, as was happening in Downing Street earlier this week. You ask what is in place to stop journalists just making it up. Nothing, I’m afraid. But journalists care about their reputations, and stories that are false, or exaggerated, normally get exposed as such very quickly. They also don’t get followed up. Ultimately, you have to decide who you can trust. The Guardian No 10 briefing story on Tuesday was written by Pippa Crerar (who also broke the original Boris Johnson Partygate story), it has been followed up by everyone, and it has not been denied. If you don’t trust her reporting, you’d be very foolish. 11.15am GMT Police and crime commissioners to be abolished, government to announce The controversial system of police and crime commissioners is to be abolished by the government, Vikram Dodd reports. Related: Police and crime commissioners to be abolished, government to announce Sarah Jones, the policing minister, is due to make a ministerial statement in the Commons on “police reform” and so presumably the formal announcement will come then. 11.09am GMT EU confirms talks will start next week on improved post-Brexit SPS deal with UK The UK and the EU will next week will begin formal talks on two issues that would deepen post-Brexit relations. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, confirmed the move in a statement last night issued after she had what she called “a good call” with Keir Starmer. The negotiations, which will build on an outline reset deal agreed at a summit in May, will cover two issues: a proposed sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) deal, and an emissions trading systems (ETS) linking agreement. According to the Cabinet Office, an SPS deal with the EU “could add up to £5.1bn a year to our economy in the long run, increase the volume of UK exports of major agricultural commodities to the EU by 16%, and increase imports from the EU by 8%”. It would save agri-food exporters from having to pay for expensive certificates and checks when they export to the EU. And an ETS linking agreement would “save UK industry from paying the EU’s carbon border tax (CBAM) on £7bn worth of UK exports, remove regulatory barriers in sectors like CO2 storage, and provide a cheaper path to net zero - with a larger and more stable carbon market”, the Cabinet Office says. It says this could add almost £4bn a year to the economy in the long run. Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Cabinet Office minister, said: This is welcome progress - we can now start formal talks on deals that will help keep food costs down and slash red tape. 10.50am GMT 12-month waits for hospital treatment down slightly, NHS England figures show, but still 2.4% of all waits PA Media has more on what the monthly performance figures from NHS England show. PA says: The data shows 180,329 people in England had been waiting more than a year to start routine hospital treatment at the end of September, down from 190,549 at the end of August. Some 2.4% of people on the list for hospital treatment had been waiting more than 52 weeks in September, down from 2.6% the previous month. The Government and NHS England have set a target of March 2026 for this figure to be reduced to less than 1%. Figures also show 1,489 patients in England are estimated to have been waiting more than 18 months to start routine hospital treatment at the end of September, up slightly from 1,418 in August. A year earlier, in September 2024, the number stood at 2,701. 10.01am GMT Waiting list figures for England fall slightly, after rising for past 3 months Waiting lists in England have fallen slightly, after previously rising for three months in a row, NHS figures show. An estimated 7.39m treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of September, relating to 6.24m patients, down from 7.41m treatments and 6.25m patients at the end of August, PA Media reports. The list hit a record high in September 2023, with 7.77m treatments and 6.50m patients. NHS England says: The NHS waiting list is 230,000 lower than July last year, even as the health service ‘approaches its limit’ with A&E and ambulances facing record demand ahead of winter. The overall waiting list for September was 7.39m (an estimated 6.24m patients) down 15,845 compared to the previous month and 230,000 fewer than July 2024. And Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said: Thanks to the investment and modernisation this government has made, waiting lists are falling and patients are being treated sooner … The past year is the first time in 15 years that waiting lists have fallen. There’s a long way to go, but the NHS is now on the road to recovery. 9.40am GMT UN experts criticise Palestine Action ban, saying calling groups terrorist 'that are not genuinely so' is authoritarian tactic Haroon Siddique is the Guardian’s legal affairs correspondent. Five UN experts have written to ministers criticising the ban on Palestine Action as something that would be expected in an authoritarian regime rather than a liberal democracy. The authors state that “mere property damage is not sufficient to constitute terrorism according to international standards”, adding: In the work of UN experts in monitoring counter-terrorism laws globally, abuse of laws to proscribe organisations as terrorist that are not genuinely so has more commonly occurred in states that are authoritarian and lack legal and political cultures of respect for human rights, legality, due process and independent judicial safeguards, in order to target civil society organisations, human rights defenders, political dissidents and minorities. It is deeply concerning that such practices appear to have spread to a number of liberal democracies. Organisations must never be listed as terrorist for engaging in protected speech or legitimate activities in defence of human rights. In July, Palestine Action became the first direct action group to be banned under the Terrorism Act, placing it in the same category as the likes of Islamic State and Boko Haram. Announcing her intention to ban the group, Yvette Cooper, the then home secretary, cited its “long history of unacceptable criminal damage”. She has also alleged violence during Palestine Action protests. The experts, led by Ben Saul, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, say in the letter that “proscription of the whole of Palestine Action is not justified based on the isolated [alleged] acts of a few associated individuals”. They say: We are concerned that proscription and its consequences result in unnecessary and disproportionate restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, and the rights to take part in public affairs and to liberty. A legal challenge to the ban will take place at the high court in London on 25 November. It is expected to last three days. Updated at 9.41am GMT 9.31am GMT Scotland's auditor general warns of multi-billion tax performance gap Severin Carrell is the Guardian’s Scotland editor. Scotland’s auditor general has warned that the Scottish government can spend far less tax than it raises because Scotland’s earnings and employment growth has been much more sluggish than in the rest of the UK. Stephen Boyd said in a report today that Scottish ministers had not been transparent enough about what is happening, even though they know this is a built-in feature of the financing agreement which John Swinney struck with the UK government when he was finance secretary. After income tax powers were largely devolved in 2015/16, Scotland’s budget has been boosted by £4.1bn in extra revenue. Yet, during that time, far more income tax than that was raised but that money was folded into Scotland’s grant from the Treasury rather than fund extra spending. When the Scottish ministers signed the fiscal framework agreement with the Treasury to devolve income tax powers they accepted that UK taxpayers should not be expected to subsidise Scotland if its economy under-performed. Boyd said Scotland’s lower relative wages, fewer high earners, weaker employment growth and the make-up of the wider economy “acts as a drag” on how much extra money it has for public spending. Boyd said this year’s Scotland’s higher income tax payments would produce £1.7bn extra overall but the budget pot would increase by only £616m thanks to that underperformance. His disclosures will add to an increasingly febrile debate at Holyrood over Scotland’s finances in the run-up to next May’s elections. Boyd has already warned the Scottish government has so far failed to deal with a spending gap which will grow from £1bn next year to £2.6bn by 2030 because its spending pledges outpace its income. Scottish ministers also fear they will lose up to £1bn in Treasury funding if the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, raises income tax rates in England and Northern Ireland and cuts NI rates in her budget later this month (Wales’s income tax rates are also devolved). A Scottish government spokesperson did not deal directly with Boyd’s criticisms about the lack of transparency or the spending gap, but said: The Scottish government’s tax decisions enable us to deliver higher investment in the NHS and policies like free tuition not available anywhere else in the UK. 9.19am GMT Miliband defends small modular nuclear reactor choice for Wylfa in face of protests from US Keir Starmer has announced that the UK’s first small modular nuclear reactors will be built at Wylfa in north Wales – but immediately faced a backlash from Donald Trump’s administration after it pushed for a US manufacturer to be chosen. Jasper Jolly has the story. Related: US ‘disappointed’ that Rolls-Royce will build UK’s first small modular reactors In his interview with the Today programme, Ed Mililband, the energy secretary, said that it was not surprising that the American ambassador wanted an American company to win the bid. But, instead of going for a large reactor proposal from the US firm Westinghouse Electric Company, the government has opted for three three small modular reactors (SMRs) built by Rolls-Royce, a British company. Miliband said SMRs could be built mostly off sit, which would bring the costs down. And he said they were also easier to replicate, which also made the project cheaper. He said Britain was “in the lead in Europe” on this technology. And Rolls-Royce won the competition “fair and square”, he said. 8.50am GMT Alastair Campbell, director of communications for Tony Blair in No 10, told the Today programme that the latest Labour briefing turmoil is making this government look like the last one. He said: The worst thing about recent days is it’s made a relatively new government look like the last lot. There are bigger, worse enemies – like Nigel Farage. Get a grip. 8.37am GMT Miliband says Starmer will sack No 10 person who briefed against Streeting if they're identified Ed Miliband has said he is certain Keir Starmer will sack whoever was responsible for the briefing against Wes Streeting if they are identifed, Jessica Elgot reports. Related: If No 10 briefer is found Keir Starmer will sack them, minister says 8.31am GMT Miliband rules out standing to be next Labour leader, saying having done it before 'best inoculation' against wanting it Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, sometimes gets included in lists of cabinet ministers who might want to replace Keir Starmer as Labour leader and prime minister. In his interview with Sky News, Miliband firmly ruled this out. He joked: I had the best inoculation technique against wanting to be leader of the Labour party because I was leader of the Labour Party between 2010 and 2015. I’ve got the T-shirt, that chapter’s closed. Updated at 8.32am GMT 8.28am GMT UK economy grew by just 0.1% in third quarter amid hit from JLR cyber-attack The UK economy expanded by just 0.1% in the quarter from July to September as the crippling cyber-attack on Jaguar Land Rover hit manufacturing, Heather Stewart reports. Related: UK economy grew by just 0.1% in third quarter amid hit from JLR cyber-attack Graeme Wearden has more on his on his business live blog. Related: UK economy unexpectedly shrinks in September as JLR hack hammers production output – business live 8.22am GMT Ed Miliband urges Labour to move on after Starmer apologises to Streeting for hostile briefings from No 10 Good morning. In an interview around this time yesterday morning, Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said that if Keir Starmer were to ring him about the anti-Streeting briefing by Starmer allies reported by the Guardian and others on Tuesday, Streeting would reply: “Why are you bothering with this?” It was an attempt to play down a new episode of Labour turmoil that has turned out to counter-productive for Starmer, though helpful for Streeting. But, by the time the two men did speak last night, the conversation took a different turn. Starmer apologised to Streeting, journalists have been told. The conversation was short, and they did not discuss Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s chief of staff, whom Starmer is now under pressure to sack. The pair also agreed they would speak again soon – which doesn’t mean much (they both attend cabinet, and have to speak to each other), but is the sort of thing No 10 briefers say about a meeting to make it sound cordial. Here is our analysis by Eleni Courea, Jessical Elgot and Pippa Crerar as to what is going on. Related: Briefing war spotlights relationships between three of Labour’s most senior figures And there is a good overview in Karen McVeigh’s First Edition breifing. Related: Thursday briefing: Is Wes Streeting a traitor or a faithful? Quoting Jess Elgot, she says: Two months ago, Andy Burnham, the Manchester mayor, launched his own leadership manoeuvrings, and since then, there’s been continuing conversation around replacing Starmer, as if it’s inevitable that he won’t be in position to fight at the next election. This, Jess says, has led to a “paranoia” in No 10. “People close to No 10 will say to me: ‘I actually don’t think they intended to put the spotlight on Wes. What they wanted to do was make it really clear that Keir is not going anywhere, that he will fight any attempt to dislodge him, that he is not the sort of person who will go meekly away, that he will fight.’” But the briefing backfired, because it ended up looking like a hit-job on Streeting, who is the cabinet minister whose leadership ambitions are most blatant. Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, has been doing interviews this morning, and he is urging the Labour party to calm down. This is what he told Sky News: Look, I think the briefing has been bad, no question. But my message to the Labour party, though, is quite simple today, which is we need to focus on the country, not ourselves. We were given a historic mandate last July, a historic opportunity to change our country. And we have a historic responsibility. I’ve been at this a long time. Governments going through days of turbulence. I was there during the Blair/Brown years. What gets you through, what sustains you, is your sense of mission, your values, what you believe in, who you stand up for. And that is what really, really matters. I know that Keir will hate all this nonsense and we’re going to focus on the country and that’s what we need to do. Here is the agenda for the day. 9.30am: NHS England publishes its monthly performance figures. Morning: Wes Streeting, the health secretary, is on a visit in Liverpool. Morning: Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is on a visit where she is due to speak to the media. 11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing. Morning: Keir Starmer is on a visit to promote the news that the government is going ahead with the construction of the UK’s first small modular nuclear reactors at Wylfa on Anglesey. Noon: John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, takes questions at Holyrood. 2pm: Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan police commissioner, and Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, are questioned by the London assembly. 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