Zelensky to make first UK cabinet address since Clinton in 1997 as Starmer claims ‘Britain is back’ – live

The Home Secretary described the scenes in Harehills, east Leeds, as “shocking” after riots The violence is believed to have erupted following a dispute over local children in care.

Yvette Cooper condemned the act as a “disorder” that has “no place in our society.”

Ms Cooper said: “I am appalled by the shocking scenes and attacks on police vehicles and public transport in Leeds this evening. Disorder of this nature has no place in our society.”

“I thank West Yorkshire Police for their response. I am being kept regularly informed of the situation.”

The renationalisation of the railway network fulfils the Labour Party’s election promise. Sean O’Grady takes a closer look at how the new government plans to achieve this:

According to figures, a fifth of nurses and midwives who left the register in the past year did so within ten years of registering.

Nursing leaders have called the statistic “deeply alarming” and called on ministers to “take the bull by the horns and make nursing an attractive career”.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) latest annual report on its register of nurses, midwives and nursing associates in the UK shows that 27,168 staff left the profession between April 2023 and March 2024, a slight decrease on the previous 12 months.

However, 20.3% of the total – or 5,508 – did so in the first 10 years.

This figure compares to 18.8% in 2020/2021 and “reflects an increase over the last three years,” according to the report.

Mr Streeting is also expected to begin formal negotiations with junior doctors in a bid to end a 20-month dispute over pay and conditions that has led to strikes.

Number 10 is preparing to welcome Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to address the Labour cabinet today.

But this is not the first time that a foreign leader has sat at the big table alongside the prime minister.

In 1997, US President Bill Clinton met with Tony Blair’s ministers to discuss tensions in Northern Ireland, the withdrawal of NATO troops from Bosnia and the British return of Hong Kong.

The government has appointed an education charity lead to lead the review of curricula and assessments to ensure that a child’s background does not prevent them from receiving a high standard of education.

Professor Becky Francis, chief executive of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), will be seconded from her role at the charity to lead the review, which will be launched on Friday.

It will listen to the views of parents, teachers and school leaders once a call for evidence is launched in September and will undertake a national tour to meet and hear from frontline staff, according to the Department for Education (DfE).

The move comes after Labour said in its manifesto that it would “modernise” the school curriculum and reform assessment if the party won the general election.

The independent review will include five key stages and will look closely at the challenges young people face in achieving their goals and the barriers that prevent children from enjoying the opportunities they deserve – particularly children who are socio-economically disadvantaged or have special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).

In the King’s Speech, the government outlined plans to legally require all state schools – including academies – to teach the national curriculum until the age of 16 in order to give every child a “broad and well-rounded education”.

She confirmed that this mission will begin once the program review and evaluation are completed.

Its longevity is due to a mixture of harsh repression of all dissent, a return to Soviet-style economic controls and methods, and rapprochement with Russiaeven if it sometimes flirted with the West.

Lukashenko, 69, was dubbed “Europe’s last dictator” early in his term, and he has lived up to the moniker.

On Saturday, he will celebrate 30 years in power: he will be one of the world’s longest-serving and most ruthless leaders.

As Sir Keir Starmer welcomes Volodymyr Zelensky to Downing Street, Parliament is sitting today.

The House of Commons and the House of Lords continue their debates on the contents of the King’s Speech.

The review of the Labour government’s proposed policies is expected to continue until the end of next week.

The statement comes as MPs debated the Prime Minister’s plans to tackle climate change and rising energy bills, as well as the government’s defence and security strategy, on Thursday.

Sir Keir Starmer ended his first week as prime minister as popular as Boris Johnson was at the height of the vaccine rollout, a survey found.

Some 36% of the public told pollster Ipsos they thought Sir Keir was doing a good job as prime minister, the highest rating for a prime minister since February 2021, when 37% said the same of Mr Johnson.

But conversely, just 14% of the public think the new prime minister is doing a bad job, well below the 41% who thought negatively of Mr Johnson in February 2021 – and the 57% who thought badly of Rishi Sunak just before he called the election.

Keiran Pedley, director of political research at Ipsos, said: “Looking at Keir Starmer’s opinion polls, there are increasing signs that the new prime minister is enjoying something of a honeymoon in his first few days in office.”

Volodymyr Zelensky said that working with Donald Trump would be difficult if the former US president were re-elected, “but we are hard workers,” Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell reports.

The Ukrainian president was asked about Mr Trump’s choice for vice president, JD Vance, who has previously said he “doesn’t care” what happens in the conflict “one way or the other”.

“Maybe he doesn’t really understand what’s happening in Ukraine, so we have to work with the United States,” Mr Zelensky told the BBC.

Mr Zelensky will on Friday become the first foreign leader to address the British cabinet since Bill Clinton in 1997.

He said he hoped Sir Keir Starmer’s tenure as prime minister would be a “special” period in UK foreign policy. He also ruled out resigning as prime minister before the war was over.

UK public debt remained at levels not seen since the early 1960s in June, the Office for National Statistics said.

Net public sector debt excluding public sector banks has been provisionally estimated at 99.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) at end-June 2024, 2.8 percentage points higher than at end-June 2023.

British public debt reached levels not seen for more than 60 years in May.

At the same time, public sector borrowing stood at £14.5bn in June, £3.2bn less than in June 2023.

The figure represents the lowest level of borrowing in June since 2019, the statistics watchdog said.