Rishi Sunak news – live: ‘Serious security questions’ after Truss and Braverman ‘breaches’

Good morning! Welcome to our live blog where we will keep you updated with all the newest developments from in UK politics.

Opposition parties have demanded an urgent investigation into whether the then foreign secretary’s phone was breached by Russian spies this summer and, if so, why the matter was kept from the public.

Messages between Ms Truss and her future chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, in which the pair were critical of Mr Johnson, were among a year’s worth of message which were compromised, leading to a potential risk of blackmail, it is claimed.

Read more by Angy Gregory here:

Rishi Sunak is facing a crunch vote on the release of documents related to his controversial decision to appoint Suella Braverman as home secretary, as the prime minister comes under growing pressure.

Labour has vowed to table a “humble address” that could force the government to share the security and risk assessments regarding Ms Braverman’s admitted security lapse.

Sir Keir Starmer’s party has demanded that Mr Sunak clarifies what he knew about Ms Braverman sharing documents from her own email account, and whether she may have leaked market-sensitive data.

Adam Forrest reports:

Clamour for a general election is growing among voters, as Rishi Sunak’s allies warned “bitter” Tory MPs opposed to his leadership against any moves which could bring down the government.

Public pressure for an immediate election continues to build, with MPs’ inboxes flooded with pleas for a snap vote and the TUC and People’s Assembly set to stage major rallies next week, Adam Forrest reports.

More than 460,000 people have signed a petition set up by The Independent arguing it is time for voters to decide who should govern the country as part of our Election Now campaign.

Rishi Sunak has been accused of a “deeply troubling” decision in appointing Maria Caulfield – a former officer of the all-party parliamentary pro-life group – to the post.

The Lewes MP has previously come under fire for arguing babies born at as little as 18 weeks “grow up to live long, healthy lives like the rest of us”, a claim dismissed as “simply untrue”.

Many public services would be stripped back to levels seen in the 2010s era of austerity if Rishi Sunak freezes public service spending, a think tank has warned.

Ahead of their autumn budget, the prime minister and chancellor Jeremy Hunt are considering up to £50 billion of spending cuts and tax hikes to fill a gaping black hole in the nation’s finances.

While a real-terms freeze in day-to-day public service spending would save around £20 billion a year by 2026-27, the impact would be huge, according to research by the Resolution Foundation, which focuses on living standards.

It would mean the per-person spending of departments such as transport, justice and local government – assuming health, education, overseas aid and defence are protected – would be slashed by around 9%, the think tank said.

It would come as their budgets remain below pre-austerity levels and are under significant pressure as inflation soars past 10 per cent.

Prices rising far higher than expected when three-year budgets were set in October 2021 has meant an effective £22 billion real-terms reduction in their public service spending power, according to the Foundation.

Some have seen planned spending rises turned into cuts, with real-terms education spending going from an increase of £1.5 billion in 2024-25 from this year to a cut of £1 billion.

Cabinet minister Michael Gove has insisted the Government takes security issues “incredibly seriously”, when asked about reports that Liz Truss’s phone was hacked by Russian agents.

Mr Gove, who made a return to Cabinet this week as Levelling Up Secretary, told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme: “I don’t know the full details of what security breach, if any, took place.

“What I do know is that the Government has very robust protocols in place in order to make sure that individuals are protected, but also that Government security and national security are protected as well.”

Asked about reports the alleged breach was covered up by the Cabinet Secretary, Mr Gove said: “I’m sure that Liz both as foreign secretary and as prime minister will have followed the advice that she was given by the intelligence and security communities.

“I think all of us have to be sensitive, particularly those of us in Government, to the fact that the more that we talk in detail about these things, the more that we risk giving information to people who wish this country and its citizens harm.

“We do take security issues incredibly seriously. That’s why, again, I have to be cautious in responding to the point that you understandably made about Liz’s phone.”

Mr Gove has defended Suella Braverman as a “first-rate, front-rank politician” after her reappointment as Home Secretary six days after she was forced out over a security breach.

The Levelling Up Secretary told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme: “Suella is a first-rate, front-rank politician.

“She acknowledged that a mistake had been made. She is working hard in order to ensure that our borders can be made more secure, and that policing is more effective.

“She’s a valued member of the Cabinet and someone whom I admire and like.”

Only 0.3 per cent of migrants have been arrested for English Channel crossings after the government created a “pointless and cruel” law making them illegal, The Independent can reveal.

Being intercepted at sea while journeying to make an asylum claim was not a crime until June, when it became an offence to arrive in British waters without permission.

While backing the law in parliament, Priti Patel told MPs the measure would “deter illegal entry” but the number of crossings has continued to surge to new records.

Newly reappointed home secretary Suella Braverman has pledged to tackle the issue, while Rishi Sunak vowed during his leadership campaign that: “Boat after boat full of illegal migrants … must stop and if I become your prime minister it will stop.”

Liz Truss’s investment zones may be axed, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove has indicated, saying anything that might undermine the environment “is out”.

Asked if the zones – a key part of Ms Truss’s policy platform – are going ahead, he told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme: “I’m reviewing them.

“We need to make sure that any change that we make is one which of course helps to support economic growth and good jobs for people, but also one of the concerns raised about investment zones was the impact on the environment.

“I’ve been very clear and the Prime Minister has been very clear that under no circumstances will we weaken environmental protections.

“So I will be looking with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with the Environment Secretary and with the Prime Minister at the proposals that were drawn up when Liz was prime minister… and anything that might in any way undermine environmental protections is out.”