Patel eliminated in Tory leadership vote as Jenrick wins first ballot to replace Sunak – UK politics live

Kemi Badenoch has “momentum” after coming second in the first Tory leadership ballot, shadow minister Andrew Griffith has said.

Mr Griffith, who is backing Ms Badenoch for the leadership, told Sky News: “Kemi did really well in this round, second, coming through very strongly for someone who, remember, is one of the younger members of the candidate team here.”

Pointing to polls suggesting Ms Badenoch has significant support among party members, Mr Griffith added: “At this point in the cycle, you often see people come through and gather support and momentum, and it seems to me Kemi’s got that momentum.”

In the first round of the Conservative leadership contest, the results of the ballot of MPs were as follows: Robert Jenrick won 28 votes, Kemi Badenoch 22, James Cleverly 21, Tom Tugendhat 17, Mel Stride 16 and Dame Priti Patel 14.

Some 30 Conservative MPs gathered in a Parliamentary committee room for the result of the first ballot, a quarter of their total numbers.

Robert Jenrick has won the first ballot in the race to take over from Rishi Sunak as leader of the Conservative Party.

The result of first ballot to replace Rishi Sunak as leader of the Tory Party is expected in the next 20 minutes.

The field of six is made up of ex-ministers from the previous government: James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick, Dame Priti Patel, Tom Tugendhat, Mel Stride and Kemi Badenoch.

An announcement on the result of the first round is expected at about 3.30pm.

After that, MPs will carry out further rounds of voting to select two final candidates for party members to choose between, with the result announced on 2 November.

The long-awaited report into the deadly fire claimed the lives of 72 people at Grenfell Tower has been published seven years after the blaze.

Inquiry chair, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, told bereaved and survivors on Wednesday the “simple truth” is that all the deaths were avoidable and that those who lived in the tower were “badly failed” by authorities.

Each of the 72 victims – ranging in age from an unborn baby to an 84-year-old woman – was somebody’s father, mother, brother, sister, relative, friend or neighbour. These are their stories from that night.

Scam-related complaints have reached their highest level since at least early 2018, according to a service that resolves disputes between consumers and financial firms.

In the first quarter of this financial year (April 1 to June 30), consumers lodged 8,734 gripes about fraud and scams, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) said.

More than half were in relation to customer-approved online bank transfers, also known as authorised push payment (APP) scams.

By comparison, in the same period in the first quarter of the 2023-24 financial year, 6,094 scam complaints were recorded.

The service said the rise in cases is due to several factors, including cases where consumers are putting in multiple claims due to more than one firm being involved.

Abby Thomas, chief executive and chief ombudsman of the FOS, said: “Being a victim of a fraud and scam is a horrendous experience – not just financially, but emotionally too. That’s why it’s disappointing to see complaint levels rising to even higher levels.

“We often hear from people embarrassed to have fallen victim to a fraud, but these crimes can be complex and incredibly convincing, and nobody should be afraid to come forward.

“In recent years, we have investigated thousands of cases, returning more than £150 million to those who have fallen victim to these crimes.

“No matter how complex a case is, people can come with confidence to our free, independent service and we’ll investigate their complaint.”

Muslim survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire were badly failed by the local council and denied their right to halal food while being temporarily rehoused at hotels, a damning inquiry has revealed.

The inquiry’s final report found the fire that killed 72 people in 2017 was the result of “decades of failure” by central government and the construction industry to act on the dangers of flammable cladding.

It concluded that Kensington and Chelsea Council should have done more to cater to people from diverse backgrounds. Many of those who lived in the tower had been observing Ramadan, but halal food was not available at all hotels, nor was it possible to observe the requirement to eat at set times.

Our race correspondent Nadine White reports

Leader of the opposition Rishi Sunak paid tribute to the “strength and patience” of Grenfell Tower survivors, some of whom were in the House of Commons public gallery.

Responding to the Prime Minister’s statement, the Tory leader said: “It is not hyperbole to say that we would not be here today without them.

“It was their tenacity and strength that brought the truth to light and for that, they deserve our thanks.

“Their search for truth and justice is a noble one, and for that, they have our full support.”

Sir Keir Starmer suggested it was “great” that Oasis are back together, but criticised the “depressing” ticket price hike for their reunion tour.

Fans were left shocked by standard tickets more than doubling from £148 to £355 on Ticketmaster over the weekend, prompting the government to pledge to look into the use of dynamic pricing in its forthcoming review of the secondary gig sales market.

“It’s great that Oasis are back together, from what I’ve determined, about half of the country were queuing for tickets over the weekend,” Sir Keir said.

“But it is depressing to hear of price hikes, I’m committed to putting fans at the heart of music.”