Boris Johnson has confirmed all UK troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan.
Speaking in parliament earlier, the prime minister paid tribute to the “valour and sacrifice” of the British troops who had served in the long struggle against the Taliban.
He said most of the remaining 750 UK military trainers with the Nato mission have already left the country.
The move follows the announcement in April by President Joe Biden that he would withdraw the remaining US forces by the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in September, effectively ending international military involvement in Afghanistan.
Mr Biden will address the US later amid criticism that troop removal from the region is the wrong move.
Good morning, and welcome to The Independent’s rolling UK politics coverage.
Labour says PM being ‘reckless and foolish’ over Northern Ireland
Keir Starmer has taken aim at Boris Johnson over his handling of the situation in Northern Ireland.
Writing in the Times, the Labour leader accused the prime minister of being “reckless and foolish” in his approach to the Good Friday Agreement, putting “his own narrow interest above those of the people of Northern Ireland”.
He added that Mr Johnson was risking the stability of the peace process “through his dishonesty”.
PM warns of Jewish ‘exodus’ from Northern Ireland
The prime minister has warned of an “exodus” of Jewish people from Northern Ireland as a result of the protocol he signed with the EU.
This comes as the community is struggling to access kosher meat because under the new post-Brexit trade arrangements.
Senior UK Jewish leaders met Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis on Tuesday and called for action to avoid “potentially ending Jewish life in Belfast”.
Our political editor Andrew Woodcock reports:
Huge ‘triple lock’ pension rise could be scrapped
A large rise in the state pension could be scrapped due to concerns it is not “fair”, Rishi Sunak has said.
Under the “triple lock” guarantee, pensions are set to grow by roughly 8 per cent, costing taxpayers as much as £4bn.
After twice refusing to guarantee the increase would go ahead next year, the chancellor said: “I do recognise people’s concerns on this. I think they are completely legitimate and fair concerns to raise.”
Government should consider Xinjiang cotton ban over Uighur ‘genocide’
The government should consider a ban on cotton goods linked to Xinjiang, where China is committing atrocities against the Uighurs, MPs have suggested.
The foreign affairs committee also recommendation that ministers should boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in protest against human rights abuses in the country.
Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative MP who chairs the committee, said the government’s actions have “proved ineffective” and “do not match its rhetoric”.
It is thought that more than one million Uighurs have been arbitrarily detained in Xinjiang, with authorities also implementing a forced sterilisation programme.
Ministers have ‘absolutely no justification’ in reforming human rights laws, say MPs
The government has “absolutely no justification” in making changes to the Human Rights Act, MPs have said.
Harriet Harman, the chair of the Commons joint committee on human rights, said: “The Act both respects Parliament and makes our courts powerful in enforcing human rights.
“The Government must not make change which would at one and the same time, make it harder for people to enforce their human rights and expose the government and agencies to more judgments against them in the European Court of Human Rights.”
Sunak’s shakedown? Chancellor insists he and PM on ‘same page’
As we reported earlier, Rishi Sunak has declined to rule out scrapping the triple lock on pensions.
The move, which was first floated last month, raised the prospect that the chancellor might be on a collision course with his big-spending boss.
But Mr Sunak this morning insisted that he and the PM are “on the same page”.
He also confirmed the £20-a-week increase to universal credit will be phased out in the autumn, saying it was always a “temporary measure.”
Starmer: PM left borders open, now wants to let Delta variant rip
Keir Starmer says the only reason Covid restrictions continue to be discussed is because the PM left the UK’s borders open – and now he wants to let the Delta variant “rip”:
Isolation rules for people pinged by NHS app could be relaxed
There are multiple lines coming out of Rishi Sunak’s broadcast round this morning.
He has hinted that isolation rules for people pinged by the NHS app are to be relaxed.
Our deputy politics editor Rob Merrick reports:
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Boris Johnson escapes with rap on knuckles over free Caribbean holiday
Boris Johnson has escaped with a rap on the knuckles over a free holiday in the Caribbean provided by a donor for him and then-fiancee Carrie Symonds.
The Commons Standards Committee has branded the prime minister’s actions in explaining the source of the funding for the £15,000 break in a Mustique villa “unsatisfactory”.
Our politics editor Andrew Woodcock reports:
