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Sir Keir Starmer visited Estonia on Thursday, 21 December, to thank British troops deployed near the Russian border for their “courage, integrity, loyalty and professionalism”.The Labour leader and shadow defence secretary John Healey are speaking to soldiers to stress Labour’s commitment to Nato and wish them a happy Christmas.Sir Keir is also expected to use the visit to warn that the West must not lose sight of Moscow’s threat to Europe.The opposition leader and Mr Healey will observe military exercises at the base before joining troops in the canteen over lunch. More

Rishi Sunak clashed with a Labour MP over his cuts to overseas aid while he was chancellor as Yemen faces the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis.”The now-prime minister slashed foreign aid from 0.7 per cent to 0.5 per cent of gross national income in 2020.In October 2021, Mr Sunak said he expected to restore the commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on overseas aid in 2024-25.The UN says Yemen has “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis,” with “tens of thousands… living in famine-like conditions.”“When it comes to the aid budget, I don’t regret the cuts to the overall aid budget,” Mr Sunak told MPs on Tuesday (19 December). More

Jeremy Corbyn joined immigration policy protesters outside the Home Office in central London on Monday, 18 December.It came after Rishi Sunak’s Safety of Rwanda Bill passed its second reading last Tuesday, pushing forward the controversial deportation scheme.The prime minister’s new planned legislation would deem Rwanda safe in British law after the original bill was struck down as unlawful by the Supreme Court.MPs approved the Safety of Rwanda Bill at its second reading by 313 votes to 269, majority 44.”Treat [refugees] like human beings and create safe passages,” Mr Corbyn urged. More

A House of Lords introduction ceremony was interrupted by the Mission: Impossible theme tune on Monday, 18 December.Robert Douglas-Miller, who was appointed a life peer by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in order to take up his Government post as an environment minister, was about to swear the oath of allegiance to the King when the film’s song played from Lord Woodley’s phone.The Labour peer later spoke in the chamber, apologising for the interruption.“I have never been so embarrassed in all my life, I am sincerely sorry,” he added. More

A man pretending to be the son of Conservative MP Lee Anderson appeared on an LBC radio call-in claiming his father was a violent drunk.The alleged prank call, which took place on Rachel Johnson’s phone-in show on Sunday (17 December), has been described as a “vile hoax” by the Tory deputy chairman.The man called himself ‘Charlie Anderson’ from Ashfield, Mr Anderson’s constituency, and claimed to be the MP’s son.The call was promptly cut off by Ms Johnson, who said it sounded like a “very personal issue”.Mr Anderson has since demanded both police and LBC bosses look into what happened.Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Mr Anderson said: “To be clear, this is a vile hoax and a slur on my family.”For clarity I do have a son called Charlie but he is 33 not 23 as the male says in this clip. The voice is a completely different accent to my son’s.”The person who has made this hoax call is sick. I shall be reporting this to the police and so should @LBC.” More

Oliver Dowden said he “doesn’t accept” Baroness Michelle Mone’s claim that she and her husband Doug Barrowman were made “scapegoats” for the government’s wider failings over personal protective equipment (PPE) during the Covid pandemic.Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips on Sky News on 17 December, the deputy prime minister added: “There’s a limit to what I can say, but I don’t recognise that.”It comes after Lady Mone apologised for denying her links to the PPE Medpro firm which was awarded government contracts worth more than £200m to supply PPE after she recommended it to ministers. More

Baroness Michelle Mone apologised after denying her links to the PPE Medpro firm which was awarded contracts worth more than £200m to supply personal protective equipment after she recommended it to ministers.The Conservative peer was questioned by the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday (17 December) on the controversy surrounding the firm, which is being investigated by the National Crime Agency (NCA).”I wasn’t trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes. I regret and I’m sorry for not saying straight out ‘yes I am involved’,” Lady Mone said. More

Kemi Badenoch accused a Labour MP of being a “liar” in a heated clash over the language used to describe transgender children.The equalities minister was warned about the use of “unparliamentary language” after she clashed with Kate Osborne, who she accused of lying.During an appearance at the Women and Equalities Select Committee on Wednesday (13 December), the Cabinet minister became angry when Ms Osborne accused her of previously using “inflammatory language that likens children and young people coming out as trans to the spread of a disease”.Ms Badenoch said: “That is a lie and I think you should withdraw that statement. That is a lie. You are lying.” More