Politics latest: Starmer announces £84m to 'grip' migration 'crisis' after summit with European leaders (2024)

That's it from the Politics Hub today so thanks for joining us.

Don't forget to tune in to our special documentary tonight, Election: Behind The Scenes At Sky News, airing at 9pm onSky Documentaries and 10.30pm on Sky Showcase.

You can catch it at 9pm tomorrow night on Sky News too.

Have a good evening!

Finally, we talk about MPs being told to smarten up in the Commons.

Earlier, Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said male members needed to "wear a tie or you just might not catch my eye" if they want to speak in a debate.

So how important is it?

Labour's John McDonnell quotes a party colleague, saying: "It's not the smartness of the clothing but the smartness of the decisions you make."

But Conservative Alicia Kearns says they discuss "the most solemn of issues" in the chamber, so there is "something about the respect to the mother of all parliaments" in dressing smartly.

Now we turn to the director of the thinktank Civil ExchangeCaroline Sloco*ck to discuss the first report from the official COVID inquiry.

It was published today, and said UK citizens were "failed" by their governments' processes, planning and policy leading up to the pandemic.

Ms Sloco*ck, who was a senior civil servant who worked under both Margaret Thatcher and John Major, says the report is "humbling" for government and the civil service, and "speaks to a failure of government".

She adds: "It's time for governments really to think differently about how they plan. I know from, not just from working with those two prime ministers, but also my wider experience of government that it's not very good at thinking ahead or thinking preventatively.

"[Government] tends to be better at crisis management and new initiatives than it is really managing the sorts of underbelly of issues which if you don't get that right, things come back to bite you."

Ms Sloco*ck also echoed the report in her condemnation of so-called "group think" in Whitehall.

She said ministers do not "listen enough to people outside of central government", and that is "vital" in a situation like a pandemic.

Now we move over to our panel, Labour's John McDonnell and Conservative Alicia Kearns.

Ali Fortescue asks Mr McDonnell whether he ever imagined Donald Trump would get back into the White House.

He says after 6 January insurrection, he thought "America had learned his lesson with regard to Trump and his attitude towards the law, the constitution, democracy."

And he says it's "the worst nightmare they could possibly have" in America for its politics.

Ms Kearns agrees with her Labour counterpart over his concerns about what a Trump presidency means for Ukraine too.

Calling it a "grave concern", she added: "It is important we have a partner we can rely on for going forward to Ukraine."

Ali Fortescue then asks Labour's Nick Thomas-Symonds about the looming presence of the US election and the impact a Donald Trump victory could have on support for Ukraine.

Was it talked about at the EPC summit?

"Well we've been talking here about Europe," he tells Ali. "We've been talking about European solidarity backing President Zelenskyy and Ukraine.

"In respect of the American presidential election, that is a matter for the American people to decide, whoever they elect as their president.

"We as the UK government will work with them. We have a special relationship, a deep special relationship forged in the most difficult of historic circ*mstances, and I've no doubt that will endure into the future."

But surely European politicians have concerns, especially after the announcement of JD Vance as his running mate - who has been very critical of spending American money on a war in Europe.

"Well, let's let's just see what happens," says Mr Thomas-Symonds. "I'm not going to start going into hypotheticals, starting to anticipate what may or may not happen.

"What happens here is that the American people have a decision to make. They make that decision. We will respect that decision.

"We will always act in the UK's national interest and work with whoever is the president of the United States, because that is what is in Britain's national interest. And that's precisely what this government will do."

The government's minister for European relations Nick Thomas-Symonds is now talking to Ali Fortescue after what he deemed a successful day at the European Political Community summit at Blenheim Palace.

He points to the announcement made by Sir Keir Starmer to fund £84m of projects in Africa and the Middle East to tackle illegal migration at "source" and stopping people feeling the need to flee from their homes in the first place.

But Ali asks him when the public will see if the plan is working.

"Well, one person who is in those boats putting their lives at risk is one too many," he says. "So we are starting that work now.

"Of course you will judge, as will the British public judge, its success or failure on whether it is effective or not, whether it does actually crack down on this vile trade in people smuggling.

"And of course, you'll be able to see evidence of that as the government starts to implement its policy."

But he warns it could be a long wait, adding: "We have to bear in mind as well the really dire nature of our inheritance and the scale of this challenge.

"We know the scale of this challenge. We know how difficult it is, but we are determined to do the work to tackle it."

We start with our political editor Beth Rigby talking to us from outside Blenheim Palace, where the European Political Community (EPC) summit has been taking place.

She says the tone has been "very positive", with lots of diplomats and officials on the sidelines telling her "the reset is real and that the Labour government is really making progress".

The prime minister kicked off the conference by reassuring the European leaders that he would not leave the European Convention on Human Rights, says Beth - something often threatened by the former Conservative government.

"I'm told by one EU diplomat that this went down extremely well, that European leaders were not expecting it, but they really welcomed it and they saw it as proof, if you like, that Keir Starmer really does want to reset relations."

But while our political editor says "the reset is on", changing the relationship is "going to take time".

"Sir Keir said himself that it will be a combination of bilateral talks and then dealing with the European Union as an institution," she adds.

"But the mood music at Blenheim Palace was extremely positive. And Sir Keir and his team are very pleased with how things have gone down."

Now it's time for the Politics Hub with Ali Fortescue in the chair tonight.

Ali will be talking to the director of the Civil Exchange thinktank Caroline Sloco*ck about the first report from the official COVID inquiry.

From the government, she will also speak to the minister for European relations Nick Thomas-Symonds.

And on the panel is Labour's former shadow chancellor John McDonnell and the Tory chair of the foreign affairs committee Alicia Kearns.

You can watch the show in the stream above, or follow our updates for all the highlights.

It may have been two weeks since Labour was voted into power, but they are still filling roles on their frontbench.

We have just had a list through of some new appointments, so take a look below...

• Hamish Falconer - parliamentary under secretary of state in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office;
• Baroness Chapman - parliamentary under secretary of state in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office;
• Mary Creagh - parliamentary under secretary of state in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs;
• Martin McCluskey - assistant government whip;
• Kate Dearden - assistant government whip.

By Jennifer Scott, political reporter

More than 192,000 children in England and Wales have parents who are currently in jail, new figures have revealed.

It is the first time the government has shown the scale of young people impacted - an estimated 192,912 - who, without support, often follow their parents into crime, studies show.

But charities say releasing the statistics is only "the first step", and are now calling for the new government to do more to support the "invisible children" who are "falling through the cracks".

Labour has a history of campaigning on the issue in opposition, with the now energy minister Kerry McCarthy bringing forward a private members' bill, calling for national guidelines, ensuring the state identifies any children at the point of sentencing, and accountability for giving them support.

The thrust of her bill made it into Labour's general election manifesto, which said: "The children of those who are imprisoned are at far greater risk of being drawn into crime than their peers. We will ensure that those young people are identified and offered support to break the cycle."

However, the commitment failed to appear in the King's Speech on Wednesday, which outlined the government's policy agenda for the next 12 to 18 months.

Read more below: