Grant Shapps gives update to MPs about cyber-attack on database containing details of armed forces personnel – UK politics live | Politics

Shapps ended by apologising to members of the armed forces affected by the cyber-attack.

He said it should not have happened, and that his plan would ensure it did not happen again.

Shapps says he cannot give any further details of the malign actor behind this.

But he says the government “can’t rule out foreign state involvement”.

(This is more equivocal than what Shapps’s cabinet colleage, Mel Stride, said this morning. Stride said “some kind of state actor” did seem to be responsible. See 9.49am.)

Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, is making his statement to MPs about the MoD cyber-attack.

He says a “malign actor” gained access to part of armed forces’ payment network. He went on:

This is an external system completely separate to the core network, and it’s not connected to the main military system. The house will wish to know that it is operated by a contractor and there is evidence of potential failings by them, which may have made it easier for the malign actor to gain entry.

This is being reviewed, he says.

Andrew Mitchell, the deputy foreign secretary, was told the goverment would be turning a blind eye to the “slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent civilians” if it continued armed sales to Israel.

The comment was made by the SNP’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Brendan O’Hara, during a Commons urgent question on Gaza.

O’Hara asked if the Israeli attack on Rafah was the breach of international humanitarian law that Mitchell said last week would lead to arms sales being suspended. He went on:

Or is this yet another example of the UK declaring a red line only for Israel to completely ignore it without condemnation or consequence?

Because, minister, we know how this plays out. You plead with them, they ignore you, they do what they want, and you find excuses for them and so a blind eye will be turned to the slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent civilians.

And while the UK government calls for more aid to the survivors, it will continue to issue arms export licences. This has been the pattern of behaviour for seven months. Can we expect anything different?

Mitchell said that the government’s position on arms sales had not changed.

But he also said the government was deeply concerned about the situation in Rafah.

We are deeply concerned about the prospect of a military incursion, given the number of civilians that are sheltering there and the importance of that entry point for aid.

Entry points for humanitarian aid, including Kerem Shalom, must be reopened quickly to allow aid in. Israel must facilitate immediate uninterrupted humanitarian access in the south, especially the entry of fuel and ensure protection of civilians and safe passage for those who wish to leave Rafah. As yet we have not seen a credible plan to protect civilians.

During Treasury questions this afternoon Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, also accused his Labour shadow, Rachel Reeves, of implying in her speech this morning that reducing inflation was not a “big deal”. (See 9.01am.)

Hunt said:

The biggest single thing we can do to help with cost of living pressures is to bring down inflation. And that seems to be something that escaped the shadow chancellor this morning when she said it wasn’t a big deal to get inflation down to its target.

It’s a very, very big deal for families facing a cost of living crisis, and she needs to know that inflation falls by design and not by accident.

Reeves did not quite put it like that in her speech. Her argument was that people did not feel better off, partly because “this is forecast to be the first parliament on record with living standards actually lower at its end than at the start”.

John Swinney, the new Scottish first minister, paid tribute to his predecessor in his speech to MSPs this afternoon. Swinney said:

I’m proud that it was an SNP government that was led by the first woman first minister and then by the first Muslim first minister.

I want to pay tribute to Humza Yousaf – a man of unfailing courtesy who served my party but also this parliament and country with distinction.

Swinney urged MSPs to recognise that “despite our political differences, we’re all here because we want the best for Scotland, whatever our specific role happens to be”. And he promised to listen not just to people who voted for pro-independence parties, but also to people who didn’t.

Here are extracts from Humza Yousaf’s final speech to MSPs as first minister

On support from MSPs

Let me offer thanks to every single colleague across the political divide for the kindnesses that you have shown me over the years.

We often, and I’m guilty of this too, lament the toxic nature of our political debate and it’s true, there is entrenched tribalism that feels difficult to free ourselves from.

However I will remember far more fondly the kindness and generosity of colleagues over the years.

On Gaza

I cannot let today’s remarks go by without pleading one last time from the frontbenches for the international community to stop any further massacre of the innocent people of Gaza.

A full-scale invasion of Rafah, home to 1.4 million people, 600,000 children, will only result in the slaughter of more innocent civilians in what is likely to be one of the clearest violations of international law to date.

A clear signal must be sent to the Israeli Government that to defy the international community in this way will come with significant consequence and sanction.

Everything possible must be done to demand an immediate ceasefire, a release of all the hostages and an end to arms sales to Israel. We must be on the right side of history and that must mean standing with innocent men, women and children. To do otherwise would be unforgivable.

On being the first Muslim leader of Scotland – and of any European country

I’m grateful for the trust that [his predecessors] put in me over the years because a young Humza Yousaf could never have imagined that he would be able to lead this country.

I was six years old when I was first told to go home, and I’m afraid since then it has been a regular occurrence, in fact almost daily if you look at my social media feeds. And I won’t lie – it is that racial slur that probably hurts me the most.

On Nicola Sturgeon, his predecessor, and John Swinney, his successor

John is one of the most empathetic, kind, compassionate people that I’ve had the pleasure of knowing over the years.

Such qualities are crucial in life, they are absolutely necessary as first minister.

I remember Nicola Sturgeon saying to me that as first minister, you get to make someone’s day every single day in office. I’m also quite possibly making somebody’s day by leaving office, I suspect, too.

However, I can testify that Nicola Sturgeon was absolutely right. You can make someone’s day through the smallest act of kindness – stopping for a selfie with someone, or through transformative policy like the Scottish Child Payment.

The privilege of serving the people of Scotland through this office never gets tiring. I know John will do his family proud, he’ll do our party proud and he will do our nation proud as he dedicates his life to the service of Scotland, the country we are all proud to call home and that we all love so dearly.

MSPs elect SNP’s John Swinney as first minister

Libby Brooks

The vote to elect John Swinney as first minister was a foregone conclusion given the parliamentary arithmetic and the fact that the Scottish Greens had agreed to abstain, but it is traditional for opposition leaders to put themselves forward.

Their speeches today were fairly lacklustre – perhaps everyone has been worn out by the chaos of the past few weeks. Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross accused the SNP of “replacing one continuity candidate with another “ while Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar called for a Holyrood election.

Swinney struck a more ameliorative tone, noting the 25th anniversary of the Scottish parliament and praising other parties for their contribution over the years.

Swinney, of course, won the vote and will now be sworn in at the court of session in Edinburgh tomorrow.

Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, has accused Labour of trying to win the election by frightening pensioners with “fake news”.

He was speaking during Treasury questions in the Commons where he rejected Rachel Reeves’ suggestion that the Tory plan to abolish employees’ national insurance over the long term could result in income tax rising by 8p in the pound – a move that would clobber pensioners in particular. (See 12.10pm.)

Reeves, the shadow chancellor, asked Hunt if he accepted analysis saying that, if the government decided to get rid of national insurance by merging it with income tax, income tax could have to got up by 8p in the pound. Hunt replied:

Which is why it is not our policy.

In response, Reeves said that Hunt himself spoke about the possibility of merging income tax with national insurance in an interview after the budget. And she pointed out that Nigel Lawson, chancellor under Margaret Thatcher, himself said that merging income tax with national insurance would create many losers, espcially amongst the elderly.

Hunt said that his party’s policy was to abolish national insurance completely. He went on:

If Labour’s strategy is to win the election by frightening pensions with fake news stories, then I would just say that Britain deserves better.

Yousaf thanks MSPs for letting him ‘defy far right, bigots and racists’ by letting him serve as FM as he stands down

Libby Brooks

Outgoing first minister Humza Yousaf made his final statement to the Holyrood chamber this afternoon, thanking colleagues across the chamber for their kindnesses since he was first elected as a nervous 26-year-old.

His voice choked with emotion as he thanked MSPs for the opportunity “to defy the far right, bigots and racists” in serving as first minister “an honour I didn’t think was for people who looked like me”.

He praised the new SNP leader John Swinney as “one of the most empathetic, kind and compassionate people I have known” and used his final remarks as first minister to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, a return of all hostages and an end to arms sales to Israel.

His statement was met with warm applause and hugs from the SNP benches, including former FM Nicola Sturgeon and Swinney, who will now ask the chamber for its backing to become the next FM.

In an article for the Guardian today, Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, says he is committing to building 10,000 council homes in his next mayoral term. He set out some details of how this would be achieved, as well as other housing policies, in a press announcement this morning.

In his article Burnham says this is an example of how metro mayors are repairing damage caused by policies introduced by the Thatcher government. He explains:

As it becomes more established, a theme is developing with English devolution: fixing the fundamentals of life – housing, utilities, transport – means reversing things that went wrong in the 1980s. So, just as Greater Manchester was first to end deregulation of buses, we now want to see the suspension of the right-to-buy policy from any new council homes that we build in our city-region. To be clear: there is no honest solution to the housing crisis as long as it stays in its current form.

This is how English devolution is beginning to change politics for the better. For too long, the Westminster consensus has been that you can’t challenge some of the dogma of the Thatcher era. But, since the arrival of the Labour mayors, trains and buses have started to go back under public control and there is a much greater focus on issues like homelessness.

Slowly but surely, we are freeing ourselves from the suffocating effects of the 1980s. We now have the real prospect of a Labour prime minister working with Labour mayors to fix the housing crisis and deliver true levelling up.

Mel Stride, the work and pensions secretary, was doing the morning interview round this morning to promote WorkWell, a scheme being piloted offering people health support if they need it to return to work. In a news release for the £64m pilot, covering 15 areas, the Department for Work and Pensions said

The WorkWell pilots … will connect 59,000 people from October to local support services including physiotherapy and counselling so they can get the tailored help they need to stay in or return to work.

The WorkWell service provides a single, joined-up assessment and gateway into both employment support and health services locally to help people manage their conditions and to identify workplace adjustments or support that would enable them to stay in work or return sooner.

Participants do not need to be claiming any government benefits and will receive personalised support from a work and health coach to understand their current health and social barriers to work and draw up a plan to help them overcome them. Evidence shows that work is an effective way to improve wellbeing – reducing the risk of depression, improving physical health, and building self-confidence and financial independence.

In response, Sandi Wassmer, CEO at the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion (enei), said that, although it was good to see the government recognise that some people need support to return to work, she was concerned that it was not mandatory for employers.

Alison McGovern, the acting shadow work and pensions secretary, said:

Labour will look closely at any programme supporting people into work. But, with a record number of people out of work due to sickness and millions of people on spiralling NHS and mental health waiting lists, we need a long-term plan to fix our NHS and get Britain working, not more pilots skirting around the edges.

University vice-chancellors will attend a meeting in No 10 later this week to discuss how to tackle rising antisemitism on campuses, Downing Street has said.

At this morning’s lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson said that Rishi Sunak opened cabinet this morning by saying there had been an “unacceptable rise in antisemitism on our university campuses” and vice-chancellors would be meeting to discuss “the need for our universities to be safe for our Jewish students”.

The spokesperson said:

Our university campuses should be places of rigorous debate, but they should also be tolerant places where people of all communities, particularly Jewish students at this time, are treated with respect …

The right to free speech does not include the right to harass people or incite violence.

We expect university leaders to take robust action in dealing with that kind of behaviour and that will be the subject of the conversation in No 10 later this week to ensure a zero-tolerance approach to this sort of behaviour is adopted on all campuses.

Asked if the police should be called in to clear protest camps at British universities, as as been happening in the US, the spokesman said: “We want to see university leaders taking a robust approach to unacceptable behaviour.”

Rishi Sunak has said he is “deeply concerned” about the consequences of Israel attacking Rafah. Asked about the situation in Gaza, Sunak told broadcasters:

We’ve been consistent in saying that we want to see an immediate humanitarian pause in this conflict so that we can crucially release the hostages, get them back to their families and get more aid in to Gaza, people desperately need it, and then use that pause to build a more lasting and sustainable ceasefire.

When it comes to the question of Rafah, again I’ve been clear that we are deeply concerned about the full military incursion of Rafah, given the humanitarian consequences of that.

I’ve made that point specifically to Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu whenever I’ve spoken to him.