Key points
- The prime minister is in Washington DC for his first NATO summit, where he's meeting world leaders and will call for support for Ukraine for 'as long as it takes'
- UK has to be 'incredibly careful' to avoid direct Russian retaliation, security minister warns
- Economy grew in May, new figures show
- Environment secretary to haul in water bosses as new measures announced
- Listen to Politics at Jack and Sam'sabove as your scroll - and tap hereto follow
- Live reporting by Faith Ridler and (earlier)Ben Bloch
PM says we should 'mark it' if England wins Euros - but doesn't commit to bank holiday
The prime minister has described England's win over the Netherlands in the Euros last night as "fantastic".
Sir Keir Starmer told broadcasters: "I managed to pop out from one of my sessions [at the NATO summit] for just five minutes, which is when I saw Harry Kane get the first goal.
"I missed the second one, but it was brilliant."
He went on to say: "I've always said this team were going to go all the way, so I'm really, really pleased - and just good luck for [the final on] Sunday."
Asked if he will arrange an extra bank holiday if England wins, the PM replied: "We should certainly mark the occasion, I don't want to jinx it. I went to the last Euros final, I don't want to go through that again.
"I don't want to jinx anything, but we must mark it in some way. But the most important thing is getting it over the line on Sunday."
Sir Keir has previously called for bank holidays if England won past tournaments.
Coming up on Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge
Our weeknight politics showPolitics Hub With Sophy Ridgewill be live on Sky News from 7pm.
The fast-paced programme dissects the inner workings of Westminster, with interviews, insights, and analysis - bringing you, the audience, into the corridors of power.
Tonight, Sophy will be joined by new Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who has ordered a full and independent investigation into the state of the NHS.
On her panel are:
- Broadcaster Nick Ferrari;
- Lucy Rigby, Labour MP for Northampton North.
Watch live on Sky News, in the stream at the top of this page, and follow live updates here in the Politics Hub.
WatchPolitics Hub With Sophy Ridgefrom Monday to Thursday on Sky channel 501, Virgin channel 602, Freeview channel 233, on theSky News websiteandappor onYouTube.
The newly elected MPs given top jobs in Starmer's government
By Alix Culbertson, political reporter
MPs who were only elected for the first time last week have been given ministerial jobs by Sir Keir Starmer.
In an unusual move for a new government, five MPs have been appointed as junior ministers despite having no parliamentary experience.
Georgia Gould, the new MP for Queen's Park and Maida Vale, has been appointed as a parliamentary secretary in the Cabinet Office, so will support Pat McFadden, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Nick Thomas-Symonds, Cabinet Office minister.
The 38-year-old became leader ofSir Keir Starmer's local council in Camden in 2017 after failing to become the Labour candidate for Erith and Thamesmead, which she said was down to a "vicious smear campaign".
She is the daughter of Blair strategist Lord Philip Gould and worked for the Tony Blair Faith Foundation before going into politics.
Davey refuses to say if Lib Dems will try to force Starmer to scrap two-child benefit cap
Figures published today show that atotal of 1.6 million children are now affected by the two-child benefit cap.
The Conservative government introduced the cap, which prevents parents from claiming child tax credit or Universal Credit for more than two children for those born after April 2017.
It means families cannot claim about £3,200 a year per extra child, the Resolution Foundation has said - and experts say it pushes many children into poverty.
Despite having said he won't, Sir Keir Starmer is under vast pressure to scrap the cap from both inside and outside his party.
Speaking to broadcasters, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: "The quickest way to reduce child poverty, the most efficient, the most cost-effective way to get rid of the two child limit."
"I hope the government listens to Liberal Democrat arguments and to those who are experts in this to make sure that we can have a fairer society and that we can dramatically reduce child poverty."
Asked if he will try to force the issue by laying an amendment to the King's Speech next week, Sir Ed replied: "Let's see what happens in the King's Speech.
"We've made our arguments. We think we've won the argument."
Pushed on the question, he added: "We believe that the strength of our arguments are so good that the government will be forced to listen."
Davey: Customers shouldn't pay for 'incompetence' of water companies
We've just been hearing from Sir Ed Davey following the news that water bills are set to rise by an average of 21% over the next five years.
The water regulator says it will allow a tripling of investment to stop future sewage spills, but the Liberal Democrat leader argues that customers should not foot the bill to fix what should already have been done.
He told broadcasters: "The British public have seen these water companies pumping their filthy sewage into our rivers, into our lakes, onto our beaches for years now.
"And the water regulator and the government let them get away with it.
"I don't think they [customers] should be paying for the economic incompetence of these water companies or the regulator's mistakes."
His party wants a "stronger regulator" to replace Ofwat to hold companies to account.
Sir Ed called for the water industry more broadly to be "quite transformed", saying "the current position is just not acceptable" - but would not so far as to say water companies should be nationalised.
Is Labour prepared to nationalise Thames Water?
This was a question posed to environment secretary Steve Reed this afternoon, after he met with water companies and regulators.
He held talks with executives from all 16 of the suppliers in England and Wales, including Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Severn Trent.
And today, Ofwat declared that it was minded to slash, by a third, the combined increases that the companies had submitted in their business plans for the next five years.
It left the average bill, the watchdog said, set to rise by £19 a year or 21% over the period.
Asked if Labour would consider nationalising Thames Water, Mr Reed says this would "cost billions of pounds and take years potentially".
He said that this would also "slow down" plans to "clean up the unacceptable levels of pollution that are so outraging the public".
Pressed if this is a firm no, Mr Reed said: "No, it would cost billions of pounds."
Instead, he is pushing for a toughening of regulations.
You can read more of the latest on water bills below:
Sky News Daily: How does Starmer reach out to the world?
As the new prime minister makes his international debut at the NATOsummit in Washington – what does he need to do to make a quick impact with international colleagues?
On today's Daily, Niall Paterson is joined by political correspondent Tamara Cohen to discuss how Sir Keiris tackling his first overseas visit.
Plus,Lord Peter Ricketts, former diplomatand French ambassador,joins Niall to lookat Labour's wider foreign policy plans.
👉Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts👈
Home secretary to make decision on change to crossbow laws 'in the near future'
By Alix Culbertson, political reporter
The home secretary will make a decision soon on whether to change the laws around crossbow following the deaths of a mother and her two daughters.
Carol Hunt, 61, the wife of racing commentator John Hunt, and two of their daughters, Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28, werekilled on Mondayin an apparent crossbow attack.
Kyle Clifford, 26, who is believed to be known to the victims, was found injured by police and has been arrested following a manhunt.
Police said the killings involved the use of a crossbow and possibly other weapons.
Their deaths have led to calls for stricter laws on crossbows, possibly in line with stringent shotgun licence requirements.
Currently, the only legal requirement to owning or buying one is having to be 18 years old or over.
New security minister Dan Jarvis has told Sky News' Breakfast with Kay Burley that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is currently considering the evidence and will take a view "in the near future".
Read the full story here:
1.6m children now affected by two-child benefit cap as Starmer faces pressure to scrap it
By Alix Culbertson, political reporter
A total of 1.6 million children are now affected by the two-child benefit cap as the Labour government faces pressure to lift it.
The Conservative government introduced the cap, which prevents parents from claiming child tax credit or Universal Credit for more than two children for those born after April 2017.
It means families cannot claim about £3,200 a year per extra child, the Resolution Foundation has said.
Economist at the organisation Lalitha Try said there was little evidence that policy had achieved its aims of boosting employment, but there was "clear evidence" of financial loss for families.
"Unless the policy is abolished, the majority of children in large families will fall below the poverty line by the end of the parliament," she added. "Any new child poverty strategy should find the funds to remove it."
The latest government statistics show a total of 1.6 million children in April were affected by the cap.
Sir Keir Starmer had previously said the cap should be scrapped,but U-turned last year, saying he would not axe it if Labour won power due to the state of finances they have inherited.
He has faced pressure to scrap the cap from within his party, including formerLabour prime minister Gordon Brown, who said it is "condemning children to poverty".
Read more here:
Tory leadership contenders argue in public over 'nervous breakdown' claims
By Jennifer Scott, political reporter
Two of the contenders to become the next Conservative Party leader have started to bicker in public over leaks to a newspaper, which claimed one had accused the other of having a "very public" nervous breakdown.
The Times published the story on Tuesday, saying the remark had been made by shadow housing secretary Kemi Badenoch about ex-home secretary Suella Braverman during a shadow cabinet meeting.
The article also said Ms Badenoch had hit out at former prime minister Rishi Sunak for calling an election without informing his cabinet, and blamed his decision toreturn from D-Day commemorations in France earlyfor the loss of cabinet ministers last Thursday.
Posting on X a day later, Ms Badenoch said it was a "shame" the discussions had been leaked, adding: "If there is no private space to discuss our party's challenges, we will never fully address what the electorate told us last week."
But this was followed by a tweet from her rival, Ms Braverman, appearing to call her party colleague out.
Read more here:
