Politics latest: Minister insists 'we do have money to spend' - despite £22bn 'black hole' in public finance (2024)

A total of 973 migrants arrived in the UK on 17 small boats yesterday, the largest number this year so far.

The figure, released by the Home Office, is the largest number of daily arrivals in well over a year.

The arrivals came on the same day a two-year-old boy was "trampled to death" as he and three adults lost their lives while attempting to cross the English Channel on Saturday.

Jacques Billant, prefect of Pas-de-Calais region, said the French coastguard responded to a boat carrying almost 90 people which suffered engine failure.

Fifteen people were transferred to a tow vessel, including the boy, who was unconscious.

A medical team was sent by helicopter, but he was pronounced dead.

He was "trampled to death", French interior minister Bruno Retailleau said on X.

He added: "The people smugglers have the blood of these people on their hands and our government will intensify the fight against these mafias who are getting rich by organising these crossings of death."

Last week, in the wake of Iranian strikes on Israel, Sir Keir Starmer repeatedly insisted that the UK "stands with Israel" on the matter.

But a poll released by Ipsos has suggested the British public might not agree.

In data released to mark one year since the 7 October Hamas attacks, 60% of people said Israel has "gone too far" with military action in Gaza.

Meanwhile, only 8% of people say "the UK should support Israel in negotiations with Hamas".

British faith leaders have called on the public to reject "prejudice and hatred in all its forms" as they marked a year of "horrific" suffering during the ongoing Middle East conflict.

The past 12 months has seen more than 2,600 protests take place on UK streets in relation to the war and some 550 arrests, according to the National Police Chiefs' Council.

The Metropolitan Police said the cost of policing such protests since October last year and up to the beginning of September has reached more than £46m.

Meanwhile, antisemitism and incidents of anti-Muslim hatred hit new highs, organisations monitoring such reports said.

A year since the 7 October Hamas attacks and Israel's subsequent war in Gaza and Lebanon, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby joined Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis and the chairman of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board Imam Qari Asim to say they "stand united in our grief".

All three have signed an open letter acknowledging that, while times are "challenging", there is no place for antisemitism and Islamophobia in the UK.

A joint letter said: "It has been a year since the brutal Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, and the start of this devastating war in Gaza and beyond.

"During this time, the scale of human suffering has been horrific.

"As people of faith from Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities in the UK, while we may hold different views about aspects of the conflict, we stand united in our grief and in our belief that our shared humanity must bring us together."

Turning back to our interview with Science Secretary Peter Kyle for a moment.

Trevor Phillips asks the minister about a row over freebies, which emerged in the Labour Party after data was shared by Sky News's Westminster Accounts project.

This found Sir Keir Starmer has accepted thousands of pounds in gifts and hospitality - including football tickets - since he became Labour leader in 2019.

He has since repaid £6,000 of these freebies, for items and hospitality provided since he has become prime minister.

Asked about the rules for ministers when it comes to accepting gifts, Mr Kyle told said: "Everything is declared, we will stick to the rules. "

He added: "What Keir Starmer has done is made sure he's repaid the articles that have happened since the election and we're also working on a new set of rules, because there's a separate set of rules at the moment for people who are government ministers from MPs.

"So we're updating the rules so that it reflects the expectations that we believe the public have post-election."

In July 2019, Boris Johnson fulfilled a lifelong ambition by becoming leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister.

He seemed to secure power for years to come, later that year winning the largest Commons majority achieved by the Conservative Party since Margaret Thatcher.

But by July 2022, it all came crashing down as ministers resigned en masse following the Partygate scandal and his response to the alleged behaviour of one of his ministers.

Two years later, Johnson is telling his version of events in a new book, Unleashed, and is speaking to Sky News.

Join us on Tuesday to watch as the ex-PM faces questions from Wilfred Frost about his premiership.

Watch Sky News on Sky channel 501, Virgin channel 602, Freeview channel 233, on theSky News websiteandappor onYouTube.

Thanks for joining us for today's programme.

You can scroll through the Politics Hub to catch up on the highlights.

And stick with us throughout the day for all the latest from Westminster.

Tzipi Hotovely, Israeli ambassador to the UK, has again urged the release of Israeli hostages, including one British citizen.

Speaking to Trevor Phillips, Ms Hotovely says around 100 hostages remain in Gaza - one of whom, Emily Damari, is a 28-year-old British woman.

She says: "I met her mother last week, she was speaking about her beautiful daughter who loved coming to London, loved watching football in this country.

"We're talking about two young children who are still in Gaza.

"We know that half of the hostages are still alive, and we want them back home.

"Israel said yes three times to Biden's proposal to a hostage deal, and we expect the international community to put all this pressure on Hamas, on the leadership, on the people who influence Hamas."

Ms Hotovely says Israel know about the conditions of the remaining hostages from those who were released.

Much of today's programme is focused on the situation in the Middle East.

In the last day,Hamas has claimed at least 24 people have been killed and 93 others wounded after Israeli airstrikes targeted a mosque and a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza.

It comes after Iran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles into Israel.

You can catch up with the latest in our Middle East live blog:

Andrew Mitchell, the shadow foreign secretary, described last week's Conservative Party conference as "optimistic".

He says: "The contrast between Starmer's start on 5 July and Tony Blair's start in 1997... is enormous.

"I think the Blair government at least had a strategy, this government doesn't appear to have any strategy at all."

Turning back to the Tory leadership contest, Trevor suggests none of the four candidates acknowledged any of the reasons they lost this year's election.

"I think there was an under current addressing those issues," he says.

Asked who he is backing to be the next leader, Mr Mitchell says "so far I have been voting to keep people in".

"But I will have to make a decision on which of the two once we get to that point later today."

Mr Mitchell says James Cleverly has "good communication skills", while Kemi Badenoch has "real charisma".

Meanwhile, in Robert Jenrick the Tories see "real hard work", and in Tom Tugendhat "great gravitas".

Pressed on who he will be backing, he says he "hasn't decided yet".

However, he says he will vote to keep Tom Tugendhat in the next round.

Next up with Trevor Phillips is shadow foreign secretary Andrew Mitchell.

Asked if there is a "red line" for Israel in its response to the Iranian strikes, he said: "I think it is very important that we recognise Israel's right to self defence.

"After all, the fundamental question you have to ask following 7 October last year is do you believe Israel has the right to exist?

"And if you do believe that, they have the right to self defence."

Mr Mitchell also said the UK's Chagos Islands deal with Mauritius is "not the deal the last Conservative government would have done".

He said: "The government hasn't told us the terms of this deal. I was obviously involved within the Foreign Office in the earlier negotiation rounds.

"It wasn't my ministerial role but I was aware of what was happening.

"This is definitely - from what we have seen - not the deal the last Conservative government would have done."