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Starmer welcomes Zelenskyy to Downing Street ahead of Friday’s Putin-Trump meetingKeir Starmer has welcomed Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Downing Street as Europe braces for Donald Trump’s face-to-face discussions with Vladimir Putin on Friday.The Ukrainian president and the prime minister embraced and posed for the cameras in front of Number 10 with a handshake as he arrived in Westminster on Thursday morning while gathered media in Downing Street shouted questions. A red carpet had been rolled out for his arrival.The prime minister’s meeting with Zelenskyy comes after he said Britain stands ready to “increase pressure” on Russia if necessary.Keir Starmer (left) and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the garden of Number 10 Downing Street on Thursday. Photograph: Ben Stansall/PAKeir Starmer (L) greets Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy at 10 Downing Street in London. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPAShareKey eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureShelter have described no-fault evictions as one of the leading causes of homelessness, giving landlords the power to evict tenants without any reason given.The charity said its analysis of the latest figures suggested that for every month a ban on no-fault evictions is delayed, about 950 households could be removed from their homes by bailiffs.Echoing the call for an urgent ban, homelessness charity Crisis said many are at risk of homelessness if faced with eviction.According to the PA news agency, the charity’s chief executive, Matt Downie, said:
Despite good intentions from the Westminster government, thousands of people are still being unjustly evicted from their homes and threatened with – or even forced into – homelessness.
We know the UK government has had a packed agenda, but we now need ministers to rebuff efforts to weaken the renters’ rights bill and get this new legislation on to the statute book as soon as possible when parliament returns. Unfreezing housing benefit in the autumn would also ensure that more people in England can afford a safe and stable home.
The Renters’ Reform Coalition, said the year-on-year fall in accelerated procedure claims “blows apart the myth of a ‘landlord exodus’ and eviction surge caused by the renters’ rights bill” and urged the government to “press on and abolish section 21 immediately once the bill is passed”.The new data on no-fault evictions published today by the Ministry of Justice (see 11.23am BST) comes a week after Rushanara Ali resigned her role as homelessness minister after a report that she gave tenants at a property she owned in east London four months’ notice to leave before relisting the property with a £700 rent increase within weeks.Ali’s house, rented on a fixed-term contract, was put up for sale while the tenants were living there, and it was only relisted as a rental because it had not sold, according to the i newspaper.Such a move would probably be prohibited under the renters’ rights bill, which is set to introduce new protections for tenants including banning landlords who evict tenants in order to sell their property from relisting it for rent for six months.In her resignation letter Ali insisted she had “at all times” followed “all legal requirements” and taken her responsibilities “seriously”, but added that continuing in her role would be “a distraction from the ambitious work of the government” and therefore was stepping down.ShareBoosting productivity will be main priority of autumn budget, Reeves saysRichard PartingtonRachel Reeves has promised to use her autumn budget to prioritise fixing Britain’s dismal record on productivity as she sought to downplay mounting tax speculation with a focus on economic growth.Setting out her priorities for the budget for the first time, the chancellor said tackling the efficiency of the economy through higher investment and a fresh assault on planning rules would form the backbone of her tax and spending plans.Writing exclusively for the Guardian, she said:
If Labour’s first year in power was about fixing the foundations, then the second year is about building a stronger economy for a renewed Britain.
However, Reeves pushed back against what she called “speculation” over tax increases being explored by the Treasury to close a yawning gap in the public finances that is estimated to reach more than £40bn.“The months and weeks before any budget are filled with people speculating about – or claiming to know – what tax and spend decisions I will take or what the Office for Budget Responsibility [OBR] will conclude,” she said.“This budget is no different – I get that. I will set out the decisions I take in the responsible manner.”ShareBBC apologises over Thought for the Day ‘xenophobia’ claim against JenrickAletha AduThe BBC has apologised and retrospectively edited a segment of Radio 4’s Thought for the Day after the head of a refugee foundation described comments by Robert Jenrick about asylum seekers as “xenophobia”.The remarks by Krish Kandiah, a theologian who heads the Sanctuary Foundation, prompted an angry response from Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary. The BBC said it had removed “some of the language used” by Kandiah from a version posted online, saying it was not appropriate for the faith-based radio segment.However, Alf Dubs, a Labour peer who came to the UK as a child refugee, said he believed xenophobia was an accurate description of Jenrick’s comments in the Mail on Sunday last weekend in which Jenrick said the arrival of asylum seekers on small boats made him fear for his daughters’ safety and that he would not want them as neighbours.Speaking on Wednesday’s episode of the Today programme, Kandiah quoted from the Mail on Sunday. “[Jenrick] said: ‘I certainly don’t want my children to share a neighbourhood with men from backward countries who broke into Britain illegally, and about whom we know next to nothing.’ These words echo a fear many have absorbed. Fear of the stranger. The technical name for this is xenophobia.”Robert Jenrick had written in the Mail on Sunday: ‘I certainly don’t want my children to share a neighbourhood with immigrant men with backward views who broke into Britain illegally.’ Photograph: Tayfun Salcı/ZUMA Press Wire/ShutterstockHe said such fears were irrational and that most arrivals on small boats were fleeing “war, persecution and famine”.Kandiah argued there was no evidence that migrants posed a greater danger to children than others, noting that most offences against children were committed by people they already knew.While the segment was cleared in advance, it is understood that BBC staff decided to review the programme and edit the language without being prompted by an external complaint. The corporation then apologised to Jenrick.ShareEducation secretary Bridget Phillipson declined to say whether the government would be prepared to allow universities an inflation-linked tuition fee increase each year to improve their financial situation, reports the PA news agency.When asked a direct question on this, she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
We did give universities an increase through the tuition fee increase that we delivered last year, but we’ll be looking at all of these areas around the long-term financial sustainability of universities as part of that post-16 white paper that we’ll set out later on this year.
We do also believe alongside that further reform will be needed, but also working together with other institutions, like further education, to bring education, training opportunities and skills much closer to where people are, including those people – adults, in particular – who might be further away from the labour market.
ShareVolodymyr Zelenskyy has left Downing Street. Keir Starmer walked the Ukrainian president out of Number 10 to his car.According to the PA news agency, they chatted and hugged before departing, when Starmer walked back inside. He ignored questions from the line of reporters, including: “Has today’s visit been a success?”Starmer was also asked whether the UK would send more weapons to Ukraine and if there was a “plan B” should US president Donald Trump fail in Alaska.Keir Starmer, left, walks out with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy after a meeting at Downing Street. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/APThe red carpet has been removed and the convoy with the Ukrainian president has left.Larry the cat on the red carpet rolled out for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty ImagesShareUpdated at 11.29 BSTNo-fault evictions in England up by 8% in Labour’s first year in governmentNo-fault eviction evictions by bailiffs in England have risen by 8% in the 12 months since Labour came into government, new data shows.The party has pledged to end no-fault evictions under its renters’ rights bill, which is in the final stages of going through parliament.The PA news agency reports that Shelter said it was “unconscionable” that renters “continue to be marched out of their homes by bailiffs”.There were 11,402 repossessions by county court bailiffs after a section 21 notice – known as a no-fault eviction – between July last year and June, according to data published by the Ministry of Justice. This was up 8% from 10,576 for the previous 12-month period.There were 2,679 in the three months to June, which was down from 2,931 the previous quarter and down from 2,915 for the same April to June period last year.According to the PA news agency, the latest government data also showed 30,729 claims had been issued to households under the accelerated procedure in the year to June. Landlords can apply for an accelerated possession order if the tenants have not left by the date specified in a section 21 notice. The current figure was down 4% from 32,103 for the previous 12-month period.ShareThe waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has increased, NHS figures show.The PA news agency reports that an estimated 7.37 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of June, relating to 6.23 million patients – up from 7.36 million treatments and just under 6.23 million patients at the end of May.Waiting lists last increased in March before falling for two consecutive months. The list hit a record high in September 2023, with 7.77 million treatments and 6.50 million patients.ShareGovernment has no plans to change 9% interest on student loans, says education secretaryEducation secretary Bridget Phillipson has said that the government has no plans to change the figure of 9% interest that people pay on their student loans.Speaking to BBC Breakfast, she said:
That was a figure chosen by a previous government.
We are looking at the student finance system. It is complicated. We are looking at it. However, I do think it is right that students through that system make a contribution to their education.
When asked whether the government plans to lower the 9% interest rate on student loans, she said:
We don’t have any immediate plans to change that figure.
I wouldn’t want any young person, however, to be put off from going to university because of the system. And it’s worth just highlighting that you don’t pay anything until you’ve graduated, until you’re working, and going to university is a fantastic investment in your future.
SharePhillip InmanGrowth of 0.3% is a positive sign but the chancellor still has major difficulties to confront, writes Phillip Inman:Britain’s economy has defied the doomsayers. After growing strongly in the first quarter this year, it expanded again in the three months to June – and not by the measly 0.1% forecast by City economists, but a respectable 0.3%.The latest data shows a 0.4% expansion in June alone as manufacturing recovered its mojo. Meanwhile, the construction sector, hit by a slowdown in new projects, turned its hand to repairs and maintenance, reversing a fall in May to post a solid 1.2% growth rate over the second quarter.Probably the most cheering aspect for Rachel Reeves from the latest Office for National Statistics data was the feedback from businesses involved in scientific research and development. This sector posted an 8.3% rise in activity in June alone, closely followed by the architectural and engineering sectors, which collectively expanded by 6.7% on the previous month.The chancellor is keen for everyone to forget about the missteps of the past year when one miscalculation after another has set off fireworks either inside the Labour party or the business community, or both.ShareUpdated at 10.38 BSTJane ClintonEducation secretary Bridget Phillipson has vowed to tackle the “yawning inequalities” in educational attainment.Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, she said:
Alongside the post-16 white paper that we’ll be publishing later on this year, I will also bring a big focus through our schools white paper on how we tackle these thorny generational challenges where white working-class kids across our country don’t get the start that they deserve.
Now the school system is an important part of how we respond to that, but I would say alongside it so much of this develops and opens up in the early years.“The attainment gap that we see between less well-off students and better-off students opens up before the age of five.
It’s why early years has been such a priority, because if we get that right then we set up children to succeed, but we will take more action in the school system to ensure that those gaps that we see, those yawning inequalities, are addressed.
It’s something the last government failed to tackle. It is something this government will grasp.
You can follow the Guardian’s A-level live blog here:ShareUpdated at 10.22 BSTStarmer welcomes Zelenskyy to Downing Street ahead of Friday’s Putin-Trump meetingKeir Starmer has welcomed Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Downing Street as Europe braces for Donald Trump’s face-to-face discussions with Vladimir Putin on Friday.The Ukrainian president and the prime minister embraced and posed for the cameras in front of Number 10 with a handshake as he arrived in Westminster on Thursday morning while gathered media in Downing Street shouted questions. A red carpet had been rolled out for his arrival.The prime minister’s meeting with Zelenskyy comes after he said Britain stands ready to “increase pressure” on Russia if necessary.Keir Starmer (left) and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the garden of Number 10 Downing Street on Thursday. Photograph: Ben Stansall/PAKeir Starmer (L) greets Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy at 10 Downing Street in London. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPAShareEducation secretary Bridget Phillipson said that the government is “taking our time” to make sure it gets right its guidance on gender-questioning children in schools.She told Times Radio this morning:
The last Conservative government published a draft version of the guidance, because the consultation on that concluded after the election in July. What also has happened is that we had the final review from Dr Hillary Cass in the intervening period. And therefore I think it is right that any guidance to schools on gender-questioning children aligns fully with the recommendations put forward by Dr Hillary Cass.
She added:
We’re taking our time to get this right.
I understand the need for guidance, and we do believe that is important, but critically, we’re talking about quite sensitive issues of children’s wellbeing and we want to make sure that any guidance that’s published reflects the important need to get this right for children and young people, but also ensures that schools have the clarity that they want on this important, but quite sensitive, topic.
Phillipson also said there is “no obligation” for people to call non-binary teachers Mx instead of Miss or Sir, reports the PA news agency.She said:
They are able to make that request, but they’re not able to insist that people use that term. A teacher can, of course, make that request, but you can’t insist that it’s followed.
Asked whether she would call someone Mx, Phillipson told Times Radio:
I think that’s a hypothetical situation. I’ve never been asked to do that.
As a matter of principle, on a wider point, I would usually seek to respond to someone in a way that they would prefer, but there is no obligation for people to do that.
ShareEducation secretary Bridget Phillipson has said there has been a “steadying of the ship” after the disruption from the Covid-19 pandemic.Speaking to BBC Breakfast, she said:
What we’ve seen is a steadying of the ship, both this year and last following some of the disruption that we saw during the pandemic.
These are young people who have not had disruption in recent times, but have had the full normal assessment process. These are also young people who would have been the first to sit GCSEs under normal circumstances. So they’ve gone through the full regular GCSE cycle that you would have expected before the pandemic.
So, this is a normal year, the kind of year that we would have seen before the pandemic hit.
According to the PA news agency, Phillipson also spoke to Sky News about the government’s investment in technical and vocational learning routes. She said:
As a government, we’re also investing more in technical and vocational education as well.
Just this week, I launched 10 new construction technical excellence colleges, one in every region, because there are also great routes that are out there, including apprenticeship opportunities where, you know, young people can have fantastic careers.
ShareRachel Reeves has said that Thursday’s GDP figures “show that the economy beat expectations in the second quarter of this year”.Speaking at a construction site in Doncaster, the chancellor said “there’s still more to do to make sure that people in all parts of the country benefit” from growth.According to the PA news agency, she said:
We are the fastest-growing economy in the G7 for the first half of this year, with a GDP growth of 0.3% this quarter, and that’s after GDP growth of 0.7% the quarter before that.
I recognise there’s still more to do to make sure that people in all parts of the country benefit from that growth, but since the general election, when I became chancellor, the economy has grown by 1.2% and GDP per capita – so for every person in the country – GDP per capita is up by 0.7%.
So, encouraging numbers today but, of course, we need to build on that to make sure people in all parts of the country are better-off.
SharePreparations have been under way at 10 Downing Street this morning for the visit of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Importantly, Larry the cat is ready.Larry the cat stands outside 10 Downing Street ahead of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit on Thursday. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/ReutersShareUpdated at 09.35 BSTUK economy posts surprise 0.3% growth in three months to JuneRichard PartingtonThe UK economy grew at a faster rate than expected in the second quarter, official figures show, despite a slowdown from a strong start to the year amid pressure from tax increases and Donald Trump’s global trade war.Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed growth in gross domestic product slowed to 0.3% in the three months to the end of June, down from a rate of 0.7% in the first quarter.Although beating forecasts for a slowdown to 0.1% growth made by City economists and the Bank of England, the latest snapshot underscores the challenge for the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, as she considers options for boosting the economy and raising revenues at her autumn budget.Liz McKeown, an ONS director of economic statistics, said:
Growth slowed in the second quarter after a strong start to the year. The economy was weak across April and May, with some activity having been brought forward to February and March ahead of stamp duty and tariff changes, but then recovered strongly in June.
The latest snapshot showed the economy grew at a faster rate than expected in June of 0.4%, after two consecutive months of shrinking output. The ONS also revised its initial estimate for April’s GDP contraction from -0.3% to -0.1%.Reeves said the quarterly figures were positive as it showed that Britain had recorded a strong start to the year and continued growth in the second quarter, “but there is more to do to deliver an economy that works for working people”.ShareInternational students ‘always welcome’ says education secretary, but adds some universities have ‘become too dependent’ on themEducation secretary Bridget Phillipson has said that the government has taken action to help universities, but that there is more to do, reports the PA news agency.Asked about universities’ financial struggles, Phillipson told Times Radio:
I’ve made it a priority to put our universities on a more sustainable footing.
The action that we’ve taken in turning around the regulator, the Office for Students, [has] much more of a focus on universities’ financial health, but also the difficult but necessary decision that we took quite early on as a government to increase tuition fees to make sure that universities have a more stable funding stream into the future.
There is more to do and later on this year we’ll be setting out our plans for post-16 education overall, including universities, through a white paper we’ll be publishing.
On international students, the education secretary said they made an “important contribution” to the UK’s universities and economy, and “will always be welcome in the UK”.She added:
It is also fair to say that some institutions, their business model has allowed them to become too dependent on international students, and therefore too open to any fluctuations that may happen around that.
International students will ‘always be welcome’ the education secretary said on Thursday, but added that she thinks some universities have ‘become too dependent’ on them. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesShareEducation secretary Bridget Phillipson has said it is a “day of celebration” for young people ahead of A-level results on Thursday.Speaking to Times Radio, she said:
I’ll just start by saying that this is a really exciting day for young people. They’ve worked really hard. They’ve had brilliant support from their teachers and parents. It’s a day for celebration for our young people and there are lots of great routes out there.
University is one of them, but for young people who are considering other routes there are apprenticeships and plenty of other opportunities available too, and lots of advice available if you haven’t quite got what you needed, through Ucas and clearing, and also through the National Career Service.
Asked about the drop in pupils choosing to study arts and languages at A-level, Phillipson told Times Radio:
I think it’s a matter of personal choice.
I do think it’s a good thing that more young people are studying subjects like maths. There are often great roots into careers. The same is, of course, true of subjects like languages, and that was my personal passion.
But we, of course, look at some of those trends over time and keep under consideration what some of the reasons might be that we see changes in subject choice.
ShareKeir Starmer to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Downing StreetKeir Starmer will be joined by the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Downing Street on Thursday morning, as Europe braces for the outcome of Donald Trump’s face-to-face discussions with his Russian counterpart later this week.The prime minister’s meeting with Zelenskyy comes after he said Britain stood ready to “increase pressure” on Russia if necessary. Meanwhile, Trump threatened Russia with “severe consequences” if a ceasefire was rejected by its leader.During a call with the US president and European allies on Wednesday, Starmer praised Trump for his work to bring forward a “viable” chance of an end to the war.Keir Starmer and Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy leave 10 Downing Street after a meeting in London on 23 June 2025. Photograph: Frank Augstein/APConcerns have been raised over Zelenskyy’s exclusion from the meeting between Trump and Putin, which is scheduled to take place in Alaska.Speaking on Wednesday, Starmer said:
This meeting on Friday that President Trump is attending is hugely important. As I’ve said personally to President Trump for the three-and-a-bit years this conflict has been going on, we haven’t got anywhere near a prospect of actually a viable solution, a viable way of bringing it to a ceasefire.
And now we do have that chance because of the work of that the president has put in.
Starmer is scheduled to meet Zelenskyy at 9.30am.Also today, education secretary Bridget Phillipson has been on the morning media rounds as students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland received their A-level exam results. Phillipson is also expected to visit Trafford College in Altrincham, Greater Manchester. The shadow secretary of state for business and trade Andrew Griffith has been on the morning media rounds for the Conservatives. I’ll bring you any lines from them in a moment.But first, in other developments:
The UK economy grew at a faster rate than expected in the second quarter, official figures show, despite a slowdown from a strong start to the year amid pressure from tax increases and Donald Trump’s global trade war. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed growth in gross domestic product (GDP) slowed to 0.3% in the three months to the end of June, down from a rate of 0.7% in the first quarter.
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Rachel Reeves has promised to use her autumn budget to prioritise fixing Britain’s dismal record on productivity as she sought to downplay mounting tax speculation with a focus on economic growth. Writing exclusively for the Guardian, she said: “If Labour’s first year in power was about fixing the foundations, then the second year is about building a stronger economy for a renewed Britain.”
David Lammy has referred himself to the environment watchdog after going fishing with JD Vance without the required licence during the US vice-president’s trip to the UK. The foreign secretary hosted Vance and his family at Chevening House in Kent last week, where the pair fished from the property’s private lake. Anglers aged 13 and over must hold a rod licence to fish for freshwater species such as carp in England and Wales.
The Scottish Greens have to broaden their appeal beyond middle-class urbanites by talking to voters in industrial towns facing wholesale job losses, a Green leadership candidate says. Gillian Mackay is one of four Scottish Greens bidding to win two co-leader posts after Patrick Harvie, the UK’s longest-serving party leader, quit as co-convener earlier this year.
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