UK politics live: No 10 rejects new accusations over Taylor Swift ticket and police escort row

Foreign secretary David Lammy criticised the “inaction of the Israeli government” for allowing “impunity to flourish” among extremist settlers in the West Bank as the UK announced a fresh wave of sanctions in response to continued violence.

The measures target three outposts and four organisations that have supported and perpetrated “heinous abuses of human rights” against Palestinian communities in the occupied territory, the Cabinet minister said.

Tirzah Valley Farm Outpost, Meitarim Outpost and Shuvi Eretz Outpost are the three settlements targeted in the latest restrictions.

The four organisations sanctioned are Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva, a religious school known to promote violence against non-Jewish people; Hashomer Yosh, a group which provides volunteers for illegal outposts; Torat Lechima, a registered charity which provides financial support to the settlements; and construction company Amana.

There has been a huge rise in settler violence in the West Bank over the last year, with the UN recording more than 1,400 attacks by the illegal settlers since October 2023.

Mr Lammy said: “When I went to the West Bank earlier this year, on one of my first trips as Foreign Secretary, I met with Palestinians whose communities have suffered horrific violence at the hands of Israeli settlers.

“The inaction of the Israeli government has allowed an environment of impunity to flourish where settler violence has been allowed to increase unchecked. Settlers have shockingly even targeted schools and families with young children.”

He said the latest measures will “help bring accountability to those who have supported and perpetrated such heinous abuses of human rights”.

He added: “The Israeli government must crack down on settler violence and stop settler expansion on Palestinian land. As long as violent extremists remain unaccountable, the UK and the international community will continue to act.”

Downing Street has rejected suggestions that Sir Keir Starmer received Taylor Swift tickets as a “thank you” after she was given taxpayer-funded police security while performing in London.

No 10 would not say whether the prime minister was confident that perceptions of a conflict of interest had been avoided but insisted “operational decisions” were “ultimately” up to Scotland Yard and not the Government.

Last week it emerged that London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper were involved in talks around the security for Swift‘s sell-out summer shows at Wembley before the singer was granted a blue-light escort.

The Sun reported that she was given the motorbike convoy on the way to the stadium despite initial police reservations, with her mother Andrea Swift also negotiating arrangements directly with Number 10 aide Sue Gray.

Asked on Tuesday whether it was the Prime Minister’s view that there was no perception of a conflict of interest, his official spokesman said: “Operational decisions are for the Met (Metropolitan Police). That’s the bottom line.”

Downing Street cited the terror threat faced by Swift in Vienna, which had forced her to cancel gigs on the Austria leg of her Eras tour, as one of the reasons the government was involved in security talks round her London shows.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the Budget and spending review would be an “opportunity to put the country on a firmer footing”, but warned there would be “difficult decisions” on spending.

The chancellor told a meeting of Sir Keir Starmer’s Cabinet on Tuesday that a £22bn black hole in the public finances left by the Conservatives needs to be filled just to “keep public services standing still”.

She added that “the scale of inheritance meant there would have to be difficult decisions on spending, welfare and tax - and that the long-term priority had to be unlocking private sector investment to drive economic growth”.

She warned that the government would be unable to “turn around 14 years of decline in one year or one Budget” but that it would deliver on priorities to “protect working people, fix the NHS and rebuild Britain”.

Sir Keir Starmer has been warned that any increase to employers’ national insurance contributions in the upcoming Budget could mean lower wages for workers.

Helen Miller, deputy director and head of tax at the IFS said that any increase to employers’ national insurance contributions could be passed onto workers.

She said: “Lots of questions about Employer NICs today. They are a tax on the earnings of working people. In the long run, expect the majority of a rise in employer NICs to be passed on to workers in the form of lower wages.”

David Cameron has hit back at the claim he threatened to “f***” Boris Johnson up forever if he backed Brexit in the 2016 referendum, saying he finds it “hard to believe”.

Lord Cameron channelled the late Queen Elizabeth II in saying “recollections differ” after Mr Johnson had claimed those were his “exact words”.

Speaking out for the first time since Mr Johnson made the explosive claim, Lord Cameron said: “I find that hard to believe.”

Former Bank of England governor Mervyn King has made a dramatic intervention warning Rachel Reeves that she must raise national insurance in her Budget on 30 October.

According to the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS), the chancellor has an estimated £25bn black hole to fill in order to meet Labour’s spending commitments.

But in an open letter published in The Independent, Lord King warns her against higher borrowing.

Our political editor David Maddox reports

Unemployed people will be given weight-loss jabs to assist them back into work in a trial.

The UK’s life sciences sector will receive £279 million from drugs giant Eli Lilly, to invest in developing new medicines and ways to deliver treatment.

Amanda Pritchard, Chief Executive of the NHS praised weight-loss drugs as “game-changers” in supporting people to reduce their risk of life-threatening conditions.

Jabed Ahmed reports