UK politics live: Priti Patel says four-day week would have ‘devastating impact’ as smoking ban faces backlash

Ireland’s premier is seeking legal advice over trade with Israel.

While noting that international trade policy is an EU competency, Simon Harris said he was writing to Irish Attorney General Rossa Fanning for “fresh legal advice” on the domestic possibilities.

Mr Harris said that “every lever” must be pulled to maximise pressure on the Israeli government to bring forward a cessation of violence in Gaza.

The leaders of Ireland’s three coalition parties decided that the State would not procure any further defence or military equipment and contracts from Israel.

Speaking on Friday, Mr Harris said the action was “appropriate” in line with rulings of the International Court of Justice.

Mr Harris said: “I think it’s really important when an international court makes substantive findings, that those findings are given effect in every way.”

Britain’s new prime minister has struck up a close relationship with Paris and Berlin and needs their help to unpick problems caused by Brexit, says David Maddox. But it is a strategy full of risk...

Scottish Conservative MSP Pam Gosal has resigned as the party’s deputy chairwoman and endorsed leadership candidate Russell Findlay.

The West Scotland MSP wrote in the Scottish Daily Mail on Friday that she is stepping back from the role so she can “fully support the candidate I believe can bring our party together at every level”.

She added: “I’m backing Russell Findlay to unite us, lead us forward and get our party winning again.

“Russell has the support of far more MSPs than other candidates. He’s got the backing of dozens of councillors too. And I know our party members are behind him.”

Mr Findlay – who is contesting the top job against Meghan Gallacher and Murdo Fraser – welcomed her backing.

Keir Starmer faces mounting pressure to resist diluting a planned ban on exploitative zero-hours contracts, despite business leaders warning of potential economic damage if reforms are rushed.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has urged the prime minister to prioritise the ban, highlighting new evidence of financial hardship among millions in insecure work.

Labour’s proposed overhaul of workers’ rights has sparked rension between the new governmnet and businesses.

Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds have reportedly assured employers of a phased approach to the reforms.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves emphasized a commitment to “co-design” policies with businesses, aiming for growth while improving workers’ conditions.

However, TUC general secretary Paul Nowak insisted banning zero-hours contracts is crucial, challenging business leaders to understand the instability faced by those on such contracts.

“I would challenge any business leader or politician to try and survive on a zero-hours contract not knowing from week to week how much work they will have,” he said.

“It’s time to drive up employment standards in this country and to make work pay for everyone. The government’s forthcoming employment rights bill will help create a level playing field – and stop good employers from being undercut by the bad.”

A recent poll showed 84 per cent of zero-hours workers desire regular hours, with many struggling financially due to insufficient work.

Sir Keir Starmer has had a portrait of Margaret Thatcher removed from No 10 Downing Street, according to his biographer.

Tom Baldwin said that the prime minister found the £100,000 painting, which was commissioned by Gordon Brown, “unsettling” – sparking outrage among Conservative MPs.

Speaking at an event organised by Glasgow’s Aye Write book festival, Mr Baldwin said that after Sir Keir took office, they met at No 10 for a private conversation.

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John Swinney’s first party conference since returning as SNP leader is due to begin – with a post-mortem examination into what went wrong in the election campaign.

The SNP dropped to just nine seats in the July 4 poll, its worst return in more than a decade.

The first session of the Edinburgh conference will be a behind-closed-doors meeting led by Mr Swinney that will assess what went wrong in the campaign.

Speaking on Thursday, he described the election as “very difficult” for the party.

“There’s obviously a lesson that we’ve to learn from that, and that would be part of the discussion on Friday morning,” he said.

“What’s important is the SNP focuses on building for the future.

“We’ve got a great track record of serving the people of Scotland, we need to build on that to make sure we make the positive and hopeful case for independence and that will be at the heart of the party conference.”

Over the course of the weekend, speeches from depute leader Keith Brown, Westminster leader Stephen Flynn and Mr Swinney will be punctuated by “policy discussions” with Scottish government ministers including Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson and Finance Secretary Shona Robison.

Mr Robertson will likely face questions from members about the recent controversy surrounding his meeting with the deputy Israeli ambassador.

Asked about smoking on Thursday, Sir Keir told reporters he would “take decisions in this space”, and warned that smoking kills more than 80,000 each year.

“That’s a preventable death,” the prime minister said. “It’s a huge burden on the NHS and, of course, it’s a burden on the taxpayer.” He added: “More details will be revealed.”

Labour’s election-winning 2024 manifesto pledged preventative public health measures, and policy makers said their quest for “longer, healthier lives… starts with smoking”.

The manifesto read: “Labour will ensure the next generation can never legally buy cigarettes and ensure all hospitals integrate ‘opt-out’ smoking cessation interventions into routine care. Labour will ban vapes from being branded and advertised to appeal to children to stop the next generation from becoming hooked on nicotine.”

Setting out their legislative agenda in the King’s Speech in July, ministers promised to table a Tobacco and Vapes Bill to progressively increase the age at which people can buy cigarettes, similar to a Bill of the same name tabled by the previous Conservative administration earlier this year – to ban shopkeepers from selling cigarettes to anybody born in 2009 or later.

Former home secretary James Cleverly has faced criticism after being accused of exacerbating the asylum backlog earlier this year by delaying crucial decisions, The Guardian reports.

Insiders and the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) alleged thar Mr Cleverly’s hesitation led to a significant drop in asylum decisions between March and June, with approvals falling from 24,348 in the first quarter to just 15,965 in the second.

A leaked email from May revealed that senior Home Office officials were awaiting ministerial guidance, diverting staff to other tasks while the key decisions were stalled.

The delay coincided with the introduction of the Illegal Migration Act, which aimed to prevent the processing of many asylum claims after 7 March.

Critics argued that the government’s Rwanda deportation plan and the legal challenges it faced have contributed to a growing “perma-backlog”.

Fran Heathcote, the general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which represents asylum caseworkers, said: “We’re aware of the slowdown in asylum decisions between March and June but this in no way reflects a lack of effort or performance from our members.

“Instead many of our members were diverted on to other workstreams whilst the Illegal Migration Act prevented decisions being made on asylum claims made since March 2023 and the previous government dithered on making the decisions required to unlock these.

“Our members tell us that processing of claims has started to ramp up again since replacement arrangements were introduced in the king’s speech.”