No more excuses for Israel on Gaza, says Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer has warned Israel there can be “no more excuses”, demanding that more aid is allowed into Gaza.
The Prime Minister said there must be an “immediate ceasefire” as he delivered his first speech to the UN General Assembly in New York.
He also warned Israel against a potential invasion of Lebanon and described the Middle East as a region “at the brink” of war.
In a separate round of interviews Sir Keir said the situation was deteriorating “hour on hour” and urged all Britons still in Lebanon to leave.
He did not rule out deploying troops on the ground to evacuate stranded citizens if necessary after sending 700 extra soldiers to Cyprus.
Addressing the UN, the Prime Minister said: “We must face up to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza that continues to deepen by the day.
“Israel must grant humanitarian access to civilians in line with its obligations under international humanitarian law.  There can be no more excuses.
“Israel must open more crossings, allow vital, life-saving aid to flow and provide a safe environment for the UN and other humanitarian organisations to operate.”
Sir Keir described the civilian suffering in Gaza as “beyond belief” and said the fighting must “stop” immediately to allow more aid in.
He also said that the UN Security Council must come up with a long-term plan to “break repeating cycles of violence” in the Middle East.
His comments represent some of his toughest rhetoric towards Israel’s actions to date as tensions continue to mount in the region.
Israel has begun calling up reserve troops to send to its northern front as fears mount over a potential ground invasion of Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces said it would call up two reserve brigades – which could consist of 6,000 to 10,000 troops – for “operational missions” in the north.
“This will enable the continuation of combat against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation,” the IDF said, without specifying further.
Sir Keir warned Israel against any potential invasion of Lebanon, which is the base for the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah. Hezbollah has launched regular rocket attacks over the border into Northern Israel and beyond, which Israel has responded to with air strikes.
Lebanese officials say some 600 people have been killed, almost two thousand wounded and tens of thousands forced to leave their homes as a result.
The Prime Minister said: “The region is at the brink. We need an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese Hizballah and the implementation of a political plan which allows Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return to their homes to live in peace and security.
“That security will come through diplomacy – not escalation. There is no military solution here. Nor is there a military-only solution to the conflict in Gaza.
“This Council must demand – again, an immediate, full and complete ceasefire in Gaza with the release of all the hostages.”
There are believed to be around 10,000 British citizens in Lebanon and officials have warned efforts to evacuate them would be fraught with danger.
Sir Keir also used the UN Security Council meeting to confront fellow permanent member Russia over its illegal invasion of Ukraine.
In some of his most strident comments to date the Prime Minister accused Vladimir Putin of sending millions of Russian soldiers into a “meat grinder”.
He also accused Moscow of conducting the “kidnapping” of 20,000 Ukrainian children who have been forcibly deported to Russia.
“Six hundred thousand Russian soldiers have also been killed or wounded in this war. And for what?” the Prime Minister said.
“The UN Charter – which they sit here to uphold speaks of human dignity. Not treating your own citizens as bits of meat to fling into the grinder.
“There can be no equivocation here. There must be accountability. Aggression cannot pay.  Borders cannot be redrawn by force.
“Russia started this illegal war. It must end it – and get out of Ukraine.”
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Sir Keir Starmer has said it is “not right” to say that language he is using is talking the country down.
The Prime Minister told the BBC he thinks the NHS is “broken but not beaten” and it is not “going gangbusters”.
Asked by the BBC if he thought his language in recent weeks “talks the country down”, he said “that’s not right”.
“We have to have an accurate diagnosis of what the problem is and then our job is to say what are we going to do about it? Short term, difficult decisions,” he said.
“But what I was setting out yesterday is, as it were, the purpose behind it, and trying to answer that question which is important, what do we get for it?
“And making it clear that the purpose of the difficult decisions is to make sure we grow the economy, living standards, everyone better off, our public services back properly functioning, an NHS that’s on its feet fit for the future.”
Sir Keir Starmer’s address to the United Nations has now finished.
Sir Keir Starmer has told Russia to “get out of Ukraine”.
The Prime Minister told the UN: “Now the world looks on as Russia deepens its military ties, with the likes of North Korea and Iran. So there can be no equivocation here.
“There must be accountability. Aggression cannot pay.  Borders cannot be redrawn by force.
“Russia started this illegal war. It must end it – and get out of Ukraine.”
Sir Keir Starmer has called for an “immediate ceasefire” between Israel and Hezbollah.
“I call on the Security Council to seek political solutions that can break repeating cycles of violence like that in the Middle East,” he said at the UN general assembly.
“The region is at the brink. We need an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese Hizballah and the implementation of a political plan which allows Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return to their homes to live in peace and security.
“That security will come through diplomacy – not escalation. There is no military solution here. Nor is there a military-only solution to the conflict in Gaza.
“This Council must demand – again, an immediate, full and complete ceasefire in Gaza with the release of all the hostages.”
Sir Keir Starmer has warned Israel there can be “no more excuses” and demanded that more aid is allowed into Gaza. 
Addressing the UN, the Prime Minister said: “We must face up to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza that continues to deepen by the day.
“Israel must grant humanitarian access to civilians in line with its obligations under international humanitarian law.  There can be no more excuses.
“Israel must open more crossings, allow vital, life-saving aid to flow and provide a safe environment for the UN and other humanitarian organisations to operate.”
Sir Keir described the civilian suffering in Gaza as “beyond belief” and said the fighting must “stop” immediately to allow more aid in.
Sir Keir Starmer has started his address at the UN.
Sir Keir Starmer has said he has “human explanations” for accepting £100,000 worth of gifts from donors.
Asked about the thousands of pounds of clothes and glasses he received from Lord Alli, he told Sky News: “In the general election campaign, we’re busy.
“Lots of people want to help and in this particular instance, well, ‘I can help with sorting out some clothes’.
“In opposition that’s one thing. What I would say now is I won’t be doing donations for clothes again. There won’t be any declarations like that.”
Sue Gray’s salary should not be “the subject of public debate”, Sir Keir Starmer has insisted.
The Prime Minister defended his chief of staff after it emerged that she is paid £170,000 a year, which is £3,000 more than he is. 
He told the BBC: “I’m not going to discuss individual members of staff, whoever they are. 
“I don’t believe that my staff should be the subject of public debate like this, and I’m not going to play any part in it.”
Sir Keir Starmer has arrived to speak at the United Nations Security Council accompanied by Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
National security adviser Sir Tim Barrow and British ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward were among the officials alongside Sir Keir.
The Prime Minister was sat between representatives from Switzerland and the US in the Security Council chamber in New York.
Four-fifths of the public believe politicians should not be able to accept gifts like clothes and concert tickets, a survey has found.
A YouGov poll of 3,830 adults found that 80 per cent think rules should not allow such donations.
Keir Starmer has said he hasn’t done anything wrong in the Labour donations row because he didn’t break any rulesBut 51% of Britons say senior Labour figures were wrong to take such donations, even though they were within the rulesAnother 29% say it was ok because the rules… pic.twitter.com/tLORcmJFyV
Sir Keir Starmer is set to address the United Nations general assembly in New York at 5pm.
The Environment Secretary accepted almost £2,000 in tickets and hospitality for a football match from bosses linked to a polluting water company, reports Environment Editor Emma Gatten.
Steve Reed, the MP for Streatham and Croydon North, attended a Chelsea versus Crystal Palace football match at the invitation of Hutchison 3G UK Limited, which is ultimately wholly owned by CK Hutchison Holdings.
CK Hutchison Holdings owns 75 per cent of Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings, the owner of Northumbrian Water.
The match took place in December 2023, three months after Mr Reed was made the shadow environment secretary, with tickets and hospitality valued at £1,786, according to the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
Read the full story here.
A Labour minister has claimed that cuts to the winter fuel allowance will actually relieve poverty among pensioners.
Stephen Timms, a junior minister at the Department for Work and Pensions, told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme that the decision would encourage pensioners to claim pension credit.
“The chancellor has made decisions which need to be made to sort out the very serious problems in the Government finances which we’ve been left with,” he said.
“And I’m hoping that, over time, this measure will actually reduce pensioner poverty by increasing the take-up of pension credit.
“We have seen quite a big boost in the number of people applying for pension credit over the last few weeks, and I think that is likely to continue.”
According to the latest government figures, only 63 per cent of pensioners who are eligible for pension credit claim it.
Sir Keir Starmer has urged Britons to flee Lebanon “immediately” as he arrived at the United Nations general assembly.
The Prime Minister repeated a call he first made on Tuesday night as he said: “I’m calling for all parties to step back from the brink, to de-escalate. We need a ceasefire so this can be sorted out diplomatically.
“But I have a very important message for British nationals in Lebanon which is: the time to leave is now. The contingency plans are being ramped up but don’t wait for those, there are still commercial flights.
“It’s very important that they hear my message, which is to leave and to leave immediately.”
Sir Keir Starmer has been dealt a humiliating blow on the final day of the Labour Party conference as delegates voted to oppose the Government’s winter fuel raid, reports Political Correspondent Amy Gibbons.
The revolt, led by trade unions, will pile pressure on the Chancellor to reverse the cut affecting millions of pensioners in next month’s Budget.
The vote is non-binding, meaning that the Government is not obliged to change the policy.
However, the rebuke over one of the first financial decisions taken by Labour in office is an embarrassment for No 10.
The motion, calling on the Government to “reverse the introduction of means-testing for the winter fuel allowance”, was passed by delegates as business wrapped up on Wednesday.
Read the full story here.
Tim Sigsworth here, taking over from my colleague Dominic Penna for the rest of the day.
Male rapists and sex offenders will not be formally recorded as female if they claim to identity as a woman, Scottish police chiefs have insisted, in a “major U-turn”.
In a letter to Holyrood’s justice committee on Wednesday, Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs said MSPs could be “absolutely assured” that male sexual predators would always be identified as men on police systems.
However, the force was accused of “institutional gaslighting” after suggesting this had been its policy all along, contradicting previous public statements stating that suspects who say they identify as female would be able to self-identify as women.
As recently as March, Police Scotland stated that the sex or gender identification of anyone who comes “into contact” with the force would be based “on how they present or how they self-declare”.
Daniel Sanderson has the full story
Rail workers have voted overwhelmingly to accept pay offers from train companies and Network Rail, the RMT union has announced.
The veteran Labour MP, who is already proving to be a serial rebel against Sir Keir Starmer, weighs in:
I hope that, even at this late stage, the leadership listens to ordinary Labour Party members. https://t.co/xQZKT8Yhqq
Damian Hinds, the shadow education secretary, has criticised his counterpart Bridget Phillipson’s Labour conference speech.
“In government, the Conservatives had a relentless focus on giving every child the best start in life,” Mr Hinds said.
“We launched the largest ever expansion of childcare, recruited 27,000 teachers, drove up school standards with children in England named the best in the West for reading, supported pupils in achieving the best A-level results since 2010, and remain the home to the best universities in Europe.
“Labour’s only answer is an education tax that will disproportionately impact children with SEND and those from military families, adding pressure to state schools with bigger class sizes and reducing parent choice.”
Michael Gove has been appointed as editor of The Spectator magazine after its takeover by GB News co-owner Sir Paul Marshall, The Telegraph’s Gordon Rayner can reveal.
The controversial former Cabinet minister will begin his new job on Oct 8, just over three months after he stood down as an MP.
It means he will be at the helm of the magazine known as the “Tory Bible” as the Conservative Party leadership election reaches its climax.
He will take over from Fraser Nelson, who has achieved record print circulation figures during his 15 years in the job as well as making a success of its digital subscription strategy.
Read the full story here
The Telegraph understands Sue Gray has joined Sir Keir Starmer for his trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, writes Ben Riley-Smith.
The Downing Street chief of staff, who has been the focus of intense media coverage in the last week amid signs of splits in Number 10, had skipped the Labour conference in Liverpool. 
Her presence suggests – as Cabinet ministers have been arguing publicly and privately all week – that she will continue in the job despite continued loose speculation about her future. 
Ms Gray’s presence on the foreign trip matches her approach since taking the job after the general election victory in July. 
She was also by Sir Keir’s side for his Nato summit trip days after he became Prime Minister and at the European Political Community (EPC) gathering at Blenheim Palace.
Party conference season is in full swing. This time last year Rishi Sunak had announced the scrapping of the Manchester leg of HS2, while being in Manchester himself for Conference, writes Dia Chakravarty.
I noticed the subject did not earn a mention in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s speech at the Labour Party Conference on Monday. The political agenda has moved on but taxpayers, alas, continue to pick up the bill.
As of 2023, HS2 had cost taxpayers £27 billion, successive administrations presiding over an infrastructure project with a scandalously weak business case.
There is no shortage of schemes demonstrating the shocking lack of efficiency, foresight and accountability with which the government handles taxpayers’ money. However, it is a rare venture that can rival the unmitigated disaster which has been the delivery of HS2.
Dia Chakravarty: The shocking waste of HS2
Even Labour disagree with Labour. https://t.co/ncpibh8oVi
Labour MPs Rachael Maskell and Rosie Duffield have posted near-identical statements in support of keeping the winter fuel allowance.
Ms Duffield wrote: “I’m glad that Labour Party Conference and CWU have voted to keep the winter fuel allowance.
“Our party was created to protect the most vulnerable, and today it has determined that it must never step back from that mandate.
“I trust the Government can now keep our pensioners safe.”
No, the winter fuel rebellion on the floor of the Labour conference will not necessarily change policy. The vote outcome is not binding on Sir Keir Starmer and his Cabinet, writes Ben Riley-Smith.
There has been every sign throughout the last week from Sir Keir, his chancellor Rachel Reeves and their allies behind the scenes that they will plough ahead with the policy.
But that does not get away from the reality: That this vote defeat is an embarrassment for Number 10. A formal rejection from Labour conference of one of its first financial policy decisions in office.
It was not a surprise. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) backed a similar position a fortnight ago and half the Labour conference delegates are linked to unions. Sir Keir’s team was expecting defeat. 
But it carries a symbolic sting for a new government still trying to grip the media narrative. This amounts to two fingers raised by the Labour grassroots to a key spending policy. It does not bode well for how more difficult decisions in next month’s Budget will land with the Labour base. 
This vote will ensure the backlash over the winter fuel payment cut makes the headlines again today, and is further cemented in the collective memory of the electorate. 
Labour conference has come to an end for another year here in Liverpool.
Delegates are taking part in a traditional rendition of the socialist song The Red Flag, which will be followed by Jerusalem.
A Conservative Party source said: “Starmer has lost support of the Labour Party, his MPs and paymasters.”
Sir Keir Starmer has been dealt a humiliating blow on the final day of the Labour conference as delegates voted to oppose the Government’s winter fuel raid, writes Amy Gibbons.
The revolt led by trade unions will pile pressure on the Chancellor to reverse the cut affecting millions of pensioners at next month’s Budget.
The vote is non-binding, meaning the Government is not obliged to change the policy.
However, the rebuke from conference over one of the first financial decisions taken by Labour in office is an embarrassment for No 10.
There was some confusion over whether the motion had carried, as the vote looked extremely close, but the chair of the panel confirmed it had passed.
Labour members have voted against Sir Keir Starmer’s winter fuel cuts as the party’s annual conference ended in embarrassment for the Prime Minister.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) teamed up with Unite to push a motion in Liverpool opposing the removal of the payments from 10 million retirees.
Unions were left infuriated after Sir Keir’s allies rescheduled the vote from Monday.
The motion was carried based on the rules of the party and it comes as a blow to the Prime Minister, who headed straight to New York after his conference speech so was not there for the ballot.
There are boos and heckles from the conference floor as the tension rises in the hall ahead of the winter fuel payments vote.
Whoops and cheers rang out from the conference floor as union boss Sharon Graham took to the stage to present the winter fuel motion, writes Amy Gibbons.
Her criticism of the cut was met with loud applause from delegates, with many giving her a standing ovation.
Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary, said the 1945 Labour manifesto had “no mention of cuts, no mention of austerity and certainly no mention of making everyday people poorer”.
“Labour knew then that to make Britain more equal, they had to act and think differently.
“They knew to make it count and they knew to make a better difference. Labour could not simply be better managers, they had to make lasting change.
“They promised jobs, they promised homes and they built a National Health Service on the back of crisis. There wasn’t a story of tightening belts or making some of the poorest in our society pay. Friends, people certainly do not understand and I do not understand how our new Labour Government can cut the winter fuel allowance for pensioners and leave the super-rich untouched.
“This is not what people voted for. It’s the wrong decision and it needs to be reversed… Yes, the Tories have left a mess and yes, they are to blame. But Labour is now in Government, and we can’t keep making everyday people pay.”
The Prime Minister said that he had to accept free tickets to Arsenal football matches so that he can keep attending games with his son, writes Genevieve Holl-Allen.
He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “I’ve bought season tickets in the stand at Arsenal and I’ve had them a long time and I go with my boy who’s 16.
“As a result of security I can’t go in the stand anymore, so Arsenal football club have said, ‘be our guest in the director’s box if and when you can get to a match’.”
Sir Keir Starmer refused four times to apologise to pensioners over Labour’s winter fuel allowance cuts.
In an interview with Good Morning Britain, the Prime Minister repeatedly refused to say sorry, instead blaming the Conservatives’ economic record and a £22 billion black hole:
‘Would you like to take this opportunity to say sorry?’Sir Keir Starmer refuses four times to apologise to pensioners for cutting winter fuel payments.@susannareid100 #GMB pic.twitter.com/rLOpj2BF0D
The winter fuel motion to be voted on today warns that Labour must not be bound by an “economic dogma” that “asks working people and pensioners to bear the brunt of cuts”, writes Amy Gibbons.
The final wording, as set out in today’s order paper, also urges the Chancellor to tax wealth rather than slashing benefits.
It states: “Conference recognises that a new economic settlement is needed to rebuild our country in the interest of working people.
“A Labour government cannot be held back by an economic dogma that restricts real investment and asks working people and pensioners to bear the brunt of cuts while wealth accumulates at the top of society.”
Bridget Phillipson has defended the Government’s private education tax raid, which takes effect in January.
“Today the curriculum and assessment review begins a national conversation to ensure that a rich and broad education, the experience every parent wants for their children, is the experience of the many, not the privilege of the few,” the Education Secretary said.
“In less than 100 days we will end private schools’ tax breaks, to drive high and rising standards for the nine in 10 children who go to our state schools.
Bridget Phillipson said: “We know the Tories love a one-word judgment, but I have two: ‘Never again’.”
Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, told conference attendees: “Life should not come down to luck. It can never be enough that a system that’s supposed to serve so many works only for a lucky few.
“It will never be enough for some of us to defy the odds to succeed when the promise of opportunity must belong to all of us.
“We have to change the odds so that success belongs to each and every child in each and every school in every corner of our country.”
Ms Phillipson said the Tories had left Britain with a broken childcare system and teachers leaving “in their droves”.
Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, said it was the “honour of my life” to be addressing Labour’s annual conference in her Government post.
“As a Labour Government, we see education as so much more than what happens in the classroom.
“It is about children, and it is about their opportunities. Opportunity not just for some of our children, but for all of our children.
“A vision of education centred not simply on schools or nurseries, knowledge or skills, university or college, but on our young people and their chance to achieve and thrive, to succeed and flourish.”
Ms Phillipson said she grew up under the previous Labour government when hundreds of thousands of children were lifted out of poverty thanks to “a Labour government transforming lives and life chances”. 
Britain’s economic growth forecasts have been revised up sharply ahead of the Budget next month, potentially easing fiscal pressures on Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has increased its forecast for UK GDP growth in 2024 from 0.4pc to 1.1pc, which is the biggest upgrade of any country in the G7.
This momentum will continue into the following year, the OECD said, with a forecast of 1.2pc growth in 2025. This is up from an earlier prediction of 1pc growth made back in May.
Melissa Lawford has more here
A motion urging the Government to reverse its winter fuel raid will be the second to last item voted on at this year’s Labour conference, reports Amy Gibbons from the main hall here in Liverpool.
Unions have complained that the vote has been shifted to the “graveyard slot” on Wednesday, a move that some suspect was pushed by No 10 to dampen a potentially humiliating defeat.
The motion, proposed by Unite, one of Labour’s biggest donor unions, urges the Government to “reverse the introduction of means-testing for the winter fuel allowance”.
It also calls for a wealth tax on the top one per cent of earners.
Don’t kill the NHS with kindness, Wes Streeting has said, as he defended calling the NHS “broken”, writes our Health Editor Laura Donnelly.
Insisting the health service must “reform or die” the Health Secretary said it could not be turned around without hearing hard truths,
In his speech to the Labour party conference, he said: “I know the doctor’s diagnosis can sometimes be hard to hear. But if you don’t have an accurate diagnosis, you won’t provide the correct prescription. And when you put protecting the reputation of the NHS above protecting patients, you’re not helping the NHS – you’re killing it with kindness.  
“So I say respectfully, but unequivocally, I won’t back down.  
“The NHS is broken but not beaten, and together we will turn it around.”
Unite’s Sharon Graham at Labour conference leading chants of ‘save the winter fuel’ ahead a vote on the issue this morning.📹@ianvogler pic.twitter.com/xtIWZmbcyn
Wes Streeting said it was “easy to be pessimistic” about the state of Britain.
“The public have turned to us to give them hope, so here it is,” he said.
“We are in the foothills of a decade of national renewal, 10 years in which our country and our health and care services will change enormously.
“The NHS transformed into a neighbourhood health service, a digital health service, powered by cutting-edge technology. A preventative technology, that helps us stay healthy and out of hospital. And a new National Care Service ensuring people can live dignified and fulfilling lives. That’s the change that lies before us.
“It will take time, and it won’t be easy. We will have to fight loud opposition, cynicism and vested interests, but conference, bring it on. It’s up to us.”
Wes Streeting said Labour would “reform the NHS to make it fairer”.
“When the wealthy receive a diagnosis, they already know the best surgeons and can push to get the best care. But working people can’t. If the wealthy are told to wait months for treatment, they can shop around, but working people can’t.
“And if they pay top dollar, the wealthy can be treated with cutting-edge equipment and technology. Working people can’t.
“Our 10-year plan will give all patients, rich and poor alike, the same information, the same choice, the same control. Now I know there are some on the Left who cringe at this who view choice as somehow akin to marketisation.
“But our party has always believed that power should be in the hands of the many, not the few, that public services exist to serve the patient, the passenger, the pupil, above all else… Starting in the most disadvantaged areas, we will ensure patients’ right to choose where they are treated and we will build up local health services so there’s a genuine choice.”
Reform will win mostly Red Wall seats from Labour if it fails to act on immigration, one of the party’s MPs has said.
The Red Wall is made up of traditional Labour-voting constituencies, almost all of which are in the north of England, which backed Brexit and flipped to the Tories in 2019 but returned to Sir Keir Starmer’s party in July.
Rupert Lowe told GB News: “What we represent is reality for the British people. And I frankly think that whilst nobody condones violence, if Yvette Cooper, Keir Starmer and the other gift receiving Labour Party front bench, ultimately, if they don’t listen to the public…
“The public, quite rightly, is concerned about mass legal and illegal immigration, which is the root cause of all our problems.
“And if they don’t address that, then we will be doing to Labour what we did to the Tories last time, and Red Wall seats will all go to Reform.”
It is a quieter morning here at Labour conference in Liverpool with Sir Keir Starmer having flown to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
In the absence of the Prime Minister, proceedings will be closed out by Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary, and Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary.
The final speech will come from Ellie Reeves, the sister of Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, and chairman of the Labour Party.
NHS waiting lists will be “demonstrably lower” by 2029, the Health Secretary has pledged.
Wes Streeting told Sky News: “By the next general election, waiting lists will be demonstrably lower because I know that’s how I will be judged, how the Prime Minister will be judged, how the government will be judged – people will judge us by our actions, not just our words ultimately.
“Look at what I did as the Health and Social Care Secretary within my first weeks in office: I took action to implement the junk food ad ban targeted kids; took action to employ 1,000 more GPs onto the front lines because they found themselves bizarrely unemployed at the same time as patients are unable to find a GP.
“So that’s making a real impact as those GPs get onto the front line and, of course, took action within three weeks to do something the Conservatives failed to do in 18 months, which was to end the junior doctors dispute.”
Asked for his message to pensioners who have lost their winter fuel allowance, Sir Keir Starmer told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “So what I’m saying is this, that economic stability is the number one, most important first step.
“That that will only happen we deal with £22 billion pound black hole that we will. This was not on the books… I could pretend it’s not there, I could walk past it. In my view, that would risk losing control of the economy.
“By tackling it, we can commit to, among other things, the triple lock… Every pensioner will be better off under a Labour Government.”
The UK restricting some arms sales to Israel does not undermine the country, Sir Keir Starmer has insisted.
Asked about comments by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, Sir Keir told LBC: “No, he’s not right about that. We had to comply with international law and our own domestic law in relation to that.
“And I’ve always been clear, I support Israel’s right to self-defence. I’ve been robust about that. I’ve taken, you know, some blows in relation to that, as you know, so there’s no doubting that support. But of course, it’s got to be done in accordance with international law.”
Sir Keir Starmer defended £11.7 billion being spent in overseas climate aid at the same time as winter fuel allowance cuts are made for 10 million pensioners.
Asked about the contrast, he told LBC’s Nick Ferrari: “Well, because we need to deal with the climate issue that is driving, amongst other things, a huge cost to our country.
“But, Nick, very many pensioners talked to me in the last couple of years, and were very concerned that energy bills have gone through the roof because the last government lost control of energy bills
“I’m not going to let that happen, but the way to stop that happening is to make sure we do what we need to do on renewable energy as fast as we humanly can.”
Wes Streeting said he was up for a “national debate” on banning smoking as he said he wants to see it phased out in Britain.
The Health Secretary told Sky News: “We definitely want to see smoking phased out in our country. We committed to that in our manifesto.
“So we want to make sure this generation of children are the healthiest generation that ever lived, and therefore they will never be able to legally buy cigarettes, and we are looking at a range of other measures to also help.”
Asked about leaked proposals to ban smoking in pub gardens, Mr Streeting said: “Look, that’s one of the measures that I’m considering, and I’m up for a national debate on this issue.
“Because two things I’ll be setting out in my speech today, reform the health service, but also reflect that just because we might be living longer, we’re becoming sicker sooner, and there is a heavy price being paid for that in our economy, our public finances and in our own health throughout our lives.”
Today is the final day of Labour’s annual party conference in Liverpool, with four major speeches still to come:
Sir Keir Starmer suggested he took £20,000 in donations towards accommodation from Labour peer Lord Alli so that his teenage son would not be disturbed while revising for his exams.
The Prime Minister told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “My boy, 16, was in the middle of his GCSEs. I made him a promise, a promise that he would be able to get to his school, do his exams, without being disturbed.
“We have lots of journalists outside our house where we live and I’m not complaining about that, that’s fine. But if you’re a 16-year-old trying to do your GCSEs and it’s your one chance in life…
“I promised him we would move somewhere, get out of the house and go somewhere where he could be peacefully studying. Somebody then offered me accommodation where we could do that. I took that up and it was the right thing to do.”
Wes Streeting said Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, will have to make “other difficult choices” in the coming months after stripping 10 million retirees of the winter fuel allowance.
Mr Streeting told BBC Breakfast: “They weren’t straight with the British people ahead of the general election. They were spending like there was no tomorrow, because I think they were assuming that for the Conservative government, there was no tomorrow.
“So they were spending recklessly, hoping that would carry them through the general election, and now this Labour government is picking up the pieces. That does mean difficult choices, the winter fuel allowance, there’ll be other difficult choices to come too.
“But because the Chancellor has protected the triple lock even after the decision she’s taken on the winter fuel allowance, pensioners will still be better off this winter than they were last winter, and will be better off than ever still because we are determined pensioners’ incomes are aligned with living standards, and that’s the right thing to do.”
Lebanon and Israel must “step back from the brink” as tensions continue to escalate in the Middle East.
“The Government is being unequivocal about this. British citizens in Lebanon need to leave. Now, there are still commercial flights departing, they should put themselves on those flights.
“Our military stands ready to assist with any necessary evacuation. But this is extremely serious, and we’ve been concerned about the escalation between Israel and Lebanon for some time.
“The Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary, the Defence Secretar, have been active over the summer to try and urge both Israel and Lebanon to de-escalate. The Prime Minister is sending a very clear message at the United Nations, we’ve got to step back from the brink.”
Sir Keir Starmer has declared he will not apologise for accepting thousands of pounds in free clothes.
The Prime Minister came under fire after it emerged he had received clothing donations including suits and glasses from Lord Alli, a Labour peer and Sir Keir’s biggest personal donor.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing but the row continues to prove an unwelcome distraction for the Government as Labour’s annual party conference comes to an end in Liverpool.
Asked by LBC’s Nick Ferrari whether he had scored an “own goal”, Sir Keir said: “Well, look, there were no breach of the rules or anything like that. We complied with everything.”
Pressed on whether he would say sorry, he replied: “Look, Nick, I’m not going to apologise for not doing anything wrong. But I am going to recognise that you’re asking me questions, and people have asked us, and I do understand that.”
Dominic Penna here, The Telegraph’s Political Correspondent, guiding you through the fourth and final day of Labour’s annual party conference in Liverpool.
Sir Keir Starmer is now in New York for the General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA) but has taken part in a series of pre-recorded interviews which are playing out this morning.