BoE interest rates decision coming as Kemi Badenoch ‘planned’ to use taxpayer money for holiday flights – UK politics live

Lord Frost has warned Labour will be in a “weak position from the start” if it “falls for” Brussels’ negotiating “playbook” during negotiations with the EU.

According to the Financial Times, the European Commission is urging the UK to fulfill eight demands to discuss Brexit trade agreements.

But Lord Frost said the government must not accept the demands.

The former Brexit minister tweeted this morning: “If Labour falls for this they will be [in] a weak position right from the start. It’s the standard Commission playbook: ‘we can’t talk about subject B till you have satisfied us on subject A’.

“You then only satisfy them on A by a series of concessions, which the British side is all too willing to make anyway to ‘win goodwill’.

“Of course it’s all too likely Labour don’t mind being in a weak position because they already intend to make concessions.”

The Bank of England is set to make a knife-edge call on interest rates.

The decision is expected to be announced today at 12 noon.

Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell, said today’s announcement will be more “symbolic than substantial”.

“A rate cut marks an entry into a new phase of interest rate policy, but at street level the reality is financial conditions won’t change much,” he said.

“Especially for the horde of people who will be rolling off cheap fixed-rate mortgages this year and encountering a new and bracing financial reality.”

Loose Haigh has blocked one of her cabinet colleagues as he “keeps sending her complaints about the poor catering on the trains and planes he travels on”, GB News reported.

A column in the Daily Telegraph by GB News’ Chris Hope did not name the minister.

But Ms Haigh has now revealed it was energy minister Ed Milliband.

Reform MP Lee Anderson has claimed Labour is planning to “hit the poorest” with tax rises.

The right-wing politician told GB News: “You know what is coming. They are going to hit the poorest.

“All they have done in their first three weeks of government is attack our pensioners who have put a shift in for the past 50 years. It is an absolute disgrace.”

Reform UK MP Lee Anderson has accused the Labour government of telling voters a “complete pack of lies” on whether it will increase taxes during the general election.

It comes as Rachel Reeves admitted some taxes will go up but ruled out income tax, National Insurance or VAT.

But the MP for Ashfield has slammed the party over the government’s plan to plug £22billion black hole in public finances.

Mr Anderson told GB News: “It is just a pack of lies. They have had 14 years to get ready for government. They have been banging on for the last 14 years about the austerity, about the taxation system, we have got the highest tax since the Second World War.

“Listen, three weeks after being elected what have they done? They have taken £400 off pensioners for the winter fuel allowance, they have reneged on the £300 saving on people’s energy bills, they have given billions away to foreign countries for this lunacy, this net zero journey.

“They have just told the public a complete pack of lies.”

Some of the UK’s biggest banks and telecoms firms have committed to sharing data to combat fraud while urging the Government to make the “terrible crime” a national priority.

The coalition, led by consumer group Which? and including Barclays, BT, Mobile UK, Nationwide, NatWest, Starling, Three UK, UK Finance, Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone, is calling on ministers to provide the leadership to ensure more businesses can better share intelligence to detect fraud and protect their customers.

It said sharing intelligence is key to getting ahead of organised crime groups that “blight the lives of so many consumers”.

Fraud accounts for around 40% of all crime in England and Wales, and figures from UK Finance revealed that criminals stole more than £1 billion through unauthorised and authorised fraud last year.

The group said it is concerned that individual companies, law enforcement agencies and Government are not working collaboratively enough to share information on how fraudsters can exploit gaps in their systems – which allows scammers to deploy the same tactics consistently across multiple channels.

Lisa Nandy has called an urgent meeting with BBC boss Tim Davie following the Huw Edwards scandal.

The former TV newsreader pleaded guilty on Wednesday to three charges of making indecent photographs of children, after he was sent 41 illegal images by convicted paedophile Alex Williams, with seven being of the most serious type.

After the court appearance yesterday, the BBC revealed that it was made aware in November that Edwards had been arrested on suspicion of “serious offences”.

The corporation said: “If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him.”

You can follow the latest updates on Huw Edwards here:

Former security minister Stephen McPartland has suggested Russia could be behind a social media misinformation campaign which led to appalling scenes in Southport on Tuesday night as protesters rioted.

It comes as sources in the Home Office have told The Independent that an investigation is being carried out on the origin of social media posts which fuelled the angry disturbance in the town. Security sources have pointed out that both China and Russia have large teams and networks working on disinformation campaigns which fuel social division and violence in the UK and other Western democracies.

The riot came after a vigil for the children who were attacked by a 17-year-old in the seaside resort. Three girls who were at a Taylor Swift holiday dance club – Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine – lost their lives, while five children and two adults are still in critical condition.

Our political editor David Maddox has the full story:

Far-right demonstrators threw flares towards Downing Street and a statue of Winston Churchill as they clashed with riot police in London.

A few hundred protesters joined the “Enough is Enough” demonstration in Whitehall on Wednesday evening in the wake of the tragic knife attack in which three children were killed and eight others were injured in Southport.

More than 100 people were arrested at the demonstration, where the crowd was heard chanting “Rule Britannia” and “we want our country back”.

Protesters hurl bricks and bottles at police in Southport in ugly scenes.