UK politics – live: Starmer and Sunak face off in first PMQs since recess as ‘state pension to rise £400’

Mr Sunak retorts that his government delivered lower inflation and the quickest economic growth out of any of the G7. Mr Starmer reiterates that they’ve had to make the “tough decisions” on the economy due to the inheritance they have received.

Former prime minister Mr Sunak has begun by questioning Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to cut winter fuel allowance for some pensioners and at the same time offer pay rises to train drivers.

The prime minister retorts that the government has had to make tough decisions to plug a £22bn financial black hole left by the Conservative Party.

Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak face off in PMQs

Nadhim Zahawi is facing a growing backlash after sharing a photograph on X of a homeless person sleeping on the pavement in Mayfair.

The former Tory chairman, who was sacked over an HMRC probe into his tax affairs, posted the picture alongside the caption: “This is now in Mayfair, just walked passed [sic]. what is going on?

“Mayor of London, this can’t be right.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the residents of Grenfell Tower “paid a price for systemic dishonesty, corporate greed and institutional indifference and neglect”.

He said firms held responsible by the inquiry should be banned from receiving public contracts, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) should look into bringing criminal cases.

Mr Khan said: “The Grenfell Tower fire isn’t just a heart-breaking tragedy, it’s a horrific injustice and a national disgrace. That the lives of 72 Londoners were stolen from us in such circumstances is a moral outrage.

“The inquiry makes clear in stark terms that all these deaths were entirely avoidable, and that the residents of Grenfell Tower have paid the price for systematic dishonesty, corporate greed and institutional indifference and neglect.”

He said “profit has been put before people” which “isn’t just shameful, it’s utterly indefensible”.

Mr Khan added that “more must now be done to hold those responsible to account, including banning any of the companies held responsible by the inquiry from receiving any public contracts as the police and CPS look into bringing criminal prosecutions”.

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said the report from Sir Martin Moore-Bick’s Grenfell Tower inquiry identified “substantial and widespread failings”.

He said: “My thoughts today are wholly with those bereaved by, and survivors of, the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the residents in the immediate community. This day is for them.

“I hope that Sir Martin’s report can provide the truth they have sought for so long, and that it is step towards the accountability and justice they deserve.”

In a statement to Parliament, Sir Keir said: “The Government will carefully consider the report and its recommendations, to ensure that such a tragedy cannot occur again.

“I hope that those outside Government will do the same.

“Given the detailed and extensive nature of the report, a further and more in-depth debate will be held at a later date,” he added.

The tragic fire at Grenfell Tower that claimed the lives of 72 people was the culmination of decades of failure by successive governments and the construction industry, the damning final report has found.

The west London tower block was covered in combustible products because of the “systematic dishonesty” of firms who made and sold the cladding and insulation, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said on Wednesday.

He called out “deliberate and sustained” manipulation of fire-safety testing, misrepresentation of test data and misleading of the market.

Labour is set to raise the state pension by more than £400 a year, according to reports.

The Treasury’s internal working calculations show that the full state pension could increase due to the triple lock, as reported by the BBC.

The changes would mean the full state pension raises to £12,000 next year, after the £900 increase this year.

Any final decision on the increase will be made by pensions secretary Liz Kendall, prior to the Budget on 30 October.

The proposed increase comes as chancellor Rachel Reeves is facing a backlash from Labour MPs for cuts to the winter fuel allowance.

The Independent has contacted the Treasury for comment.

Nadhim Zahawi has defended tweeting a picture of a homeless person on the streets of Mayfair, London.

The former chancellor appeared on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday (4 September) and was confronted about the tweet, with many describing it as “tone-deaf”.

Mr Zahawi said: “I walk all over London. It could have been on Victoria Street and had the same thing happening. I am outraged at the human tragedy.

“It doesn’t matter if it is Mayfair, I was just trying to point it out to try and get people to help that individual.”

Around 200 migrants tried to leave French shores for the UK on Wednesday – the day after 12 people died trying to make the journey, according to a Calais charity worker

Angele Vettorello, co-ordinator at Utopia 56, said: “The crossings, it’s not going to stop.

“Even this morning we saw more than 200 people trying to cross and have been stopped (by police).

“We see it every month… every death at the border, the people don’t stop crossing.”

She said a lot of police were at the shore, with interventions made during the night and into the morning.

Ms Vettorello added this summer there has been a “huge increase” in people dying in the Channel, and the last week was “really busy” for crossings.

“We know a lot of people who were stopped to cross and were back to shore during those seven days.

“We received calls from people in distress in boats in the Channel, we received for example eight calls from eight different boats on Friday.”