Simon Dudley fired after his comments were condemned by prime minister and families of fire victims

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Reform UK’s housing spokesperson has been sacked from his role after he described the Grenfell Tower fire as a “tragedy” but said that “everyone dies in the end”.

Keir Starmer had called on Nigel Farage to sack Simon Dudley, a former head of Homes England, after comments which were condemned by Grenfell families and others.

Head of committee says it was appropriate for government to seek guidance on way out of £330m deal with US data company

Claims by Palantir that concerns over the US data analytics company’s multimillion-pound NHS contract are “ideologically motivated” have been rejected by the chair of a parliamentary committee.

It was also appropriate for the government to seek guidance on activating a break contract in the deal, said Chi Onwurah, a Labour MP who heads the science, innovation and technology select committee.

PM to focus on European defence and economic partnership for ‘dangerous world’, in pivot away from US

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The UK will seek an even deeper partnership with the EU because of the instability wreaked by Donald Trump’s war with Iran, Keir Starmer has said, adding that the moment called for a more ambitious deal with Brussels to strengthen trade and defence.

His comments came as the US president again said he was considering pulling the US out of Nato, which he described as a “paper tiger”. Trump has frequently lambasted the UK and European nations for failing to support the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, and criticised their militaries.

Nearly a quarter of voters cite Reform leader’s support for US president as main reason against voting for his party

By day 31 of the war in the Middle East, Nigel Farage had become somewhat less vocal about the closeness of his relationship with Donald Trump.

“Trying to read what’s really in the minds of people in the White House right at the moment is a mug’s game,” said the MP, as he unveiled his party’s latest “pledge” to cut the cost of living on Tuesday.

Visit with Camilla to go ahead in late April despite calls for delay over conflict and Trump-Starmer tensions

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King Charles will go ahead with a state visit to the US in April, Buckingham Palace has confirmed, despite some politicians saying the trip will be a “humiliation” while Donald Trump’s war with Iran is ongoing.

MPs have privately expressed concerns there is potential to embarrass the king if the US president continues his criticisms of the UK’s armed forces before or during the trip.

Exclusive: Reform UK will be ‘steering well clear’ of CPAC event in July, source says, as will senior Tories

Nigel Farage will snub a major conference of US conservatives that is being brought to the UK by Liz Truss.

The short-lived former prime minister, who was accused of crashing the economy, was chosen by the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) to lead a version of the event in the UK in July.

Louis Mosley says government should resist calls to trigger break clause in £330m deal with US analytics company

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Palantir’s UK boss has urged the government not to give in to “ideologically motivated campaigners” as government ministers explore a way out of a £330m NHS contract with the tech company.

Ministers have sought advice on triggering a break clause in Palantir’s deal to deliver the Federated Data Platform (FDP), amid questions over the company’s presence in the public sector.

Britain wants limits on young people entering country but Europe opposes this as scheme aims to celebrate links

An “emergency brake” could be put on the number of people coming to the UK from Europe as part of a new youth experience scheme, under terms being offered to Britain by EU negotiators

Britain wants an outright cap, but the EU opposes this on the basis that the scheme is supposed to be a positive one aimed at celebrating and preserving links with the EU.

Prime minister approves tougher action against shadow fleet of oil vessels attempting to evade sanctions

UK armed forces have been authorised to board Russian oil tankers in British waters, Downing Street has said, in an escalation against Moscow’s sanction-evading shadow fleet.

The Royal Navy has previously joined allies in action against the vessels. Last week it helped track a sanctioned Russian oil tanker in the Mediterranean which was then boarded by the French navy.

Chris Parry describes Shomrim members as ‘cosplayers’ hours after arson attack in north London

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A Reform UK mayoral candidate has described members of a Jewish neighbourhood watch group as “cosplayers” and likened them to “Islamists on horseback” in comments made after an attack on ambulances run by a Jewish charity.

Chris Parry, who remains Reform’s mayoral candidate for Hampshire despite a previous controversy in which he said David Lammy should “go home” to the Caribbean, made the comments on Monday about Shomrim, a group of volunteers who safeguard communities including Orthodox Jewish families.

Exclusive: Rebecca Harris promotes latest Crewkerne Gazette skit, created by Joshua Bonehill-Paine who says he is Tory member

The Conservative party’s chief whip has been condemned for promoting AI-generated footage created by a notorious far-right figure who was jailed for hate crimes against Jewish people.

Rebecca Harris reposted the latest skit by the Crewkerne Gazette, which depicts Kemi Badenoch and her shadow justice secretary, Nick Timothy, as characters in the gangster film Scarface.

Exclusive: Tariq Ahmad says he has raised concerns with party leadership after shadow justice secretary’s remarks

The shadow justice secretary, Nick Timothy, has been accused by a Conservative peer and former counter-extremism minister of “instilling fear” among Muslims with his comments about public prayer.

British Muslims were openly talking about leaving the Conservative party, added Tariq Ahmad, who said he had raised his concerns with the party leadership and expected action to be taken.

PM calls on Kemi Badenoch to sack justice spokesperson after he called public prayers as ‘act of domination’

Keir Starmer has claimed the Conservative party “has a problem with Muslims” after the shadow justice secretary described an event where the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, joined others to pray in Trafalgar Square as “an act of domination”.

During PMQs, the prime minister urged Kemi Badenoch to sack Nick Timothy over a post on X in which he shared a clip of Khan and other Muslims praying in the square.

Greater Manchester mayor adds to Rayner’s criticism of planned immigration changes, which she has called ‘un-British’

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Andy Burnham has backed stark criticism of the direction of Keir Starmer’s government by Angela Rayner after she said the very survival of the Labour party was at stake.

Rayner, the former deputy prime minister and an influential backbencher, used a speech on Tuesday night to warn that the prime minister “cannot go through the motions” in the face of declining support.

Campaigners welcome Keir Starmer’s backing of ‘Philomena’s law’ to protect payments for those who accept compensation

Survivors of Ireland’s mother and baby homes can continue to receive benefits in the UK after Downing Street agreed to protect payments.

Keir Starmer bowed to pressure from campaigners to back a bill known as Philomena’s law, which would ringfence survivors’ benefits if they accepted compensation from Dublin.

Health minister Zubir Ahmed says new definition of anti-Muslim hostility could be a turning point as he tells of Islamophobic abuse

Zubir Ahmed, a health minister, tries not to read the comments under his social media feeds, but sometimes curiosity gets the better of him.

After performing a transplant on Christmas Day, the vascular surgeon scanned a post about the operation.

Home secretary says ban on Pro-Palestinian rally ‘necessary to prevent public disorder’ after Met police raised concerns

• What is London’s al-Quds Day march and why has the event been banned?

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A pro-Palestinian march in London on Sunday has been banned by Shabana Mahmood after police warned of a risk of “serious public disorder”.

The annual al-Quds Day march has drawn criticism over apparent backing for the Iranian regime after its organisers expressed support for the country’s late leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Government facing prospect of most serious backbench revolt yet over proposals for England and Wales

Plans to curtail the number of jury trials in England and Wales have been described as “unpopular, untested and poorly evidenced” by thousands of lawyers who have written to the prime minister.

The letter to Keir Starmer, a former director of public prosecutions, from 3,200 lawyers, including 300 senior barristers, comes as his government faces the prospect of one of its most serious backbench revolts since coming to power.

Communities secretary tells MPs that government has to act against record levels of hate crimes

A new definition of anti-Muslim hate will not restrict freedom of speech, the communities secretary has pledged, as he said that “clear expectations” will still be set for new arrivals and existing communities in Britain to learn English.

MPs were told by Steve Reed that the government had a duty to act against record levels of hate crime against Muslims, but that “you can’t tackle a problem if you can’t describe it”.

Exclusive: Campaigners urge Keir Starmer to back ‘Philomena’s Law’ to protect payments for up to 13,000 survivors living in Britain

Survivors of Ireland’s mother and baby homes have started to have benefits cut in Britain because they accepted compensation from the Irish government.

The cuts to the means-tested benefits of survivors in Britain come as campaigners including the actors Siobhán McSweeney and Steve Coogan called on Keir Starmer to back a bill known as Philomena’s Law, which would ringfence survivors’ benefits.