Zelensky asks Starmer to ‘show leadership’ on Ukraine Cobra meeting held amid global IT disruption – Live

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has condemned the “appalling and shameful” rioting in the Harley Hills area of ​​Leeds.

A Number 10 spokeswoman said of Yvette Cooper’s statement about the violence: “It is appalling and shameful that he would repeat the scenes we saw last night. Such disorder has no place in our society.”

“He would therefore like to thank West Yorkshire Police and the emergency services for their swift support.

“We fully support the police in their investigation and will take the strongest possible action against the perpetrators to ensure public safety.”

Asked about concerns about rising communal tensions, she said: “Police have also discouraged people from speculating on the causes of the unrest. The prime minister has also urged people to heed that advice.

“But what is certain is that, as the Home Secretary has outlined this morning, local partners and councillors will be working closely with the community today to provide support and reassurance in response to the shocking scenes we saw last night, and to prevent further disorder.”

Kemi Badenoch has launched a fresh attack on the Labour Government on behalf of the Shadow Cabinet during the King’s Speech debate in the House of Commons.

Ms Badenoch said of the Labour frontbencher: “I am saddened to see that many of the members of Ms Rayner’s shadow team are not sitting alongside her in a ministerial capacity.

“They work for nothing, languish in opposition for years, only to end up watching the children of those who were chosen get ministerial cars and salaries before they’ve even written their first speech. Wow.”

Shadow housing secretary Kemi Badenoch accused the Liberal Democrats of failing to deliver on their promises, saying party members were “the biggest local NIMBYs in the country”.

The former Cabinet secretary told the Commons: “Some people think opposition is about spreading scumbags in Parliament or calling opponents scumbags. But usually opposition is about saying I told you so. I want to assure (Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner) that when these targets are not met, I will be here to say I told you so.

“We will certainly be a constructive opposition. We want to see homes built in the right places with the right infrastructure. We are here to help.”

But she said: “I doubt if the same could be said of the country’s biggest local NIMBYs, the Liberal Democrats, who are often elected on a promise not to build anything anywhere in the community, who are far more numerous now, you wouldn’t know, but they are there.

“In the last parliament I saw them oppose planning reforms for permitted development which would have allowed us to build on land that was already in use.

“It will be interesting to see how they reconcile their NIMBY tendencies with their manifesto commitments. But then again, saying one thing and doing another has never bothered the Liberal Democrats.”

Shadow housing secretary Kemi Badenoch said Angela Rayner had been “framed” by others in her party’s leadership and made a “scapegoat” for Labour’s housing promises.

In a fresh attack on the deputy prime minister, she told the Commons: “So I’m sorry to tell (Ms Rayner) that her colleagues, the prime minister, the chancellor and many of their advisers wrote a manifesto that made promises that couldn’t be kept and they hung them around her neck and said ‘Ann, you go out and sell it’.”

She added: “I thought we knew who was in charge but we don’t. She was ripped off. They made her a scapegoat. They promised to build 1.5 million homes by the end of this parliament. That’s more than 800 a day and it’s now been two weeks.

“As she continues day by day, she’ll realize the debt pile is growing and there’s no way out. But I want her to know that I’m here for her. I’ll hold her hand and walk her through what’s likely to be a very difficult time. I might even give her some advice.

“Having worked in that department, I know what needs to be done. I know the things we should have done but didn’t do, and I know they’re going to make the same mistakes. It’s not that the goal of 1.5 million homes by the end of this parliamentary term is unachievable, it’s that it requires the kind of systemic change that they’re not ready for.”

Angela Rayner said the UK was gripped by a “housing crisis” and the new government had a “huge job to do” to solve the problem.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the new Labour government had already taken initial steps in response and planned to reform the planning process to boost house building.

Ms Rayner, who is also housing secretary, added that the government was also committed to creating the “largest possible” build of social and affordable housing for this generation.

During the King’s Speech, the Labour government announced a bill to meet its target of building 1.5 million homes.

Opening the third day of King’s Speech debates, Ms Rayner said she had promised in her maiden speech in 2015 to “always tell the truth”, adding in the Commons: “I think that’s a promise I’ve always kept.

“Now I intend to achieve another goal because we promised the people of this country that we would serve their interests, not ours.

“First we have to be honest that we can’t immediately correct the mess of the past 14 years, but after just two weeks we have made progress.”

Downing Street did not confirm whether Ukraine could use Britain’s Storm Shadow missiles to strike Russian territory as part of the country’s efforts to defend itself.

Asked whether the prime minister accepted calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to allow British weapons to be used in Russia, a 10 Downing Street spokesman said: “I think you heard, at yesterday’s press conference when the prime minister was asked about this, he made our position very clear.

“I think we also saw clearly from yesterday’s cabinet meeting that we have strong support for Ukraine. That will not change and we are determined to support them all the way.”

Asked whether Britain had lifted restrictions on the use of Storm Shadow missiles against targets inside Russia, the official said: “Our position has not changed and the prime minister made that clear yesterday.

“We have been providing military assistance to support Ukraine’s clear right to self-defense under international humanitarian law against Russia’s illegal actions.

“The equipment provided by the UK is intended to defend Ukraine.”

The UK charity ActionAid said the government’s decision to resume funding to UNRWA was “long overdue”.

Julia Russell Jackson, humanitarian advocacy adviser, said: “We are pleased to see the UK government recognise that UNRWA is a vital lifeline for Gaza and take the long-overdue step of restoring its funding.

“As the largest humanitarian actor in Gaza, it is uniquely positioned to support the 2.2 million Palestinians trapped in the area who are at high risk of famine and rely on aid to survive.”

But she also called on Britain to immediately stop selling arms to Israel.

Downing Street said an emergency Cobra meeting was called at official, but not ministerial, level on Friday morning to discuss the IT mess.

A 10 Downing Street spokesman told reporters: “We recognise the impact this has on the services sector and the government is working closely with relevant departments and industry on this issue, which affects not only the UK services sector but also the global services sector.”

“Officials met at Cobra this morning to discuss the issue and are reporting regularly to ministers.”

She said she was not aware of the ministers’ plan to attend the Cobra rally.

Asked why Sir Keir Starmer was not chairing the committee, she said: “The prime minister had a bilateral meeting with President Zelensky and the cabinet this morning but all ministers, including the prime minister, were kept up to date with the situation.”

The spokeswoman also said she was not aware of any government operations being affected by the outage.

British government crisis officials are co-ordinating a response to a major IT outage that has affected airlines, train companies and banks.

Pat McFadden, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said the Cobra system, which deals with national emergencies or major disruptions, had been activated.

Ministers are in liaison with their departments to deal with the impact of the IT failure, with Transport Secretary Louise Hague saying she was working “in sync with industry” after trains and flights came to a standstill.

Businesses and institutions around the world were crippled by the outage, which is believed to have been caused by a faulty update to widely used cybersecurity software.

In the UK, transport networks were thrown into chaos, GP surgeries were unable to book appointments or access patient records and Sky News was off the air.

Mr. McFadden, who is in charge of the British government machinery, said on X:

Several lawmakers welcomed David Lammy’s decision to restore funding to the Palestinian Agency for Relief and Works in the Near East on social media.

The UK will provide £21 million to UN agencies providing aid to the Gaza Strip, the Foreign Secretary told the House of Commons.