Politics live: Andrew ‘owes it to the victims’ of Epstein to come forward and say what he knows, says Reeves
‘Former prince has a lot of questions to answer,’ chancellor says
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor "owes it to the victims" of Jeffrey Epstein to come forward and speak about what he knows, Rachel Reeves has said.
The chancellor said: "The former prince has got a lot of questions to answer on a whole range of issues.
"And I think he owes it to the victims of Epstein and his associates to come forward and give much more information about what he knew around the treatment of young women and girls."
It comes after documents released by the US Department of Justice appeared to show the former prince sharing confidential reports from his role as the UK’s trade envoy with the sex offender.
On Tuesday, Nigel Farage said Mr Mountbatten-Windsor should “clearly” face a police investigation, as he said: “There are actually more questions than there were before the files were released, and yes, Prince Andrew does clearly have questions to answer, I’m afraid, sadly.”
Meanwhile, Robert Jenrick is expected to call net zero efforts a “distraction” for the Bank of England in his first major outing as Reform UK's Treasury spokesman.
In a City of London pitch, Mr Jenrick will also say the OBR overestimated the benefits of low-skilled migration and will pledge to reform, but not abolish, the budget watchdog.
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'Work should pay more than welfare'- shadows equalities minister
Shadow equalities minister Claire Coutinho said that "work should pay more than welfare", adding: "Our benefits bill is set to rise by over £30 billion over the next 5yrs."
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast in November that total UK Government welfare spending will rise by £73.2 billion between the year ending March 2026 and the year ending March 2031, hitting £406.2 billion.
Almost half of that increase - £34.2 billion - will be spent on pensioners, bringing welfare spending on pensioners to £195.4 billion.
Spending on universal credit - and the systems it is replacing - is set to rise by £14.5 billion to £106.7 billion in the same period, the OBR said. Disability benefit spending is expected to rise by £19.9 billion to £65.3 billion.
Taken together, the increase in universal credit and disability benefit spending comes to around £34.4 billion over the next five years.
Child benefit is set to rise by £484 million to £13.9 billion, while other welfare spending - which includes Northern Ireland's social security spending - is set to rise by £4.2 billion to £25 billion.
Robert Jenrick prepares to take the stage for first speech as Farage's 'Chancellor'
Our politics correspondent Athena Stavrou reports:
The stage is set for Robert Jenrick to take the stage and deliver his first speech as Nigel Farage's would-be 'Chancellor'.
The former Tory will set out his ambitions at a venue in the City of London, which is expected to include a pledge not to abolish the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
Before he took to the stage, Nigel Farage opened the press conference by commenting on the development in the Chagos Islands.
Farage named his top team on Tuesday, barely a month after Mr Jenrick left the Conservative front bench, where he was shadow justice secretary.
Reeves piles pressure on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as police forces investigate Epstein’s Stansted flights
Analysis by Kate Devlin, Whitehall Editor
The government has piled pressure on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as multiple police forces in England now investigate the crimes of paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
It emerged on Tuesday night that police are assessing information about private flights to and from Stansted Airport following the publication of millions of files relating to Epstein.
Ms Reeves said that Mountbatten-Windsor “owes it” to Epstein’s victims to come forward and tell what he knows.
Ministers have a long-standing convention on not commenting on issues to do with the Royal Family.
However, it appears that after the palace announced that Andrew would no longer hold the title of “Prince” or “His Royal Highness” in the wake of further revelations around Epstein, the gloves are well and truly off.
Chancellor dodges question about government's plan to equalise minimum wage
Chancellor Rachel Reeves dodged the question when asked whether the government would stick to its plans to equalise the minimum wage between younger and older workers.
Speaking at a supermarket in south London, reporters asked the chancellor twice whether she would delay plans to increase wages for 18 to 20-year-olds.
She did not deny a delay, saying: "We already have incentives to hire young people with the apprenticeship rate of the minimum wage, but also for no national insurance contributions for the youngest workers.
"But we do recognise there are challenges and that is why we're extending the number of further education college places, extending the number of apprenticeship places to help young people get the skills and the experience that they need to move into work."
Rachel Reeves says Andrew 'owes it to the victims' to disclose Epstein knowledge
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor "owes it to the victims" of Jeffrey Epstein to come forward and speak about what he knows.
She said: "The former prince has got a lot of questions to answer on a whole range of issues.
"And I think he owes it to the victims of Epstein and his associates to come forward and give much more information about what he knew around the treatment of young women and girls."
Starmer reiterates backing for Trump's Gaza peace plan
Sir Keir Starmer has reiterated his backing for the US-led peace plan for Gaza in a phone call with Donald Trump.
It comes as foreign secretary Yvette Cooper is set to bring together Palestinian and Israeli officials in a push for progress on the US leader's 20-point Gaza peace plan.
Downing Street said Sir Keir and Mr Trump spoke on Tuesday night.
A spokesperson said: "Turning to the situation in Gaza, the Prime Minister reflected on the current situation in the region and the importance of securing further access for humanitarian aid.
"He set out his support for the ongoing work to deliver the US-led peace plan.
"The two leaders confirmed their joint commitment to promoting stability and peace in the Middle East.”
"They also agreed that Iran must never be able to develop nuclear weapons as well as discussing ongoing negotiations over Ukraine in the phone call.
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Plans to equalise minimum wage for older and younger workers could be delayed
Ministers are thought to be considering a delay to plans to equalise the minimum wage between younger and older workers after warnings the pledge was fuelling youth unemployment.
Labour promised to “remove the discriminatory age bands” in the minimum wage system, making it so older and younger workers are entitled to the same wage.
However, fears that the higher cost of employing young people could put off firms from hiring them have pushed ministers to put the manifesto pledge under review, The Times reported.
You can read the full story below:
Plans to equalise minimum wage for older and younger workers could be delayed
Badenoch considering plan for student debt amid anger over loan repayments
The Independent’s political correspondent Athena Stavrou reports:
Kemi Badenoch is reportedly considering a plan to address anger over Plan 2 student loan plans.
A Tory source told The Sun that the Conservative leader is looking at a cut in interest or a repayment cap, though a full debt wipe would be unlikely.
Plan 2 loans were issued to English students who started their undergraduate courses between 2012/13 and 2022/23.
It comes amid rising anger about the student loans system and changes made at the autumn budget, where it was announced the repayment threshold for Plan 2 loans, which is set to rise to £29,385 in April 2026, will be frozen for three years.
This means more graduates will start making repayments earlier than they would have if the threshold increased with inflation.
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