Tata Steel: Port Talbot closure forces UK to rely on China for steel as MP raises ‘national security’ concerns

Defiant peers have rejected Rishi Sunak’s warning not to frustrate “the will of the people” by opposing his flagship Rwanda legislation as the prime minister heads for a showdown with the House of Lords:

Farmers have been given the go-ahead for the fourth year in a row to use a banned pesticide that kills bees – prompting anger among nature lovers:

Downing Street said it would consider a letter by UK Statistics Authority chairman Sir Robert Chote, concerning the accuracy of a claim by Rishi Sunak that ministers had cleared the asylum legacy backlog, to “ensure we can be as clear and transparent as possible”.

The Prime Minister previously pledged to abolish a portion of older asylum applications awaiting an initial decision by the end of last year, tasking the Home Office with tackling 92,601 so-called legacy claims made before the end of June 2022.

But figures showed 4,537 applications were still outstanding as of December 28. Sir Robert said some people “may feel misled” by the Government claims the backlog had been cleared.

Asked whether there was a problem in No 10 with not being able to represent statistics accurately, a spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said: “I don’t think that is right. We publish a wide range of statistical information and continue to do so.

“We also linked through to the full story on Gov.uk with the details of our update on the legacy backlog and the PM was referring to a commitment he himself made and spoke about. But of course we will note the letter and consider it to ensure we can be as clear and transparent as possible.”

The UK’s statistics watchdog has slammed Rishi Sunak for his repeated claim to have “cleared” the asylum backlog – and warned the assertion could erode trust in the government.

Sir Robert Chote, the chair of the UK Statistics Authority, also said voters may have felt “misled”.

Kate Devlin reports:

With polling this bad, you could almost mistake it for the plot in one of the ‘Fatherland’ author’s new thrillers, writes John Rentoul. Yet the PM soldiers on – or, at least, he’s trying to...

Read John’s piece in full here:

MPs have paid tribute to their Labour colleague Sir Tony Lloyd, who died on Wednesday aged 73.

A minute’s silence was held in the Commons chamber earlier to remember Sir Tony, who served as Stretford/Manchester Central MP for 29 years and Rochdale for seven.

He died “peacefully” at his home on Wednesday morning, his family said.

“We are all deeply saddened at the loss of Tony,” Labour leader Keir Starmer said.

“I spoke to him last Thursday when he left hospital for the last time to spend as much as he could with his family, and was able to pass on to him our thoughts, our respect, our affection for him.”

You can watch the Labour leader’s tribute below:

The embattled technology company Fujitsu will not seek any further government contracts for at least the next two years, the government has announced.

Fujitsu, which developed the defective Horizon accounting system that led to hundreds of sub-postmasters being wrongly convicted of theft and false accounting, has written to the Cabinet Office to say it has “voluntarily” decided not to bid for government contracts during the inquiry unless it is asked.

Zoe Grunewald reports:

Britain is continuing to urge Houthi rebels to “desist” from carrying out “illegal” and disruptive attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea, the prime minister has said.

Speaking during a press conference in Downing Street, Rishi Sunak said the situation remained “concerning” as attacks on commercial shipping in the region persisted despite RAF intervention.

The UK joined the US in carrying out air strikes against the Iran-backed militant group last week but clashes along vital global trade routes in the Middle East, with warships also being targeted, have continued since.

Fujitsu has confirmed it will contribute to compensation payments to Post Office subpostmasters wrongfully convicted in the Horizon IT scandal.

It had earlier emerged that the company will not bid for government contracts while an inquiry into the scandal is ongoing.

Ben Hatton reports:

Former prime minister Lord Cameron has said he does not mind playing “second fiddle” to Rishi Sunak since his return to frontline politics.

The foreign secretary, during a trip to Davos, called current PM Mr Sunak a “good boss”.

Lord Cameron was appointed to the cabinet last year in a shock return for the former Conservative leader, who resigned after the UK vote to leave the EU in 2016.

Asked by Times Radio if he found it difficult to play “second fiddle”, he said: “No, not at all actually, because he’s a very clear boss.

“He’s easy to work for because he knows what he wants. He chairs cabinet meetings with great efficiency. He’s read everything, understood everything. He knows what the issues that are contentious, that we have to discuss, are about. And he has a pretty clear view of what he wants, so that’s a good boss.”