Opening summary
Prime minister Keir Starmer had wanted to carry out his reshuffle on a “slightly slower timetable”, PA reports, but it was “brought forward as a consequence of the former deputy prime minister resigning”, new chief secretary Darren Jones has said this morning, after Angela Rayner stepped down on Friday.
But there will not be an early election, Jones said. Asked about Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s suggestion that Rayner’s resignation would open up internal Labour splits and prompt a general election as early as 2027, the chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster told Sky News:
Nigel Farage is wrong there. The Labour party is not going to split and there won’t be an early election.”
Rayner stood down from the government after the prime minister’s ethics adviser found she had breached the ministerial code over her underpayment of stamp duty on her £800,000 seaside flat. Sir Laurie Magnus found that Rayner had “acted with integrity and with a dedicated and exemplary commitment to public service”, but concluded she had breached the ministerial code over her tax affairs.
After it was put to Jones that the government was in crisis and “ripping it all up and starting again”, he told Sky News:
I was put into this new role as chief secretary to the prime minister. I’ve been alongside him this week in Number 10 and the prime minister was very clear on Monday that coming back into this new term, this was the start of the second chapter of the Labour government.
“The fact is, the prime minister had been planning to do a reshuffle on a slightly slower timetable, and started to think about putting the ministers he wanted in the places to really drive on delivering reform in line with the public’s priorities.”
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In further moves: David Lammy takes over from Rayner as deputy prime minister and is also appointed as the justice secretary.
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Yvette Cooper is the new foreign secretary and Shabana Mahmood becomes home secretary.
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Steve Reed takes over Rayner’s former housing brief while Peter Kyle is named business secretary and Liz Kendall is the new science secretary.
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Emma Reynolds will be environment secretary while Douglas Alexander will be Scotland secretary. Rachel Reeves retains her role as chancellor.
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Nigel Farage has said there is every chance of a general election in 2027 and declared at Reform’s conference in Birmingham that he will run on a pledge to ‘stop the boats’ within two weeks of entering No 10.
Key events
Ben Quinn
The cousin of an Israeli hostage in Gaza who was shown looking emaciated and weak in a video released by Hamas has met Nigel Farage at Reform UK’s conference to ask for help to raise his case.
Tamar Eshet, cousin of Israeli hostage Evyatar David, told the Guardian:”We wanted to speak to the people here because we know that their power is getting stronger at the moment, and that they can, make a difference and impact the British government.”
Eshet, a student, has been at the conference in the company of diplomats from the Israeli embassy and met Farage briefly on Saturday in private, as well as talking to other delegates. They showed a video of David which was released by Hamas.
The footage, released last week, shows Evyatar David speaking in what appeared to be a Hamas tunnel in Gaza. In scenes that caused outrage and dismay in Israel, he is shown digging what he says could be his own grave. In comments made under duress, he urges the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to agree to a ceasefire.
Eshet said Farage and others in Reform were “understanding” that Hamas were being “rewarded” by the British government moving towards recognising a Palestinian state.
Israel’s deputy ambassador to the UK, Daniela Grudsky, on Saturday praised Reform UK for the support the party has given Israel. She was speaking at a fringe event ‘Hostages of Hamas: Setting their voices free.’
Hundreds of protestors risk arrests in support of Palestine Action
Hundreds of protesters have gathered in Parliament Square for a Palestine Action demonstration on Saturday, PA reports.
Some are handing out pens ahead of plans to write on boards at 12.50pm.
Many are sitting around the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, with Palestine flags visible across the square.
Organisers say they expect about 1,000 people to attend.
The Met Police has warned it would be ready to arrest people today showing support for the group which was banned by the UK government under terrorism laws earlier this year. Last month, police arrested over 530 people at a previous Palestine Action protest.
Nigel Farage is signing the backs of turquoise football shirts released by Reform UK with his name on the back at the Reform UK conference.
“Get back, get back … The barrier is here for a reason,” photographers were told by Reform UK media handlers amid a rush when the Reform UK leader arrived.
Reform UK claim that about 10,000 of the shirts, which have become an upiquitous presence at the conference, have been sold since their launch.
epa12356802 Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage attends a shirt signing session on day two of the Reform UK annual conference in Birmingham, Britain, 06 September 2025. The Reform UK Conference 2025 takes place at the NEC Birmingham from 05 September to 06 September 2025. EPA/NEIL HALL Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA
Reform leader Nigel Farage said the resignation of deputy prime minister Angela Rayner over her tax affairs “screams to entitlement” during his speech to the Reform UK party conference in Birmingham.
Farage said last year that he had bought a home in his Clacton constituency, but it was later reported that his partner had actually made the purchase.
Mr Tice, the party deputy, was asked on Saturday whether Mr Farage would be transparent about his tax affairs and address questions over his partner buying the Clacton home. He called Farage’s tax affairs “irrelevant” to voters.
Mr Farage has denied the arrangement had saved tax, telling The Mirror it was a “disgusting allegation” that is “unfair and untrue”.
Separately, the Guardian revealed on Friday that Farage diverted money from his prime-time TV show into a private company, which means that he paid only 25% corporation tax on profits, instead of 40% income tax, and could offset some expenses.
The use of personal service companies is not illegal but has been criticised in recent years.
A spokesperson for Mr Farage told the Guardian: “Thorn in the Side Ltd has traded for 15 years and has a variety of interests. It renders the services of several contractors and is a properly functioning company.”
Read more on that report here:
Albanian ambassador says Farage claims ‘completely false’
Ben Quinn
Albania’s ambassador to the UK has met with Nigel Farage to tell him that the Reform UK leader was repeating false information by making the claim that one in 50 Albanians in Britain were in jail.
“It’s completely false, and yet it is being repeated on GB news and by politicians,” said Uran Ferizi, the ambassador, who is attending Reform UK’s conference.
“It is misconstruing officials statistics which are taken and used to come up with difference claims that bear no resemblance to reality.”
Albania’s prime minister, Edi Rama, has already crossed swords with Farage online over the Reform UK leader’s uses of the figure. Data from the Albanian embassy in the UK has disputed reports that the number of Albanians is UK 53,000, which was used as a source for the one in 50 claim.
Ferizi said: “I told him it was deeply unfair to peddle these lies essentially. They are just not true. My perception was that he was receptive when he heard this and understood this.
“I also made the case Albanians were a very good example of people who integrate well into Britain. They work hard, learn the language and the customs and the rules of the country. I told him it was deeply unfair for a country that prides itself on being fair, and he seemed to appreciate that.”
The British couple killed in the Lisbon funicular crash have been remembered as “hugely talented” members of the theatre community dedicated to “inspiring the next generation, PA reports.
Theatre director Kayleigh Smith and her partner Will Nelson, a lecturer at Manchester’s Arden School of Theatre, were named as two of the three Britons who died after the popular tourist attraction derailed in the centre of the Portuguese city on Wednesday night.
The third British victim has yet to be named.
Macclesfield MP Tim Roca paid tribute to Smith and Nelson, saying: “I was deeply saddened to learn that two much-loved members of our Macclesfield community, Kayleigh Smith and her partner Will Nelson, were among those who lost their lives in Wednesday’s tragic funicular crash in Lisbon.
“Kayleigh was a hugely talented theatre director at MADS Theatre, where she poured her creativity, energy and kindness into every production. The moving tribute from the MADS team says it all, she was a dear friend to so many and will be greatly missed.
Lucy Connolly will appear at the Reform UK party conference in Birmingham, PA reports.
The former childminder and wife of a Conservative councillor was jailed for stirring up racial hatred against asylum seekers in the aftermath of the Southport murders last year. She was released last month.
She will speak on the main stage of the conference in a special live recording of The Telegraph’s Planet Normal podcast with Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan, the newspaper confirmed.
Fire services are using a drone to help tackle the blaze at White City, with around a dozen crew still visible on the roof working to bring it under control
Li Mei, 36, who lives in a luxury apartment block across the road, told the PA news agency: “I got up this morning and my partner told me to look out of the window.
“There was so much smoke – we were worried it was going to get worse.
“Thank God it seems like nobody has died.”
Firefighters are continuing to battle a blaze at the the old Firefighters are continuing to battle a blaze at the the old BBC Television Centre in west London, with smoke billowing from the rooftop rotunda PA report
Dozens of fire engines are at the scene as crowds gather on the street to watch and take photos.
A police cordon has sealed off the plaza, forcing the closure of several cafes and restaurants below.
Exhausted crews who have worked through the night could be seen sitting on the pavement eating. in west London, with smoke billowing from the rooftop rotunda.
Keir Starmer is likely to announce wider changes to his team today.
A junior ministerial reshuffle is now understood to be taking place, PA reports, as Starmer seeks to draw a line under the fallout from Rayner’s departure.
Speaking to broadcasters this morning, the chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, Darren Jones, dismissed suggestions that the rejig could delay the prime minister’s self-described “phase two” of government by moving senior figures to unfamiliar briefs.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of assault and a dispersal order is in place in Epping after a flare was lit amid anti-social scenes in the town last night, police said.
According to Essex Police, the dispersal order covers the entirety of the city centre and surrounding areas, including Coopersale, Ivy Chimneys and Steward’s Green. The order was in place until 6am.
Police said the man who was arrested remains in custody.
Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said in a statement: “We’ll continue to have a significant policing presence in the area this evening and our officers will be back on patrol over the weekend.
“Lighting flares in public spaces poses a clear and real risk to anyone nearby.
“They cannot be used to damage property or harass others, and anyone we identify in connection with those used tonight will be subject to arrest.”
Epping has been the site of repeated scenes of disorder in recent weeks, with multiple demonstrations outside the Bell Hotel in the town after an asylum seeker was charged with the alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl. He denied the charges and his trial began last week.
Cabinet now ‘the strongest team’, says Darren Jones
Some more quotes from Darren Jones’ appearance on BBC Breakfast:
The cabinet is now “the strongest team” following a reshuffle and Angela Rayner’s resignation, Jones said.
Asked whether “phase two” of the Government was delayed because ministers had been moved to unfamiliar briefs, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster told BBC Breakfast: “No, I disagree with the premise of the question.
“Phase two started this week, back from the summer recess in the way the prime minister set out on Monday.”
He added: “Because of the former deputy prime minister’s resignation, the prime minister decided it was the decisive thing to do, to bring (the reshuffle) forward and to get it done on Friday, then to be able to move forward with the strongest team that we have around the Cabinet now leading on delivering the public’s priorities.”
Asked whether the team was stronger after Rayner’s departure, he said: “The Angela Rayner situation is different because of course she had to leave Government because she broke the ministerial code.
“But, look, all of us in our first year in Government have come in and gotten on with the job of running the country.”
Dozens of firefighters are battling a blaze at the old BBC Television Centre in London’s White City, PA reports.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said about 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines had been called to the nine-storey building on Wood Lane, west London.
Photos from the scene show crews at the Helios Building, the BBC’s former headquarters, which has since been converted into flats and a restaurant.
The fire service said in a statement: “The fire is currently affecting floors towards the top of the building.
“A restaurant, external decking and ducting is currently alight. An unknown number of flats have also potentially been affected by the fire.”
One person was treated by paramedics then discharged at the scene, London Ambulance Service said. The cause of the fire is not known.
Farage tax affairs ‘irrelevant’, says Tice
Nigel Farage’s tax affairs are “irrelevant” to voters, according to Reform UK MP Richard Tice, PA reports.
Tice was asked whether the Reform UK leader would address questions over his partner buying his constituency home in Clacton.
He told Times Radio: “I’m pleased to confirm I’m not his tax adviser. You’ll have to speak to them.
“It’s irrelevant to what voters are concentrating on, which is our messaging, which is the message of hope. We can get out of this nightmare that we’re in.”
Leader of the opposition, Kemi Badenoch said of the reshuffle yesterday:
“Phase 2 of Starmer’s government didn’t even last three days.
“He was too weak to fire the deputy prime minister, even after he was told she broke the ministerial code, and now he’s shuffling deckchairs around on his sinking government.”
She has not said anything since, and no senior Conservatives are yet to speak this morning on the matter.
Darren Jones denied there was instability in the Labour government amidst the shuffle brought on by Angela Rayner’s resignation, and said it was “quite normal” for administrations to have a reshuffle around this time.
Asked whether he understood that reshuffle could be seen by voters as a sign of instability, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster told BBC Breakfast: “It’s not instability insofar as the outcomes that we’re delivering are the same.”
He added: “Look, I think it’s quite normal for governments to have a reshuffle about this time coming into government.”
Jones had said the reshuffle was due to take place on a “slightly slower timetable” but was brought forward by Rayner’s resignation following the finding that she’d broken the ministerial code.
Opening summary
Prime minister Keir Starmer had wanted to carry out his reshuffle on a “slightly slower timetable”, PA reports, but it was “brought forward as a consequence of the former deputy prime minister resigning”, new chief secretary Darren Jones has said this morning, after Angela Rayner stepped down on Friday.
But there will not be an early election, Jones said. Asked about Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s suggestion that Rayner’s resignation would open up internal Labour splits and prompt a general election as early as 2027, the chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster told Sky News:
Nigel Farage is wrong there. The Labour party is not going to split and there won’t be an early election.”
Rayner stood down from the government after the prime minister’s ethics adviser found she had breached the ministerial code over her underpayment of stamp duty on her £800,000 seaside flat. Sir Laurie Magnus found that Rayner had “acted with integrity and with a dedicated and exemplary commitment to public service”, but concluded she had breached the ministerial code over her tax affairs.
After it was put to Jones that the government was in crisis and “ripping it all up and starting again”, he told Sky News:
I was put into this new role as chief secretary to the prime minister. I’ve been alongside him this week in Number 10 and the prime minister was very clear on Monday that coming back into this new term, this was the start of the second chapter of the Labour government.
“The fact is, the prime minister had been planning to do a reshuffle on a slightly slower timetable, and started to think about putting the ministers he wanted in the places to really drive on delivering reform in line with the public’s priorities.”
-
In further moves: David Lammy takes over from Rayner as deputy prime minister and is also appointed as the justice secretary.
-
Yvette Cooper is the new foreign secretary and Shabana Mahmood becomes home secretary.
-
Steve Reed takes over Rayner’s former housing brief while Peter Kyle is named business secretary and Liz Kendall is the new science secretary.
-
Emma Reynolds will be environment secretary while Douglas Alexander will be Scotland secretary. Rachel Reeves retains her role as chancellor.
-
Nigel Farage has said there is every chance of a general election in 2027 and declared at Reform’s conference in Birmingham that he will run on a pledge to ‘stop the boats’ within two weeks of entering No 10.
