The watchdog that monitors government ministers’ professional appointments after leaving office has been criticised for clearing Grant Shapps, a former Conservative defence secretary, to join Cambridge Aerospace as long as he promises not to work on defence matters.

In a ruling that drew scorn from political ethics experts, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), which monitors and advises on the revolving door between Westminster and the business sector, gave Shapps the green light to become the chair of defence company Cambridge Aerospace.

Shapps told Acoba that the company, founded three months after the Conservatives’ general election defeat last year, planned to “develop technologies to reduce risks to aviation”. Disclosures show he cited examples such as airport delays caused by drones.

You can read the full story by my colleagues, Rob Davies and Jasper Jolly, here:

Alex Salmond’s niece has accused Nicola Sturgeon of tarnishing her uncle’s reputation when he is no longer able to defend himself in order to promote her memoir.

Christina Hendry told BBC Radio Scotland on Monday: “If my uncle was here today, these things would not be being said. I believe they’re being said because he’s not here to defend himself, as he would have done with every fibre of his being.”

Sturgeon’s political partnership with her predecessor as first minister, who died suddenly of a heart attack last October at the age of 69, dominates her memoir, Frankly, which was published last week.

She describes tensions that existed between them long before their catastrophic falling out over her government’s handling of sexual harassment complaints against him, claiming that he opposed equal marriage, overrode her concerns about releasing the Lockerbie bomber and had several extramarital affairs.

The former Scottish National party leader stood trial in 2020 on 13 counts of sexual assault and was cleared of all charges, although a pattern of bullying and inappropriate behaviour towards younger female staff emerged in court.

Asked what she believed was motivating Sturgeon, Hendry said: “There’s been a number of years that these things could have been said, and the timing of it now where she’s released a book and is looking to publicise that, I think many people have thought that could be the case.”

Sturgeon writes in Frankly that she “agonised” about “stirring up pain for [Salmond’s] wife and family” but concluded “I cannot let what he said stand unchallenged”.

Conservative MPs have expressed frustration at their party’s “piss-poor” messaging over hotels housing people seeking asylum.

Leaked WhatsApp messages show members are concerned that the party’s leadership is attacking Keir Starmer’s government for policies introduced by the Conservatives.

Kevin Hollinrake, the Tory chair, agreed that an advert shared by Conservative Campaign Headquarters last week was “of concern” but insisted it would not be deleted.

The WhatsApp exchange, which was first reported by ConservativeHome, came after the Tories launched an advert featuring a “list of perks” received by people housed in asylum hotels. It included housing and food “provided directly by the state” and clothing provided by the Home Office, which are offered to people who arrive in the UK and claim asylum.

The advert also included other claims that have since been challenged as exaggerations, including claims of discounted Spanish and French lessons, free driving lessons and free PlayStation consoles for new arrivals.

Lewis Cocking, the MP for Broxbourne, wrote: “This makes us look silly as we gave them all this too which is why we are in the mess we are in today. Completely unacceptable – they should be put in detention centres and deported.”

His message prompted a series of shadow ministers to signal their support, with the home affairs spokesperson, Alicia Kearns, the foreign affairs representative, Andrew Rosindell, and the housing spokesperson, Paul Holmes, responding with thumbs-up emojis.

Hollinrake replied: “Agreed. Do message me directly with anything [sic] other ads of concern.”

Average renters in England are spending more than a third of their income on a home – with cities like London, Bristol and Brighton becoming less affordable, new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.

People earning a median salary could expect to spend 36.3% of their income on an average-priced rented home in England in 2024, the ONS said.

This means rent prices were above the 30% threshold that the ONS considers to be affordable. It also marks an increase on the 33.1% of household income that average renters were paying in 2023.

Rents have risen in recent years for a number of reasons, including high demand outstripping supply, the pandemic and its fallout affecting how many people live and work, and buy-to-let landlords passing on increases in their costs caused by higher interest rates.

Diane Taylor writes on human rights, racism and civil liberties

More than £300m given to English councils to help Ukrainian refugees into accommodation has not been spent, while thousands of them face homelessness.

Freedom of information requests to 150 councils in England, shared with the Guardian, identified that £327m – about a third of the £1bn budget – was still sitting in council bank accounts more than three years after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Most of the funds councils have spent have been used to pay staff and partner organisations.

Only £22m has been spent on temporary accommodation for Ukrainians and £15m to help them into private rented accommodation.

Many Ukrainians struggle to find accommodation in the private rented sector because of the need to provide a deposit, something councils can help with but which some Ukrainians say in practice can be slow, bureaucratic and difficult to access.

Finding a UK guarantor can also be difficult and those unable to speak English struggle to negotiate with landlords.

You can read the full story here:

Keir Starmer has been urged to recall parliament to “impose immediate sanctions” on Israel in a joint letter signed by politicians in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the PA news agency is reporting.

The prime minister, always keen to stay on the right side of the US, has been accused of not doing enough to try to exert pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu to stop his assault on Gaza, which has brought famine conditions to the territory and killed over 61,000 Palestinian people, many of whom are women and children, according to officials.

The letter says:

The humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza is both man-made and avoidable.

It is characterised not only by relentless bombardment and destruction, but by the deliberate creation of conditions that are starving a civilian population.

The blocking of food, water, and medical supplies has precipitated what UN agencies and humanitarian experts describe as a man-made famine; one that is rapidly claiming lives and inflicting irreparable harm on an already traumatised population.”

It calls upon Starmer to recall parliament and impose sanctions on Israel and to “support a ceasefire and meaningful diplomatic intervention to protect civilians and secure a just, lasting peace”.

It also calls for an immediate end to all arms sales to Israel, support for an “independent, international investigations into alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide in Gaza”.

The letter also says the UK should use its “diplomatic influence to press for the unimpeded delivery of food, water, medicine, and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza”.

It adds:

The UK’s moral standing and commitment to human rights will be measured by its response to this crisis.

We urge you to act decisively by standing against the man-made famine, the mass killing of children, and the broader assault on civilian life.

The letter was signed by Northern Ireland’s first minister Michelle O’Neill, Alliance party leader Naomi Long, SDLP leader Claire Hanna, the SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn and the convener of the party’s Holyrood group Stuart McMillan.

Other co-signatories include co-leader Lorna Slater of Scottish Greens, Alistair Carmichael from the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth and Plaid Cymru’s Westminster group leader Liz Saville Roberts.

The Times is reporting that the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is preparing to strip back environmental protections that block infrastructure projects from getting under way, in an effort to boost Labour’s building pledges and economic growth.

Labour’s Planning and Infrastructure bill is already in the committee stage at the House of Lords but the Treasury is reportedly preparing for another planning reform bill, with officials considering ripping up key parts of European environmental rules that developers say are obstructing key infrastructure projects.

According to the Times, Reeves has said the interests of “bats and newts” are being allowed to stymie infrastructure and development projects, and officials are considering placing limits to judicial review that will mean people with environmental objections won’t be able to delay projects so easily.

The chancellor, restricted by a set of stringent self-imposed fiscal rules, is desperate for economic growth and infrastructure is seen as a key part of that ambition. She is preparing for a difficult autumn budget amid mounting speculation over tax rises, as a weaker growth outlook, higher debt interest payments and a series of U-turns on welfare cuts contribute to a huge deficit in the government finances.

Nicola Davis is the Guardian’s science correspondent

Patients in England now have greater access to important tests such as MRI scans and endoscopies in the evenings and weekends, the government has said, after increasing the number of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) offering out of hours services.

There are 170 CDCs operating in England, which are often in shopping centres, football stadiums and on university campuses. Patients can access them through a referral from their GP or clinical teams at hospitals.

The government has revealed that 100 CDCs are open 12 hours a day, seven days a week – an increase of 37 CDCs with such opening hours compared with July 2024 – with the hope that the service will allow patients greater and speedier access to diagnosis.

The move to provide more convenient care is part of the government’s plan for change which, it says, aims to transform healthcare and make the NHS fit for the future, with an expansion of community-based services a key part of the approach.

You can read the full story here:

The former home secretary Jack Straw has urged Labour not to panic about the threat of Reform, who are riding high in the polls as Nigel Farage capitalises on the “small boats” and asylum backlog issue. Here is an extract from the write up of the interview he gave to the Guardian’s deputy political editor, Jessica Elgot:

In an interview with the Guardian, he praised Starmer’s intention to recognise a Palestinian state after an ultimatum to Israel – but defended the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, saying he would also have proscribed the direct action group Palestine Action.

The British political veteran said he believed Starmer and his cabinet were “head and shoulders” above opposition politicians and would reap the rewards of a gradual improvement in the economy and public services, which would not come immediately.

And he said the poll lead of Reform UK should not be taken as a foregone conclusion. “We have been here before in terms of an insurgent party leading in the polls. So I think it is the famous phrase – don’t panic,” he said.

The former cabinet minister said Labour faced not only a terrible economic inheritance, but fundamental damage to the fabric of democracy by the previous Conservative governments, primarily Boris Johnson.

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics. Despite winning a huge majority at last year’s general election, Labour knew it had a lot of work to do to regain voters trust and show government could work for ordinary people.

The task was made more difficult as the party inherited a weak economy and crumbling public services underinvested in by previous Conservative administrations.

So far, the prime minister, Keir Starmer, has failed to win popularity with voters, according to many polls, with a seeming lack of political direction and constant moves to appease Reform voters while Labour’s base quietly slips away.

Starmer’s proposed cuts to winter fuel payments, his sluggishness over adopting a firmer stance on Israel’s war on Gaza and his controversial welfare reforms were out of line with much of the public’s attitudes.

London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, told an audience at the Edinburgh festival fringe yesterday that Labour needs to “really pick things up” after a “tough” first year in government.

Khan, who has been critical over the government before, notably over disability benefit cuts and ministers’ plans for a third runway at Heathrow, said there was a feeling that people “lent” Labour their vote last summer (in a bid to get the Conservatives out).

The London mayor said Labour supporters would be “delusional” if they did not recognise the difficulties the party had had since winning power in July 2024.

He said:

Those people that say it has been a great first year … I think they are letting the party down.

It hasn’t been a great first year. There have been great things that have happened in this first year, around the rights for renters, around the rights for workers, around energy security, and I could go on. But as first years go, it has not been a great first year.

Khan said Labour could still turn things around before its term is up and are equipped with a “great team” in No 10 led by Starmer, who he insisted he was not being critical of, although he conceded that the prime minister and those around him could be performing better.

Khan – who is a Liverpool FC supporter – said if Labour was in a football match, they would be “two-nil down”. But continuing his analogy, he said that only 15 or 20 minutes of the match had gone, with minutes still to play and to “win this game”.

After over a decade out of power at Westminster, Khan also said that the party had “lost the memory of running things”.

“It has taken some time for the Labour party, the Labour government, to understand how the machinery of government works,” he said.

Much of today’s news agenda will be dominated by Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s crunch talks with Donald Trump at the White House. He will be joined by various European leaders, including Keir Starmer, who hope to coax the US president out of the pro-Russian positions he took after the Alaska summit on Friday. You can keep up with the latest developments in our Ukraine live blog helmed by the brilliant Jakub Krupa.