Sir Keir Starmer will pledge to slash the costs of regulation with an “active government” in a speech later.

He will take aim at a “cottage industry of checkers and blockers slowing down delivery for working people”, as he argues the state has become bigger but weaker.

New AI and tech teams will be sent into public sector departments to drive improvements in efficiencies.

It comes after Sir Keir told his ministers they should take more responsibility for decisions, rather than “outsourcing” them to regulators.

A push to reduce the role of quangos – or non-governmental bodies – is expected to be part of the prime minister’s plan.

Incoming governments have often sought to cut the number of quangos – but what are they and what do they do?

Quango stands for Quasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Organisation but the government calls them “arm’s length bodies”. They are organisations funded by taxpayers but not directly controlled by central government, such as regulators, cultural institutions and advisory bodies.

They range from huge organisations like NHS England and HMRC, to smaller bodies like the Gambling Commission and the British Film Institute.

The number of quangos has fallen by more than half since 2010 but there are still more than 300 across the UK.

Under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition nearly 300 were axed – dubbed the “bonfire of the quangos” – in an attempt to improve accountability and cut costs.

Despite Sir Keir indicating he would also like to reduce the role of quangos, the new Labour government has set up more than 20 since winning power.

These include Great British Energy, which will invest in renewable energy to help meet the government’s clean power goals, and the Border Security Command, which aims to tackle small boat crossings.

Asked earlier this week if the government was planning another “bonfire of the quangos”, Downing Street said the PM wanted to see a more “active and agile state”, rather than “outsourcing” decisions to other bodies.

Almost 60% of day-to-day government spending is channelled through quangos, with 90% of this going to the largest 10 bodies.

The total budget for quangos in 2022/23 – the latest published figures – was £353.3bn.

Campaign groups like the TaxPayers’ Alliance have long criticised quangos, claiming they allow ministers to dodge responsibility for mistakes and can be inefficient and costly.

The Institute for Government think tank says in some cases scrapping public bodies can save money and improve how services are delivered.

It gives the example of how merging JobCentre Plus into the Department for Work and Pensions helped cut the department’s workforce and office space by a third.

But the think tank argues abolitions also cost money and time in the short term, with services disrupted when powers are transferred.

Moving activities into departments, while improving accountability, can also dilute expert knowledge.

A 91-year-old man says he lost his life savings to rogue traders who came to repair a few loose tiles but ended up replacing the whole roof.

Allan, from Hornsea, East Yorkshire, said he was visited by builders after Storm Darragh last December, believing they would fix some minor damage.

Instead, he claims they put up scaffolding, replaced all of his tiles and gave him a bill for £31,680.

Humberside Police is investigating.

Allan said a passing window cleaner told him he had a loose slate in the days after Storm Darragh swept across East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

On Sunday 15 December, builders arrived and started putting up scaffolding.

Allan said he cannot remember whether he asked them to come, or whether it was a cold call.

“A ladder appeared, three people appeared and started stripping the roof, so I thought well they know what they are doing, and bit by bit all the slates disappeared,” he said.

“They were put on the back of a wagon, and then they drove away with them and came back and started putting new slabs on the roof, just like that.”

Allan said he was confused by the size of the job the roofers were doing, and that he had not asked for it.

“It was so overwhelming,” he explained. “Once it started there wasn’t anything I could do about it.”

Allan claimed no price for the work was mentioned, but once it was finished he was presented with a bill for £31,680.

“I think he knew how much money I had because I had a bank statement in there [the next room],” Allan said.

“It was all the money I had.”

Allan said the roofers told him that if he paid them upfront, he would be able to claim the work on insurance, but when he contacted his insurers NatWest Home Insurance, they said they could not cover the cost for remedial work that they had not signed off in advance.

A spokesperson for NatWest encouraged customers to contact them before agreeing for any repair work to be done, “so we can advise on their claim and validate any work that needs to be carried out”.

They added that they would be providing Allan with “ongoing additional support” after the scam.

The BBC has seen the quote and invoice, both dated 18 December, which Allan paid in full by cheque.

Dr Tim Day, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) lead officer for doorstep crime, scams and consumer vulnerability, said this type of scam represents 95% of his caseload – and often the mental toll on victims is far greater than the financial one.

He said that research by the Home Office in 2003 suggested older victims of rogue trader crime were two-and-a-half times more likely to have died or gone into residential care in the two years following an incident than those who had not been victimised.

“It is, unfortunately, robbing people of their independence and it’s no exaggeration to say, quite literally, it’s killing people,” he said.

He added that the market was “flooded” with rogue traders like the ones who targeted Allan.

Fraud is the most common crime type in the UK, amounting to around 40% of all crime in England and Wales, according to the government.

Dr Day said the government should bring in a compulsory national licensing scheme to make traders more accountable.

“Currently, you’ve got a situation where anyone can set themselves up, you don’t need any experience, or knowledge, or training, and they don’t need to be legitimate in any way.

“The trade that they represent, as is often the case at the moment, can purely be a means by which they perpetrate fraud.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said there was “no clear evidence that a licensing scheme would improve standards”.

They said the department supports the TrustMark scheme for helping people to find competent traders, and that local authorities would have new powers from April to allow for tougher fines against businesses that rip off customers.

Allan said he had accepted that he had lost his money, but when his family tried to call the roofers to try to get the scaffolding down, they did not respond.

The scaffolding was left on his property for more than two months before another builder offered to take it away for him.

Allan’s close friend, Fred Bree, said the extent to which he had been taken advantage of “beggars belief”.

“Allan is a very proud and independent man, he doesn’t seek help – but he’s vulnerable,” Mr Bree added.

The local Trading Standards team at East Riding of Yorkshire Council said it saw similar scams “day in day out”.

The details for the firm on Allan’s invoice appear to match up with a company that was dissolved in 2022, according to Companies House.

The BBC has decided not to name the company for Allan’s safety.

Humberside Police said it was investigating a number of lines of inquiry.

Det Insp Mark Hawley added: “Those who choose to defraud and carry out such unscrupulous crimes against elderly and vulnerable people are a disgrace to our society.

“I would always encourage anyone who is suspicious that they, or someone they know, may be a victim of fraud to talk to someone about it. If it seems too good to be true, or you feel under pressure to make a quick decision, then that is a potential red flag that something isn’t right.”

Details of support with fraud are available at BBC Action Line.

The UK was “intimately involved” in helping Ukraine and the US reach an agreement over a proposed ceasefire deal with Russia, according to UK government sources.

Ukrainian President Zelensky has said he is ready to accept an immediate 30-day ceasefire but that it is up to the US to convince Russia to agree, after talks in Saudi Arabia.

The BBC has been told that over the past week there has been a concerted European effort, led by Sir Keir Starmer, to get the US and Ukraine back in good favour with one another.

Sir Keir praised the “remarkable breakthrough” and called it an “important moment for peace in Ukraine”.

Following the announcement, the Trump administration said it would reinstate military aid to Ukraine and restart intelligence-sharing with Kyiv – after abruptly halting this after Donald Trump and Zelensky’s row in the Oval Office.

The UK sources say that last week the prime minister’s National Security Adviser, Jonathan Powell, worked with his US counterpart Mike Waltz, and German and French officials, to fashion a plan for a ceasefire and the steps that might follow.

Over the weekend Powell travelled to Kyiv to meet Zelensky and help draft a written proposal which included a temporary pause in fighting, then confidence-building measures such as an exchange of prisoners-of-war, the return of Ukrainian children taken by Russia and the release of civilians.

That proposal was agreed by the Ukrainians and the Americans, setting the stage for what happened in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Following the talks between White House and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia, Sir Keir congratulated the two men on the agreement, adding “we now all need to redouble our efforts” to secure a peace deal for Ukraine.

He said: “As both American and Ukrainian delegations have said, the ball is now in the Russian court. Russia must now agree to a ceasefire and an end to the fighting too.”

Trump told reporters that US officials would discuss the deal with Moscow either late on Tuesday or Wednesday as he wanted to “get this show on the road”.

When asked about the 30-day ceasefire proposal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “let’s not get ahead of ourselves”.

Speaking at a daily press briefing, he said Russia was “carefully studying the statements made after the meeting” and that the Kremlin needed to be briefed by the US on the outcome of US-Ukrainian talks in Saudi Arabia before commenting on whether a proposed ceasefire was acceptable to Russia.

Peskov did not rule out the need for a phone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Trump.

Labour MP Dame Emily Thornberry, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said Britain has played a “big part” in where things currently stand in the war in Ukraine, including proposals for a halt in fighting.

“I think we need to just pause this moment and appreciate the calm and optimism and hope,” she told the BBC’s Today programme.

“We might have peace in Ukraine, this is a step along that road, it could happen and I think we need to at this stage kind of appreciate what it is that we have achieved and I think that Britain has played a big part in that.”

She also said that Powell had “earnt his money”, noting that the work he has done in helping Ukraine and the US reach an agreement over a proposed ceasefire deal with Russia is an “achievement”.

On Saturday, Sir Keir will host a phone call of leaders which he has dubbed the “coalition of the willing” to discuss peacekeeping efforts aimed at deterring Russian President Putin from launching future incursions into Ukraine.

Those joining the call are “ready to help bring an end to this war in a just and permanent way that allows Ukraine to enjoy its freedom”, he said.

One aim of the European teams working behind the scenes has been to ensure that it is now Russia that is in the spotlight: does it want peace?

A UK source said “the ball is firmly in the Russian court. Will they reciprocate and stop the fighting to allow serious negotiations on a lasting peace or will they continue to slaughter innocent civilians?”.

Hundreds of thousands of people, most of them soldiers, are believed to have been killed or injured on both sides, and millions of Ukrainian civilians have fled as refugees, since Russia invaded Ukraine just over three years ago.

Russia’s attacks on Ukraine have continued with Ukrainian authorities confirming one missile attack in President Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih – which killed one person – and an attack on a cargo ship in the port city of Odessa – which killed four Syrian nationals and damaged port infrastructure and grain storage facilities.

Scotland’s former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is to stand down as an MSP, she has announced.

The ex-SNP leader confirmed she would not seek re-election at the Holyrood election in May next year.

In a statement published on social media, she said making the decision had been “far from easy”.

She added: “However, I have known in my heart for a while that the time is right for me to embrace different opportunities in a new chapter of my life, and to allow you to select a new standard bearer.”

Sturgeon resigned as first minister in March 2023 after eight years in the role.

She is Scotland’s longest-serving first minister and the first woman to hold the position.

Her resignation as party leader marked the beginning of a tumultuous period for her and the SNP.

In June 2023 she was arrested and released without charge as part of a police investigation into SNP finances. She insists she has done nothing wrong.

Her husband Peter Murrell, who had long served as the SNP’s chief executive, has since been charged with embezzling SNP funds.

In January, Sturgeon announced that the pair had decided to end their marriage.

The Glasgow Southside MSP is one of the original MSPs elected in 1999.

In her letter to constituents, she highlighted policies introduced during her time in office such as the Scottish Child Payment and expanded early years education.

She said: “I joined the SNP in 1986 because I wanted to play my part in building a fair and prosperous Scotland and I have dedicated my life to that task ever since.

“I believed then that winning our country’s independence was essential to Scotland reaching her full potential, and I still do.

“Even though I am preparing to leave elected politics, I hope to contribute in different ways to making that ambition a reality.”

Sturgeon led the SNP to a series of election victories at UK, Scottish and local level.

In 2022, the UK Supreme Court ruled that Holyrood did not have the power to stage another independence referendum – a move which has been blocked by the UK government.

Sturgeon was succeeded Humza Yousaf as first minister.

He lasted just a year in the role, stepping down in April last year after a decision to rip up a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens left him facing a vote of no confidence.

Yousaf announced in December last year that he is to stand down as an MSP at the 2026 Holyrood election.

He was replaced as first minister by Sturgeon’s deputy John Swinney, who after a poor showing at July’s general election has seen support for SNP stabilise in the polls.

A reverend whose house was sold without him knowing has had the property returned to him nearly four years on, after a family was ordered to leave.

Rev Mike Hall returned to his Luton home from Wales in 2021 to find someone impersonating him had sold it on for £131,000, after his identity was stolen.

The Land Registry accepted fault and put his name back on the title, but when he returned again in 2023 he found a family living there.

At Luton County Court on Monday, Judge Elaine Vignoli granted Mr Hall outright possession of the home in 14 days.

Mr Hall said he was “quite angry about the way in which this has played out”, and “quite sad” for both himself and the family living there.

While working in north Wales in 2021, Mr Hall was alerted by neighbours that someone was in his house and all the lights were on.

Mr Hall drove back to Luton and found a new owner carrying out building work.

“I tried my key in the front door, it didn’t work and a man opened the front door to me – and the shock of seeing the house completely stripped of furniture, everything was out of the property,” he said.

BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme obtained the driving licence used to impersonate Mr Hall, details of a bank account set up in his name to receive the proceeds of the sale, and phone recordings of a man claiming to be Mr Hall instructing solicitors to sell the house.

After he reclaimed ownership two years later, a BBC reporter visited the home and spoke to a man and a woman with a young child who had a bogus rental contract.

Mr Hall went to Luton County Court to take possession of the home once more. A woman, following proceedings through a Romanian interpreter, and a child also attended.

Mr Hall’s lawyer, Lewis Colbourne, said there were “two innocent parties in court”.

The occupants had been told by police 18 months ago to stop paying rent, which did not go to Mr Hall, and the judge heard an investigation remained ongoing.

The court was told the occupants did not oppose the application and the judge granted Mr Hall possession and that “persons unknown” must pay his costs.

Mr Hall said: “I am quite sad that the [woman] has now got to find a new home for herself.”

You can listen to the full interview with Mr Hall on Radio 4’s You and Yours at 12:00 GMT on Wednesday.

A man who ran the entire length of Africa has begun his latest challenge – running the full length of New Zealand.

Russ Cook, nicknamed Hardest Geezer, completed his previous endurance challenge in April last year after 352 days.

The 27-year-old, from Worthing, West Sussex, plans to run the 1,864 mile (3,000km) Te Araroa Trail, which will see him take on 60 ultramarathons while navigating mountains, forests, coastlines and cities.

“The incredible, warm welcome I’ve received so far has already given me a glimpse of how special the journey ahead of me will be,” he said.

He has begun the challenge at Stirling Point in Bluff – the southern tip of New Zealand’s South Island – and will run northbound for about 60 days to the finish line in Cape Rēinga, in Northland.

Mr Cook said he expected to climb the equivalent of approximately 10 Mount Everests in elevation over approximately the next 10 weeks.

During the challenge, he is also due to bungee jump off Auckland Harbour Bridge, canyon swing in Queenstown and sky dive in Abel Tasman.

He said he was excited to be “back on the road again” in his first major expedition since running the length of Africa.

“If anything, from my experiences before in Africa, it has made me more finely attuned to the risks that I can take and the risks that I can’t take,” he said.

“A lot of personal growth is done in those little uncomfortable spots.

“You’re not totally 100% sure, but you go for it anyway, and you make it happen, and that’s when you learn.”

Mr Cook raised more than £1m for charity during his previous challenge in Africa, despite complications with visas, health scares, geopolitical issues and an armed robbery.

The extreme challenge began at South Africa’s most southerly point on 22 April 2023, and finished more than 10,190 miles (16,400km) north in Tunisia.

The ultramarathon runner said he planned to continue living adventurously for as long as his body allowed.

“When I’m older, when the body’s keeled over a bit, I expect I’ll pick up where I left off,” he said.

Hollyoaks actor and reality TV star Paul Danan died at his Bristol home from a cocktail of drugs including cocaine and heroin, an inquest opening has been told.

Danan died in January at the age of 46.

The inquest was opened and adjourned on Tuesday at Avon Coroner’s Court, with senior coroner Maria Voisin setting a provisional date of 28 May for the actor’s full inquest hearing.

Danan, who played Sol Patrick in Hollyoaks, was also known for his appearances on the likes of Celebrity Love Island and Celebrity Big Brother.

Coroner’s officer Alexis Camp told the hearing that Danan was pronounced dead at his home in Brislington, Bristol, at 5.20pm on 15 January.

His body was identified at the scene by his partner, Melissa Crooks.

Ms Camp said: “The circumstances are that Mr Danan was found unresponsive at his home address.

“Emergency services attended and confirmed he had sadly died. A post-mortem has taken place and samples have been removed for further analysis.”

The court was told that the provisional cause of Danan’s death is combined toxicity of heroin, methadone, coedine, pregabalin, cocaine, zopiclone, contributed to by benzodiazepine use.

Ms Camp said: “I understand there are no family concerns,” adding that “no note was left” by the star.

Statements will be taken from Danan’s GP, family, police, the ambulance service and inquiries are ongoing with Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (AWP), she said.

Danan had been due to appear for a plea hearing at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on 16 January after being charged with being in possession of cocaine and cannabis, according to court documents.

He was also accused of driving whilst under the influence of drugs on 2 October last year, in Warrington, Cheshire.

Danan had openly discussed previous issues with drugs, including addictions to cocaine and codeine, which he said he used to “self-soothe” after losing acting parts in his 20s while in the US.

He also said that he had spent more than £1m on rehab over the years.

In 2020, Danan launched drama classes in Bristol, his adopted home, for adults with mental health or addiction issues, or who have been through trauma or been in prison.

Speaking at the time of his death, the actor’s management company said he was “known for his television presence, exceptional talent and unwavering kindness”, and had been “a beacon of light to so many”.

Philippine police have arrested former President Rodrigo Duterte after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity over his deadly “war on drugs”.

The 79-year-old was taken into police custody shortly after his arrival at Manila airport from Hong Kong.

He has offered no apologies for his brutal anti-drugs crackdown, which saw thousands of people killed when he was president of the South East Asian nation from 2016 to 2022, and mayor of Davao city before that.

Upon his arrest, he questioned the basis for the warrant, asking: “What crime [have] I committed?”

Duterte’s former presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo criticised the arrest, calling it “unlawful” as the Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019.

The ICC earlier said that it has jurisdiction in the Philippines over alleged crimes committed before the country withdrew as a member.

But activists called the arrest a “historic moment” for those who perished in his drug war and their families, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) said.

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but today, it has bent towards justice. Duterte’s arrest is the beginning of accountability for the mass killings that defined his brutal rule,” said ICHRP chairman Peter Murphy.

Duterte had been in Hong Kong to campaign for the upcoming 12 May mid-term elections, where he had planned to run again for mayor of Davao.

Footage aired on local television showed him walking out of the airport using a cane. Authorities say he is in “good health” and is being cared for by government doctors.

“What is my sin? I did everything in my time for peace and a peaceful life for the Filipino people,” he told a cheering crowd of Filipino expatriates before leaving Hong Kong.

A video posted by his daughter, Veronica Duterte, showed Duterte in custody in a lounge at Manila’s Villamor Air Base. In it, he can be heard questioning the reason for his arrest.

“What is the law and what is the crime that I committed? I was brought here not of my own volition, it is somebody else’s. You have to answer now for the deprivation of liberty.”

Duterte’s arrest marks the “beginning of a new chapter in Philippine history”, said Filipino political scientist Richard Heydarian.

“This is about rule of law and human rights,” he said.

Heydarian added that authorities had arrested Duterte promptly at the airport instead of letting the matter take its course through the local courts to “avoid political chaos”.

“Duterte’s supporters were hoping they could go berserk in terms of public rallies and [use] all sorts of delaying tactics… [to] drag things on until the warrant of arrest loses momentum,” he said.

The demand for justice in Duterte’s drug war goes “hand in hand” with the political interests of his successor, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Heydarian said.

The Duterte and Marcos families formed a formidable alliance in the last elections in 2022, where against the elder Duterte’s wishes, his daughter Sara ran as Marcos Jr’s vice-president instead of seeking her father’s post.

The relationship unravelled publicly in recent months as the two families pursued separate political agendas.

Marcos initially refused to co-operate with the ICC investigation, but as his relationship with the Duterte family deteriorated, he changed his stance, and later indicated that the Philippines would co-operate.

It is not clear yet whether Marcos would go as far as extraditing the former president to stand trial in The Hague.

Duterte served as mayor of Davao, a sprawling southern metropolis, for 22 years and has made it one of the country’s safest from street crimes.

He used the city’s peace-and-order reputation to cast himself as a tough-talking anti-establishment politician to win the 2016 elections by a landslide.

With fiery rhetoric, he rallied security forces to shoot drug suspects dead. More than 6,000 suspects were gunned down by police or unknown assailants during the campaign, but rights groups say the number could be higher.

A previous UN report found that most victims were young, poor urban males and that police, who do not need search or arrest warrants to conduct house raids, systematically forced suspects to make self-incriminating statements or risk facing lethal force.

Critics said the campaign targeted street-level pushers and failed to catch big-time drug lords. Many families also claimed that the victims – their sons, brothers or husbands – were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Investigations in parliament pointed to a shadowy “death squad” of bounty hunters targeting drug suspects. Duterte has denied the allegations of abuse.

“Do not question my policies because I offer no apologies, no excuses. I did what I had to do, and whether or not you believe it… I did it for my country,” Duterte told a parliament investigation in October.

“I hate drugs, make no mistake about it.”

The ICC first took note of the alleged abuses in 2016 and started its investigation in 2021. It covered cases from November 2011, when Duterte was mayor of Davao, to March 2019, before the Philippines withdrew from the ICC.

Since taking power, Marcos has scaled back Duterte’s anti-narcotics campaign and promised a less violent approach to the drug problem, but hundreds of drug-related killings have been recorded during his administration.

Duterte remains widely popular in the Philippines as he is the country’s first leader from Mindanao, a region south of Manila, where many feel marginalised by the leaders in the capital.

He often speaks in Cebuano, the regional language, not Tagalog, which is more widely-spoken in Manila and northern regions.

When he stepped down in 2022, nearly nine in 10 Filipinos said they were satisfied with his performance as president – a score unseen among his predecessors since the restoration of democracy in 1986, according to the Social Weather Stations research institute.

His populist rhetoric and blunt statements earned him the moniker “Donald Trump of the East”. He has called Russian President Vladimir Putin his “idol” and under his administration, the Philippines’ pivoted their foreign policy to China away from the US, its long-standing ally.

Marcos restored Manila’s ties with Washington and criticised the Duterte government for being “Chinese lackeys” as the Philippines is locked in sea dispute with China.

China’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that it was “closely monitoring the development of the situation” and warned the ICC against “politicisation” and “double standards” in the arrest of Duterte.

Duterte’s daughter and political heir, Sara Duterte, is tipped as a potential presidential candidate in 2028. The incumbent, Marcos, is barred by the constitution from seeking re-election.

Additional reporting by Virma Simonette in Manila and Kelly Ng in Singapore

Sir Keir Starmer has called the current benefits system unsustainable, indefensible and unfair, and said the government could not “shrug its shoulders and look away”.

Addressing Labour MPs on Monday evening, the prime minister said the current welfare system was “the worst of all worlds”, discouraging people from working while producing a “spiralling bill”.

The comments come as Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall prepares to set out changes to the welfare system and cut the benefits bill in the coming weeks.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has earmarked several billion pounds in draft spending cuts to welfare and other government departments ahead of the Spring Statement.

There is unease over the plans within the party, with Labour MP Rachael Maskell warning against “draconian cuts” that risk “pushing disabled people into poverty”.

Maskell told the BBC she had picked up “deep, deep concern” among Labour MPs.

She said: “I look in the past at what Labour has achieved in this space and believe that we can hold on to our values, ensure that we’re helping people and not harming people.”

Another Labour MP, Neil Duncan-Jordan, also expressed concern, telling Newsnight: “If we are going to make poor people poorer then there will be a number of MPs who won’t be able to sign up to that.

“It feels like it could be a re-run of austerity and I’m worried about that.”

However, other sections of the Parliamentary Labour Party are calling for change.

The Get Britain Working group of 36 Labour MPs has said the government has a “moral duty” to help long-term sick and disabled people to work if they can.

In a letter to Kendall, the MPs said the country faced “hard choices” to overcome a “crisis of economic inactivity”.

Speaking at a meeting of Labour MPs on Monday night, Sir Keir said: “We’ve found ourselves in a worst of all worlds situation – with the wrong incentives – discouraging people from working, the taxpayer funding a spiralling bill.

“A wasted generation, one-in-eight young people not in education, employment or training, and the people who really need that safety net still not always getting the dignity they deserve.

“That’s unsustainable, it’s indefensible and it is unfair, people feel that in their bones.”

“So, this needs to be our offer to people up and down the country: If you can work, we will make work pay – if you need help, that safety net will be there for you.

“But this is the Labour Party – we believe in the dignity of work and we believe in the dignity of every worker.”

A number of MPs leaving the meeting said they had been satisfied with the prime minister’s words.

One said they accepted that welfare reform had to happen and were reassured that he had said it had to be done with Labour values and through the dignity of work.

However, another said constituents were frightened and needed to know that support would be there.

They said there had been little recognition that reducing benefits like the Personal Independence Payment, which helps people keep their independence, had the potential to push up costs.

In a letter to Reeves, a dozen charities have argued there is “little evidence to suggest cutting benefits increases employment outcomes”.

The charities – including Disability Rights UK, Citizens Advice, Scope and Sense – urged her to “think again about cuts to disability benefits”.

They said: “There are disabled people out of work who want to work given the right support. And for some disabled people, work isn’t appropriate.

“Changes to welfare must start here. Not with cuts.”

But ministers are worried about the surge in the number of people claiming benefits since the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost to the taxpayer.

As of January, 9.3 million people aged 16 to 64 in the UK were economically inactive – a rise of 713,000 since the pandemic.

The Department of Work and Pensions says some 2.8 million people are economically inactive because of long-term sickness.

Last year, the government spent £65bn on sickness benefits and that figure is forecast to increase by tens of billions before the next general election.

Some of the reforms to the welfare system have already been announced and include plans to use 1,000 work coaches to help the long-term unemployed into work.

In its letter, the Get Britain Working group said the cost of worklessness among the long-term sick and disabled “goes far beyond economic necessity”.

“It is a moral duty,” the letter said.

The letter said the group – most of whom were elected for the first time at last July’s general election – was formed to “press for fundamental change to our welfare system to support work”.

“We believe reforming our broken system is not only necessary, but also a truly progressive endeavour,” the letter said.

Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said too many people were being signed off sick.

He said the benefits system needed to be made tougher and suggested it was too easy for people to get welfare payments.

“I think it’s gone far too far and it is costing us billions and billions of pounds a year,” he said.

Mark Carney has won the race to succeed Justin Trudeau as Canada’s next prime minister, vowing to win the trade war against US President Donald Trump as he takes charge of the country at a time of deep instability.

The former governor of the Canadian and UK central banks beat three rivals in the Liberal Party’s leadership contest in a landslide.

In much of his victory speech, Carney, 59, attacked Trump, who has imposed tariffs on Canada and said he wants to make the country the 51st US state. “Americans should make no mistake,” he said. “In trade, as in hockey, Canada will win.”

Carney is expected to be sworn in as PM in the coming days and will lead the Liberals in the next general election, which is expected to be called in the coming weeks.

Carney, now prime minister-designate, has never served in elected office.

The Liberal leadership race began in January after Trudeau resigned following nearly a decade in office. He had faced internal pressure to quit over deep unpopularity with voters, who were frustrated with a housing crisis and the rising cost of living.

Carney won on the first ballot on Sunday evening, taking 85.9% of the vote to beat his nearest rival, former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Loud cheers erupted as the results were announced to a crowd of some 1,600 party faithful in Ottawa, Canada’s capital.

The party said more than 150,000 people had cast ballots in the race.

Carney, who will lead a minority government in parliament, could either call a snap general election himself or opposition parties could force one with a no-confidence vote later this month.

The governing Liberals have seen a remarkable political turnaround since Trudeau’s exit, as Canadians have been galvanised by Donald Trump’s trade threats and support for annexing their country

At the beginning of the year, they trailed the Conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre, by more than 20 points in election polls.

They have since narrowed the gap and some polls show them statistically tied with Poilievre’s party.

Much of Carney’s speech focused on what he called Trump’s “unjustified tariffs” on Canada, America’s largest trading partner.

The US imposed levies of 25% on Canadian goods last Tuesday, but rowed back within days to exempt goods compliant with an existing trade agreement.

Canada responded with retaliatory tariffs of its own as Trudeau accused his US counterpart of trying to collapse the country’s economy.

Carney echoed that in his victory speech, saying Trump was “attacking Canadian workers, families, and businesses”.

“We can’t let him succeed,” he added, as the crowd booed loudly.

He said his government would keep tariffs on US imports “until the Americans show us respect”.

Canada’s economy depends significantly on trade with the US and risks tipping into recession if the sweeping tariffs threatened by Trump are fully imposed.

“I know these are dark days,” Carney said. “Dark days brought on by a country we can no longer trust.

“We’re getting over the shock, but let us never forget the lessons: we have to look after ourselves and we have to look out for each other. We need to pull together in the tough days ahead.”

Carney also pledged to “secure our borders” – a key demand of Trump who has accused Canada of failing to control the flow of migrants and fentanyl going south.

The US president even got a mention in Carney’s attacks on his main opponent, Conservative leader Poilievre.

“Pierre Poilievre’s plan will leave us divided and ready to be conquered,” said Carney.

“Because a person who worships at the altar of Donald Trump will kneel before him, not stand up to him.”

Shortly before Carney took to the stage, Trudeau gave an emotional farewell speech, reflecting on his 12 years as Liberal leader.

He warned that Canada was facing an “existential challenge” from the US under Trump.

The Conservatives have had to pivot politically since Trudeau’s resignation, and are attacking Carney as not representing change but rather being “just like Justin”.

They accuse the Liberals of a “sneaky” plan to win a fourth term by simply substituting their leader.

Poilievre’s party has also accused Carney of lying about his role in moving investment firm Brookfield Asset Management’s head office from Toronto to New York.

Carney said the formal decision by shareholders to relocate the firm was made after he quit the board at the start of this year but a letter emerged showing he had recommended the move in December.

Federal Public Safety Minister David McGuinty, who endorsed Carney, told the BBC that he “embodies the kind of quiet determination, but steely determination and competence to deal with some of these big issues”.

“I’m really, really excited for what’s coming. And frankly, it’s time for an election.”

The Liberals will face Poilievre’s Conservatives, who are the official opposition with 120 seats in the House of Commons; the Bloc Quebecois, who have 33 seats; and the New Democrats, who have 24, when Canadians next go to the polls.

The former central banker has run on a broadly centrist agenda, a shift from Trudeau, who moved the Liberals to the left.

A major promise is to push forward major energy projects like pipelines, which have faced political roadblocks in recent years.

He has promised major investments in housing and clean energy projects, and to liberalise trade within Canada, where barriers remain between provinces, as well as diversifying the economy away from the US.

During the leadership race, Carney promised to cap the size of the federal government, which expanded 40% under Trudeau.

A senior lawyer appointed by Reform UK to independently investigate allegations against MP Rupert Lowe and his team has denied making comments he has attributed to her.

The Great Yarmouth MP was suspended by Reform and referred to the police over accusations he made threats of violence against its chairman.

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed they are assessing an allegation of “verbal threats.”

There have also been allegations of bullying in Lowe’s offices, which are being investigated by the lawyer hired by the party.

Lowe strongly denies all the claims, saying “there is no credible evidence against me” and says he is the victim of “a political assassination because I dared to question Nigel Farage”.

Reform removed the whip from Lowe, meaning he now sits as an independent MP.

His suspension came after the Daily Mail published an interview with Lowe where he said Reform under Nigel Farage’s leadership remained a “protest party led by the Messiah”.

The lawyer, a KC or King’s Counsel, who has not been named by the party but whose credentials have been verified by the BBC, said: “I have seen a number of statements made by Mr Lowe MP which are attributed to me and which describe my reactions to the process conducted by the party into the allegations made against both Mr Lowe MP and his constituency manager.

“I find myself in the unfortunate and regrettable position of having to make this statement to correct the record.”

The lawyer added: “I have not expressed either ‘dismay’ or ‘shock’ at any time as to the process. Nor have I said ‘there is zero credible evidence against [Mr Lowe]’, let alone said this ‘repeatedly’.”

On Friday, Lowe took issue with a statement issued by Reform which set out that there would be an independent investigation into what had happened.

He wrote: “I have just spoken to the KC. She is dismayed that this statement has been made, and reiterated that no evidence against me has been sent to her.

“She stated that this has been issued before the investigation has even started.

“She is shocked at the process, shocked at the communication from the party, and shocked that no credible evidence has been given, despite her repeated requests.”

The BBC put the lawyer’s statement to Lowe, who issued his own statement in reply.

“Ever since this malicious attack on my reputation was launched, all I have asked for from both Reform and the KC is credible evidence against me. None has been provided. It still hasn’t,” he said.

“The KC has said she has been ‘chasing’ for that. I have received nothing. Because there is no credible evidence against me.”

He added: “I have spoken with the KC at length, on the phone and through message. I’ve got to know her over the last week, and she has been very helpful, and is a charming lady who is trying to do her job in the very difficult position that Reform has put her in.”

He accused the party of an “outright lie” in claiming he had not co-operated with the investigation, a claim Reform made in a statement on Friday evening.

“I have been in discussions with my legal team this afternoon, and this will be followed by legal action in due course,” Lowe told the BBC.

“I will not have my name dragged through the mud as part of a political assassination because I dared to question Nigel Farage. You have to stand up to bullies, and I am doing exactly that.”

He said the lawyer had told him on Friday night: “I advised that you should simply say that the party was precipitous to state that these allegations had been made without also saying that the party has commissioned an independent investigation and the investigation has not yet got underway to look at all the evidence and evaluate its veracity.”

Reform spokeswoman Ann Widdecombe said the row was “temporarily damaging” to the party – but “not damaging in the long term”.

Widdecombe told BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour: “The fact is all parties have these eruptions from time to time.

“But while the investigations are under way I think we should simply wait until they report, and then we will know where we are.”