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Politics latest: MPs vote to change law to decriminalise abortion

MPs vote to decriminalise women having an abortion in England and Wales, in a historic vote. Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer has given an interview to Sky News at the G7 summit in Canada.

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MPs vote to decriminalise abortion in historic vote

MPs have voted to add an amendment to a bill that would decriminalise women having an abortion in England and Wales in a historic vote.

The result of the vote was:

  • Ayes: 379
  • Noes: 137

That means the amendment was passed with a majority of 242. It was a free vote - MPs were not told how to vote by their parties.

The amendment, tabled by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, would "disapply existing criminal law related to abortion from women acting in relation to her own pregnancy at any gestation, removing the threat of investigation, arrest, prosecution, or imprisonment".

Under current law in England and Wales, abortion is allowed up to the first 24 weeks of pregnancy - and beyond that in certain circumstances.

However, abortion is still considered a criminal offence under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 - and it has to be approved by two doctors.

This amendment would prevent women from being prosecuted - but would keep punishments for medical professionals and violent partners who end a pregnancy outside of the existing law.

It has been added to the government's flagship Crime and Policing Bill that is making its way through parliament, and will come law once that bill receives royal assent.

PM 'worried about escalation' in Middle East - but says US attacking Iran not 'imminent'

Next on Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge, we are turning to events in the Middle East, and the prime minister told Sky News earlier that he does not believe an American attack on Iran is "imminent" - and he is "worried about escalation" in the region.

Speaking to our political editor Beth Rigby at the G7 summit in Canada, Sir Keir Starmer was asked about Donald Trump's rapid, early departure last night, and if his emergency meetings with his national security officials could mean an American strike is coming,

He replied: "Well, I don't think you should read into that that an American attack is imminent."

He said he and fellow G7 leaders "had a two-hour discussion with the president last night on the Middle East, on this very issue", and the statement that results was "very clear about the risk of the nuclear program in Iran, Israel's right to self-defence and the need to de-escalate across the region, including in Gaza".

Asked directly if he is worried about the situation in the region escalating, Starmer said: "Of course I'm worried about escalation, which is why my focus is on de-escalation. I'm worried about escalation in the region and the impact it would have in the region. And I'm worried about the impact it would also have on Gaza.

"And I'm very pleased that the focus now is also on a ceasefire in Gaza, which I want to press forward in coming days as well, but also the impact it's having on our economy."

Watch the full interview here:

Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge is live - with historic abortion vote under way

Our flagship weeknight politics programme is under way.

At the start of the show, we are following events live in the House of Commons where MPs are voting on an amendment to decriminalise abortion.

We will bring you the result live shortly.

Joining us shortly after the vote will be Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, who tabled the amendment being voted on.

Also on the show is columnist and author Sarah Vine, who was married to former veteran cabinet minister Lord Michael Gove.

And on Sophy's panel will be former Tory MP Dehenna Davison, and former shadow cabinet minister Jonathan Ashworth.

Watch live on Sky News and in the stream at the top of this page.

Sky News Daily: Was there a Whitehall cover-up of the grooming gangs scandal?

Whitehall officials tried to convince Michael Gove to go to court to cover up the grooming scandal in 2011.

That's according to Dominic Cummings, who was working for Gove at the time.

In an interview with Sky's political correspondent Liz Bates, Cummings has revealed how officials in the Department for Education wanted to help efforts by Rotherham Council to stop a national newspaper from exposing the scandal.

On the Sky News Daily, Mark Austin speaks to Liz Bates about the scandal and what Cummings told her.

Coming up on Sky News at 7pm

MPs are currently debating two amendments to a bill that would both decriminalise abortion - a historic step.

They cannot both pass, as they are slightly different, so the first vote - which is expected to pass - will be on the amendment tabled by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi.

Under current law in England and Wales, abortion is allowed up to the first 24 weeks of pregnancy - and beyond that in certain circumstances.

However, abortion is still considered a criminal offence under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 - and it has to be approved by two doctors.

The Antoniazzi amendment hopes to prevent women from being investigated, arrested, prosecuted or imprisoned for ending their pregnancies.

Antoniazzi told the BBC that more than "100 women have in the last five years been put into the criminal system and it's not in the public interest".

Her amendment - which has been backed by 176 MPs - would keep punishments for medical professionals and violent partners who end a pregnancy outside of the existing law.

Live coverage of the vote at 7pm

We are expecting the vote to take place at 7pm, and we will bring you live coverage and reaction live on Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge on Sky News.

We will hear from Tonia Antoniazzi live after the vote.

Also on the show is columnist and author Sarah Vine, who was married to former veteran cabinet minister Lord Michael Gove.

And on Sophy's panel will be former Tory MP Dehenna Davison, and former shadow cabinet minister Jonathan Ashworth.

Healey vows to ensure 'pipeline of people' for the army to 'defend our nation'

Defence Secretary John Healey has been speaking at the RUSI Land Warfare conference, and he talked about the state of the UK's army.

He said: "In the last decade, a million young people applied to join the military. They're the very lifeblood of the army. Every day, young men and women stepping forward in search of the opportunity, a sense of purpose and pride. In search of something greater than they have in their lives at present.

"And yet, of that million, more than three in four simply gave up, in large party because of the long delays in the process. They gave up before they were either recruited or rejected.

"And so, in response, we've set new targets, we've scrapped old policies and red tape, and we're starting to turn those numbers around.

"My pledge to you is that the army will have a pipeline of people, the pipeline of people it needs to defend our nation and our nation's interests."

For detailed insight on the state of the UK's armed forces, listen to Sky's new podcast, The Wargame. Russia knows our defences, but do you?

Starmer and ZelenAG百家乐在线官网y meet at G7 in Canada

Volodymyr ZelenAG百家乐在线官网y has arrived at the G7 summit in Canada, and he is participating in a roundtable discussion with his fellow leaders.

Before the session, the pair had a conversation, and are seated next to each other in the roundtable meeting.

PM 'worried about escalation' in Middle East - but says US attacking Iran not 'imminent'

The prime minister has told Sky News that he does not believe an American attack on Iran is "imminent" - and he is "worried about escalation" in the region.

Speaking to our political editor Beth Rigby at the G7 summit in Canada, Sir Keir Starmer was asked about Donald Trump's rapid, early departure last night, and if his emergency meetings with his national security officials could mean an American strike is coming,

He replied: "Well, I don't think you should read into that that an American attack is imminent."

He said he and fellow G7 leaders "had a two-hour discussion with the president last night on the Middle East, on this very issue", and the statement that results was "very clear about the risk of the nuclear program in Iran, Israel's right to self-defence and the need to de-escalate across the region, including in Gaza".

Asked directly if he is worried about the situation in the region escalating, Starmer said: "Of course I'm worried about escalation, which is why my focus is on de-escalation. I'm worried about escalation in the region and the impact it would have in the region. And I'm worried about the impact it would also have on Gaza.

"And I'm very pleased that the focus now is also on a ceasefire in Gaza, which I want to press forward in coming days as well, but also the impact it's having on our economy."

Watch the full interview here:

Grooming gangs: PM hits out at 'people who shout and scream - and do nothing'

Sir Keir Starmer has criticised politicians who "shout and scream, and do nothing" to deal with issues such as grooming gangs - and called for "accountability" for those who failed to prevent the abuse of young girls.

Speaking to our political editor Beth Rigby at the G7 summit in Canada, the prime minister refused to say if he owes anyone an apology for previously dismissing calls for a public inquiry into the scandal, and defended his own record in tackling grooming gangs.

He said his "frustration" is with people who "don't focus on the victims", and noted that he brought the first prosecution for a grooming case when he was Director of Public Prosecutions, changed guidelines for prosecutors, and called for mandatory reporting.

PM hits out at Badenoch

Starmer went on to say that he tries to "remain courteous", but hit out directly at Kemi Badenoch for having done "absolutely nothing" while in government.

"My focus is on the victims on this, not on politicians," the prime minister said.

"I simply gently point out that some of those that are loudest now did absolutely nothing when they had the opportunity."

Asked if it was misjudged to accuse people calling for a national inquiry of jumping on a far-right bandwagon, Starmer emphasised that he was "talking about politicians", and they need to answer for why they did not deal with this when in power.

"I am frustrated in politics when people shout and scream a lot and do nothing when they've got the opportunity to do it. It's one of the worst aspects of politics, in my view," he said.

'There must be accountability'

Turning to the national public inquiry the government is setting up, the prime minister said it "must go wherever the evidence leads".

"And if that means going into questions of ethnicity, or the views that were taken by public officials or others, then that inquiry must go there. No stone will be left unturned," he said.

Asked directly if public officials - be it councillors, police officers, social worker, or others - should be potentially be prosecuted, Starmer said: "My instinct is there must be accountability."

He went on: "Where the inquiry uncovers failure or wrongdoing, then there absolutely should be accountability. And that is amongst the purposes of an inquiry.

"And it's a statutory inquiry as you know, which will therefore mean there is power to compel evidence and witnesses because it's important that it is comprehensive, it's important that it gets to every single issue.

"And as part of that process, there's accountability for individuals who did wrong."

Starmer admits his biggest mistake since entering Downing Street

Sir Keir Starmer has revealed to Sky News what he views as his biggest mistake since entering Downing Street just under a year ago.

Speaking to our political editor Beth Rigby at the G7 summit in Canada, the prime minister admitted that his government has not communicated with the public as well as it should have.

He said: "I think that we haven't always told our story as well as we should, explained our decisions in the way that might, in retrospect, have been better. But that's the nature of politics."

The PM went on to say that the story of his first year is that the government "had to clear up the mess" that he says the Tories left them.

He continued: "But as we now turn into the second year with the spending review, now's the time we can show that having cleared up that mess, taken those tough but necessary decisions, now you can see in the spending review, with the investment we're making in our public services, in our infrastructure, in our jobs, apprenticeships, you name it - you can see the difference that the Labour government makes."

Asked what he is proudest of, he said: "I'm really proud that a year ago, probably, I was interviewed by you, and I said we'd do two million extra appointments in the NHS in the first year of a Labour government.

"We've now done three million, and waiting lists are coming down. There's a whole list of other things that I could probably go on about for a very, very long time."