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Politics latest: Keir Starmer admits to his 'biggest mistake' as prime minister

The PM has given an interview to Sky News at the G7 summit in Canada. Earlier, Baroness Casey, the grooming gangs report author, appeared at the home affairs committee.

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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 "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."

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."

What amendments are being proposed around abortion?

In the next couple of hours, members of the House of Commons will likely vote on decriminalising abortion in what could be a historic moment for the UK.

Two Labour MPs - Tonia Antoniazzi and Stella Creasy - have put forward amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill around the issue of terminating pregnancies.

Speaker Lindsay Hoyle could pick one - or perhaps both - of the amendments to be debated, but it is likely only one will be voted upon.

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.

So what do these two amendments propose?

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

The MP claims that criminal investigations can be "dehumanising and prolonged and the women forced to endure them are often extraordinarily vulnerable".

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".

She said: "It isn't in the public interest of the public purse either, and it鈥檚 caused greater distress, financial and emotional distress, to these women and to their lives."

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.

Meanwhile, the Creasy amendment goes further, aiming to enshrine abortion access as human right.

The MP also hopes to prevent women who have terminated their own pregnancies from being investigated.

She claims her amendment offers "protection to all those involved in ensuring that women can access safe and legal abortions" - while Antoniazzi's does not.

Creasy's amendment has been backed by 108 MPs but not abortion providers - while Antoniazzi's has.

Watch: Beth Rigby breaks down Trump-Starmer meeting

Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump met at the G7 summit in Canada on Monday - where a UK-US trade deal was declared "done".

It came in the midst of talks by world leaders on the worsening conflict between Iran and Israel in the Middle East.

Our political editor Beth Rigby has explained the ins and outs of the bilateral meeting - which had some interesting optics...

Watch live: Iranian ambassador takes questions from MPs

Amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, the latter's ambassador is appearing in front of the Commons' Foreign Affairs Committee.

Seyed Ali Mousavi will take questions from the cross-party group of MPs on the ongoing conflict, its impact - and no doubt Iran's nuclear ambitions will come up as well.

Israel's ambassador to the UK is not appearing because she was "unavailable", committee chair Dame Emily Thornberry says.

Watch live in the YouTube stream below, and we'll bring you key updates here in the Politics Hub.

You can follow live updates on the Israel-Iran conflict in our dedicated blog here.

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.

UK sanctions on Russia are 'hitting hard', PM insists

British sanctions on Russia are "hitting hard", Sir Keir Starmer has said as he announced 30 additional restrictions during the G7 summit.

Speaking in Canada, the prime minister said: "These sanctions strike right at the heart of Putin's war machine, choking off his ability to continue his barbaric war in Ukraine.

"We know that our sanctions are hitting hard, so while Putin shows total disregard for peace, we will not hesitate to keep tightening the screws.

"The threat posed by Russia cannot be underestimated so I鈥檓 determined to take every step necessary to protect our national security and keep our country safe and secure."

Two UK residents have been included in the new slate of sanctions, which are aimed at increasing pressure on Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.

Vladimir Pristoupa and Olech Tkacz have been placed on the sanctions list, with the government saying the pair had operated "a shadowy network of shell companies鈥unnelling over 120 million US dollars of electronics" to Russia.

Watch in full: Baroness Casey speaks to Sky News about grooming gangs review

At the start of the year, Sir Keir Starmer commissioned an audit into the scale of grooming gangs across the country.

It was conducted by Baroness Louise Casey, and her report - completed 10 days ago - was published by the government on Monday.

She spoke to Sky's Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge about her report, its findings, and what needs to change.

Watch the full interview below...

Minister 'troubled' by proposed abortion amendments

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has written to constituents making clear her opposition to both of today's abortion amendments (see 13.10 post). 

The minister will not be present for today's vote due to being away on government business. 

Though the amendments were both tabled by Labour MPs, it will likely be a free vote - meaning MPs can vote however they like.

Mahmood said: "It is hard to see these measures as anything other than extreme. 

 "I can unequivocally state that I would have voted against both amendments were I able to be there, and I will vote against them if given the opportunity in the future. 

 "I oppose extending abortions up until the point of birth beyond the exemptions that currently exist, as doing so would not only be unnecessary but dangerous. 

"I am deeply concerned to see these measures being progressed in the name of women's rights, when the potential physical and mental impacts on women would be so devastating." 

She added she is "troubled" by the amendments being considered as part of the wider Crime and Policing Bill "meaning there will be less time for debate".