Election latest: Starmer's wife says protest outside home made her feel 'sick' - as PM visits nuclear plant (2024)

In the past hour or so, Just Stop Oil released a video of its members spraying Stonehenge with orange paint.

They did this to warn of the climate crisis ahead of this week's summer solstice.

Sunak: A disgraceful act of vandalism

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was asked about the incident this afternoon.

He said: "This is a disgraceful act of vandalism to one of the UK's and the world's oldest and most important monuments.

"Just Stop Oil should be ashamed of their activists, and they and anyone associated with them, including a certain Labour Party donor, should issue a condemnation of this shameful act immediately."

Dale Vince, a Labour donor who previously donated to Just Stop Oil, said last year he had stopped giving money to the group.

Starmer: Just Stop Oil are pathetic

Sir Keir Starmer has also condemned the incident today.

"The damage done to Stonehenge is outrageous," he tweeted.

"Just Stop Oil are pathetic.

"Those responsible must face the full force of the law."

Three people are on trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court following a protest outside Sir Keir Starmer's house.

The demonstration happened back in April.

Giving evidence today, Sir Keir's wife Victoria said seeing the protest - which involved a banner saying "Starmer stop the killing" in reference to the war in Gaza - made her feel "a bit sick".

"I felt apprehensive and uncomfortable," she added.

Mrs Starmer said she was returning from a shopping trip with her son at the time, and chose to keep driving.

Asked by the defence's lawyer if the protest looked peaceful, she said: "It would look like a peaceful protest if it hadn't been outside my home."

Leonorah Ward, 21, of Leeds, Zosia Lewis, 23, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Daniel Formentin, 24, of Leeds, deny public order offences and breaching bail.

The trial continues.

The SNP has released its election manifesto - and we've scoured their policy pledges so you don't have to.

Scroll to the right in the interactive tool below to find out what the party has promised to do if they win the election.

We will produce a breakdown of all the other parties' manifestos here when they are announced - you can find the ones we've done so far in the key points above.

Rishi Sunak spoke to reporters while munching a Twix (his second of the day apparently) in the visitor centre of the Sizewell B nuclear power plant on the Suffolk coast.

The second half of the campaign has been marked out by a constant focus on tax from the Tories, and more specifically accusations about what Labour would do if they got into power.

That was on show again today, but the prime minister also tried to reinforce a dividing line on defence – accusing Sir Keir Starmer of "undermining" the UK's security.

"If Keir Starmer is elected one of the first things he will do is head off to a NATO summit having cut British defence spending from the planned increases I've announced," he said.

"I think that sends exactly the wrong message both to our allies, but also to our adversaries like Putin and like the North Koreans."

It comes after Vladimir Putin signed a defence deal with Kim Jong Un, which you can read more about below:

Like many of the jibes thrown around in this campaign, the PM's facts are disputed by Labour – who say they will match the 2.5% of GDP defence commitment but only "when economic conditions allow".

Mr Sunak was also asked about his predecessor Boris Johnson apparently jetting off on holiday rather than playing more of an active role in the campaign.

He said he was "grateful" the former PM had been "supporting the Conservative Party" and regularly warning about the "risks of what Starmer would do in government".

Given it's Mr Johnson's 60th birthday, Mr Sunak also added a brisk "happy birthday".

Rishi Sunak has been visiting Sizewell B today, a nuclear power station in Suffolk.

He toured the facility, sometimes donning protective gear.

At one point, the prime minister was talking to apprentices while looking at a simulation control panel.

"What's an example of something that might go wrong?" Mr Sunak asked.

Rishi Sunak has welcomed inflation falling back to the 2% target - one of the goals he set himself in early 2023.

He said the fall in inflation was a "very positive step" that "shows the plan we put in place is working".

The prime minister added Labour would "whack taxes up for everyone", while he would cut them.

Responding to the fact 882 people crossed the Channel in small boats yesterday - the highest total since late 2022 - the PM saidthere would always be some days "worse than others".

Again, he said the election was a choice between him and Labour, advocating for the Rwanda plan first proposed in April 2022.

Tory minister David TC Davies has been speaking to The Sun about his party's election chances.

The Wales secretary does not paint an optimistic picture.

"People are really quite concerned at the moment and not at all happy, there's no great optimism out there," he said.

"And I feel for everyone and I think we're going to get it in the neck, all of us, as a result of that."

He says he and the Tories "can't hide" from the opinion polls suggesting the party could be on course for a historic defeat.

While "they never get it 100% right", the minister does admit "they're clearly pointing at a large Labour majority".

"Keir Starmer will walk into Downing Street," he added.

"I'm sorry about that. We've got to do more to get our message across."

While the SNP was launching its manifesto, we caught up with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

He reiterated his focus on "growing our economy" and bringing investment into the UK "to create wealth and the jobs of the future".

It comes after Labour won the backing of John Caudwell, a businessman who was one of the Tories' biggest donors in 2019.

"These are serious entrepreneurs and investors who know that the most important thing is how you invest and grow your economy," Sir Keir said about his party's growing list of business backers.

Lives won't 'suddenly get easier' after inflation news

He also said people were getting fed up with hearing that government saying "everything is fine" with the economy in the wake of this morning's inflation data release.

He told broadcasters in Wiltshire: "Inflation is now down to where it was three years ago. That doesn't mean that for many people life's suddenly got easier.

"So, yes, it's back where it was three years ago, but that doesn't mean that prices are coming down, it doesn't mean that mortgages are coming down."

'Shocking' number of people crossing Channel

Sir Keir also said the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats was "shocking" - on the day it was reported more than 12,000 people had made the journey so far this year.

"It's record numbers, and this was Rishi Sunak's pledge to the country 18 months ago, he would stop the boats," he said.

"The way to bring this down is what we would do, which is to set up a border security command to smash the gangs running this vile trade."

The SNP's manifesto has been launched by party leader John Swinney.

No costings were provided alongside the 32-page document titled "a future made in Scotland" - and it's important to note many of the main policies would rest with the Westminster government.

Here they are:

• To deliver independence via a second referendum;
• From there, rejoin the EU - delivering freedom of movement, access to workers from the bloc, and re-entry to Erasmus;
• End 14 years of austerity and tackle the cost of living crisis by reversing the £1.3bn Westminster cut to Scotland's capital budget;
• Protect the NHS from privatisation and boost funding by £10bn;
  
• Demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza;
  
• Scrap the two-child benefit cap;
• Demand the devolution of employment rights, new borrowing and taxation powers, and the ability for Scotland to have its own migration system, including scrapping the Rwanda scheme;
• Support the abolition of the House of Lords;
  
• Give WASPI women full, fast and fair compensation;
• Ban zero-hours contracts and fire and rehire;
  
• Decriminalise drugs for personal use and introducing a framework to allow supervised drug consumption facilities;
  
• Protect pensions by maintaining the triple lock and move to deliver a wellbeing pension;
• Scrap the Trident nuclear deterrent;
• Increase maternity pay and increase leave to a year;
• Defend free university tuition in Scotland;
• Replace first past the post with single transferrable vote, scrap voter ID, and reduce the voting age to 16;
• Restore foreign aid budget to 0.7%;
  
• Raise military recruitment age to 18.