Politics latest: Ex-foreign secretary fears 'very dangerous' attack in Middle East - as troops on standby for evacuations (2024)

One of the few domestic political stories from this morning is a prank against former prime minister Liz Truss.

She stormed off the stage from an event in Suffolk last night after a banner featuring a lettuce and the words "I crashed the economy" unfurled behind her.

The lettuce was a reference to a Daily Star livestream from shortly after her disastrous mini-budget, when the newspaper ran an experiment to see whether her premiership would outlast a vegetable.

It didn't.

Ms Truss was clearly "not amused" about the stunt last night, but our political correspondent Darren McCaffrey says many won't have sympathy for her.

"It does raise issues about security - this is a former PM," he says, noting neither she nor the organisers seemed to know the banner was coming.

"Many others, though, would say there's an element of truth to this, and she has to face up to the political reality of what she did in government."

Ms Truss has repeatedly denied her policies led to the country's economic woes.

The lettuce banner stunt was carried out by Led By Donkeys, a liberal campaign group that has gained notoriety since the Brexit years.

The Middle East has been the focus of our attention in the Politics Hub this morning, amid expectations of an Iranian attack on Israel.

Here's what you need to know:

• Downing Street has said the government is working "around the clock to plan for all scenarios" in the region, after the prime minister's call for calm with the Iranian president fell on deaf ears;
• Britons are being advised not to travel to Lebanon, and UK troops are prepared for the potential evacuation of those already there;
• A former foreign secretary, Lord Owens, has told Sky News he's concerned Israel and Iran may target each other's nuclear weapons in what would be a "very dangerous" move;
• And theUK would likely help Israel shoot down any projectiles, ex-defence minister Tobias Ellwood told us.

• Domestically, things are very quiet as parliament remains in recess (see the key points for an explainer);
• A Treasury minister has reminded voters of "the scale of the challenge" Labour inherited after inflation rose this morning;
• Liz Truss is still blamed by many for the country's economic woes, and she was reminded after a banner featuring a lettuce saying "I crashed the economy" was unfurled behind her at an event.

That's all for now - stay with us for any updates through the afternoon.

The UK's efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the tensions in the Middle East are continuing.

David Lammy, the foreign secretary, met with his Saudi Arabian counterpartPrince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah today.

In a post on social media, Mr Lammy said he and the Saudi minister agreed to "work together on shared defence, economic and security interests, including pressing for de-escalation in the region and a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza".

The Saudi foreign ministry said the pair also discussed the UK-Saudi relationship, and ways to improve it.

The prime minister has cancelled his holiday as he remains on "high alert" for more potential unrest after the recent riots.

But the disorder does appear to have petered out, as perpetrators are sentenced across the country and after counter-protesters turned out in large numbers last week.

On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson speaks to Tawhid Islam, trustee at Liverpool Region Mosque Network, after the protests his community feared were overshadowed.

Plus, our people and communities correspondent Nick Martin on how swift justice may have deterred protesters and delivered a political victory for the new government.

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The new Conservative leader will be announced at the start of November.

The contest to replace Rishi Sunak is well underway - but it does also have a long way to run.

For a reminder of who else is running to become the leader of the opposition come November, read this handy guide from our political reporters Tim Baker and Alix Culbertson:

By Alix Culbertson, political reporter

Liz Truss has stormed off stage after a banner featuring a lettuce and the words "I crashed the economy" unfurled behind her at an event.

The former prime minister was taking questions from an audience in Beccles, Suffolk, as part of her book tour on Tuesday evening when campaign group Led By Donkeys carried out the stunt.

She was saying how she thought Donald Trump would probably win the US election as "the average American is not doing well" when a banner came down from the ceiling behind her.

The vegetable pictured was a reference to a lettuce the Daily Star livestreamed, to see if it wilted before her premiership in 2022 ended.

After Ms Truss resigned just 49 days into the job, the newspaper declared the lettuce victorious.

Lord David Owens, who was foreign secretary in the 1970s under Jim Callaghan, is speaking to Sky News about the tensions in the Middle East.

One of his main concerns with the current stand-off between Israel and Iran is their indications that nuclear weapons could be targets.

Lord Owens says: "They have taken action which indicates that the next attack could be on each other's nuclear weapons - that is very dangerous.

"Therefore, this crisis is, I think - in a funny way - more dangerous than some of the obvious fights we've had before between Iran and Israel."

The experts at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) have done some analysis on how inflation has impacted various products.

What they have found is that cheaper variants of products like pasta, butter, and milk have been harder hit than premium alternatives.

This came alongside those on lower incomes being hit harder, as food inflation was one of the highest rates of price growth.

Food accounts for a larger proportion of the budget for those with smaller spending.

The discovery, the institute calculated, added 5.6 percentage points of inflation on to those in the bottom quarter of spending, when compared to those in the top quarter.

Tao Chen, an IFS research scholar said: "Widespread 'cheapflation' pushed up the prices of the most inexpensive varieties of grocery products over the last two years.

"This hit poorer households harder."

He added: "Our research shows it's important to take account of differences in the products people buy at a very fine level to detect differences in how they are being affected by the rising cost of living."

Shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt has responded to the announcement that inflation ticked up this morning.

He used it as an opportunity to restate his record as chancellor - before urging the government not to increase taxes.

Mr Hunt said: "Today's figures show how important it is that the new Labour government follows the path of the previous Conservative government and focus on keeping inflation low.

"In government, we took the difficult decisions to reduce inflation from 11.1% to the Bank of England's target of 2.0% – paving the way for the first interest rate cut in four years.

"However, there is clearly more to be done to keep inflation down.

"The chancellor must not use this data as an excuse to break her promises and hike up taxes. Tax rises she had planned all along."

Tobias Ellwood, the former defence minister, is speaking to Sky News about the situation in the Middle East.

Asked if he believes Iran will "retaliate" against Israel, the ex-Tory MP says Tehran has "made it very, very clear they will".

He points out Sir Keir Starmer speaking to the Iranian president was an unusual step - it was the first time a British PM has made such a call in several years.

But Iran has "dismissed" his calls for de-escalation - as well as casting aside Joe Biden's calls for restraint.

With the UK, US, France, Germany, and Italy expressing support for Israel, Mr Ellwood suggests we could see a repeat of when Iran launched missiles at Israel previously.

In that event, the RAF contributed assets to help destroy the projectiles.

"Lots of backchannel conversations I'm sure are taking place right now, but there is an anticipation that Iran will attack," he added.