Yvette Cooper to announce new grooming gang inquiries as Badenoch blasts Boris Johnson over Brexit: Live

The former Leader of the Welsh Conservatives Andrew RT Davies said: “Local inquiries on this issue are not sufficient.

“This dreadful scandal was able to continue because of huge issues within our institutions, so we need to understand how the culture within those institutions worked.

“Only with a national inquiry can we join the dots and really get to the bottom of this issue for victims.”

In economics circles, the latest economic figures showing GDP growth of 0.1 per cent – along with slower inflation and slightly falling gilt yields following a concerning, sharp rise – are being celebrated as minor wins and breathing space for the Labour government.

And perhaps more importantly, what effect does it have on an ongoing, day-to-day basis for the everyday person? Let’s face it: if a sign in a shop window says “sale! 0.1% off!”, the chances are you’re probably not going to be too interested in immediately buying. So, is the amount even notable?

To help explain these figures and what it all means in real terms, we’ve asked the experts from key areas such as banking, job recruitment and money managing to break down how economic growth ties in to real lives.

Our business and money editor Karl Matchett reports:

Yvette Cooper is expected to announce support for government-backed local inquiries into grooming gangs, in what will be seen as a partial climb down on the issue.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will make the announcement on Thursday in response to calls for a national inquiry into the scandal from the Conservatives, Reform UK, and some Labour MPs.

Three Labour MPs have publicly expressed their support for a national inquiry, Walton MP Dan Carden, Rotherham MP Sarah Champion and Rochdale MP Paul Waugh, after an intervention by Elon Musk saw the story hit the headlines.

In a major speech in central London, the Tory leader will admit that leaving the European Union “without a plan for growth” was a mistake by her party under Boris Johnson.

It will be the first time a senior Conservative leader has admitted that the chaos caused to the UK economy by Brexit was a huge error.

Her comments have been seized on by anti-Brexit campaigners.

Dr Mike Galsworthy chair of European Movement UK said: “This will come as a relief for many pro-European young conservatives who can now ditch the millstone of Brexit support and have fresh, open discussion about UK-EU policy and the future direction of the party. It also allows the opposition to steal a march on the PM, who is still caught up in the tangle of red lines he over-dutifully inherited from the previous government.”

The danger posed by potential US tariffs is greater for the UK than other comparable countries, the business secretary has warned just days before Donald Trump enters the White House.

Jonathan Reynolds admitted that Mr Trump’s presidency will be a “challenging time for anyone responsible for trade”, amid fears of a global trade war.

In the run-up to his election, the Republican promised to implement 10 to 20 per cent tariffs on all goods coming into the country – a figure that rises to 60 per cent for those from China.

Asked about his incoming presidency, Mr Reynolds told Sky News: “I think it’s going to be a challenging time for anyone who is responsible for trade in a big economy because of some of those pledges that were made in the campaign.”

Our political correspondent Millie Cooke has the full report:

18 months after Rishi Sunak tried to dunk on his predecessors in a bid to show he was a different kind of politician, the latest leader of the Tory party Kemi Badenoch will do the same today.

She will hit out at Boris Johnon and Theresa May as she says the party had no plan for growth once outside the EU.

May will be in the firing line again as she says the last government announced ‘net zero’ before. again, working out a plan for it.

But as the Sunak comparison shows Ms Badenoch has more in common with some ex-Tory leaders than she might claim.

And her attempt to set herself apart will have to be more successful than Mr Sunak’s widely derided claim to be a ‘change’ agent.

Labour has accused the Conservative Party of showing “collective amnesia” over its record in government ahead of Kemi Badenoch’s upcoming speech on Brexit.

Fielding criticism in the Commons over the state of the economy and corruption allegations surrounding Tulip Siddiq, frontbencher Lucy Powell said the Conservatives had forgotten about their economic legacy, or the number of ministers who resigned under Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.

Ms Powell said: “It really has been quite incredible to watch the collective display of amnesia on the benches opposite over recent weeks. It’s like the last 14 years didn’t happen at all.”

She added: “I see the leader of the opposition is out today, in what has been briefed as her finally telling the truth about the Conservative record.

“That they didn’t have a plan for growth, that they weren’t honest with the British people, that they negotiated a bad Brexit deal, but it sounds like the honourable gentlemen didn’t quite get that memo.”

A consultation over plans to reform a key disability benefits test was unlawful, the High Court has ruled.

In autumn 2023, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced plans to change the way the work capability assessment (WCA) – the test that deems whether someone with a health condition or disability is fit to work – was scored.

Disability rights campaigner Ellen Clifford brought legal action against the government, arguing that the process did not provide people with sufficient information or time to respond to the proposals.

She alleged that the consultation by the then-Tory government did not properly explain that many people would receive significantly less money under the reforms, and would need to meet more conditions to receive their payments, with a risk of sanctions if they did not meet them.

In a judgment on Thursday, Mr Justice Calver said: “I consider that the claimant has surmounted the substantial hurdle of establishing that the consultation was so unfair as to be unlawful.”

In a statement after the ruling, Ms Clifford said: “I am overjoyed that the court has recognised the importance of properly consulting deaf and disabled people on reforms that would leave many worse off by at least £416.19 per month. This is a life-or-death issue.”