The Mirror’s Assistant Political Editor Alexander Brown here….

Andy Burnham speaking at the Despatch Box as Prime Minister is a long time coming for the Makerfield MP.

The former Greater Manchester Mayor had ran twice for leader and lost, including coming second behind Jeremy Corbyn.

Today, much like his first address outside Downing Street, is one of the milestones he will have imagined for years.

Away from Westminster for so long, Mr Burnham’s allies believe his time outside parliament has made him a better politician, more natural, and more sensitive to the public mood.

His mammoth three hour session on Tuesday is a sign of this, with the leader impressing Labour MPs with both his performance and lack of notes.

The challenge for Mr Burnham at PMQs will be to remember he cannot do it alone. The debates are rarely about the actual policy, but more often theatre, with loud support from MPs crucial for how his argument is recieved.

Mr Burnham must manage to deliver answers that not only impress the public, which polling shows he has done, but also answers that generate a strong response from his MPs.

Kemi Badenoch is a strong Commons performer so this wil be no easy test, but Mr Burnham has had years to prepare for it.

The ambulance service has said that six people have been taken to hospital following the collision this morning.

A NIAS spokesperson said: “The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service received a 999 call at 08:57 on Wednesday, 2nd September, following reports of an RTC in the Newtownhamilton Road area, Armagh.

“NIAS tasked 5 Emergency Ambulances, 2 HART Teams, an Emergency Planning Officer, an Ambulance Doctor and the Charity Air Ambulance with nHEMS on board, to the incident.

“Following assessment and initial treatment at the scene, one patient was brought to Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast by Ambulance. 1 patient was taken to Royal Victoria Hospital by Air Ambulance. 4 patients were brought to Craigavon Area Hospital by Ambulance.”

Actor Chris Grahamson has hailed his recent stint in Coronation Street as Fraser

Actor Chris Grahamson has hailed his recent stint in Coronation Street after what he called a ‘dark few months’ as he teased a possible return.

Those who follow the ITV soap, which is filmed in Salford, recently saw him take on the role of Fraser. His arrival in Weatherfield came alongside Celeste Butterfield, who was looking at planning a funeral.

Having seen Celeste’s male company, Glenda Shuttleworth had a sparkle in her eye and suggested he should pop over to the Rovers while he waited for Celeste, who was revealed to be the aunt of Bernie Winter-Alahan, to finish her meeting with undertaker Todd Grimshaw.

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While alone with Todd, Celeste revealed that the funeral is for herself and that she has only six weeks to live. After planning a Dolly Parton-themed service, she collected Fraser from the pub, and Glenda was thrilled when he gave her his number and agreed to a date tomorrow.

However, Celeste revealed at the Undertakers that her neighbour, Fraser, who she called her ‘PA’, thought the Rovers barmaid’s interest in him was only as an LGBTQ+ ally. Cunduring up a plan, Celeste left their latest meeting unimpressed, and Todd ended up back in the pub and it wasn’t long before Glenda caught Fraser coming down the stairs of her home with a partially-dressed Todd.

But Corrie viewers realised at the time that Chris had appeared on the cobbles between 2010 and 2011, where he played a church pastor in Sophie Webster’s coming out storyline, having been a part of his choir.

Now, he’s spoken out on his latest stint on the cobbles, and alongside pictures from his time at the Salford-based set, Chris candidly shared on Instagram: “Working on these two episodes of Corrie was a professional highlight for me and a bright light in what’s been, at times, a dark few months. I felt comfortable and adept in what I was doing and I think the character came across well. I’m pleased and proud of myself for that.

“Blessed to be surrounded by wonderful actors, I’m grateful that it all came off pretty nicely. I’m lucky to have done a couple of gigs on here over the years, and every single time, I’ve felt warmly welcomed by cast, crew and studio staff. It’s a nerve-jangling experience to turn up to any new gig, no matter how many times we do it, and it’s especially so when you’re turning up to a well-oiled institution such as this.

“On Corrie, those nerves are soon displaced by the brilliance and kind hearted spirit of the people you meet there. Huge thanks to @garpierce, #jodieprenger and @francesbarber for being both iconic and normal all at once. @amylouiserobbins_ for lovely chats and #patticlare for plumping a pillow whilst telling me to come, sit down on the sofa and make yourself at home in the Grimshaw’s living room.

“Huge thanks to @seanhealy.jnr for reaching out before filming so that I wasn’t coming in cold and so that my ideas were heard before we even got on set. Again, making me feel very welcomed. Thanks to everyone! You made it special for me. Oh, and @keddiescottassociatesltd for coming through again – super agents extraordinaire – and #GennieRadcliffe @itv for seeing me.”

He continued: “What really sticks in the memory is that I got to work alongside the kind of characters that coronation street was built on – smart, strong, funny, brazen, brilliant women. Jodie and the legendary Frances Barber, namely. They make everyone around them look good, whilst standing as glamorous beacons. The street revolves around them like the great women that have resided on the street before them.”

He then added: “I hope you liked Fraser and let’s see if he pops up again someday – who knows? #actor.” Gareth Pierce, who plays Todd, was quick to show support, as he commented on the post: “An absolute pleasure, my mate. You did brill, and we all loved working with you.” Natalie Anderson, who recently played Danielle Silverton on the cobbles, joined calls for a return, as she said: “Absolutely love this!!! Def think Fraser could be a good catch for Todd @garpierce. The loveliest gang.”

All traffic is being temporarily held on the M4 westbound at Bridgend after a crash. Pictures showed a car having hit the central reservation on the stretch near to Sarn services.

Further pictures at the scene show one vehicle has been involved in the crash and emergency services are at the scene near junction 35 for Pencoed on the westbound side.

Emergency services including police and fire crews are working at the scene. Motorists are being advised to allow extra time for travel.

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The USS Abraham Lincoln has docked at a Thailand resort town following an extended deployment of more than 250 days in which they faced grueling conditions.

The US Navy aircraft carrier stopped in the resort city of Pattaya on Wednesday, where the 5,000 sailors and Marines on board will have the chance to unwind before heading back to the United States, the Navy announced.

‘Our arrival in Laem Chabang provides a well-deserved opportunity for our Sailors and Marines to rest and recharge,’ Rear Admiral Robert Loughran, commander of Carrier Strike Group 3, said in a statement.

‘It also underscores the strong and enduring partnership and alliance between the United States and Thailand.’ 

Officials in the city are now hoping it will become an ‘important vacation spot’ for US service members in the future, Newsweek reports. 

‘We welcome more visits of the troops in the future, whether for a drill or a vacation, before they go back to the US,’ Mayor Poramet Ngampichet is said to have told American military officials. 

The trip marks a much-needed break for the American servicemembers, who had been at sea since November 21 amid the war in Iran.

Its deployment included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 250 days. 

But city officials have also implemented a series of rules for the sailors after speaking with American military officials. 

Pattaya had started off as a fishing village, but became a tourism center during the Vietnam War, when US servicemembers were stationed nearby

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Pattaya started off as a fishing village but became a tourism center during the Vietnam War, when US servicemembers were stationed nearby.

It has since developed a reputation for sex tourism but, ahead of the ship’s arrival on Wednesday, authorities in the city launched a crackdown on prostitution. 

Police raids over the weekend saw 40 to 50 people detained with additional patrols in place for the main beachfront and nightlife district, The Independent reports. 

The mayor has denied the crackdown on sex work was related to the arrival of US servicemembers.

But under an agreement with the US, service members docked at Pattaya are barred from engaging in certain recreational activities such as parasailing and cannabis use, which was legalized in Thailand in 2022, according to the Guardian. 

And while famed nightlife area Walking Street will be opened to sailors, they must leave by 2am. 

Any US service member found violating Thai law will be prosecuted accordingly, City Police Chief Anek Srathongyoo vowed.

Officials in the city are now hoping it will become an ‘important vacation spot’ for US service members in the future

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Business owners in Pattaya eagerly awaited the arrival of the US sailors

Unlike in the United States, vapes and e-cigarettes are illegal in Thailand, and anyone caught possessing one can face up to five years in prison. 

The country also has strict laws against insulting the country’s monarchy – which could see violators sentenced to 15 years in prison. 

In preparation for the deluge of US servicemembers, authorities in Pattaya have stepped up security, adding more police officers in popular areas along the beach and in the bustling downtown area. 

Meanwhile, business owners across the city eagerly awaited the arrival of the sailors, with some businesses displaying banners reading: ‘Welcome all US military personnel. Thank you for your service’ and ‘All Welcome’ next to a silhouette of the aircraft carrier.

The ship’s arrival in Thailand comes just weeks after the USS George Washington was forced to abandon its post in the Pacific Ocean to relieve the strained sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln.

The sailors onboard the Lincoln had reportedly experienced horrific conditions that led some service members to experience suicidal ideation due to dwindling morale.

The wife of one of the sailors even described the ship as a ‘floating metal prison’ with appalling conditions as she slammed President Donald Trump for downplaying family members’ concerns.

The unidentified woman said her husband described the experience aboard the aircraft carrier stationed in the Middle East as ‘the worst deployment he’s ever been on.’

‘This is not his first deployment. This is not his first time being out there, and he is saying that it is the worst deployment that he’s ever been on. And he also says that his shipmates say the same,’ she told CNN‘s Jake Tapper.

Sailors have complained about the meager portions they were receiving onboard the ship

Since the beginning of the war in Iran, reports have surfaced of food shortages and rationing aboard the Lincoln, accompanied by photographs of sailors’ meals.

‘It’s not just the quality; it’s the quantity,’ the sailor’s wife told the outlet. ‘It’s the rationing. The portions are awful, so it’s really not good.’ 

Remaining anonymous out of fear of retaliation against her husband, the woman added her spouse, who she said is typically unaffected by work stressors, ‘feels himself being angrier and more frustrated.’

‘You’re stuck in a floating metal prison essentially, in the middle of the water, eating prison-like food with the same people in the same bunk beds in the same small quarters for 200 days, 250 days, you start to go a little insane working 12 hours, getting four or five hours of sleep,’ she continued.

Sailors aboard the Lincoln are said to have endured moldy showers, broken toilets, laundry outages, food shortages and long stretches without hot water. 

Some sailors even reportedly tried to jump ship amid the extended deployment, with one 19-year-old father-of-two now facing non-judicial punishment from the Trump administration for hurling himself overboard in an apparent attempt to drown.

Navy documents accuse the servicemember of ‘intentionally faking an illness or hurting themselves to avoid work, duty or service,’ while a separate charge claims he failed to report to his required place of duty during the mental-health crisis. 

‘I think they’re insane for doing this to people who need mental help,’ the sailor’s wife told MS NOW. ‘Instead of giving them help, this is just another huge stressor.’

Crew members are pictured standing on the flight deck as the USS Abraham Lincoln approached Thailand on Wednesday

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The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier is pictured in April carrying out blockade operations in the Arabian Sea

His wife said he repeatedly requested paternity leave to meet his newborn daughter for the first time but was denied each time. His fate will be decided at a ‘captain’s mast,’ where his commanding officer could dock as much as half his pay, according to the charging documents.

The sailor was rescued after going overboard on August 3 and medically evacuated before returning to San Diego ten days later, according to his wife.

He then spent five days at Naval Medical Center San Diego, known locally as Balboa, where staff monitored his vital signs but never had him evaluated by a psychiatrist or therapist, she said.

He was ordered back to work immediately after his release and did not receive his first therapy session until this Wednesday, nearly two weeks after arriving home.

The Navy is pursuing the case through non-judicial punishment, an internal disciplinary process generally used for lower-level misconduct that avoids a formal court-martial and criminal conviction.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of Congressional lawmakers has demanded greater oversight and transparency over living conditions aboard the carrier. 

Four family members died after being pulled from the sea off the Sussex coast, an inquest has heard.

Hussam El-Khawas, 55, his wife Zeina Alayan, 37, older daughter Sara El-Khawas, 14, and youngest daughter Saja El-Khawas, six, died after members of the public reported them ‘getting into trouble in the sea’.

Saja was rescued from the water at Shoreham-by-Sea and resuscitated, but died on August 21 in hospital after showing signs of a brain injury throughout treatment.

An inquest into the deaths of all four family members opened at Horsham on Tuesday.

The hearing heard that the RNLI was called after reports of ‘members of the public getting into trouble in the sea’.

Mr El-Khawas, Ms Alayan and Sara were brought ashore by lifeboat crews at Kingston Beach before being pronounced dead at the RNLI lifeboat station.

Saja was taken to the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton in a critical condition before being transferred to Evelina London Children’s Hospital at St Thomas’ Hospital.

Coroner’s officer Kelly Truss told the hearing that Saja showed signs of a brain injury throughout her time in hospital.

‘All clinical signs throughout her admission showed evidence of a hypoxic brain injury,’ she said.

Saja was pronounced dead on August 21, with a provisional cause of death given as hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy and drowning.

The cause of death for the other three family members has not yet been established.

Michael, spent most of his life in care. However, after he returned home from university his relationship broke down with his foster parents – forcing him into sofa surfing and eventually on to the streets.

After a few months, he got in contact with Centrepoint, who were able to place him into accommodation and help him find a job. It was here that Michael started working at The Co-operative Bank, through it’s Brick by Brick scheme, and he hasn’t looked back since.

He said: “Over two years I applied for 400 jobs. It was demoralising because I really wanted to work but couldn’t as employers would either say I was too experienced or not experienced enough.

“Thankfully, Centrepoint and The Co-operative Bank were able to support me into this job now and I love it. Everyone’s friendly and supportive and it’s given me a purpose, as opposed to just existing.”

Brick by Brick, launched earlier this year, is a pioneering early careers programme, designed to support young people into sustainable work and move on from homelessness for good.

It provides a steady, structured journey starting with employability workshops, and then progressing to the Get Set Go Programme which provides six days classroom learning, mock interviews, professional behaviour guidance, and an introduction to the Bank’s values.

After this, a young person will then complete work experience at the Bank which, if successful, is followed by an employment offer, removing the pressure of formal interviews. The program ends with an optional apprenticeship and keep in touch days, designed to improve preparedness between a job offer and start date.

The initiative has had 35 young people participating in various steps so far with several securing permanent employment in the Bank’s Contact Centre.

Michael is one of these, and discussing the skills it has given him, he said: “Communication, multitasking, timekeeping, but most importantly, confidence.

“I’ve gone from thinking ‘Why would a company want me’ to now thinking ‘Why wouldn’t they’.”

With over one million young people currently not in education or employment, Brick by Brick is reshaping conversations about homelessness by refusing to define young people by their experiences, instead investing in their potential and honouring their needs.

“By meeting young people where they’re at, we can close the opportunity gap that holds too many back from reaching their potential,” said Anna Cuskin, the Bank’s Social Impact Lead. “Everyone deserves the chance to succeed. With the right support, young people can gain confidence, find meaningful employment and build a future beyond homelessness.”

HMO has given me ‘sense of purpose’ says man at risk of homelessness

A man who was at risk of homelessness has told us how a new home gave him a ‘sense of purpose.’

Kai, 22, was living with his dad before overcrowding at home forced him to find somewhere else to live, he said: “It was a really worrying time. I didn’t know where to go or who to turn to.”

Fortunately, Kai was able to get in contact with Centrepoint where through the Rent Deposits Scheme, funded by Nationwide Building Society, he was able to find a place in a House In Multiple Occupation (HMO). 

“It’s given me the stability to rebuild my life and slowly I’m getting back on track.

“One day I’d like to live in a house of my own, by a river, on my own plot of land, and do what I want with it.

“That’s my dream and I feel like if I keep sticking at it, I’ll be able to eventually achieve it.”

However, young people in Kai’s situation may not be so fortunate – research by Centrepoint has found there has been a 10% fall in HMOs since 2019, with 458,000 in 24/25 compared to 510, 776 in 19/20.

When asked if he had any advice for young people going through something similar, Kai said: “Don’t give up. It might be hard, but right now, your best bet is to keep pushing forward and look for any form of help where you possibly can. Just keep going.”

PM’s pledge to end rough sleeping gets early boost

(Image: Centrepoint)

The Prime Minister’s pledge to end rough sleeping has been given an early boost after the number of young people sleeping rough in London dropped by almost half.

Between April and June 2026, 202 18–25-year-olds in London were recorded as sleeping rough. This was a 45% decrease from the same quarter last year when 368 young people were reported.

The youth homelessness charity Centrepoint said this was cause for celebration and called the number proof that the Prime Minister’s pledge could be achieved.

Lisa Doyle, the charity’s Head of Policy and Public Affairs, said: “London is providing the blueprint for what can be achieved when political leaders has the vision and intent to end street homelessness.

“These figures are a real cause for celebration, but the job is not done. The Mayor of London and the Government must continue these efforts until rough sleeping is reduced to as close to zero as possible, and anyone forced onto the streets is helped off them quickly.

However, the charity warned that ending street sleeping alone is not enough. “We must also remember that homelessness does not begin and end with rough sleeping.” Lisa said, “For every person on the streets, many thousands more are living in insecure or unsafe situations. To avoid reversing this positive trend, the Government must now also address the causes and consequences of those experiences too, and step up efforts to prevent homelessness.”

Months of heat ‘life threatening’ for homeless people says charity

A charity has warned that homeless people’s lives are ‘at risk’ due to the past few months of high temperatures.

It comes after August saw another flurry of heatwaves – regularly rising over 30 degrees across the country. The UK’s leading youth homelessness charity, Centrepoint, believes council should do more to protect those sleeping rough when it’s this hot.

Lisa Doyle, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, said: “This weather is life threatening for those forced to sleep on the streets.

“And while many councils do activate protocols to protect those sleeping rough, there is no legal requirement for local authorities to provide shelter for everyone during severe weather. This must change.”

“Ultimately, street homelessness is just the tip of the iceberg – the best way to keep people safe is to reduce homelessness however it is experienced.”

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s Ebola outbreak has killed more than 3,000 people out of over 6,100 confirmed cases, the latest government data showed Wednesday, as the disease is spreading at an unprecedented speed, faster than efforts to track and slow it.

Data from Congo’s Ministry of Health showed the outbreak has recorded 6,186 confirmed cases, including 3,007 deaths since it was declared in mid-May. It remains the fastest-growing outbreak of Ebola ever.

The disease has continued to spread rapidly for several reasons, including conflict in the eastern region of the country where the outbreak is concentrated, attacks on health workers, miners constantly on the move, and inadequate health infrastructure.

The resumption of school in the middle of the outbreak has also raised concerns about transmission in classrooms.

The World Health Organization said the outbreak is on track to exceed the deadliest on record, West Africa’s regional outbreak between 2014 and 2016, which killed 11,000 people.

There is no vaccine or approved treatment for the rare Bundibugyo virus that has sparked the current outbreak. The government is distributing the Ervebo vaccine, which has helped combat previous Ebola disease outbreaks and which the WHO said could offer some protection. The virus has spread to six provinces.

Court records show Khan was prosecuted by the DVLA after the annual tax on the blue Nissan Micra, which was first registered in 2002, ran out in September last year.

The DVLA said the vehicle was spotted untaxed on 24 January and told the court that his name and date of birth appeared against the car on official records held by the government.

The agency said a letter asking for confirmation of the identity of the car owner, which was sent to the wrong address, went unanswered in January, leading to a criminal prosecution on 18 August after no plea was entered to the charge.

The court also sent a record of conviction to the Gordon Ramsay restaurant, ordering Khan to pay the £340.84 court bill within 28 days or face the prospect of increased fines, bailiffs, or even “a warrant for your arrest to bring you to court”.

The DVLA said it was reviewing the case and investigating the circumstances of the prosecution.

Defendants who believe they have been wrongly convicted of a crime in their absence can apply for the case to be reopened, typically by appearing in person in front of a judge to make a statutory declaration.

Khan could argue that he did not know about the criminal case because the letters were addressed to the wrong building.

Once reopened, he could petition the DVLA to withdraw the prosecution if it can be shown that he was wrongly accused, or enter a not guilty plea.

Alternatively, the DVLA could apply to the court for the case to be reopened.

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Millions of pensioners could be hit with a £100 ‘retirement stealth tax’ on their state pension from next spring.

Unless the full state pension is your only income, or you are living on less than that anyway, you will see some of it clawed back by the taxman.

That is because the full-rate state pension is on course to top £13,000 a year, busting the basic-rate income tax threshold of £12,570 a year.

While the bump in income is welcome, news that the taxman is going to take a chunk of it straight back again will infuriate many pensioners.

Older Money Mail readers have in the past told us in no uncertain terms that they don’t believe any tax should be levied on a state pension which they earned by stumping up National Insurance contributions throughout their working lives.

The Government is alive to the widespread discontent and has promised to lift those whose sole income is the full state pension ‘without any increments’ out of income tax.

But the vast majority of pensioners won’t qualify for this waiver – and leading pension experts warn that the Government’s ‘grossly unfair’ solution will lumber retirees with a two-tier tax system.

Here, we explain the looming state pension stealth tax trap, how much you can expect to lose, whom exactly the Government plans to let off a tax bill – and whom it won’t.

Why will state pension be taxed?

In April next year the headline state pension is expected to rise from the current £241.30 a week to £251.20 a week, amounting to a £500-a-year increase.

This is thanks to the triple-lock pledge that promises to raise the state pension by the highest of three figures – inflation, average wage growth or 2.5 per cent.

If the state pension increases as expected, worked out as a 52-week annual income, it will be £13,062 from April 2027. This is more than the £12,570 tax-free personal allowance, which has been frozen since 2021.

Taxing the headline state pension after it breaches the personal allowance next spring represents a step-change. And it is a step-change that’s not likely to be corrected any time soon.

This is because the initial freeze on every tax bracket, which was originally due to run to 2026, was extended to 2028 by Jeremy Hunt as chancellor, then until 2031 by Rachel Reeves when she was chancellor in her November 2025 budget.

Meanwhile, the state pension triple lock has been guaranteed until at least the next election.

The latest wage growth figure published a couple of weeks ago was 4.1 per cent, while the most recent inflation figure – using the consumer price index measure – was 2.6 per cent.

The benchmark average earnings growth figure due out on September 15 is now practically certain to decide the spring state pension rise, as it will be higher than inflation.

If there is a 4.1 per cent increase, the full-rate new state pension for those retiring after 2016 should rise to £251.20 from April 2027.

People who retired before April 2016 on the old basic state pension would see a rise from the current £184.90 a week to £192.50, or just shy of £400 a year to about £10,000, still well below the tax threshold if that is their only income.

These people get less basic state pension than those who retired after 2016 because they either paid reduced National Insurance, which went into their work pension instead, or are paid generous top-ups known as the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (Serps) or the State Second Pension (S2P).

Derence Lee, chief finance officer at the mutual society and life insurer Shepherds Friendly, says that the triple lock is designed to protect pensioners from rising living costs.

However, as the state pension rises they could see a growing proportion of their income exposed to income tax through ‘fiscal drag’ – this is when frozen thresholds push people into higher tax brackets.

‘More pensioners could find themselves paying income tax as their total taxable income rises above the threshold – and particularly those with private pensions or other taxable income,’ says Mr Lee.

Derence Lee: More pensioners could find themselves paying income tax as their total taxable income rises above the threshold

Pensioners’ tax bills will grow

Plenty of pensioners who have built up any private work or personal pensions, or have other income that pushes them above this level are already taxpayers.

So are state pensioners who retired before 2016 and earned sizeable top-ups through Serps or S2P during their working lives.

Altogether, more than ten million pensioners are now paying income tax, setting a new record since thresholds were frozen five years ago, according to official figures that were released in July. 

A new breakdown by tax bracket shows the number of pensioners paying 20 per cent basic-rate tax has risen by a third to 8.48 million over the past five years.

The HM Revenue & Customs figures, obtained under a freedom of information request by pension consultant LCP, also show that the number liable for 40 per cent higher-rate tax has doubled to 977,000. Meanwhile, the number paying the 45 per cent additional rate has trebled to 115,000.

The triple lock has protected pensioners’ incomes over the past decade, but a contradiction in the system is now being exposed, according to Aaron Bright, investment analyst at online trading provider IG Group.

Mr Bright, who has crunched the numbers on future state pension tax bills, says: ‘As the state pension rises, more of those increases risk being pulled into the income tax net. That creates what is effectively a retirement stealth tax.

‘Pensioners are promised inflation-linked increases to help protect their standard of living, only for a growing share of those increases to be eroded through taxation.’

Aaron Bright: The Government faces a choice – accept more state pension income becomes taxable, continue making ad hoc changes to prevent that, or review the triple lock

Your future state pension tax bill

Older people could face a £98-a-year tax bill on their state pension if the full rate rises by 4.1 per cent in 2027-28, according to IG’s calculations.

They would be paying basic-rate tax on a £492 slice of their £13,062 annual state pension in this scenario.

IG also looked ahead at how the state pension tax bill could soar in future years.

It assumed future state pension rises of 2.5 per cent, the lowest rate at which it could increase under the triple lock.

And it anticipated that once the £12,570 personal allowance was unfrozen in 2031 it would resume rising broadly in line with its typical pace of about £300 every two years.

This would mean a £310 tax bill on a £1,549 portion of a £14,419 state pension in 2031-32. Five years later, the bill could jump to £509 on a £2,543 chunk of a state pension worth £16,313 in 2036-37.

Still further ahead, you could expect to pay £817 on £4,087 of a state pension that could have risen to £18,457 by 2041-42.

And you could be looking at a £1,122 tax bill levied on £5,612 of your £20,882 state pension in 2046-47.

Two-tier plan for state pension tax

The Government says it will let older people off paying income tax if their ‘only income is the full new or basic state pension without any increments’.

But the measure promised for the rest of this parliament will benefit just one in 18 pensioners, according to a study by LCP conducted earlier this year. 

This creates a two-tier solution, where some are let off tax but others pay it.

No one on the old state pension is likely to be excused. While the basic rate is less than the personal allowance, if you earned the generous Serps or S2P top-ups they count as an ‘increment’.

Meanwhile, earning just one pound of other taxable income in retirement could see you disqualified.

Details are still pending, but people who delayed taking the state pension and so get higher payments are also among those set to be excluded.

The full-rate state pension is on course to top £13,000 a year, busting the basic-rate income tax threshold of £12,570 a year

You currently get an extra 5.8 per cent added to your state pension for each year you defer.

People who reached state pension age before April 2016 get a more generous bump of 10.4 per cent for each year they defer, or can choose a lump sum plus interest instead.

The plan could drive a wedge between those pensioners who are exempt and those who are still expected to pay tax and get increasingly larger bills.

It could also encourage counter-productive behaviour to qualify for the waiver, such as not deferring your state pension when that could save you tax if you still earn a salary.

Former pensions minister Steve Webb, who is a partner at LCP, says: ‘The plan to exempt a small group of pensioners from income tax for the next three years is riddled with problems.

‘It will be seen as grossly unfair by older pensioners on the old state pension system, whose income could tip over the tax threshold but who will not qualify. It will penalise those who have simply deferred taking their state pension.

‘It will penalise those with small amounts of private pension compared with those who have not saved at all.’

Mr Webb also questioned what would happen if the exemption ended at the end of this parliament – in about three years’ time unless an election is called sooner.

Pensioners could suddenly go back to facing tax bills running to hundreds of pounds a year.

He is calling for a systematic review of the way pensioners are taxed, rather than what he dubs a ‘sticking-plaster solution’.

Jenny Holt, customer savings and investment director at life insurer Standard Life, says: ‘Protecting people whose only income is the state pension from small tax bills and unnecessary administration makes sense, but the practical detail will be important.

‘Any solution needs to be simple, avoid unexpected bills or cliff edges, and ensure that people don’t feel penalised for having made additional provision for retirement.’

Jenny Holt: It’s understandable that some pensioners may feel frustrated at the prospect of paying tax on the state pension

Is it fair to tax the state pension?

Taxing the state pension is arguably a way to help offset the mounting cost of maintaining the triple lock guarantee – which is popular but often decried as unsustainable in the long run – by raking in more cash from richer pensioners.

Another option to defray the cost is raising the state pension age, which is currently under review, but seen as penalising older pensioners in poorer health.

Meanwhile, the state pension has only become high enough to be taxed because of a series of above-inflation increases in recent years.

But many older people will see it as unfair when state pensions have been paid for through National Insurance contributions, or qualified for in some other way such as family caring duties, or illness or disability.

There is also the practical anomaly (some would call it a nonsense) of the Department for Work and Pensions paying out state pensions, while the Treasury then takes some of the cash straight back off pensioners again.

‘It’s understandable that some pensioners may feel frustrated at the prospect of paying tax on the state pension, particularly when many see it as something they have built up through a lifetime of national insurance contributions,’ says Ms Holt.

‘That feeling is likely to be particularly strong among those relying on the state pension alone.’

Ms Holt notes that if the personal allowance had kept pace with inflation, it would be £16,072 this year.

Mr Bright at IG Group says: ‘The Government will now increasingly face a choice – accept that more state pension income becomes taxable, continue making ad hoc changes to prevent that happening, or review how the triple lock operates over the longer term.’

A Treasury spokesman said: ‘Pensioners whose only income is the full new or basic state pension without any increments will not pay income tax and we are committed to that over this parliament.

‘By keeping the triple lock, 12 million pensioners will see their income rise by up to £470 this year, and they continue to benefit from one of the most generous personal allowances in the G7.’