Covid inquiry latest: New report to be released as UK’s pandemic response comes under scrutiny again – UK Times

His tenure in No 10 has been highly anticipated for many months, with his path to Downing Street having been without obstacles since his by-election win last month.

During his campaign trail and since returning to parliament, the prime-minister-in-waiting has delivered a number of speeches laying out his policy intentions.

Read below for some of his key policies:

Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, has said his key message to Andy Burnham’s government is that slow economic growth is the “big issue” affecting the UK .

He warned that the problem had been affecting Britain for the guts of almost two decades.

He told MPs on the Commons Treasury Committee: “The overall message I would give is that I think the big issue is growth in the economy.

“I do actually think that there are signs of a very resilient financial system.

“What I think is much more challenging is we’ve had low growth in the economy now for the best part of 16 to 17 years.”

But he stressed: “We will not get growth if we don’t have financial stability”.

Sir Keir Starmer attended Bastille Day celebrations in Paris as one of his final engagements on the international stage.

The prime minister met British troops involved in the ceremonial events in the French capital before watching the parade alongside Emmanuel Macron and other leaders including Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.

Sir Keir will be succeeded as prime minister by Andy Burnham on Monday after the former Greater Manchester mayor secured enough support to make it mathematically impossible for anyone to stand against him for the Labour leadership.

Sir Keir and other European leaders watched a military parade and flypast in Paris.

Troops from the Grenadier Guards marched alongside the French Garde Republicaine.

Sir Keir Starmer is eyeing a last-minute dash to the US for the World Cup final if England beat Argentina on Wednesday as one of his final acts as prime minister, reports suggest.

The outgoing prime minister would plan to watch the game at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on Sunday before touching back down in London for his final morning in the top job, sources told The Times.

The newspaper reports the final details of the plan are still being drawn up, but that a No 10 source said there would be no delay to the transfer of power.

Timings would be tight on the day, but should allow the prime minister to enjoy the potential clash at 3pm local time on the east coast before flying back to London to arrive at around 7:30am.

Andy Burnham has made a pitch to Labour MPs promising a change of culture in the way their views are valued after some complained that Keir Starmer had presided over “a reign of terror”.

In a one-candidate leadership hustings to MPs over Zoom on Monday evening, The Independent understands that Mr Burnham emphasised his desire to recognise that Labour “is a broad church” with a wide range of views.

A government minister has admitted there may need to be “another look” at security arrangements for people in public life following the death of Ann Widdecombe.

Lucy Rigby told Sky News: “The home secretary said yesterday she is going to look at security for former MPs specifically, and there may well be be others, other categories of people who are involved in public life but not currently serving members of the House of Commons or of the House of Lords, where there needs to be another look at the security arrangements which are provided.

“But look, across across the piece, this is it’s grim, frankly, that those in public life or those thinking about gaining public life have to consider this.”

She added: “I remember exactly where I was when I found out what had happened to Jo Cox… it sticks with you.”

Andy Burnham is expected to speak in parliament today, for the first time since he was elected as Makerfield MP, to hail the Hillsborough Law as a force for redistributive justice in Britain.

The law was a key promise in Labour’s 2024 manifesto, but has been delayed by wrangling over how the “duty of candour” would apply to spies.

A planned debate on the legislation, officially the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, was pulled earlier this year because of the row, with campaigners saying they could not accept a version of the law that gave the heads of the intelligence services a veto over whether their officers could disclose sensitive information.

The law takes its name from the 1989 disaster at Hillsborough Stadium, in Sheffield, when 97 Liverpool fans were killed in a crush during an FA Cup semi-final match.

Writing in the Liverpool Echo on Tuesday, Merseyside-born Mr Burnham said that speaking at the 20th anniversary memorial service at Anfield in 2009, when he was secretary of state for culture, media and sport, “changed” him.

Mr Burnham wrote: “It forced me to confront uncomfortable questions about how power operates in our country, and why an entire city could spend twenty years telling the truth only to be ignored.

“How could Liverpool be right all along, yet dismissed for so long? How could so many voices be raised, and so few people in authority be prepared to listen?”

His speech in parliament today is expected to echo those sentiments.

Sir Keir Starmer will continue his final visit to France as prime minister on Tuesday after Andy Burnham was effectively confirmed as his successor.

He is expected to attend Bastille Day celebrations alongside other world leaders in Paris, where troops from the Grenadier Guards will march alongside the French Garde Republicaine.

The celebrations follow Sir Keir’s final “coalition of the willing” summit on Monday, at which fellow leaders Emmanuel Macron, Volodymyr Zelensky and Friedrich Merz paid tribute to his impact on the world stage.

French president Mr Macron told Sir Keir that “we owe you a lot, prime minister”, while Mr Merz, the German chancellor, said he would “phone you occasionally to get your opinion on this or that”.

Mr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, thanked Sir Keir for his “constant, steadfast support”, which the Prime Minister said would continue under his successor.

That successor is now guaranteed to be Andy Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor, who secured the backing of 349 Labour MPs on Monday.