Reeves will intensify efforts to tighten public expenditure next week, maintaining a strategy of budget constraints that includes a £5bn reduction in welfare.

A prominent financier has been barred from City positions and penalised for alleged impropriety, yet he intends to contest the ruling through an appeal.

Starmer has announced a sweeping overhaul of the health system, returning greater authority to Whitehall with backing from the BMA and Tories, prompting debate on funding and leadership.

The US administration has introduced 50% tariffs on Canadian aluminium and steel, driving up metal prices and sparking concern among manufacturers and exporters over potential further disruption to key industrial sectors.