Sunak refuses to commit to raising benefits in line with inflation The SNP leader at Westminster, Ian Blackford, congratulates Sunak on becoming the first British Asian prime minister. The symbolism of this achievement is to be “warmly welcomed” by everyone, he says. He asks Sunak if he will reassure people and guarantee that benefits will rise in line with inflation in his upcoming budget. Sunak does not answer the question directly, but says he has “always acted in a way to protect the most vulnerable”. He adds that he will “continue to act like that in the weeks ahead”, but does not commit to a rise. Sunak says: I always acted in a way to protect the most vulnerable that’s because it is the right thing to do and those are the values of our compassionate party. I can absolutely reassure him and give him that commitment that we will continue to act like that in the weeks ahead. Lord McDonald, a former senior civil servant, said the reappointment of Suella Braverman as home secretary was a “political” move by Rishi Sunak. Sunak has been criticised for rehiring Braverman less than a week after she was sacked over a security breach. Lord McDonald, who was head of the diplomatic service, said it was “not at all” dishonourable for Sunak to ensure all factions were represented in his cabinet. Asked if six days on the backbenches was a short sentence for a breach of any kind, in civil service terms, he told the BBC: “It is, and six weeks is a rather short time to claim that that person had acquired massive and irreplaceable experience. “So it looks political, it is political, but this is within the prime minister’s judgment and gift.” Labour MP Chris Bryant has criticised Braverman for avoiding questions about her resignation. Sir Keir Starmer met Bill Gates in parliament on Wednesday. The billionaire Microsoft co-founder and Starmer discussed a range of issues including climate change and global health. A Labour spokesperson said: “Keir Starmer was pleased to meet with Bill Gates today and discuss a number of issues of mutual concern including how the UK best supports global health and equitable development, and how we use the goal of net zero to invest in science and technology to deliver the jobs and growth of the future.” DUP says it is "ready" for new Stormont elections as Northern Ireland deadline nears The DUP is “ready to fight” in fresh Assembly elections, its leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, said following talks with the Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris. Heaton-Harris was holding discussions with Stormont leaders as a deadline for calling another election in the region approaches. The NI secretary has repeatedly warned that he will call a Stormont poll if Friday’s deadline passes without a devolved executive being formed. The DUP has refused to engage with the devolved institutions in Belfast in the wake of May’s assembly election, meaning it has not been possible to form an executive. The party’s boycott is part of a campaign of opposition to the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol and it says it will not return to power sharing until decisive action is taken to remove the protocol’s economic barriers on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Donaldson told reporters in London there was “still some way to go” in solving the problems over the protocol following his phone conversation with Heaton-Harris. Online safety bill dropped, reports say The online safety bill has been dropped from Commons business for the second time in four months despite pledges it would return “in the autumn”, PoliticsHome is reporting. The bill was expected to have its third reading in the Commons on 1 November. These stages were originally meant to take place in July but the process was delayed after the resignation of Boris Johnson as PM. The Labour MP Lucy Powell has criticised the delay in light of the findings at the inquest of Molly Russell last month. James Cleverly has been criticised by Labour for urging LGBT football fans to be “respectful” of Qatar if they visit the country for the World Cup which starts on 20 November. Chris Bryant MP tweeted: “Respect is a two way street. My worry is these ministers never say boo to authoritarian regimes where human rights are regularly trampled under foot. “If Qatar want to be accepted in the community of nations, they have to respect all communities of all nations.” Arriving for talks with secretary of state Chris Heaton-Harris in Belfast, Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill urged the DUP to drop its block on forming an executive. “So the clock is obviously ticking and we’re very close to the Friday deadline,” she said. “I’m here to meet the secretary of state and my number one priority is the restoration of the executive, that should also be the secretary of state’s priority. “The people here deserve no less than a fully functioning executive, one that is going to get them get through the cost of living crisis, one that’s going to fix and invest in our health service – that’s where we need to be. “As this deadline looms it’s just not acceptable for the DUP not to join the rest of us but they have an opportunity tomorrow and it’s up to them to take that opportunity.” Kevin Foster, who was appointed minster of state at the Department for Transport last month by Liz Truss, has announced he is leaving the role after talks with Rishi Sunak. Rishi Sunak’s boast at a Tunbridge Wells summer garden party of undoing Labour policy that “shoved all the funding into deprived urban areas” to give more to regions such as Kent looks likely to haunt him as his commitment to levelling up is questioned. At Sunak’s first prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, challenged him over the clip, filmed during the previous Conservative leadership race, which seemed to show his pride in diverting money from poor cities to wealthier towns such as Tunbridge Wells. “I managed to start changing the funding formulas to make sure that areas like this are getting the funding they deserve,” Sunak tells Tory party members at the summer event. Tunbridge Wells is one of the UK’s most affluent towns in one of the least deprived counties in England. Starmer asked why Sunak did not now “do the right thing and undo the changes he made to those funding formulas”? Rishi Sunak and his family plan to move back into Downing Street. He lived in the No 10 flat when he was chancellor in Boris Johnson’s government, while the former PM inhabited the roomier No 11 flat. The PM’s spokesperson told Sky News: “They will be moving into the No 10 flat, where they used to live.” Asked why No 10 and not the bigger No 11, she said: “They were very happy there.” James Duddridge has now tweeted to confirm that he was asked to leave his role as minister for international trade. He said he was “disappointed” but that he would be giving Rishi Sunak his “full support” from the backbenches. Summary of the day so far Here’s a roundup of today’s developments: Rishi Sunak has been accused of immediately breaking his pledge to restore government integrity by bringing Suella Braverman back as home secretary in exchange for a key endorsement for his leadership bid. Labour and the Liberal Democrats called for a Cabinet Office inquiry into national security concerns after Braverman, who was reinstated despite admitting leaking official documents. Fracking will in effect remain banned under Sunak’s government, his spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday, saying the new prime minister was committed to the policy in the 2019 manifesto. The confirmation came after the prime minister told the Commons that he “stands by” the manifesto, which put a moratorium on shale gas extraction. Ministers are to re-examine the pensions triple lock and increasing benefits in line with inflation over the next fortnight, according to No 10, after Sunak delayed the announcement of the government’s fiscal plans from 31 October to 17 November. The Treasury has said the new date will now be a full autumn statement. The Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, is holding last-ditch talks with the region’s party leaders to try to restore devolved government and avert an assembly election. If the meetings in Belfast on Wednesday do not yield a breakthrough by Thursday that revives power sharing, Heaton-Harris is expected to call an election, tipping Northern Ireland into further uncertainty. Women’s groups have reacted with concern and anger over the low representation of women in the new cabinet. Sunak removed 11 members of his predecessor’s top team on Tuesday as he put together a cabinet that he said “reflects a united party” by showcasing “all the talents”. Under the changes, however, fewer than a quarter of all people – about 23% – able to attend cabinet meetings will be women. The foreign secretary James Cleverly has been criticised for telling gay football fans they should show respect to Qatar, which criminalises their sexuality, when attending the World Cup in the emirate. Cleverly said Qatar was willing to make compromises to allow people it would normally persecute to attend the tournament, which kicks off on 20 November.