Shapps says it will "take some time" for government process to conclude who was to blame for cyber-attack Jeremy Quin (Con), chair of the defence committee, asked when the “malign actor” would be named. Shapps said “if indeed there is a state sponsored actor” involved, there was a process involved for identifying them. He said it would “take some time” to reach conclusions. Early evening summary Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, has said that “state involvement” in the large-scale cyber attack on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) cannot be ruled out – but without confirming reports that China was responsible. Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, has accused Labour of trying to win the election by frightening pensioners with “fake news” about the government having a secret plan to raise income tax by 8p in the pound. (See 3.42pm.) Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, has tried to counter arguments that Labour is not offering proper change at the election by arguing “stability is change”. Under the Tories, the country would face “five more years of chaos”, she said in a speech. (See 9.01am and 12.10pm.) John Swinney has been elected by MSPs as Scotland’s new first minister. University bosses are to attend a Downing Street summit to discuss antisemitism on campuses, as Palestinian solidarity protests continue to escalate at UK universities, with 10 students now vowing to go on hunger strike. Tobias Ellwood (Con) said that, if this was a physical attack, MPs would be demanding a proportionate reponse, and Nato’s article 5 might even be involved. What would be a proportionate response in this case? Shapps repeated the point about the government not being sure a state was involved. And he said data did not appear to have been stolen. But he accepted that Ellwood was right in his general point, about the need not to ignore state involvement in attacks of this kind. Mark Francois (Con) said that, although the government has been briefing that China was to blame, Shapps was not willing to say so publicly because he was leant on by the Foreign Office. He said the UK should stand up to China as the China stood up to the UK. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader and one of the most critical of China (he has been sanctioned by the regime as a result) said that, on the basis of what happened after previous Chinese hacks, it might take two years for the government to declare China responsible. He says the government should put China in the enhanced sphere under the National Security Act 2023. That would mean groups or individuals acting on behalf of China in the UK being subject to tighter controls. Shapps said that, if he were to commit to that now, he would be pre-judging the results of the inquiry into this incident. Shapp tells MPs there is no proof yet that Chinese state was involved in MoD cyber-attack Alicia Kearns (Con), the chair of the foreign affairs committee, asserted that China was responsible for the attack. Pointing out that the government has already blamed China for a cyber-attack on the Electoral Commission, and for trying to obtain information from MPs, she said it was time for the government to recognise that China is acting like an enemy. Shapps said that in relation to this incident “it is not the case … that there is a proven connection” to China. He went on: Although we can see a malign actor is involved, we have yet to make the full connection to a state – although I can’t rule that out. But that might be the conclusion. We have no evidence to conclude that way yet. Shapps says it will "take some time" for government process to conclude who was to blame for cyber-attack Jeremy Quin (Con), chair of the defence committee, asked when the “malign actor” would be named. Shapps said “if indeed there is a state sponsored actor” involved, there was a process involved for identifying them. He said it would “take some time” to reach conclusions. Shapps confirms SSCL contractor involved in data hack Shapps told Healey the leak of the news last night was unwelcome. The government was due to announce the news today, he says. He said the MoD did not think the data has been stolen. But it was making the assumption that it had been, so the appropriate security measures were put in place by people affected, he said. He confirmed that Healey was right to say SSCL was the contractor involved. He did not address Healey’s question about China. UPDATE: This is from Sky’s Sam Coates, who broke the story last night. After Labour’s John Healey names Shared Services Connected Ltd - SSCL - as the contractor involved in the MoD hack, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps confirms it SSCL says “SSCL plays a central role in delivering the MOD’s vision to transform core payroll, HR and pension services for 230,000 military personal and reservists and 2 million veterans” John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, condemned the cyber-attack and asked Shapps to explain why news of it had been leaked to the media first. He said the MoD seemed to be getting worse at avoiding data breaches. They had gone up in number three-fold over the past five years, he said. And he asked Shapps to comment on claims China was to blame. Shapps apologises to members of armed forces affected by cyber-attack Shapps ended by apologising to members of the armed forces affected by the cyber-attack. He said it should not have happened, and that his plan would ensure it did not happen again. Shapps tells MPs he "can"t rule out foreign state involvement" in armed forces cyber-attack Shapps says he cannot give any further details of the malign actor behind this. But he says the government “can’t rule out foreign state involvement”. (This is more equivocal than what Shapps’s cabinet colleage, Mel Stride, said this morning. Stride said "some kind of state actor” did seem to be responsible. See 9.49am.) Shapps say the system holds personal details of regular and reserve personnel, and of some recently retired veterans. This includes names and bank details, and in some cases addresses, he says. He says there is no evidence that data has been removed. But he says the MoD is putting in place an eight-point plan to respond. People are being notified, and given information on data security. He says a phoneline has been set up. Service personnel are being given access to a commercial personal data protection service. Changes to the system will be made before payments start again, he says. Grant Shapps makes statement to MPs about MoD cyber-attack Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, is making his statement to MPs about the MoD cyber-attack. He says a “malign actor” gained access to part of armed forces’ payment network. He went on: This is an external system completely separate to the core network, and it’s not connected to the main military system. The house will wish to know that it is operated by a contractor and there is evidence of potential failings by them, which may have made it easier for the malign actor to gain entry. This is being reviewed, he says. Government will be turning "blind eye to slaughter of civilians" if arms sales to Israel continue, SNP says Andrew Mitchell, the deputy foreign secretary, was told the goverment would be turning a blind eye to the “slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent civilians” if it continued armed sales to Israel. The comment was made by the SNP’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Brendan O’Hara, during a Commons urgent question on Gaza. O’Hara asked if the Israeli attack on Rafah was the breach of international humanitarian law that Mitchell said last week would lead to arms sales being suspended. He went on: Or is this yet another example of the UK declaring a red line only for Israel to completely ignore it without condemnation or consequence? Because, minister, we know how this plays out. You plead with them, they ignore you, they do what they want, and you find excuses for them and so a blind eye will be turned to the slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent civilians. And while the UK government calls for more aid to the survivors, it will continue to issue arms export licences. This has been the pattern of behaviour for seven months. Can we expect anything different? Mitchell said that the government’s position on arms sales had not changed. But he also said the government was deeply concerned about the situation in Rafah. We are deeply concerned about the prospect of a military incursion, given the number of civilians that are sheltering there and the importance of that entry point for aid. Entry points for humanitarian aid, including Kerem Shalom, must be reopened quickly to allow aid in. Israel must facilitate immediate uninterrupted humanitarian access in the south, especially the entry of fuel and ensure protection of civilians and safe passage for those who wish to leave Rafah. As yet we have not seen a credible plan to protect civilians. A reader asks: What has happened to the Lib Dem’s No Confidence motion in today’s HOC business? The Lib Dems said they were tabling a no confidence motion. What they did not say is that this is an almost completely pointless gesture because they don’t get to decide what motions will be debated by MPs, and this motion has no more chance of being debated than any of the other motions on the early day motion list. It would be different if the official opposition tabled a no confidence motion. By convention, they do have to be debated. But Labour is the official opposition. The Liberal Democrats cannot even be sure of using an opposition day debate to get this debated. There are 20 days set aside per session for opposition day debates, but Labour chooses the motion on 17 of those days, and the other three days are allocated to the third largest party in the Commons, the SNP. In theory the SNP is supposed to share that time with other, smaller parties, but the Lib Dems are not guaranteed anything. John Swinney accepted his nomination as first minister with some remarks that struck a personal and collegiate tone. First he reminded the chamber that his wife Elizabeth lives with multiple sclerosis. She is indefatigable in trying to make sure that MS does not get in the way of her living life to the full, but, much to her frustration, she does often have to rely on her husband for support and assistance. He thanks her for “the sacrifices she is prepared to make to enable her husband to serve our country as first minster.” Elsewhere, Swinney took responsibility for his own part in the polarisation of the parliament - his cross-chamber heckles are legendary and he has been rebuked for them by the presiding officer on occasion. He promised the chamber “that will all stop - I have changed” to laughter from colleagues, though the point is a serious one. Hunt accuses Reeves of suggesting reducing inflation not a "big deal" During Treasury questions this afternoon Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, also accused his Labour shadow, Rachel Reeves, of implying in her speech this morning that reducing inflation was not a “big deal”. (See 9.01am.) Hunt said: The biggest single thing we can do to help with cost of living pressures is to bring down inflation. And that seems to be something that escaped the shadow chancellor this morning when she said it wasn’t a big deal to get inflation down to its target. It’s a very, very big deal for families facing a cost of living crisis, and she needs to know that inflation falls by design and not by accident. Reeves did not quite put it like that in her speech. Her argument was that people did not feel better off, partly because “this is forecast to be the first parliament on record with living standards actually lower at its end than at the start”. "A man of unfailing courtesy" - Swinney pays tribute to Yousaf John Swinney, the new Scottish first minister, paid tribute to his predecessor in his speech to MSPs this afternoon. Swinney said: I’m proud that it was an SNP government that was led by the first woman first minister and then by the first Muslim first minister. I want to pay tribute to Humza Yousaf – a man of unfailing courtesy who served my party but also this parliament and country with distinction. Swinney urged MSPs to recognise that “despite our political differences, we’re all here because we want the best for Scotland, whatever our specific role happens to be”. And he promised to listen not just to people who voted for pro-independence parties, but also to people who didn’t. Extracts from Yousaf"s final speech to Scottish parliament as first minister Here are extracts from Humza Yousaf’s final speech to MSPs as first minister On support from MSPs Let me offer thanks to every single colleague across the political divide for the kindnesses that you have shown me over the years. We often, and I’m guilty of this too, lament the toxic nature of our political debate and it’s true, there is entrenched tribalism that feels difficult to free ourselves from. However I will remember far more fondly the kindness and generosity of colleagues over the years. On Gaza I cannot let today’s remarks go by without pleading one last time from the frontbenches for the international community to stop any further massacre of the innocent people of Gaza. A full-scale invasion of Rafah, home to 1.4 million people, 600,000 children, will only result in the slaughter of more innocent civilians in what is likely to be one of the clearest violations of international law to date. A clear signal must be sent to the Israeli Government that to defy the international community in this way will come with significant consequence and sanction. Everything possible must be done to demand an immediate ceasefire, a release of all the hostages and an end to arms sales to Israel. We must be on the right side of history and that must mean standing with innocent men, women and children. To do otherwise would be unforgivable. On being the first Muslim leader of Scotland – and of any European country I’m grateful for the trust that [his predecessors] put in me over the years because a young Humza Yousaf could never have imagined that he would be able to lead this country. I was six years old when I was first told to go home, and I’m afraid since then it has been a regular occurrence, in fact almost daily if you look at my social media feeds. And I won’t lie - it is that racial slur that probably hurts me the most. On Nicola Sturgeon, his predecessor, and John Swinney, his successor John is one of the most empathetic, kind, compassionate people that I’ve had the pleasure of knowing over the years. Such qualities are crucial in life, they are absolutely necessary as first minister. I remember Nicola Sturgeon saying to me that as first minister, you get to make someone’s day every single day in office. I’m also quite possibly making somebody’s day by leaving office, I suspect, too. However, I can testify that Nicola Sturgeon was absolutely right. You can make someone’s day through the smallest act of kindness – stopping for a selfie with someone, or through transformative policy like the Scottish Child Payment. The privilege of serving the people of Scotland through this office never gets tiring. I know John will do his family proud, he’ll do our party proud and he will do our nation proud as he dedicates his life to the service of Scotland, the country we are all proud to call home and that we all love so dearly. MSPs elect SNP"s John Swinney as first minister The vote to elect John Swinney as first minister was a foregone conclusion given the parliamentary arithmetic and the fact that the Scottish Greens had agreed to abstain, but it is traditional for opposition leaders to put themselves forward. Their speeches today were fairly lacklustre - perhaps everyone has been worn out by the chaos of the past few weeks. Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross accused the SNP of “replacing one continuity candidate with another “ while Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar called for a Holyrood election. Swinney struck a more ameliorative tone, noting the 25th anniversary of the Scottish parliament and praising other parties for their contribution over the years. Swinney, of course, won the vote and will now be sworn in at the court of session in Edinburgh tomorrow. Hunt accuses Labour of frightening pensioners with "fake news" as he rules out funding NI abolition with income tax hike Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, has accused Labour of trying to win the election by frightening pensioners with “fake news”. He was speaking during Treasury questions in the Commons where he rejected Rachel Reeves’ suggestion that the Tory plan to abolish employees’ national insurance over the long term could result in income tax rising by 8p in the pound – a move that would clobber pensioners in particular. (See 12.10pm.) Reeves, the shadow chancellor, asked Hunt if he accepted analysis saying that, if the government decided to get rid of national insurance by merging it with income tax, income tax could have to got up by 8p in the pound. Hunt replied: Which is why it is not our policy. In response, Reeves said that Hunt himself spoke about the possibility of merging income tax with national insurance in an interview after the budget. And she pointed out that Nigel Lawson, chancellor under Margaret Thatcher, himself said that merging income tax with national insurance would create many losers, espcially amongst the elderly. Yousaf thanks MSPs for letting him "defy far right, bigots and racists" by letting him serve as FM as he stands down Outgoing first minister Humza Yousaf made his final statement to the Holyrood chamber this afternoon, thanking colleagues across the chamber for their kindnesses since he was first elected as a nervous 26-year-old. His voice choked with emotion as he thanked MSPs for the opportunity “to defy the far right, bigots and racists” in serving as first minister “an honour I didn’t think was for people who looked like me”. He praised the new SNP leader John Swinney as “one of the most empathetic, kind and compassionate people I have known” and used his final remarks as first minister to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, a return of all hostages and an end to arms sales to Israel. His statement was met with warm applause and hugs from the SNP benches, including former FM Nicola Sturgeon and Swinney, who will now ask the chamber for its backing to become the next FM. Burnham claims metro mayors are leading way in "reversing things that went wrong in 1980s" In an article for the Guardian today, Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, says he is committing to building 10,000 council homes in his next mayoral term. He set out some details of how this would be achieved, as well as other housing policies, in a press announcement this morning. In his article Burnham says this is an example of how metro mayors are repairing damage caused by policies introduced by the Thatcher government. He explains: As it becomes more established, a theme is developing with English devolution: fixing the fundamentals of life – housing, utilities, transport – means reversing things that went wrong in the 1980s. So, just as Greater Manchester was first to end deregulation of buses, we now want to see the suspension of the right-to-buy policy from any new council homes that we build in our city-region. To be clear: there is no honest solution to the housing crisis as long as it stays in its current form. This is how English devolution is beginning to change politics for the better. For too long, the Westminster consensus has been that you can’t challenge some of the dogma of the Thatcher era. But, since the arrival of the Labour mayors, trains and buses have started to go back under public control and there is a much greater focus on issues like homelessness. Slowly but surely, we are freeing ourselves from the suffocating effects of the 1980s. We now have the real prospect of a Labour prime minister working with Labour mayors to fix the housing crisis and deliver true levelling up. Nominations closed today to be the next chair of the Commons public administration and constitutional affairs committee. The two candidates are Dame Jackie Doyle-Price and Tom Randall. Their statements are here. All MPs can vote in the election tomorrow, and the result will be announced in the afternoon. The vacancy, which is only open to the Tories because this is one of the committee chair posts reserved for them, was created by the resignation of William Wragg after he admitted disclosing the phone numbers of colleagues to a stranger engaged in sexting “spear-phishing”. DWP launches £64m WorkWell pilot offering health support to help people return to work Mel Stride, the work and pensions secretary, was doing the morning interview round this morning to promote WorkWell, a scheme being piloted offering people health support if they need it to return to work. In a news release for the £64m pilot, covering 15 areas, the Department for Work and Pensions said The WorkWell pilots … will connect 59,000 people from October to local support services including physiotherapy and counselling so they can get the tailored help they need to stay in or return to work. The WorkWell service provides a single, joined-up assessment and gateway into both employment support and health services locally to help people manage their conditions and to identify workplace adjustments or support that would enable them to stay in work or return sooner. Participants do not need to be claiming any government benefits and will receive personalised support from a work and health coach to understand their current health and social barriers to work and draw up a plan to help them overcome them. Evidence shows that work is an effective way to improve wellbeing – reducing the risk of depression, improving physical health, and building self-confidence and financial independence. In response, Sandi Wassmer, CEO at the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion (enei), said that, although it was good to see the government recognise that some people need support to return to work, she was concerned that it was not mandatory for employers. Alison McGovern, the acting shadow work and pensions secretary, said: Labour will look closely at any programme supporting people into work. But, with a record number of people out of work due to sickness and millions of people on spiralling NHS and mental health waiting lists, we need a long-term plan to fix our NHS and get Britain working, not more pilots skirting around the edges. In the Commons there will be an urgent question on Gaza at 3.30pm, which means the statement from Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, about the MoD data hack will not start until around 4.15/4.30pm. No 10 says universities should be taking "robust action" to deal with what it says is "unacceptable rise" in student antisemitism University vice-chancellors will attend a meeting in No 10 later this week to discuss how to tackle rising antisemitism on campuses, Downing Street has said. At this morning’s lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson said that Rishi Sunak opened cabinet this morning by saying there had been an “unacceptable rise in antisemitism on our university campuses” and vice-chancellors would be meeting to discuss “the need for our universities to be safe for our Jewish students”. The spokesperson said: Our university campuses should be places of rigorous debate, but they should also be tolerant places where people of all communities, particularly Jewish students at this time, are treated with respect … The right to free speech does not include the right to harass people or incite violence. We expect university leaders to take robust action in dealing with that kind of behaviour and that will be the subject of the conversation in No 10 later this week to ensure a zero-tolerance approach to this sort of behaviour is adopted on all campuses. Asked if the police should be called in to clear protest camps at British universities, as as been happening in the US, the spokesman said: “We want to see university leaders taking a robust approach to unacceptable behaviour.” Sunak says he"s "deeply concerned" about consequences of attack on Rafah Rishi Sunak has said he is “deeply concerned” about the consequences of Israel attacking Rafah. Asked about the situation in Gaza, Sunak told broadcasters: We’ve been consistent in saying that we want to see an immediate humanitarian pause in this conflict so that we can crucially release the hostages, get them back to their families and get more aid in to Gaza, people desperately need it, and then use that pause to build a more lasting and sustainable ceasefire. When it comes to the question of Rafah, again I’ve been clear that we are deeply concerned about the full military incursion of Rafah, given the humanitarian consequences of that. I’ve made that point specifically to Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu whenever I’ve spoken to him.