Transport secretary ‘100% sure’ new cap on bus fares in England is fully funded – UK politics live

Also this morning, Heidi Alexander declined to answer whether two men jailed for the death of PC Andrew Harper will be eligible for early release under Labour plans to tackle overcrowding in prisons.

Harper sustained fatal injuries while responding to a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in August 2019. He died after getting caught in a strap attached to the back of a car and dragged down a country road as three teenage suspects fled the scene of the burglary.

On his first full day in power, the prime minister faced questions about how he would fund the removal of VAT from electricity bills and an expected uplift in defence spending – an issue that led his new chancellor, John Healey, to resign as Keir Starmer’s defence secretary last month.

Downing Street said on Tuesday that the tax cut was funded for the next financial year, but money would have to be found in future years from existing departmental budgets, suggesting spending cuts to come. No 10 has also ruled out using defence bonds to pay for higher military spending.