Barbara Tasch
Live reporter

It was a fiery start to PMQs this week, which heavily featured the UK's agreement to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, setting up an ensuing debate on Reform MP Nigel Farage's urgent question on the matter.

PMQs began with Starmer telling Badenoch she was not properly briefed on security matters and not fit to be prime minister. She had questioned Starmer on the Chagos Islands deal, as well as on standing up to his energy secretary and teased him about needing to use a voice coach.

The room finally fell silent when Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey asked the PM about US President Donald Trump's comments on forcibly removing people from the Gaza Strip. Starmerresponded by saying Gazans must be allowed to go home and rebuild on the way to a two-state solution.

After PMQs ended, Farage asked the government to confirm the legal basis for the transfer of sovereignty of the Chagos Islands from the UK to Mauritius.

Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said the current and previous government have been clear that the military base "was not on a secure footing", and the deal had been done in "full agreement with the US national security apparatus". He also accused the Tories of undermining national security by calling into question the government's commitment to other UK military bases overseas.

This is where we will end our live coverage. For more, our politics team has the full story focusing on Starmer's comments on Gaza and the two-state- solution.

Moving on from Farage's urgent question on the Chagos Islands, the Commons is now hearing from Deputy PM Angela Rayner, who is also secretary of state for housing and local government.

Giving a statement on English devolution, she says that if everything she announces today goes ahead, more than 44 million people will benefit.

She announces "six new potential devolution areas" with a view to holding mayoral elections in May 2026.

This will offer the areas a "fast-track ticket" to drive "real change", she says, saying devolution will put "politics back in the service of working people".

Rayner says those areas in the "devolution priority programme" are:

• Cumbria
• Cheshire and Warrington
• Greater Essex
• Hampshire and Solent
• Norfolk and Suffolk
• Sussex and Brighton

Are energy bills going up?published at 13:31 Greenwich Mean Time

13:31 GMT

By Anthony Reuben

Some more analysis of the issues raised during PMQs now.

On energy bills, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: “Labour promised to bring energy bills down by £300. Instead, bills are going up.”

Labour’s manifesto, external said: “We will save families hundreds of pounds on their bills, not just in the short term, but for good.”

Prior to the election, Labour predicted that households would save £300 on their energy bills as a result of its green measures - citing research by the think tank Ember, external.

And Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said in November, external that the £300 fall would happen by 2030.

The energy price cap, which limits the amount households pay for a unit of energy, went up by 1.2% at the start of the year and it is expected to rise again in April.

Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn asks Doughty to assure the House that he's not going to be "dragged back into rebuilding the empire".

We should be concentrating on right of return of Chagossian people to the island, he says, calling the deal an "issue of decolonisation".

He asks the minister to confirm that any agreement with Mauritius will include the right of return to the archipelago and the right to visit residents on Diego Garcia itself.

Doughty responds that the primary purpose of the deal is national security but agrees "treatment of Chagossians was wrong". He adds that a resumption of visits to the islands is included, and Chagossians can also work on Diego Garcia.

Back to the Commons now, where the DUP's Sammy Wilson is questioning Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty over the UK's agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands - the site of a military base shared with the US - to Mauritius.

Wilson says China is seeking to expand its influence across the area and asks how the government can anticipate the UK's interests will be safeguarded if they don't know what relationship Mauritius will have with China in future.

Doughty says Mauritius is one of the few African countries not to join China's belt and road infrastructure initiative and there are "clear guarantees" to protect against malign interest in the area around the base.

What were the lockdown rules at the time of Starmer’s meeting with voice coach?published at 13:20 Greenwich Mean Time

13:20 GMT

By Tamara Kovacevic

Questions have been raised about whether Keir Starmer broke Covid lockdown rules, after a book revealed that he met a voice coach in person on Christmas Eve in 2020.

Conservative MP Gagan Mohindra asked: "Can he repeat his assurances that all rules were followed while the country was in Tier 4 lockdown in December 2020, not just by him but his team as well and his voice coach Leonie Mellinger?"

At the time, England was subject to a tiered system of restrictions, with London - where the meeting took place - under Tier 4, the most severe.

The law stated, external that “no person who lives in the Tier 4 area may leave or be outside of the place where they are living without reasonable excuse”.

There were a number of exceptions, including leaving home when it is “reasonably necessary” for “the purposes of work” and “where it is not reasonably possible […] to work […] from home”.

Starmer did not answer the question directly, saying “I was in my office working on the expected Brexit deal with my team”.

On Monday, he was asked by journalists whether he had broken Covid rules as he was leaving a news conference in Brussels, he replied: "Of course not”.

Image source, PA Media

Let's take a moment now to review that session PMQs - we saw Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch clash over the future of the Chagos Islands, the energy secretary's links to environmental activists, and the economy.

• Badenoch started by saying that yesterday we heard claims that the government offered £18bn for Mauritius to "take our territory in the Chagos Islands", calling it an "immoral surrender". Starmer responded to this by suggesting Badenoch has not been "properly briefed on security" and if that's the case, "she's not fit to be prime minister"

• Badenoch asked Starmer if he "has the guts" to take on Labour donors and his energy secretary to deliver on investment in oil. Starmer said she clearly "doesn't know what's going on" and that she is aware of a court case that has meant the licence of the oil field had to be reviewed

• Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey asked Starmer about US President Donald Trump's comments on Gaza and Starmer responded by saying Gazans must be allowed to go home and rebuild on the way to a two-state solution
• Reform UK leader Nigel Farage then declared that his party wants to provide free healthcare "at the point of delivery", to which Starmer responded by repeating attacks on the party's health policies
• Starmer was also pressed on allegations that he broke lockdown rules by hiring a voice coach. Starmer throws this back to the Conservatives with a simple accusation: "I was working, they were partying"

Stay with us as we continue to bring you analysis of the issues raised, as well as key lines emerging from the continuing debate over the Chagos deal.

As a reminder, you can follow all the action in Westminster this afternoon by pressing Watch live at the top of this page.

How much could the Chagos deal cost the UK?published at 13:07 Greenwich Mean Time

13:07 GMT

By Tamara Kovacevic

As the Commons continues to discuss the urgent question on the Chagos Islands - a remote but strategically important cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean - let's look at Kemi Badenoch's claim from earlier.

She said “the government offered £18bn for Mauritius to take our territory in the Chagos Islands”.

So is she right?

The UK has had sovereignty over the islands for over 50 years but agreed to hand them to Mauritius in October.

The draft agreement includes the island of Diego Garcia, used as a UK-US military base.

Under the plans, which have not been finalised, the base will remain and the UK will lease the island for at least 99 years.

The government hasn’t denied reports that the lease could cost the UK around £9bn over 99 years, external.

The Mauritius PM has said the UK's payments would be increased in line with inflation and a bigger portion of it would be paid upfront.

The Times has reported, external that this would effectively double the UK payment to £18bn, but this has been denied by the government.

Back to Doughty now, who repeats that the Tories started the negotiations, and "we're having to clean up the mess" they've made in British armed forces and defence.

A lot of the figures being reported on should be taken with a pinch of salt, he says, adding that there is no change to the substance in relation to the agreement.

Doughty adds he is "deeply disappointed" of false comparisons with other bases and overseas territories.

We're committed to bases in Cyprus, Gibraltar and the Falklands, he says and that calling this into question undermine national security.

Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel is up now, and begins by calling Labour's Diego Garcia agreement "one of the worst deals in the 21st century".

"We're now being told we have to pay billions for the privilege" of running the base, she says, asking for further clarification on what the deal will cost.

She adds Mauritius' MPs have been able to debate details of the deal already and accuses Labour of refusing to share details with the House.

Has the minister given away the UK's ability to exercise sovereign rights over Diego Garcia, she asks Doughty.

Doughty says the current and previous government have been clear that the military base "was not on a secure footing".

This has been done in "full agreement with the US national security apparatus", he says, adding the government will "not scrimp" on security and ensure the base can operate "unimpeded, as we do today".

Once the treaty is signed, it will be put to the House before ratification, he says.

He then turns to the Conservative opposition, and says they suffer from "collective amnesia" when it comes to their role in the negotiations.

Now up to ask his question in full, Farage says the UK government representative has been telling US the Chagos deal is "necessary" - which he claims is not true.

He says there is no legal basis on which the UK has to give away the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, that an advisory judgement form the International Criminal Court has no force for legal power "whatsoever".

Farage adds that the US, which is not a member of the court, has "been busy" with its foreign policy, but that when Americans realise this has happened, the UK might find itself struck with tariffs alongside the European Union.

Can the minister confirm there is no binding legal basis for the transfer of sovereignty, Farage asks.

The US administration should have time to consider the details of the agreement, Doughty continues.

He says the Government has been "closely engaging" with the Mauritian administration but said it would be inappropriate and unusual to offer running commentary on the negotiations.

Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise the deal in the usual way, he adds.

An extension of the lease of the base has been secured for 99 years, he says - a move that will mean the US and UK will be able to operate the base "well into next century".

Farage asks the government to make a statement on the transfer of sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius - he will get a chance to ask a lengthier question in a moment.

Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty says both the UK and Mauritius remain committed to reaching a deal which protects operations of the UK-US Diego Garcia military base.

PMQs has now concluded after some fiery exchanges between the PM and the leader of the opposition.

We'll soon hear from Reform MP Nigel Farage who has tabled an urgent question on the Chagos Islands.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest from Parliament.

Brian Wheeler
Reporting from the House of Commons

Very punchy question from Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood on the governance of Northern Ireland. She starts with a quote from Kenny Rogers song The Gambler.

I suspect this was lost on the PM!

Brian Wheeler
Reporting from the House of Commons

Big roars from the Labour benches as Starmer deals with the inevitable question about lockdown rules and his now infamous voice coach.

Leila Nathoo
Political correspondent

Keir Starmer takes on a challenge from Tory MP Gagan Mohindra about his use of a voice coach during lockdown.

He throws it back to the Conservatives with a simple accusation: "I was working, they were partying."

Brian Wheeler
Reporting from the House of Commons

You wait weeks for a Reform question and two come along in one session. Richard Tice’s call for the government “to stop funding Hamas” is batted away by the PM.

Reform's Richard Tice says Emily Damari - a British Israeli women who was held hostage by Hamas for 15 months and was recently released - was held in captivity by Hamas in the facilities of the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa).

Tice says this confirms "many of our fears that Unrwa is riddled with Hamas sympathisers".

He says the British people don't want UK aid "stolen by Hamas" and says it should be diverted to "other more trustworthy agencies".

Cries of "shame" can be heard from some MPs as Tice finishes.

Starmer condemns Hamas and says the UK is not funding them, adding he believes Tice knows this.