Image source, UK Parliament

In the space of 90 minutes, Prime Minister Keir Starmer was grilled by the Liaison Committee on the topic of tariffs, the UK steel industry, welfare reforms, and a possible peacekeeping force in Ukraine.

This was the PM's final commitment before MPs break for Easter recess at close of play today, returning in two weeks - here's a quick recap of the key questions Starmer was asked:

How is the government responding to US tariffs?

• Starmer said he was disappointed to see tariffs in place but that the UK should not "jump in with both feet" to retaliate
• Support is being offered to specific sectors impacted by tariffs, such as cars and steel, he said

What are the government's plans for the UK steel industry?

• The government was "committed" to steel production in the UK, the prime minister said
• Meanwhile "all options are on the table" in relation to the future of British Steel's Scunthorpe plant, he added

Will proposed benefit reforms push more sick and disabled people into poverty?

• "We need to learn the lessons from the past", Starmer said
• He defended the "right to try" provision - which would guarantee that unemployed people applying for jobs wouldn't lose their benefits
• And the prime minister reiterated that he believes people who need support and protection should get it

What will the UK's "coalition of the willing" entail?

• Starmer didn't give the committee specific details on this - in particular when asked about the potential involvement of British troops in any peace deal in Ukraine
• But the prime minister said senior UK defence officials are working closely with their Ukrainian counterparts on the detail

We're ending our live coverage of the prime minister's appearance at the Liaison Committee now - thank you for joining.

Will welfare changes affect people’s behaviour?published at 16:47 British Summer Time 8 April

16:47 BST 8 April

By Anthony Reuben

The prime minister has been saying that the government’s official forecaster - the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) - has not taken into account whether employment would increase as a result of the back-to-work schemes included in his proposed welfare reforms.

“The assumption is not a single person changes their behaviour. I personally struggle with that way of looking at it,” he said earlier.

That’s not quite what the OBR said - it laid out in detail, external why it had not yet been able to come up with a figure for changes to employment.

On the additional support for people with health problems to get into work, the OBR said it might increase employment, but the government had not yet provided enough details of the policy for its effectiveness to be judged.

On other parts of the policy, such as reducing the eligibility for health and disability benefits, the OBR said it had not been given enough time to develop an analysis of the impact on the labour market and that it would make a full assessment before its next forecast.

How quickly are EV charging points being installed?published at 16:32 British Summer Time 8 April

16:32 BST 8 April

By Mark Poynting

Speaking about chargers for Electric Vehicles (EVs), the prime minister said that “we've put more money behind the infrastructure for charging points to a point where there ought to be one built every half hour from here on in”.

Last month, the number of public charging devices across the UK increased by 1,165, according to electric charger mapping site Zapmap., external

That equates to a new public charging device every 38 minutes.

It’s worth noting that this doesn’t include private chargers, which significantly outnumber public devices.

In its latest progress report published in July, the independent Climate Change Committee said that installation rates of public charging points were “on track” but needed to “reach treble current rates by 2030”., external

And that's it - today's 90 minute Liaison Committee hearing grilling the prime minister has now finished.

Stick with us and we'll recap what was said.

The last question we're bringing you from today's hearing comes from chair Meg Hillier.

She's asking the prime minister a question on behalf of the UK Youth Parliament. They want to know whether lowering the voting age to 16 - something Labour had promised in their election manifesto last year - is still going to be implemented and when?

Starmer says it's something the government will "definitely" get done.

It was in his party's manifesto and "we intend to honour it", he says, adding that he believes if you're old enough to work, you're old enough to have a say in how your taxes are spent.

Image source, UK Parliament

Another question from Tan Dhesi, who asks how many British forces will be involved in the "coalition of the willing" to guarantee peace in Ukraine, and whether there will be a US backstop to any potential peace deal.

Starmer says he cannot give the committee any specific details, like numbers or dates right now.

He says political momentum is being created through those involved in the coalition, and that he and French President Emmanuel Macron are "bringing that together".

Senior UK defence officials are working closely with their Ukrainian counterparts on the details of any operation, he adds.

Could regulators and the slow grind of Whitehall be reined in?published at 16:08 British Summer Time 8 April

16:08 BST 8 April

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

One of the surprising elements of this Labour government has been the growing frustration at independent regulators.

Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves came into government promising to strengthen the role of the economic watchdog – the Office for Budget Responsibility – for example. But the prime minister now says he “struggles” with how the OBR assessed the government’s recent welfare reforms.

More generally Starmer has said he was "astonished" by how many regulators there were, adding he was "frustrated" by the barriers they put up.

"As soon as you've got a regulator in place, you can bet your bottom dollar there's got to be a consultation with X, Y and Z before a decision can be made.

"That then takes forever. There's a deadline that's breached, and nobody wants to do anything about it, because you might come up against the regulator."

It’s a growing irritation many in government feel at how slowly things seem to move in Whitehall. And one that could well see other regulators’ powers reigned in, or even scrapped altogether.

Today's hearing has now finished - stick with us and we'll continue to update you on the key lines.

Labour MP Tan Dhesi, chair of the Defence Committee, asks the prime minister whether the government's commitment to increasing defence spending to 2.5% of national income by 2027 is enough.

Starmer calls it a "significant" increase and says it's the highest since the Cold War.

He adds that Europe hasn't done enough for its own security and defence "for some time" and that Trump is not the first US president to press for increased spending.

The prime minister says he accepts the challenge but that it's not an argument for Europe to "go it alone".

Image source, UK Parliament

Champion continues her questioning. She asks the prime minister if the government will be pushing for an inquiry into the deaths of the 15 humanitarian workers killed by Israeli forces in southern Gaza last month.

There has "got to be an investigation into that", the Starmer says.

He adds that "there hasn't been enough aid getting into Gaza at speed and at pace for a very long time."

"The resumption of hostilities [between Israel and Hamas] is the wrong thing in my view," the prime minister continues. "We need to get back to a ceasefire, we need to get aid in, hostages out, and we need to put our foot in the door for a process, however remote it may seem today, toward a two-state solution".

A two-state solution is "the only way of guaranteeing peace in the long-term", he adds

Image source, UK Parliament

Next up is Labour MP Sarah Champion, who chairs the International Development Committee. She brings on to the final theme of today's hearing - international affairs and defence.

She asks the prime minister: "Now that you've slashed the foreign aid budget, who do you think is safer in the world?"

Starmer tells the committee that the aid budget was cut to spend more on defence.

It's not a decision the government wanted to make, he says, but "we are living in a very fragile world".

"We do need to get the aid budget back up," he adds, and says he is looking at ways to engage the private sector to leverage aid in a different way.

More now from Layla Moran, whoasks the prime minister about negotiations with the US and the NHS.

Moran says the prime minister has publicly said that nothing was off the table in any negotiations, and asks him whether that includes the NHS - including "drug patents, negotiated prices for medicines and market access for US companies".

The NHS is our greatest asset and the government is not "trading away" access to it, Starmer says.

"I take a protective approach when it comes to the NHS", he adds.

Image source, UK Parliament

Moving on to social care, and the chair of the Health and Social Care committee, Layla Moran asks the prime minister what he sees the role of the sector is.

The prime minister says: "Like most people, I've long thought we need to reform it."

He adds that that's why peer Louise Casey has been asked to carry out a reform programme.

Moran asks the prime minister if he sees social care as "mainly a drain on the treasury, or an enabler to the economy".

"An enabler to the economy", Starmer replies, before telling the committee his sister is a carer so he "knows this first-hand".

Moran continues by saying there is "frustration" that reforms to the sector are being kicked down the road, to which the prime minister replies that the government has made £3.7bn of additional funding available for social care.

Owen continues questioning the prime minister, and turns to women's medical inequality - she claims this costs the economy £11bn annually.

She highlights how many women are out of work due to endometriosis - a condition where tissue similar to the womb lining grows elsewhere. It can cause debilitating symptoms, such as severe pain and tiredness.

Owen says it can take years for women to get a diagnosis, and suggests this is just one contributing factor to the cost on the economy.

Starmer says the time it takes to get a diagnosis is "unacceptable" and adds that there is a lot of work going into women's health across government.

The prime minister adds that he has tasked the health secretary with "reforming" the NHS and, in particular, dealing with health inequalities.

More now on welfare. Labour MP Sarah Owen, who chairs the Women and Equalities Committee, asks the prime minister about getting disabled people back to work.

Owen highlights a group of people that are the most severely disabled - and says they will be £3,000 worse off if proposed reforms are implemented. There are potentially 730,000 people in this group, she says.

She asks the prime minister: "What would you say to them?"

Stamer says that people who need support and protection should get it - and people who want to work should get that support.

He adds there are "things we can do that will reform the system for the better".

Image source, UK Parliament

Debbie Abrahams, the Labour MP who chairs the Work and Pensions Committee asks Starmer how we can ensure that proposed benefits reforms won't push more sick and disabled people into poverty.

"We need to learn the lessons from the past," Starmer says, "where proposals were put into place which did not achieve the desired end".

He says he genuinely thinks the measures, including the the "right to try" - which would guarantee that unemployed people who try a job will not lose their existing benefits if it does not work out - "could make a huge difference".

Image source, UK Parliament

We're back now with chair Meg Hillier, who asks the prime minister how much growth he expects to gain by cutting down on regulators in the country, and how he might balance that with consumer safety.

"There's a large chunk of growth we can get by stripping away regulation," Starmer says.

He adds that he believes the main issue is how long decisions take when regulators are involved.

The prime minister clarifies that he doesn't mean there should never be checks and balances, but "all of us, myself included, are pretty frustrated by how long things take".

The committee now moves on to the government's plans for AI with Conservative MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown - chair of the Public Accounts Committee - asking the prime minister if he is planning to embed "digital and cyber information officers" at senior management levels and on senior boards in every department of the Civil Service.

Starmer says he is, and that it is "vital".

He adds that the government wants to double the number of civil servants working in data and digital roles by 2030.

This level of "transformation" only happens when the government is behind it, he says, adding that he is personally pushing for the change.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

One of the big questions facing the government is whether they nationalise British Steel’s Scunthorpe site.

The plant is facing several challenges only exacerbated by the 25% US tariffs on steel. It could face closure, meaning thousands of job losses as well as the end of a crucial production site, just as the government says it needs more steel for defence and infrastructure projects.

The prime minister was very careful in his language, pointing out there are negotiations ongoing with the company's Chinese owners - but there are hints the government is prepared to nationalise it.

“We have made an offer, but all options are on the table in relation to Scunthorpe,” he told the committee.

Pressed on what “all options” meant, he said: "I can reassure the committee that we're doing everything we can to ensure there is a bright future for Scunthorpe.”

Image source, House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA Wire

The prime minister is now asked by Labour MP Patricia Ferguson, who chairs the Scottish Affairs Committee,how confident he is that the government "fully grasps" the economic potential of the space sector in Scotland?

Starmer says there is a huge potential, whether space or Grangemouth oil refinery, which he says has "its challenges but fantastic potential".

The PM is asked whether he thinks there should be a standalone minister for space.

That hasn't been put to me yet, he says with a laugh, adding “but it now has”.

There's laughter in the room as Starmer says he will think about it - but adds that he's not a fan of creating more government posts, before again stressing there’s important growth potential in Scotland.

Labour MP Ruth Cadbury, who chairs the Transport Committee, asks about electric vehicles (EVs) and what incentives are being looked at to encourage people to buy them?

Starmer responds by saying the two things that impact people the most in their decision to swap to an EV are the "crossover price" - the point at which the cost to buy is the same as a diesel or petrol vehicle.

Cadbury follows up with a question on the infrastructure required for EVs, as well as charging points.

The prime minister says there is an "anxiety around" charging points. He says this is why they have put more money into infrastructure, "to the point there ought to be one being built every half an hour".