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Badenoch now says "chaos is being felt in the economy".

She adds the chancellor will need to "pay for all of these U-turns" which are being announced.

Responding to criticism that he doesn't know what he believes in, Starmer quotes Badenoch's comments to Sky News: She said "Israel is fighting a proxy war on behalf of the United Kingdom, just like Ukraine is on behalf of western Europe against Russia".

He adds the Russian embassy said the leader of the opposition has "finally called a spade a spade".

"I believe in standing by Ukraine," Starmer says.

Badenoch says Starmer has not answered the question on whether he will keep the two-child benefit cap, accusing him of "causing confusion".

On the two-child benefit cap, she says she believes in family but says she also believes in "fairness", saying the Tories believe people on benefits "should have to make the same choices on having children as everyone else".

Starmer says he believes in driving down poverty and child poverty and they will put in place a strategy to do so.

He then says Badenoch has been praised by the Russian embassy and accuses her of "echoing" Kremlin talking points. He adds that if she carries on Reform UK will be sending her a membership application.

Badenoch's winter fuel questions follow chancellor's speech earlierpublished at 12:10 British Summer Time 4 June

12:10 BST 4 June

Joshua Nevett
Reporting from the Commons

Badenoch is focusing on the winter fuel allowance in her first questions, asking for details on how many pensioners will receive it after the PM U-turned on cuts to the payments a few weeks ago.

Badenoch was accused of missing the U-turn at PMQs last month.

It comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the allowance will be restored to some pensioners this winter in a speech this morning.

Badenoch says the Office for Budget Responsibility says there is no £22bn black hole, which Labour claims the Conservative government left them. She says Starmer hasn't stabilised the economy and borrowing costs are high.

"It's just chaos, chaos, chaos," she says.

She moves onto the topic of the two-child benefit cap - will the government keep it?

Starmer is "absolutely determined that we will drive down child poverty", he says, and that's why "we've got a strategy".

"Under them, poverty goes up," he says, pointing the finger at the Conservatives.

Starmer responds by saying his government took the "right decision" to stabilise the economy in the Budget, and says that the Conservatives left a "£22bn black hole".

He says he will look again at the eligibility for winter fuel payments and will set out how to pay for it "because we have stabilised the economy".

He says his party is committed to the triple lock for pensioners, but claims the Conservatives are not.

Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch is on her feet to ask her first question.

She says three weeks ago, the winter fuel policy was "set in stone," and the prime minister then U-turned on it two weeks ago.

The prime minister is asked: can the PM be clear how many of the 10 million people who lost their winter fuel payments will get it back?

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Keir Starmer has just stood up. He begins PMQs with some opening comments on the investment announced today on transport infrastructure in the North of England and in the Midlands.

He says Labour is "turning the page" on a "failed economic model" of low investment.

Further plans will be set out in coming weeks, he adds.

He also touches on the Strategic Defence Review, saying it will transform defence.

Joshua Nevett
Reporting from the Commons

The PM has just walked into the Commons chamber, to customary cheers from Labour MPs.

Only standing space is available now.

PMQs begins.

Keir Starmer has arrived in the House of Commons and we're now just minutes away from the start of Prime Minister's Questions.

We'll bring you the key updates as they happen - as always, you can see all the action for yourself by clicking watch live at the top of this page.

Kevin Peachey
Cost of living correspondent

The government's U-turn on winter fuel payments will be in place so more people receive the allowance this winter, the chancellor has said.

Rachel Reeves cleared some uncertainty by announcing that "more people will get winter fuel payment this winter".

However, details of how the changes will be made and who will be eligible may not be clear until the autumn Budget.

The payment, worth up to £300 to help cover energy costs at the coldest time of year, was paid only to those on pension credit last winter.

It meant 10 million fewer pensioners received the money last winter.

There was particular concern among charities and some MPs about those whose income was slightly too high to qualify, but were hit by the loss of the payment as energy costs remained expensive.

The government has insisted the policy was necessary to help stabilise the public finances, allowing the improvements in the economic picture which Prime Minister Keir Starmer said could result in the partial reversal of the measure.

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Another story that’s made political headlines in the UK this week, and which is likely to come up at PMQs today, is Home Office Minister Jess Phillips' apology to MPs for a delay in the publication of a report on grooming gangs.

In January, the government asked Baroness Louise Casey to lead a "rapid" three-month audit into the data and evidence on the nature and scale of group-based child sexual abuse.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, Conservative frontbencher Katie Lam said Baroness Casey's review, along with a framework for local grooming gang inquiries, had been due for publication in May and asked for an updated timeline.

Phillips told MPs she was sorry for the "month's wait" but added "I've waited 14 years", a reference to the length of time the Conservatives were in government.

The minister said Baroness Casey had requested a "short extension" to her work and that it was expected "very shortly".

On the same day that the delay was announced, five women from across England who were groomed and abused as children or young adults told BBC Newsnight about the ongoing impact it has had on their lives.

Image source, Reuters

As always, we can't be totally sure what Tory leader Kemi Badenoch will ask Keir Starmer this afternoon - but on the off chance it comes up, it's worth remembering the other big political and economic story of the day.

It was announced earlier that the UK's been temporarily spared from US President Donald Trump's plans to double steel and aluminium tariffs from 25% to 50%.

Trump's latest executive order raises import taxes for US-based firms buying from other countries as of today - but the tax remains at 25% for the UK. It follows a deal that was signed last month by the US and UK, removing levies on some of the UK's exports, including cars, steel and aluminium.

A government spokesperson says the UK plans to continue working "with the US to implement our agreement", but shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith has accused Labour of leaving "businesses in limbo" via "botched negotiations".

• Want to know more? We're running a separate live page on these latest developments - including commentary from industry leaders and analysis from our business correspondents

The prime minister is officially on the move.

With various documents and ring binders in hand, Keir Starmer is on his way to the House of Commons for this week's Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs).

We'll soon have a view of the chamber at the top of the page, where you'll be able to watch the back and forth live from midday.

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Prime Minister Keir Starmer set out the government's defence strategy for the next decade on Monday.

This follows an external review of the UK's defence capabilities - and the government now plans to implement all of the review's 62 findings.

Here's a quick look at the government's response:

• The UK will move to "war-fighting readiness" as the armed forces' central purpose
• A "10-times more lethal" army, combining air defence, artificial intelligence, long-range weapons and land drone swarms
• Create a hybrid Royal Navy that uses aircraft, drones, warships, submarines to patrol the north Atlantic "and beyond"
• Build up to 12 new attack submarines as part of the Aukus programme in partnership with Australia and the United States, with a new submarine delivered every 18 months
• Small increase to the size of the regular army to 76,000 full-time soldiers after 2029 - although this has yet to be funded

There was even more included in the announcement - you can take a read through the full plans.

On Monday, the prime minister set out the government’s defence strategy for the next decade.

The government plans to increase military spending from 2.3% to 2.5% of national income by 2027, and has set an ambition to then increase it to 3% by 2034.

The defence review recommended the armed forces move to “warfighting readiness” to deter growing threats faced by the UK.

Among the measures included in the review, Starmer announced that the UK will build up to 12 new attack submarines.

It’s been a big political talking point in the UK this week - and Starmer’s plans could be scrutinised by MPs in the House of Commons later.

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Chancellor is preparing defence against tough spending questionspublished at 11:08 British Summer Time 4 June

11:08 BST 4 June

Damian Grammaticas
Political correspondent

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Rachel Reeves knows that when, next week, she unveils the numbers for government spending in the coming years some departments will be facing tough times.

So today she’s been keen to get her defence for those hard decisions in early.

Explaining her "fiscal rules", which determine how much she can tax and spend, she says “let’s be clear: it is not me imposing borrowing limits on government, those limits are the product of economic reality”.

If the government doesn’t stick to careful, predictable plans, she says, then the result will be a loss of confidence in the government’s ability to control spending, resulting in higher borrowing costs, rising interest rates, economic turmoil.

Her defence came with a hard political edge to it. The Conservatives and Reform UK, were they to form a government, would, she claims, simply repeat the “reckless borrowing” seen under Liz Truss.

And addressing worries among some Labour MPs and voters, who believe a Labour government should spend more, she says: “I know that economic responsibility and social justice go hand-in-hand.”

That’s because, she says, running a tight ship is what will “make a difference to the lives of working people” and “protect them from economic irresponsibility that they will ultimately pay the price for”.

It's Wednesday, which means another Prime Minister's Questions is right around the corner.

It's already been a busy week for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who on Monday set out what the government's defence strategy will be for the next decade.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch may well press the prime minister on the details of that, as well as the increasing numbers of small boat crossings after Saturday saw the highest number of migrants arriving in the UK by small boat so far this year.

Also on the agenda could be a trade deal with the US - the government is currently working to iron out an agreement to bring Donald Trump's steel tariffs down to zero.

You can follow all the key updates from today's session here - or watch for yourself by clicking watch live at the top of the page from 12:00 BST.

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