Georgia Roberts
Political correspondent, BBC Scotland

The recount is ongoing here in Dingwall, where the SNP have already conceded defeat in the last remaining constituency left to declare after Thursday's election.

The result, of course, won’t be official until all the votes are counted and announced by the returning officer for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire.

Liberal Democrat candidate Angus MacDonald - expected by his party to be declared the new MP later today - has turned up in full Highland dress and tells me he’s optimistic but isn’t getting the bunting out just yet.

If the Lib Dems gain this seat it will put them at six seats in Scotland - just a handful behind the SNP’s nine, demonstrating the scale of the difficulties the formerly dominant party have had at this election.

We’re expecting a result later this afternoon.

A key theme of Keir Starmer's first news conference as prime minister was to highlight the need to deal with overflowing prisons.

Speaking in Downing Street, the PM said the previous government didn't take tough decisions on planning for prisons. You can watch that clip below:

Vanessa Clarke
Education reporter

The prime minister has told journalists that sitting around the cabinet table earlier today was a proud moment for him because his ministers reflect “the aspiration” of the country.

The majority of cabinet members (23 out of 25), went to comprehensive school, analysis by the Sutton Trust has found.

One attended a grammar school and one went to a private school – making it the lowest proportion of privately educated ministers since 1945.

Around 19% of Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss’s cabinet attended comprehensive schools.

Of the 25 new cabinet ministers, 40% went to Oxford or Cambridge.

Image source, PA

How does Starmer plan to bring down NHS waiting lists?published at 14:43 British Summer Time 6 July

14:43 BST 6 July

Sophie Hutchinson
Health correspondent

These are the first glimpses from the prime minister of the details on how the pledge of an extra 40,000 operations and scans a week in the NHS will be delivered.

The new government is aiming is to reduce the record high 7.57 million waiting list for treatments. It will work by using models from successful trusts.

St Thomas' Hospital in London and a trust in Leeds have, according to the new government, managed to increase the numbers of procedures by working in the evenings and at weekends.

The plan is that staff from those trusts will tour the country helping other hospitals to do the same.

Buddying up schemes between successful and failing hospitals have long been used in the NHS but if it is as the prime minister described, this would be a huge scale, country wide push to attempt to bring down waits.

Sophie Hutchinson
Health correspondent

Keir Starmer was asked if he was going to replace Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of the NHS in England, after his government described the NHS as being "broken".

Starmer said his criticism was not aimed at her but at the last government. He said we can't fix the NHS unless we are honest about its failings.

He said it was not just about saying it who broke the NHS, which was the last government, but also to say that they are getting on with fixing it.

What can we expect from Starmer's new prisons minister?published at 14:23 British Summer Time 6 July

14:23 BST 6 July

Sima Kotecha
Senior UK correspondent

Image source, No 10 Downing Street

There’s a crisis in prisons in England and Wales. They’re overcrowded, with the Prisons Governors’ Association saying last week the estate is just days away from reaching full capacity.

The new prisons minister was always going to be an interesting appointment – the person assigned to sorting out the crisis as a matter of urgency, along with the new justice secretary.

But few expected James Timpson to land the government job. He has made a name for himself by hiring hundreds of offenders.

Besides running his business, he’s been the chair of the UK charity The Prison Reform Trust, which aims to reduce imprisonment and improve conditions for inmates and families.

In February, he spoke openly about his views on the justice system, telling Channel 4 there needs to be an overhaul.

“We’re addicted to sentencing, we’re addicted to punishment. So many of the people in prison in my view shouldn’t be there. A lot should but a lot shouldn’t, and they’re there for far too long,” he said.

At a time when jails are full, his previous comments indicate we may be looking at a minister who will place more emphasis on community sentencing rather than custodial time.

Starmer pressed on prisons – but how bad is it?published at 14:18 British Summer Time 6 July

14:18 BST 6 July

Sima Kotecha
Senior UK correspondent

It’s not surprising there were so many questions on prisons in the prime minister’s first news conference.

Sources in the Ministry of Justice along with people working in the penal system have told me for months that jails are in crisis and around this time in July, will reach full capacity.

Sir Keir Starmer said there is no overnight solution. In Labour’s manifesto, the party promised to build more prisons creating thousands of extra spaces. But of course, that takes time and the emergency, I’m told, is now.

Where will these criminals go, ask some prison staff?

The PM is going to be left with little choice but to continue releasing inmates early – something he has already said is likely to be the case. I understand some jails are using single cells for double occupancy.

All of this is having tremendous pressure on police forces and the courts who need jail space to do their jobs properly.

Eyes will be on the new government’s actions in the coming days with expectations of prisons literally reaching breaking point during that time.

Prisons minister's appointment is 'ground-breaking' – ex-chief prosecutorpublished at 14:16 British Summer Time 6 July

14:16 BST 6 July

Sima Kotecha
Senior UK correspondent

Nazir Afzal is the former Chief Crown Prosecutor for North West England and an advocate of the new government.

On James Timpson's appointment as prisons minister, he said: “James’ appointment is quite rightly ground-breaking and we could see a significant sea change in how we deal with crime and offenders in this country.

"We’ve had a culture far too long of putting people inside who shouldn’t be”.

However, former Labour Home Secretary David Blunkett said working in government was challenging.

“I think it’s a positively good thing if he’s able to navigate the minefield of government. Not just to say the right thing but to really achieve positive change in a radical rethink of how we do prisons and probation,” he said.

But some have little sympathy for criminals – and believe in harsher and longer sentences.

His expected approach may be popular with prison reformers but much less so against those who take a harder line on punishment of offenders.

One Tory MP who didn’t want to be named said: "A liberal approach is so predictable. The public want to see people properly punished for breaking the law but I get there needs to be a rethink."

Starmer seeks to manage expectationspublished at 14:07 British Summer Time 6 July

14:07 BST 6 July

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent, reporting from Downing Street

Keir Starmer wants to look like a prime minister.

Hosting an early news conference in Downing Street is part of the transition in the public eye – from leader of the opposition to the most powerful politician in the country.

The PM didn't want to dwell too much on a timetable for the change he is promising.

This news conference was as much about saying: it won't happen overnight, don't expect sudden change.

It's similar to the message we heard in his address outside No 10 yesterday.

But expect the prime minister to continue to be pressed on policy and delivery.

One of the biggest changes in being prime minister is that Starmer's policies and comments will be under more scrutiny than ever before. The questions will keep coming.

Image source, Reuters

We've just heard Keir Starmer give his first news conference since becoming prime minister. Here are the key lines:

• Starmer has said he will travel to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales and back to England before heading to the US for the Nato summit on Tuesday
• The PM will personally chair new "mission delivery boards" to ensure each government department is delivering its manifesto commitments
• He says he used the first meeting of his cabinet to make it clear he expects high standards, and he told the country "the work has already started"
• The PM was pressed on prisons after bringing in James Timpson – a former CEO who has been active in custodial reform – to serve as his prisons minister
• Starmer said he believes early intervention on things like knife crime can stop young people ending up in jail – and repeated he won't be able to fix the acute prison place shortage, left behind by the last government, overnight
• He promised the public "raw honesty" about the "tough decisions" that will be needed to fix public services like the NHS
• Starmer said the new government is committed to compensating contaminated blood victims
• He said he is still finding his way around Downing Street and has "not unpacked quite yet"

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent, reporting from Downing Street

There have been some high-profile scandals in government in recent years.

Partygate is the most obvious one - but recently there was anger at people close to the prime minister betting on the election date.

Sir Keir Starmer is trying to turn a page on that - by signalling "standards" and "trust" being key to his government.

He's making a clear point by saying that he met the standards adviser soon after becoming prime minister.

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent, reporting from Downing Street

How quickly can Keir Starmer deliver the "change" he is promising?

It's a question the prime minister will face a lot in his first few weeks. Starmer is keen to emphasise it won't be a quick job.

It's not an "overnight exercise," he says. So he appears to be saying that the new government is starting its work – but it might take a while.

That's a wrap on Keir Starmer's first news conference as prime minister in Downing Street.

We'll be bringing you a round up of the key lines shortly, so stay with us.

Now a question from the Sunday Mirror, with a journalist asking how important it is to Starmer that his cabinet reflects the country he's running.

He starts by saying that he is "really proud" that his cabinet "reflects the aspiration that I believe lies at the heart of our country".

Starmer says he is "proud" that there are people around his cabinet table "who didn't have the easiest of starts in life" but to see them sitting there this morning, it was a "proud moment for me" and reinforced his belief in aspiration.

The Sunday Telegraph is next, with a reporter asking whether the NHS is indeed broken and if Starmer plans to replace its chief executive Amanda Pritchard.

He says his comments are "not aimed at the leader of the NHS", but at the last government.

"We have to be honest about this, it is broken. Our job is not to say who broke it, it is to go on and fix it," Starmer adds.

The prime minister is asked about the Rwanda scheme. "Is it dead and buried now he's been elected?" he's asked.

Starmer says the scheme "was dead and buried before it started".

He says it never acted as a deterrent and points to the record numbers of small boat arrivals this year.

Image source, Reuters

The prime minister is pressed on prisons again, this time about prisons minister James Timpson's previous comments that there are people in prison who should not be there.

Starmer says he has sat in court and watched people being sent to jail, and reflected that they might not have been there if they had support earlier.

He says the new government will tackle issues like knife crime in the community and highlights the need for early intervention among young boys in particular.

Starmer says there is no "overnight solution" to the fact there are not enough prison spaces in the UK, calling it a "monumental failure" of the previous government.

He says it is "impossible" to commit to immediately ending the previous government's emergency policy of releasing some prisoners early to deal with the shortage of space.

Starmer is now asked if he will get rid of the two-child welfare benefit cap.

The cap, introduced in 2017, restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households.

Starmer replies: "The answer today is not different to a week ago".

"We intend to have economic stability," he says, and "stick to our rules" and that's why "I can't make a commitment on the two-child benefit".

He adds that he is "determined" to reduce child poverty and it will be a measure of what his government does.

Image source, Reuters

Next, the prime minister takes a series of questions from the Times on the NHS, where he is asked when he can commit to 40,000 additional weekly appointments.

Starmer repeats that work will start right away on the NHS, mentioning certain hospitals which have set up schemes to work evenings and weekends.

He says Labour has spoken to the two NHS Trusts to discuss how those schemes worked and how it might be rolled out across the wider NHS.

He's also asked if he will recommit to compensating contaminated blood victims - "yes, is the answer", Starmer says.

He's then asked how quickly he can reach 2.5% on defence spending. Starmer says the government is committed to reaching 2.5% and this will have to be done within its fiscal rules.

He says Labour will not pretend money is there that isn't.

The prime minister is asked about comments from his new prisons minister James Timpson, who previously said only a third of people in prison should be there.

Timpson - a businessman who has been active in prisoner reform for many years - was given a peerage and appointed to the job in a surprise move last night.

Starmer says Timpson has huge experience and has invested a lot into prisons personally.

He says the new government needs to be clear about "the way we use prisons" and that too many people are locked back up soon after being released.

Starmer says Timpson "hasn't just talked the talk, he's walked the walk".