Sunak continues his questions about China.

Turning to sanctions that China has placed on UK parliamentarians, he asks whether the foreign secretary, on his forthcoming trip to Beijing not just raise the issue but tell the Chinese government to lift the sanctions on our colleagues?

Yes, says Starmer, "we speak with one voice".

He then talks of the six years of austerity and "utter failure" under the previous government. We can hear cheers from backbenchers and jeers from opposition.

This government he says "was elected to do things differently" and will give Britain its future back.

Image source, UK Parliament

Sunak disputes that, again urging the PM to implement the scheme.

He says universities are "a rich feeding ground" for China to assert its influence but the new education secretary has blocked powers to resist this threat.

Starmer accuses him of scoring "party political points" and says that is not right on issues of national security.

In the last Parliament, he adds, he stood with the government on all such matters and, as a lawyer, he knows "first hand" what the intelligence and security agencies do.

He says Sunak knows that.

Sunak says the last government established a new system of registration and monitoring to protect the UK from interference from foreign states, saying MI5 described it as "essential".

Sunak says that Starmer has halted its implementation - and he asks why.

"That isn't correct," Starmer says. His blunt answer draws rumbling from across parts of the House.

Sunak continues, asking whether the prime minister can confirm he will sanction Chinese entities involved in assisting Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Starmer says yes and he hopes this is an issue on which there can be unity across the House of Commons.

Image source, UK Parliament

Sunak follows up by saying he hopes Foreign Secretary David Lammy will unequivocally condemn China's aggression.

He asks about the case of Hong Kong democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai who has been imprisoned by China and whether he agrees that this is a politically motivated prosecution and breach of Beijing's obligation to the former British colony.

Yes says the PM. This case is a priority to government and they will continue to call on Hong Kong authorities to release British national.

Starmer says China's continued military activity in the region is "not conducive to peace and stability".

He says the UK will go on co-operating with Beijing on net-zero and world trade - but will stand up to China on issues of national security and human rights.

Image source, UK Parliament

Leader of the Opposition Rishi Sunak kicks off by echoing Starmer's tribute to Salmond, Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert and Sir David Amess.

He says China has carried out "unwarranted, aggressive and intimidatory" military exercises near Taiwan - will Foreign Secretary David Lammy use his forthcoming meetings in China to condemn this?

Image source, UK Parliament

The session of PMQs kicks off with a tribute from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to Alex Salmond, the former First Minister of Scotland who died at the weekend aged 69.

He says Salmond leaves a lasting legacy and offers the best wishes of the House to his family and loved ones.

Starmer also extends a tribute to Lily Ebert, following the recent death of the Holocaust survivor whose message of hope showed such courage, he says.

He also pays tribute to Sir David Amess, who was assassinated three years ago, and British army General Sir Michael David Jackson.

Starmer then wishes the best of luck to new English football manager, Thomas Tuchel - joking he won't hold his former job as Chelsea manager against him (Starmer supports their London rivals Arsenal).

Emily Atkinson
Live page editor

With midday almost upon us, let's head over to the House of Commons. The Speaker is in place, MPs are filing into the green benches and the hum of chatter swells in anticipation of Prime Minister's Questions.

There's a real assortment of lines on which opposition parties might choose to challenge the PM on today. (Need a primer? I wrapped up some of the key themes earlier on.)

As always, our team of writers in the newsroom will fire out live updates on the exchanges, while chief political correspondent Henry Zeffman shares his snap analysis from inside the chamber.

You can also follow a stream of all the action by tapping the watch live above.

Settle in and stay tuned.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent, reporting from Westminster

Image source, House of Commons

Sometimes it’s tricky to work out what the leader of the opposition will ask at PMQs because, frankly, nothing much has happened.

Today it’s the opposite: it’s hard to know what Rishi Sunak will ask because he has quite a lot of options.

Most obviously there’s the Budget, which will be unveiled in exactly two weeks. The BBC, among others, understands that Rachel Reeves told cabinet yesterday that she needs to find £40bn.

The prime minister yesterday dropped a heavy hint to me on BBC Breakfast that he is preparing to increase the amount of National Insurance paid by employers. That raises questions about whether he would be breaking his manifesto - questions which Sunak may want to ask.

Then there are new questions for the prime minister, in some quarters at least, about his decision to accept free tickets to a Taylor Swift concert - and meet her with his family - after Downing Street got involved in discussions about whether she should be given a police escort to Wembley. That feels a plausible topic for Sunak to press his successor on.

There has not been a session of Prime Minister’s Questions since comments from Transport Secretary Louise Haigh ended up being disowned by Starmer in a (successful) attempt to protect a £1bn investment.

Then there is the situation in the Middle East.

Sunak may pick one of those issues or a mix of them. That’s the challenge for any prime minister - to be nimble in argument across the full range of what his government is doing.

Image source, Reuters

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has left his office at No 10 Downing Street for the short trip to the Houses of Parliament where he will face MPs' questions shortly.

After today's PMQs, a bill that could legalise assisted dying in England and Wales will be formally introduced in the House of Commons. It comes ahead of a debate and first vote next month.

Under the proposals, terminally ill people with a limited prognosis could be given the right to choose to end their life.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has called the idea of assisted dying "dangerous" and warned the bill could lead to a "slippery slope" of more people feeling compelled to have their life ended medically.

However, Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP introducing the bill to Parliament, disagrees with the archbishop's comments and says "there has to be a change in the law".

Image source, Getty Images

One issue that is rumbling around Westminster is whether the prime minister received free Taylor Swift tickets as a "thank you" for the singer getting a police escort to her Wembley concerts in August.

Swift was whisked to the venue accompanied by police outriders - despite initial reservations from Scotland Yard.

Sir Keir Starmer received four tickets to the show from Swift's record label and met her backstage. He later paid back the cost of the tickets.

The PM's official spokesperson has since denied that the tickets were a "thank you" for Downing Street leaning on the police to get the police escort organised.

But this could be one area Conservative leader Rishi Sunak chooses to exploit during his six questions to the PM later.

Joe Pike, our politics investigations correspondent, has more on the story here.

Image source, PA Media

The dominant political story of the past few days has been what Sir Keir Starmer has said - or not said - about National Insurance (NI) ahead of the Budget on 30 October.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast yesterday, the prime minister side-stepped questions on Labour's manifesto promise not to raise taxes for "working people" and whether this covered employer's NI contributions.

The Labour Party's 2024 manifesto ruled out raising NI, income tax and VAT.

Speaking to our Chief Political Correspondent Henry Zeffman in Downing Street, Sir Keir said the Budget was "going to be tough" but would "focus on rebuilding our country".

Here's everything you need to know about Starmer's interview with the BBC.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is looking to cut spending and raise taxes to the tune of £40bn in this month's Budget, government sources have told the BBC.

At a political cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Reeves told ministers filling the "£22bn black hole inheritance from the previous government" would only be enough "to keep public services standing still" and that "difficult decisions" would need to be made.

Her comments come as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer refused to rule out increasing employers' National Insurance (NI) contributions. It's also been reported that Treasury officials are looking at ending the exemption from NI for pension contributions.

The plans are due to be submitted to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) today and will be announced on 30 October.

You can read more about the proposals here.

More on inflation, which has dropped by more than most City experts were expecting to 1.7%.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones has given his reaction, saying the fall is good news for lots of people - but adds there is more work to be done.

In light of the upcoming Budget, Jones was also asked whether he could rule out any real-term spending cuts to crucial public services.

He said the government would present "an honest set of spending plans" to tackle the "£22bn black hole that we inherited" from the previous government.

Doing that "will be hard" but "the right thing to do", he adds, saying "it's the start of a period of change" under the government that "will see better public services over the years ahead".

The main headline this morning is that the UK's inflation rate has fallen by more than experts expected.

UK inflation fell to 1.7% in the year to September, meaning inflation - the rate at which prices rise over time - is now below the Bank of England's 2% target. It's the lowest inflation has been for three and a half years.

That could lead to interest rates being cut further next month, and September's inflation figure is normally used to set how much many benefits, such as Universal Credit, rise next April.

Our Business reporter Tom Espiner has written about inflation here.

Emily Atkinson
Live page editor

Image source, Reuters

And welcome to our coverage of Prime Minister's Questions, starting at 12:00 BST.

Before we get the show on the road, there's a long list of possible subjects on which Keir Starmer might be challenged today. Here's a short summary:

With Chancellor Rachel Reeves finalising the details of her first Budget, expect questions on her reported plan to raise taxes and cut spending to the value of £40bn, and the PM's refusal to rule out increasing National Insurance (NI) for employers.

Also on the economy, the government will be keen to push this morning's surprise fall in the rate of inflation to 1.7%. (As a reminder, this doesn't mean prices are falling, but rather that they're rising at a slower rate.)

Elsewhere, we're likely to hear tributes from party leaders following the death of Scotland's former first minister Alex Salmond, while another round of prodding on that Taylor Swift show is also on the cards.

We'll get you up to speed on all of this and more over the next few hours. Stay with us.