Lana Lam
Live digital reporter

It was another packed programme with wide-ranging discussions including AI-driven child abuse images, violent killers, shoplifting and the UK's trade relations with the EU and US. For a reminder of the key lines, head to our recap.

Thanks for joining us and we hope to see you again next Sunday for another hour of interviews and panel discussions with Laura Kuennsberg and her guests.

Until then, keep across the latest political news this week from our colleagues at BBC Politics.

Today's live coverage was edited by Matt Spivey and Neha Gohil, the writers were Imogen James, Tarik Habte and Lana Lam and we had analysis from political correspondent Billy Kenber.

It’s been an intense grilling for politicians today on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, but where can you go for more politics?

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Imogen James
BBC News

Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg has finished for another week, but in case you missed it, here's a recap of the key lines:

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper: Cooper said they are strengthening the law against artificial intelligence and child abuse, as it becomes "more sadistic." Online companies must take more responsibility in taking harmful material down, she added, showing visible anger at their failings to take down violent material. You can read more, in Kuenssberg's analysis of the issues facing Cooper.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey: He advocated for a closer relationship between the EU and UK. Davey argued that a customs union could "tear down" trade barriers, adding that the relationship with the EU has been "damaged" by the Conservatives.

Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith: Griffith advocated for a stronger relationship with the US, not the EU. He said there is a "much greater opportunity" in a trade deal with the US.

On the panel, Mina Smallman, whose two daughters were stabbed to death in 2020, said she is "so sick" of inquiries and reports. She also said online companies should be penalised when they don't remove harmful material.

After an intense set of conversations with this week's guests, Yvette Cooper, Ed Davey and Andrew Griffith - Kuenssberg turned her attention to a new book about Sir Keir Starmer.

Kuenssberg asks Mina Smallman - a campaigner for women's safety - her thoughts on Starmer and if we know what the government stands for.

Smallman says all she cares about is action.

"I am so sick of inquiries, I am so sick of reports," she says.

"We know what the job is, get on and do it - I don't care how boring (Starmer) wants to be, just do the job."

Image source, Getty Images

On Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, we've been hearing a lot about US President Donald Trump's newly-announced tariffs.

Trump has imposed a levy of 25% on Canadian and Mexican imports as well as an additional 10% tax on Chinese goods, to come into force on Tuesday. Canadian energy faces a lower 10% tariff.

A tariff is a domestic tax levied on goods as they enter the country, proportional to the value of the import.

Together, China, Mexico and Canada accounted for more than 40% of imports into the US last year. It hasn't gone down well with the countries in question.

In response, both Canada and Mexico said they were preparing similar tariffs on US goods, while China added it would take "necessary countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests".

The implementation of tariffs and the subsequent retaliation could mark the start of a new era of global trade wars.

Kuenssberg asks Griffith how the UK can manage trading relations with the EU and the US.

The Shadow Business Secretary says the US economy is growing and the UK should drop "some of the baggage that's been holding this country back" referring to the Chagos deal.

"We've got to get in the room," he says.

As Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg comes to an end, there's still more analysis and reaction from the show, right here, so keep following along.

If you’d like more politics and analysis from Laura Kuenssberg, sign up to her Off Air with Laura K newsletter for expert insight and insider stories, emailed directly to you, every week.

Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith is now in the hot seat with Kuenssberg.

He says a lot of countries around the world are looking at tariffs - in light of the US imposing tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China - and there are concerns that the EU will have tariffs imposed on it.

Griffith says the UK has an "independent trade policy", so we'll have our "own challenges" but there is a "big opportunity" for a trade deal with the US.

Ed Davey says his challenge to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who is going to Brussels tomorrow, is for him to open negotiations for an EU-UK customs union.

Kuenssbeg asks Davey if he wants us to go back to the EU.

In the long term, the Liberal Democrats do want that, he says, but the relationship is so "damaged" by the Conservatives, that European colleagues "do not trust us."

• Davey urges Starmer to start EU customs union talks

With that, his grilling from Kuenssberg comes to an end.

Ed Davey is pushed by Laura on who would want a return to a customs union.

He references Turkey, who has had relationship with the customs union "for a long time."

He says there would be a negotiation, but the "benefits would come up even quicker than the actual negotiation."

They can engage with Brussels to "tear down more barriers" he says.

The idea of allowing "freedoms for our young people to travel, live and work across Europe... I think that would be good for our economy," Davey says.

For context: Customs unions are groups of countries that apply one common system of procedures, rules and tariffs for all or almost all their imports, exports and transiting goods.

Liberal Democrat Ed Davey takes his seat opposite Laura, who talks about how it's five years since Brexit which was a very long, complicated and bitter journey.

She asks Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey about his call for the UK to rejoin the EU customs union.

Davey says cost of living is a key issue when he talks to families and businesses and they are worried about how the government will get the economic growth needed to pay for our public services.

So an EU-UK customs union can "tear down" those trade barriers and get growth going "far more quickly".

Billy Kenber
Political correspondent

Cooper was visibly angry as she talked about large tech companies failing to take down violent material which was viewed by the Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana before his attack on children.

She was quizzed as to why, given her position as home secretary, she appeared to be powerless to stop it.

The home secretary highlighted the Online Safety Act which was passed in 2023 but only comes into force this spring. It makes it a legal requirement for social media companies to remove illegal content, with penalties if they fail to comply.

“We are being clear that we are prepared to go further if the Online Safety Act measures are not working as effectively as we need them to do,” she added.

That was a whirlwind interview for Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who faced a range of issues.

Artificial intelligence and child abuse: Cooper said AI is "putting the online child abuse on steroids." They are putting in work to protect children from this, she told Laura Kuenssberg.

Southport murders: The home secretary said she is "angry" that damaging material that can be used for radicalisation is available online. The Online Safety Act will come into effect in Spring so there will be a "legal requirement" on social media companies to remove illegal content, she said.

Shoplifting and police funding: She said they are increasing funding "by over £1bn" next year, and that £200m of the funding increase will tackle neighbourhood policing.

Tariffs: And on US President Donald Trump's tariffs for Mexico, Canada and China, Cooper said she doesn't think "it's what anybody wants to see."

Kuenssberg now turns to the panel for their thoughts on Cooper's interview.

On the issue of what needs to be done after the Southport killings, Mina Smallman says we need an agency that specifically tackles violence and toxic masculinity.

Smallman says social media companies don't care about what's right and just want to make money, so "we need to hit them where it hurts" so if they won't remove violent material, they should be penalised.

Image source, Reuters

Kuenssberg is now asked about US President Donald Trump's newly announced tariffs.

Trump said a levy of 25% on Canadian and Mexican imports as well as an additional 10% tax on Chinese goods would come into force on Tuesday. Canadian energy faces a lower 10% tariff.

The home secretary says tariffs can have a "damaging impact" on global trade and growth.

"I don't think it's what anybody wants to see," Cooper adds. Their focus is on building better trade relationships and removing barriers to trade, she says.

That marks the end of Yvette Cooper's interview with Laura Kuenssberg. We're now hearing from the panel.

Kuenssberg now asks the home secretary about shoplifting.

We hear from a shop owner who has been dealing with shoplifting, having lost £4,000 in the past five years.

Cooper is asked about concerns over police numbers being cut.

Cooper says the government is increasing funding for police "by over £1bn" next year, and that £200m of the funding increase will tackle neighbourhood policing which has been "decimated" in the past 14 years.

Billy Kenber
Political correspondent

The home secretary was asked three times if she would have ordered a national audit of the scale of gang-based sexual exploitation if it hadn’t been for the interventions of Elon Musk.

Last month, the tech billionaire and adviser to Donald Trump used his social media platform X to make hundreds of posts attacking the Labour government over the grooming gang scandal and calling for a national inquiry.

Yvette Cooper didn’t give a direct answer to the question, saying only that the government had already been seeking to implement the recommendations of a seven-year national inquiry led by Professor Alexis Jay.

She also defended Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minster, who was singled out for attack by Musk - posts which Philips said had endangered her safety - and appeared to take a swipe at the tech mogul.

“The person who has done most to champion victims and survivors is Jess Phillips,” Cooper said. “It’s not people talking online.”

Kuenssberg's questioning continues on Axel Rudakubana.

Cooper says: "I'm angry that videos viewed by the Southport killer are still online."

She presses Cooper again, saying: "No one stopped him. Whose job is it to spot and stop a young man like that?"

"There isn't a clear structure for whose responsibility it should be," Cooper says, calling it the "heart of the problem."

Kuenssberg pushes her on responsibility. "The system isn't working", Cooper says.

• How red flags over Southport killer were repeatedly missed

The discussion now turns to the Southport killings and Cooper's call for social media companies to take down violent materials.

As a reminder, Axel Rudakubana has been sentenced to 52 years imprisonment after the brutal murders of three young girls in Southport. Here's some more on how red flags about him were repeatedly missed.

Cooper says some of the material is still available which is "disgraceful" as companies have a "moral responsibility".

Kuenssberg asks: "What are you going to do about that?"

The home secretary says the Online Safety Act will come into effect in Spring so there will be a "legal requirement" on social media companies to remove illegal content.

Kuenssberg pushes again, saying some of the material seen by the Southport killer was illegal, asking her again: "What will you do?"

Cooper says she is implementing legal powers and the government will "go further" if the laws aren't "going far enough".

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper says an "overhaul" is needed on the way that the police, criminal justice system and government responds to violence against women and girls and the safety of children.

She adds that these issues "have not been taken seriously" by policing and the government.

Her government is "overhauling that as part of this mission to halve violence against women and girls over the next 10 years."