BBC News Channel

The vice-chairman of Wallasey Labour Party, Paul Davies says it's not possible to know who broke a window at the constituency office of local MP Angela Eagle recently.

"It's a shared office block and a brick went through the window of the stairwell in that shared office block," he tells the BBC.

"Wherever it went it's bad but what she hasn't said is, just a few weeks previously, somebody tried to break into the off licence opposite.

"We don't know who threw that brick. Whoever it was, it's wrong. But then to start saying, 'it's Jeremy Corbyn supporters, he should call those people off' - that's a little bit strange as far as I'm concerned."

Following the incident, Labour leader Mr Corbyn said it was "extremely concerning that Angela Eagle has been the victim of a threatening act".

Theresa May has received a full ceremonial welcome as she arrived in Berlin for her first meeting as Prime Minister with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

German troops greeted the UK PM with a guard of honour as she met her counterpart at the chancellery.

The government has been asked what consideration has been given to adopting the cross of Saint Patrick as a unity flag for all communities representing Northern Ireland.

Conservative MP Henry Smith asked the question in the House of Commons.

The new Northern Ireland Office junior minister Kris Hopkins said the issue of flags in NI was "a sensitive and complex one".

He said any change in arrangements would require cross-community support.

More here.

Sean Coughlan
BBC News, education correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Universities in England are already announcing a tuition fee increase above the £9,000 limit before Parliament has even finished debating plans which would pave the way to raise fees.

Tuition fees for 2017 are listed on Durham, Kent and Royal Holloway websites as £9,250.

MPs debating tuition fees in the House of Commons on Tuesday heard warnings there could be "significant rises".

The government wants to link fee increases to teaching quality.

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BBC News Channel

Earlier, the chairwoman and vice-chairman of Wallasey Labour Party said they had not been informed by Labour HQ that the local party had been suspended.

Since then, vice-chairman Paul Davies has told the BBC News channel that "the secretary actually found the email in her junk mail".

If the local party was allowed to meet, Mr Davies said, it would be seen that "there isn't intimidation going on". He challenges people making accusations to take a lie detector test and says he is willing to take one himself.

"Wallasey isn't a rough, tough place that has noisy, violent meetings," he continues. "It's all been made up in order to smear people like me who are demanding democracy in the Labour Party."

The government must commit extra funding and personnel to the Foreign Office to help it deal with leaving the EU, a committee of MPs has said.

The Foreign Affairs Committee has published a report, external on "equipping the government for Brexit", accusing David Cameron's government of "negligence in failing to conduct contingency planning for Brexit [which] has exacerbated post-referendum uncertainty".

This has made the task for Theresa May's government "more difficult" they argue.

"As FCO officials move to other Whitehall departments to assist with the EU exit process, the prime minister should ensure the FCO has the resources to fill any gaps in capacity," a committee press release said.

The committee's chairman, Conservative MP Crispin Blunt, commented:

BBC News Channel

Labour's Rhea Wolfson says she hopes Labour does not split if Jeremy Corbyn wins the forthcoming leadership contest and that MPs will "get behind" him.

She tells the BBC News channel that she hopes Labour MPs "will spend the summer going away and speaking to their constituents and their local Labour Party and hearing that the support for Jeremy is there".

BBC News Channel

Labour activist Rhea Wolfson tells the BBC she thinks "Jeremy Corbyn is going to remain Labour leader".

Members are "massively supportive" of him, she says, adding that polls suggest that "in a head-to-head fight he will compete very well, if not beat Owen Smith".

She also argues that Labour can win power under Mr Corbyn, who is "building a real movement" and "showing real leadership".

Ms Wolfson says that Theresa May mentioned workers in her speech in Downing Street on becoming prime minister because Mr Corbyn has been "changing the conversation" in politics.

She thinks that many Labour MPs oppose Mr Corbyn because "they're scared of that change of power" and the "radical and exciting politics which is about fundamentally changing every level of society".

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

Labour MP Angela Eagle has issued a statement following the suspension of her constituency party in Wallasey.

Westminster Hour
Radio 4's Westminster Hour

Ellie Price talks to Whitehall experts - and walks the street searching for possible homes for the new ministries.

Gavin Hewitt
BBC chief corrrespondent

After the political shocks and aftershocks comes a lull.

The new government is starting to prepare the ground for the real battles that lie ahead.

It is what lies behind the visit by Theresa May to Europe's two most powerful countries, France and Germany.

Over dinner with Angela Merkel in Berlin on Wednesday, there will be no negotiations about Brexit.

The German chancellor has ruled that out until the UK formally triggers the withdrawal process.

And, in any event, the UK does not yet know what it wants or what model it favours.

These meetings are about setting the tone, establishing personal relations for the difficult times that will surely come.

Read more

House of Commons
Parliament

New Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green says he expects to make a statement on whether to reverse the cap on supported housing "in the early autumn". 

He tells MPs that he is "considering carefully the costs and benefits of supported housing" as he takes charge of his department. But there has been a review of supported housing has been in place since 2014, and says he will not pre-empts findings.

Mr Green says he "understands the concerns" raise by Labour but "we must ensure that [housing benefit] is spent in the right way, and in a way that helps [vulnerable people] particularly".

Owen Smith's campaign tweets a response to the news that Emily Thornberry will take on the role of shadow secretary for exiting the EU alongside the job of shadow foreign secretary.

Press Association

A senior spokesman for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said he was confident that nobody in Mr Corbyn's office was responsible for briefing The Times that Owen Smith was a "Blair-lite turncoat", the Press Association reports.

The paper quoted an anonymous "senior Corbyn ally" as saying: "Bring on the Blair-lite candidate. Our members won't be fooled by a TV-savvy turncoat who lobbied for big pharma and Tony Blair."

The leader's spokesman told reporters: "Jeremy won't be getting into personal abuse, as he never has done. He will continue that during this campaign. He has said all along he wants there to be a broad, open, democratic participatory campaign, which is respectful for all." 

Asked whether Mr Corbyn was concerned about his rival's policies on the NHS, the spokesman said: "Owen Smith's record is already becoming well-known, and his views in the past and now will obviously be part of the campaign. Obviously in a campaign there will be scrutiny of everybody's record and political history and the arguments they've made in the past. That was the case in last year's campaign, when Jeremy's record was very extensively discussed."

• "It was as confident as David Cameron in his early days as prime minister... there were one or two notes that echoed of Margaret Thatcher back in the day - she was much more fluent than Margaret Thatcher was at the beginning of her premiership." John Pienaar, BBC deputy political correspondent
• "To me that performance showed we have picked the right person." Conservative MP and Daily Politics guest Gavin Barwell
• "Theresa May's style was actually quite refreshing, a move away from 'Flashman Cameron'." Labour MP and Daily Politics guest Cat Smith
• "She was chosen as Tory leader primarily for her competence and today it was on display. But she was not selected for her comedy skills, and that made her Thatcher moment rather odd." Andrew Sparrow, The Guardian, external
• "This was Maggie May. No wonder the Tory MPs were delighted at this competent debut and the Labour ones despondent. The Labour leader ploughs a worthy field but he must find a better way of presenting his case." Jason Beattie, Daily Mirror, external
• "So much for safe, sensible Mrs May. More like 'the bruiser from No 10'", Norman Smith, BBC assistant political editor