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For the latest, you can read our news stories on the day's events:

• Rishi Sunak reimposes fracking ban in England
• UK tax and spending plan pushed back by two weeks

• Sunak defends Braverman return to Home Office

Today's writers were Laura Gozzi, James FitzGerald, Oliver Slow, George Wright, Alys Davies, Emily McGarvey and Thomas Mackintosh. The editors were Chris Giles, Jasmine Taylor-Coleman, Heather Sharp and Sarah Fowler.

Image source, PA Media

We're pausing our live coverage shortly. Thanks for joining us in what's been another eventful day in UK politics. Here are some key moments:

• Rishi Sunak took his first Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons as PM, where he clashed with Labour leader Keir Starmer
• Sunak defended his decision to reappoint Suella Braverman as home secretary - six days after she resigned over data breaches - after Starmer accused him of doing a "grubby deal" to get her support in the Tory leadership contest
• Following comments by Sunak during PMQs, Downing Street confirmed the ban on fracking in England would be reinstated, reversing a decision by his predecessor Liz Truss
• He made no commitments were made on Truss's promise to increase defence spending by 3% of GDP, with Downing Street saying the issue would be set out at a future fiscal event
• The PM also didn't guarantee that the 'triple lock' on pensions will continue - which would see pensions rise with the highest of either inflation, wages or 2.5%

• Sunak and his family will move back into the flat above No 10 Downing, which they occupied when the PM was chancellor. Downing Street said
• Several ministers have been asked to leave their roles in government to return to the back benches, including International Trade Minister and ally of Boris Johnson James Duddridge
• The pound soared against the dollar this afternoon and is trading above $1.16

Image source, Getty Images

As we've been reporting, Downing Street has confirmed the ban on fracking in England will be reinstated, in one of Rishi Sunak's first major moves as PM. His predecessor Liz Truss had said it would be lifted in areas where there was local consent.

What exactly is fracking?

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a technique for recovering gas and oil from shale rock.

It involves drilling into the earth and directing a high-pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals at a rock layer, to release the gas inside.

The injection of fluid at high pressure into the rock can cause small movements in the earth's surface.

Why is it controversial?

More than 120 tremors were recorded during drilling at a Cuadrilla site in Blackpool, including one which lasted almost 100 hours.

Seismic events of this scale are considered minor and are rarely felt by people - but are a concern to local residents.

Shale gas is also a fossil fuel, and campaigners say allowing fracking could distract energy firms and governments from investing in renewable and green sources of energy.

Fracking also uses huge amounts of water, which must be transported to the site at significant environmental cost.

Read more here.

David Wallace Lockhart
BBC political correspondent

Labour has clarified it is not expecting their MP Nadia Whittome to apologise for a tweet about Rishi Sunak.

Earlier today, Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said conversations were “ongoing” between Nadia Whittome and Labour's chief whip about apologising for a now-deleted tweet.

On Monday she tweeted that Rishi Sunak becoming prime minister "isn't a win for Asian representation" due to his wealth and politics.

She added "black, white or Asian: if you work for a living, he is not on your side".

After being contacted by the BBC, Whittome’s team said they were not speaking to the party about apologising. They confirmed the tweet was deleted after a conversation with the whips on Monday.

A spokesperson for the Nottingham East MP said “Ms Whittome is second-generation British Indian.

"Ms Whittome was pointing to Rishi Sunak’s record as chancellor to demonstrate that effective political representation of British Asian communities - and the interests of all working people - is about far more than the ethnicity of the prime minister”.

It's understood that Labour now consider the matter closed.

Dharshini David
Economics Correspondent

Image source, EPA

It was a lack of clarity about Liz Truss’ original plans - and of an assessment from the independent watchdog - which prompted her government to bring forward the publication of its plans.

So could a delay prompt a repeat of the damaging market turmoil that unseated a chancellor and prime minister?

It seems unlikely.

For starters, the U-turns in the wake of the mini-budget have streamlined the size of the black hole the government has to fill to get debt under control - perhaps from £70bn to £30bn.

Investors seem reassured that a new chancellor equals a new strategy - the cost of government borrowing as denoted by bond markets has fallen sharply in recent days as the UK’s plans, amidst the changes, are viewed as less risky.

That in itself is a reason for delaying.

If current bond market conditions are sustained, official projections could argue that the government’s bill for the interest on its debt could be up to £10bn lower than feared just a few weeks ago, at the height of the angst over the original mini-budget plans.

Delaying too gives the chancellor and prime minister a chance to review options for money-raising.

With Rishi Sunak promising stronger public services, might they favour new taxes rather than spending cuts?

Image source, UK GOV

The new prime minister and his family will be returning to live in the flat above No 10, Downing Street has said.

Rishi Sunak, along with his wife and two daughters, stayed in the flat when he was chancellor to Boris Johnson.

Many PMs of recent years - especially those with children - have lived in the larger flat above No 11, officially designated for the chancellor.

Asked why Sunak has opted for No 10 instead, a Downing Street spokeswoman said: "They were very happy there."

Image source, Getty Images

The residential areas inside Downing Street, are generally kept away from the public eye. But a few publicity shots from recent decades have offered glimpses into the décor behind the famous No 10 door.

Speaking to the Times in August during the summer leadership contest Sunak said the family would "probably just move back into the flat where we used to live, to be honest", external if elected.

"We have already decorated it and it's lovely."

Read more about the PM's living quarters here.

Suella Braverman's security breach was "a matter of judgement and politics", according to a former head of the diplomatic service.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's PM programme, Lord Simon McDonald said the information shared with a parliamentary colleague from a personal email account by Braverman last week was "quite bland in security terms".

Asked about the politics behind the prime minister's decision to bring Braverman back into the cabinet, Lord McDonald replied: "Politics always intrudes and he appears to be paying quite a high price politically for placating the European Research Group (ERG)."

The ERG is an influential group of eurosceptic Tory MPs.

Reflecting on the current situation in Westminster, Lord McDonald said: "It feels calmer... the mood, I would say, is lighter than the last seven weeks.

"Mr Sunak has a reputation for working hard, for being on top of his brief, for someone who doesn't like drama and for someone who corrals a meeting to a decision."

Image source, EPA

Some more now on the criticism facing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for reinstating Suella Braverman as home secretary.

She was re-appointed in yesterday's reshuffle - less than a week after she was forced to resign over ministerial code breaches which involved sharing government documents from her private email.

Dave Penman, General Secretary of the FDA, the Civil Servant's union, feels Sunak and his government is "trying to brush over it" but told the BBC News Channel her breach raises questions about Braverman's security clearance.

"Suella Braverman resigned a week ago for sharing confidential documents," he says.

"If a civil servant had done that, they would likely be sacked but they would also face their security clearance being withdrawn

"What is really critical is that this was a deliberate act - this is not something by accident.

"She was deliberately sharing information outside of government, deliberately doing that from her personal email account.

"These things are not allowed and they are not allowed for a reason."

As we've been reporting, one of the big political developments is the postponing of the chancellor's key economic statement. Jeremy Hunt will now deliver an Autumn statement later in November.

Here's a quick rundown as to how we got here and why it is so keenly anticipated:

• On 23 September Kwasi Kwarteng, as chancellor, announced a mini-budget which included £45bn of tax cuts funded by borrowing
• This spooked the markets and prompted a drop in the value of the pound - in fact to its lowest ever level against the US dollar
• In the days that followed, mortgage rates soared, some were pulled and a £65bn intervention by the Bank of England was made to bail out pension funds
• Kwarteng initially resisted pressure to spell out how he plans to pay for the tax cuts, saying he would announce this on 23 November
• But on 10 October Kwarteng confirmed he would publish his economic plan and independent economic forecasts on 31 October
• Four days later Kwarteng was sacked by Liz Truss with Jeremy Hunt appointed his successor
• Hunt took immediate control and axed pretty much all of the policies made in Kwarteng's mini-budget
• Following the departure of Truss as PM and the appointment of Rishi Sunak, Hunt said he would push back the initial 31 October economic plan to 17 November after conversations with the Bank of England

Image source, Getty Images

International Trade Minister James Duddridge says that he has left government.

"I am disappointed to be asked to leave my role as minister for international trade," he tweeted.

"Now is the time for us all to come together as a party. As I return to the back benches, I will be giving the prime minister my full support."

Duddridge held positions under Boris Johnson's leadership, including parliamentary private secretary to the PM.

He initially backed Johnson in the most recent Tory leadership race, before switching to Sunak after his former boss dropped out.

Separately, Alec Shelbrooke, who was a minister of state for defence procurement, tweeted to say he is also "returning to the backbenches".

Kevin Peachey
Cost of living correspondent

Another sign of the challenges the new prime minister, and relatively new chancellor, face with the rising cost of living has been revealed in data about pensions.

Workers are automatically enrolled into a workplace pension scheme - under a system which has been credited with boosting savings for later life, particularly among younger people. Money is automatically transferred from their pay packet to a pension savings pot.

People can opt-out, but hardly anyone ever has during the 10 years it has been in operation. At the start of this year, 7.6% of newly-enrolled employees dropped out.

Now, that proportion has gone up to 10.4%, according to government figures, external.

Tom Selby, of investment firm AJ Bell, says that is because some younger people may think that money is better used trying to cope with rising prices and bills, rather than long-term saving. Ministers will be watching the data "nervously", he says.

Just joining us or need a re-cap? Here's a round-up of another busy day in Westminster:

• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reintroduced a ban on fracking - a highly controversial process which involves extracting gas and oil from shale rocks
• He reversed a decision from his predecessor Lis Truss to lift a 2019 ban in areas where there was local consent
• The confirmation from Sunak's spokesman came after the PM's first appearance at Prime Minister's Questions
• Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused Sunak of making a "grubby deal" to reappoint Suella Braverman as home secretary just six days after she resigned from that same job over data breaches
• Sunak responded that Braverman "made an error of judgment" and has apologised, and that he's delighted to have her back in the cabinet
• The government said it would delay announcing its plan to repair the UK's finances from Monday 31 October to 17 November. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said this would be a "prudent" move and that the plan will be upgraded to a “full Autumn Statement”
• The pound has risen against the dollar and is now trading above $1.16

Noor Nanji
Business Reporter, BBC News

The pound soared against the dollar on Wednesday afternoon and is now trading above $1.16.

It is up 1.2% against the dollar today.

Sterling has rallied in recent days as investors welcomed the appointment of Rishi Sunak as prime minister and the dollar fell.

Jane Foley, a currency strategist at Rabobank, told the BBC that investors had “largely shrugged off” the decision to delay the economic statement until 17 November.

“They understand we have a new chancellor, we have a new PM, and it's quite likely that they do need a bit more time to nail things down and get these numbers right," she said.

Is there wiggle room on the Tories' 2019 election pledges?published at 16:29 British Summer Time 26 October 2022

16:29 BST 26 October 2022

David Wallace Lockhart
BBC political correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Speaking to journalists after this afternoon’s Prime Minister’s Questions, Rishi Sunak’s press secretary stressed the prime minister wants to deliver “on the promise of the 2019 manifesto”.

Pressed on whether that’s the same as committing to all the promises IN that manifesto, they repeated the focus was “the promise of the 2019 manifesto”.

A small difference in words, but the government obviously thinks this will give them some wiggle room – allowing them to keep things more vague than being held to every single pledge in that 2019 document.

So Sunak believes this philosophy means he has the mandate to re-instate the moratorium on fracking - a 2019 pledge ripped up, momentarily, by Liz Truss - and bring down net migration.

But, his team also think this form of words avoids Sunak being held to every single line of the last manifesto. Something he may feel he’s ultimately unable to do.

For example, at this point he’s refusing to guarantee "triple lock" on pensions - which means they rise with the highest of inflation, wages or 2.5% - will continue.

That pledge was page 16 of the last manifesto.

What else was in the manifesto? Here's how we explained 13 of its key policies at the time.

Image source, Reuters

Michael Gove believes that “boring is back” in British politics.

Gove, who was yesterday re-installed as the Levelling Up Secretary, spoke at the London Press Club Awards, and said he believed Sunak’s premiership would end the chaos of recent months.

“After 12 months of turbulence, after a rolling news buffet, and all-you-can eat story extravaganza… boring is back,” he said, adding that now was the time for the government to “get back to the business of government in a quiet way”.

He joked that he would apologise to the media for the government’s “utter determination to try to be as dull as possible”.

Gove was sacked by Boris Johnson shortly before his own premiership ended amid a raft of resignations.

UK media reports had suggested he was set to take a role at Times Radio before being returned to the cabinet by Sunak.

David Wallace Lockhart
BBC political correspondent

Image source, UK Parliament

A spokesman for Sir Keir Starmer has said there are "conversations ongoing" between Labour's chief whip and MP Nadia Whittome regarding a tweet that said Rishi Sunak's elevation to prime minister "isn't a win for Asian representation".

The spokesman confirmed the discussions were about issuing an apology for the comments.

Whittome tweeted earlier this week that Rishi Sunak becoming prime minister "isn't a win for Asian representation" due to his wealth and politics. She added "black, white or Asian: if you work for a living, he is not on your side".

The tweet was subsequently deleted. The Labour leader's spokesperson confirmed this afternoon that Nadia Whittome was instructed to take it down.

The spokesman stressed that Rishi Sunak becoming the first British Asian prime minister was a "great thing" and something the country "should be proud of".

Kevin Peachey
Cost of living correspondent

Away from Westminster for a moment...

There will be a few more weeks to wait before we get key details on the government's economic policy and what that means for our finances.

The initially calm reaction from the markets to the delay in the government's statement will be a relief for those seeking a mortgage.

The rates charged for a new two or five-year fixed deal rose sharply after September's mini-budget.

Now, a few lenders are starting to reduce those rates again. These are very early moves, and yet to translate to significantly reduced average mortgage rates.

The typical two-year deal now has a rate of 6.5% - still much higher than 4.74% on the morning of the mini-budget, but very slightly lower than it has been for the last week, according to the financial information service Moneyfacts.

Image source, EPA

Labour has accused the foreign secretary of being “shockingly tone deaf” after suggesting LGBT football fans who attend the World Cup in Qatar should show "a little bit of flex and compromise".

Speaking to LBC yesterday, James Cleverly told fans travelling from England and Wales to be "respectful of the host nation", where same-sex activity is illegal.

He added that "there should be flex and compromise at both ends" during the tournament, which starts in November.

Within hours, the prime minister's official spokesman said LGBT fans should not be expected to "compromise who they are" if they visit Qatar for the World Cup.

Labour’s Shadow Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Lucy Powell has criticised Cleverly’s remarks saying many fans will feel they can’t attend the tournament because of Qatar’s record on LGBT and human rights.

Yesterday officials in Qatar stopped a protest by the LGBT rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who said he was "surrounded and interrogated" by authorities there. Speaking from Sydney after leaving Qatar, Tatchell called on the foreign secretary to encourage all fans to boycott the World Cup and warned against colluding with what he called a “homophobic, sexist and racist regime".

In a statement yesterday, the Qatari government said they were “open to dialogue with entities that wish to discuss important topics”.

Mohammed El-Erian, a renowned economist and the chief economic adviser at Allianz, has said there are "significant risks" to delaying the fiscal statement - now upgraded to Autumn Statement - to 17 November, as the chancellor announced earlier today.

Arguing that "we are not yet back to where we were before the damage of the mini-budget", El-Erian said the Bank of England would be "flying blind" when its monetary policy committee meets next week - and that there was no guarantee the worldwide markets would remain stable.

He said he expects the Bank of England to raise interest rates at its meeting on 3 November by as much as 0.75% or 1% which, he warns, will cause a significant increase in some people's mortgage repayments.

El-Erian argued that the best thing for government to do right now is to be seen as working together with the Bank of England and carrying on the path it started today, in which officials share information with financial bodies in a timely manner.

Labour's Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change, Ed Miliband, says the government "cannot be trusted" on the issue of fracking.

Earlier at Prime Minister's Questions, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak backtracked on Liz Truss's policy of lifting the ban on fracking in England.

But in a tweet, external, Miliband writes that Sunak can't be trusted, stating that just last week he voted against Labour's ban on fracking, while this week he is in favour of the ban.

"The truth is that the Tories cannot be trusted on the issue. The only way to ban fracking for good is to elect a Labour government," he writes.