New Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is cheered as he arrives in the chamber. Sunak kicks off by confirming his engagements for the day, in line with parliamentary tradition.

Labour's Alan Whitehead gets to raise the first question. He congratulates the PM on his new post.

The MP for Southampton Test says the fact Sunak is the first British Asian in the job will be a source of pride for his constituents.

Whitehead points out that Southampton-born Sunak is also a fan of Southampton FC.

He asks whether Sunak will change his views about prohibiting onshore wind developments.

Sunak says he will stick by what was in the 2019 Tory manifesto.

He says it's important to focus on "long term energy security", which includes renewables.

And we're off. Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has called Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to the despatch box.

PMQs has begun - stay with us as we bring it to you live. And click the play button or image at the top of the page to watch the clash.

Chris Mason
Political editor

It’s another ‘what a moment’ moment.

Put your own politics to one side for a moment and imagine being Rishi Sunak.

You dreamt of being prime minister and that ambition was squashed.

Now, it’s happened, and you’re on the brink of doing your first PMQs - hearing those words "questions to the prime minister" and they mean you.

It’ll be fascinating to hear the exchanges - not least because we know so little about the specifics of Rishi Sunak’s instincts about so many of the contemporary problems his government will need to grasp.

After all, quite a lot has changed since that doomed leadership campaign of the summer.

As for Labour, expect them to focus on the economy and what they see as a prime minister who’s not in touch with ordinary folk.

Image source, Parliament TV

Both Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak came to the political fore in 2020. Sunak became chancellor in February that year, and Starmer was elected leader of the Labour Party in April.

Starmer was a staunch critic of Sunak's policies throughout the pandemic, but Covid-19 kept most MPs from debating face-to-face for several months.

Finally, in March 2021, a masked Starmer listened to Sunak deliver his spring Budget in a socially-distanced House of Commons. It was the height of the Downing Street refurbishment "scandal", which saw Boris Johnson under fire for not declaring that Tory donor Lord Brownlow had paid for improvements at his flat.

Starmer referred to the issue, joking: "It’s clear the chancellor is now betting on a recovery fuelled by a consumer spending blitz. In fairness, if my next-door neighbour was spending tens of thousands of pounds redecorating their flat, I’d probably do the same."

The Labour leader also made a serious point, arguing that the UK faced a worse economic crisis because of the chancellor's decisions.

Starmer said the Budget did not contain plans "to fix the NHS and social care" and noted that Sunak did not mention inequality.

Sunak insisted in his announcements that the Budget "meets the moment" and would protect jobs and livelihoods.

There will be a lot of interest in today's PMQs - Rishi Sunak's first since entering Downing Street yesterday.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and other party leaders are likely to congratulate Sunak on getting the job, but they will also press him on a number of issues.

These may include the issue of his mandate - he's the third prime minister since the Conservatives won the 2019 general election. The main opposition parties have all called for an immediate election, but he's ruled that out.

Sunak's promise to govern with integrity could also feature - with Suella Braverman being reappointed home secretary just six days after she was forced to resign because of a security breach. She broke the ministerial code by sending an official document to a parliamentary colleague using her personal email.

Opposition figures are also likely to focus on the state of the economy, the delay to the government's economic plan, and the fact that many of the same figures who featured in Liz Truss and Boris Johnson's administration are back sitting around the cabinet table.

Starmer could also return to Labour's theme of Sunak being "out of touch" with the cost-of-living crisis, citing his record as chancellor and his great personal wealth.

Image source, Reuters

Rishi Sunak has just left No 10.

He is heading to the House of Commons, just a short distance from Downing Street, for his first Prime Minister's Questions.

Rishi Sunak said that "economic stability and fiscal sustainability would be at the heart" of his government's mission, according to a read-out from his first cabinet meeting.

He opened by noting the "wide range of experience that had been gathered" and stressed that the government would need to take some "very difficult decisions, but the government would also act with compassion, protecting the most vulnerable, and would continue to seek long-term growth".

According to the read-out, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt stressed that economic stability and credibility were the essential foundations for all other policies.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly then updated cabinet on the international situation and the continued threat posed by Russia's escalation.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman spoke about ongoing work to tackle illegal immigration, the read-out said.

Sunak said this was a complex and challenging issue but that the public rightly expected the government to find a "long-lasting solution".

Labour has been granted an urgent question in the Commons this afternoon.

The party will ask Home Secretary Suella Braverman to make a statement on her resignation over data breaches last week and subsequent reappointment.

Labour's Nick Torfaen will also ask International Trade Minister Kemi Badenoch about the government's progress on reaching a free trade deal with India.

These are expected to take place after Rishi Sunak's first appearance at Prime Minister's Questions, which is due to get underway at midday.

Chris Mason
Political editor

I’ve said it before, and here’s another moment when I can say it again.

Diaries have gone out of fashion at Westminster.

The one date in the diary that had at least a bit if stickability, has become… unstuck… and moved.

The autumn statement scheduled for next Monday has been pushed back to the middle of next month.

It will now happen on Thursday 17 November, alongside a full forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility.

The justification at the top of government for doing this is that the markets have stabilised since Liz Truss said she was walking the plank, so there isn’t the urgency to act immediately that there was.

It is also likely to mean those forecasts don’t look quite so gloomy.

Oh, and it’ll give the new prime minister and new-ish chancellor a bit longer to work out quite what they are going to do.

Noor Nanji
BBC reporter

The pound has held onto its gains after it emerged that the government's economic statement has been delayed until 17 November.

Sterling is currently trading at $1.156, up almost 0.8% on the day.

Earlier on Wednesday morning, the pound soared as high as $1.16 before pulling back slightly.

Last month, sterling plunged to a record low against the dollar and government borrowing costs rose sharply in the aftermath of former Prime Minister Liz Truss's mini-budget.

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

Hunt is asked about Suella Braverman's re-appointment to home secretary after just six days.

Braverman resigned last week after admitting two data breaches.

Opposition parties say her return to the cabinet has undermined new PM Rishi Sunak's pledge to have "integrity and accountability" in his government.

Hunt says "she apologised for her mistakes", took responsibility and stepped down.

But people at home need to see a "united Conservative party - a cabinet of all talents", he says.

Hunt adds that as chancellor he has shown he is willing to “make decisions very quickly”, and to make those that are “politically embarrassing” if they are in the national interest.

This appears to be a reference to his quashing of Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget in an effort to win back the confidence of financial markets.

He says that the prospects for stability in the economy were bolstered by the appointment of a new prime minister and that a delay of a few weeks in the statement is the best way to ensure the right decisions are made.

The chancellor says there has been a lot of market turbulence even in the past 24 hours, adding "the question is how you deal with that turbulence".

He says it's crucial to make sure decisions “stand the test of time”.

For that reason, accuracy in forecasts is "very important”, he adds.

There have been major questions about how the government will get debt down in the medium term.

The chancellor adds that the plan will be upgraded to a “full Autumn Statement”.

Hunt says he has discussed his plans with the Governor of the Bank of England, who “understands the reasons” for doing so.

Hunt says it's "extremely important" the economic plan "is based on the most accurate possible economic forecasts and forecasts of public finances".

He adds that he and the prime minister have decided it's “prudent” to make their announcements on 17 November.

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is now making a statement.

He says: “Our number one priority is economic stability and restoring confidence that the UK is a country that pays its way”.

He adds that the new economic plan is "extremely important", and that it will demonstrate debt falling over the medium term.

Some news just in - the Treasury has confirmed that the government is pushing back the announcement of its next economic plan by more than two weeks, to 17 November.

The plan has also been upgraded to a full Autumn Statement.

Fresh plans for the economy had been promised on 31 October under the premiership of Liz Truss, and keenly awaited by the financial markets.

The plan "will contain the UK’s medium term fiscal plan to put public spending on a sustainable footing, get debt falling & restore stability", the Treasury tweeted.

Earlier this morning Foreign Secretary James Cleverly suggested the economic plan due to be announced next Monday could be delayed.

He said the Halloween date was originally announced “with no expectation of a change of prime minister”.

Speaking to the BBC this morning, Cleverly said the chancellor and prime minister would work quickly to “get it right”, and that Jeremy Hunt wanted to ensure the financial statement “matches his priorities”.

Yesterday, Rishi Sunak re-appointed Hunt as chancellor of the exchequer.

Since replacing Kwasi Kwarteng less than two weeks ago, Hunt has largely been praised for reassuring the markets, having reversed most of Kwarteng and Liz Truss’s planned tax cuts that sparked market turmoil.

When the spending plans do arrive, they’ll be seen as a key indicator as to whether or not the Sunak administration can tackle the economic difficulties the country is currently facing.

Labour has joined the Liberal Democrats in demanding an investigation into Suella Braverman, who was yesterday reappointed as home secretary by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

As we've been reporting this morning, Braverman was forced to step down as home secretary last week, having admitted to violating ministers' rules by using her personal email address for work business.

Labour's Yvette Cooper has written to the cabinet secretary calling for an urgent probe into "this and other possible security breaches".

The shadow home secretary adds in her letter that "the public has a right to know that there are proper secure information procedures in place to cover the person who has been given charge of our national security".

In her resignation letter last week, Braverman acknowledged the mistake, calling it a "technical infringement" and adding that much of the content in the document she emailed had already been briefed to MPs.

Image source, PA Media

Much of the discussion this morning has centred on Rishi Sunak’s decision to re-appoint Suella Braverman as home secretary, after she was forced to resign from that same role last week for breaching the ministerial code.

Here are more facts about her:

• The 42-year-old was born in Harrow, West London, to parents who came to the UK from Kenya and Mauritius in the 1960s. She grew up in Wembley, North London, and studied law at the University of Cambridge before qualifying as an attorney in New York State
• In 2015, she was elected as the Conservative MP for Fareham in Hampshire, and in 2020 was made attorney general by Boris Johnson. In that role, she faced criticism for allegedly politicising a role that is supposed to be independent
• Braverman occupies the right of the Tory Party and is a supporter of Brexit
• She ran in this year's first leadership contest, promising to cut taxes and stand up to “woke rubbish” - but was voted out in the second round and ultimately backed successful candidate Liz Truss
• She was made home secretary by Truss, but lasted just over a month in the role, before being forced to step down for an email data breach. She was highly critical of Truss in her resignation letter - and the next day, Truss resigned as prime minister
• Braverman takes what many view as a hard-line stance on immigration. She has said it's her “dream” to see a front-page story on the Daily Telegraph showing a plane taking off to Rwanda - referring to the UK government’s plans to deport some asylum seekers who've entered the UK illegally