Kuenssberg pushes Starmer and asks again, if Labour were in power, would he look to introduce a system of gender self-identification as Scotland has done?

Starmer says he wants to modernise the system and is looking at all options to "take out the indignities".

He says he has concerns that the age of transition is 16 in Scotland and the significance of the Equality Act.

He says there is a small number of people born with a gender they don't identify with and they need to be respected.

Asked if he would block the Scottish legislation, Starmer says he will wait and see what the UK government will do.

Keir Starmer is next asked about the plans in Scotland to reform gender self-identification rules and if he would allow similar changes in England.

He says the country needs to modernise the process and Labour are examining what this means.

Starmer adds that the public are respectful and tolerant, acknowledging the need to preserve safe spaces for vulnerable people.

But he also says he doesn't want to get involved in a political toxic football.

Kuenssberg compares the NHS in England and in Wales - where it is run by a Labour government - stating that the situation there is "just as bad".

Starmer says there are challenges in the NHS in both countries.

He says the real comparison should be between the NHS when Labour were in power and investment was up, waiting lists were down and nurses had fair pay and weren't on strike.

There are short term issues to get through during this winter of crisis, he says, adding we must get away from "sticking plaster politics" and do the strategic work of reform and change.

Pushed further about NHS reform plans, Starmer says he ran the Crown Prosecution Service when it needed reform.

He says people must be "bold enough to change" adding that he wants a better model for the health service as people are living longer, which is putting strain on it.

Returning to the NHS now, and Starmer says he wants to look at "all sorts of reform" for the health service in order to preserve it.

"If we don't reform the health service we will be in managed decline," he says.

Under the Tory government, he says the NHS is in the worst position it's ever been in.

He adds that the NHS must be free at the point of use but should effectively use the private sector too.

Continuing to discuss Brexit, Starmer says he campaigned for Remain but is focused on the future.

"We were meant to have a closer trading relationship," he says, adding that as long as we improve on the deal we've got, we will not always be poorer for being out of the EU.

"We've got to go forward and make Brexit work," he says.

He says people desperately want to feel there's a light at the end of the tunnel and things can get better.

Starmer adds that the economy hasn't grown significantly for 13 years under Conservative leadership, so even before Brexit, the UK had a failure in the economy under the Tories.

He says he's determined to fix that by boosting green jobs and working with businesses.

Starmer is asked another question by a viewer, who queries if he will take a bold stance on Brexit and its effect on the economy.

The Labour leader says the government's deal is not very good and doing damage to the economy, pledging to fix it if his party forms a government.

But Starmer says there's no going back into the EU or the single market, but does say there's a case for closer cooperation on trade and security.

He adds this closer relationship would be good for both trade and also stability in Northern Ireland.

Kuenssberg asks if Starmer's promise to scrap tuition fees still stands.

"I don't think anybody would say it's working," he says, adding that he believes the tuition fees system needs to change.

But looking at the damage that's been done to the economy, Starmer says he and Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, will only make promises at the next election that they can carry through with.

He adds that he will go into that election ensuring every promise is fully costed.

There are things Labour would like to do but because of the damage the Tories have done to the economy they won't be able to do them all, he says.

Pushed on whether he will get rid of tuition fees he says: "We are looking at the options."

Starmer is next asked a question from a viewer, Edmund, who wants to know how people can trust him given that some promises he made when running as Labour leader have since been ditched.

He says the pledges were made three years ago, when the country was in an entirely different situation.

Pressed on why this is relevant to his former promise to ditch outsourcing in the NHS, Starmer says they've said they'd use the private sector to clear the waiting lists.

Asked if it's important if people can trust what he has to say, Starmer says of course it is.

Starmer says he has restored the Labour Party as a party "fit to serve our country".

He says he had been "ruthless" in making changes - such tackling antisemitism, making it clear about being a proud member of NATO and fundamentally changing Labour's relationship with business.

"We are a changed Labour Party," he says.

The first question for Keir Starmer is about the view that he is a bit too managerial and boring, or whether he has, in fact, been quietly ruthless in his leadership.

He says Labour lost in 2019 with its worst election result since 1935, adding that many people thought it would be impossible to recover from the scale of the defeat.

Starmer says as a result, his team set about changing the party to win voters over, as well as "exposing the government as being not fit to govern".

On the show first this morning is Labour leader Keir Starmer. He faces questions about the NHS, tuition fees and why young people should vote for Labour.

Tory MP Caroline Nokes says she's never been in opposition and it's a long time to the next general election and people are writing the Conservatives off too soon.

Actor Brian Cox, who once said Keir Starmer had a long way to go to convince him, is asked if the Labour has made up any ground

Cox says "quite considerably", especially on the NHS, agreeing with Starmer's view that the health service is run in a far too top down manner.

Asked if he'd done enough to get Cox to return to the Labour party, the actor says "not quite" - going on to reiterate his support for Scottish independence.

The show kicks off with a chat with our panel about the current situation with the UK economy.

NatWest chairman Howard Davies says we should not be relieved that ONS figures showed growth in the economy in November as first releases are quite unreliable.

Most figures tell us the economy is pretty flat, he says.

One thing we're forgetting is that many people saved a lot of money during the pandemic, so they have a cushion to be able to sustain their spending, he says.

Ahead of Keir Starmer’s appearance on the programme, this week’s panel of Brian Cox, Howard Davies and Caroline Nokes will be telling Laura Kuenssberg what they think are the key issues that need to be addressed.

After Laura speaks to the Labour leader we’ll hear again from the panel who'll be asked about their thoughts following his interview.

Then we'll hear from Transport Secretary Mark Harper.

All this and more to come in the next hour.

Image source, PA Media

Keir Starmer has just arrived at the BBC, ahead of his appearance on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg in a few minutes.

The programme is due to begin shortly, and you can watch on iPlayer here.

Stay with us for all the latest news lines, quotes and video clips as we follow the show - which also features Transport Secretary Mark Harper, actor Brian Cox, chair of NatWest Howard Davies and Tory MP Caroline Nokes.

You can be pretty certain that Transport Secretary Mark Harper is going to be asked about the ongoing chaos created by the rail strikes. But where are we at with the strikes?

Train operators and unions are still at loggerheads over pay and conditions after months of chaos through strikes.

Union leader Mick Whelan told MPs this week he believed the two sides were "further away than we started".

When asked by MPs how close a resolution was on a scale of one to 10, Whelan said: "I think you can include zero."

Image source, EPA

Last week, the Rail Delivery Group (known as RDG, which represents the train operating companies) made their first official offer to drivers, a backdated 4% pay rise for 2022 and another 4% rise in 2023, contingent on changes to working practices.

But Whelan said he could not recommend "any one element of it", adding it could "destroy the ability to go back to talks in future".

Meanwhile, Business Secretary Grant Shapps has set out plans to enforce minimum service levels during strike action.

It could mean some public sector workers would be required to work during a strike or face being fired.

But unions say the proposed bill is "undemocratic, unworkable, and almost certainly illegal".

And Labour said it will repeal the legislation if it wins the next general election.

Laura Kuenssberg
Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

Image source, PA Media

He is miles ahead in the polls. He faces a rival party with a serious habit of knocking lumps out of itself.

Wages run out more quickly every week. And there's a sense among the public that nothing works anymore.

Put all that together, and then ask yourself, is Keir Starmer going to be the next prime minister? It's a slam-dunk, surely?

Hold on - whether that prospect thrills you, appals you, or leaves you cold, don't make that assumption.

"No-one believes we are really 20 points ahead," says one shadow minister.

The simple gap polls suggest between the two big parties doesn't capture the many voters who aren't sure who to back - showing up right now as a sizeable and mysterious chunk of "don't knows".

The election might be only 18 months or so away, but political years are like dog years, so it's a metaphorical lifetime until 2024.

• Read the full preview of today’s interview with Keir Starmer here

The state of the NHS and Keir Starmer’s view of how best to reform the health service feature in several of this morning’s front pages.