Marita Moloney
Live reporter

Another week, another PMQs. Today's showdown between the prime minister and the opposition leader largely centred on mortgages and inflation.

In a sentence: Rishi Sunak claimed the government is "on track to keep reducing" inflation, while Keir Starmer accused the Conservatives of being to blame for "the mortgage catastrophe".

It comes as thoughts turn to an announcement from the Bank of England tomorrow, when it is expected to increase interest rates further in attempt to tame price rises.

Our story here outlines all the key exchanges from the Commons today. You can also read our mortgages explainer here.

Today's page was brought to you by Dulcie Lee, Nathan Williams, Heather Sharp, Chas Geiger, Paul Seddon, Ece Goksedef and myself. We'll be back next week with more coverage from the Commons, hope you can join us then.

Image source, PA Media

Once again we've seen a pacey, feisty PMQs. It covered some fairly familiar ground - though with a strong mortgage theme today. Here's an overview:

• Labour's Keir Starmer blamed the current "mortgage catastrophe" on "13 years of Tory failure" and the Conservatives' "kamikaze budget"

• The Labour leader also accused the government of rewarding those guilty of "economic vandalism" in Boris Johnson's honours list
• Sunak said the best way to help with mortgages is to lower inflation, noting the government's cost-of-living payments and existing mortgage relief schemes
• The PM said the opposition would make the situation worse with its "dangerous, inflationary policies" like borrowing more and "giving in" to unions' pay demands
• The SNP's Stephen Flynn asked the PM to admit the "dire ecocomic reality" is because of Brexit - Sunak countered that high inflation and interest rates are a global problem
• Other questions covered power-sharing in Northern Ireland, government co-operation with the Covid Inquiry, access to radiotherapy and interest rates for savers - you can read it all in full below

Lord Lamont, who was chancellor from 1990-93, says there is no alternative to raising interest rates to "squeeze out" high inflation, particularly the domestically-generated part of it which he blames on wages rising far too quickly.

He took the decisions on interest rates while he was in the Treasury - nowadays they're decided by the Bank of England.

He told BBC Radio 4's World at One that the Bank of England has been "too slow" to raise interest rates, and describes today's inflation figures as "terrible".

And he warns that the long-term consequences of inflation becoming embedded in the economy would be "catastrophic", but he does think inflation will come down in time.

A little earlier we asked for your verdict on how today's PMQs went down - let's take a look at what some of you thought:

Mortgages dominated PMQs a little earlier, and we've just heard that rising interest rates could cause 1.4 million mortgage holders see their disposable incomes fall by more than 20%.

Some 690,000 of those set to be hit hardest will be under 40, according to analysis by the politically-independent economics think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

They say high borrowing costs are "unquestionably going to cause serious difficulty for many families".

Read more about this here.

Rishi Sunak has just given his "full support" to the Privileges Committee, after MPs approved its report that found Boris Johnson lied to Parliament over Partygate earlier this week.

Sunak was notably absent from the debate on Monday and refused to say how he would have voted, which he was criticised for by the opposition.

Now his press secretary has just told reporters: "The prime minister believes they have conducted a thorough inquiry and have his full support in doing so.

"He respects the view of the House that was taken on Monday and it's right that members, whoever they are and whatever position they have held, are held to account for their actions."

The press secretary wouldn't set out whether he agrees with the committee's report, just saying he "respects" the view of the House.

Is there a £2,900 average increase to mortgages?published at 13:03 British Summer Time 21 June 2023

13:03 BST 21 June 2023

In their exchanges earlier, Keir Starmer asked the prime minister "how much the Tory mortgage penalty is going to cost the average homeowner?"

Having not had an answer he claimed the figure was £2,900.

That's a figure from the Resolution Foundation, external, which tried to work out how much the average payment would increase for households remortgaging next year.

So it's not a cost for the average homeowner, it's a cost for the average homeowner remortgaging next year.

Also, while analysis has identified domestic sources of inflation, there are clearly also global factors, so it cannot all be described as a "Tory mortgage penalty".

What's your view on how today's PMQs went down? Were you satisfied with the questioning - and the answers the PM provided?

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Conservative MP Lia Nici asks about those with savings accounts - would it not be good for people to be encouraged to save more as interest rates rise?

Will Sunak and the chancellor talk to the industry to encourage them to give a good deal to savers too?

Sunak says it's vitally important that "savers are treated fairly". He says the chancellor is meeting with the industry and the banks this Friday to discuss this matter - and he will make sure an update is given after that.

And that brings PMQs to a close.

Image source, House of Commons

Lib Dem Tim Farron asks about cancer and says that 3.5 million people in the country have to take radiotherapy.

“But they don’t have close access to it, especially in my constituency, these people travel three hours for life saving treatment,” he says and asks the PM if he will back a satellite radiotherapy unit at Westmorland Hospital in his constituency, as well as bring radiotherapy close to all people in the country.

Sunak says healthcare is especially important in rural areas and is committed to expanding diagnostics available.

Labour's Steve McCabe asks whether the government is withholding information from the Covid inquiry about the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which Rishi Sunak launched as chancellor during the pandemic.

The government launched an unprecedented legal challenge earlier this month over its demands to see WhatsApp messages and documents without redactions.

The prime minister says he can't comment on specifics because of the legal action.

He says the government has co-operated with the inquiry "in a spirit of transparency" - which elicits some guffaws from the opposition benches.

Image source, House of Commons

Conservative MP David Davis quotes a report in the Jewish Chronicle which says British universities have been collaborating with Iranian universities to undertake research in areas of potential military application, including drone technology, fighter jets, battlefield armour and laser communication.

He asks if the PM will initiate an investigation into this and take action to stop the failure of the sanctions regime.

Sunak says he understands officials in the Department for Business and Trade are currently investigating the allegations and says "we take all allegations of breaches of export control seriously".

We will not accept collaborations which compromise our national security and that's why we've made systems more robust, he says.

Starmer attacks Sunak's wealthpublished at 12:41 British Summer Time 21 June 2023

12:41 BST 21 June 2023

Chris Mason
Political editor

Keir Starmer strikingly made personal attacks on the prime minister’s wealth twice today.

Labour conclude painting him as out of touch chimes with what they are hearing from many voters.

Starmer referred to Rishi Sunak’s habit of flying about on helicopters and his home in California.

But talking about Sunak’s vast wealth isn’t necessarily without risk for Labour – will some conclude it sounds anti-aspirational?

Image source, House of Commons

Kate Kniveton, Conservative MP for Burton says that she welcomes action taken on small boat crossings, adding she would like "to raise significant concerns to stand up a third hotel in Burton”.

She says that it will have a serious knock on effect in their response to homelessness, as well as challenges on public services. What support can the PM provide? she asks.

Sunak says that they needed to stop the boats to stop the unsustainable pressure.

“Our new bill will ensure that anyone who arrived illegally will be detained and swiftly removed. But in the meantime we will take action to address the unacceptable cost of housing migrants in hotels. We recognise the pressure it places on local areas, that’s why central government is providing financial support.”

Image source, House of Commons

There's a slightly easier question for Sunak from Tory MP Liam Fox, who quotes a string of economic statistics to suggest it's time for "more good news, talking Britain up".

Among the stats he quotes, he claims the UK had the highest growth of the G7 in 2021 and 2022, and the eurozone is in recession.

The prime minister says he is "quite right to highlight the improvement in our economic outlook".

Stephen Farry of the Alliance Party says that four months on from the Windsor Framework deal, there is still no Northern Ireland Executive or Assembly in place, there is an unprecedented budget crisis and the situation is "untenable".

Can the PM confirm he'll work with Northern Ireland parties and the Irish government to restore power-sharing?, he asks.

Sunak says he shares Farry's frustration and the government's focus remains on delivering for the people of Northern Ireland.

He says the goverment has provided more than £7bn additional funding for Northern Ireland since 2014 and that the NI secretary remains in close contact with all the parties in Northern Ireland in order to help restore power-sharing.

The SNP's Stephen Flynn continues by saying that given the dire economic reality, Britain is broken on inflation, and he asks if Sunak would admit that it was because of Brexit.

Sunak answers by saying: “Interest rates in this country are similar to Canada, New Zealand and the US."

He also says that the rise in inflation and interest rates is a global phenomenon and the government will continue to focus on bringing the inflation down.

Image source, House of Commons

We're now hearing from the SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, who says in February Sunak said borrowing costs were back under control, and in March he said the government was on track to halve inflation by the end of the year.

Given the "dire economic reality", has he been taking honesty lessons from Boris Johnson?

Sunak says Flynn fails to mention the upgrades in growth forecasts for the UK economy when the SNP was predicting a recession. And the government remains on track to reduce inflation, he adds.