Sam Hancock
Live reporter

That's about all we've got time for today - thanks for sticking with us as Rishi Sunak took questions from MPs on the Liaison Committee about a variety of issues.

Key areas of discussion included cyber-security and hacking threats by China, as well as yesterday's UN resolution on a ceasefire in Gaza.

• The prime minister defended the UK's approach to China following yesterday's decision to impose sanctions on two individuals and a Chinese company
• He insisted the government continues "to monitor any threats to our national security" and will take whatever steps necessary
• Regarding the UK's support for the UN resolution, Sunak said it was "consistent with the government's previous call for an "immediate, sustained, humanitarian pause"

Image source, UK Parliament

For a comprehensive look at all the key moments from the hearing, head here. You can also read our main news story - written by the BBC's politics team - right here.

This page was written by Victoria Lindrea, Gem O'Reilly, Ben Hatton and Ali Abbas Ahmadi. It was edited by Sophie Abdulla and me.

Fact-checking PM’s claim on prison placespublished at 17:04 Greenwich Mean Time 26 March

17:04 GMT 26 March

Something else from the Liaison Committee hearing that we've looked at is Rishi Sunak's claim that the government is "in the process of building thousands more prison places".

The government has pledged to build 20,000 prison places in England and Wales by the mid-2020s.

Figures provided by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to us at BBC Verify shows about 5,900 places were delivered by February 2024, including two new men’s prisons with about 3,400 places.

Nearly 600 places are in what are known as "rapid deployment cells", which have a predicted lifespan of 15 years.

The government has so far reached around 30% of its promised 20,000 target.

The total prison population is currently nearly 88,000, external and is projected to increase to between 94,600 and 114,800 by March 2028.

Will government debt really start to fall next year?published at 16:48 Greenwich Mean Time 26 March

16:48 GMT 26 March

Back to the committee hearing now, and we at BBC Verify have been fact-checking some of the claims that were made today. One in particular, about the UK's debt, caught our eye.

Rishi Sunak claimed "headline debt" would "start to fall next year". Headline debt is one of the two key measures of national debt - the total amount of money the government owes.

The prime minister's right, headline debt is forecast to fall from March 2025.

But it’s worth noting that headline debt includes temporary measures that the Bank of England has taken since 2016 to support the economy - something the government does not have direct control over.

If we strip this out - and only include the portion of national debt that the government is responsible for, known as the "underlying debt" - we get a different picture.

On this measure - which the government has also tied its "fiscal rules, external" to - debt is expected to continue to rise, with a slight fall forecast only in 2028-29. That’s according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast earlier this month.

Image source, Getty Images

Moving away from the Liaison Committee momentarily, Robert Halfon has announced that he's stepping down as a junior education minister.

In his letter to the prime minister, Halfon says he will not be standing at the next election and is therefore resigning as skills, apprenticeships and higher education minister.

"After well over two decades as the Harlow Parliamentary Candidate and as MP, I feel that it is time for me to step down at the forthcoming General Election, and in doing so, to resign as a minister in your government", he says.

In the letter, posted on X, external, the Tory MP for Harlow said he would continue to "wholeheartedly support" Rishi Sunak from the backbenches until the general election.

Image source, UK Parliament

Rishi Sunak was grilled for about an hour and 40 minutes by MPs on a wide range of topics and government policy. If you're just joining us, or need a recap, here are some of the key takeaways:

• Sunak clashed with Labour's Liam Byrne over the government's stance on China. The PM insisted the UK's approach to dealing with any risk goes further than most allies, with Byrne heard muttering "it clearly doesn't"

• On TikTok, Sunak refused to comment on the specific case of its Chinese parent company ByteDance, but said the government was engaging on the issue of data security to ensure companies meet the UK's standards
• He said he welcomed the recent UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, even though it failed to condemn Hamas. He said the resolution was close to the UK position but "not a perfect replication of it"
• On immigration, the PM insisted "we will do everything that we can" to remove people who enter the UK "illegally" but there was disagreement with Labour's Diana Johnson over how many, and when, asylum seekers would be sent to Rwanda
• The PM told SNP MP Joanna Cherry the Rwanda Bill is "in compliance with all our international obligations". He said LGBT+ individuals could be safely sent there as Rwanda "does not discriminate against sexual orientation in law or in policy"

• He also accepted there are financial "challenges" for local councils, but made no promises about how much funding they would receive in the future despite the ongoing pressure on them

At one point during the hearing, Rishi Sunak laughed off a question from fellow Tory MP William Wragg about whether he was part of the “deep state” - referencing former PM Liz Truss's previous claims she was undermined by "the deep state” while in office.

Sunak repeatedly responded that it was a “question for her” - meaning Truss.

But he went on to joke to MPs on the Liaison Committee that, if he was part of it, he'd be unlikely to say so.

A rare moment of levity in more than 90 minutes of policy-based discourse - which you can watch below:

The final question we're going to bring you from today's Liaison Committee hearing came from Tory MP Philip Dunne.

He put it to Rishi Sunak that his government's largest strategic endeavour is to decarbonise the UK's economy - and asked how important political consensus is in order to achieve such a big shift.

Sunak said it's very important for the simple reason it could turn people "off the whole idea" if you "don't carry people with you".

The UK has an "incredible track record," he told Dunne, adding it was "right" for the government to adjust its policy last year - when he delayed the ban on the sale of new cars that run on fossil fuels from 2030 to 2035.

Money looms large over Ukraine and defence questionspublished at 15:16 Greenwich Mean Time 26 March

15:16 GMT 26 March

Ben Wright
Political correspondent

In the last few minutes of that hearing, Rishi Sunak said industrial defence production - such as munitions - needed to increase.

But he refused to put a date on the UK defence spending reaching 2.5% of GDP. Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has already said it needs to reach 3%.

Clearly, there's growing pressure on this issue from Conservative MPs.

Sunak also called China the "greatest state-based threat" to the UK's economic security and, as we reported a little earlier, claimed our approach is more robust than many allies.

Many cross-party politicians would disagree.

Towards the end of the session, Conservative MP Sir Jeremy Quin - chair of the Defence Committee - referred to a comment made by Defence Secretary Grant Shapps earlier this year, when he said the country was "moving from a post-war to pre-war world".

Against that backdrop, Quin asked when the government expects to hit its ambition for 2.5% of national income to go on defence spending.

Sunak replied "we've said we will do that when the conditions allow". Defence spending is already on an upward trajectory, he insisted, adding "we're due to hit 2.3% of GDP".

Sunak also said it's important to recognise that investments in supporting Ukraine are also an investment "in our security".

Image source, UK Parliament

We're still catching you up with the last few questions from today's Liaison Committee hearing.

Labour's Liam Byrne asked a second question about protective measures against China, saying it feels as though the UK's allies are "acting, whereas we are just thinking about it".

Sunak called this characterisation "completely and utterly wrong" - insisting that the UK's approach to China is "more robust" than many allies. He said Western nations such as Germany, for example, have not removed Huawei kit from their telecoms infrastructure.

When Byrne tried to interrupt here, the PM asked him to "let me just finish".

"I am highly confident that our approach in dealing with the risk that China poses is very much in line with our allies, and in most cases goes further in protecting ourselves," Sunak went on say.

"It clearly doesn't," Byrne was heard muttering.

Staying on the theme of China, Labour's Liam Byrne - chair of the Business and Trade Committee - put it to Rishi Sunak that the UK is about to become part of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) - he asked if the UK would block China if it seeks to join the trading bloc.

"That wouldn't be an appropriate thing to say," Sunak responded. "But what's crystal clear is everyone who joins CPTPP needs to meet very high standards."

CPTPP is a trade agreement between 11 nations: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Before proceedings ended for the day, the prime minister was asked if the government plans to take action to ensure the Chinese tech company ByteDance - the parent company of TikTok - "divests itself" of the social media app in the UK.

This is something the House of Representatives recently debated in the US.

Rishi Sunak said the government is engaging with TikTok - and other companies - over the issue of data security to ensure "that it meets the high data protection and cyber-security standards that we expect".

He refused to comment on the specific case of ByteDance, but said the government continues "to monitor any threats to our national security" - and that ministers won't hesitate to take steps deemed necessary.

That's it for today's committee hearing.

Rishi Sunak's been thanked for his time and Sir Bernard Jenkin - who presides over the group - has officially ended proceedings by calling "order, order".

We'll catch you up with the last couple of questions in the next few posts - stay with us.

Picking up on the conversation about Gaza, Chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee Stephen Crabb - who we heard from a little earlier - asks the PM why the ceasefire resolution doesn't "contain a word of condemnation of Hamas".

Sunak says he can appreciate concern on that point. "It's close to our position and is not a perfect replication of it," he adds.

However he says that the resolution does outline that the taking of hostages is prohibited under international law and also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages:

"The foreign secretary and I felt that while the wording wasn't perfect, it was close enough to the government's position and we should support it."

After our last post, Smith pushed Sunak for a little more information about the conflict in Gaza, specifically what the UK doing "everything we can" means.

Does doing "everything we can" to implement a ceasefire in Gaza include looking at the UK's arms export licenses? she asks, to which Sunak says the UK has "robust" rules that don't allow it to grant export licences where there is a "clear risk" they may be used to commit a violation of international humanitarian review.

Touching briefly on aid getting into Gaza, the PM says he recognises airdrops are not the best way to deliver aid to Gaza, and the UK will continue to press Israel for more "land access" to ensure more trucks carrying supplies can enter the Palestinian enclave.

Yesterday, the Royal Air Force airdropped over 10tns of food supplies into Gaza for the first time.

Image source, UK Ministry of Defence

It's now the turn of Labour's Cat Smith, who normally chairs the Petitions Committee, who asks the prime minister what his government will do to ensure the UN Security Council's resolution calling for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza is implemented.

Sunak says the government was pleased to support the UN resolution, which he says was consistent with the government's previous call for an "immediate, sustained, humanitarian pause, which would allow for the safe release of hostages, more aid into Gaza and provide... a platform for a more lasting, durable ceasefire".

He says the government will "continue to do everything we can" - including asking Israel "at all levels to comply with international humanitarian law, to improve the provision of humanitarian aid into Gaza, but also continue to call on Hamas and work with countries like Egypt and Qatar to unconditionally release the hostages".

Cherry now asks whether LGBT+ asylum seekers should be sent to Rwanda, given that Foreign Office advice says these individuals may experience "discrimination and abuse" in the country and there are no specific laws in place to protect them.

Sunak says the constitution of Rwanda "includes a broad prohibition of discrimination and doesn't criminalise or discriminate against sexual orientation in law or in policy".

He cites the UK's "legally-binding treaty" with Rwanda as further protection.

Sunak adds that UK decision-makers are still able to consider "compelling evidence relating to individual circumstances" as to the suitability of sending an asylum seeker to Rwanda.

Courts have agreed with government that Rwanda is "generally safe", he reiterates.

Next up is SNP MP Joanna Cherry, chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, says other nations may be influenced by the UK's Rwanda Bill - but says this is despite it "breaching human rights".

Cherry uses the example of the interim prime minister of Pakistan, who has referred to the UK's Rwanda policy in defence of his country's decision to expel hundreds of thousands of Afghans who fled from the Taliban regime.

"Are you proud that he used your Rwanda policy to justify doing that?" she asks Sunak, to which he says he's not responsible for the comments of a person in another country.

"I'm very confident that our Rwanda scheme is in compliance with all our international obligations and we've worked very hard to ensure that's the case," he tells MPs.

"The principle of sending people to Rwanda as a safe country was supported by the High Court and not challenged by the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court and in accordance with the Refugee Convention."

The last question from Diana Johnson, of the Home Affairs Committee, focuses on the Infected Bloody Inquiry.

She asks Sunak whether Tory whips told MPs last December that implementing recommendations on compensation for victims of the infected blood scandal would mean there would be no tax cuts in the Budget.

"That's not something I'm aware of," Sunak replies, adding he's "acutely aware" of the suffering of all of those impacted by the scandal.

He says he has repeatedly acknowledged justice must be delivered, and the government is "working very hard to put things right".

Image source, EPA

We're still hearing from Labour's Diana Johnson, who says more than 33,000 people have arrived in the UK "irregularly" since the Illegal Migration Act came into force last July and asks if the PM is expecting to send them all to Rwanda.

Sunak says there "will be choices about which cohorts to initially apply the policy to", adding "that's all in the planning work that's being done".

Johnson says there are 33,000 people "in limbo" and asks again whether Sunak expects them to go to Rwanda.

The PM says: "My general view - I probably wouldn't characterise it as being in limbo - is anyone who arrives here illegally should not be able to stay... and we will do everything that we can to remove them, either to their home country if it is safe to do so or a safe alternative like Rwanda."

Johnson insists these people "are in limbo at the moment because they can't claim asylum and you're not able to tell me how many of the 33,000 you think will go to Rwanda".

The two appear to disagree over precisely which immigration rules those 33,000 people fall under.