'First big test' of Trump-Starmer relationship - as second Labour MP suspended over WhatsApps

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper says Labour have returned 19,000 people with no right to be here since the 2024 general election, including foreign criminals and ineligible asylum seekers. 

Hundreds of additional staff are working to return illegal immigrants to their own countries, she said, and the government is also aiming to introduce new "counterterror-style powers" to go after the people smuggling gangs bringing people over the Channel in small boats.

Our political correspondent Rob Powell explains the strategy:

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp is joining Sophy Ridge to discuss Labour's announcements regarding illegal immigration.

The Home Office has been touting its post-election record on the topic, most notably that almost 20,000 foreign criminals and illegal immigrants have been removed from the country since last July.

That included more than 600 in January - a 73% increase on the same period last year.

But Philp says despite those "welcome" figures, Labour were not doing enough to tackle small boat crossings - with only 4% of arrivals having been removed.

He says the number of crossings has also gone up by 28% under Labour, and blames the scrapping of the Tories' plan to deport anyone who arrived via small boat to Rwanda.

'We were going in the right direction'

Put to him that the Tories "have got a bit of cheek" to criticise the government over immigration given their record on that front, Philp insists things were "going in the right direction" when they left office.

"Rwanda, that deterrent, I think, would have stopped those Channel crossings," he says, though adds Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has acknowledged the party made "serious mistakes".

She has since suggested increasing the amount of time someone must have lived in the UK before applying for citizenship - up to 15 years.

Would Tories back ID cards?

Asked if the Tories may also support the introduction of ID cards, which some Labour MPs - and former PM Sir Tony Blair - are calling for, the former minister raises concerns about civil liberties.

But he adds: "I think if somebody is going to be working or trying to access public services, it is reasonable they prove their identity."

The Tories would study any proposals "very carefully", he says.

It's no secret that the Lib Dems want the government to pursue much closer ties with the EU - including a new customs union.

Leader Sir Ed Davey wants trade barriers to come down, making things easier for businesses and boosting economic growth, and says a new customs deal should be thrashed out by 2030.

Put to him by Sophy Ridge it could mean not being able to strike independent trade deals, like one with America, for example, Davey admits there are "trade-offs" but says overall it would be "hugely beneficial to our economy".

'We don't want that'

He says a UK-US trade deal would likely not be worth pursuing anyway.

"Donald Trump wants US farmers to be able to undercut our farmers and environmental standards on food quality - we don't want that," he says.

Sir Ed accuses the Tories of having "sold out British farmers" with their trade deals with New Zealand and Australia, and tells Sophy "we don't want that again".

He also suggests American private health care firms might want to do business here and "undermine our NHS".

Any UK-US deal would likely have to be restricted to services, he adds.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has joined Sophy Ridge to talk about one of the big dilemmas facing the government - whether to prioritise the US or EU when it comes to trade.

Donald Trump has suggested he may be kinder to the UK than other countries being targeted with his tariffs, and some believe a trade deal between London and Washington could be done.

But overnight he announced blanket 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports into the US, which could impact Britain.

Our economics and data editor Ed Conway has assessed the potential impact they could have on prices.

'This is bad for the world'

Davey is calling on the government to convene a summit of all four home nations over the "worrying development", and also work closely with Commonwealth ally Canada and the EU - two big Trump targets.

"This is bad for the world economy and even though we don't export a huge amount of steel to the US, it still affects jobs here," he says.

 "The ripple effect across the world economy is really alarming."

Retaliatory tariffs 'should not be off the table'

Davey accuses Labour, the Tories, and Reform of being "weak" on Trump, and says the US president would respond better to strength.

"He needs to see other countries are working together and are going to take him on and not going to stand meekly by," he says.

And retaliation against tariffs "should not be off the table".

Donald Trump's announcement of blanket 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the US could be the "first big test of the Starmer and Trump relationship", says our political correspondent Tamara Cohen.

"Downing Street are waiting to see - and they know they might know in the coming hours or overnight - what the exact details are when the executive order is actually signed," she says.

But she says ministers have been "planning for a range of scenarios - including this one".

On possible retaliatory tariffs, Number 10 is "tight-lipped".

But while it pointed out only 5% of UK steel exports go to the US, the steel industry remains "very worried".

It's only 5%, but it's still a £400m chunk of their revenue and may have a "catastrophic impact", says Tamara.

Watch: The possible impact of Trump's tariffs

The UK may be hoping there are exemptions for different grades of steel (British-made steel is used in the US defence industry) or perhaps entire countries (Trump has had warm words for Britain), but if they are blanket tariffs then the PM may have to pick a side.

The EU has today come out "very strongly" against the tariffs - will Starmer have to follow suit?

If you want to understand America, watch the Super Bowl. 

The sporting spectacle, but also the celebrities, the music, the glitz, and glamour, but more than anything the unashamed patriotism. 

And right at the centre, Donald Trump, who was cheered in the stadium.

Donald comes up trumps

It did give me flashbacks to George Osborne getting booed at the Paralympics when he was chancellor in 2012.

Stadium appearances are a high risk and often brutal test of public opinion, and this time the president emphatically came up trumps. 

And he used the Super Bowl platform to amplify yet another controversial policy - 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium.

It's an announcement that left the world reeling, but maybe nobody should have actually been surprised.

Anyone listening to what Trump's been saying for the past few months would have been expecting this, right?

Tariffs on Levis, perhaps?

So, if Donald Trump imposes tariffs that hit the UK - and it is still an if, because it's hard to know if this is all just part of one big high stakes negotiation - what should we do?

Should we retaliate with our own tariffs? 

Should Levi jeans and Harley-Davidson bikes be in our sights? 

Will Donald Trump respond best to playing hardball or playing nice? 

At this point, it's anyone's guess.

Our flagship weeknight politics programme is under way.

Joining us tonight is Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey and Tory shadow home secretary Chris Philp.

On our panel are ex-Tory peer Baroness Sayeeda Warsi and former Labour MP Thangam Debbonaire.

Watch live in the stream below or at the top of this page.

Labour's tough rhetoric on illegal immigration is not a response to Reform's rise in the polls, the home secretary has insisted.

Yvette Cooper told broadcasters the party had been clear during the election that it would "increase returns" of people with no right to be here and strengthen enforcement of existing laws. 

"The asylum immigration systems are important, but for too long, those rules just simply haven't been properly enforced," she said.

Hundreds of additional staff are working to return illegal immigrants to their own countries, she said, and the government is also aiming to introduce new "counterterror-style powers" to go after the people smuggling gangs bringing people over the Channel in small boats.

On the day the Home Office released video of an immigration raid, which saw several people arrested, Ms Cooper said 19,000 illegal migrants had now been removed from the UK since the election.

It's been recommended MPs get a pay rise of 2.8% - up to £93,904.

This comes from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.

What does it do?

The watchdog has been in place since 2011.

Before then, pay for MPs was for parliament to decide - but that changed following the expenses scandal.

"Determining MPs' pay is not a responsibility we take lightly," it says.

"Our pay principles require us to balance the need to enable people from all backgrounds and financial positions to serve in parliament with the reality of what is going on in the wider economy."

It maintains MPs play a "vital role in our democracy" and should be "paid fairly for the responsibility and unseen work they do in helping their constituents, which has dramatically increased in recent years". 

How is pay decided?

National statistics on public sector pay is taken into account, including any increases handed out that year.

But the "wider economic context" is also considered, "reflecting the experience of the wider working population where possible".

So how has the salary of our politicians changed in the past decade?

• 2014: £67,060 (1.0% increase)

• 2015: £74,000 (10.3% increase)

• 2016: £74,962 (1.3% increase)

• 2017: £76,011 (1.4% increase)

• 2018: £77,379 (1.8% increase)

• 2019: £79,468 (2.7% increase)

• 2020: £81,932 (3.1% increase)

• 2021: £81,932 (0%)

• 2022: £84,144 (2.7% increase)

• 2023: £86,584 (2.9% increase)

• 2024: £91,346 (5.5% increase)

By Paul Kelso, business and economics correspondent

Farmers have once again left the fields for the streets of the capital in protest at changes to inheritance tax that will see death duties payable by some farmers on agricultural and business property.

The Treasury estimates the changes, revealed in the budget, will raise up to £520m a year. Farmers and campaigners say they threaten the future of thousands of multi-generational family farms.

What is inheritance tax?

Inheritance tax (IHT) is ordinarily payable on estates at 40%. Estates passed to a surviving spouse or civil partner, charity or community sports club are exempt, and there are reliefs on property passed to children, relatives and others.

Estates worth less than £325,000 are not taxed, with a further £175,000 of relief given if a home is left to children or grandchildren, giving a total of £500,000 tax-free. Currently, around 4% of estates are liable for IHT.

What are the plans for inheritance tax on farmers?

Since 1984 farmers and agricultural land and business owners have been exempt from IHT, thanks to a series of tax "reliefs" that can be applied to estates.

There are two broad categories, both offering 100% relief. Agricultural Property Relief (APR), covers land and farm buildings, and Business Property Relief (BPR) applies to livestock, machinery such as tractors and combine harvesters, and assets developed to diversify income, such as cottages converted to short-term lets, or farm shops.

From 2026, those 100% reliefs will end, replaced by limited relief for farmers on more generous terms than general IHT.

Estates will receive relief of £1m, with up to £500,000 of additional relief, as with non-farming estates. If a farm is jointly-owned by a couple in a marriage or civil partnership, the relief doubles from £1.5m to £3m.

Any tax owed beyond the level of relief will be charged at 20%, half the standard 40%. If farms are gifted to family members at least seven years before death no IHT is payable.