Latest ONS figures also suggest lower population growth in coming decades than previously expected

Deaths are projected to outnumber births in the UK every year from 2026 and the population is expected to grow at a slower rate over the next few decades than previously reported, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

About 1.7 million people are projected to join the population between 2024 and 2034, pushing the total up 2.5% from 69.3 million to 71 million, before it starts to decrease in the mid-2050s.

MPs rejected a Conservative party proposal for the prime minister to face a parliamentary inquiry into his appointment of Peter Mandelson

Q: Was there pressure on you to approve Mandelson’s vetting?

This is a reference to the claim that Keir Starmer misled MPs last week when he talked about no pressure being placed on the Foreign Office.

One is during my tenure. I was not aware of any pressure on the substance of the Mandelson DV case.

Question two was there pressure? Absolutely. And I’ve described it. And I also have seen what the Foreign Office said to you last night. [See 8.50am.]

I didn’t receive any direct calls from the chief of staff during my time as permanent undersecretary. So there was no call at all. My interactions were always when others were present in a general meeting, there weren’t very many of those either …

I’ve really racked my brains and I cannot recall Morgan McSweeney swearing in a meeting at me, or indeed just in general. So I don’t see any substance in that part of it and I think it’s important I say that this morning, given how many people have come to think that might be true.

Darren Jones suggests cost of energy, food and flights will remain high after de-escalation and Hormuz strait reopens

The UK faces higher prices for food and fuel for at least eight months after the war in Iran ends, a minister has said.

The closure of the strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane that carries a fifth of global oil and gas, has sent oil prices soaring since the US and Israeli attacks on Iran began in February.

Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, said the conflict would probably continue to raise prices for energy, food and flights in the coming months as potential issues around energy supplies affect production, rather than lead to shortages on supermarket shelves.

The UK government has urged motorists to fill up their cars as usual amid higher prices at the pumps and for air travellers not to change their plans over potential jet fuel shortages.

Jones told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: “You’re going to see prices go up a bit as a consequence of what Donald Trump has done in the Middle East.

“That’s probably going to come online not just in the next few weeks, but the next few months. There’s going to be a long tail from this.”

Asked how long higher prices might remain, Jones suggested it would be around eight months after the strait of Hormuz was unblocked and a de-escalation of the conflict had taken place.

“I think our best guess is eight-plus months from the point of resolution that you’ll see economic impacts coming through the system,” he said.

Donald Trump announced an indefinite extension of the US ceasefire with Iran last week that paused most of the fighting, but further efforts towards ending the conflict have been unsuccessful after the US president told his envoys not to travel to Pakistan for talks at the weekend.

The UK government is stepping up planning for how to offset the impact, focusing on the live monitoring of stock levels and what plans are in place for addressing supply chain disruption.

Jones said: “The government here in the UK, the work that I’m doing with the prime minister is looking at all of those things and saying, ‘What can we do within our power to help people to get through those difficult times?’”

The government is also looking to secure stocks of carbon dioxide, which is used in the food industry and by breweries to make drinks fizzy, as well as for defence purposes and medical uses such as MRI scanning.

Jones said he was seeking to ensure there was an adequate supply of beer for fans watching the men’s football World Cup, which starts on 11 June.

He said: “I raised this issue because if there is a problem with jet fuel on holidays and carbon dioxide on beer, the summer might be pretty depressing for people, but we’re doing everything we can to make sure that it’s not the case.”

The Liberal Democrats have called for a bill to be included in the next king’s speech in May to put food security at the top of the government’s agenda.

Message on private Facebook group for staff said: ‘I dumped them all in a bin. They can sack me!’

Royal Mail is investigating allegations that a postal worker claimed to have “dumped” Reform UK campaign leaflets in a bin ahead of local elections on 7 May.

A post on a Facebook group for Royal Mail staff said: “My DO had reform party’s D2D today. I dumped them all in a bin. They can sack me! Idgaf!”

Chief property and security officer Ian Collard set to submit written answers to foreign affairs committee questions

A key figure in the row over Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to Washington will not appear before a parliamentary committee of MPs to give evidence.

Emily Thornberry had requested that Ian Collard speak to the foreign affairs committee (FAC) on Tuesday, but confirmed on Saturday that he would submit written answers instead.

Whether he felt under pressure to deliver Mandelson’s clearance, after Robbins said there was an “atmosphere of pressure” and “constant chasing” from Downing Street.

Whether he had seen the cover form for Mandelson’s vetting by UK Security Vetting (UKSV), the agency responsible for checks on candidates for sensitive posts, in which it had ticked two red boxes – meaning they had “high concern” and recommended “clearance denied or withdrawn”.

If he was asked by anyone in the Foreign Office, Downing Street or the Cabinet Office for advice about whether Mandelson required vetting for the post given that he was a member of the House of Lords.

If he advised on how Mandelson should be treated during the period between his appointment being announced and his clearance coming through.

Pair, believed to be mother and son, recovered from water but died at scene in Elthorne Park, Ealing

A woman and her young child have died after getting into “difficulty” in the water at a park in west London, police said.

Officers were called to Elthorne Park in Ealing just before 4.30pm on Saturday, where a woman and her son were recovered from the water, the Metropolitan police said.

Klaudia Zakrzewska, 32, was hit at about 4.30am in Soho in incident that left 58-year-man with life-changing injuries

A social media influencer has died six days after a car hit her and other pedestrians outside a nightclub in London, police said.

Klaudia Zakrzewska, 32, was injured in Argyll Street, Soho, at about 4.30am on 19 April and was pronounced dead on Saturday.

Enzo Bettamio alleged to have stabbed Kamonnan Thiamphanit in April 2024 at a property in Bayswater

A teenager has been charged with murder over the death of a 27-year-old woman after his extradition from the United Arab Emirates to the UK.

The charge relates to the stabbing of Kamonnan Thiamphanit, which took place at a property in Bayswater, west London, on 6 April 2024.

Four accused of rape and one of aiding and abetting rape in connection with incident in Gravesend

Three boys and two men have been charged over the rape of a teenage girl in Kent, police said.

Kent police received reports on Tuesday that a girl had been raped at a private property in Gravesend between 25 March and 19 April.

Wendy Duffy died at Pegasos clinic in Basel as assisted dying bill in England and Wales fails to pass

A grieving mother has ended her life at a clinic in Switzerland four years after the death of her only child.

Wendy Duffy, 56, a physically healthy woman, died at the Pegasos clinic in Basel after struggling to cope with the death of her 23-year-old son, Marcus.

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• Trump sending Witkoff and Kushner to Pakistan to resume talks on Iran war

The EU’s foreign chief has said that talks with Iran should include nuclear experts otherwise “we will end up with a more dangerous Iran.”

Speaking on Friday ahead of an informal summit of EU leaders in Cyprus, EU’s foreign chief Kaja Kallas said: “If the talks are only about the nuclear and there are no nuclear experts around the table, then we will end up with an agreement that is weaker than the JCPOA was.”

This blog is now closed. See our latest full report here: Trump announces extension of Iran ceasefire until ‘discussion concluded’

Iran’s armed forces are ready to deliver an “immediate and decisive response” to any renewed hostile action by its adversaries, Ali Abdollahi, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, was quoted by the Tasnim news agency as having said.

He said Tehran had the upper hand militarily, including in the management of the strait of Hormuz, and would not allow Donald Trump to “create false narratives over the situation on the ground.”