Downing Street has denied there was a “nest of vipers” behind the scenes in Sir Keir Starmer’s administration following reports of tensions involving senior officials.

Following reports that cabinet secretary Simon Case – the country’s top civil servant – is under pressure to quit early because of anger over leaks and hostile briefings about the Downing Street operation, a No 10 spokesperson said he “remains focused on delivering” for the PM and is working closely with both Sir Keir and the cabinet.

Mr Case, who has suffered from poor health, is widely expected to leave his role in the coming months. The Guardian reported that he has been privately accused of failing to clamp down on leaks about donations from Lord Alli and of reported rows between chief of staff Sue Gray and other officials.

Put to her that Downing Street sounded like a “nest of vipers”, the spokesperson said: “I don’t recognise that. More generally, I wouldn’t usually get into those kinds of reports around staffing.

“The cabinet secretary remains focused on delivering for the prime minister and the work of government and working closely with the prime minister and cabinet.”

David Lammy has warned that climate change is a more urgent threat than terrorism or Vladimir Putin in a major speech in which he pledged to put the emergency at the centre of British foreign policy.

Tackling the crisis, which is “accelerating towards us”, will also boost growth in the UK, the foreign secretary said.

“The threat may not feel as urgent as a terrorist or an imperialist autocrat. But it is more fundamental. It is systemic. Pervasive. And accelerating towards us,” he warned. Mr Lammy blasted Russia’s “fascism” and “imperialism” last week on a visit to war-torn Ukraine.

He made the vow after the death toll in central Europe rose to at least 15 in the wake of a series of devastating floods.

Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:

Home Office minister Angela Eagle said she had no opinion on Sir Keir Starmer accepting gifts of “luxury glasses” from a Labour donor.

Pressed repeatedly on Times Radio, Ms Eagle eventually told the presenter: “Okay, you’ve had your rant”, after he suggested the PM “has a luxury glasses habit” and is taking money from pensioners while accepting gifts from donors despite his vast prime minister’s salary.

You can watch live at the link below as David Lammy announces Labour’s pledge to have the UK be the first major economy to deliver clean power by 2030

The foreign secretary will position action on the climate and nature crisis as central to his department’s remit as he pledges the Foreign Office’s commitment to the global clean energy transition, reports Holly Patrick.

Speaking at Kew Gardens in Richmond, Mr Lammy will say Labour is “firing the starting gun” on its pledge to create a global clean power alliance that will facilitate sharing knowledge and technology to help more countries reach net-zero emissions.

Of the government’s 2030 pledge, Mr Lammy will say: “We will leverage that ambition to build an alliance committed to accelerating the clean energy transition. And today we are firing the starting gun on forming this new coalition.

“While some countries are moving ahead in this transition, others are being left behind. We need to accelerate the rollout of renewable energy across the globe in the way that this Government is doing at home.”

Pressed by reporters, Downing Street would not be drawn on the prime minister’s position on increasing tuition fees.

Asked whether Sir Keir Starmer was against tuition fee increases, a No 10 spokesperson said: “The focus has been on ensuring that the Office for Students has greater flexibility so it can work closely with the universities on this and when it comes to fees there is an annual process for that.

“They are, as I understand, set for this year, there’s a process, but the focus is very much on working with universities, recognising they are independent and responsible for the decisions that ensure their long-term financial sustainability.

“But we think it’s right that the Office for Students has a greater remit so it can monitor that financial sustainability.”

The UK will see whether Italian plans to process asylum seekers in Albania works before deciding whether to pursue a similar policy, a Home Office minister has suggested.

Dame Angela Eagle, the border security minister, told Times Radio: “Firstly we don’t know whether it will work yet, because it hasn’t started. Much of this has been portrayed currently as if it’s already a success but the fact is that it hasn’t started.

“We will see how it works. But what we have said is that any scheme that we deal with for offshore processing or anything else has to be workable, it has to be cost effective, and it also has to be in line with international law.”

Alberto-Horst Neidhardt, a migration specialist at the European Policy Centre think tank, told The Independent: “The deal should be seen for what it is: a costly operation that moves the processing of claims outside the Italian territory, with questionable administrative benefits … intended to demonstrate to the Italian electorate that the government is acting on its pledge to crack down against irregular migration.

“It should also be seen as a deliberate and more concerted attempt to create a hostile environment for those arriving irregularly in Europe, at a time of growing social and political divisions and tensions.”

In the wake of Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to Rome, you can read more details about Italy’s migration policies here:

The prime minister looks set to avoid an embarrassing investigation into a failure to declare a donation by a Labour peer to pay for dresses for his wife Victoria.

Keir Starmer was facing questions over the £5,000 donation from Lord Waheed Alli which he initially failed to put on his register of interests.

While the prime minister has insisted his team had reached out for advice on what declaration should be made and that rules are being followed, Tory chairman Andrew Griffith had asked the parliamentary standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg to investigate a potential breach in the rules.

But Downing Street has said that after discussions the commissioner has decided not to investigate.

Our political editor David Maddox has more in this report:

Nigel Farage is planning to join the campaign trail at the 2026 Holyrood elections, as the Reform UK leader said he would seek to build support in Scotland around its support for using oil and gas for decades to come.

Despite Scotland having never voted in a politician to the right of the Tories, and Mr Farage having been forced to take shelter from protesters in a pub during a visit to Edinburgh in 2013, he claimed that he intends to return north of the border.

He told STV News: “What was remarkable is that we fielded a full slate of candidates in Scotland. I was stunned. How did that happen, when we didn’t have much structure at all? We are now holding meetings in Scotland. The numbers coming are quite impressive.”

He added: “The economic implications of the collapse of the North Sea industry, not just for Aberdeen, but for large parts of Scotland, are huge. And I think we’re the only pragmatists, we’re saying, look – we will be using oil and gas in 2050 … That, I think, is the basis on which we’re beginning to build support in Scotland.”

Reform is holding a Scottish conference on 2 November, which will be attended by Richard Tice, the party’s deputy leader, who previously said it was too “dangerous” for Mr Farage to travel to Scotland.

But Mr Farage said: “I can assure you, Scotland will be seeing me, of that there is no question at all. I think that really, from very little acorns, we’ve made a very good start … I will be in Scotland next year, thinking about planning a year ahead for the Scottish elections.”

Victoria Starmer has been pictured at a London Fashion Week show wearing an outfit borrowed from designer Edeline Lee during a row over her receiving free clothes from ex-Asos chair and Labour donor Lord Alli.

With Tory MPs calling for a probe into Sir Keir Starmer’s late declaration of gifts from the peer, dubbed by some as “frockgate”, Lady Starmer appeared in the front row of Lee’s runway show, wearing an outfit created for the designer’s spring 2025 collection, The Times reported.