Politics latest: Lord Speaker to have 'urgent meeting' with police over incorrect Mandelson leak

The government will not be giving the landmark assisted dying legislation more time in the House of Lords, which means it almost certainly will fall.

On today's edition of the Politics At Sam And Anne's podcast, our deputy political editor Sam Coates reveals that the government chief whip in the Lords, Roy Kennedy, has said that it will not be allocated more sitting days for debate, meaning it is extremely unlikely to pass before the King's Speech in May.

Sam explains on the podcast: "[Kennedy] told the parliamentary committee, a Labour body of MPs and peers, that the government will be giving it no more time in the Lords.

"The bill needs to pass before May - the King's Speech, the end of this parliamentary session. And if it doesn't, it falls, and [the legislative process] needs to start again.

"It is currently in the Lords, and because it's a Private Members Bill, it can only be dealt with on a Friday under existing rules. There are only six Fridays left.

"The expectation is that this is moment where the government is, in code, basically going, 'we are not going to help this bill through, and therefore it will fall'."

Sams adds that this is a "massive moment".

Listen to the full details on today's edition of the Politics At Sam And Anne's podcast - tap here to listen on your podcast app.

An interim report into maternity and neonatal services across England has unveiled shocking allegations, including that some baby deaths were being misclassified to prevent further investigation.

On Mornings With Ridge And Frost, we asked government minister Alison McGovern for her reaction, and she replied that while the government will formally respond to the report, she is personally "really worried" about it.

"I've met parents who've been failed by NHS maternity, and your heart breaks into a thousand pieces to understand what those parents have gone through," she said.

The minister went on to point to the Hillsborough Law that will bring in a legal duty of candour to ensure all public officials are bound by law to be open, honest, and transparent.

The report also found that black babies are twice as likely to be stillborn than white babies, some Asian women are stereotyped as overreacting to things, and black women are deemed as more able to tolerate pain.

Asked if she agrees that there is unacceptable racism in the NHS, McGovern replied that there are "longstanding" and "deep-seated" issues of racism in society, and said we all need to "try to build a different culture".

"It's behaviour over time that can change that culture and stop those kinds of racist attitudes that you mentioned being so pervasive as they are.

"But I applaud all of the people that have worked with Baroness Amos to come forward and tell the truth about what what they perceive to have happened, because that is a hard thing to do."

Have you been affected by poor maternity care? Email maternitystories@sky.uk

An interim report into maternity and neonatal services across England has uncovered shocking allegations of racism, bullying, crumbling infrastructure, and births in undignified circumstances.

Some families said that baby deaths were being misclassified to prevent further investigation.

Baroness Amos, who is leading a national investigation into maternity care, said: "Maternity and neonatal services in England are failing too many women, babies, families, and staff."

Investigators spoke to hundreds of harmed families and staff across 12 NHS trusts in England, many of whom shared shocking accounts of their experiences.

Some families alleged in the report that their babies were designated stillborn instead of dying after birth.

"They felt the system incentivised the recording of deaths as stillbirths as this prevents the case from being investigated by a coroner," the report said.

Jack and Sarah Hawkins, whose daughter Harriet was stillborn, were not part of the Amos investigation, but have fought to get a separate inquiry launched for bereaved and harmed families in Nottingham.

Jack said: "We have met a number of people and heard reports from a number of people whose babies they say were born alive and who the hospital say were born dead.

"And that is a horrific position, a horrific thing to say, and yet of course we believe the victims, not the NHS, who have shown themselves to be sparing with the truth around some of these issues."

Neither supported Baroness Amos' inquiry. Sarah said it "isn't going to change anything".

NHS England has been contacted for comment.

Have you been affected by poor maternity care? Email maternitystories@sky.uk

It's 7am, which mean the polls have now opened in the parliamentary by-election in Gorton and Denton.

Eligible voters in the Manchester seat will be able to cast their ballots to elect a new local MP until 10pm.

The law means that we as a broadcaster cannot discuss the election or the issues in it until polls close, so you won't see any coverage of it from us until then.

But do join us from 10pm as the votes start getting counted, and we'll have a special programme from midnight bringing you the result as it happens.

Good morning!

Welcome back to the Politics Hub on this Thursday, 26 February.

The Speaker of the House of Lords is having an urgent meeting with the Metropolitan Police today after he was incorrectly linked with providing information to the force about Peter Mandelson.

After the former US ambassador was arrested on Monday, it was reported that the Lords Speaker, Michael Forsyth, had told the force that he was going to flee to the British Virgin Islands.

But it emerged yesterday that it was actually the Commons Speaker who shared information with the Met, leading to officers apologising to him privately and publicly.

The Lords Speaker wants an explanation for why he was named, and why the incorrect information was not corrected by the force.

Mandelson's lawyers have said claims he was planning to flee are "baseless", and he has denied any wrongdoing.

In other news, the government is announcing measures to tackle homelessness today.

The new left-wing endeavour, Your Party, will announce the results of its first leadership election later.

And voters are heading to the polls in the parliamentary by-election in Gorton and Denton. Polling stations are open from 7am until 10pm. Join us on Paste BN for coverage after polls, and a special programme from midnight.

We're pausing our coverage for now.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle revealed this morning that he was the one who passed information to the Metropolitan Police suggesting Peter Mandelson was a flight risk.

That led to Lord Mandelson's arrest on Monday.

The Met has apologised to Hoyle for "inadvertently revealing information" relating to Lord Mandelson's arrest.

Lord Mandelson's legal team have called the allegation he was preparing to leave the UK for the British Virgin Islands "baseless". He denies any wrongdoing in relation to the allegation of misconduct in public office.

Bye for now.

Our political editor Beth Rigby was in Ukraine yesterday alongside Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, marking four years since Russia's full-scale invasion.

Beth says that despite Western support for Ukraine, the war has no end in sight.

The energy minister tells Paste BN that today's 7% cut in the energy price cap is "significant" - but accepts people are still struggling with the cost of living.

Asked by Ali Fortescue on the Politics Hub whether he accepts people are finding things tough, Martin McCluskey says: "I totally accept that. You're not going to hear me coming on today and try to defend the cost of energy. 

"The cost of energy needs to be lower. The action was taken today. A 7% reduction is significant."

Ofgem this morning announced the energy price cap will fall by an average of £117 a year from April.

McCluskey adds that the government is investing in clean power to ensure that energy costs won't be pushed up again by global events like the war in Ukraine.

"The only way that we're actually going to be in control of the price, the only way we're going to get bills down for good, is by having clean power and reducing our reliance on oil and gas."

The former head of the Royal Navy tells Paste BN that the UK should intercept Russian oil tankers in British waters.

He is speaking following an investigation by Sky's Paul Kelso tracking the Russian shadow fleet, which was mentioned in parliament.

Lord West tells Ali Fortescue that it was "about time we did something".

"I think we'd have to stop these ships and then take them into British ports, the ones in the Channel, check about their insurance and things and hold them, because it's quite clear that they're breaking sanctions and breaking the rules."

"We have to board them. Get on board and board them, and I think that's what we should do... that will have a real impact on Putin very quickly," he adds.

Lord West, who was also security minister in Gordon Brown's government, says he doesn't see any interceptions developing into a military confrontation at sea with Russia.

Asked whether he was frustrated there wasn't more action being taken against Russia, Lord West replies: "I am. We should have done something earlier."

He adds that more action isn't being taken because "people are scared of what [Putin] might do".