The defence secretary will announce today that the UK is to double the number of troops in Norway, and that Britain's armed forces will join NATO's Arctic Sentry mission.

John Healey will use a visit to Camp Viking in the Arctic Circle, he will confirm that troop numbers in Norway will rise from 1,000 to 2,000 over three years.

The cabinet minister will also say the UK will "play their part" in NATO's new mission, and will join EU defence ministers at NATO HQ in Brussels tomorrow to discuss proposals. 

It's yet a further commitment to bolstering security in the High North, as the government warns that the threat from Russia is growing.

Healey said: "Demands on defence are rising, and Russia poses the greatest threat to Arctic and High North security that we have seen since the Cold War. 

"We see Putin rapidly re-establishing military presence in the region, including reopening old Cold War bases. 

"Cold Response and Lion Protector will this year see thousands of troops deploy across the Arctic and North Atlantic – with the UK leading the way. 

"We train together, we deter together, and if necessary, we will fight together."

Lion Protector will see air, land and sea forces train together to protect critical national infrastructure in September. Meanwhile, Cold Response will see 1,500 Royal Marine Commandos deploy to Norway in March, which will prepare troops to defend strategically important locations across fjords and mountains.

Georgia Gould says discovering more about Peter Mandelson's alleged behaviour through document releases by the US Department of Justice has been "deeply painful".

The junior education minister says she knew Lord Mandelson "my whole life" as he was a "good friend of my father's".

She tells Paste BN: "I have been completely shocked by what has come out. I know that my dad, who's no longer alive, would have been too. 

"He is someone who I thought of as a public servant. And I could not believe when I read some of the things that have come out, when the whole government needed to be focussed at that time on the huge challenge that you face, to be passing information in that way, it is deeply painful to see what has emerged."

Mandelson is alleged to have tipped disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein off about a massive EU bailout before it happened while business minister and shared other confidential information while in government. 

His close friendship with the paedophile led to his sacking as US ambassador in September, by Sir Keir Starmer.

Gould adds: "I feel deeply saddened by it. I feel that we are all getting up every day to serve a country, to make a difference. The prime minister does. That's what I do and for this to have happened - it has been very painful."

Starmer has experienced the most bruising week of his premiership due to revelations about Mandelson and his decision to appoint him as ambassador last year.

This has led to the loss of his chief of staff on Sunday, and the PM almost lost his own job on Monday - but survived, thanks to the backing of his cabinet.

Mandelson has denied all wrongdoing, but has apologised for maintaining his friendship with Epstein for so long.

Georgia Gould has refused to say if the prime minister's former communications chief should lose his peerage over connections to a convicted paedophile. 

The education minister is speaking to Paste BN after Matthew Doyle had the Labour whip withdrawn for his connections to Sean Morton.

Morton was charged with possessing indecent images of children in 2016 and later admitted sex offences. 

But Doyle campaigned with Morton after he was charged. 

Yesterday, Doyle had the whip withdrawn. 

Asked if he should also be stripped of his peerage, Gould tells Paste BN: "I think Keir Starmer has acted to remove the Labour whip from Matthew Doyle. And there is a Labour Party investigation going on into this, and you know, and that process is going to conclude."

But challenged again for what she thinks, Gould insists the investigation means she shouldn't say either way. 

"But the prime minister said on Monday night that we want to ensure the highest standards in public life," she adds. 

"He's gone back and looked at this appointment, he's taken action to withdraw the whip."

Doyle was only introduced to the Lords last month, and his appointment was queried by Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch last week.

Pushed that Downing Street knew Doyle had campaigned for Morton before he was given a peerage, the junior minister disagrees.

But our lead politics presenter Sophy Ridge points out it was on the front page of The Sunday Times.

Gould replies: "I think the decision, the announcement was made on the 10th of December, I think the story was later in the month. 

"But I think the prime minister has looked at this afresh, given the commitments that he has made to ensure the highest standards in public life and, and he's taken action."

She also insists the government is taking tackling child abuse "incredibly seriously" and suggests it is the PM's "lifelong work", pointing to his time as the director of public prosecutions.

"No one is harder on themselves than the prime minister," she adds. "But he's clear that things need to change. Vetting has to be better."

 Sir Keir Starmer remains in a "weak position", despite his strong message insisting he will remain as prime minister and Labour leader.

That's the analysis of our political editor, Beth Rigby, following Starmer's comments to journalists on Tuesday afternoon.

She says Starmer has made it "clear that he will not stand down" - but adds that he "does not want to get into a row with anyone".

That is why he has resisted explicitly criticising Health Secretary Wes Streeting for publishing his messages with Lord Mandelson, despite warnings for ministers not to do so.

It is perhaps also why the PM lavished Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar with praise, despite Sarwar's recent call for Starmer to resign.

"He has just come through the most perilous moment of his premiership, and he's determined to press on for now," Beth says.

You can watch her full analysis below...

Welcome back to the Politics Hub on Wednesday, 11 February. 

Sir Keir Starmer will face Kemi Badenoch at PMQs this lunchtime, in what is proving to be a bruising week for the prime minister. 

Speaking at a cost of living event on Tuesday lunchtime, the PM joked, "it's been a long week".  Here's a recap.

On Sunday, his chief of staff resigned. Morgan McSweeney was then followed out No 10 by Starmer's director of communications Tim Allan the next day. 

That led to the most perilous moment of the PM's premiership as Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for him to quit. But Starmer was saved when his cabinet decided to rally round.

Having steadied the ship yesterday, the PM saw it rocked again, as his former comms chief Matthew Doyle - only introduced to the Lords last month - had the Labour whip suspended for his connections with a child sex offender.

It means there's plenty to go at again for Sir Keir's opponents in the final PMQs before the February recess, which begins tomorrow.

Elsewhere in Westminster today, the Liberal Democrats say they will be making a major economic announcement at a news conference this morning.

Daisy Cooper, the party's Treasury spokesperson, will be leading the event in central London.

Meanwhile, the government would rather the media concentrated on its plans to double troop numbers in Norway over the next three years and play a major part in NATO's Arctic Sentry mission, a decision that's been announced by Defence Secretary John Healey overnight. 

It's all part of efforts to counter Russian threats in the High North. 

Plus, ministers are hoping to discuss the government's plan to ensure every secondary school in England and Wales has an "inclusion base" - a safe space for children with additional needs.

Coming up on Paste BN shortly:

• Georgia Gould, education minister
• Richard Holden, shadow transport secretary
• Sir Peter Westmacott, former ambassador to the US

We'll bring you all the updates throughout the day, right here on the Politics Hub.

That's it for today in the Politics Hub.

Join us again in the morning.

Missed today's edition of the Politics Hub?

Watch the full thing below.

 Sir Keir Starmer remains in a "weak position", despite his strong message insisting he will remain as prime minister and Labour leader.

That's the analysis of our political editor, Beth Rigby, following Starmer's comments to journalists this afternoon.

You can watch Beth's full analysis here:

Sir Keir Starmer appears to be safe, for now. 

After going through what can easily be described as the most perilous moment of his premiership so far, the PM has come out the other side - thanks to the backing of his cabinet. 

Now, the PM can retreat into the relative safety of parliamentary recess on Thursday evening.

But while Starmer is in the clear - at least for the next few weeks or so - his position has not really been strengthened, and he faces further challenges on the way. 

So, what are they?

By-election business

The Gorton and Denton by-election being held on 26 February in Greater Manchester looms large. 

It's been called after suspended Labour MP Andrew Gwynne made a deal so he could step down - and there's no guarantee Labour will hold on to the constituency.

While the Tories and Lib Dems are broadly considered not to be serious challengers, the Greens and Reform UK are both gunning for the seat.

Add to that, Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) - which Starmer is on - blocked Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham from standing. 

A loss here could once again stir discontent among Labour MPs - and now Starmer's already sacked his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, there's nobody to hide behind.

All of the candidates for the by-election are listed here:

The locals

An even bigger challenge will be the elections on 7 May. 

More than 4,000 council seats across England are up for grabs, along with six directly elected mayors. 

Plus, there are elections that will decide the make-up (and control) of the Senedd in Cardiff, and the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood.

This is likely to be seen as a huge test of Starmer's leadership - and if Labour does badly, it could be seen as a crunch point for the PM, when his team turn against him and decide Labour needs a different approach.

Again, the lack of a scapegoat could be a problem if the results go badly for Starmer, and he'll still face a fortnight until the comparative calm of the next recess, and more than two months until the Commons rises for the summer.

Cabinet challengers

While the PM might be taken down by diary events, it's equally possible it won't be a predictably timed issue that proves the biggest challenge to Starmer's leadership.

Multiple PMs, most recently Boris Johnson, were dethroned when their own team eventually told them to give up the game - with an onslaught of resignations from the cabinet. 

That is most likely to be triggered by poor polling. 

YouGov's weekly intention poll, out today, places Labour in second place, eight points behind Reform and only one ahead of the Tories.

The Greens are three points behind Labour, while the Lib Dems are five. 

Starmer's personal polling makes for even less cheery reading for Labour MPs.

So, while Starmer is safe for now - he's not out of the woods.

Earlier, we reported on the Intelligence and Security Committee, saying they were yet to receive any of the Mandelson files from the government.

But there is an interesting titbit from the release, about the head of the civil service - known as the cabinet secretary.

Lord Beamish, the committee's chair, said: "From the government, the cabinet secretary had been due to attend but was unavailable at the last minute."

The meeting took place today.

Sir Chris Wormald is the cabinet secretary, and it is widely reported that he may be leaving the civil service imminently.

He is set to follow Downing Street chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and director of communications Tim Allan out the famous black door.

Wormald took over the role in December 2024.

Dame Antonia Romeo, the chief civil servant at the Home Office, has been tipped as a replacement.