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The UK’s biggest mortgage lenders will urge the chancellor to extend a government home loans initiative which helps first-time buyers get onto the property ladder.

Sky News understands that executives from major banks and Nationwide, Britain’s biggest building society, will ask Kwasi Kwarteng to commit to renewing the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, which is scheduled to expire at the end of the year.

Launched in the spring of 2021, the scheme gives lenders an option to underwrite through the government the losses incurred on mortgages above 80% of the purchase price of a property.

The request to extend the scheme will form part of the banks’ agenda as they and the Treasury seek to address the disruption in the mortgage market following Mr Kwarteng’s ‘mini-Budget’ last month.

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Lenders will also highlight the need for stability in financial markets in order to price home loans properly, and will flag potential risks under the City watchdog’s new ‘consumer duty’ from agreeing to unaffordable mortgage loans.

Hundreds of mortgage deals have been pulled or frozen by banks in the last fortnight as a result of volatility in how banks price such loans.

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The chief executive of the City watchdog told The Sunday Times at the weekend that he wanted lenders to justify the withdrawal of fixed-rate mortgage products.

“If a product is withdrawn for a temporary period, we want to understand when they’re going to come back to market so that those people who may need to refinance are able to proceed with their plans,” Nikhil Rathi told the newspaper.

Executives from Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest Group are among those expected to attend Thursday’s talks.

UK Finance, the banking trade association, will also be represented at the meeting, according to a Treasury source.

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‘Immediate action’ taken after blueprints of prisons in England and Wales leaked on dark web

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'Immediate action' taken after blueprints of prisons in England and Wales leaked on dark web

“Immediate action” is being taken after blueprints of jail layouts were shared online.

The maps detailing the layouts of prisons in England and Wales were leaked on the dark web over the past fortnight, according to The Times.

The detailed information is said to include the locations of cameras and sensors, prompting fears they could be used to smuggle drugs or weapons into prisons or help inmates plan escapes.

Security officials are now working to identify the source of the leak and who might benefit from the details.

The Ministry of Justice did not disclose which prisons were involved in the breach.

A government spokesperson said in a statement: “We are not going to comment on the specific detail of security matters of this kind, but we are aware of a breach of data to the prison estate and, like with all potential breaches, have taken immediate action to ensure prisons remain secure.”

The leak comes amid a chronic prison overcrowding crisis, which has led to early release schemes and the re-categorising of the security risks of some offenders to ease capacity pressures.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is launching a sentencing review in a bid to ease the crisis.

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Starmer says UK will ‘set out a path’ to raise defence spending to 2.5% in spring

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Starmer says UK will 'set out a path' to raise defence spending to 2.5% in spring

The UK will “set out a path” to lift defence spending to 2.5% of national income in the spring, the prime minister has said, finally offering a timeframe for an announcement on the long-awaited hike after mounting criticism.

Sir Keir Starmer gave the date during a phone call with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, in the wake of threats by Moscow to target UK and US military facilities following a decision by London and Washington to let Ukraine fire their missiles inside Russia.

There was no clarity though on when the 2.5% level will be achieved. The UK says it currently spends around 2.3% of GDP on defence.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte and  Keir Starmer, during a trilateral meeting in 10 Downing Street.
Pic: PA
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Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sir Keir Starmer and NATO boss Mark Rutte in October. Pic: PA

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A spokeswoman for Downing Street said that the two men “began by discussing the situation in Ukraine and reiterated the importance of putting the country in the strongest possible position going into the winter”.

They also talked about the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight alongside Russia.

“The prime minister underscored the need for all NATO countries to step up in support of our collective defence and updated on the government’s progress on the strategic defence review,” the spokeswoman said.

“His government would set out the path to 2.5% in the spring.”

The defence review will also be published in the spring.

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While a date for an announcement on 2.5% will be welcomed by the Ministry of Defence, analysts have long warned that such an increase is still well below the amount that is needed to rebuild the armed forces after decades of decline to meet growing global threats from Russia, an increasingly assertive China, North Korea and Iran.

They say the UK needs to be aiming to hit at least 3% – probably higher.

With Donald Trump returning to the White House, there will be significantly more pressure on the UK and other European NATO allies to accelerate increases in defence spending.

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Man shot dead and another critically injured in Birmingham shooting – as murder suspect arrested

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Man shot dead and another critically injured in Birmingham shooting - as murder suspect arrested

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after one man died and another was critically injured in a shooting in Birmingham.

Police were called to Rotton Park Road in Edgbaston, just before 11pm on Friday, to reports that two people had been shot.

One man, in his 20s, was found in a car but was pronounced dead at the scene.

Another man, in his 30s, was found injured at a bus stop, and was taken to hospital where he remains in a critical condition, West Midlands Police added.

Firearms officers arrested a man in his 30s on suspicion of murder just before 12.30am. He remains in custody.

Officers remain on the scene, with road closures in place. The force said reassurance patrols will also be taking place.

Detective Inspector Nick Barnes said: “This is a tragic incident, and we have worked through the night to understand exactly what happened.

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“We’ve already made good progress and arrested a suspect, but I still need to hear from anyone who was in the area that we’ve not already spoken to.

“This happened near the busy junction with City Road and it may be that you’ve got dashcam footage or mobile phone footage from the area just before 11pm.

“We really need to hear from you so that we can build as clear a picture as possible of what happened.”

Officers are urging anyone with information to get in contact, with anonymous tips also taken via Crimestoppers.

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