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Senior Conservatives have congratulated Rishi Sunak after it was confirmed he will become the UK’s next prime minister – but Labour has reiterated its calls for an immediate general election.

After a rapid political comeback, the former chancellor will become the UK’s youngest PM in modern political history and the country’s first ever Hindu leader after being selected unopposed by Conservative MPs to succeed Liz Truss.

He will enter Downing Street less than two months after he lost the last Conservative leadership race in the summer.

Former PM David Cameron was among the first to offer his congratulations, adding that he is “proud” to see Mr Sunak become the UK’s first British Indian prime minister.

Sunak to address Tory MPs this afternoon – Politics latest

“Huge congratulations Rishi Sunak on becoming PM to lead us through challenging times,” he posted on social media.

“I predicted a decade ago that Conservatives would select our first Brit Indian PM and proud today that comes to be.

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“I wish Rishi the v best, he has my wholehearted support.”

Conservative peer Baroness Warsi, a former cabinet minister, described Mr Sunak’s election as a “historic moment”.

“Whatever your politics, this moment shows change and what is possible,” she said.

“The party that once had amongst its ranks Oswald Mosley and in living memory Enoch Powell now has a PM of Indian heritage and of the Hindu faith and notably. Rishi Sunak is unapologetically both.”

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Nadhim Zahawi said Mr Sunak’s election proves “the United Kingdom is a place where you can achieve amazing things”.

In a post on social media, he added: “Under Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives we will never stop helping people make their British dream come true, regardless of their background. Congratulations, Rishi.”

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Moment Rishi Sunak announced as next PM

Ms Truss, who quit as PM last week after just 44 days, offered her congratulations to Mr Sunak, adding: “You have my full support.”

Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt, who withdrew from the contest at the last minute, said the same – and urged her Conservative colleagues to “unite and work together for the good of the nation”.

Read more: Who is Rishi Sunak? Set to become the UK’s first British Asian prime minister

Fellow cabinet ministers echoed this message.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told Sky News: “We have absolutely got to focus on the needs of the British people

“That means uniting round the prime minister. We don’t have the luxury of argument and division. We have to focus on delivery for the British people.”

Business Secretary and Boris Johnson-backer Jacob Rees-Mogg agreed that “now is the time for party unity”.

Conservative Party chairman Sir Jake Berry called for an end to Tory infighting, saying: “Now is the time for the whole party to come together and unite four-square behind Rishi, as he gets on with the vital work of tackling the challenges we face as a country.

He added that “the time for internal debates is well and truly over”.

Former PM Theresa May was among others to offer their congratulations.

“Rishi will provide the calm, competent, pragmatic leadership our country needs at this deeply challenging time. He has my full support,” she said.

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Analysis: Challenges ahead for Sunak

But Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner accused the former chancellor of having “no mandate” to govern, and reiterated her party’s demands for an immediate general election.

“The Tories have crowned Rishi Sunak without him saying a word about what he would do as PM,” she said.

“He has no mandate, no answers and no ideas.

“Nobody voted for this. The public deserve their say on Britain’s future through a general election. It’s time for a fresh start with Labour.”

Ms Rayner added that Mr Sunak was “already putting party before country” by addressing Tory MPs before the public this afternoon.

Read more: Who could be in Rishi Sunak’s cabinet?

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon reinforced this view.

“Congratulations to Rishi Sunak – I wish him well and, notwithstanding our political differences, will do my best to build a constructive working relationship with him in the interests of those we serve,” she said.

“That he becomes the first British Asian – indeed the first from any minority ethnic background – to become PM is a genuinely significant moment. It certainly makes this a special Diwali

“As for the politics, I’d suggest one immediate decision he should take and one he certainly should not. He should call an early general election. And he should not – must not – unleash another round of austerity. Our public services will not withstand that.”

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What do voters make of ‘PM Sunak?’

But former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith disagreed: “I don’t think there is any need for a general election, I don’t want one now. I want us to deliver on what we said we’d do and then go to the polls in the normal time.”

Read more: Sunak v Starmer – How do they measure up in the eyes of voters?

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey accused the Tories of installing “another out-of-touch prime minister”, as he also called for the public to have the chance to go to the polls.

“The Conservative Party has trashed the British economy, pushed local health services to the brink, and added hundreds of pounds to people’s monthly mortgage payments,” he said in a statement.

“Now Conservative MPs have installed another out-of-touch prime minister with no plan to repair the damage and without giving the British people a say.”

Accusing Mr Sunak of not understanding “the challenges facing struggling families and pensioners”, he continued: “The only way to end the chaos is a general election now.”

Mr Sunak will be formally appointed to the role in a handover of power overseen by the King within the coming days.

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‘The capital is under attack’: Russian drones launched over Kyiv after Moscow targeted

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'The capital is under attack': Russian drones launched over Kyiv after Moscow targeted

Russia has launched a “massive” drone and missile attack on the Ukrainian capital overnight, after Moscow itself was targeted.

Amid flailing peace talks, the Kremlin’s nightly attacks on Ukraine continued.

Ukraine war – follow the latest updates

A large-scale Russian attack through the night into Sunday injured at least 11 in Kyiv and killed three people in towns surrounding the capital.

There were attacks elsewhere as well, including drone strikes in Mykolaiv, where a residential building was hit.

An apartment building destroyed after a Russian attack in Mykolaiv.
Pic: State Emergency Service of Ukraine
Image:
An apartment building destroyed after a Russian attack in Mykolaiv. Pic: State Emergency Service of Ukraine

‘Massive’ attack

In Kyiv, the city’s administration warned “the night will be difficult”, as people were urged to remain in shelters.

The city’s mayor Vitaliy Klitschko described it as a “massive” attack.

He said: “Explosions in the city. Air defence forces are working. The capital is under attack by enemy UAVs. Do not neglect your safety! Stay in shelters!”

It came after at least 15 people were injured in attacks the night prior.

Russia claimed it also faced a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday, and that it intercepted and destroyed around 100 of them near Moscow and across Russia’s central and southern regions.

A municipality worker cleans up after a Russian drone strike on Kyiv.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
A municipality worker cleans up after a Russian drone strike on Kyiv. Pic: Reuters

Russia ‘dragging out the war’

Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine continued a prisoner exchange, marking a rare moment of cooperation in the war.

Amid the most recent attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeated his calls for sanctions on Russia.

Russia “fills each day with horror and murder” and is “simply dragging out the war”, he said.

A resident looks at an apartment building that was damaged in a Russian drone strike.
Pic: Reuters
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A resident looks at an apartment building that was damaged in a Russian drone strike. Pic: Reuters

“All of this demands a response – a strong response from the United States, from Europe, and from everyone in the world who wants this war to end,” Mr Zelenskyy added.

Every day “gives new grounds for sanctions against Russia”, he said, and each day without pressure proves the “war will continue”.

Ukraine, meanwhile, is ready for “any form of diplomacy that delivers real results”.

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Nine of Gazan doctor’s 10 children killed in Israeli strike on Khan Younis

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Nine of Gazan doctor's 10 children killed in Israeli strike on Khan Younis

Nine of a doctor’s 10 children have been killed in an Israeli missile strike on their home in Gaza, which also left her surviving son badly injured and her husband in a critical condition.

Warning: This article contains details of child deaths

Alaa Al Najjar, a paediatrician at Al Tahrir Clinic in the Nasser Medical Complex, was at work during the attack on her home, south of the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, on Friday.

Graphic footage shared by the Hamas-run Palestinian Civil Defence shows the bodies of at least seven small children being pulled from the rubble.

Rescuers can be seen battling fires and searching through a collapsed building, shouting out when they locate a body, before bringing the children out one by one and wrapping their remains in body bags.

In the footage, Dr Al Najjar’s husband, Hamdi Al Najjar, who is also a doctor, is put on to a stretcher and then carried to an ambulance.

The oldest of their children was only 12 years old, according to Dr Muneer Alboursh, the director general of Gaza’s health ministry, which is run by Hamas.

Rescuers removing the children's bodies from the rubble. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
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Nine children were killed in the strike. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence

“This is the reality our medical staff in Gaza endure. Words fall short in describing the pain,” he wrote in a social media post.

“In Gaza, it is not only healthcare workers who are targeted – Israel’s aggression goes further, wiping out entire families.”

Rescuers placing the children's bodies in a van. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
Image:
Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence

British doctors describe ‘horrific’ and ‘unimaginable’ attack

Two British doctors working at Nasser Hospital described the attack as “horrific” and “unimaginable” for Dr Al Najjar.

Speaking in a video diary on Friday night, Dr Graeme Groom said his last patient of the day was Dr Al Najjar’s 11-year-old son, who was badly injured and “seemed much younger as we lifted him on to the operating table”.

Hamdi Al Najjar, Dr Al Najjar's husband who is also a doctor, being taken into hospital. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
Image:
Hamdi Al Najjar, Dr Al Najjar’s husband who is also a doctor, was taken to hospital. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence

The strike “may or may not have been aimed at his father”, Dr Groom said, adding that the man had been left “very badly injured”.

Dr Victoria Rose said the family “lived opposite a petrol station, so I don’t know whether the bomb set off some massive fire”.

Rescuers unload the children's bodies. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
Image:
Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence

‘No political or military connections’

Dr Groom added: “It is unimaginable for that poor woman, both of them are doctors here.

“The father was a physician at Nasser Hospital. He had no political and no military connections. He doesn’t seem to be prominent on social media, and yet his poor wife is the only uninjured one, who has the prospect of losing her husband.”

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Nineteen of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational, all of them are overwhelmed with the number of patients and a lack of supplies

He said it was “a particularly sad day”, while Dr Rose added: “That is life in Gaza. That is the way it goes in Gaza.”

Sky News has approached the Israeli Defence Forces for comment.

Read more:
Mum of emaciated baby in Gaza says ‘I don’t want to lose her’
Dad wrongly pronounced dead in Israeli bombing killed in airstrike

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Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza began when the militant group stormed across the border into Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and abducting 251 others.

Israel’s military response has flattened large areas of Gaza and killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.

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UN’s Antonio Guterres condemns ‘teaspoon’ of aid allowed into Gaza after dozens die in airstrikes

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UN's Antonio Guterres condemns 'teaspoon' of aid allowed into Gaza after dozens die in airstrikes

The head of the UN has said Israel has only authorised for Gaza what amounts to a “teaspoon” of aid after at least 60 people died in overnight airstrikes.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said on Friday the supplies approved so far “amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required,” adding “the needs are massive and the obstacles are staggering”.

He warned that more people will die unless there is “rapid, reliable, safe and sustained aid access”.

A woman walks amidst rubble at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip.
Pic: Reuters
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A woman at the site of an Israeli strike in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters

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Gaza: ‘Loads of children with huge burns’

Israel says around 300 aid trucks have been allowed through since it lifted an 11-week blockade on Monday, but according to Mr Guterres, only about a third have been transported to warehouses within Gaza due to insecurity.

The IDF said 107 vehicles carrying flour, food, medical equipment and drugs were allowed through on Thursday.

Many of Gaza’s two million residents are at high risk of famine, experts have warned.

Meanwhile, at least 60 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight.

More on Gaza

Ten people died in the southern city of Khan Younis, and deaths were also reported in the central town of Deir al-Balah and the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, according to the Nasser, Al-Aqsa and Al-Ahli hospitals where the bodies were brought.

Palestinians carry a body at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Jabalia, northern Gaza .
Pic: Reuters
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A body is carried out of rubble after an Israeli strike in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters

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‘Almost everyone depends on aid’ in Gaza

The latest strikes came a day after two Israeli embassy workers were killed in Washington.

The suspect, named as 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, Illinois, told police he “did it for Gaza”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney of fuelling antisemitism following the shootings.

The leaders of the UK, France and Canada are “on the wrong side of humanity and (…) history”, he said, after they threatened “concrete action” against Israel this week if it continues its “egregious” military operations in Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu also accused Sir Keir, Mr Macron and Mr Carney of siding with “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers”.

Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip May 23, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
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Palestinians search for casualties in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters

But UK government minister Luke Pollard told Sky News on Friday morning he “doesn’t recognise” Mr Netanyahu’s accusation.

Earlier this week, Mr Netanyahu said he was recalling negotiators from the Qatari capital, Doha, after a week of ceasefire talks failed to bring results. A working team will remain.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251 others.

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Read more on Sky News:
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The militants are still holding 58 captives, around a third of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

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