Sir Keir Starmer has declared it his “moral mission” to “turn the tide on the lost decade of young kids left as collateral damage”.

The government launches its 10-year youth plan today, which has pledged £500m to reviving youth services.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has also warned that young people are now “the most isolated in generations” and face challenges that are “urgent and demand a major change in direction”.

But despite the strong language, the Conservatives have warned that “under Labour, the outlook for the next generation is increasingly bleak”.

Lisa Nandy is on Sky News from 7am – follow live

Launching the 10-year strategy, Sir Keir said: “As a dad and as prime minister, I believe it is our generation’s greatest responsibility to turn the tide on the lost decade of young kids left as collateral damage. It is our moral mission.

“Today, my government sets out a clear, ambitious and deliverable plan – investing in the next generation so that every child has the chance to see their talents take them as far as their ability can.”

What’s in the government’s strategy?

Under the plans, the government will seek to give 500,000 more young people across England access to a trusted adult outside their homes – who are assigned through a formal programme – and online resources about staying safe.

The prime minister said the plans will also “ensure” that those who choose to do apprenticeships rather than go to university “will have the same respect and opportunity as everyone else”.

The plan comes following a so-called “state of the nation” survey commissioned by Ms Nandy, which heard from more than 14,000 young people across England.

Launching the strategy, she said: “Young people have been crystal clear in speaking up in our consultation: they need support for their mental health, spaces to meet with people in their communities and real opportunities to thrive. We will give them what they want.”

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But the Conservatives have criticised the government for scrapping the National Citizen Service (NCS), which ended in March this year.

Shadow culture secretary Nigel Huddlestone said “any renewed investment in youth services is of course welcome”, but said Labour’s “economic mismanagement and tax hikes are forcing businesses to close, shrinking opportunities while inflation continues to climb”.

“The system is more than broken – it crossed that limit a long time ago,” says Palestinian asylum seeker Ibrahim Altaqatqa.

Ibrahim came to the UK two years ago on a tourist visa – then claimed asylum.

In the time he’s been waiting to have his claim processed, he’s met his partner Yvonne, who is English, and five weeks ago their baby daughter Alisha was born.

But his asylum claim remains unresolved, and he says he can’t return to his home near Hebron in the West Bank because of his political activism.

“I can’t just be stuck like this,” he says. “I can’t just waste day after day of my life waiting for somebody to say ‘OK, we give you a decision’.”

He wants to move on with his life and be allowed to work, he says.

“I don’t think you need two years to process any asylum claim. I don’t think there’s any case that’s complicated to that level. I’m not single any more. I’ve got other responsibilities now.”

‘I’d be happy to join hotel protests’

Formerly a farmer in the Golan Heights, Ibrahim says he’s well aware of the shifting public mood over immigration and shares frustration over the money being spent on asylum seekers.

“I don’t think they are putting their anger toward the right group,” he says. “On many occasions, I spoke with a lot of them – the people who were protesting by the hotel.

“I said ‘if you are really angry and if you really want to save your country, I will be more than happy to come with you and let’s go together to protest’.”

Ibrahim says he stayed in three Home Office-funded asylum hotels and claims at one point he got scabies.

He claims the food and conditions were so bad at one point, he left and slept on the streets.

Huge backlog of asylum claims

Meanwhile, the National Audit Office (NAO), the UK’s independent public spending watchdog, has published a study on the processing and costs of people claiming asylum, examining the causes of delays and inefficiencies.

It analysed a sample of 5,000 asylum claims lodged almost three years ago and found 35% of them have so far been granted, while 9% of the claimants have been removed from the UK.

But the claims of more than half – 56% – remain unresolved.

Ruth Kelly, NAO chief analyst, says ministers have tended to take “short-term reactive interventions to fix problems, but then these have led to other pressures forming elsewhere in the system and new backlogs forming”.

“That’s led to wasted funds, poor outcomes for asylum seekers, and harm to the government’s ability to meet its obligations to citizens.”

The NAO estimates in the last year the Home Office and Ministry of Justice spent nearly £5bn on asylum – more than £2bn of that on asylum hotels.

It says there is a lack of a “whole system” approach within the Home Office; no shared objectives and there needs to be more robust shared data.

The NAO said it found the Home Office’s effectiveness and value for money are being undermined because of fundamental barriers that mean people seeking asylum spend extended periods waiting in the system.

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The government has announced a raft of new measures to overhaul the asylum system but the watchdog points out they will take time and parliamentary approval to introduce.

In November, the home secretary acknowledged some people who are coming to the UK are economic migrants seeking to abuse the system, with even genuine refugees passing through other safe countries searching for the most attractive place to seek refuge.

Government vows to ‘restore order’

With asylum claims falling across Europe but rising in the UK, the government says it wants to reduce illegal migrant arrivals and increase the removal of people with no right to be in the UK.

A Home Office spokesperson said the home secretary “recently announced the most sweeping changes to the asylum system in a generation to deal with the problems outlined in this report.

“We are already making progress – with nearly 50,000 people with no right to be here removed, a 63% rise in illegal working arrests and over 21,000 small boat crossing attempts prevented so far this year.

“Our new reforms will restore order and control, remove the incentives which draw people to come to the UK illegally and increase removals of those with no right to be here.”

The first serving member of the British armed forces has been killed in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale war.

He died on Tuesday following a “tragic accident” while watching the Ukrainian military test a new weapon away from the frontline, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

Hostile fire is not thought to have been involved.

The Sun reported the serviceman was in the Special Forces. An MoD spokesperson would neither confirm nor deny the claim and the individual’s rank and service have not yet been revealed.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Defence Secretary John Healey paid tribute to him.

“My deepest sympathy and condolences to the family of the member of our Armed Forces who sadly lost their life today,” Sir Keir said.

“Their service and sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Mr Healey said he was “devastated by the death of a UK service person in Ukraine.

“My thoughts are with their family, friends and colleagues as they grieve for a loved one. Our hearts go out to them.”

What role do Britons have in Ukraine?

The UK has previously acknowledged the presence of a small number of service personnel in Ukraine who are helping the Ukrainian military, as well as providing security for the British ambassador and other diplomats at the embassy in Kyiv.

There are also British troops who have been giving medical training.

Dozens of former British troops, as well as foreign fighters from many other countries, have travelled to Ukraine to fight for the Ukrainian armed forces ever since Russia launched its full-scale war almost four years ago.

A number of them have been killed in battle.

But this is the first time a serving member of the military has died.

“It is with deep regret that we must announce that a member of the UK Armed Forces died in Ukraine this morning, Tuesday 9 December,” the MoD said in a statement.

“He was injured in a tragic accident whilst observing Ukrainian forces test a new defensive capability, away from the front lines.”

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It was not immediately clear whether the accident happened on the same day that he died. The location where it occurred has also not been confirmed.

The serviceman’s family has been notified.

Kremlin will likely seek to exploit death

The death shines a rare light on the little-discussed work of the UK military inside the country.

Very little is said about the mission amid concerns that Russia could exploit the discrete UK presence to falsely claim that serving British soldiers are actively fighting against Russian troops.

The first confirmed death of a serving member of the British armed forces confirms the significant risks they are taking.

But the Kremlin will also likely seize on the tragedy to amplify bogus claims about NATO forces already being deployed in Ukraine, fighting directly against Russia.