After a tricky few weeks for the government, in which backbenchers overturned plans to cut back welfare spending, now a heavy hand to get the party into line.

Three newly-elected MPs, Neil Duncan-Jordan, MP for Poole, Brian Leishman, MP for the new Alloa and Grangemouth constituency, and Chris Hinchcliff, for North East Herefordshire, have all had the whip suspended.

Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central, who was first elected a decade ago, is the fourth.

Politics latest: Labour MP ‘appalled’ after Starmer suspends rebels

They will all sit as independent MPs and will not be allowed to stand for Labour at the next election, unless readmitted. All appear to be surprised – and upset.

Three more have lost plum roles as trade enjoys – Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Mohammed Yasin, all on the left of the party.

All were active in the rebellion against the government’s welfare reforms, and voted against the changes even after a series of U-turns – but were among 47 Labour MPs who did so.

When MPs were told after the welfare vote that Number 10 was “fully committed to engaging with parliamentarians”, this was not what they were expecting.

We’re told the reasons for these particular suspensions go wider – over “persistent breaches of party discipline” – although most are not high profile.

In the scheme of things, Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell rebelled against the Labour whip hundreds of times under New Labour, without being suspended.

But these MPs’ pointed criticism of the Starmer strategy has clearly hit a nerve.

Maskell – who was referred to, jokingly, in the House of Commons earlier this month by Tory MP Danny Kruger as “the real prime minister” – led the rebellion against cuts to winter fuel allowance which triggered a U-turn which she said would still leave pensioners in fuel poverty.

There was an attack on the government’s values. Duncan-Jordan, a trade unionist who won the Poole seat by just 18 votes, led the welfare rebellion, telling Sky News the proposed cutbacks were “not a very Labour thing to do”.

Hinchliff, who has also opposed the government’s housebuilding strategy and plans to expand Luton airport,had told his local paper he was willing to lose the whip over welfare cuts if necessary. He also has a marginal seat, won by fewer than 2,000 votes.

Read more:
Who are the suspended Labour MPs?

Leishman, a former pro golfer, has also been vocal about government plans to close the refinery in his Grangemouth constituency after promising to try and make it viable. They are MPs who the leadership fear are going for broke – and that’s concerning as more tough decisions on spending are likely to come.

But after a poorly-handled welfare vote, in which MPs seemed to be in the driving seat forcing changes, will this instil a sense of discipline over the summer break?

While some MPs will see this as a deterrent to rebellion, for those whose chances of re-election are small, it may continue to be seen as a price worth paying.

To other Labour MPs, the move is confusing and may be counter-productive. One Labour MP on the left told me: “So, we’re suspending people for winning an argument with the government?”

Another, in the centre, feared it looked divisive, saying: “We need to go into the summer focused on the opposition – not involved in our melodramas.”

Number 10 wants to show rebelling comes at a price – but many Labour MPs with concerns about their political direction will want to know the prime minister is planning to listen to concerns before it gets to that point.

An Afghan interpreter who worked with the British military has told Sky News he feels “betrayed by the British government” after a massive data breach saw his personal details revealed.

Ali, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, had long suspected his details had been shared with the Taliban – but found out just yesterday that he was a victim of the breach three years ago.

He is now even more fearful for the lives of family members still in Afghanistan, who are already in hiding from the Taliban.

Ali worked alongside British soldiers in Helmand Province to help them speak with Afghan people. His job also involved listening in on Taliban radio communications and translating them for the British forces.

“The Taliban called us the British eyes,” he told Sky News. “Because they think if we are not on the ground with them, the British force cannot do anything.

“They know that you’re listening to their chatting and the British forces are acting according to our translation. We were always the first target and our job was always full of risk.”

After the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, Ali – who had already suffered injuries after the Taliban targeted him with a car bomb – was brought to the UK through the British government’s Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP) for his own protection.

Once in the UK, he began to suspect his data had been leaked after his father “died because the Taliban took him into custody and beat him”.

Ali contacted the Ministry of Defence to raise concerns over his personal information last year, and stated in an email that he was “terrified”, adding: “I beg of you, do not pass this information to anyone.”

“They just ignored what I told them and they never replied,” he said.

‘The Taliban want me’

Following confirmation that the data breach did take place, Ali is even more scared for the lives of his family members who have already been in hiding from the Taliban for around five months.

“I’m feeling terrible and frustrated,” he said. “My family’s details have been shared with the Taliban intelligence forces and now they are looking for them.

“Every day, every single minute, my family’s waiting for their death, because if anyone comes to knock the door, they think that that is the Taliban.”

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Ali has twice applied for his family to be relocated to the UK but both applications have been rejected. He is now renewing his call for the British government to move his loved ones.

“I have carried the body of the British soldier,” he said. “I feel betrayed by the British government. They should relocate my family to a safe place.”

Read more:
Afghan man pleads for King’s help after data leak
How Afghan data breach unfolded
‘Serious questions to answer’ over data breach, says PM

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Ali has decided he will return to his homeland to help his family if they are not granted legal passage to the UK.

“If we don’t win [the case], I have decided I want to go back to Afghanistan and finish this,” he said. “The Taliban want me. If the British government can’t save my family, then I have this one responsibility to go and save them.

“I don’t want my family being killed for something they didn’t do.”

Sky News has contacted the Ministry of Defence for comment.

Temperatures are set to hit 30C in some parts of the UK this week.

Highs of 28C can be expected on Thursday before temperatures are forecast to peak at 30C in London on Friday, Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey said.

Other areas in southeast England will push towards the high 20s on Friday, where the average temperature in July is around 23C.

Find out the weather forecast for where you are

“We’re starting to see south-westerly winds come in, that’s bringing in hotter and more humid conditions, particularly in southern areas, we are going to see temperatures climbing again,” Mr Vautrey said.

“Friday is looking to be the peak of the current hot spell. This heat is not going to be as widespread as what we’ve just come out of, areas to the north aren’t going to be seeing the same highs.”

But the weather is set to turn later in the week, with a chance of heavy rain and thunderstorms across the UK on the weekend, Mr Vautrey said.

Temperatures will start to slowly drop but are still expected to reach 28C or 29C on Saturday and 25C on Sunday.

It comes after temperatures soared past 30C in parts of the UK last week – as the country had its third heatwave of the year.

A yellow thunderstorm warning has been issued for much of Northern Ireland from 11am until 8pm on Thursday, and this unsettled weather is forecast to spread across more of the UK.

Heavy showers and a few thunderstorms may cause some disruption, particularly to travel, with between 30mm and 40mm of rainfall over a few hours in Northern Ireland, the Met Office said.

Meanwhile, Southern Water has become the latest company to bring in a hosepipe ban as England battles exceptionally dry weather.

Restrictions like watering gardens, filling paddling pools or washing cars would come in for households in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight from Monday, the company said.

Read more:
Extreme UK weather ‘becoming the norm’
East and West Midlands officially in drought – which areas could be next?
Hosepipe bans hit more households – what you need to know

It has been the driest start to the year since 1976 for England, causing many water companies to bring in hosepipe bans.

Rainfall across England was 20% less than the long-term average for June, the Environment Agency said. This June was the hottest on record for the country.