Rayner open to Cabinet return

Angela Rayner has not ruled out a return to the Cabinet, according to allies.

Sources close to the former Deputy Prime Minister said she will give No 10 “a hearing” if they offer her a job in the Cabinet following the resignation of Wes Streeting as Health Secretary earlier today. However, they confirmed that no approach had yet been made by Downing Street.

Rayner’s allies claim that if she were to return, she would like to become Education Secretary – a brief she shadowed in Opposition and “enjoyed enormously.” This would mean moving Bridget Phillipson, the current Education Secretary, to another post within Cabinet, with some tipping her to become the new Health Secretary.

Shorts

consumer

How to choose the best toothpaste, according to the experts

As the price of toothpaste rises in supermarkets, dentists reveal what you should look for on the box and which expensive extras can be avoided

The key ingredient

• Fluoride is the most important ingredient to look for in toothpaste, dentists told Sky News.
• The amount of fluoride is listed on the side of the tube, and is measured in parts per million (ppm).
• Dr Deepak Aulak, co-founder of Toothfairy, said the best fluoride level is between 1,350 and 1,500ppm for adults.
• He said the ingredient helps with strengthening enamel and reduces the risk of decay.

LIFESTYLE

4 min read

Doctor’s orders

Fluoride is one of the biggest success stories in public health. It strengthens the enamel and dramatically reduces decay. Opt for fluoride-free if you enjoy the taste of higher dental bills.

dr James davies, specialist orthodontist at quayside orthodontic

Which brand is best?

Dentists said there isn’t a single “perfect” toothpaste for everyone, but supermarket owned brands are suitable as long as they have the right level of fluoride.

A premium toothpaste can feel nicer, but doesn’t add protection. Dr Davies said: “You are often paying for the flavour, branding, fancy packaging and the celebrity smile.”

What ‘s best for children?

Fluoride is still important for children but they need less of it in their toothpaste.

Under-threes should use a “smear of toothpaste” that contains at least 1,000ppm fluoride, Dr Aulak said.

Children aged three to six should have a “pea-sized” amount.

HEALTH

5 min read

Madonna, Shakira and BTS to headline World Cup half-time show

They will co-headline the Super-Bowl style show at the
tournament this summer, which
is being hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.

The first ever half-time show

Pre-match performances at showpiece occasions such as the Champions League final are common, but this is set to be the first half-time show at a World Cup final.

• The final is taking place in New Jersey on 19 July.
• The show will be 11 minutes long, according to the BBC, and has been curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
• The performances will raise money for the Fifa Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative raising $100m (£73m) for children around the world.
• Fifa president Gianni Infantino said the show “will be a historic moment for the Fifa World Cup”.

Who are the performers?

Madonna is the best-selling female music artist of all time. She is currently preparing to release her 15th album, Confessions II, on 3 July.

The seven members of boyband BTS are the best-selling music act in South Korean history. They are returning after a three-year break to complete mandatory military service.

A closer look at the detail

A new release

Colombian singer Shakira is releasing her official World Cup song ‘Dai Dai’, on Thursday. The title is an Italian phrase meaning “let’s go” or “come on”.

The track also features Nigerian singer Burna Boy.

FOOTBALL

3 min read

POLITICS

How a Labour leadership challenge would actually work

Eleanor Langford

Political Reporter

Labour has never removed a sitting prime minister in its 126-year history.

After the party lost more than 1,400 councillors in Thursday’s local elections, that record is under serious threat.

Starmer under pressure

Will he quit?

Pressure is mounting for Sir Keir Starmer to step down or set a timetable for when he will.

A divided Labour

Over 90 MPs have called for Starmer to quit, while four ministers and six parliamentary private secretaries have resigned.

Competition is brewing

Health Secretary Wes Streeting is reportedly preparing a formal leadership challenge.

The five stages of contest

• 1An election would begin if either Starmer resigns or a challenger comes forward to force him out.
• 2Candidates must get the backing of at least 81 Labour MPs to be successful, with extra requirements if Starmer resigns.
• 3The contest starts if enough candidates have secured sufficient backing.
• 4Once it begins, Labour’s National Executive Committee sets out the rules.
• 5Paid-up Labour members and affiliated trade union supporters vote for their preferred leader.

Why this could benefit Starmer

The contest uses a preferential ballot where members rank candidates.

Polling showed that Andy Burnham was the first preference of 42 per cent of members, but he is not an MP and would need to win a by-election.

Without him, votes are more evenly distributed amongst candidates, which could allow Starmer’s second-preference support to prove decisive.

Explained

5 min read

Exclusive

4 min read

TRAVEL

Higher air fares in Europe are ‘inevitable’

More expensive tickets for air passengers in Europe are “inevitable” due to the surging cost of jet fuel, the head of the International Air Transport Association, Willie Walsh, has said.

An unavoidable price hike

Looking to the future

Walsh told the BBC that airlines would not be able to absorb the extra costs of rising fuel prices over time.

Summer shortages

He added that there was still concern that the UK aviation industry could face fuel shortages over the the summer.

Disruption is inevitable

Even if the Strait of Hormuz reopened tomorrow, disruption may last into next year, he said.

What to expect

The UK and Europe typically rely on imports from the Middle East, so are now searching for alternatives.

• Last week, the EU said there was no regulatory reason for US-grade jet fuel not to be used by European airlines.
• The EU’s energy commissioner said there would not be serious short term issues.
• But he could not rule out longer-term supply issues.
• Walsh said there were still concerns for UK operators, but stressed there is no reason to panic.

An inescapable outcome

“There’s just no way airlines can absorb the additional costs they’re experiencing,” Walsh said.

He added: “Over time it’s inevitable that the high price of oil will be reflected in higher ticket prices”.

Exclusive

2 min read

NEWS

Trump will struggle to restart the Iran war

Kieron Monks

Foreign News Writer

The Iran war has depleted America’s weapons stockpile, leaving Donald Trump vulnerable and constraining his ability to resume hostilities, military analysts say.

The US is in short supply

Dwindling supplies

Most advanced and defensive munitions in the US arsenal were burned through in six weeks of high intensity warfare.

Trouble ahead

This could leave the Pentagon short in future conflicts, the Center for Strategic and International Studies found.

Iran remains strong

The majority of Iran’s missiles and launchers are believed to remain intact.

Concern in the US government

Trump has called the shaky ceasefire “unbelievably weak” and on “massive life support”, as negotiations have proved difficult.

Senior figures in the Trump administration, such as Vice President JD Vance, have reportedly raised serious concerns over weapons depletion.

Cheaper alternatives

The report showed a shift toward cheaper, more plentiful weaponry, requiring US bombers to be closer to their targets and take greater risk.

Democrat Senator Mark Kelly said that classified briefings had raised concerns about the US’s readiness for future conflicts. “It’s shocking how deep we have gone into these magazines,” he said.

How will this impact the war?

The depletion is likely to be a “factor” in whether Trump resumes bombing of Iran, said Mark Cancian, co-author of the study.

“I think it would be a factor because of concerns regarding future conflicts, particularly China and the Western Pacific,” he said.

WORLD

5 min read

Analysis

4 min read

One third of weight
lost after jabs is ‘from muscle and bones’

People using drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro are
losing weight from muscle and bones instead of fat, a study
has found.

A clear difference

The study, published at the European Congress on Obesity, found that for people using exercise and diet control, muscle and bone loss accounted for 14 per cent of the weight they dropped.

In comparison, the figure was 32 per cent for those using weight-loss jabs.

What can be done?

Strength is key

People using weight-loss jabs should do strength training, researchers said.

Risks for old age

If they don’t, they face a heightened risk of frailty, fractures and osteoporosis in later life.

Time to head to the gym

“It is vital to incorporate structured exercise into all weight-loss approaches to help preserve that mass,” researchers said.

A closer look at what the study found

The study’s authors said that people who lost a significant amount of muscle were at a higher risk of regaining the weight after stopping the use of the drugs.

This is because muscle is “more metabolically active” than fat.

MONEY

3 min read

LIFESTYLE

5 min read

NEWS

Three young women found dead in the sea at Brighton beach

Sussex Police believe they have identified three women who died in the sea off Brighton on Wednesday morning, adding investigators have “a number of hypotheses” about how they died.

It is believed the women may have entered the water from the beach near where they were found, before getting into difficulty in the early hours.

What happened?

It is not yet clear how the women came to be in the water, but the coastguard has ended its search and is not looking for any others.

• Emergency teams were first called at about 5.45am on Wednesday.
• This was after a report of a single person in the water near Black Rocks car park in Madeira Drive, which goes along the beachfront.
• Two more bodies were then recovered from the sea nearby.
• The women were reportedly about 20 to 30 years old and were first seen at Brighton Palace Pier before drifting to the marina.

A tragedy for the city

It is probably the most devastating news that I’ve received in this city for a very long time. I can’t think of anything more tragic or more horrendous really.

Bella sankey, Brighton & Hove city council leader

Safety measures in review

• Sankey said that city bosses were reviewing safety measures following the deaths.
• “As a seaside city, we know how much people value our beaches, and we take our responsibility for safety extremely seriously,” she said.
• Hove and Portslade MP Peter Kyle said that it was a “sobering and heartbreaking reminder” that families, neighbours and communities are what is important.

Police call for information

Sussex Police have said that the next of kin of the three women have now been informed.

They are exploring several lines of inquiry, and have asked anyone with information to get in touch.

OPINION

3 min read

There has been widespread speculation that the PM could bring Rayner back to serve in his top team after she was forced to resign over her tax affairs last summer.

However, that option has now become more viable after she was cleared of tax avoidance by HMRC. The Labour MP stepped down as Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary last September when the independent ethics advisor found she had broken the ministerial code after admitting that she had underpaid stamp duty on an £800,000 flat in Hove, which was considered to be her second home.

On Thursday Rayner announced an HMRC investigation had cleared her of any wrongdoing after concluding she had not sought to avoid paying the correct stamp duty on the purchase of the property in 2025.

Back in December, Starmer said the “hugely talented” Rayner would make a return to Cabinet. However, by bringing her back into the tent now, it could help to shore up his support – even temporarily – among the party’s soft-left MPs, many of whom are believed to be supporting his leadership rival Andy Burnham.

One ally said: “I think she would go back in [to Cabinet] and will keep her powder dry for now. However, I think the price she will ask for sitting in Cabinet again will be an agreement that Burnham will be able to return to Westminster.”

Burnham announced on Thursday afternoon that he will be requesting approval from Labour’s ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), to stand in a by-election in a bid to return to Westminster. The by-election was triggered after Josh Simons stepped down as Labour MP for Makerfield to allow Burnham to run for Parliament.

Another Rayner supporter cautioned that she may turn down the job if offered. They said that she still felt “very bitter” about the way she was treated by Starmer and his former chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney prior to her resignation. “She was very upfront with them about her tax affairs,” they claimed.

Another Labour source also said they would expect Starmer to offer a Cabinet job to Rayner as a way of bringing her back into Government – but questioned how likely it would be that she would accept given it would require loyalty to the PM.

“It is a huge call for her, whether to take it or not”, one insider said. If Rayner were to reject the offer the next obvious choice for Starmer would be Lucy Powell, who replaced Rayner as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party when she was forced to resign, a Government source said. They suggested Starmer did not have enough authority to begin a full-blown reshuffle of his Cabinet.

Rayner has long been seen as one of Starmer’s potential leadership rivals. However, her supporters have repeatedly said that she would not move against him and would likely only enter the race if Streeting triggered a contest.

Behind the scenes, the soft-left have been privately war-gaming what would happen in the event a leadership contest was held before Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, was able to return to Westminster. It is understood that a decision was made to coalesce around one candidate in order not to split the vote, but no formal agreement had been made on whether that candidate would be Rayner, or Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary.

A source close to Rayner said: “Nothing was locked in because there were just too many variables to consider.”

There is no guarantee the NEC will allow Burnham to stand, although The BBC reported that Starmer will not try to block him, or that he would win the by-election. Simons currently sits on a majority of just over 5,000 with MPs supportive of the Prime Minister, who have constituencies in the surrounding area pointing out that Reform UK won every council seat available in the area in last week’s local elections.