Russia imposes travel ban on cabinet ministers, calling it retaliation for ‘Russophobic’ policies – as it happened

• Russia has announced that it is imposing a travel ban on 30 Britons it deems anti-Russian, including 15 cabinet ministers. (See 5.02pm.) The announcement came after a British diplomat was expelled from Moscow for allegedly spying – a charge the UK government has dismissed as baseless. (See 4.29pm.)

• Campaigners, charities and thinktanks have broadly welcomed proposals in the government’s Get Britain Working white paper to boost employment – but warned that the positive impact of the plans could be undermined by benefit cuts expected to be confirmed at some point in the future. (See 11.17am and 5.54pm.)

At the weekend Keir Starmer wrote an article for the Mail on Sunday about his plans for employment and welfare reform. It generated perhaps the first ever positive headline he has received in the paper, not because it included a vague reference to his plans to devolve some aspects of employment policy to local government (see 12.22pm and 2.46pm), but because Starmer said he would cut welfare spending.

In fact, most of Starmer’s article was about the value of work, but it included this passage that secured him the splash.

No more business as usual.

We must go further. That’s why, in the coming months, Mail on Sunday readers will see even more sweeping changes.

Because, make no mistake, we will get to grips with the bulging benefits bill blighting our society.

And don’t get me wrong – we will crack down hard on anyone who tries to game the system, to tackle fraud so we can take cash straight from the banks of fraudsters. There will be a zero-tolerance approach to these criminals.

Today’s Get Britain Working white paper says almost nothing about these implied benefit cuts. But a lot of decisions about disability benefits have been postponed, and the government is still committed to obtaining savings from changes to the work capability assessment first announced by the Tories (although how those savings are obtained may change). Charities and thinktanks, while broadly positive about what has been announced today, have expressed concern about what is coming down the track. Here are some of their comments.

Mark Rowland, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, welcomed the approach taken by the white paper. He said.

For too long, the discussion around enabling people who are too unwell to work to return to the workplace has been toxic and unrelated to the real experiences of people in receipt of benefits. Our own research shows that people on low incomes in the UK experience poverty stigma, which is associated with worse mental health. We’re pleased to see the ‘Get Britain Working’ white paper – and the language of government spokespeople talking about this announcement – suggest a departure from this narrative.

This seems a reference to interviews like Alison McGovern’s this morning. (See 10.07am.)

But Rowland also said there were “worrying” elments in the white paper.

References in the white paper to sanctions remain worrying, and the wait to hear about changes to the work capability assessment will be concerning for many, so we urge the government to publish their proposals for the welfare system as soon as possible.

James Taylor, director of strategy at the disability equality charity Scope, said:

There much that is positive about this white paper. The Connect to Work scheme and a desire to enhance the role of employers are both promising developments.

But we still know there’s still a huge amount of anxiety about what changes the government is planning to make to the benefits system.

Disabled people fear being forced into unsuitable jobs, or losing benefits if they engage with employment services. This lack of trust could seriously undermine the government’s plans to boost employment.

Iain Porter, senior solicy adviser at Joseph Rowntree Foundation thinktank, said

The white paper is an important first step towards rebooting the relationship between employment services and disabled people away from a culture of blaming and shaming and towards genuinely supporting people back to work.

Many of the reforms announced today are rightly focused on tackling the root causes holding people back from decent work including by encouraging employers to recruit and retain disabled people and intervene early to help people stay in work.

However, these positive first steps risk being undermined by the government’s commitment to £3bn of cuts to the health and disability benefits budget, if this simply comes from removing support for disabled people. Putting arbitrary cost savings ahead of effective reforms leaves a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the disabled people on low incomes who rely on health and disability benefits.

And Tom Pollard, head of social policy at the New Economics Foundation thinktank, said:

The high number of people out of work due to disabilities and poor health is symptomatic of long-term government failure to help people to stay well and, where possible, in work, so it is welcome to see new government plans today to improve support …

If the government is going to fulfil its ambition of delivering more effective employment support, it must resist pressure to focus on short-term savings or being ​‘tough’ on people on benefits.

The Russian embassy in the UK says hostility towards Vladimir Putin in this country is irrational. It has posted this on social media.

Irrational hostility towards Russia is promoted as dogma by the UK political and media mainstream, expected to be swallowed by the British public without scrutiny or critical analysis.

Notably absent from public discourse is any examination of the potential connection between London’s leading role in escalating the conflict in Ukraine and the growing sense of insecurity among British citizens, even when this insecurity is based on questionable premises.

Readers won’t need reminding that there are countless reasons why outrage at the conduct of the Russian government is well founded.

The National Autistic Society says it hopes today’s Get Britain Working white paper will make a difference for autistic people. Mel Merritt, the charity’s head of policy and campaigns, said:

Only 30% of autistic people are in work, the lowest of any disability. This shouldn’t be the case. Most autistic people can and want to work but face multiple barriers in finding and progressing in employment. We hope today’s reforms will close the unacceptable autism employment gap and genuinely remove these barriers.

The Department for Work and Pensions has now published the 68-page white paper. It has also released an analytical annex, and data tables.

The Russian foreign ministry has published the list of 30 Britons subject to a travel ban.

It says:

The Russian foreign ministry is once again forced to draw attention to the incessant aggressive anti-Russian rhetoric of the British authorities, the illegitimate unilateral restrictions systematically introduced by London against our country, as well as the thoughtless policy of the leadership of this country to support the neo-Nazi Kyiv regime, pursuing purely selfish geopolitical interests and leading to a senseless prolongation of the Ukrainian conflict.

Russophobic policies, which combine attempts to discredit Russia’s actions and isolate it in the international arena, the dissemination of disinformation about our country, including in the context of a special military operation, coupled with military support for the Ukrainian armed forces, bordering on the direct involvement of Great Britain in the conflict with all the accompanying escalation risks, indicate London’s attitude towards further systemic confrontation with respect to Russia.

And here are the 20 political figures on the list, as set out on the foreign ministry’s website. They are now banned from entering Russia because of their alleged anti-Russian activities.

1) Angela RAYNER, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government;

2) Yvette COOPER, Minister of the Interior;

3) Shabana MAHMOOD, Lord Chancellor and Minister of Justice;

4) Rachel Jane REEVES, Minister of Finance;

5) Patrick Bosco MCFADDEN, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster;

6) Edward Samuel MILIBAND, Minister for Energy Security and Carbon Neutrality;

7) Wesley Paul William STREETING, Minister of Health;

8) Steven Mark Ward REED, Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs;

9) Jonathan Neil REYNOLDS, UK Secretary of State for Enterprise and Trade, Chairman of the UK Board of Trade;

10) Elizabeth Louise KENDALL, Minister for Work and Pensions;

11) Bridget Maeve PHILLIPSON, Minister of Education;

12) Hilary James Wedgwood BENN, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland;

13) Joanna Meriel STEVENS, Secretary of State for Wales;

14) Lucy Maria POWELL, Leader of the House of Commons of the British Parliament and Lord President of the Privy Council;

15) Angela Evans SMITH, Baroness Smith of Basildon, Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal;

16) Maria EAGLE, Deputy Minister of Defence;

17) Benjamin William JUDAH, Adviser to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs;

18) Gurinder Singh JOSAN, Labour MP in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament;

19) John Derek TWIGG, Labour MP in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament;

20) Andrew James SNOWDEN, Conservative MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom;

The other 10 people on the list are business, military and media figures.

A ban of this sort may look like a hostile act, but it will have almost no practical impact. It is not likely that any of the people on the list were planning a trip to Russia in the foreseeable future anyway.

Foreign Office travel advice advises against “all travel to Russia due to the risks and threats from its continuing invasion of Ukraine, including: security incidents, such as drone attacks, in parts of the country; lack of flights to return to the UK; [and] limited ability for the UK government to provide support”.

The owner of Vauxhall has announced that it plans to close its van factory at Luton, in a decision that will put 1,100 jobs at risk of cuts or moving location, Jasper Jolly reports.

Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, has described this as a “very difficult day for Luton”, PA Media reports.

This is from Steve Rosenberg, the BBC’s Russia editor, reflecting on today’s developments in UK-Russia relations.

This was a day that reflected the current state of UK-Russian relations, i.e. very bad:
· UK diplomat expelled;
· Several UK cabinet ministers barred from Russia;
· Russian court accuses British citizen of taking part in “armed hostilities” on the territory of Kursk region.

Downing Street has denied allegations the UK diplomat kicked out of Russia was a spy. Speaking at the afternoon lobby briefing, a No 10 spokesperson said:

To be clear, we refute these allegations. They’re baseless. We’re now considering our response.

Downing Street said it would not pre-empt what the UK’s response might be, when asked if a tit-for-tat expulsion would occur.

The spokesperson said:

This is not the first time that [Vladimir] Putin’s government has made malicious, baseless accusations against our staff.

You’ll remember that the Kremlin baselessly curtailed the accreditation of six UK diplomats in Russia earlier this year following action taken by the UK government in response to the Russian state directing activity across Europe and in the UK.

Today’s announcement is no surprise coming from President Putin’s government, which has overseen an illegal war in Ukraine.

The UK government is unapologetic about protecting our national interests and will now respond in due course, and our embassy in Moscow will continue its important work in Russia to support UK interests.

The government has said it is “determined” to ensure earlier intervention for children with special educational needs (Send) after a report found that the crisis in provision has left children vulnerable to exploitation.

Research funded by the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre found a “high proportion” of cases of child sexual exploitation, internal trafficking and modern slavery involve children with Send.

In a statement provided to the Guardian in response to the report’s findings, a government spokesperson said:

Every child and young person deserves the opportunity to achieve and thrive, and we’re determined to ensure there is earlier intervention for children with Send and a greater focus on mainstream provision.

All schools must follow statutory safeguarding guidance, which highlights how some children are more vulnerable to abuse and harm than others, including those with Send.

We are committed to tackling exploitation and are continuing funding for a prevention programme run by the Children’s Society which targets and prevents child abuse in its different forms.

The government says it recognises the ‘immense need’ in the sector, providing almost a £1bn increase in high-needs funding for 2025-2026 to help local authorities with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with education and healthcare plans.

The Labour manifesto committed to introduce a new offence of criminal exploitation of children, and the Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service has been rolled out to two thirds of local authorities in England and Wales to provide “an additional source of advice and support for potential child victims of modern slavery, regardless of nationality or immigration status, to ensure the child is protected from further harm, prevent possible repeat victimisation, re-trafficking or going missing, and to promote the child’s recovery”, the government has said.

Jonathan Reynolds, the business secrtary, and Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, are also among the 30 British citizens subject to a travel ban by Russia (see 4.04pm), PA Media reports.

The Russian ministry said it was putting members of the UK’s political and military establishment as well as journalists on its “stop list”, PA says.