Splits have emerged in the Conservative Party over Kemi Badenoch’s pledge to stick with the state pension triple lock.
Sir Andrew Mitchell, a former Cabinet minister, told The i Paper that the triple lock “must be reformed”, but other MPs fear that coming out against the lock will result in the Tories being “outflanked” by Reform UK.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham used his Labour conference speech to announce that the lock will end in its current form in April 2030 to help pay for free-at-the-point-of-use social care.
Israel-bound flight diverted after ‘fight between pilots’
A Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv had to be diverted this morning after a physical fight between the plane’s two pilots, Israeli officials have told local media.
Emergency code triggered
Two hours after taking off from Dubai, the flight signalled an emergency code, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24.
The plane, carrying around 150 people, mostly Israelis, was diverted to land in Saudi Arabia instead of Ben-Guiron airport.
3 min read
Air force responds
- Israel dispatched fighter jets to the incident site
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held urgent consultations
4 min read
Flydubai issues statement
A Flydubai spokesperson confirmed the flight “experienced an incident while en route”, and that updates will be issued as further details become available. “Our teams are working closely with the relevant authorities,” it added.
3 min read
5 min read
Watch more from The i Paper
Energy bills to soar by 16% in January – what it means for your money
The typical household bill is set to jump by £276 in January, according to an industry forecaster, with others warning of a “second energy crisis” on the horizon.
Second price rise predicted in the New Year
Bills are set to go up tomorrow by 4 per cent in line with the energy regulator Ofgem’s price cap increase. Energy consultancy firm, Cornwall Insights, has warned the next price cap increase in January could be even more, bringing a typical annual bill to £1,999.
3 min read
Government promises ‘breathing space’
Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the this morning that rising energy costs were “very difficult indeed”, and the Government would be looking at “any measure that can give people breathing space”.
This came as the CEO of energy supplier EDF, Simone Rossi, warned the UK is “walking into a second energy crisis”.
Bleak winter ahead
“I’m doing what I can, removing say VAT off bills. But it is very difficult indeed, and it’s why the Middle East situation needs to command a lot of our attention.”
Andy Burnham
Watch more from The i Paper
What we know as three teenagers die after car plunges into River Wear
Three people have died and a 17-year-old arrested after a car plunged into a river in Sunderland.
Car broke through barrier
- A black Audi A3 smashed through a roadside barrier at 1.30pm on Tuesday near Wearmouth Bridge
- Two boys and a girl were killed
- A 17-year-old who was in the car has been arrested
2 min read
Surviving boy arrested
The boy who reached safety has subsequently been arrested in connection with the incident. He remains in police custody at this time. He is currently in hospital with what have been described as non-serious injuries.”
NOrthumbria police spokesperson
Three things to know as economy grows by 0.5%
The economy has grown by slightly more than initially expected, as figures for growth from April to June this year increased from 0.4 per cent to 0.5 per cent by the Office for National Statistics.
Industries performing well
- The boost came from the services sector growing 0.6 per cent.
- The construction industry also grew by 0.8 per cent.
6 min read
Last year revised down
Growth for 2025 as a whole was a little lower than previously estimated.
Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the Office for National Statistics, explained that the figures initially given for last year were too high.
Growth for 2025 was revised from 1.3 per cent to 1.2 per cent.
What’s driving growth?
The average UK household’s disposable income increased by 1 per cent, contributing to economic growth overall.
The rise was down to increased income from benefits, which at £5.3bn outstripped the increase in salaries at £2.8bn. The annual increase of state pensions and working age benefits in April contributed to this jump.
Watch more from The i Paper
Fat Bear Week has a winner and his story will melt your icy heart
The final of the competition, which asks viewers of live feeds to name the bear that has put on the most weight in Alaska, came down to a battle of the nepo-bears, and the victor triumphed over adversity.
What is Fat Bear Week?
The competition is run by Katmai National Park and Reserve in Alaska, one of the most chilly and remote (yet deliciously salmon-rich) places on Earth. There were 2,200 brown bears up for the title. Among them was Chunk (or Bear 32, they all have numbers), who weighed in at an estimated 1,200lbs (544kg) to take the 2025 crown.
Top two contenders
After a week of voting, it came down to a battle of the sexes. Representing the ladies: Bear 910. Born in 2016, she is the daughter of former Fat Bear Week champion, Beadnose.
In the men’s corner: Bear 89. His name is “Backpack”, because in his first year as a cub (pictured), back in 2006, he would often climb onto the back of his mum, also a former winner, when she swam in the river.
A hard start in life
Naturalist Mike Fitz, the creator of Fat Bear Week, said the winning bear “knew hardship at an early age”. He got a bad injury as a cub, which made him vulnerable as he struggled to keep up with his mother.
Backpack won by 103,344 votes to 98,253.
2 min read
Under the current triple lock, the state pension rises each year in line with the highest of earnings, inflation or 2.5 per cent.
The policy has ended up being much more expensive than it was expected to be when it was introduced by Conservative chancellor George Osborne in 2011, with the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasting that by 2030 it will cost £15.5bn a year – three times its original estimate.
If Labour wins the next election, a new “adjusted” lock will see the state pension instead rise each year by at least inflation or 2.5 per cent, while also holding its value relative to earnings over time.
In her immediate reaction to the speech, Badenoch said that Burnham’s plan to change the lock was “falling apart under scrutiny” and that the measure would not generate enough savings for decades, “which means more tax rises are inevitable”.
The Tories doubled down in support of the lock on Wednesday by launching an online petition urging Burnham to “cut welfare, not the triple lock”.
However, splits have opened up in Tory ranks over the position.
Sir Andrew Mitchell, one of the longest-serving Conservative MPs, told The i Paper: “I think in the long run we need to accept that the triple lock must be reformed.
“It’s significantly served the purpose we set for it back in 2010 under David Cameron and it needs to be reined back.”
He joins the former Tory chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who has also called for the lock to be reformed. Hunt said on Tuesday: “We’ve been funding it partly by borrowing from our children and our grandchildren.”
Tom Tugendhat, the shadow Foreign Secretary, has also previously voiced scepticism about the long-term sustainability of the lock.
However, with Reform coming out against Burnham’s plans, some Tory MPs think that in electoral terms they simply cannot afford to abandon the lock.
One Tory MP told The i Paper: “We need to protect the triple lock to support pensioners and cannot be outflanked by Reform.”
Polling for The i Paper revealed that Burnham could lose support from Labour voters at the next election with his pledge to end the triple lock.
By comparison, 59 per cent of Labour voters and 53 per cent of Liberal Democrat voters support the triple lock.
Burnham’s political opponents were unanimous in criticising the move on Wednesday, with Nigel Farage accusing the Prime Minister of “launching an offensive against our elderly” and calling for an early general election.
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey argued any reforms to social care “can’t be funded from the pockets of our poorest pensioners”.
Meanwhile, the Green Party’s Zack Polanski – despite just 43 per cent of his party’s voters supporting the triple lock – criticised the Government for “going after pensioners”, saying it should “tax the rich” instead.