Mary-Ann Stephenson says official guidance will not usher in ‘toilet police’ in businesses and public places

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“Nobody is expecting a toilet police” but people should follow the rules when guidance is finally issued on single-sex spaces, the chair of the equalities watchdog has said.

Mary-Ann Stephenson said that “generally speaking, we expect people to follow the rules and make sure that there is adequate provision”.

Home secretary says UK has managed the challenges of multiculturalism ‘very well’

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The US government’s claims that Europe faces “civilisational erasure” because of mass migration are an attempt to score political points against Muslims, the home secretary has suggested.

Shabana Mahmood dismissed the idea that European civilisation and national identities were under threat because of migration and said the UK had managed the challenges of multiculturalism “very well”.

Exclusive: A trio of candidates have been interviewed by the PM, but he could still decide to directly appoint someone else

Keir Starmer is poised to choose a new ambassador to Washington from a shortlist of three as relations with the US are tested over Ukraine and Donald Trump’s attacks on European leaders.

The prime minister held interviews with three finalists for the role this week, the Guardian has learned, with Downing Street preparing to make an appointment before the end of the year.

Nigel Farage’s party says it has more than 268,000 members amid reports Labour membership has fallen below 250,000

Reform UK says it is now the largest political party in Britain and has overtaken Labour, which has reportedly seen its membership fall below 250,000.

Nigel Farage’s party says it has more than 268,000 members on the live tracker displayed on its website.

Lilian Greenwood condemns Conservative ‘mixed messages’ and promises a system that works for everybody

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Conservative policies that pitted drivers against cyclists risked making the roads less safe by inflaming tensions, a minister has said, promising that the era of transport culture wars is over.

Lilian Greenwood, whose Department for Transport (DfT) role includes road safety and active travel, said seeking to divide road users into categories was pointless given most people used different transport methods at different times.

House of Commons calls on Keir Starmer to condemn Donald Trump’s ‘interference’ in European politics

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The US is engaging in “extreme rightwing tropes” with echoes of the 1930s and threatening “chilling” interference in European democracies, British MPs warned ministers on Thursday.

The House of Commons rounded on Donald Trump’s national security strategy, which stated that Europe was facing “civilisational erasure” and vowed to help the continent “correct its current trajectory and promote patriotic European parties”.

Former chancellor also says Johnson was ‘least well briefed’ of the PMs he had served

Sajid Javid told Boris Johnson he was a “puppet” of Dominic Cummings before he resigned as chancellor rather than accept a Cummings-led takeover of his Treasury, he has said in an interview about his experiences as a minister.

Speaking to the Institute for Government (IfG), Javid also said that his other departure from Johnson’s government, shortly before it collapsed in 2022, was because he had lost confidence in the prime minister after being assured that allegations about lockdown-breaking parties in No 10 were “bullshit”.

Labour says appointments needed to balance upper house, and chooses former advisers to No 10 and the chancellor

Keir Starmer has appointed 25 Labour peers including a number of former senior government and party aides in an attempt to strengthen his hand in the House of Lords.

Matthew Doyle, a former No 10 director of communications, and Katie Martin, a former chief of staff to Rachel Reeves, will be among those appointed to the upper house in a move first reported by the Guardian.

‘Age of diagnosis’ of ‘low-level mental health issues’ such as ADHD making system too costly, Conservative leader says

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The Conservatives have begun a policy review to slash the scope and cost of the benefits system, with Kemi Badenoch saying an “age of diagnosis” for “low-level mental conditions” was fast making it unaffordable.

While it is up to the review to come up with specific policies, the Conservative leader hinted that some payments could become time limited, saying one element would examine “at what stage support should come in, and how long it should last”.