Sir Keir Starmer has been branded "too weak to lead" after U-turning on one of his landmark policies.
In what marks the third U-turn of 2026, after just 19 days, Labour has pulled an amendment at the centre of a bitter row over the Hillsborough law.
The Government has also removed the legislation from Monday's parliamentary agenda entirely.
Bereaved families have long urged that the law - which aims to force public officials to tell the truth after disasters - applies in full to intelligence services.
It is officially called the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, and is meant to ensure authorities face prosecution if they try to cover up the facts behind disasters like Hillsborough.
On Wednesday, ministers suggested bringing spies inside the scope of the law, but Labour rebels warned this would not go far enough, and MI5 and MI6 would be able to conceal sensitive information - even though putting it out might put national security at risk.
Manchester and Liverpool mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram had warned the amendment "risks undermining the spirit of the legislation" and "creates too broad an opt-out" for the security services.
On Sunday, it emerged it was being pulled altogether - with Hillsborough families said to be unhappy with issues being ironed out in the Lords rather than the Commons.
One figure close to the talks told Sky News the situation was "absolutely mental".
And new Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said: "The Government is asking MPs to approve the Hillsborough law with a clause about its application to MI5, which it says it will replace in the Lords with... who knows what.
"Keir Starmer is too weak to lead his MPs - even on our national security."
Tory frontbencher Alicia Kearns added that the Bill "has been complete disarray for the last 10 days".
"We were offered an opposition briefing last Wednesday and just as we arrived they cancelled it," she revealed.
As many as 30 Labour MPs had backed a proposal by Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne which would open the law up to spies.
Mr Byrne said after the amendment was shelved: "I think there's been an acknowledgement that their amendment was heading for defeat, and thank God they've withdrawn it."
"I won't vote for any law to leave the Commons until myself and the families are happy with what it contains," he told the BBC.
"I have spoken to some families, and they are absolutely firm that it has to be the full Hillsborough Law before it leaves the Commons."
FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY...
WATCH: Douglas Carswell gives damning verdict on Kemi Badenoch after two MPs flee Tories in four days
Robert Jenrick accuses Donald Trump of 'bully boy' tactics
Reform UK MP Robert Jenrick has accused Donald Trump of using "bully boy" tactics as he said the President's threats of tariffs over Greenland is "completely wrong."
Mr Jenrick said: "[Sir Keir Starmer] needs to get behind the table with Donald Trump and he needs to have a proper diplomatic conversation with him.
"What Donald Trump has done is completely wrong. It's totally unacceptable to use bully boy tactics and threats of tariffs to deal with this situation when you're working with allies.
"But, does Trump have an important point? Absolutely. Greenland is a strategically important place. We can't allow our adversaries such as Russia and China to have a foothold there."
Robert Jenrick says he 'suspects more' will jump to Reform after Andrew Rosindell defection
Robert Jenrick on GB News this morning
|GB NEWS
Robert Jenrick has said its "make up your mind time" for Conservative MPs after the defection of Romford MP Andrew Rosindell.
The Newark MP said: "Firstly, I'm absolutely delighted Andrew decided to [defect], he's a true patriot and he's a superb addition to the team.
"If there are other Tory MPs who share values and principles of Reform, I'm sure Nigel would welcome them in.
"It's make your mind up time. I suspect more will choose to follow in Andrew's path."
Robert Jenrick said it 'pained' him to leave Tories but former party 'hadn't learned its lessons'
Reform UK's Robert Jenrick said it "pained" him to leave the Conservatives but said he felt like his former party "hasn't learned its lessons."
When asked if he was "trustworthy", the Newark MP told GB News: "I heard that argument from Kemi, shes obviously lashing out, obviously she didn't like me that much.
"To me we've got to fix the country. It pained me to leave the party I have been part of for a long time.
"But the Tory party hasn't learned its lessons. It is not the party we can believe in to get the country to get back on the right track."
WATCH: Oscar Reddrop reacts to Andrew Rosindell's defection from the Tories to Reform
Robert Jenrick says Kemi Badenoch has her 'head in the sand' as he unleashes scathing attack on former boss
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has her head in the sand over the extent to which Britain is broken, Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick said.
Mr Jenrick, the former Shadow Cabinet minister who joined Nigel Farage’s Reform party last week, said: "I think most people in the country feel that Britain is broken today.”
Living standards are stagnating, the cost of living keeps rising, crime is "almost occurring with impunity" and "the small boats keep on coming", he told Times Radio.
He said: "The Conservative Party doesn’t believe that Britain is broken. When I said that, Kemi Badenoch came out on the media in the last few days and has said she doesn’t think the country is broken.
"Now, I don’t think it’s broken beyond repair. I think we can fix it, but I don’t believe you can even begin to fix it unless you’re willing to own up, see what’s actually happening, recognise the scale of the challenge. It feels like Kemi and the Conservative Party have got their heads in the sand right now."
What's happening today in Westminster?
Good morning from all of us on the GB News Politics team. If you're just waking up, here's what's happening today.
Sir Keir Starmer will host a press conference from Downing Street this morning against the backdrop of fraying trans-Atlantic relationships between Europe and the US. We're expecting that at about 9.15am, we'll bring you all the updates here on GB News.
Very late last night, the Government pulled the final Commons stages of the Hillsborough law from today’s Westminster agenda.
It follows backlash from campaigners and some Labour MPs over the extent to which it would apply to intelligence officers, with some arguing MI5 and MI6 officers should be fully subject to the proposed law.
Andrew Rosindell last night became the latest Reform UK MP after the Conservative frontbencher defected to Nigel Farage’s party in a matter of days after Robert Jenrick did the same.
We'll be joined by Mr Jenrick on GB News Breakfast this morning.
Meanwhile, Sir Ed Davey is facing criticism from his own Liberal Democrat MPs as some are getting frustrated at a supposedly overly-cautious approach by the party's leader.
Reform UK faces first by-election tests after securing landmark double defection
Reform UK is set to face its first electoral test since two Tory shadow ministers jumped ship to the party.
Nigel Farage's party will battle it out in the polls in a fresh round of by-elections this week - with the first two taking place tomorrow.
Our reporter Isabelle Parkin has the full preview here.
With just hours remaining until Keir Starmer's emergency speech... Donald Trump declares: 'I no longer feel obliged to think purely of peace'
PICTURED: Close allies Keir Starmer and Jonas Gahr Store. Mr Trump made a series of incendiary remarks to Mr Store in a letter unearthed this morning
|PA
Donald Trump has declared he no longer feels "obliged to think purely of peace" in an unsettling letter to the Norwegian Prime Minister amid escalating tensions with Europe over Greenland.
The letter, addressed to Norway's Jonas Gahr Store, was forwarded to multiple European ambassadors in Washington by National Security Council staff, PBS News revealed.
It read: “Dear Jonas - Considering your country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped eight wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.
"Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a 'right of ownership' anyway?"
Mr Store and Sir Keir Starmer are close allies - and the PM will speak to the nation in a matter of hours...
READ THE FULL STORY ON DONALD TRUMP'S INCENDIARY LETTER HERE
'Madness!' NI veterans 'to face hundreds of lawsuits under Labour's Troubles Bill'
Labour's proposed amendment to the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill could expose veterans to a flood of around 800 lawsuits and cost the taxpayer millions, campaigners have warned.
The measure would strip away immunity protections that former soldiers currently enjoy - potentially dragging them before courts decades after operations conducted in service of the Crown.
The Conservative Government had shielded veterans from lawsuits through the Legacy Act - but Labour now intends to dismantle the safeguards through an amendment.
Ministers say the existing immunity provisions breach the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) by potentially obstructing proper investigation of alleged violations...
Looking across the Atlantic... Keir Starmer to address the nation with Prime Minister organising emergency press conference
Sir Keir Starmer is set to address the nation with an emergency press conference on Monday.
The Prime Minister is set to tell Britain of his commitment to protecting their security, standards of living and future.
Sir Keir is expected to set out how Britain will work alongside its allies and how the country will be “led by our values”.
The emergency press conference comes amid a rift between Europe and the US over President Donald Trump's threats to enforce tariffs until a deal is reached over the sale of Greenland.
What was Keir Starmer's promise on the Hillsborough law - and what does the Government say about it now?
In November, the PM promised that the law would leave a 'legacy of justice, change and national renewal' for the 97
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In November, the Prime Minister promised that the law would leave a "legacy of justice, change and national renewal" for the 97 people who died in the Hillsborough Stadium disaster.
"Hillsborough will always remain in our national consciousness for its tragedy and disgraceful injustice," Sir Keir said at the time.
"But today it can also be remembered for the way it changed our country for the better. Because with this law, we are changing the balance of power in Britain and ensuring that the State can never hide from the people it is supposed to serve."
Now, after the amendment was pulled, a Government spokesman has said: "This legislation will right the wrongs of the past, changing the balance of power to ensure the state can never hide from the people it should serve and putting a legal duty on officials to respond openly and honestly when things go wrong.
"The Bill will make the police, intelligence agencies and the whole of government more scrutinised than they have ever been. We must get this right to keep the country safe.
"We welcome continued support from victims and their families, making sure the Bill is the strongest it can possibly be while never compromising on national security."
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