Matt Hancock latest news: MP faces political uncertainty after his stint at I’m a Celebrity

Rishi Sunak has been urged by more than 50 Tory MPs to change modern slavery laws with emergency legislation in a bid to reduce small boat crossings of the channel.

The prime minister was pressed by the group, including former cabinet ministers, to rapidly implement a “simple” change in the law to help tackle the issue.

They want changes to modern slavery laws to make it easier for people they believe are “bogus asylum seekers”, who say they are victims of trafficking, to be returned.

Read the details in this report:

A £1bn scheme to make middle-income homes more energy efficient is being launched along with a public information campaign advising people how to cut power usage.

Energy secretary Grant Shapps confirmed the new Eco+ scheme to extend support for insulating homes as he tries to get households to reduce energy consumption.

Labour criticised it as a “reheated announcement with no new resources” that comes “far too little too late”.

Hundreds of thousands of households could receive loft and cavity wall insulation under the scheme running for three years from spring.

It is predominantly being targeted at households that do not currently get support to upgrade homes, though a fifth of the funding will be targeted at the most vulnerable.

Some £18m will also be spent on a public information campaign giving advice about turning down boiler temperatures and radiators to save energy.

Reducing boiler flow temperatures from 75C to 60C and turning down radiators in empty rooms could save a typical household £160 per year, according to the guidance to be published on the help for households website.

Mr Shapps said: “A new Eco scheme will enable thousands more to insulate their homes, protecting the pounds in their pockets and creating jobs across the country.

“And in the short term, our new public information campaign will also give people the tools they need to reduce their energy use while keeping warm this winter.”

Rishi Sunak hopes a “blueprint” inspired by the coronavirus vaccine rollout will help tackle the NHS’s four “healthcare missions” of cancer, obesity, mental health and addiction.

The prime minister has announced more than £113m in funding for research into cutting-edge treatments and technologies with the aim of encouraging breakthroughs.

Each mission will be led by an independent expert, with each one being chosen by an expert panel including Dame Kate Bingham, who headed the vaccine taskforce.

More than 4,000 European doctors have opted not to work in the NHS following the Brexit vote in 2016, research has revealed.

According to analysis from the Nuffield Trust health think tank, the pre-Brexit number of doctor specialists working in the NHS in 2021 was forecast to be 41,321.

However the research, which was conducted on behalf of The Guardian, shows the actual figure for 2021 to be 37,035 – more than 4,000 less than the pre-EU referendum projections.

Suella Braverman gave lessons to Rwandan government lawyers during trips supported by president Paul Kagame, The Independent can reveal.

The home secretary travelled to the country in 2008 and 2010, and later co-founded a charity that cooperated with the government in Kigali and trained lawyers now working inside Rwanda’s justice ministry.

At the time, she suggested that the country did not have a “properly functioning legal system”, but told MPs this week that Rwanda was a “fundamentally safe and secure country” suitable for receiving asylum seekers from the UK.

Our home affairs editor Lizzie Dearden reports in this exclusive:

The government must say whether it intends to bring forward new plans to address the cancer treatment backlog in the wake of the pandemic, the new Tory chairman of the health and social care committee has said.

Conservative MP Steve Brine expressed doubt that the government still intended to bring forward a new cancer treatment plan.

The former health minister also claimed that holding the government’s feet to the fire over the backlog would be his top priority, following his election by MPs to the committee chairmanship in early November.

Read more in this report:

Business secretary Grant Shapps has written to energy suppliers to warn them not overcharge customers making “huge efforts” to cut their usage.

The cabinet minister said he was “disturbed” at reports that some customers had seen a huge spike in direct debit charges despite cutting back on the amount of gas and electricity.

Mr Shapps urged the utility giants to reflect what homes are actually using in their prices, as hard-pressed families struggle to pay bills struggling during the cost of living crisis.

Rishi Sunak should “revisit” the Brexit trade deal already agreed with the EU as part of an effort to forge closer economic ties with the bloc, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change has said.

The think tank said it was time to consider ways to improve on the trade and cooperation agreement (TCA) signed by Boris Johnson, which is due for review at the end of 2025.

It comes as new analysis revealed that UK export growth has fallen well behind that of other major economies, including Germany and France, despite claims by the Conservative government that Brexit would boost British business abroad.

My colleague Adam Forrest has more:

Britain’s export growth has fallen well behind that of other major countries, including Germany and the US, since the Tories came to power, new analysis shows.

Figures collated by the House of Commons Library show that UK trade exports grew just 24.4 per cent between 2010 and 2021, representing the lowest rate of growth among G7 countries apart from Japan.

The EU averaged export growth of 35.5 per cent during the same period, while the US saw a 37 per cent boost and Germany averaged 34.5 per cent – all substantially better than the UK.

Our policy correspondent Jon Stone has more:

Former health secretary Matt Hancock will return to face angry colleagues, constituents and questions about his political future in Westminster after coming third in ITV’s I’m A Celebrity.

The West Suffolk MP surpassed the expectations of many by reaching the final but came behind winner Jill Scott and Hollyoaks actor Owen Warner in a public vote on Sunday night.

His 18 days in the Australian jungle has seen him suspended from the Conservative parliamentary party and criticised by colleagues including Rishi Sunak.

Read more in this report about what his colleagues think about the stint: