Steerpike

To the US, where President Donald Trump has suggested his administration has 'found an answer to autism'. On Monday, Trump drew links between paracetamol and rising rates of autism across America. US health officials warned that acetaminophen (paracetamol) should be avoided in early pregnancy to avert the development of autism in later life, with Trump insisting at a press conference: 'Taking Tylenol (paracetamol) is not good. I'll say it. It's not good.' But the scientific evidence doesn't back up the President's position – and now in a break from the UK's love-in with Trump, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has dismissed the controversial claim. Speaking on ITV, Streeting urged voters to ignore Trump's autism claims: I trust doctors over President Trump, frankly, on this.

Labour might have recognised Palestinian statehood and green-lighted a new Gatwick runway, but Nigel Farage has once again managed to steal the show. This morning the Reform UK leader held a London press conference in which he announced his plans to abolish indefinite leave to remain, make foreign nationals ineligible to claim benefits and introduce an English standards test – which would be retaken every five years. Crikey! Reform has planned its headline domination well, with Farage and his head of policy Zia Yusuf taking aim at ex-prime minister Boris Johnson and the 'Boriswave' of immigration that came after Brexit.

Liberal Democrat party conference – four words which turn the blood of any lobby journalist cold. Yes, it is that time of year again: the annual five-day bonanza in which the perennial third party of British politics desperately tries to find some relevance. In his never-ending quest for headlines, Sir Ed Davey – the clown prince of Westminster – has alighted on a new stunt: leading a marching band, drum and all. Less Orange Book, more Orange Order... But for Davey, who furiously complains that his antics are not getting enough airtime, one wheeze is not enough. The Kingston MP is reprising his Love Actually routine by talking tough on Donald Trump and his administration. His latest target? Elon Musk, the owner of X.

The otherwise run-of-the-mill First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish Parliament came to a dramatic conclusion this afternoon. Before the Presiding Officer moved onto the next item of business, former Conservative leader Douglas Ross made a point of order alleging that he had been assaulted by an SNP government minister. Crikey!   He told SNP First Minister John Swinney: ‘As I left the chamber yesterday, I was physically assaulted and verbally abused by your minister for parliamentary business, Jamie Hepburn.’ Ross went on to urge Swinney to confirm he takes ‘a zero-tolerance approach to threatening and intimidating behaviour by his ministers’. Talk about the bare minimum, eh? The incident followed a clash in parliament yesterday over, er, seagulls.

Sadiq Khan has taken to the august pages of the Guardian today to vent about the US President, just hours after Donald Trump touched down in Britain. London's Mayor fumed about Trump's tariffs and the US president's criticism of the capital, before launching into a rant on how 'President Donald Trump and his coterie have perhaps done the most to fan the flames of divisive, far-right politics around the world'. Crikey! Khan continues: Six years later, the tactics we see from today's White House seem no different. Scapegoating minorities, illegally deporting US citizens, deploying the military to the streets of diverse cities. These actions aren't just inconsistent with western values – they're straight out of the autocrat's playbook. Talk about pulling no punches!

You spend ages waiting for a defection then two come along at once. On the same day that former Tory health minister Maria Caulfield defected to Reform, Mr S can reveal that Henry Smith, the former Conservative MP for Crawley, has also jumped ship. Smith was first elected to parliament in 2010 and was a member of a number of parliamentary committees – and will join Nigel Farage's party as an ordinary member. Meanwhile his colleague, and former minister, Caulfield proclaimed on GB News this morning that 'the future is Reform'. She told the outlet that: If you are Conservative right-minded, then the future is Reform. The country is going to change a lot. The same people who thought that Brexit would not happen think that Reform will not happen. They are in for a shock.

When it rains for Starmer, it pours. As if the Prime Minister didn't have enough on his plate – what with his deputy Angela Rayner resigning over her tax affairs before Starmer sacked Peter Mandelson from his ambassador role over his links to Jeffrey Epstein – now one of his top aides has quit over sexually explicit messages. Uh oh… It transpires that Paul Ovenden had exchanged messages with a former colleague in 2017 in which he discussed a game of 'shag, marry, kill' involving Labour MP Diane Abbott. In the messages, Ovenden – a close ally of Morgan McSweeney – retold a rather graphic account of the story in which two women described performing sex acts on the now 71-year-old MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington.

To the US, where the FBI has been searching for Charlie Kirk's shooter, after the 31-year-old was tragically killed while speaking at an Utah Valley University event. The Trump ally was a firm advocate of free speech and debate, and his death has shocked supporters across the world. The FBI has given a statement this afternoon after a man was arrested in connection with the incident, with Utah governor Spencer Cox confirming: 'We got him.' 22-year-old Tyler Robinson has named as the suspect, after a family member came forward with information that Robinson had implied he had committed the crime. The gunman was initially reported as on the loose – but earlier this afternoon the US President claimed that the police had arrested a suspect over the fatal attack.

Oh dear. It’s not just in Westminster that Keir Starmer’s party is having trouble. Welsh Labour are also having a meltdown as they prepare to face their next electoral test. The Caerphilly by-election – called after the tragic death of Hefin David – has kicked off in earnest, ahead of polling day on 23 October. The Welsh parliamentary constituency has been held by Labour since its creation in 1999. But it seems that the reds are doing all they can to lose this onetime safe seat, with both Plaid and Reform UK breathing down their necks… The Labour leader of Caerphilly council has sensationally resigned and left the Labour Party today. Sean Morgan has now told the BBC that he expects Plaid to win and Reform to come second and described his old party as a ‘busted flush.