First Minister John Swinney has accused the UK government of taking an "absolutely appalling" approach to welfare reform. MPs have backed changes to the social security system, but only after Labour ministers made major concessions to rebels that removed the bulk of the proposals for reforming disability benefits.

Sir Keir Starmer defended his welfare reform plans despite being forced into a humiliating climbdown which leaves an almost £5 billion black hole in the Government’s spending plans.The Prime Minister was forced to scrap plans to restrict eligibility for the personal independence payment (Pip) to avoid a Labour rebellion which could have led to him losing a crunch Commons vote.The change could force Chancellor Rachel Reeves to raise taxes in order to balance the books without the expected savings in the welfare budget.But at Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir defended what was left of the welfare reform package, telling MPs it will be “better for individuals, better for the taxpayer and better for the economy”.Ms Reeves, sitting next to Sir Keir, appeared to be crying on the front bench.Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Ms Reeves looked “absolutely miserable” and challenged the Prime Minister to say whether the Chancellor would keep her job until the next election.Sir Keir dodged the question about whether Ms Reeves would be in place for the remainder of the parliament, saying Mrs Badenoch “certainly won’t”.To receive the best stories in your inbox every day, click here to register for one or more newsletters from The Standard.

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted welfare reform is still on the table as he took the blame for Tuesday’s U-turn in the face of a major backbench rebellion. In an interview with the BBC, the Prime Minister acknowledged his Government did not “get the process right” and failed to “engage in the way that we should have done” on welfare changes.