Why would the government pay Gerry Adams?

With rumours swirling around Westminster and after Keir Starmer’s less than convincing defence of his Chancellor earlier in the week, Rachel Reeves has found some brief respite. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed that inflation dipped to 2.5 per cent in the 12 months to December, down from 2.6 per cent the month before. It’s welcome news for a Chancellor who is under pressure, so is she safe?

Elsewhere, there is a fresh row emerging concerning Gerry Adams. The government is proposing to repeal legislation, enacted in 2023, that prevents Gerry Adams and 400 others from claiming ‘compensation’ for having been detained in the 1970s for suspected involvement in terrorism. Keir Starmer has said that he and his ministers will look at ‘every conceivable way’ to block Gerry Adams from receiving government money, but will they end up paying out? And who is Lord Hermer KC, and why is he at the centre of all of this?

Katy Balls speaks to Michael Gove and Kate Andrews.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.