Ollie Whitehouse, chief technology director of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), told Radio 4's The World at One that it is likely that incidents such as today's shutdown of computer systems due to a code issue will happen again. Whitehouse emphasised that there is no evidence that hackers have successfully exploited the PHP vulnerability, which is now being fixed.
According to him, the issue that led to the temporary closure of 32 government websites was identified several months ago. The NCSC was conducting a "coordinated disclosure process" to warn organisations about the vulnerability, but the process had to be accelerated due to a leak of information. The minister confirmed that 32 government services are currently offline while work is underway to resolve potential security issues.
In a separate development, the Office for National Statistics published a report on the gender pay gap. The pay gap for full-time employees in April 2026 stood at 6.8 per cent, a decrease from 7.2 per cent in April 2025. This figure compares with 9.4 per cent a decade ago and 16.4 per cent 25 years ago.
Healey was asked whether he believes banks are making excessive profits, which would be a consistent justification for increasing taxes on bank profits, as expected in next week's budget. "You know, banks are the engine of investment in this country. Banks are currently doing well and that is good to see," said Healey.
Andy Burnham received a flu vaccine and posted about it on Instagram. The Department of Health and Social Care is launching a public campaign to encourage eligible people to get vaccinated. Health Secretary James Frith said: "Vaccines save lives. It has never been easier to check if you are eligible and get vaccinated, protecting yourself and reducing pressure on the NHS during the winter season. Eligibility is targeted at the most vulnerable - from young children to older people and those with long-term health conditions - so if you are eligible, get in touch this winter."
In England, most children under 17 are eligible for a free flu vaccine, as are people over 65, people with certain long-term health conditions, pregnant women, carers and people living in care homes, people living with someone with a weakened immune system, homeless people, and frontline health and social care workers.
The latest edition of the Guardian's Politics Weekly UK podcast features a conversation between Jessica Elgot and Alexandrea Topping on whether the government will allow the development of the Rosebank oil field, after the less controversial Jackdaw gas field was approved yesterday.
Keir Starmer could be called to give evidence in the inquiry into grooming gangs, the Press Agency reports. Starmer, who ordered the inquiry last year, is listed as a key participant for hearings starting in December. Key participant status means he is among the people, groups and organisations to which the inquiry chair has formally assigned special status under public inquiry rules, giving him the right to participate in the inquiry. Although this status does not automatically mean he will have to give evidence, many key participants are called or compelled to do so. Others on the list include victims and their families, charities, whistleblowers, police chiefs and government departments.
The inquiry examines how grooming gangs operated in England and Wales and the response of the police, councils, health and social services, schools and other public bodies. A spokesperson for the inquiry said that the decision on key participant status "considers whether a person has played or could have played a direct and significant role in relation to the matters the inquiry is concerned with, has a significant interest in a material aspect of those matters, or may be exposed to express or significant criticism during the process or in the report", adding: "No one is beyond scrutiny or transparency and the inquiry follows the evidence, wherever it leads."
Starmer was prime minister when the grooming gangs inquiry was announced last year. He was also director of the Crown Prosecution Service from 2008 to 2013, a period when the CPS was criticised for being too reluctant to prosecute many cases of alleged child sexual abuse. As director of the Crown Prosecution Service, Starmer sought to change this - instructing prosecutors to be more sympathetic to victims and less inclined to disbelieve them or drop cases because victims might not be convincing witnesses.
