A Labour grandee has expressed concern over new guidance to prevent people who arrive in the UK illegally from getting British citizenship.

An update to the Home Office’s guidance for caseworkers, entitled Nationality: Good Character Requirement, states that anyone applying for British citizenship from Monday who arrived in the UK illegally “will normally be refused, regardless of the time that has passed since the illegal entry took place”.

On Wednesday afternoon, former home secretary Lord Blunkett was granted a rare urgent question in the upper chamber on the topic.

He said: “Will [the minister on duty] ask the home secretary to reflect on the societal and cohesion aspects of this policy, the impact on children and their right to UK citizenship and the statelessness which would arise for individuals if their birth country refused to renew or retain their nationality?”

Lord Blunkett added: “Surely this parliament should have a say in such a big change.”

Home Office minister Lord Hanson responded: “He will know that the proposals today are about illegal entry to the United Kingdom and do not affect rightful citizenship applications for people who are entering the UK legally.

“In terms of those who are stateless and at risk of losing citizenship for people who do qualify, there is a stateless leave provision and they can apply for that and children again will be considered sympathetically on the existing legislation.”

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The UK needs a “cool and clear-headed” response to Donald Trump imposing 25 per cent tariffs on British steel exports, the trade minister has said.

The US president announced the heavy levies on foreign steel and aluminium on Monday, saying they will be enforced “without exceptions or exemptions”.

Douglas Alexander, the UK minister of state for trade policy, was called to the House of Commons to answer an urgent question on the president’s proclamation.

He said: “British industry needs and deserves is not a knee jerk reaction, but a cool and clear-headed sense of the UK’s national interest based on a full assessment of all the implications of the US’ actions.”

He added: “Historically, we have benefited from a strong and balanced trade relationship with the United States worth around £300 billion and supporting millions of jobs. So in trade policy, we stand ready to work with president Trump to find solutions that work for both the United Kingdom and the United States.”

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A Foreign Office minister has said the UK would “oppose” Donald Trump’s proposal for Palestinians to leave Gaza.

Anneliese Dodds told MPs on Thursday morning: “We would oppose any effort to move Palestinians in Gaza to neighbouring Arab states against their will.

“There must be no forced displacement of Palestinians, nor any reduction in the territory of the Gaza Strip.”

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Nigel Farage has suggested the US president-elect and his friend, Donald Trump, is opposed to the UK government’s decision to handover sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

Granted an urgent question on the subject, the Reform UK leader claimed there is “outright hostility” to the deal among Trump’s incoming administration.

He told the House: “There is, I can assure you, having been in America last week — knowing also the incoming defence secretary [Pete Hegseth] very well — there is outright hostility to this deal.”

Farage added: “There is no basis for this agreement to continue where it is, and if you do, you’ll be at conflict with a country without which we would be defenceless.”

The minister, Stephen Doughty, responded: “I’m afraid, obviously, I fundamentally disagree with what the honourable gentleman has had to say.

“Let me be absolutely clear. This government inherited a situation where the long-term, secure operation of this crucial military base [Diego Garcia] … was under threat.”

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Nick Thomas-Symonds has said the Conservative Party “showed zero respect for the ministerial code” when it was in power amid questions over Labour’s decision to announce aspects of their budget ahead the chancellor’s statement on Wednesday.

It was put to Thomas-Symonds, the paymaster general, on Tuesday that Labour’s budget conduct could have “broken the ministerial code”.

Thomas-Symonds responded: “The party opposite, which showed zero respect for the ministerial code in office, trying to put questions like that. It really is appalling. It is double standards.”

The accusation came during an urgent question, granted by the speaker to shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Laura Trott. In her address, Trott said that the government “seems to be taking lessons from the worst bits of our record.”

Thomas-Symonds hit back, admitting to a “degree of cynicism” about the Conservative Party’s “newfound passion for parliamentary conventions”.

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Wes Streeting hit back at accusations of Labour cronyism in response to an urgent question (UQ) on Monday afternoon.

The health secretary was brought before the commons by his shadow, Victoria Atkins, following a Sunday Times report that held former Labour politician Alan Milburn had been invited to meetings and shown health department documents, despite not holding an official role.

Atkins, who was granted a UQ on the matter, asked: “Has Mr. Milburn declared his business interests to the department? And can the right honourable gentleman [Streeting] reassure the House on how these conflicts are being managed?”

Streeting responded: “If she wants to lead with her chin and talk cronyism, let’s talk cronyism. Why don’t we talk about Owen Patterson lobbying ministers on behalf of Randox? They care so much about cronyism, they welcome Lord Cameron back with open arms following his paid lobbying for Greensill”.

“Let’s not even get into Baroness Mone and the £200 million contract for PPE”, he added.

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Speaking after the deputy foreign secretary Andrew Mitchell answered an urgent question on Israel’s military action in Rafah, Suella Braverman called for confirmation that the UK government will continue to support Israel “as she finishes the job to eliminate Hamas from Gaza”.

Mitchell replied that the former home secretary “makes clear in what she says that Israel has the right of self-defence”.

He added that Israel “must abide by international humanitarian law”.

Labour MP John McDonnell went on to call for the deputy foreign secretary and the UK government to “lead an international exercise to prevent this attack [in Rafah]”.

“One way of preventing it is to make it clear to Netanyahu, if this goes ahead, this government will pursue him as a war criminal into the international courts”, the former shadow chancellor added. 

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Ed Miliband was today granted an urgent question after ministers revealed last week that no additional offshore windfarms will go ahead in the UK after the latest government auction.

The shadow secretary of state for energy security and net zero said: “This auction is an energy security disaster for Britain, an act of economic self-harm by this government. No new offshore wind projects means energy bills for families will be higher by £2 billion and our energy security weakened”.

The minister Graham Stuart responded by calling the round “highly successful” and criticising the record of the last Labour government on renewable energy.

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The trade minister Nigel Huddleston was today called to the commons to answer an Urgent Question from the Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan on Britain’s accession to CPTPP.

The minister responded: “Accession to the agreement sends a powerful signal that the UK is using our post-Brexit freedoms to boost our economy”.

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The rail minister Huw Merriman was today called to the commons to answer an Urgent Question from the shadow secretary of state Louise Haigh on proposals to remove up to 1000 ticket offices from train stations.

Ms Haigh said: “Can he simply acknowledge to the House, the Conservatives can’t fix the railways because they broke them in the first place?”.

Mr Merriman said “I welcome the fact the rail industry has launched consultations on the future of ticket offices under the ticketing and settlement agreement process”.

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The Foreign Office minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan was today called to the commons to answer an Urgent Question from the Labour MP Beth Winter on Israel’s attacks on Jenin in the West Bank.

Ms Winter said: “Can the foreign secretary say what steps he will take to review whether the IDF [Isreali Defence Force] has made any use of UK arms sold to Israel in this attack and will immediately suspend all arms sales, including surveillance technology?”.

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The immigration minister Robert Jenrick was today called to the commons to answer an Urgent Question from the shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper on the Home Office’s impact assessment on the illegal migration bill.

Ms Cooper said: “They’ve crashed the economy, now they’ve crashed the asylum system, too. You’ve got an impact assessment that shows the Home Office haven’t got a clue”.

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The victims minister Edward Argar was today called to the commons to answer an Urgent Question, from the Labour MP Dame Diana Johnson on Section 58 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.

The 1861 law was used to prosecute mother-of-three Carla Foster who was convicted of inducing an abortion outside the legal limit using pills at home.

Dame Diana said: “It throws a spotlight on our antiquated abortion laws, and government and parliament must look at this outdated legislation and make it fit for the 21st century”.

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The economic secretary Andrew Griffith was today called to the commons to answer an urgent question from the shadow chief secretary of the treasury Pat McFadden on developments in the UK mortgage market.

Mr McFadden said: “While they enacted their teenage right wing pamphlet fantasies using the country like lab rats, homeowners and renters were left to pay the price”.

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The immigration minister Robert Jenrick was today called to the commons to answer an urgent question from the shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper on the newly-announced immigration figures.

Ms Cooper raised the absence of the home secretary. “Where is the home secretary who is in charge of these policies? … What is the point of her net?”, she asked.

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The paymaster general Jeremy Quin was today called to the commons to answer an urgent question from deputy leader of the Labour Party Angela Rayner on the criteria for launching an investigation into a potential breach of the Ministerial Code.

Ms Rayner said: “As Ministers know, the home secretary [Suella Brvaerman] has already admitted to breaching the ministerial code by using personal emails to share sensitive government information. So I ask the Minister today, how many strikes before she’s out?”.

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The crime and policing minister Chris Philp was today called to the commons to answer an urgent question from the SNP MP Alison Thewliss on the implications of the National Crime Agency’s investigation into Javad Marandi, a Conservative Party donor.

Ms Thewliss said: “Mr. Marandi, as a significant donor to the Conservative Party, Electoral Commission figures show that he donated £756,300 to the Tories between August 2014 and November 2020, while the Laundromat investigation was ongoing and that this money secured access to the Conservative Leader Group and Advisory Board”.

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