LIVE - Updated at 05:22
Boris Johnson has refused to rule out making a political comeback once he is replaced in No 10 Downing Street by either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak.
The prime minister spoke to broadcasters earlier while promoting a gigabit broadband roll out in north Dorset.
"I think on the whole people in this country are more interested in their gigabit broadband than they are in the fate of this or that politician," he said when asked about potential return.
Since Mr Johnson announced that he was resigning as Tory leader and PM there has been speculation that he could try to make a "Trump-style" return to the frontline.
Earlier, critics said Ms Truss's plan to drill for more North Sea oil and gas "is not the answer" to the cost of living crisis.
The foreign secretary and favourite to replace Mr Johnson is reportedly poised to approve a series of drilling licences if she enters No 10 Downing Street next week.
Thanks for following our live updates, we are pausing our coverage for the evening.
She has certainly had time to travel to every corner of the UK, saying the same thing over and over again to tiny audiences of Tory members - but actual proper scrutiny, for a mainstream TV audience, is the one thing for which suddenly the diary finds itself too full, writes Tom Peck.
Red Tom's full piece here:
Liz Truss dodging a BBC interview isn't clever - it's an embarrassment | Tom Peck
Britons faced with an 80 per cent increase in the energy price cap face tough times ahead but should have a sense of "hope and perspective", Boris Johnson said.
The outgoing prime minister said a "huge amount" of help for households had already been promised and his successor - either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak - would provide further support.
Mr Johnson highlighted the announcements already made which will see £1,200 going to the eight million most vulnerable households.
But he added: "Whichever of the two candidates gets in next week, what the government is also going to do is provide a further package of support for helping people with the cost of energy.
"What we've got to do is get through the tough months - and I'm not going to shrink from this, it is going to be tough in the months to come, it's going to be tough through to next year."
Boris Johnson said the "driving out" of gigabit broadband across the countryside "will deliver the basic fundamentals for prosperity and growth for decades to come".
He said: "What we're looking at here is the effort of companies up and down the country, but particularly here is North Dorset where what they're doing is putting in gigabit broadband at an incredible pace and they're doing it with government support."
He added: "When I first became prime minister only 7 per cent of the premises in this country had gigabit broadband, that's now up to 70 per cent. If you put it into remote rural communities what you're going to do is level up.
"If you give people opportunities they wouldn't have had...the ability to connect in a way that was completely unimaginable and that enables businesses to thrive and prosper in remote areas. It means people can stay where they grew up, they don't have to go to live in towns or cities and it is absolutely transformational."
He added: "What we're seeing now is the driving out of gigabit communications across the countryside and that will deliver the basic fundamentals for prosperity and growth for decades to come."
Boris Johnson refused to rule out a political comeback as he faced his final few days in No 10.
On a visit to Dorset he refused to be drawn on his plans after he is replaced as prime minister by Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak next week.
Asked if he would rule out a comeback, he told reporters: "I think on the whole people in this country are more interested in their gigabit broadband than they are in the fate of this or that politician."
Mr Johnson's demise was ultimately triggered by the row after former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher's was accused of inappropriate behaviour.
Asked if he had regrets about the way allegations of misconduct had been dealt with, Mr Johnson said: "All those things have to be handled carefully and sensitively and we have processes for dealing with them, and people who have complaints should raise them in the normal way."
A major donor to the Conservatives has threatened to pull funding unless the party overhauls its leadership rules - calling the process "corrupt".
Peter Cruddas, a leading Boris Johnson ally who had pushed for him to be on the ballot this summer, called for major changes to stop future Tory prime ministers being removed in the same way.
Our politics correspondent Adam Forrest reports:
Boris Johnson-backing Tory donor will pull funds unless 'corrupt' rules change
Andy Burnham has criticised Labour leader Keir Starmer's policy of discouraging party frontbenchers from joining striking workers at picket lines.
The Labour mayor of Greater Manchester said he would join Mick Lynch - leader of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) - on a picket line.
Our politics correspondent Adam Forrest reports:
Andy Burnham clashes with Keir Starmer over picket line policy
Labour's leader over the Conservatives has been reduced to 8 per cent, according to a poll.
YouGov's latest survey has the governing party on 31 per cent, with Labour on 39 per cent.
The Lib Dems aee Greens are unchanged on 11 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.
Latest Westminster voting intention (23-24 Aug)
Con: 31% (+3 from 16-17 Aug)
Lab: 39% (-4)
Lib Dem: 11% (=)
Green: 7% (=)
Reform UK: 5% (+1)
SNP: 5% (=)https://t.co/Dhst3WRnmg pic.twitter.com/DNu4DP9pJ7
'It's going so much worse than you think!' is seemingly our national motto at the moment, writes Marie Le Conte.
Read Marie's full piece here:
Three friends in different jobs - the state of the nation laid bare | Marie Le Conte
Former chancellor Alistair Darling has some advice from the 2008 financial crisis that may prove useful, writes Chris Stevenson
Read Chris's full piece below:
Analysis: The government should go further than it thinks with energy bill help
Truss will oversee the greatest transfer of wealth in history, from UK families to oil and gas executives she used to work for, writes Donnachadh McCarthy
Read Donnachadh's full piece here:
Opinion: Liz Truss's energy plans will be disastrous for our bills and the planet
Birmingham has become the latest council announcing measures to provide or highlight so-called "warm banks" - by pledging to "map out spaces across the city where people can go to keep warm", Adam Forrest, our politics correspondent, reports.
Councillor John Cotton, cabinet member at the Labour-run local authority, said: "Whether that's local community centres, places of worship or libraries, we want to help people to find places where they will be welcomed, free of charge."
He added: "It should not be the case that people cannot afford to keep their homes warm, but that is the reality that we are facing here in Birmingham."
Greenpeace has warned new drilling oil and gas could take 25 years to pump out and "have no real impact on energy bills", while exacerbating climate change.
Tory leadership frontrunner has pledged to grant new permits if she wins the contest to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister.
Greenpeace UK's chief scientist Dr Doug Parr said: "Unleashing a North Sea drilling frenzy isn't a plan to help bill payers but a gift to the fossil fuel giants already making billions from this crisis.
"New oil and gas could take a quarter of a century to pump out, will be eventually sold at global prices, and have no real impact on energy bills, yet still fuel the climate crisis.
"Our gas dependence is what got us into this mess and doubling down on it won't get us out of it. New renewables are nine times cheaper than gas. Turbo-charging renewables and fixing our energy-wasting homes by investing in insulation is the quickest way to reduce our gas dependence and bring energy bills under control."
"If Liz Truss really wants to help cash-strapped households, she should bring in an energy bill freeze alongside extra financial support for the poorest households, partly funded by properly taxing the astronomical profits of oil and gas companies."
Boris Johnson has hailed the expansion of gigabit-speed broadband as he seeks to emphasise his achievements as prime minister during his final week in office.
The outgoing premier will on Tuesday visit north Dorset, where work is kicking off on the first major contract under the government's Project Gigabit, the £5 billion programme to roll out more reliable broadband to hard-to-reach areas.
Sophie Wingate reports:
Johnson hails gigabit broadband expansion as he enters final week in office
Liz Truss will "crash the public finances" if she pursues a huge VAT cut, a leading economist is warning, amid fresh confusion over her plans for the cost of living emergency.
Our deputy politics editor Rob Merrick reports:
'Simplistic' Liz Truss warned her VAT cut will 'crash the public finances'
Trade union leaders have backed co-ordinated action over pay as the UK's cost of living crisis escalates.
Frances O'Grady, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), said: "It always makes sense for working people to work together".
The UK's largest two unions are seeking to co-ordinate industrial action as they step up pay demands this winter.
Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:
Trade union leaders back co-ordinated pay action as cost of living crisis escalates
DCMS minister Matt Warman lost his internet connection this morning...while giving an interview about the government's rollout of broadband in southern England.
Mr Warman was speaking to LBC when his line into the show appeared to drop out.
The irony was not lost on host Nick Ferrari: "This is handy. You're the broadband minister and you can't hear me." Watch more of the exchange below:
'This is handy - you're the broadband minister and you can't hear me.'@NickFerrariLBC brands it 'sensational' after the Digital Minister's line cuts out during an interview about a new £5bn project to upgrade broadband... pic.twitter.com/msB5AzvZBW
Dodds has also criticised Truss's reported plan to authorise more oil and gas drilling licences in the North Sea.
The plan, Dodds said, "is not the answer" to reducing soaring energy bills now as she warned the price cap rise would "plunge many, many households into financial distress", she told Times Radio.
The Labour Party chair also criticised the foreign secretary's reported plan to slash VAT.
More comments here:
'Is cutting VAT a viable option to save the public from higher bills?'
Labour Party Chair @AnnelieseDodds says Labour would focus specifically on energy bills.
Politics live updates ?? https://t.co/fqA5raDNTW
?? Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/qBpbSleV76
Anneliese Dodds, the Labour Party chairwoman, has been out on the broadcast round for the opposition.
She accused Tory leadership rivals Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak over their plans to alleviate the cost of living crisis.
Ms Dodds said her party would only ever set out plans that "we have fully costed". "I'm afraid right now from the Conservatives we're just getting fantasy economics," she told Times Radio.
Liz Truss's camp says she will not finalise her plans for crucial cost-of-living support before receiving the "full support and advice" only available to the government of the day.
The public will likely be forced to wait to find out what help they will get with skyrocketing energy bills until Ms Truss is expected to replace Boris Johnson in Downing Street next week.
The Tory leadership frontrunner has been accused by Labour of causing families "unnecessary worry" with her "flip-flopping" on potential measures to deal with the cost-of-living crisis.
Her campaign, which is under growing pressure to detail how she would help households this winter, said that meetings offered with Government officials to prepare for a possible transition do not cover all the information needed for Ms Truss to make an informed decision.
A campaign source said: "Liz and her team are working to ensure that they are able to hit the ground running if she is elected Prime Minister.
"Access meetings with the Cabinet Secretary have been offered to provide limited briefings to help prepare for forming an administration.
"But addressing the cost of living crisis will rightly require the full support and advice that is only available to the government of the day."
The government's Levelling up agenda could be abandoned when Boris Johnson leaves office due to rising inflation, experts have warned.
Neil O'Brien, a former Levelling up minister and Mr Johnson's adviser on the issue, has said that inflation "will make a lot of projects less viable".
He told The Times: "Construction cost is even higher than general price inflation.
"A lot of councils will be looking at de-scoping projects or dropping elements. But short-term, ironically, it may reduce spending and slow needed progress, because councils may sit on their hands while they rework their projects."
Henri Murison, the director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership lobbying group, said: "The problem is the government doesn't give you what it costs to build something, it's a fixedfunding agreement, and lots of councils are going to be stuck either having to give the whole money back or make up the difference themselves."
As we've been reporting, Matt Warman has been out on the broadcast round for the government.
The department for digital, culture, media and sport minister has been talking about the Tory leadership contest, among other topics.
The race to replace Boris Johnson concludes next week and has been playing out as the cost of living crisis worsens.
Mr Warman says it is "regrettable" that the contest has gone on for so long. Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:
Tory minister says leadership contest during cost of living crisis 'regrettable'
Andy Burnham has said he does not support a movement calling on consumers to withhold payment for energy bills in protest against the rising cost of living.
The Greater Manchester mayor told Sky News he understood why people were joining Don't Pay UK but that "we have to live within the rule of law".
"At this stage it's definitely a step I wouldn't support. We've got to live within the rule of law. We've got to keep a country where people respect the rules and the way of doing things.
"I understand why people are saying it but I wouldn't in any way recommend that that's the way people should go.
"What we need is action to make things affordable for people, but I do feel that that kind of call will increase unless we see the scale of action that is going to be needed."
"More needs to be done" on cost-of-living support, DCMS minister Matt Warman has said, adding it was "fair and sensible" for the new prime minister to "make the detailed plans that people need to see".
He told Sky News: "Well I think it's obvious that the package that was put forward a few weeks' ago was done in slightly different circumstances and I think that's why you've seen both leadership candidates lay out to some extent the fact that some more needs to be done, yes."
On timing, Mr Warman added: "Well it's right I think when we have... a new prime minister due to be put in place on Monday, then it's going to be for them to make the detailed plans that people need to see. I think that's a fair and sensible process."
He added: "That's why he (Boris Johnson) and Nadhim Zahawi (the Chancellor) have been working on what the options might be, but I do think it's only fair and reasonable that someone who is going to take over in less than a week's time has the right to say 'this is how I think is best to take the country forward' through what are going to be immensely challenging times."
More comments from Mr Warman below:
Ukraine claims to have broken through Russian lines in the south near Kherson, an area occupied by Russia since the early days of the war.
RUSI Research Fellow Ed Arnold details the importance of Kherson for Ukraine
Updates ?? https://t.co/FTurMNcN63
?? Sky 501 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/MLf687bQXc
Labour has accused chancellor Nadhim Zahawi of "jetting off to an international chinwag" while families struggle with the rising cost of living.
Mr Zahawi is taking a trip to New York and Washington DC to discuss measures to tackle soaring energy costs. He said he wanted to "work closely with my allies on the common challenges we face to create a fairer and more resilient economy at home and abroad" during the visit.
However it is not clear how constructive this will be as Liz Truss is widely tipped to replace Mr Zahawi as chancellor if she wins the Tory leadership contest.
James Murray, Labour's shadow financial secretary to the Treasury, said: "Families across the country are desperately worried about the massive rise in energy bills that is on the way but we're stuck with this do-nothing Tory government. Now we discover the chancellor is jetting off to an international chinwag."
Rishi Sunak's team have accused Liz Truss of "avoiding scrutiny" by pulling out of a set-piece BBC interview at the last minute.
Ms Truss had been scheduled to do a sit-down interview with presenter Nick Robinson on BBC One this evening but has now cancelled.
It is the second time she has avoided doing a detailed interview with the BBC after she decided not to speak with Andrew Neil earlier in the contest.
An ally of Mr Sunak told The Times: "It's important that candidates face proper scrutiny so that [party] members and the public know what they are offering. Avoiding that scrutiny suggests either Truss doesn't have a plan at all or the plan she has falls far short of the challenges we face this winter."
Liz Truss is expected to approve a series of oil and gas drilling licences in the North Sea if she becomes prime minister, The Times has reported.
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng and Brexit opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg have reportedly been meeting with oil and gas companies to negotiate a deal to secure energy supplies this winter.
Their plan includes securing more gas from Norway and increasing domestic supplies, according to the paper.
If Ms Truss wins the leadership, she is expected to invite new drilling licence applications to explore new fields. As many as 130 new licences could be issued.
Green campaigners have argued that the oil and gas produced in Britain will not benefit domestic customers, but will instead be sold on the global market.
Liz Truss will not finalise her plans for crucial cost-of-living support till she receives the "full support and advice" only available to the government of the day, her camp has said.
The public will likely be forced to wait to find out what help they will get with skyrocketing energy bills until Ms Truss is expected to replace Boris Johnson in Downing Street next week.
The Tory leadership frontrunner has been accused by Labour of causing families "unnecessary worry" with her "flip-flopping" on potential measures to deal with the cost-of-living crisis.
Read the full story here:
Truss cost-of-living plan stalled until she gets 'full support and advice' as PM
Departing leader Boris Johnson is already plotting his return to No 10 and thinks he can save the Conservatives at the next general election, former cabinet ministers have said.
"We know that he was ambitious to be prime minister and stay prime minister," David Gauke, a former justice secretary, said in a magazine article.
Mr Johnson is spending his last week in the prime ministerial office after being forced out of power by an accumulation of scandals.
The cabinet members are arguing that Mr Johnson will nevertheless be dreaming of how his party will turn back to him "in desperation".
Read the full story here:
Ex-Tory cabinet ministers say Boris Johnson is already plotting his comeback
Liz Truss is likely to declare China an official threat to the UK's national security if she wins the Conservative leadership race, according to a report.
Ms Truss is vowing to revise Britain's foreign policy if she defeats her opponent Rishi Sunak and enters No 10.
Allies from the foreign secretary's camp have indicated that she will put China in the same category as Russia - that of an "acute threat" - in the UK's integrated review published last year, The Times reported.
The Tory leadership frontrunner has displayed a firm stance against China during her time in the foreign office.
She also pulled up China's ambassador to the UK for crisis talks over Beijing's "aggressive and wide-ranging escalation" in Taiwan earlier this month.
Boris Johnson has cheered on the expansion of gigabit-speed broadband as he seeks to emphasise his achievements as prime minister during his final week in office.
Gigabit broadband is now available to 70 per cent of UK homes and businesses, data from the ThinkBroadband website will show, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said.
Mr Johnson is set to visit north Dorset today, where work is kicking off on the first major contract under the government's Project Gigabit, the £5 billion programme to roll out more reliable broadband to hard-to-reach areas.
"From Sherbourne to Stirling, lightning-fast broadband is levelling up towns and villages across the country," Mr Johnson said.
He added: "In just three years we have increased the coverage of gigabit broadband from 7 per cent of households to 70 per cent, and I am proud that today more than 20 million households, businesses and organisations are able to tap into rapid and reliable internet, unleashing their potential, creating opportunities and driving growth across the country."
Read the full report here:
Johnson hails gigabit broadband expansion as he enters final week in office
Liz Truss has cancelled her only TV interview of the Tory leadership campaign as her team claimed that the frontrunner is too busy - sparking fresh concerns about her willingness to face scrutiny.
Ms Truss, considered the favourite to be the next prime minister, was due to be quizzed by the BBC's Nick Robinson on Tuesday evening, but has pulled out because she can "no longer spare the time".
The decision comes after Ms Truss's economic plans were strongly criticised by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), which warned massive unfunded tax cuts would "crash the public finances".
Announcing the cancellation, the BBC's press office said: "Ms Truss's team say she can no longer spare the time to appear on 'Our Next Prime Minister'.
"We regret that it has not been possible to do an in depth interview with both candidates despite having reached agreement to do so," it said - referring to Mr Robinson's interview with Rishi Sunak earlier this month.
Read the full story here:
'Too busy': Liz Truss cancels only TV interview of Tory leadership race
Liz Truss's "flip-flopping" on support for families staring at skyrocketing energy bills is causing them "unnecessary worry", Labour has said.
The opposition accused the Tory leadership frontrunner and her rival Rishi Sunak of lacking a plan to deal with the cost-of-living crisis.
Neither Ms Truss nor Mr Sunak have spelled out exactly how they would further support households this winter with days to go before one of them is named as Boris Johnson's successor.
Read the full report here:
Liz Truss 'flip-flopping' on energy bills causing 'unnecessary worry' - Labour
Good morning! Welcome to our coverage of UK politics for Tuesday 30 August.