See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy DAVID WILCOCK, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 09:01 BST, 13 July 2026 | Updated: 10:54 BST, 13 July 2026
Sir Keir Starmer will begin his final week as Prime Minister by spending two days out of the country.While Andy Burnham prepares to take over in No10, Sir Keir will travel to Paris today to join other allies of Ukraine for a meeting of the 'coalition of the willing'.The PM, nicknamed 'never here Keir' by critics of his foreign travel while in power, is also expected to join Emmanuel Macron for Bastille Day events on Tuesday, which will see the Grenadier Guards march alongside French troops.Sir Keir has visited Paris more than any other city during his two-year premiership, discussing help for Ukraine and also ways of stopping Channel migrant boats. Mr Burnham, the only candidate in Labour's leadership process, is expected to officially succeed Sir Keir on Monday.No other challenger can get the required 81 MPs needed to stand against Mr Burnham, as he has the support of 323 out of Labour's 403 MPs, and more are likely to nominate him today.Sir Keir will make a last effort to secure a legacy with the Hillsborough Law passing the Commons before he departs.The law change, officially known as the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, would create a legally-enforceable duty of candour which compels public officials and authorities to act transparently when investigations and inquiries take place. While Andy Burnham prepares to take over in No10, Sir Keir will travel to Paris today to join other allies of Ukraine for a meeting of the 'coalition of the willing' Mr Burnham, the only candidate in Labour's leadership process, is expected to officially succeed Sir Keir on MondayIt takes its name from the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 when 97 Liverpool fans were killed at the football stadium in Sheffield in a crush during an FA Cup semi-final match.After the disaster, key public servants, including the police, were found to have not told the truth about the decisions taken leading up to the fatal crush at the Leppings Lane end of the ground.It has been repeatedly delayed over concerns from the security services about how it could impact spies.The Government now believes it has reached a point where individual employees and ex-employees of the intelligence services will be covered by a duty of candour, without compromising national security. Elsewhere, Rachel Reeves is carrying out her final duties as Chancellor and is due to give her final Mansion House speech to the City on Tuesday, where she will lay out plans to support small businesses.On Sunday, Ms Reeves warned Mr Burnham that he must remain 'laser focused' on what he wants to achieve in power.Speaking to the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, she said: 'It is important that when Andy walks through that door, that he has a worked-through plan, because governing is hard in Britain, and lots of challenges and shocks will come his way.'What is really important is that him and his team are really clear about what they want to achieve. As those shocks come along, he needs to stay laser focused on those things that have always motivated him, have always driven him, and are the reason why he wants to lead our great country.'Ms Reeves has conceded she will not stay on as Mr Burnham's chancellor, and said it was 'perfectly reasonable' for him to be ambitious when asked about claims he had been plotting a bid to enter Downing Street for over a year.Mr Burnham is considering the possibility of an expanded budget in the autumn, according to the Financial Times.The newspaper said that once installed as Labour leader, he is mulling over including a departmental spending review with the autumn fiscal statement, to set out his overall strategy until the next election.
