PCS union says Starmer’s criticism of civil servants ‘inaccurate and cowardly’ – UK politics live

Public and Commercial Services union joins FDA in criticising PM for the comments in his speech on Thursday

Here is the family photo' from today's British-Irish Council (BIC) summit in Edinburgh. The BIC was set up 25 years ago, after the Good Friday agreement, and today's summit is the 42nd it has held.

In an interview on LBC this morning Matthew Pennycook, the housing minister, was asked about Keir Starmer's criticism of civil servants in his speech yesterday. (See 11.22am.) He would not endorse Starmer's claim that some civil servants are comfortable with decline.

We've also got to do government differently. I was asked on a couple of other programmes this morning about the construction capacity problems that we're facing in terms of building those million and a half. We've got to do government differently. That isn't an MHCLG problem. That cuts across the Department for Education, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Business. We've got to break down silos in government.

And I think therefore, we have got to say to the civil service, we want to do things a bit differently, and you'll have to come on that journey with us.

I haven't experienced any particular civil servants in a tepid bath of declinism. They share our ambition. They are working absolutely flat out to make the changes to the planning system that we've already taken forward, and they'll continue to do that.