Tuesday briefing: Why Sue Gray was ousted – and what it means for No 10

In today's newsletter: Gray was supposed to help Starmer govern in a structured way. Three months into power and she is already out - what happened?

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Keir Starmer promised to usher in a new era of stability and moderation" when Labour won the election, after years of Conservative failure, chaos and division". His grownups are in charge' leadership style was supposed to mark the end of the psychodrama that dominated previous governments. Instead, in the first 100 days of Starmer's administration, the prime minister has had to contend with leaks, infighting and scandals about gifts from donors.

Middle East | Israel launched an intense wave of air raids on southern Lebanon on Monday, with 100 aircraft targeting about 120 sites in the space of an hour, according to the Israeli military.

US election | Kamala Harris in a 60 Minutes interview has defended her economic plans, refused to call the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, a close ally and said she would not meet with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, for peace talks if Ukraine was not also represented.

Environment | The destruction of global forests increased in 2023 and is higher than when 140 countries promised three years ago to halt deforestation by the end of the decade, an analysis shows.

Economy | Ticket sales for the Oasis reunion tour helped to increase non-essential spending by British consumers to the highest level this year in September, alongside a bumper month for retailers.

Transport | Building HS2 all the way to London Euston and Crewe could save the government money by enabling it to lease the line out for much more, rail industry leaders have told ministers, as the Treasury weighs up whether to fund tunnels to central London.