Some 126 party backbenchers had signed an amendment that would halt the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill in its tracks.

Sir Keir Starmer insisted that he would plough on with the government's proposed welfare reforms. For Labour MPs, that only made things worse. Today's task for the prime minister and his team: make things better.

Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed his Government will water down its proposed cuts to Britain's ballooning benefits bill. The Prime Minister, who was pushing for a £5billion cut to welfare spending by slashing Personal Independence Payments and Universal Credit,