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Education ministerStephen Morgan MPis speaking to Sophy Ridge about the government's main announcement of the day, which is rolling out more free school meals.

From September 2026, children of parents who are on universal credit will get free school meals. That adds up to half a million children, and will lift some 100,000 out of poverty, ministers say.

Morgan says it's a "significant uplift" - and that's why it will take more than one year before it comes in, with schools needing time to prepare.

And he hints there is more to come. 

'We've been listening really carefully'

Pressed by Sophy, he says the government has "absolutely" been exploring lifting the two-child benefit cap as part of its child poverty taskforce, which reports back later this year.

"We've been listening really carefully" to outside voices, he says, and ministers want to "make sure" any such policies are costed first.

Could it be an announcement for the autumn budget?

Russia's UK ambassador has told Sky News that Ukraine's recent attacks risk escalating the conflict to "World War III", as he partly blamed the UK.

Andrei Kelin warned Ukraine's actions "are bringing the conflict to a different level of escalation", speaking to our lead world news presenter Yalda Hakim, and said Kyiv should "not try to engulf World War III".

"That's the very worst case scenario that we can imagine," he said.

'I don't believe America is involved'

More than a hundred Ukrainian drones were deployed inside Russia over the weekend, destroying more than 40 warplanes in an attack Volodymyr ZelenAG百家乐在线官网y said "will undoubtedly be in history books".

Mr Kelin pointed the finger at the UK when he said Ukraine must have had assistance in the attacks.

"[This] kind of attack involves, of course, provision of very high technology, so-called geospaced data, which only can be done by those who have it in possession. And this is London and Washington," he said.

"I don't believe that America [is involved], that has been denied by President Trump, definitely, but it has not been denied by London."

Reform's chairman has quit, but will it even matter?

Our political correspondent Serena Barker-Singh says it's unlikely to dent the party's surging popularity in the polls.

For many supporters, "Nigel Farage is the party" - and so long as he's there, they'll back Reform, she says.

But since the last general election, Farage has wanted to transform Reform from merely being a popular party and into a "credible force in British politics".

That means more seats at Westminster. They still only have five MPs.

"They want to do what the Lib Dems did last time - transform popularity into seats," says Serena. Both parties got a similar vote share, but the Liberal Democrats got more than 70 MPs out of it.

Zia Yusuf was the man behind that effort. His departure might not hurt Reform's polling numbers, "but where it will hurt them is translating that into more of a credible machine".

Our flagship weeknight politics programme is under way.

On the show tonight is education minister Stephen Morgan MP.

On the panel are former Labour minister Caroline Flint and journalist Daisy McAndrew.

Watch live in the stream at the top of this page.

Reform's rival parties are making hay with news of Zia Yusuf's departure.

A Labour spokesperson asks: "If Nigel Farage can't manage a handful of politicians, how on earth could he run a country?

"He has fallen out with everyone he has ever worked with. Reform are just not serious."

The Liberal Democrats said "by sacking himself, Zia Yusuf seems to be leading the 'UK DOGE' by example".

"You have to admire his commitment to the cause."

The Conservatives have also chipped in with the jibes, saying Farage's party has fallen into "chaos".

One of their MPs, James Cleverly, has had a bit of fun too:

A party known for their chaos has just got slightly more chaotic. 

The irony is that Zia Yusuf was brought in to bring some credibility to Reform after a bruising general election where a series of controversial comments made by prospective candidates seriously wounded the party.

In an attempt to show a marked change, earlier this year Nigel Farage stood on a platform with him to herald Yusuf as the man who would lead the party away from petty squabbles and towards professionalism. 

Instead, in a scathing prediction of the party's future prospects, he wrote: "I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign."

Yusuf had a close relationship with Farage, and today he admitted the departing chair had been a huge factor in "our success" at recent elections.

But he also hinted at the possibility Yusuf couldn't hack frontline politics, saying "politics can be a highly pressured and difficult game and Zia has clearly had enough".

It will be a blow to the party, but insiders say he made a series of missteps that forced him into being sidelined behind the scenes until eventually it seems he had indeed had enough.

The latest was yesterday when Reform's latest MP, Sarah Porchin, asked the prime minister at PMQs whether he would ban the burka. 

A move the PM said he wouldn't follow her on, and which ZiaYusuf later called "dumb" - referring to the fact it wasn't Reform's official policy.

There is speculation tonight this might have been the final straw that broke the camel's back for a man who once called himself a "proud British Muslim patriot" - but it is certain this will be a blow to the party which can't seem to get away from a scandal. 

Rupert Lowe has now commented on Zia Yusuf's resignation from Reform UK.

The independent MP was suspended by the party over allegations of threatening behaviour towards Yusuf, and a police investigation was launched. Officers dropped it due to "insufficient evidence".

It won't surprise you to learn Lowe is not shedding any tears for his former colleague.

"The question is - how did a man with no political experience be given such vast power within Reform?" he wrote on social media.

He again attacks Yusuf over "false allegations", and says party leader Nigel Farage "protected and promoted" him.

"They deployed woke lawfare to silence a party colleague," he adds.

Muhammad Ziauddin Yusuf, known as Zia Yusuf, has been the chairman of Reform UK for 11 months - until this afternoon.

We're still finding out why exactly that is the case. 

But who is he?

From millionaire donor to party chair

Yusuf is a multi-millionaire British businessman who began his career at investment banks after studying at LSE.

He went on to found a luxury concierge company, which he later sold with his business partner for 拢233m.

After selling his business, he is said to have then pivoted to politics, becoming the largest donor to Reform UK in the run-up to the 2024 general election.

He then succeeded Richard Tice as chairman of Reform UK in July 2024, following Tice being elected to parliament as an MP.

But Yusuf continued being a Conservative Party donor until August 2024 - only leaving the party after The Guardian exposed his membership, leading to it being revoked. 

In February this year, he was also appointed director of Reform UK.

A British DOGE

Yusuf also made headlines after Reform MP Rupert Lowe was suspended for allegedly making threats to the party chairman. 

Last month, the CPS announced it would not be charging Lowe due to "insufficient evidence" and Lowe now sits as an independent MP.

Most recently, Yusuf helped co-announce the formation of Reform UK's new DOGE (department of government efficiency) this week.

The new initiative, modelled on the one driven by Elon Musk for the Trump administration - is meant to be auditing Reform-run councils, in a bid to slash waste and save taxpayer money.

But this afternoon, Yusuf announced he would be stepping away from the party.

Reform's newest MP, Sarah Pochin, caused a stir at PMQs yesterday by asking the prime minister if he would ban the burka.

She asked if the religious garb would be outlawed "in the interests of safety", cited how countries including France and Belgium have already banned this kind of face covering.

Sir Keir Starmer politely declined to "follow her down that line", before taking the opportunity to attack Reform's economic policies.

Starmer was criticised by Conservative James Cleverly for refusing to engage with the question, though it clearly didn't go down well with Reform's now former chair either.

As we've reported, Zia Yusuf said it was a "dumb" question for Pochin to ask and said it was not party policy.

He has of course now resigned.

Reform has also indicated it was blind-sided by Pochin's question.

Nigel Farage has responded to Zia Yusuf's resignation.

The Reform UK leader said he is "genuinely sorry" that Yusuf has stood down.

Farage said he was a "huge factor" in Reform's success at last month's elections and is "an enormously talented person".

"Politics can be a highly pressured and difficult game, and Zia has clearly had enough. He is a loss to us and public life," he added.