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 A group of private schools, pupils and their parents have lost a number of High Court challenges to the government's decision to impose VAT on school fees.

The legal challenges were brought against the Treasury on the basis that applying the tax is discriminatory and incompatible with human rights law. 

The groups fighting the government included children and families at faith schools, and families who have sent their children with special educational needs (SEN) to private school.

The Treasury defended the challenges, with HM Revenue and Customs and the Department for Education (DfE) also taking part.

The High Court was told that as well as religious beliefs and SEN, some children are privately educated because of a need for a single-sex environment because of previous abuse, or because they are only temporarily in the UK and need to be educated in line with their home national curriculum.

However, Sir James Eadie KC, representing the Treasury, HMRC and the DfE, said abolishing the VAT exemption for private school fees was a prominent policy in Labour鈥檚 manifesto at the last general election and is expected to yield between 拢1.5 and 拢1.7 billion per year.

Judges said they had to consider the interests of those in state schools 

This morning, three judges at the High Court dismissed the three challenges in a decision given on Friday.

Dame Victoria Sharp, Lord Justice Newey and Mr Justice Chamberlain said in a 94-page decision that while the legislation does interfere with some of the group鈥檚 human rights, there is a "broad margin of discretion in deciding how to balance the interests of those adversely affected by the policy against the interests of others who may gain from public provision funded by the money it will raise".

'A disappointing decision', say families of the privately educated

Reacting to the decision, Sophie Kemp, who represented the claimants, said it was a "disappointing decision" and that her clients are now "carefully considering the court's judgement".

The Independent Schools Council (ISC) said it was an "unprecedented tax on education" and that the council is now considering its "next steps".

MPs have backed an amendment to the assisted dying bill, which says that no-one should be obliged to take part in the process. 

The opt-out has been added to the End of Life (Terminally Ill Adults) Bill after MPs called "aye" to the amendment this morning.

Lawmakers had previously debated and backed the amendment during another debate on the bill last month. 

Kim Leadbeater, who introduced the bill, also introduced the amendment. 

The new clause 10 sets out that "no person is under any duty" to participate in the process, including medical practitioners and pharmacists.

It means all NHS staff not wishing to be involved are protected against discrimination. Previously, the bill only said that doctors and health professionals could refuse - but the amendment now extends this to any person.

Hamish Falconer has confirmed that the UK was not involved in the Israeli military action against Iran overnight. 

The Middle East minister said the government is "engaging with partners to urge de-escalation".

He added: "Stability in the Middle East is essential for global security."

Kemi Badenoch has said Iran must "never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons".

That's a position held by most politicians in the UK.

But unlike other responses so far this morning, she makes no mention of Israel - who have carried out air-strikes on dozens of military sites across Iran overnight. 

She continued: "Our immediate focus must be on stabilisation 鈥� working with allies to prevent further escalation.

"But let鈥檚 be clear-eyed about the reality. 

"The world is becoming more dangerous, and Britain must be ready to defend itself."

The leader of the Liberal Democrats has said that people both in the UK and across the world "will be fearing the break-out of widespread regional conflict in the Middle East", following Israel hitting dozens of military sites in Iran.

Sir Ed Davey has urged the UK government to "contain Iran's nuclear ambitions through diplomacy, not war".

Sky News understands that the RAF was not involved in defending Israel's skies against Iranian counterattacks - but that additional forces could potentially be sent to a key military base in Cyprus, RAF Akrotiri.

By Deborah Haynes, security and defence editor

The UK does not appear to have been warned in advance of Israel鈥檚 plan to attack Iran.

David Lammy, the foreign secretary, had been due to travel to the US on Friday to meet his American counterpart.

The trip was cancelled once it became known that Israel had launched its operation.

A Whitehall source said the late cancellation of Lammy鈥檚 travel plans indicated that the UK had not been alerted in advance to the timing of the attack.

However, the UK had been aware of the increasing likelihood of an Israeli mission to strike Iran鈥檚 nuclear facilities, given the rhetoric from the Israeli government in recent weeks.

Earlier this morning, Industry Minister Sarah Jones said it would not "be appropriate" to say if the UK was warned - but added that Britain wasn't involved.

For context: We know both the US and German governments were tipped off by the Israeli's ahead of their strikes on Iran.

James Cleverly has criticised the international community for being "too slow and meek" in its response to the Iranian nuclear programme. 

He said that as foreign secretary, he "pushed for a more robust international response to Iran's nuclear enrichment to avoid this very outcome".

This was because "it was always clear to me that Israel would take kinetic action if others didn't take effective diplomatic action", he said. 

Unacceptable posture from Iran must end

Turning to the strikes themselves, Cleverly said that "regional stability and de-escalation are the priorities now".

He added: "Iran must drop its nuclear weapons aspirations. It is an unacceptable posture, not just for Israel but for many other countries in the region. 

"Israel must show discipline and restraint to prevent further escalation."

A short while ago, a senior Tory in the shadow cabinet hit back at Israel's claim it had "no choice" to act - saying that "everybody has always got a choice on exactly what they do and when".

The shadow foreign secretary has said she is watching developments in the Middle East "closely" and is urging "all sides to work towards a de-escalation of tensions".

Dame Priti Patel added: "The world is an increasingly dangerous place with significant threats to our national interests, security and defence.

"We must use our influence and diplomacy to work closely with all of our allies in the region and beyond to resolve conflicts, and deliver peace and stability in the Middle East."

Richard Holden says the Israeli strikes on Iran as well as Iranian counterattacks overnight are "concerning".

The shadow paymaster general tells Sky News that the Israeli strikes "could lead to a broader escalation for the region".

He says: "What I want to see is stability restored, to see peace restored as quickly as possible, because I want to see us move towards a two-state solution for Israel, Palestine and also Israel normalising relations with its neighbours."

The shadow minister also rebuts Israel's claim that it had "no choice" but to attack Iran. 

He says that "everybody has always got a choice on exactly what they do and when".

Holden explains that he doesn't know "the ins and outs of it" as he is not part of the government. 

But he recognised that "Israel feels itself under constant pressure from regimes which say they want to wipe it off the face of the Earth".

UK could have a 'big role' in promoting peace

Asked if he believes Iranian claims that their nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only, Holden says that he doesn't "think anybody realistically believes that's the case".

He adds that Iran claims it doesn't fund proxies, which is "also clearly untrue".

The top Tory repeats his calls for a move "towards stability, calmness and de-escalation of the situation".

Asked what role the UK could play in this, Holden responds that Britain and its allies could have "a big role" in this.

He says: "We've got to play our role wherever we can in moving towards that, to promote stability and peace... but also enabling, wherever possible, some of those broader long-term relationships actually to develop as well."

But he also acknowledges that the government must be "realistic" in seeking a long-term peace.