Cleverly now turns to Lammy's "personal crusade" to scrap trial by jury and asks if the deputy PM will admit it is wrong and commit to "reverse his proposals".

Lammy says there is "no proposal" before the House of Commons to scrap trial by jury and adds Cleverly needs "to do better and get on the detail".

He adds there is "a threshold change", and says ex-PMs Margaret Thatcher and David Cameron previously made changes to jury trials.

Lammy says the "vast majority" of criminal cases are dealt with magistrates, before going on to list Labour investments in the court system.

Shadow housing secretary Sir James Cleverly says Lammy will look back on this exchange and be shocked by how this is coming across.

There has been no apology to the victims, Cleverly claims, and no guarantee that paedophiles and rapists will not be released early.

Her says Lammy is "hellbent on releasing dangerous criminals by accident."

Cleverly mentions accidental releases from prison and asks if Lammy will apologise to the country for his abject failure for keeping prisoners in prison.

Lammy says this is rich, and says the Tories had 14 long years in power, when they wrecked neighbourhood policing, he says, and prisons were at bursting point.

He then lists measures the government is taking, with more police, and adds that they need the space to lock up criminal that’s why they passed the sentencing bill.

In his next question, Cleverly sticks with prison releases.

He says Lammy talks of 10,000 early releases in the 14 years of Tory government, when the Labour government has released "50,000 in two years".

"He knows it's wrong," Cleverly says adding that there are 400 Labour MPs and "not one voted to support government policy" last night.

He asks for a guarantee that not one "rapist or paedophile" will be released early later on this year.

Lammy reiterates the Tories haven't said what they would do if in office - repeating the 10,000 figure.

He points to Labour bringing in more probation officers, rolling out the "largest" tagging programme, and references other bans they have implemented.

Image source, UK Parliament

Cleverly retorts by saying that Labour has allowed 50,000 prisoners to be released early in two years.

He says he is shocked that Lammy failed to apologise and quotes a grooming gangs victim, saying she feels "constantly anxious, frightened and unsafe" over the prospect of the early release scheme.

"Why is he pursuing policy he must know is both wrong and dangerous?" he asks.

Lammy says the Tories had an early release scheme that let out 10,000 offenders and the party left a system with just 83 empty cells.

He says we are giving every victim notice and discussing the plans with them: "Of course, we think of every victim and that’s why we’re notifying victims, in discussion with all victims. I sat last week in my surgery with a victim of grooming gangs. All of us want to see offenders locked up - that’s why we’ve got to have prison capacity."

Lammy responds by criticising Cleverly's role in the previous government.

He describes it as "a serious issue" and says every decision is based on "public safety and delivering justice for victims".

He continues to say the previous Labour government built prison places and is doing so again now, adding that the Conservatives closed 23 prisons during their 14-year tenure, going on to list a number of them.

"That's why we have an early release scheme," he says.

Shadow housing secretary Sir James Cleverly asks if David Lammy will apologise to the victims of the rapists, sexual predators and paedophiles that Cleverly claims he is planning to release early.

For context: Proposed changes to the Sentencing Act, which are due to be discussed in Parliament, include reducing the amount of jail time some prisoners will serve, which the government said would reduce overcrowding.

Image source, UK Parliament

The session today opens with a question from Tory MP Paul Holmes who starts by saying both the PM and Makerfield MP Andy Burnham are "proud football fans".

Holmes asks that given Lammy thinks Starmer has always been "match fit", how does he feel that his own MPs have given the boss a "red card" and brought on a "left-winger" to get them out of the relegation zone?

Lammy doesn't answer directly - instead saying Holmes needs to engage with the facts of the Tory's "failed period in government".

Brian Wheeler
Reporting from the House of Commons

There is no sign of the soon to be ex-Clacton MP Nigel Farage in the chamber.

This is not that unusual. Farage sometimes gives PMQs a miss and he is spending today campaigning in Clacton.

But his bid to hold a by-election is the talk of Westminster and is sure to come up at this session.

No sign of Andy Burnham either, who has avoided PMQs since returning to Parliament.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy and shadow housing secretary James Cleverly are now both in the Commons ready to face off for PMQs.

We'll be bringing you their top lines and analysis here. You can also watch live at the top of the page from 12:00.

Image source, UK Parliament

Brian Wheeler
Reporting from the House of Commons

With Westminster baking in the heat, the parliamentary authorities have relaxed the press gallery dress code.

Male journalists normally have to wear suit jackets - but today we have been told it’s no jacket required. Which is a relief.

Brian Wheeler
Reporting from the House of Commons

Image source, Reuters/Getty

This could be fun.

With Keir Starmer in Turkey for the Nato summit, David Lammy is standing in for the PM and James Cleverly for Kemi Badenoch.

The Tory leader likes to rotate DPMQs duty around her front bench.

But this is the first time her one-time leadership rival Cleverly has been asked to do a turn.

Cleverly is a seasoned performer at the despatch box and someone who can land a joke.

So it could be an entertaining clash with Lammy.

Joe Coughlan
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

This week, the political fallout over reports that Nigel Farage failed to declare benefits from ally George Cottrell ultimately led to the Clacton MP's resignation and his vow to re-contest the seat in a by-election.

Aside from Farage, here are the other key headlines that may crop up in the Commons at deputy PMQs:

Landmark police review

• Police leadership is not consistently of a high enough standard and requires a fundamental overhaul, a landmark independent review has warned
• Its co-author Lord Blunkett told the BBC the service's leadership needed an "ethical reset"

Polanski's houseboat council tax

• Green Party leader Zack Polanski has said he will pay any outstanding council tax he owes to Waltham Forest Council from when he lived on a houseboat in the London borough
• He said the council has yet to tell him whether he faces a bill for unpaid tax, which could be between £3,000 and £4,000

Starmer's warning for his likely successor

• Keir Starmer told our chief political correspondent Henry Zeffman that his likely successor Andy Burnham will have to spend just as much time dealing with global turmoil as he has during his time in No 10
• He added that he felt he had been a successful prime minister and "saved" the Labour Party and describe his "intensely personal" decision to step down

All eyes on Burnham

• Speculation has continued to grow on how Burnham would tackle the top job - he's said he will not call an early general election
• The former Greater Manchester mayor has said he would expand public control of utilities while sticking to Labour's 2024 manifesto, but leave "room for manoeuvre" on the topic of tax

Image source, Reuters

Nigel Farage on Tuesday announced he will resign as MP for Clacton and stand again in the by-election after facing intense scrutiny over financial support he has received.

Allegations that the Reform UK leader failed to declare benefits provided by ally George Cottrell had been plaguing him for days.

A report in the Sunday Times said Cottrell supplied support, including security and social media staff who worked on Farage's online content in the year before he was elected. It also claimed Farage used a property rented by Cottrell near Buckingham Palace.

Farage has also been under investigation from Parliament's standards commissioner since May after not declaring a £5m gift he received from a billionaire Reform donor before he became an MP.

He claimed parliamentary standards investigations were "now being used as a political tool" and he did not want to be "judged" by the media, before announcing he would force a by-election in which he would stand.

In a live video statement released to the media by Reform, he said the by-election would give voters the chance to "stick two fingers up at the entire establishment".

Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Restore Britain have all ruled out contesting the Clacton by-election.

Image source, EPA

As mentioned in the previous post, Keir Starmer is currently in Ankara, Turkey, for his last Nato summit as UK prime minister.

Whilst there, he is set to convene around a dozen leaders to discuss a new long-range missile programme to protect Europe.

Billed as one of Nato's most advanced weapons, the Deep Precision Strike project is intended to strike targets nearly 200 miles (300km) away with pinpoint precision, possible extending out to 1,250 miles.

Starmer has said the UK-led initiative would "help bring European allies together to keep Nato safe for years to come".

At the summit, the prime minister is expected to underline the threat posed by Russia to the UK and Nato, and to stress that whilst the alliance doesn't seek confrontation with Moscow, it must be ready to defend every ally.

Image source, EPA

Keir Starmer, who is absent from the Commons today due to the Nato summit in Turkey, has just one PMQs left as prime minister.

That will take place next Wednesday - the final chance for MPs to ask Starmer questions in the Commons before the summer recess.

Starmer announced his resignation as PM last month, saying he was not best placed to lead Labour into the next general election.

He said he would "do everything" he could to ensure an "orderly" transition of power with a new leader in place before Parliament returns in September.

Newly-elected Makerfield MP Andy Burnham is seen as the frontrunner to replace Starmer in No 10.

Potential candidates have from 9 July to 15 July to collect the backing of 81 MPs and until 16 July to gather the required number of nominations from affiliated bodies such as trade unions, in order to stay in the contest.

If only one candidate meets that threshold, the new leader will be announced at a special Labour conference on 17 July, before being appointed PM by the King.

Image source, PA

This week's Prime Minister's Questions is a little different - the PM isn't going to be there.

Instead, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy is standing in for Keir Starmer at the dispatch box, and will be fielding questions from shadow housing secretary James Cleverly, as well as other MPs.

Starmer is currently in Ankara, Turkey, for the Nato Summit, where defence spending and support for Ukraine are just two key items on the agenda.

In Westminster, Nigel Farage has announced he will resign as Clacton MP and stand again in what he billed as a "people versus the establishment" by-election. Several parties, including Labour and the Conservatives, have already said they will not field candidates.

And the government is still grappling with the fallout over defence spending after Starmer published the UK's long-awaited defence investment plan last week.

We'll bring you the key lines as they happen and you can watch live above when the action in the Commons gets under way at 12:00 BST.