Good morning. We are expecting developments this week in relation to Grok AI sexualised deepfakes scandal, which meant users of Elon Musk’s X social media platform have been able to digitally undress women and children. An announcement on Friday that this service would only be available to paid subscribers was taken by No 10 as evidence the platform had yet to grasp why this was so objectionable, and Liz Kendall, the tech secretary, said that Ofcom must act “in days, not weeks”. That was three days ago.

Kendall is expected to make a statement on this to MPs today.

Peter Kyle, the business secretary, and Kendall’s predecessor as business secretary, has been giving interviews this morning (mostly about other matters – more on those later) and, when asked on LBC why the government was waiting for Ofcom to take a decision, he replied:

Because the law requires us to.

The law requires Ofcom as an independent enforcer and regulator to enforce the law. Now, Ofcom has requested information from X. I believe X has given Ofcom that information and Ofcom is now expediting an inquiry into the behaviour and decisions of X when it comes to operating in the UK market.

Now, at these points in time, Ofcom acts as an enforcer, as an enforcement agency, and it must use those powers to the full extent of the law to keep people safe in this country.

Under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom has sweeping powers to fine companies like X for breaches of online safety rules. In extremis, it could even go to court to to have X blocked from the UK. But the main provisions of the act only came into force relatively recently and they have not been used in a big dispute with one of the global tech giants before. This is unchartered territory.

And it is also politically hazardous. Although Musk left his job in Donald Trump’s administration last year after a row with Trump (mostly about Trump’s budget plans), Musk remains a leading figure in the Maga movement, and the pair had dinner very recently. In Magaworld, it is regarded as axiomatic that European attempts to regulate social media companies are an attack on US free speech. JD Vance, the vice president, told David Lammy last week that allowing an AI app to sexually undress children wasn’t really acceptable. But a day or so later, a more junior figure in the administration, Sarah Rogers, the under secretary of state for public diplomacy, was on social media attacking the UK for “contemplating a Russia-style X ban to protect them from bikini images”.

We have more on this in our First Edition briefing.

Here is the agenda for the day.

Morning: Keir Starmer and Peter Kyle, the business secretary, are on a visit in London where they will be speaking to the media.

Morning: And Kemi Badenoch and Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary, are on also doing a London visit, where they will be recording a clip for broadcasters.

11am: Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, holds a press conference.

11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

2pm: Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, chief of the defence staff, gives evidence to the Commons defence committee. Last week it was reported that he has warned the PM of a £28bn shortfall in the defence budget.

Afternoon: Starmer is due to give a speech to staff at No 10. Later, at 6pm, he will speak to Labour MPs in private at a meeting of the parliamentary Labour party (PLP).

Afternoon: The House of Lords will announce the result of its election for the next Lords Speaker. The two candidates are Michael Forsyth, a former Tory cabinet minister, and Deborah Bull, a crossbencher and former artistic director of the Royal Opera House.

After 3.30pm: Liz Kendall, the tech secretary, is expected to make a statement to MPs about the Grok AI sexualised deepfake imagery scandal on Elon Musk’s X.

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