Global Trade

A decision is finally expected on whether to move hundreds of government science jobs out of Wiltshire to Essex.

The UK Health Security Agency at Porton Down researches how to tackle the world's most infectious diseases, and prepare the UK for future pandemics.

Over the last 15 years plans have been worked up to relocate its 900 workers to new facilities in Harlow, but the estimated costs have spiralled – ministers expect a final decision in Wednesday's government spending review.

The MP covering Porton Down – Conservative John Glen – said: "It's taken 10 years to still be in doubt whether this should still happen and the costs have gone up six-fold."

The National Audit Office reported the cost of the whole project is estimated to be £3.2bn, a figure more than 500% higher than the initial forecast of £530m.

When it was officially announced in 2015 that the labs would move to Harlow, Essex, the MP there at the time said he was pleased and it would "bring thousands of jobs".

Speaking to the BBC this week, Mr Glen said the new build would be "dressed up" as a world-class hub.

"But Porton Down already is world-class," he said.

"We've already got the world's best scientists doing amazing collaborative work."

A newly elected councillor has resigned her Reform UK membership after she was suspended over a social media post.

Donna Edmunds, who represents Hodnet in Shropshire, was suspended last week after she posted on X about her plans to defect from the party.

The news of her suspension comes days after local elections, with the councillor posting on X she had been suspended "pending an investigation" on Sunday.

When asked for a comment on Edmunds' resignation, Reform UK told the BBC it would not comment further until the completion of its investigation.

In a statement posted on Sunday, Edmunds wrote: "Yesterday I woke up feeling very proud to be one of Reform's 677 new councilors.

"This morning I woke up to an email from [Reform] head office advising me that I have been suspended from the party 'pending an investigation'."

"Why? Because I urged people here on X to lend Reform their support for the short term – for Thursday's elections – even if they felt they couldn't for the long term.

"According to head office, 'this has brought the party into disrepute and damaged the interests of the party.'"

She went on to say the party was brought into disrepute when leadership "unceremoniously ditched" Rupert Lowe.

She said his suspension "provoked a wave of resignations" where whole branches resigned as one in protest.

"I called my branch chair to resign my membership, he asked me to stay on as we were struggling to find candidates.

"Out of loyalty to the party at the local level – all good, hard working people who merely want to live in a country that works for them – I agreed and remained on the ballot", she wrote.

Analysis

By Elizabeth Glinka, Political Editor, BBC West Midlands

Reform's phenomenal performance in the local elections brings new responsibilities, the chance to manage multimillion-pound organisations that deliver vital services, but also increased scrutiny.

These sorts of incidents can and do happen to all political parties, but for Reform, sensitive to assumptions about its membership, it is an issue it had hoped to leave largely in its past.

However, there are now hundreds of newly elected councillors with no prior experience of being working politicians who will face scrutiny from the public and media on a level previously unknown to them.