I won't let critics blow me off course, says PM

Keir Starmer will pledge billions of pounds of extra investment in transport, schools and hospitals in his inaugural budget, as he insisted he would not be distracted by "side winds" after a turbulent first 100 days in office.

- Pippa Crerar Political editor

In an interview with the Guardian, Starmer acknowledged his government needed to get back on track after the furore over Sue Gray and freebies, but said he was determined he wouldn't get "knocked off course".

"You're going to get sidewinds all the time. If you're not going to get knocked off course, you've got to know where we're headed," he said.

"The moment I allow myself to get too bogged down in the sidewinds is the point that other governments have gone wrong in my view, because they've lost sight of what the real point of government is."

Starmer has made clear his central mission is to get the economy growing again, with the government hoping that billions of pounds of public investment to be announced at the budget on 30 October will also help attract more private investment to Britain.

But his plans for a flagship business summit next week were dealt a blow yesterday when Dubai-based ports and logistics group DP World pulled out of the conference and withdrew ascheduled announcement of a £1bn investment in its London Gateway container port.

The move came in response to an interview in which Louise Haigh, the transport secretary, criticised the company's employment practices, calling the firm a rogue operator. In 2022 P&O Ferries, a subsidiary of DP World, provoked fury when it fired 800 crew without warning, replacing them with low-paid agency staff.