Badenoch had the PM on the ropes but pulled her punches

No one would ever accuse Keir Starmer of dominating the House of Commons. He comes to the chamber cheerfully enough, pauses to chat to the speaker, acknowledges his colleagues politely...

- JOHN RENTOUL

But by the time he gets to the despatch box, he is in a defensive crouch, head down, reading from his notes.

Yesterday, he was more defensive than usual because he knew what Kemi Badenoch was going to ask.

She was going to want to know why he wasn't going to give all MPs a chance to question him about the agreement he signed in Paris on Tuesday, pledging to deploy British troops to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping operation if there is a ceasefire.

The prime minister tried to preempt the assault by setting out his argument in his preamble. This introduction is becoming increasingly controversial with the MPs opposite, who have noticed that Starmer often uses it to try to score points before he is asked any questions.

Yesterday was a particularly provoking example. He made a decent joke about Reform, whose leader Nigel Farage was boycotting Prime Minister's Questions, wishing his MPs a happy Christmas, "because today is the day they celebrate Christmas in Russia".

Then he listed the government's achievements - "breakfast clubs" as we "turn the corner" - and next said he was in Paris the previous day. He described the deal, and said "we will set out the details at the earliest opportunity". But not just yet.