General election scheduled for 4 July

The prime minister has announced that the general election will be held on 4 July.

He made the announcement in a statement outside parliament earlier today.

It was already known that the election would be held in the second half of the year, but July is earlier than many expected.

The announcement follows recent council elections where the Conservatives suffered widespread losses.

Earlier in the day, the prime minister met with Figen Murray to discuss Martyn's Law, after she completed her walk from Manchester to London.

Writing on LinkedIn, Nick Aldworth said: "Four hours before he called a General Election, Rishi Sunak looked into Figen Murray OBE eyes, shook her hand and promised that his party would bring in #MartynsLaw before the UK Parliament summer recess (normally starts in mid-late July). James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, then met with us and promised the same, but didn't think that the bill wouldn't complete its progress through parliament before an election. I can't help but believe there was some disingenuity in those meetings."