Politics

Boris Johnson has a “huge role to play” in the future of the Conservative Party, according to one cabinet minister, while a staunch ally of the ex-prime minister urged “the left” to leave him alone. The Conservative MPs were speaking following last week’s revelation that Mr Johnson’s diaries from when he was in Number 10

Boris Johnson has been referred to the police by the Cabinet Office over new claims he broke COVID lockdown rules. The former prime minister’s ministerial diary has revealed visits by friends to Chequers during the pandemic. The visits to the grace-and-favour residence were highlighted during preparations for a public inquiry into COVID, according to The

MP Margaret Ferrier has lost her appeal against a proposed 30-day ban from the House of Commons over breaching COVID rules. The suspension could now trigger a by-election in her constituency. The Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP was found to have damaged the reputation of the Commons and put people at risk after taking part

Tony Blair, Labour’s most successful election-winning prime minister, had no doubt that being in government was better than being in opposition. The fundamental difference, he would say, is that in opposition politicians can only talk; in government they can actually do things. As the Conservative Party struggles to improve the state of Britain after their

The UK will benefit from almost £20bn of extra private investment from Japan, Downing Street has said, as Rishi Sunak visits the nation for the G7 summit. The prime minister will personally thank a Japanese minister for the country’s support of the UK joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Earlier this

The Welsh parliament has voted to set up a COVID-19 inquiry committee – but campaigners say it does not go far enough. There have been calls to establish a COVID-19 public inquiry to focus specifically on the decisions taken by the Welsh government, which often acted at different time and on different advice to the

Boris Johnson considered sending Rishi Sunak a foul-mouthed video after he resigned and triggered his downfall, the former PM’s former director of communications has claimed. Guto Harri, who advised Mr Johnson from February to September last year, said Mr Johnson believed Mr Sunak’s decision to resign last summer was “the great betrayal of all time”,

Scotland’s National Care Service plans are “starting to look like another Humza Yousaf disaster”, Douglas Ross quipped during a heated First Minister’s Questions. The Scottish government has spent almost £14m over two years on the delayed proposals. This includes more than £2m on consultancy fees. In a barbed exchange during FMQs on Thursday, the Scottish

The BBC “had no concerns” about Richard Sharp’s integrity while he was employed as its chairman, a report from the broadcaster has said. Mr Sharp resigned from his role last month after he failed to reveal his involvement in securing a £800,000 loan for Boris Johnson just weeks before the PM appointed him. A report

Nurses will vote on whether to hold England-wide strike action later this month after rejecting the government’s 5% pay rise. Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members have held a series of strikes over the past six months and while 14 health unions last week agreed to a 5% pay rise, the nurses union rejected the

Lawyers in Aberdeen will join a boycott of plans to pilot juryless rape trials in Scotland. Aberdeen Bar Association branded the proposals “a danger” and accused the Scottish government of “political meddling”. Lawyers in Glasgow and Edinburgh have already confirmed they will refuse to take part in the pilot, which was proposed last month as

The Metropolitan Police is facing growing questions from MPs over officers’ treatment of protesters during the coronation in London on Saturday. More than 50 anti-monarchy demonstrators were arrested during yesterday’s events – including 13 people to “prevent a breach of the peace”, and a man with an unused megaphone, who police said could “scare the

National exemptions are in place to provide critical care during strike action by nurses, a union leader has insisted, telling Sky News staff would never leave patients unsafe or create more risk. Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen was speaking to Sophy Ridge On Sunday ahead of a 28-hour walkout by members

Richard Sharp has resigned as chairman of the BBC in the wake of a report into his appointment following a cronyism row. Mr Sharp said the report found he had breached the government’s code for the public appointments but said it was “inadvertent”. The matter has been a “distraction” for the BBC and he has

Strike action planned by the nurses’ union on 2 May has been deemed unlawful, the High Court has ruled. The court ruled the industrial action was not covered by the current mandate, with unions needing to hold a ballot every six months to legally hold strikes. The upcoming walkout was challenged by Health Secretary Steve

The home secretary will be able to exercise her “discretion” when weighing up whether to follow European court orders on deportations, a government minister has confirmed. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said amendments to the government’s Illegal Migration Bill would give Suella Braverman the ability to consider the “timeliness” of interventions from the European Court

The government’s flagship online safety bill is “massively letting down” women and girls by failing to include specific protections to prevent misogynistic abuse, a senior Tory peer has said. Baroness Nicky Morgan has joined campaigners and celebrities in calling for a violence against women and girls (VAWG) code of practice to be included in the

Second homeowners could require planning permission if they want to use their property as a holiday let in a tourist hotspot in England, under new government proposals intended to prioritise “desperate” local families looking for a home. A consultation has been launched on the plan, along with the suggestion of a registration scheme for holiday

So many different versions of what might have been in Belfast were considered in the planning for today’s visit by the US president.  If Stormont had been up and running, President Joe Biden would have gone there with Rishi Sunak. With power sharing still deadlocked, at one point they considered making a pointed trip to

A civil rights group has threatened legal action against the home secretary for refusing to implement all of the recommendations of the independent Windrush inquiry. The Black Equity Organisation (BEO) is seeking a judicial review following Suella Braverman’s announcement in January to disregard three of the 30 reforms the government agreed to implement. The scrapped