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
Politics
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
Plans to house 500 asylum seekers in a giant vessel in Portland, Dorset, are to be announced by the government today, Sky News understands. The Home Office has been “exploring” the idea of using vessels to house asylum seekers to reduce the £6m daily bill of using hotels. The government is expected to confirm today
Teachers in England will be going on strike again after turning down a government pay offer. Members of the National Education Union are now set to walk out on 27 April and 2 May. Anjum Peerbacos is among those who rejected the pay offer – and here she explains why… As a north London teacher of
A leaked government report has revealed some teachers are working 60 hours or more a week, with a quarter considering leaving the profession altogether because of the “unacceptable” high workload. The findings from a survey conducted by the Department for Education (DfE), and seen by Sky News, said eight in ten were working upwards of
Whisper it, but could the Brexit and Boris bandwagons be gradually trundling off into the distance? Let’s start with Brexit. The most politically important development of a packed Westminster Wednesday was arguably what didn’t happen. Boris Johnson, the European Research Group of Brexiteers and the DUP all objected to the government’s EU deal and yet
Boris Johnson is to submit a dossier of evidence ahead of an interrogation by MPs over whether he lied to Parliament about the partygate scandal. The former prime minister will provide information in his defence as he prepares for a lengthy televised grilling by the Commons privileges committee on Wednesday, where he faces a fight
Irish flags, poetry and a performance from Niall Horan… this White House trip was another diplomatic success for Ireland “Every American president is a little bit Irish on St Patrick’s Day…but some are more Irish than others.” Those words, spoken by Leo Varadkar, were greeted by raucous cheers in the White House, and a broad
Teacher strikes will be paused for two weeks while education unions and the government hold “intensive” talks over pay, workload and conditions. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan will meet with representatives today – with discussions to continue over the weekend until Sunday. The National Education Union (NEU), National Association of Headteachers (NAHT), NASUWT The Teachers’ Union,
Suella Braverman will travel to Rwanda on Friday, Sky News understands, as she seeks to bolster the government’s plan to send asylum seekers to the country if they arrive in the UK on small boats. The controversial policy was announced by Boris Johnson last year, but no one has been flown to the nation yet
After the debacle of Liz Truss’s September mini-budget, with all its mega ramifications, and an autumn statement eight weeks later that performed an about-turn so big that the country’s tax burden hit a 70-year-high, Wednesday’s budget will be all about stability and sticking to the plan. “No big bangs in this budget,” is how one
Rishi Sunak has said there are “no plans” to change a law which prevents the permanent return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece. The sculptures – also known as the Parthenon sculptures or marbles – were controversially removed from one of the world’s most historic monuments in Athens by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early