Politics

Fresh from his Commons victory, the prime minister took to the stage on Thursday to declare he was making progress on his plan to send migrants to Rwanda, his party was “completely united” and any failure to deliver on this pledge would not be down to him, but rather a new bogeyman, peers in the House

Rishi Sunak has insisted he will “ignore” international law in order to ensure asylum seekers get deported to Rwanda. The prime minister managed to get his controversial policy through its latest parliamentary stage last night after days of rebellions from Conservative MPs, who want to see the bill toughened up. But despite two rebel sources

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will hold a press conference at 10am after his controversial Rwanda bill passed its latest stage in parliament – despite rebellions from his own backbenchers. The legislation – which aims to deter asylum seekers from making small boat crossings by threatening deportation to the African nation – passed its third reading

Sir Keir Starmer has attacked the “farce” playing out in the Conservative Party over the government’s Rwanda bill, claiming Rishi Sunak’s plan had been “brutally exposed” by his own MPs. Ministers insist the scheme to deport asylum seekers who arrive by small boat is “the most robust” legislation ever presented to the Commons, and will

The prime minister was never going to lose the two amendment votes, but the results tonight would have been hard to hear. On both rebel amendments, up to 60 of his own MPs told Rishi Sunak that his flagship illegal immigration plan doesn’t go far enough. In parliament’s central lobby after the vote tonight, one

Two deputy chairs of the Conservative Party have resigned from their roles after they both supported rebel amendments to Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill. Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith both said they would support proposed changes designed to toughen up Mr Sunak’s bill, which seeks to declare Rwanda a safe country to deport asylum seekers to.

Rishi Sunak has said the strikes conducted against Houthi rebels in Yemen were intended as a “single, limited action” amid questions about the UK’s long-term strategy. The British military joined forces with the US on Thursday night as it launched attacks against Houthi bases in Yemen, in retaliation for the group’s targeting of international trade

Rishi Sunak is gearing up for a potential rebellion among his backbenchers when his controversial Rwanda bill returns to the Commons on Tuesday. The prime minister is facing a dilemma over the question of whether to toughen up the bill to appease those on the right of his party. If he does, he risks losing

Tory MPs plotting the Rwanda rebellion are resigned to securing minimal changes to the legislation – despite some belief senior figures are poised to quit party roles over the bill. Almost 60 MPs have publicly backed the bill and some rebels hope that Lee Anderson, deputy chair of the Conservative Party, may resign and back

Former Labour MP Luciana Berger is making a comeback in the party to lead its mental health strategy review – five years after she quit over antisemitism within its ranks. Ms Berger was one of seven MPs to resign back in February 2019 amid anger over Jeremy Corbyn’s handling of antisemitism complaints, saying she was

Britain could strike Houthi targets in Yemen again if the rebel group continues to attack ships in the Red Sea, the foreign secretary has suggested. Lord Cameron warned the Iran-linked fighters could force up prices in Britain if they are allowed to block the passage of container ships in the busy trade route. The US

Ministers are “failing to act” on the lessons from the Post Office scandal by refusing to change laws around public contracts, union leaders have said. The TUC said the Procurement Act, passed last October, was a “huge missed opportunity” to tighten up rules governing the awarding of taxpayer-funded contracts to private companies. The legislation was

Sir Tony Blair was warned the Horizon IT system could be flawed before it was rolled out across the Post Office, a document shows. A letter sent to the then-Labour prime minister on 9 December 1998 by a Downing Street special adviser said pressing ahead with the project was a risk because of spiralling costs

Lord David Cameron has not ruled out the possibility of further strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen, arguing the UK must do “what is necessary” to protect its ships. Speaking to NBC, Sky News’s sister outlet in the United States, the foreign secretary said “warnings” issued to the rebels – who had been attacking UK

Brexit has cost the UK £140bn so far, according to new analysis, and could see the nation £311bn worse off by the middle of the next decade, according to a new report. Economists and analysts at Cambridge Econometrics – commissioned by London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan – have modelled how the UK’s economy would have acted

The Conservatives are facing yet another set of by-elections in February, with voters in Kingswood and Wellingborough set to pick their new MPs. The contests follow the resignation of former minister Chris Skidmore in protest at the government’s watering down of green policies, and the ousting of Peter Bone over allegations of bullying and sexual

The longest strike in NHS history, during which junior doctors walked out for six days, led to more than 113,000 patient operations, appointments and procedures being postponed, new figures show. The industrial action started last Wednesday and continued until yesterday, with 25,446 staff absent from work at the peak, which was the day the strike

When nine million people watch a TV drama that then provokes a national outpouring of anger over the postmasters’ fight for justice, a prime minister would do well to acknowledge the public mood and act. And that’s exactly what we have seen Rishi Sunak do this week. PM accused of seeking ‘glory’ from scandal –

More than 30 Tory MPs are poised to back amendments aimed at “toughening” Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill when it returns to the Commons next week. The prime minister is braced for yet another showdown with the right-wing faction of his party, which believes the legislation in its current form will not stop further legal challenges

Israel “might have taken action” in breach of international law in Gaza, the foreign secretary has said during a tense exchange with MPs on the conflict in the Middle East. Lord Cameron also confirmed two British nationals are still being held hostage by Hamas, as he made his first appearance before the Foreign Affairs Committee