Politics

Dominic Raab says he left office with his “head held high” after resigning over a report which found he had bullied staff. The former deputy PM believes he was forced out by civil servants who were opposed to Brexit and his attempts to reform human rights legislation. A report conducted by Adam Tolley KC upheld

The Scottish National Party (SNP) has appointed MP Stuart McDonald as its new treasurer following the resignation of Colin Beattie on Wednesday. Mr Beattie stepped down after he was arrested in connection with an investigation into the party’s finances. He was subsequently released without charge pending further enquiries. His arrest came after the party’s former

Viewers of Sky News might have noticed the tone of the coverage of Dominic Raab’s resignation evolve as the morning went on. At the point of the announcement of his departure, all we had was Mr Raab’s resignation letter. Bluntly, it appeared about as graceless as possible by the standards of most resignation letters. The

Dominic Raab has resigned after allegations he bullied staff members while working as a cabinet minister across different departments. In a letter posted on Twitter, the deputy prime minister and justice secretary revealed a report into his behaviour upheld two claims against him. But he took issue with the findings, calling them “flawed” and claiming

Dominic Raab’s fate is in the hands of Rishi Sunak after a long-awaited investigation into bullying claims by his deputy concluded. A report on the findings, which is understood to be “very lengthy”, was handed to Number 10 on Thursday morning, with the prime minister said to be “carefully considering” its conclusions. Senior lawyer Adam

A long-awaited report into bullying allegations against Dominic Raab has been handed to Number 10 – with the prime minister “carefully considering” its findings. Mr Raab, the deputy prime minister and justice secretary, has been subject to an independent investigation by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC since November last year. Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson said the

Voters heading to polling stations in England on 4 May will need to provide photo ID for the first time.  There are fears some people could lose out on their right to vote as up to 3.5m people don’t have existing photo ID – and only around 50,000 people have applied for voter ID. Here’s

Ministers will be allowed to block judges from stopping deportation flights in some situations under plans to toughen the illegal migration bill, Sky News understands. Rishi Sunak has reached a deal with a group of right-wing Tory MPs who had threatened to rebel if the prime minister did not harden the controversial legislation. It is

The Scottish National Party (SNP) is being investigated by police who are looking into where funds meant for a second independence referendum have gone. The inquiry, named Operation Branchform, was launched in 2021 but ramped up in April as former chief executive Peter Murrell, Nicola Sturgeon’s husband, and SNP treasurer Colin Beattie were arrested. Launched

When Tony Blair concluded the deal ahead of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement 25 years ago, he famously declared: “A day like today is not a day for soundbites, we can leave those at home.” But then he added, in one of the most famous and often ridiculed quotes of his premiership: “But

The UK’s plan to arm its military has failed to adapt to a more dangerous world following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the government risks being unable to meet vital NATO commitments, an influential group of MPs has warned. In a damning assessment of the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD’s) ability to purchase equipment, the Public

A fundamental change to the voting system in England is coming. Brought in with little fanfare but potentially huge consequences, a new requirement for voters to show photo ID for the first time could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of people. The rule change was a Conservative manifesto pledge, and parliament approved the change. But as

SNP treasurer Colin Beattie has been arrested by police investigating the party’s funding and finances. In a statement, Police Scotland said: “A 71-year-old man has today, Tuesday, 18 April 2023, been arrested as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party. “The man is in

Parliament’s standards watchdog has opened an investigation into the prime minister over possible failure to declare an interest. The probe by the standards commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, was launched on 13 April and cited paragraph 6 of the MPs code of conduct, which governs how MPs should behave. The code states that “members must always be

Government spending on storing personal protective equipment (PPE) in China increased by £2.35m in the year to January – as households struggle to make ends meet amid the cost of living crisis. According to data revealed by the Labour Party, the taxpayer paid £23.5m to store life-saving protective equipment from February 2021 to January 2022

Controversial Labour attack adverts targeting Rishi Sunak were not a mistake and there are more to come, a senior shadow cabinet member has told Sky News. Wes Streeting argued it was “absolutely right to take the gloves off” and hold the government to account for its record. The social media campaign in which the opposition

The building of new smart motorways is being cancelled following concerns over safety and costs. Fourteen planned smart motorways – including 11 that are already paused and three earmarked for construction – will be removed from government road-building plans, Downing Street has confirmed. Existing stretches will remain but be subjected to a safety refit so

“All options are on the table” regarding possible coordinated strikes by junior doctors and nurses, a union representative has warned. Dr Arjan Singh, chair of the British Medical Association’s (BMA) junior doctors committee, refused to rule out the possibility of coordinating industrial action with Royal College of Nursing (RCN), saying: “We have a very close

Boris Johnson quoted Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day in his final address to the Commons as prime minister.  “‘Hasta la vista, Baby’ – thank you”, he signed off to MPs last July. The quotation, literally “until the view” in Spanish, is usually taken to mean “until we meet again” – a

Members of the Royal College of Nursing are to go on strike again after they voted against the latest government pay offer. The result comes despite a recommendation from union leaders that they accept it and means there will be a round-the-clock 48-hour strike – without exemptions – from 8pm on 30 April to 8pm