Politics

More than 1,000 officers from forces around the country will be drafted in to help the Metropolitan Police this weekend amid intense political pressure to prevent disruption to remembrance events. Police chiefs have backed Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley’s decision to resist banning a pro-Palestinian march on Armistice Day despite comments from the prime minister

The prime minister has “full confidence” in his home secretary, Suella Braverman, despite her controversial article about pro-Palestinian marches. The prime minister’s spokesperson said it was looking into details surrounding the article by Ms Braverman, but insisted Rishi Sunak had “full confidence” in her. In her article, Ms Braverman accused the police of “playing favourites”

Suella Braverman has been accused of being “out of control”, as she continued her war of words with the Metropolitan Police after the commissioner resisted government pressure to ban this week’s pro-Palestinian march. In an article for The Times newspaper, the Home Secretary once again described pro-Palestinian protesters as “hate marchers”. And she went even

Rishi Sunak has described a planned pro-Palestinian march in London on Armistice Day as “disrespectful” – but has accepted the protest will go ahead. The prime minister met with the chief of the Metropolitan Police Sir Mark Rowley for a crisis meeting this afternoon – and had vowed to hold him “accountable” for the commissioner’s

Shadow minister Imran Hussain has quit Labour’s frontbench in protest at Sir Keir Starmer’s position on the Israel-Hamas war. Mr Hussain’s decision will be a blow for the Labour leader, who has been attempting to hold his party together in an increasingly fractious debate over whether the leadership should back a ceasefire in Gaza. In

Sir Keir Starmer has launched a scathing attack on Suella Braverman over her recent controversial remarks on homelessness – warning Rishi Sunak that “without a serious home secretary… he cannot be a serious prime minister”. Speaking during a debate on Tuesday’s King’s Speech, the Labour leader slammed her claims that living on the street was

The government will introduce a new law to parliament on Tuesday, which they say will ensure 40% of trains will still run on strike days. The new minimum service level regulations will also make sure “certain priority routes can remain open” – though it is not yet clear which journeys will be covered. Other rules

The government’s policies for the upcoming year will be unveiled during the King’s Speech on Tuesday, with a pledge to put criminal justice “at the heart” of its plans. The speech – devised by the prime minister, but delivered by King Charles – will include details of a Sentencing Bill to ensure whole life orders

The leader of Burnley Council and 10 other councillors have resigned from the Labour Party this evening over Sir Keir Starmer’s decision not to push for a ceasefire in Gaza, Sky News understands. Afrasiab Anwar, who has been in the party for 10 years, was among those calling for the leader to step down on

The deputy prime minister has said he fears there has not been the “moral clarity” that “Jewish lives matter” after the Hamas attack on Israel. Oliver Dowden warned the Jewish community in the UK was “fearful” after a number of pro-Palestinian marches. Rishi Sunak’s deputy drew comparisons with the Black Lives Matter protests after the

The home secretary has said anyone vandalising the Cenotaph on Armistice Day “must be put into a jail cell faster than their feet can touch the ground”. Speaking exclusively to Sky News, Suella Braverman said she doesn’t want to “undermine” the police process by banning pro-Palestinian protests planned for Armistice Day next weekend, but that

Tory MP Bob Stewart has surrendered the Conservative whip while he considers an appeal against his conviction for a racially-aggravated public order offence. The Beckenham MP informed chief whip Simon Hart, according to a government source. Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats had called for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to take action over the “totally

Suella Braverman wants to restrict the use of tents by homeless people in built-up areas, according to a report. The home secretary’s proposals are said to include allowing charities to be fined if they give out tents that become a nuisance. Ms Braverman wants the plans included in two clauses of a new criminal justice

Tory MP Bob Stewart showed “racial hostility” towards a protester by telling him to “go back to Bahrain” during a demonstration outside a Foreign Office building, a court has been told. The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into the incident after a complaint was made by activist Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, who has said he was

More than half of people feel politicians are using so-called culture wars to distract from other issues, according to a survey which also found the term “woke” is increasingly seen as an insult. Almost two thirds (62%) of those polled said politicians “invent or exaggerate” culture wars as a political tactic – up from less

Boris Johnson has claimed he was forced to plunge the UK into lockdown because of NHS “bed blocking”. In a section of his witness statement shared with the official COVID inquiry, the former prime minister said the “extreme measures” announced on 23 March 2020 were introduced because the health service had “failed to grip” the

Only one in 10 voters who supported the Tories in 2019 have switched to Labour, according to a major new poll for Sky News.   The exclusive YouGov survey of 5,621 voters found 11% of 2019 Tory voters would now vote for Labour while slightly more – 12% – have switched to Reform UK, a

Boris Johnson’s government displayed an “unbelievably bullish” approach to coronavirus early in the pandemic and sat “laughing at Italians” in meetings, a former civil servant has said. The former prime minister was “confident the UK would sail through” the outbreak of the disease and warned against “over-correcting” on something he thought “was unlikely to have

The government has cancelled rail industry plans for the mass closure of ticket offices in England, saying they failed to reach the “high threshold of serving passengers”. The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) announced over the summer that it planned to shut almost all of the nation’s 1,007 train station outlets in an effort to reduce

There was no shielding plan early in the pandemic and vulnerable groups were “appallingly neglected” as a “fatalistic” approach took hold in Downing Street, Dominic Cummings has claimed. The former chief aide to Boris Johnson, who described Downing Street as being in “complete chaos”, was asked to what degree decision-makers considered ethnic minority groups, domestic