Politics

The foreign secretary has landed in China for meetings with senior members of the government as Rishi Sunak comes under pressure at home over how to approach the country. James Cleverly is holding talks with senior Chinese officials – including minister of foreign affairs Wang Yi and vice president Han Zheng – on issues ranging

The transport secretary has apologised for yesterday’s nationwide air traffic control fault – saying issues on this scale “haven’t happened for a decade”. Mark Harper stressed that technical experts have ruled out a cybersecurity incident, with the Civil Aviation Authority set to investigate. “Something on this scale hasn’t happened for almost a decade – normally

Police chiefs have warned the home secretary they must have “operational independence” when deciding how to respond to crime. The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) was responding to Suella Braverman‘s announcement that police forces in England and Wales must investigate every theft as part of a crackdown on crime. The home secretary said it was

GP surgeries will face economic sanctions if they do not provide patients with adequate services if Labour come to power, according to the shadow health secretary. Wes Streeting has told the NHS that the “like it or lump it” approach taken by UK health providers is not acceptable and Labour “will give back patients control

Labour and the Liberal Democrats hit the campaign trail in Mid Bedfordshire in the hours after Nadine Dorries stood down. The former Conservative culture secretary handed in her resignation yesterday – 11 weeks after she vowed to go – leaving Prime Minister Rishi Sunak facing yet another test in the form of a by-election. In

Sadiq Khan has accused the government of “weaponising air pollution” ahead of the expansion of London’s ultra-low emission zone next week. The mayor said he was “disappointed” by the lack of government support for the policy and its accompanying scrappage scheme. Transport Secretary Mark Harper has urged Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to make his

Former Conservative minister Nadine Dorries has announced she is resigning, after months of criticism over her absence from the House of Commons. In her resignation letter, the Tory MP accused Rishi Sunak of “demeaning his office by opening the gates to whip up a public frenzy” against her. The letter to the prime minister said:

Rishi Sunak has said the inquiry into the murders carried out by Lucy Letby should be judge-led. The government ordered an inquiry last week after Letby was found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others while working as a neonatal nurse. She was sentenced to 14 whole-life orders and will never

MPs who lose their seat at the next general election will receive double the financial support following a ruling from parliament’s expenses watchdog. MPs who are forced out in an election defeat have previously been entitled to two months of financial assistance to help close their office and manage the departure of staff, but the Independent

Asylum seekers who were housed on the Bibby Stockholm barge have claimed the Home Office did not contact them even when some on board showed signs of suspected Legionnaires’ disease. In an open letter to the Home Office, seen by Sky News, one asylum seeker hit out at their treatment from the department, describing their

The backlog of asylum cases in the UK has hit a new record high, according to Home Office figures. A total of 175,457 people were waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application in the UK at the end of June 2023, up 44% at the end of June 2022 and the highest figure

Rishi Sunak “inadvertently” broke the code of conduct for MPs by not correctly declaring his wife’s financial interest in a childminding company set to benefit from government support. The parliamentary commissioner for standards, Daniel Greenberg, ruled that Mr Sunak “confused” declaring his interests as a minister with registering his interests as an MP. The inquiry

The Home Office is facing a legal challenge from a local mayor over whether it has the right planning permission to accommodate asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm barge. The controversial vessel – docked in Portland, Dorset – saw its first residents board earlier this month. But within days, the men were moved off after

Kemi Badenoch heads to India this week in the hope of making progress on a trade deal, but government sources played down the prospect of an imminent breakthrough. A source told Sky News that “tricky” issues have not yet been resolved as the talks enter their twelfth round, almost a year after a deadline announced

Home Office plans to clamp down on illegal migration risk creating a “perma-backlog” of asylum seekers that could end up costing the taxpayer over £6bn a year, a think tank has said. Researchers at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) argue that measures in the Illegal Migration Act – which aims to detain and remove

Half of private renters in England are only “one paycheque away” from potentially losing their home, a new study by Shelter has found. Some 51% of private renters surveyed by the housing charity were at risk of not being able to pay a full month’s rent, while more than a third said they did not

Sir Keir Starmer has said questions about his role as the director of public prosecutions (DPP) during the wrongful conviction of Andrew Malkinson should be “directed elsewhere”. The Labour leader said Mr Malkinson – who spent 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit before having his conviction overturned – had been

Sadiq Khan’s deputy and a scientist the mayor’s office helps to fund have been accused of working together in an attempt to criticise research that questioned the effectiveness of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). Emails obtained by the Conservative Party under the Freedom of Information Act showed Professor Frank Kelly of Imperial College London

A Tory MP has written to his local police force asking officers to “turn a blind eye” to pubs opening an hour early for the Women’s World Cup final this weekend. Pubs can choose when they open on Sundays, but the time from which they can start selling alcohol varies depending on each pub’s individual

Suella Braverman has been urged to “stand up” to France as reports emerged the country is intercepting fewer migrants in the Channel despite a £480m funding deal. The call from Conservative MP Jonathan Gullis came as The Telegraph claimed just 45.2% of migrants have been stopped by French patrols since January, down from 45.8% in